Nature-Deficit Disorder

Yesterday was Earth Day. My email Inbox was packed with announcements, newsletters and events all in honor of this day. I didn’t attend any particular event, but I did go out for my daily walk in my Santa Monica neighborhood and soaked in the beauty of the flowers, the warm breeze and the revitalizing sunshine. Nature, big or small, has always been an elixir for me.

Last weekend in the New York Times Magazine I read an article that said even a limited dose of nature, such as looking to the outside world from your window is good for your health. It’s reported that hospital patients heal more quickly and prisoners get sick less often. Mama Nature = healthier, happier people. Could be common sense, right?

I have to admit that after seven years of living in New York City I was beginning to feel like one of those prisoners or hospital patients aching for sunlight and earth connection. I sought out every possibility the city had to offer a nature junkie…walks, runs and lazy days in Central Park, biking and blading along the Hudson River, sitting on park benches listening to the birds, stopping in flower shops just to stare at their miracle beauty – but many times, it wasn’t enough. Too much concrete and not enough green.

The alternative to starving my soul of Mother Earth magic was to take the train from Grand Central up to Cold Spring and spend the day in the woods. It was incredible how just one afternoon on a hiking trail could bring back my physical and mental health for weeks at a time. I read recently that a growing body of scientific research suggests children who are given early and ongoing positive exposure to nature thrive in intellectual, spiritual and physical ways that their “shut-in” peers do not. My experience would second that.

So now here we are at a time in our history where our technological advancements have taught us how to exploit our earth’s resources at a rate higher than she can sustain. It is no secret that we are in peril of soon exhausting our natural resources. It should seem obvious, but I think we sometimes forget…our earth is fundamental to our existence. How long can we go on without a real, honest return to a diligent respect of Mother Nature?

The events, activities and enthusiasm from yesterday are encouraging. Take for example Omega Institute’s Center for Sustainable Living. They are working toward being a leader in sustainability education and a model for the Living Building Challenge. Yesterday, volunteers were busy planting 8000 plants to create what Omega called the “Eco-Machine.” This is a constructive wetland that will reclaim and purify the wastewater that is generated at the Institute campus which sees 20,000 people come through its doors annually. “It’s not just about compact fluorescent lightbulbs…,but looking at what are the systems and the ways of engineering that are available to us now so that we can move to a higher level of sustainability, one that is truly balanced with the natural environment,” says Skip Backus, Executive Director at Omega.

Instead of inventing new man-made technology, sounds like it’s time to invent new ways to use our earth’s au natural technology.

Omega and many other individuals and groups did incredible and commendable work across our nation yesterday. In addition to that great value, I think the most potent lesson is a reminder of our interconnectedness. Already we see this everyday through the Internet, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter – but now it feels like it’s time to translate this to a wider scale.

I like what the Buddhists say, “There is no environment that is ‘out there’ separate than us; we are the environment.”

I think this statement is key. I wonder if we took on this perspective we would not only heal our split with nature, but heal our split with a number of other things.

Your thoughts?

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Tabby Biddle is a writer and editor specializing in helping women entrepreneurs and emerging authors get their message out. Additionally she is the founder of Lotus Blossom Style, a yoga lifestyle company created to support women in their personal transformation. She lives in Santa Monica, CA.

Reinterpreting Eve

Written by Tabby Biddle

Not too far in the past, if a woman was assertive, demanding and purposeful, she was considered a controlling bitch. On the other hand, if a woman complained about her lack of opportunity and played victim, she was considered an annoying whiner. Today, many women are looking to each other for clues as to what it truly means to be a woman.

One of the great perks of being a woman is sharing intimately with other women. I have found over and over, no matter if I am talking with a CEO, an accomplished writer, a five star mom, a longtime healer, a talented artist, … that no matter what their successes, women feel a peculiar sense of self-doubt and inferiority. I have for a long time wondered what this is about.

As someone who studies spirituality and religion, I decided to reflect on our spiritual culture to seek some answers. When focusing on this, I saw that part of the issue could be the many thousands of years we’ve been living in a patriarchal spiritual, social and cultural system. This isn’t a criticism of men by any means, but a pointing out and curiosity about how that system has affected us, both as women and men, from the inside out.

In our culture our greatest spiritual role model, God, is a “he” in imagery and language. “He” is the one we are to please, emulate and be judged by. He is the one we pray to, seek counsel from and look to for solutions. If God is male in imagery and language, wouldn’t it make sense that girls and women who are not “hes” would feel a sense of inferiority, self-doubt and perhaps never feel that they are good enough? If this is the case, I wonder if women and girls deep down inside can ever truly feel worthy.

Let’s look at another part of our spiritual and cultural heritage that may also be contributing to women’s inferiority complex: The story of Adam and Eve. For many of us, we heard this story at a very young age. In my case, I was five. Whether as a child (or adult) we regard the story as myth or truly the creation story, it permeates our culture and has made its way into our unconscious systems. A review…

Woman (Eve) was created out of man (Adam). She was then told by an Almighty man (God) not to pick a forbidden fruit (apple). She picked it (disobedience) – gave it to Adam (unsuspecting innocence) – and from then on was said to have committed the first sin. It was that simple picking (which perhaps was due to pioneering curiosity) that is said to have led to the fall of humanity from paradise and the introduction of evil into the world. Ha!

Assuming Eve as the archetype of woman, woman here is portrayed as undisciplined, disobedient, and a sinner. Looking at it this way, it’s no wonder that women have an underlying sense of blame, shame and in many cases, a fear of questioning male authority. With this story told to us at an early age, it seems like no mystery that as girls and boys we would internalize this.

When reflecting on all of this, my question became – what happened to the time when the Almighty, the Divine, our spiritual leader was in feminine form? What happened to the honoring of our Mother God, Gaia? What happened to the ancient goddess cultures?

According to Maria Gimbutas, world-renowned archeologist, matriarchal and goddess-worshipping cultures existed as far back as 6500 B.C. Aside from the questions of why and how the shift happened away from these cultures and toward our modern-day patriarchy, I think it’s important to look at how we would feel if our spiritual leader were depicted as a woman and referred to as a “she.” Would we feel any different? What is your reaction to even considering this?

I know there is a book called, “When God Was a Woman,” which I have not read yet – but have a feeling it might shed some light on the subject. I also know that some will argue that getting caught up in duality, the feminine and masculine, is not helpful. They will say that God is Absolute and holds no gender or form. My feeling is that all the talk in the world about this, before females ever get a chance to see themselves in the image of the Divine is like skipping from kindergarten to college. We’ve spent the more recent thousands of years seeing our spiritual leader in the image of a male and I think it is going to take more than saying God is Absolute to deconstruct our unconscious belief systems.

Just to make it clear I am not advocating for erasing a male God nor am I advocating for dethroning him with a female. What I am advocating for is a remembrance and honoring of a Mother God, the Divine Feminine, as his divine and uniquely different partner.

As our hierarchies of power are shaking down and interconnection and interrelatedness are shaking wide, perhaps we have an opportunity to redefine how we see ourselves in the world and how we, as women and men, can move forward together as partners creating a world in balance.

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Tabby Biddle is a writer and editor specializing in helping women entrepreneurs and emerging authors get their message out. Additionally she is the founder of Lotus Blossom Style, a yoga lifestyle company created to support women in their personal transformation. She lives in Santa Monica, CA.

Rolling With It…Or Not

I was out rollerblading with my cousin today, like we do every Thursday morning. It is a time for us to catch up, talk about what’s going on in our lives, get some exercise, and drink in the beautiful beachside heaven that we have here in Santa Monica.

The blades I had been wearing up until a few months ago were a pair I had bought in the early 90s back when I lived in Washington, DC. Yes, you remember, when blading was the hot trend. When I mentioned to a friend in Seattle recently that I go blading every week, she responded, “Blading? Do people still do that?” Well, I have for 15 years. But then I also love disco music and Wheaties.

One day this winter I was blading with my cousin — rolling on our wheels, exhilarating in the good fortune of living in such a magnificent place – and my blades suddenly CRACKED. Yes, that’s right. My trusty pair of blades split ride down the sides. No more support. In grand ceremonial style, I released these blades that had been with me for 15 years into the dumpster feeling like I was releasing something much bigger, but not quite able to name it.

It’s four months later and I have been through two new pair of rollerblades and neither of them have worked for me. The first pair dug into my ankles, gave me bruises and cuts. I tried band aids, moleskin, extra thick socks, you name it. I took them back. The store gave me a new pair that feel comfortable on my feet, but don’t have the proper ankle support and the wheels roll at a noticeably slower rate than my beloved 15-year snappy K2 pair. With arch supports slid inside, this latest pair were the ones I was wearing today.

I pulled over to a bench to see if tightening the laces, strap and buckle might help give me more support. As I was cinching down the buckle, I said out loud, “I wonder why my old blades were able to support me so well? I never had all of these problems!” As my cousin and I both speak the same language of Louise Hay and like to look at the deeper meaning underneath outer circumstances, she reminded me that feet represent moving forward. That reminder ignited me to announce, “How funny that my old blades, my old support system, cracked. And ever since then I have been experimenting with different brands of blades and fumbling around with trying to get support!”

It could have been a simple moment, but for me like with most everything else, it resonated with great meaning. I realized that there might be something more to this blade journey than going from A to B. But in thinking so deeply, was I just spinning my wheels?

It is true that I have indeed let go of old ways, old support systems and old beliefs and have been in a place of transition where I have not yet found my center or in blading terms, my stride. My collapsing ankles and slow rolling wheels were, in my mind, material evidence that transitions take time.

What about you — when you see a ladybug does it indicate luck on the way? How about a penny? Prosperity coming? In other words, do you find big meanings in small things?

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Tabby Biddle is a writer and editor specializing in helping women entrepreneurs and emerging authors get their message out. Additionally she is the founder of Lotus Blossom Style, a yoga lifestyle company created to support women in their personal transformation. She lives in Santa Monica, CA.