Join the upcoming LIVE Breaking the Cycle discussion on October 27, 2022 from 8 - 9 p.m. ET, REGISTER to join. Visit the www.BreakingtheCycleFilm.org for more science, film guides, and resources.
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Dear Friends,
Our interconnectedness at every level—quantum, microbial, genetic, energetic—with all of Life means that when Life suffers, we do too. We are weakened by deforestation which changes weather patterns across the world, fossil fuel burning which poisons land, water, air and our bodies, rampant killing of “pests,” other life forms who are trying to live in their landscapes we’ve invaded. Everything is out of balance today.
Living in challenging times means our gifts are especially important to share, whether it is the capacity to listen to others, to encourage, to share joy or material gifts. To understand our connectedness means to understand that we are all in this together. No one is going to truly thrive without all the rest of us.
Indigenous Peoples of the world traditionally had a greater understanding of this egalitarian interconnectedness. But over the course of civilization, during the last 1% of human existence, when egos and ego consciousness were allowed to inflate, communities lost their communal orientation. They began to feel separate from and superior to the rest of Nature, and then to groups of ‘not-me’—women, children, non-whites, non-readers, non-wealthy, non-believers—losing a sense of what full humanity is like. It’s not exclusionary. It is receptive, open and flexible.
Tyson Yunkaporta, Aboriginal Australian scholar in his book, Sand Talk, writes:
“The most destructive idea in existence: I am greater than you; you are less than me. This is the source of all human misery. Aboriginal society was designed over thousands of years to deal with this problem. Some people are just idiots—and everybody has a bit of idiot in 27 them from time to time, coming from some deep place inside that whispers, “You are special. You are greater than other people and things. You are more important than everything and everyone. All thig and all people exist to serve you.” This behavior needs massive checks and balances to contain the damage it can do.” (Sand Talk, p. 26)
Jared Diamond in his book, Collapse, noted that the societies he studied collapsed when the privileged few used up all the resources (think Easter Island). We are living in a country and on a planet where this is happening as oligarchs and billionaires manage and flood media and politics with misinformation and ratchet up rage. We will need to learn to deflate these big egos that threaten all Life. Our nomadic foraging ancestors did so with ridicule, for example, of a successful hunter’s large game (‘insulting the meat’) to make the hunter laugh back down to his connected place in the community.
We may need to use humor and the arts to remind the boastful and reckless that they are part of us. Let’s use our gifts to reconnect their hearts to ours, to Nature, to our Wholeness.
Darcia Narvaez, PhD
Evolved Nest, Founder
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Indigenous People's Day Resources & Gift |
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About the Worldview Chart
by Four Arrows:
This chart is not intended as a rigid binary, but a true dichotomy best viewed as a continuum. It is meant to encourage seeking complementarity and dialogue. Absolutism is discouraged with the realization we are all participating in DW precepts to some degree. The chart assumes that all diverse cultures, religions, and philosophies can be grouped under one of the two worldviews. “Indigenous Worldview” does not belong to a race or group of people, but Indigenous cultures who still hold on to their traditional place-based knowledge are the wisdom keepers of this original Nature-based worldview. All people are indigenous to Earth and have the right and the responsibility to practice and teach the IW precepts. All have the responsibility to support Indigenous sovereignty, dignity, and use of traditional lands.
Download your free Worldview Chart by Four Arrows in color PDF or JPEG, as well as black and white PDF or JPEG here.
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11th International CFT Conference
Caring Connections
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EDINBURGH & ONLINE
October 10 - 13, 2022
Darcia speaks Tuesday, 830-930 am ET, and her talk is called " The Evolved Nest, Wellness-Informed Development and Thriving"
The 11th International CFT Conference is taking place in October, and we're excited to be exploring research and clinical practice reflections on this year's theme of 'Caring Connections'. After a few years online, we are looking forward to being together in the beautiful city of Edinburgh at the Royal College of Physicians (numbers and restrictions permitting). This conference will be a hybrid conference, so livestreaming options will be available for those unable to join us in person, and sessions will be recorded and available to view shortly after the conference.
We hope to see you there!
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First Friendships: Foundations for Peace |
Narvaez, Darcia. Free download for the first 50 people: First Friendships: Love or Fear, Partnership or Domination.
First friendships shape children’s brains and thereby their self-regulatory and social capacities. Mothers and others who offer our species’ evolved developmental niche, or evolved nest, provide the appropriate support for growing a cooperative, prosocial community member. Unnested children are less likely to develop our species-typical prosociality and instead be prone to authoritarian tendencies.
What if our first friendships matter more than any others? What if first relationships guide us toward peace or violence? What if the ways we are treated in the earliest months and years of life matter for how we treat others as adults? Converging evidence suggests that these issues should of concern to peace studies.
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On Indigenous Voices and Restoring the Kinship Worldview with Four Arrows and Darcia Narvaez |
To the California Institute of Integral Studies, CIIS, in April 2022, just released.
In this episode, Four Arrows and Darcia offer a conversational exploration of their most recent collaboration as editors of the anthology, Restoring the Kinship Worldview, which presents the wisdom of Indigenous worldviews and how embracing these precepts can nourish our individual and collective lives in these challenging times through 28 powerful excerpted passages from Indigenous leaders including Mourning Dove, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Winona LaDuke, and Xiuhtezcatl Martinez.
Listen to the podcast and read the transcript here.
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What Would It Mean To Live In A World Informed By A Kinship Worldview? |
In this interview, we explore various precepts of the Kinship or indigenous worldview that are presented in their book. Precepts such as “Courage and Fearless Trust in the Universe”; “Nonanthropocentrism”; “Ceremony as Life Sustaining”; “Centrality of Gratitude”; and “An Emphasis on Heart Wisdom”.
We also explore the basis of what a worldview is and why our guests propose there are only two, the indigenous/kinship worldview and the dominant/Western worldview. We go in-depth on the historical rise and impact of the dominant worldview and the intergenerational cycle of trauma it propagates; the left brain / right brain dynamic and how it aligns with worldview, perception, and behavior; how generations of anthropocentrism impact our capacity to perceive our interconnection with nature and each other; a substantial dive into death, dying, grief, and ceremony; and what it means to become fully human.
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Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World |
As an indigenous person, Tyson Yunkaporta looks at global systems from a unique perspective, one tied to the natural and spiritual world. In considering how contemporary life diverges from the pattern of creation, he raises important questions. How does this affect us? How can we do things differently?
In this thoughtful, culturally rich, mind-expanding book, he provides answers. Yunkaporta’s writing process begins with images. Honoring indigenous traditions, he makes carvings of what he wants to say, channeling his thoughts through symbols and diagrams rather than words. He yarns with people, looking for ways to connect images and stories with place and relationship to create a coherent world view, and he uses sand talk, the Aboriginal custom of drawing images on the ground to convey knowledge.
Tyson was a contributor to the new book by Darcia Narvaez and Four Arrows, Restoring the Kinship Worldview.
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The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture |
In this insightful book, renowned physician Gabor Maté eloquently dissects how in Western countries that pride themselves on their healthcare systems, chronic illness and general ill health are on the rise. Nearly 70 percent of Americans are on at least one prescription drug; more than half take two. In Canada, every fifth person has high blood pressure. In Europe, hypertension is diagnosed in more than 30 percent of the population. And everywhere, adolescent mental illness is on the rise. So what is really “normal” when it comes to health?
Gabor mentions Darcia and the Evolved Nest multiple times in the new book and on his book tour in interviews this month. Check out one of the interviews mentioning Darcia's work here. Gabor has written the foreword for Darcia's next book with Gay Bradshaw, The Evolved Nest: Nature’s way of raising children and creating connected communities (North Atlantic Books).
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In the face of overwhelming social and ecological crises, for decades her work has helped people transform despair and apathy into constructive, collaborative action. It brings a new way of seeing the world as our larger living body. This perspective frees us from the assumptions and attitudes that now threaten the continuity of life on Earth.
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Kanyini is a historical and semi-autobiographical look at what happened to the originlal inhabitants of Australia. Tjilpi (Bob Randall) describes the Aboriginal worldview and how it was destroyed in his life by colonizer culture. Randall, also known as Uncle Bob, lived beside the greatest monolith in the world, Uluru. Based on Uncle Bob’s own personal journey and the wisdom he learnt from the old people living in the bush, Bob tells the tale of why Indigenous people are now struggling in a modern world and what needs to be done for Indigenous people to move forward.
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Soothing Perinatal Experiences |
Soothing Perinatal Experiences:
#1 of Nine Evolved Nest Components
Childbirth is naturally timed to indicate when the child is ready to be born (sometimes exiting the womb early because of problematic development or maternal stress).
Modern practices often interfere with nature’s timing. Humans have changed this heritage with psychological interference (e.g., anticipation of pain, causing fear and contraction of muscles instead of relaxation. Natural oxytocin and epinephrine are released by the mother during unimpeded labor, suppressing pain, coordinating uterine contractions and supporting emotional bonding through hormone releases that facilitate memory and social reward (Lévy, Kendrick, Goode, Guevara-Guzman, Keverne, 1995).
Discover articles, videos, and more resources for this component in the Evolved Nest Learning Center here.
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The Evolved Nest Podcast Series - Wisdom and the Baselines for Virtue |
This podcast is #13 of a 24 part series with Darcia and Mary Tarsha explaining the neurobiological basics of our Evolved Nest.
What’s normal for human beings? Are we necessarily violent? That is not what the evidence shows. Learn why!
Primal Wisdom is about being present, being here and now, whereas Western worldviews have abandoned our connection with nature and instead advocate escaping nature and controlling it. How do these worldviews manifest in our culture today? In our way of being in the world today?
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The Essential Worldview Reflection Approach To Re-Balancing Life Systems On Earth |
By Four Arrows and Darcia Narvaez
We believe that original Indigenous understanding of the world offers the most crucial way to rebalance life systems. This is not a romanticized notion. It is ancestral wisdom. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services’ 2019 report provides concrete evidence. [1] The report had data contributions from hundreds of scientists from 50 countries and is the largest ecological analysis ever undertaken.
Although we believe it may be too late to stop many of the impending extinctions of life on earth, this is all the more reason to heed the words spoken by our selected guests. They show us how to live with the fullness of appreciating the wonder of the gift of life on Mother Earth no matter how great the challenges. For those who want to help others adjust to whatever lies ahead, our book provides an opportunity to re-embrace our original Indigenous worldview. Whether or not the Indigenous spirit somehow returns to Earth, we hope it will strengthen you in your personal journey while doing what you can for future generations.
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Understanding Pregnancy Biology Is Vital For Abortion Law Debates |
There are multiple misunderstandings about pregnancies and fetuses that are driving poorly conceived anti-abortion laws. Science can guide us on several key aspects. Here are five sets of information that everyone should know.
Conception and Pregnancy
Fertilization of an egg by sperm, whereby the two mingle their genetic contents and create a zygote, takes place in one of the two fallopian tubes near the ovaries. However, that’s not enough for pregnancy to ensue. The genetic contents must mingle in the right way and then the zygote travel to the uterus and implant itself in the right place. Biological conditions (e.g., hormones) must all be appropriate for these processes to take place successfully. Over 50% of conceptions are spontaneously aborted because the conditions were not optimal. Moreover, sometimes the zygote lodges in the wrong place, in a fallopian tube, for example, which cannot bring about a successful pregnancy and left in place will kill the mother.
Bottom line: Most conceptions do not result in pregnancy.
Despite this knowledge, in Georgia the Republican Party has introduced legislation that would establish a right to child support for fetuses beginning at conception.
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Join Our LIVE Discussions! |
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See the Evolved Nest's Short Film - Breaking the Cycle! |
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Below is your invitation to LIVE discussion about Breaking the Cycle, the Evolved Nest's short film, with Darcia Narvaez, PhD, and Lisa Reagan.
"Breaking the Cycle" contrasts the two basic ways societies can function: the optimal approach, which most human societies through time have followed, is the Cycle of Cooperative Companionship, where children’s basic needs are met, they grow into well-functioning, cooperative community members (from neurobiology and on up), and as healthy adults, they maintain the cooperative system. Currently in the United States, the opposite pattern is in place—children’s basic needs are not met and ill-being and dysregulation ensue, creating adults who are detached and distracted and keep this Cycle of Competitive Detachment going. Not surprisingly from a transdisciplinary perspective on childhood adversity and its effects, the United Nations ranks the United States as 41st out of 41 developed countries for child and adult wellness.
See the Evolved Nest's six minute film and discover resources, including a film guide and a Spanish version of the film, at www.breakingthecyclefilm.org
JOIN MONTHLY LIVE DISCUSSIONS
Join Darcia Narvaez and Lisa Reagan for a discussion of the Evolved Nest's short film, Breaking the Cycle. You can watch the film and find resources, including a film guide on this website.
October 27, 2022 from 8 - 9 p.m. ET, REGISTER
The live discussions are free, but you must register to join.
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Nature Song Collection - Includes Cord Progression and Lyrics! |
Nature Connection is one of our nine Evolved Nest components. One of the known causes for the planetary crises humanity is facing currently (e.g., global warming, climate instability, melting glaciers, toxic pollution, biodiversity loss) is the lack of caring for the rest of nature and the sense of separation from it (T. Berry, 1999; W. Berry, 2012). Our species is a creature of the earth and has evolved with the rest of the natural world, which preserves us.
Here are four nature connection songs written and sung by Darcia for our eco attachment enjoyment.
Listen to Darcia sing all of these songs here.
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Moving Toward Primal-Indigenous-Kinship Wisdom and Worldview |
We've collected Darcia's posts, interviews, videos, and podcasts on Indigenous Wisdom and Worldview onto one webpage for your viewing and sharing enjoyment!
Check out the Indigenous Worldview Resource Collection here.
Visit the Evolved Nest Self-Directed Learning Center here.
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Join the Evolved Nest COMMUNITY |
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Join Our Mighty Networks' Evolved Nest Community |
We are in the process of creating a safe, kind, and stimulating space to engage and connect with our Evolved Nest community through Mighty Networks!
This platform is ad-free, algorithm-free, and owned by us. You can download the app to the network and post and stay up-to-date with group discussions, research, and upcoming events.
Many organizations are charging a membership fee for these Mighty Networks' platforms, but we are opening up our group to you for free.
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DONATE and Support the Evolved Nest! |
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Read 88 Five-Star Reviews of Our Work and Kindred World! |
The Evolved Nest is an educational initiative of Kindred World, an American 501C3 nonprofit that has Served the Re-Generation Since 1996. Darcia Narvaez, PhD, is the founder of the Evolved Nest and the current president of Kindred World.
Learn more about what we've learned in a quarter century of exploring the creation of a wisdom-based, wellness-informed society, here.
Read our more than 88 five-star reviews here.
Our gratitude to everyone who has supported The Evolved Nest's work over these past four years.
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The Evolved Nest - www.EvolvedNest.org |
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