DIALOGUE

Youth as Canaries in a Coal Mine for the Inbalance of the World Today?

Posted by Bonnie Bright on May 23, 2010 at 10:54pm in Depth Psychology General
This morning, I had the opportunity to listen to Dr. Andrew Beath speak at the ICC conference  in Ojai, CA. I couldn't help but buy his book, Consciousness in Action: The Power of Beatuy, Love and Courage in a Violent Time, after sitting by him at breakfast and discovering his passion for Ecology and Ecopsych (along with the many boards for consciousness and social action he sits on, he is the founder of Earthways Foundation: http://www.earthways.org/ if you're interested).

One thing Dr. Beath asserts in the book is something I have been wondering about--that is, that our youth today are particularly sensitive to the way in which our culture is out of balance with earth and nature, and that, like a canary in a coal mine, they are manifesting symptoms as a direct result of their inability to cope with the imbalance.

Dr. Beath cites multiple disorders or conditions that he deems to be coming through youth from the collective culture--things like acting-out, learning disabilities, attention deficit, defiance rage, and even autism may be ways for young people to deal with the almost intolerable (my word) state of the world today. This is not the first time I've heard maybe autism especially may be a function of kids just shutting down and putting up powerful protective behaviors in order to ward off the horror of this place they have landed in. Wondering if anyone has thoughts on this or can point to sources on the topic?

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Tags: autism, disorders, ecology, ecopsychology, youth
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  • Ed Koffenberger May 28, 2010 at 8:10pm
    Katrina: Heard about the microbes as well on NPR. Curious that when asked about "engineering" microbes, the guest stated that the best microbes are those already in nature!!! Surprise, surprise!! We started this discussion about the youth. I wonder what the take on this oil "spill" (a term I think inappropriately used in that spills normally have a limited quantity) the youth (20's) have? Anybody out there in touch with the 20 somethings about this issue?
  • Ed Koffenberger May 27, 2010 at 7:10pm
    As to your depth of concern, an astrologer friend of mine just sent me this: So you see, it is OUR THOUGHTS that will be very important during this extreme energy pattern. those who will feel it the most are: ARIES, CAPRICORN, LIBRA AND CANCER. Are you any of these?
  • Ed Koffenberger May 27, 2010 at 7:06pm
    "discovered he could understand the moss growing on trees, the call of a bird in the sky, the sound of wind through the reeds, etc." Damn, you made me cry!! :) If BP had asked the reeds, the fish, the shrimp, the birds about the drilling, I wonder what they would have told us?
  • Bonnie Bright May 24, 2010 at 12:17pm
    Katrina--you're absolutely right about Dr. Bernstein and Dr. Beath--how much do you want to bet they DO know each other? Since you mention the amazing synchronicity between you and Dr. Beath, nothing would surprise me. Also, I attended a workshop at Ocean Song in March. Amazing place!--you can really feel the generations of ritual that have taken place on that land by its first inhabitants.

    Regarding the kids, I've heard of the book "The Last Child in the Woods" but have not yet taken the opportunity to read it. Perhaps now is the time to do so. Do you recommend it?

    On that note, do you know the book (or the film) called The Horse Boy? I also haven't had a chance to read it (ordered the book but promptly gave it away before I had a chance) and am waiting for the movie to come on Netflix. I did, however read a magazine article maybe a year ago about it that totally intrigued me. In it, anthropologist Rupert Isaacson details the story of his own son's autism and how he was vastly improved by connecting/interacting with both horses and then shamans in Siberia. Has anyone else read this book...and what did you think?
    • Ed Koffenberger > Bonnie Bright May 27, 2010 at 1:44pm
      I have heard of the Isaacson story and will take this as an excuse to buy it. :) My response is that both horse and shaman knew the languages that could reach his son. Once there is a shared language, many doors can be opened. Do you remember whether the son remained in his state with others or if he began to relate to the rest of the world after these experiences? God help me, I'm sounding dangerously close to Lacan!!
      • Bonnie Bright > Ed Koffenberger May 27, 2010 at 4:27pm
        I love your take on this, Ed--that it was a function of communication (and therefore likely empathy and understanding) that permeated the boundaries of his son. I attended a seminar on Evoluationary Psychology recently where we discussed non-verbal (innerspecies and interspecies) ways of communicating--theorizing this may have existed even among early humans before language was developed.

        And then, of course, there is one of my favorite myths that talks about a man who did something for the gods and was given as his reward the choice between a chest of gold or the capacity to speak 80 languages. True to my heart (undergrad degree in languages), he picked the languages and discovered he could understand the moss growing on trees, the call of a bird in the sky, the sound of wind through the reeds, etc. He could understand the language of nature. This is becoming more and more significant for me as I delve more deeply into ecopsychology and this incredible love of earth and nature that is incubating (or being incubated) in me. And of course shamans know these languages....it goes without saying.

        In the case of The Horse Boy, Isaacson says though his son was not "cured", he was vastly improved in his capacity to interact with others and integrate much more "normally" (whatever that is for all of us, right?)....
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