Uncategorized

Can We Treat Death as a Mentor?

Ok, I know, this sounds weird but hear me out.  Humans are freaked out by death. I’m not saying I’m any different, just drawing attention to this in hopes of reducing our suffering. Today I’m wondering what life would be like if we could change our relationship with death. The Toltec civilization of Central America considered death an advisor like a friend who gives advice. In this way, Toltecs navigated their lives knowing they were temporary.…

Continue reading

Uncategorized

The Cumulative Stress Hypothesis

Are you aware of the stress in your life?  Can you FEEL it when stressors are building up and you think you may pop? Do you ever feel like you’re right on the verge of a meltdown? I think most of us are familiar with these scenarios. We can only take so much stress. When I was an ecologist, I had a vision for my life’s work. I planned on studying how aquatic ecosystems resist or…

Continue reading

Uncategorized

What if Nature Made the Rules?

You’re probably not old enough to remember, but a commercial in the 70s reminds me of this episode. In the commercial, a woman who represented Earth informed the viewer, “‘It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature.” I don’t know if this ad made an impression on me, but my adult self agrees with it. I don’t think we consult Mother Nature often enough. It might be my Evolutionary Ecology background showing, but I tend to…

Continue reading

Uncategorized

Does Technology Alleviate Human Suffering? KEW 113

Are you a technologist? Do you think tech is going to solve all of our human problems? Do you see science, health advances, nuclear tech or some other human invention as being our salvation? Maybe you don’t even see problems around us. I find it hard to believe that everyone, in some way, doesn’t wonder where we are headed. As any follower on KEW will know by now, I think we need to take a…

Continue reading

Uncategorized

On the Shoulders of Giants. KEW Episode 112

I recently came upon a podcast by a fella named Nate Hagens. The podcast, and Nate’s piece de resistance is called The Great Simplification and his ideas center around the future of humans on Earth. The idea behind The Great Simplification is that humans will soon run out of energy to power or current levels of consumption and have to drastically simplify our lives to compensate for that loss. Nate also talks about the concept…

Continue reading