TTT - experiential/practical method description about human-nature relationship

Human-Nature relationship and degrowth – Method description

Short description: Sensual/practical experience to feel the relationship between nature and humans in a city with all your senses as a starting for reflection on how humans are trying to master nature in our current system and what kind of relationship we want to have with nature in a degrowth society. E.g. as an introduction to the topic you deal with a whole day.

For whom: anyone from kids to adults

time: 30-90 minutes

Introduce briefly what will happen and that the exercise will be in silent, and that participants are invited to take their shoes off for the experience.

- Starting with a short, 3-5 minutes „meditation“ (preferable outside, sitting in a circle or lying down), inviting people to find a comfortable position and to close their eyes. You can give some directions on what people can focus, e.g. on their breathing, and their senses, e.g. what they feel with their body, hear, smell etc.

- Then starting a walk in the group (with open eyes again) and in silent along the street. Ask people to focus on what they perceive with all their senses what is natural and non-natural for them. Walking to a park/green area close by (5-10 minutes walk) and asking the people there to find a comfortable spot where they can sit or lie down and to focus on (again with all senses) on their sourrounding: What makes you comfortable? What makes you uncomfortable? In a bigger park, where people spread more wide, you can introduce a sign of ending the exercise and finding back together (e.g. a crow call that you will make and that everybody repeats so everyone notices it).

- After the end of the „sit spot“ (can take from 10 minutes to an hour) getting back in the circle (preferably just where you are, in the park). Sharing time: Who wants to share an experience they made during this time? After the people who wanted have shared, share with them some insights of how humans master/try to master nature and how this relates to degrowth (e.g. it has a strong impact on you and the way you/we live, build cities, pay attention to the world around us, if your frame/mental infrastructure on how you/the society regards nature as a resource or as life). Again sharing time, if anyone else has thoughts on this related to the experience they just made. Closing the round by thanking for joining the experience :)

And from here you can explore the topic further through other means!