Learning to Reconnect: Exploring Connection, Learning, Creating & Healing in Nature
How can we learn to once again reconnect to nature? As part of the world’s builders, architects and designers have a special role in connecting nature, culture and self when considering building design. This u.lab 2x team — ARCA, explores how to create regenerative spaces from which both learning and healing can arise.
Vision:
Before knowing anything about the Presencing Institute (PI), or GAIA (Global Activation of Intention and Action), a team in Chile had a vision for the Awareness Research Centre (ARCA). This team consisted of Kristina Reddy, Miguel Eyquem, Felipe Valenzuela, Martin Puppe, Claudia Romagnoli, Maga Meneses and Pedro Pérez.
Learning about the awareness-based work of Otto Scharmer and Arawana Hayashi was a tremendously significant moment for the team — to discover that others also had an interest in awareness-based work — others who were not just thinking, but doing something about it too!
This proved to be hugely influential in the evolution of ARCA and even resulted in workshops held at the university which included both Otto, and Arawana among others.
ARCA originally stood for Action Research Center — but after connecting more deeply with the PI community through GAIA, ARCA re-named their team “Awareness” Research Center instead.
This shift will become increasingly meaningful as you learn more about ARCA’s key discoveries and insights. At its essence, the ARCA lab is an intercultural space for encountering learning, creating and healing in nature.
ARCA was an idea born inside the Faculty of Architecture Art and Design (Facultad de Arquitectura, Artes Y Diseño) at the Catholic University of Temuco, Chile, and focalizes around 3 key questions:-
1. How can we create spaces to encounter learning and healing in nature?
2. How can we learn — also the teachers — in a more holistic and integrative way, that incorporates our feelings and bodies, as well as our minds?
3. How can we learn to reconnect to nature, to transition to a truly biocentric culture?
Key Discoveries:
The Gift of the Machi
In an increasingly digitized and abstract culture — many of the young people attending the University of Temuco came from the economically poorest region in Chile. With very little connection to their bodies, Pedro reflects on how it was almost as if the consciousness of the new generations (and our culture in general), has moved to an abstract digital layer, having lost their roots and connection to the soil.
Against this backdrop, it was becoming increasingly clear that there was a need to find ways of collaboration and participation that helped teachers and students alike to reconnect to those parts that they were disconnecting from. Pedro shared a bit more about the traditional course taken at the university:
“We don’t learn about the ecosystem, the ancestral cultures that live among us or strategies of creative co-creation with communities. About how to listen to ourselves, to others, to our client or the local people or Nature or whatever is alive, in us or around us.”
Pedro Pérez
He reflected on the practice of teaching students about Greek columns, which of course have philosophical and cultural relevance, but less applicability in practice in South America.
Taking inspired action, the team took students out of the university and into nature and the forest. Located in the south of Chile, the Catholic University of Temuco is situated in a region full of parks and lakes and is also home to the Mapuches — the ancestral culture of this area.
Pedro says that connecting with the Machi (name given to the Mapuche spiritual leader), was an incredible gift. As a shaman and healer, he was an untapped resource, and also an authority, who would prove to be very important for the work they were trying to do.
“We recognized the value of their (Mapuches) knowledge — how they see the cosmos, the environment, Nature, human beings in community. It was absolutely enlightening — we have no reference for it in the traditional academic world.”
Pedro Pérez
Working with the Machi gave a sense of meaning — that was literally vibrating inside all of them — and lots of practical experiences building and harvesting materials and talking long into the night.
After the classes, the reports from the students were profound and transformative — some even changed their studies from architecture to anthropology — such was the impact of their time with the Mapuches.
Below are some student reflections after a trip with the Machi that took place in March 2019:-
- “After being with the Machi, I realize that we always Ask but we never Thank. I now feel the importance of the practice of thanking nature for what it has given us.” (Matias)
- “I realize now that in the cities, we often ignore the fact that we are surrounded by life.” (Amaranta)
- “I value the respect they have for the earth, sun, stars and nature… for them, everything has a deep felt meaning and makes sense.” (Diego)
- “This experience helped me to learn to value the simple things that nature gives us and to know that in everything there is learning, we just have to free our senses and pay attention to what nature wants to tell us.” (Yenifer)
- Many times we do not stop to listen and calmly contemplate things. The Machi made us be silent for 5 minutes and asked us how many birds we were hearing and, just then, we realized that we were surrounded by more than 8 different species of birds, and that at no time since we arrived, had we noticed. I see how important silence is for learning and understanding.” (Ingrid)
Sensing Nature, Sensing Self
The sensing journeys were also extraordinarily profound, for they provided an opportunity to interact with local people and to sense and feel nature herself.
“Not just the interaction with the people was informative, but going to this place and trying to sense nature and the place was also very informative and transformative for all of us. The vision became so clear when it found its ground and its natural space — nature says so much.”
Pedro Pérez
Here’s a little of what some of the students had to say about it:
- “I learned a lot about the traditional constructions of the mapuche rukas, and about my roots. The support and teamwork that was seen was incredible, especially since few of us knew each other, but still we work together. Being in contact with nature opened us up to the sense that we are not alone on this Earth, there are always beings that, even if they are small and we do not see them, are present. For that we must be grateful and respectful to all life that surrounds us. (Pame)
- “It was amazing to feel the warmth that earth can offer you if you ask for it. How in Mapuche culture, everything is treated with respect because everything is as alive as we are. When the Machi asked for permission from Pachamama, it was one of the greatest spiritual moments of my life and when I saw how the Machi had such a deep contact with animals, plants and spirits, he gained my total trust.” (Thiare)
Sensing the Being of ARCA
In a sensing journey, Pedro recalls the moment when the Dean of the university spoke about how much they loved what they were doing and would always help with the Foundation/NGO — but this was before ARCA was even a Foundation or a separate entity!
Pedro remembers feeling challenged and internally rejecting the idea that ARCA was something outside of the university — yet later he realized that the Dean was right — it was a being in its own right — a foundation that was not part of the university. This was also a pivotal moment of awareness that has also been mirrored in the 3D and 4D mapping process.
Mapping Transformational Pathways with 3D and 4D Mapping
During the 3D and 4D mapping process, a participant had also placed the university outside of ARCA — until that point it was always a project inside the university — separating these two elements from each other and then again in the 4D mapping process made a huge impact on Pedro — and reflected a seismic shift — as it was the moment that ARCA truly became something by itself.
It was the beginning of a path that would see Pedro quit his job at the university (whilst maintaining a good relationship with them, as a stakeholder in the project), and eventually move to Santiago.
Lessons Learned
1. Letting Go of Control
For Pedro, the biggest challenge throughout this u.lab 2x experience was letting go of control. Dealing with the not-knowing and allowing this phase of the not-knowing to simply be; not forcing the process and allowing things to organically arise. But during this time he experienced so much sustenance from the team — their positive attitude and clarity — especially at times when he felt lost in the process; their clarity, hope and belief made the experience wonderfully co-creative.
Some members in the team — Claudia and Marga, (the two members from outside the Faculty that joined during u.lab 2x), were very experienced at holding space. They invited the team to come to their bodies and selves and to feel into everything that they were living. In this way, they really helped sustain both the form and the spirit of the journey.
Whilst the outer form of the project continued to change, the deeper source and content remained the same, like a golden thread running throughout the ARCA project.
2. Trust in Community
One of the biggest moments of renewal for Pedro actually occurred before the u.lab 2x journey had begun:
“Getting to know the global community; seeing so many visions and dreams that I resonated with that were happening — this was the most important moment — to see that this dream or seed that is inside you — that you can trust that. It’s not common in daily life. Everything seems to be like dirt over the seed. Seeing that there are a lot of seeds; so many seeds springing or coming out — felt like spring. Trusting that there are others all around the world that you can connect with — that was the first and most important thing.”
Pedro Pérez
3. Listening & Realizing Blindspots
For those of you familiar with u.lab tools and methodologies you will already know the foundational practice of the 4 levels of listening as a prerequisite for awareness-based systems change.
Pedro shared that perhaps his greatest learning was indeed being aware of those parts of himself that exhibited a lack of listening.
“Truly being honest and realizing my blind spots, my resistances and my lack of listening; how for some parts of oneself — even if you have the intention — it’s not that easy sometimes to go into a collaborative mode. So, in seeing all these resistances, all of these patterns that we are programmed with, I think that more than something I achieved, it’s some consciousness of your own resistances and blindspots. And the fact that there is a community and space to see this compassionately.
That is one of the most important things. Apart from the fact that as a teacher, all of these methodologies I started applying — how to calm down, come inside and trust what wants to emerge.
It’s a learning journey on many levels.”
Pedro Pérez
Listening to Pedro speak in this interview was a truly nourishing, empowering and wonderful experience. His reflective capacity for self-awareness and radical honesty allowed me to drop into deeper layers of my own understanding, and I felt as if to have parts of myself being echoed back to me.
The capacity to drop in deeply, to “listen more, control less, trust more and enjoy the process,” as Pedro shares, is beautifully embodied by this team who has thoroughly enjoyed “resonating with this mysterious network (u.lab 2x) that connects us.”
Next Steps:
Part 1:
ARCA has two phases of their project in two different places in Chile. In the south, they started working and conserving land, designing the first infrastructure for creating a park and meeting with local people to make a school for children in a rural town next to the park.
“The beauty of it is that it’s not even in my hands anymore. The original idea was, but now I’m not even part of it, I’m secondary and that’s great. Because it’s not your project anymore — it’s the people’s project — all of the people who are going to create the school and people doing the conservation. It’s already open and will receive people in a couple of weeks. There will be a cross-disciplinary research lab together with the university- in March with students taking them to the park and doing the first “experience of nature” there.
Next year we’re going to start a Masters with the university in this park; it will be a laboratory of ecosystemic architecture and design.”
Pedro Pérez
Part 2:
Pedro has moved to Santiago, to put more energy into his architecture Studio and Santuario del Maipo, another conservation project which involves 20,000 hectares next to the capital. They are working with a Foundation from Holland to do an art residency in that place. What they need the most is people who know about conservation and funds for conserving.
35km of the river gives 90% of the water for the capital and creates 48 hectares of ecological corridors with 5 rivers inside. It’s a big project and a huge responsibility. Team ARCA is holding a seed to create an ecosystem and environmental change, because the area is desertifying. In this way, they are exploring new ways of generating living, housing, and regenerative agriculture — a way of living that can regenerate nature, communities and self.
Regenerating Self:
For Pedro, quitting his job at the university was very much influenced by his experiences during u.lab 1x and u.lab 2x.
“To create a space in life and time, not just to take care of external projects and talking about regeneration, but also to focus on healing. Even with these projects that you love so much that are so close to your core and essence and heart and true self, you can still be easily carried away into doing and doing and keep going. The most important thing I’m doing right now is to stop… to give myself a space in my life to stop… and to stop doing and being carried away by things. Taking care of the inner conditions and regenerating myself.
Healing sounds like a great thing, but it’s not that beautiful. I mean it’s deep and facing your blind spots and all these things, that’s the most important thing. This process of inner regeneration is what I feel is more important right now, for all of us.”
Pedro Pérez
Website:
www.arcaexperience.com
Special thank you to Hannah, who was diligently taking notes, alongside listening to this interview, and offering editorial feedback; encouraged and inspired by the process and an intention to find ways to live life in a different, more truthful way.
We will share the video recordings made by Hannah soon.
ARCA would also like to express their deep thankfulness in relation to the Workshop FAAD (Cocreando el Futuro Emergente) to: Otto Scharmer, Arawana Hayashi, John Bashew, Eva Pomeroy, Tony Moya, Ricardo Dutra, Viviana Galdames and all of the PI Community.
