Health Beyond Civilization

So now what? How do we start the process of adjusting to a wider world of climatic forces? In this post I outline a way to orient yourself toward that, which I’m currently using myself. It’s an experiment in progress.

Opening that door and stepping out into the elements is, in many ways, like a car shifting into a higher gear. Things move faster, and more energy is being moved through the system — both the environment, and your own physiology. So it takes a different level of dynamic equilibrium to maintain your balance in the midst of these increased forces.

To achieve equilibrium under these circumstances, two things are required: Available energy, and the integrity of the organism.

Available energy means that we have to have enough energy to shift into that higher gear in the first place. We need to have the vitality to move around, the fluids to sweat, the cardiac force to circulate blood to cold extremities, etc. Most of us could use more of this energy.

The integrity of the organism means how well you can maintain your balance once you’re outside. In other words, you might be able to shift into high gear — heck, you can attach a jet engine to a shopping cart and make it go 300 mph. But do you think it’ll hold up?

Both of these are related to the quantity and the distribution of energy throughout the mind-body complex. Think of yourself as a network of waterways. You can either have too little water (or energy), so that all your rivers run low and your fish start to die; or your water can be improperly allocated, so that one area floods while another dries up.

The goal, then, is to free, circulate, and build energy where necessary, all in order to support your body and mind in reaching and maintaining a comfortable balance in challenging weather conditions.

The four areas I outlined in the previous post are all sources of this energy. They’re all places where energy might be “leaked,” or maldistributed. Thus, examining each of these areas can lead to plugging up leaks or freeing up sources of energy.

Mentally, a lot of energy is locked up in our habits and beliefs about what constitutes a comfortable environment. What this means is that the instant we become uncomfortable, we start complaining to ourselves: “I’m cold, I’m wet, I’m miserable.” Note the emphases here — for many of us, being cold and wet is more than just a detached observation, it’s an emotional aversion to these sensations, a negative interpretation of those sensations. These thought patterns and emotional reactions are literally life-draining.

Of course, they serve a purpose: They’re our mind’s reflection of what’s going on in the body. Being cold and wet is physically life-draining, after all, in the sense that it takes energy from the body and, if left unaddressed, could lead to a life-threatening condition called hypothermia. However, there are many possible responses to these sensations. The point is that often we’re locked into only a few possible reactions; so then our brain automatically runs those programs whenever it receives the “cold and wet” stimulus, and we quickly run inside.

So there are two parallel processes: the physical sensation, and the mental/emotional response. Both take energy. But out in the weather, the mind can be controlled more easily than what sensations you get to feel, and the mind’s energy can be harnessed for use in a productive rather than mindlessly draining fashion.

Physically, it takes energy to open and close pores, move muscles and tendons, circulate blood, think and reason and plan, breathe, speak, and everything else. Many of us are so used to being indoors that even a light wind can affect our energy. Don’t laugh — in Chinese medicine, wind is an important vector in the invasion of pathogens. I myself have gotten a cold after nothing more than a few hours of sitting out in a light breeze.

Thus, it’s vital to fill up the gas tank. But how? The old tried-and-true method of progressive challenge and recuperation is an important training method not to be overlooked. It should be coupled with proper diet, herbs, and qigong or energy exercises. The goal, in this case, is not to build muscle or aerobic capacity, but to strengthen your internal organs and overall metabolism, to develop internal energy that can be used for multiple purposes. Muscle or aerobic capacity might be a beneficial byproduct or an important manifestation, of course, but not the central focus.

More immediately, let the guideline for what you do be personal feeling. After any exercise or any time spent outdoors or building energy, however you do it, (1) Did you enjoy it? (2) Do you have more energy than before you went?

Environmentally, there’s a lot you can do to modify or adjust your immediate environment. As I wrote in the last post, these are among the most taught of the methods. Wear clothing in layers. Stay in the shade when hot, in the sun when cold. Learn how to build good shelters and good fires. All that good stuff.

Spiritually … Well, I kind of said it all in the last post. If you’ve achieved those abilities, you’re well beyond the need for my advice!

I hope I’ve provided a useful outline to start approaching the challenge of dealing with the weather and climate in constructive ways. At the very least, writing this has helped me understand better how to approach this seemingly innocuous obstacle to going outside.

If anyone has any further suggestions or recommendations, please feel free to comment.