You cannot pick a flower without disturbing a star, said Galileo to explain that we live in a interconnected world. “The sandstorm in the Sahara desert is linked to severe weather in New York, which in turn affects the mental and physical activity, choices and behaviors of millions of people,” he tells us. Daniel Lumera, an internationally renowned teacher in the field of wellness science, quality of life and meditation practice. In practice there is no separation between the inner and outer worlds, between our emotional world and the ever-changing nature.
If we want to survive the climate changes of the immediate future, we must start with ourselves. The internal ecology that the expert talks about in the book written with Immaculata De Vivo, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in the United States, is a new “ecology” (Internal ecologyMondadori Editore, €22): explains how our well-being and health must move from a self-centered vision where man believes he is master of the world and its resources to a ecocentricwhere are we in balance between us and the ecosystem that surrounds us. To do this we need to clear all the environments of our internal ecosystem in terms of our relationships, work, lifestyle, because all these areas have a strong impact on our health and well-being.
An ecological mind helps you live better
We humans manage to a amount of information equal to 72 gigabytes per dayan amount of data capable of destroying a computer in a week.
“Developing an ecological mind means for example clear it of information overload to become more aware of our emotions and what increases or decreases our well-being. It is about the creation of gods ecological filters to keep only what is really necessary and healthy for our body”, explains Daniel Lumera.
“Not only that, cleaning the mind of its toxic elements helps to improve the biological processes of our body: it strengthens the immune, cardiovascular and respiratory systems because there is a close correlation between the internal and external environment,” adds Immaculata De Vivo. “A particularly pervasive pollutant for our minds is the noise of the world. We have to retrain ourselves to reduce the noise to achieve inner peace.”
The silence is reborn
“We live in a society that educates in haste and noise,” continues Daniel Lumera. “We don’t find space for silence and that hurts us, because without words the organism regenerates: in this sense it is authentically ecological. It is fundamental to our physical, mental, emotional and existential health.” In short, an elixir of well-being. “Exactly,” says Immaculata De Vivo.
“This is scientifically proven Silence has a calming effect on the nervous system and the cardiovascular system and is able to improve mental and physical health. Scientists have calculated it just two minutes of silence is enough to slow the heartbeat and lower blood pressure, with an even more effective relaxing effect than listening to relaxing music. The complete absence of auditory stimuli can therefore provide regenerative and rejuvenating benefits. Noise pollution, in contrast, even at seemingly low but constant levels, can damage health in many ways, notably by promoting cardiovascular disease, metabolic problems and sleep disorders.
At the cellular level, stress (even that caused by noise) damages DNA, developing a state of inflammation and accelerating the aging of the body. Silence relaxes these processes and helps to restore the natural mechanisms of cellular regeneration, for example by promoting the melatonin cycle, which guarantees restful sleep according to circadian rhythms. Being alone in a quiet place is essential for stimulating creativity, because it puts the brain in a position to maximize concentration, without disturbing elements or distractions. It improves the ability to learn, as well as critical thinking and introspection. It is said to be a characteristic of genius to work in solitude, and it was the habit of the likes of Einstein and Newton: an excellent reason for us to try to derive the maximum benefits for our creativity from silence.’
Love is also a renewable energy
Relationships can become powerful pollutants in our lives. How can we claim this territory so essential to our prosperity?
“The ecology of love is based on difference between love and infatuation» explains Daniel Lumera. “The chemistry of love and being in love is different. The second is similar to that of drugs: it gives a feeling of euphoria, the classic butterflies in the stomach, lasts from six to forty-eight months and is meant to pass. The chemistry of love, on the other hand, is based on emotion, the need for protection and security, and it sets off completely different hormones. It is the understanding of the deepest, most comprehensive, pure aspect that we can express on a relational level.
That is why we must distinguish whether we are looking for what we lack in the loved one, that security, that love, the recognition that we are not even capable of giving ourselves, or if, instead, by loving the other, we want to enter in a dimension of value and mutual recognition, in a very nourishing relationship, which allows us to we evolve and improve the quality of our lives, our well-being and health. And this also applies to sex: even the love sphere can be toxic or regenerative, depending on how much our inner environment is more balanced and more harmonious,” continues Daniel Lumera.
Conscious eroticism
“Today sex seems to have become a medicine (physical and psychological), a relief valve and an anesthetic for many. When it is channeled only into sensory pleasure in a distorted way and used as a vehicle for possession, perversion and domination, it creates only dysfunctional bonds. Actually Sex is a very powerful primal energy and it is up to us to transform it, for example, into emotion, creativity, inspiration, intuition, regenerative processes, gifting and success.
We always imagine passion and emotion as two opposing forces. Actually this is not the case: if you do not use the power of sexuality to dominate the other or for pure sensual gratification, but instead you can give this life force as a creative force to the other person who welcomes it. and brings it to the region of the heart, this gift allows us to recognize the beauty of others and to combine the deep feeling of respect and recognition with the fire of passion,” concludes Daniel Lumera.
The practice of intermittent silence
You can practice it when you feel overwhelmed by noise, mental or external, before an important decision or during times of high stress. To reap the full benefits, however, you need to be consistent: try to do it for 10 minutes for 21 consecutive days. Sit in a comfortable position with your spine upright and pay attention to your breathing. Set the timer for 7 minutes during which, with your eyes closed, you will make your breathing conscious, slow, deep and relaxed. With each inhalation visualize light and clarity entering your mind, with each exhalation imagine emptying your mind. Once these first 7 minutes of practice are over, for another 3 minutes just stay in a state of silence and presence.
The hummingbird strategy
LARGE’hummingbird effect was born from the myth of the little bird that takes drops of water from the river in its beak to put out the forest fire. The other animals, who had previously mocked the hummingbird’s effort as useless, begin to imitate him until the fire is extinguished.
“That shows us everyone is responsible for our future”, explains Daniel Lumera. “Small everyday gestures are enough to achieve huge changes in our internal ecosystem and the world around us. There is an inextricable link between our health and the health of the Earth. The ecology of the mind goes hand in hand with that of the environment, which we must learn to love and respect because we are integral parts of it.”
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