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Stress is a Natural Response to an Insane World – Break free the Primal Way
Updated: Sep 30, 2022
Disconnected from Nature
· We are wild at heart
· Modern offences require a primal reset
· The natural feeling – connected and positive
Personal Re-wilding Mission
· The Antidote - The Primal Way
· 8 Re-wilding rules to find personal balance
· Time tested methodology – 2.5 million years old
Warning… truth bombs coming your way….
Modern life is crazy and society is broken! There… I’ve said it! The stress, confusion, guilt and anger you feel is a normal response to such insanity. The fast paced, all consuming nature of our reality prevents us from giving ourselves time and from being who we know we are - deep down. It robs us of who we dream of being; it sucks away our motivation and energy. The bombardment of information further paralyses us and the result being; the everyday emptiness you feel, the mental fog you live in, the growing belly you look down at, the lack of fitness you experience and the adventures you miss out on. What kind of example is this setting to your kids and family? Who are surely doomed to follow suit!
Told you… truth bombs!
If your still with me, please allow me to elaborate and explain how I come to such a realisation, what I have done about it and how you can do it too.
In the good old days, I would spend many a day and night in the thick of nature. I would be in the hills, mountains and forests. Off the beaten track and working closely with people who would often be on a crash course of personal development.
For 3-4 years I ran a small business teaching Bushcraft, offering “digital detoxes” and “primal resets”. I would spend multiple days and nights in the woods. Sleeping in the open, maintaining the campfire and teaching my new friends about many amazing primitive skills that would have been our ancestors’ bread and butter.
After completing a course, I would say my farewells and begin the slow and lengthy pack down. I always remember the sun shinning at this point too.
I would meditate around the fire before putting it out. Then before stepping into my loaded van I thanked the “spirits” of the woodlands – showing my deep gratitude. I would be feeling immensely positive, incredibly joyful and as if there wasn’t a worry in the world. In fact, this was the state that I would spend the week in. However, this natural vitality would soon take a sharp and sudden nose dive!
The instant I closed the door on my van I would feel a subtle but notable shutting out. I would feel that my natural antenna emanating from my head has just been cut. The metal frame gives me an uneasy feeling, so I open the window and release “tension”. But as soon as I turn the key, I can no longer hear the singing of the birds, the trees swaying in the light wind and the distant noises that delicately infiltrate my awareness.
Instead, I hear the piercing chugging of a diesel engine just that few decibels above comfort and I recognise the need to consciously engage my brain. Clutch down, gear one! Less than one second later, the subconscious takes over, muscle memory kicks in and the van begins to pull away.
At first, I roll slowly over a dirt track, bumping unnaturally side to side in the VAJ mobile (yeah, that’s the name of my van!). Rolling over terrain that my feet, ankles and legs had come to expect from this unmanicured environment. Gradually, I navigated my way to a private paved road running through the ancient woodland.
I gaze around still saying my farewells, still connected to the mature oaks that stand head and shoulders over all the other trees. Knowing that as I slowly roll, I am becoming more and more distance. I feel a light pang, a bit like butterflies in my tummy when I roll over the cattle grid and the woodland ends. Fields fill my gaze and my view is destroyed by the eyesore that is a pylon!
The van is speeding up and the magical week that I have just experienced is now behind me. I turn out of the private estate and onto a public road – cars are whizzing by at 50 mph and my mind has needed to switch gears very quickly! The subtle natural colours that my eyes have become accustomed to are now replaced by seemingly offensive colours, shades that are rarely found in a natural setting.
For the next mile, I find myself catching glimpses of road side nature – a berry, a mushroom, a flower, a bird – as my being fights to hang on to its rediscovered observational powers. By Alas, it gives up, there is too much stimulus, too much happening at these “breakneck” speeds!
The toned-down monkey mind, begins to creep back in. The ego sees its chance as I start to big myself up, but not for long, as self-doubt comes wading in. You could have said this, you should have done that. Blaa Blaa Blaa.
I switch the radio on to shut it up, and this officially ends any woodland peace I was feeling. I hear the presenter talking in an excited voice about absolutely nothing! The songs I hear offend my ears and I feel a subtle anxiety come over me.
Cars whizz by, someone cuts another person up, beeps their horn and is outraged! Breathe…it’s OK! I remember my fantastic week and that carries me through for a bit longer.
Although I’m half way home, my mind is already there… What do I need to do when I get home? Unpack, do some admin, send some emails, make a few phone calls. I want to catch up with the wife and daughter to; I’m tired I need to rest, I need to wash too, as I stink – proper stink!
Suddenly my attention is drawn back to the radio. The news report comes in… and yes you guessed it, it’s not good… Sensationalised, fear induced updates finally return the weight of the world to my shoulders! AGGGHHHHHHH!
This and many other similar experiences led me to ask a few key questions. Notably, what specifically about my time in the woods made me feel so amazing and positive? Not just me, but everyone else that visited. More importantly, Can I emulate this in the modern world? If so, how?
These questions have motivated me over recent years, after I became dramatically disconnected from this way of life. To cut a long story short, I – “The Outdoor Bloke” became the “Indoor Bloke” and started leading a conventional life. The opening statement (consisting of the truth bomb assault) is really my experience.
In the years that followed my indoor conventional existence, I engaged in a personal “rewilding” mission and embarked in a journey to become a Primal Health Coach. These combined with my extensive background as “The Outdoor Bloke” have influenced me to design the 8 re-wilding rules that serve as the basis of all that I now do. They are;
Get Outdoors – Feel the elements, feel the cold, absorb nature and soak up the sun, listen, take your shoes off and sit round a fire. Aliven your senses. Be quiet – Listen.
Eat nutritious natural food – Eat like our primal ancestors – high fat, low carbs – meat, veg, nuts and fruit. Whole foods.
Cut the crap - Avoid modern poisons – Grains, high sugars, mass processed foods and industrial oils.
Get physical - Move lots in all ways (walk, run, squat, hang, climb etc.) lift heavy things and up your intensity (ie. Flat out sprints)
Slow down – Do one thing at a time, Control digital stimulation, abide by natural laws – the seasons/ night and day. Sleep lots and don’t forget to breath (consciously)!
Laugh/play – Life is a game, so don’t take it too seriously. Be social, laugh and be in the moment. Create something new. Use your hands.
Sensibly push new limits – life is an adventure, go and live it. Know your limits, but challenge yourself, leave your comfort zone and enter your stretch zone. Set goals. Strive to be the best version of yourself.
Be Curious – Never stop learning, listen to wisdom, work on you. Be open minded and stay open to the mystery of life. Cultivate inner knowing.
We are wild at heart but our connection with the wild (and our wild being) is far removed. However, our genes still expect nature-based inputs and certain wild conditions, which we have evolved under for more than 2.5million years.
Many of these conditions have been removed in our modern lives and perhaps go a large way to explaining why our society is so broken and why we feel the way we do.
My 8 rewilding rules are aids to help us reconnect with a more natural way of living. The world in our immediate future will not stop being crazy, however, we can learn to navigate our way through this by focusing on ourselves - using a time-tested methodology – The Primal Way!
Our genes still expect nature-based inputs and certain wild conditions