💾 Archived View for library.inu.red › file › sky-practical-rewilding.gmi captured on 2023-01-29 at 14:08:39. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Title: Practical Rewilding
Author: Sky
Language: en
Topics: anti-civ, primitivism, rewilding
Source: Retrieved on February 16, 2011 from http://flag.blackened.net/radicalanthropology/writings/rewild-practicalrewilding.htm

Sky

Practical Rewilding

There is no need to wait around to begin breaking your domestication.

Do-it-yourself now! There are many things you can be doing in your daily

life regardless of your living situation. If you are planning to make

the big move into the wilderness and learn the skills to live

primitively, start preparing today! Even if you have no plans of leaving

the city, you can be rewilding wherever you are.

One way you can reclaim your wildness is through diet. The “civilized”

diet is based on starch/carbs, white sugar, processed foods, excess

salt, low quality fat, processing, and on and on. Even if you’re on a

budget of zero, eating out of the trash, you can make choices to

heighten your senses, raise awareness, have more energy, boost your

immune system, stabilize your mood and blood sugar, keep Mosquito at

bay, and stay warmer during the colder months of the year. By reducing

your salt, pepper, vinegar, and spice use, you can reclaim your sense of

taste. You begin to taste the vegetables and meats actual flavors. This

also increases your sense of smell, which heightens your awareness.

Staying away from bread, especially processed starch, coupled with

eliminating sugar and sweets in general (except fruit & berries) can be

very helpful. This is a big one, I know. If your anything like me, you

were raised on low quality bread, margarine, a largely starch based

diet, soda pop, ice cream, etc. Try fasting with just water for 24 hours

every week or two. Fasting can raise awareness & increase metabolic

efficiency. Also, watch how much you eat. Try not to over eat. A

well-fed animal is a lazy animal. These things are the biggest struggle

for me personally in the rewilding process. But I’ll continue to try

because I can feel a difference. The more I pare these things down the

more sensitive I become and the more I can feel in general. I could go

on and on about diet but it’s already been done. If you want to learn

more check out Weston Price’s book “Nutrition and Physical

Degeneration”. It’s not the most exciting read but it’s well worth

reading the studies in the beginning. Reading half of it was enough for

me. The beginning of the book documents studies done by a dentist in the

1930’s comparing trends in health and diet in isolated Hunter & Gatherer

tribes, isolated Pastoralists, and small-scale Farmers around the world.

Another excellent book about “Native diet” and nutrition is Sally

Fallon’s “Nourishing Traditions”. She’s really into the whole organic

pasture-fed dairy thing which isn’t very wild, however, quality wild fat

and organs aren’t readily available in the store so I still believe it’s

worthwhile information. Check out the section on “Diet” in the Rewilding

Resources in the back of this zine.

Prepare your food over an open fire. If this is too much, cook outside

and work your way to a fire. If you’re in the city I know there can be

loopholes to fire regulations. Sometimes open fires are legal for

cooking, but not for recreation. If not use a grill or a camp stove. If

cooking outside isn’t an option, eat outside after you cook. If you

already cook on a fire, start practicing some form of friction fire.

Stick with it and practice.

After eating comes digestion and what’s next, you guessed it, pooping!

This happens to be one of my favorite subjects. You can begin the

rewilding process right now by altering your approach to your bowel

movement. Start “going” outside. This goes for urination as well. I hear

that squatting is a much healthier position for this than sitting

upright as far as aligning your colon. But also very important to

consider is: it gets you outside. Find a wooded lot nearby or some

bushes to tuck yourself into if you’re in the city. Maybe you’ll have to

get on your bike. It’s worth it. Wipe with snow/moss/leaves/ferns/a

smooth stick, etc. just make sure you don’t use poison ivy! Ouch! And

bury it good (it breaks down faster in the topsoil), so no one has the

unpleasant misfortune of stepping in it. And if you’re already living

near or in the woods this is a perfect way to get you out in the bush

every day. Pick one general area and watch it change over the seasons.

Learn the plants, animals, insects, rocks, etc. that live there. Try

sitting there & being quiet, don’t just poop & run. You might be

surprised at what you see. If this sounds way too adventurous for you

but you still want to improve your pooping, try squatting on the toilet.

It’s easy, I do it all the time. Lift up the seat, stand on the toilet,

squat and the rest comes naturally. Start there and work your way

outside.

Listen...this is easier than it sounds. Sit or stand or better yet squat

quietly and just listen to what is around you. Pay more attention.

Listen during conversation. Try to be more conscious of everything. Try

to think before speaking. Listen to the Birds singing around you, the

Squirrels chattering, the Frogs singing, the Flies buzzing. Spend time

everyday listening. Turn off the radio. Protect your ears when around

loud music. So much is happening around you that you’ll never notice.

This is helpful no matter how you’re living. Pay attention to your

intuition. Try to feel it. This part of the rewilding process is

especially difficult for me. It’s not easy to listen. But when I do, I

learn more.

Listen to your dreams. You have your own personal guide every night in

your sleep. Try to become more aware of the emotional atmosphere in your

dreams and connect that with what’s happening in your daily life. Learn

to express your feelings and emotions in the moment. Civilization

teaches us that emotional expression and honesty is weak. Often it seems

to be the “wrong time” to express yourself. We’re supposed to bottle

these feelings up. Emotional frustration often ends up coming out

through gossip. Stop gossiping. Strive to be more honest in the moment.

Honesty and expression are essential to having healthy relationships and

communities.

Park your car. Let’s face it- cars suck! They’re a great tool to

perpetuate your domestication. Ride your bike as much as possible in

place of your car. Walk or jog in place of riding your bike. Take your

time. Rewilding requires slowing down your pace. So this is a great

opportunity to cultivate patience. This will get you outside, strengthen

your muscles, give you more energy, and raise awareness as to what’s

happening around you. It’s easier to listen when you’re not moving 30

miles per hour with the stereo blasting. I do realize that some people

are not going to quit driving. Try turning off the radio/tape/CD. Roll

down the windows even if it’s cold or hot outside. Let yourself feel the

temperature and breathe the fresh air.

Balance is useful for navigating rocks across creeks, staying on

snow-packed trails, and bringing yourself into the moment. Practice by

standing on one foot, walking on logs, walking on railroad tracks,

curbsides, whatever you can find. Wear shoes with thinner soles so you

can feel the earth underneath you. Large tread shoes cause trails to

erode more quickly. Set up balancing areas to practice. Check out

Tamarack Song’s “Journey To The Ancestral Self”, particularly the

section on awareness and attunement exercises for many great suggestions

for rewilding.

Spend time with Children. These little folks know how to be in the

moment. Spend time with them doing what they want to do. Follow their

example. This shouldn’t be too difficult. Seems like there’s plenty of

parents out there looking for a break, or someone to take care of their

kids so they can go to work, or go out with their friends.

Do you know what phase the moon is in? Keep track of how the Moon

affects your mood with a journal. You can also track how the Moon

affects your body by recording your basal temperature (both men & women

experience temperature changes that fluctuate with waxing & waning Moon

phases). Do you know what direction is east? South? Where does the Sun

rise & set? How does this change during the course of the year? Where is

the North Star? What trees grow on your street? Can you identify them

with no leaves? What animals live near you & what do their tracks & sign

look like? What do they eat? What do their homes look like & where are

they most likely to be? What birds live near you? What do they sound

like when they are agitated? Mating? What are the most common fish near

you & what kinds of water bodies do they prefer? What plants grow in

your yard? Which are native & which are invasive alien species? Which

are edible & which are poisonous? How did indigenous peoples of that

area use them? Learn this stuff. Keep track of the direction the wind

blows at different times of day (this is most accurately observed by

looking straight up at the clouds). Keep a journal of wind direction &

learn about prevailing winds at different times of year in your region &

what they mean. Pay attention. Read less, listen more. Try to make

emotional exchanges in person, rather than by phone or mail, if at all

possible. Try to eliminate or minimize alarm clock use and any clock use

for that matter. Know what time & day it is only as a necessity. Try

keeping time by Moon phases, rather than by a calendar. If you sleep

inside, sleep with the window open. Feel the night air. Walk familiar

routes blindfolded to utilize different senses. Learn about the

aboriginal peoples that lived in your area & how they lived. Study the

language of any indigenous peoples because language shapes your

perception of the world. Look into your own ancestral roots. There are

endless ways to reconnect with the rhythms & cycles of the natural world

that are constantly going on all around & within you.

If you’re resisting some of these things strongly or if you feel

challenged, good. Push yourself. If you start to start to feel really

comfortable mix things up a bit and always challenge yourself. Just in

case you haven’t noticed this re-occurring theme already-be outside as

much as possible.

For more information about rewilding, questions, comments, or feedback

(even negative feedback is welcome) please contact us at

feralhuman@ziplip.com.