Not so very long ago, humans � like the rest of the animals and plants on earth -- moved through our natural cycles at nature�s pace. Time was marked by the passing of the seasons, the life cycles of human, animal and plant life, and the yet grander cycles of the moon and the other celestial bodies.

Homo sapiens, a late-appearing species in the long history of our unimaginably ancient planet and universe, evolved during the recent (as the universe views these things!) Pleistocene era, adapted for a life intimately connected with and expressive of our natural surroundings on the African savannah and beyond.

And this is how we lived for millennia.

In the last 150 years, however, the human relationship with time has radically changed. Some say the problems started earlier, with the development of agriculture or writing, but it was really the Industrial Revolution � the rise of the Machine � that put humans in thrall to mechanical processes and machine time. And the recent exponential speeding up into Cybertime has accelerated the process still further. Industrial time was bad enough (Charlie Chaplin did a wonderful job of visualizing that �cog in the wheel� feeling in his film �Modern Times�), but Cybertime can be dizzyingly discombobulating for a Pleistocene primate. And that�s how many modern people feel � completely frazzled and out of synch with our deepest selves.

The results of this disconnection from nature and nature�s pace show up in our therapy offices every day. Living under unnatural time pressures causes a myriad of psychological, social and physical ailments. Delinked from the natural rhythms of our bodies and the rest of the planet, we struggle with diminishing success to adapt to the strange mechanical and disembodied world we have created.

Time poverty is now a recognized psychological and social stressor. In a speeded-up, highly complex society, there just isn�t enough time for everything: our demanding jobs, our interlocking bureaucratic responsibilities (taxes, insurance, legal issues), our spouses, our children and our community (including the rest of nature). Constantly rushing to keep up as we inevitably fall further behind, we find ourselves destroying not only our own health, but our habitat and the habitat of the people, plants and animals with whom we share the planet.

What can we therapists do to help both ourselves and our clients slow down to a more natural pace of living? Here are a few simple things that can make a difference:

� Reconnect with place. We can learn to resist the constant rushing around and settle into and tend a beloved location, taking time to learn its secrets and hear its whisperings.

� Reconnect with the natural seasons. One way to do this is to honor the yearly planetary cycles that lie beneath the �holidays.� For example, an archeological dig into the Christmas season reveals a number of layers. The most superficial is the commercial �holiday,� designed for an industrial, corporate and Internet age when people must be consumers of products to keep the economy afloat. Under that layer is the traditional religious �holy day� of Christmas, with its story of the rebirth of the light. And still further down is the Winter Solstice, the shortest and darkest day of the year in the Northern hemisphere, when we long for the return of the sun. At the root of most holidays is a turning point on the slow, yearly cycle of the planet. Once we reach that layer, we can slow down as well and honor with ritual and ceremony the true spirit of whatever season we find ourselves in.

� Reconnect with companion and wild animals. Animals slow us down to our natural animal rhythms, which is why animal-assisted therapy works so well at lowering blood pressure and healing psychological ills of many kinds. The simple act of petting a cat or watching the birds flit through the trees can be profoundly healing.

� Reconnect with plants. A simple pot on a windowsill slows us down to the pace of a seed, a seedling, a leaf and a flower. A tree on the street, if contemplated and touched, offers its blessings during a busy day.

� Reconnect with the moon and stars. How many of us know what cycle the moon is in right now? Putting a calendar on the wall that keeps us in touch with moon cycles can encourage us to go outdoors at night and marvel at the peaceful light shining down on us.

� Reconnect with the cycles of human life. Instead of demanding that we remain in perpetual-teenager mode (the preferred state in our society, it seems), allowing ourselves to become true initiated adults, and eventually elders, honors the natural pace of human life rather than fighting it. Nature teaches us that after seeds emerge, plants flourish, bloom, fruit and then wither and slip away � valuable wisdom for our own lives when we encounter the inevitable transitions in our own and others� lives.

� Respect the Sabbath. Setting aside special uninterrupted times for rest and contemplation is critical to our health and psychological wellbeing. The 24/7 world is possible only for machines and computers, not human animals.

� Reconnect with our wild bodies. Untamed nature is to be found not only in far-away wilderness but in the wilds of our bloodstream, our digestive processes, our breath. Any practice that brings our attention back to our bodies is wilderness ecotherapy. And once we reach peace with our bodies, our souls naturally open up to the larger Spirit in which we are embedded.

� Spend more time outdoors in wild nature. Most of us are indoors most of the time. Our bodies and souls cry out for long walks on a beach, contemplation in a forest or a few minutes in a nearby vacant lot near a stream. These times slow life down to a healing, natural pace.

� Cultivate the long view. Contemplating the �Universe Story,� as Brian Swimme and Thomas Berry call the awe-inspiring and majestic tale of the evolution of the cosmos, puts our lives into a grander perspective.

RESOURCES

Muller, Wayne (1999) Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in Our Busy Lives. Bantam.

de Graff, John (ed.) (2002). Take Back Your Time: Fighting Overwork and Time Poverty in America. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.

Chalquist, Craig (2007). Terrapsychology: Reconnecting with the Soul of Place. Spring Journal Books.

Swimme, Brian and Thomas Berry (1992). The Universe Story: From the Primordial Flaring Forth to the Ecozoic Era � a Celebration of the Unfolding of the Cosmos. HarperCollins, 1992.

Linda Buzzell, MA, MFT has been a marriage and family therapist since 1975. She currently practices in Santa Barbara, where she specializes in helping clients with career issues, financial challenges and the transition to a simpler, more sustainable and nature-connected lifestyle. She is the founder of the International Association for Ecotherapy, the editor of �Ecotherapy News� (http://thoughtoffering.blogs.com/ecotherapy) and the co-editor of �Ecotherapy: Healing with Nature in Mind� (Sierra Club Books, Spring 2009). She has also worked extensively in the entertainment industry and for two years did research for the late Capt. Jacques Cousteau on four documentaries about Antarctica. She is the author of �How to Make It in Hollywood� (HarperCollins), a career guide to the entertainment industry, and the founder of the International Documentary Association, a professional association of documentary filmmakers.