Join me as I share everything I've learned to let Nature help me slow down to focus on what matters
"The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the Universe, match your nature to Nature" - Joseph Campbell
If you feel tethered to your phone…
If you compulsively check email when you’re supposed to be working. Or relaxing…
If you’re scrolling Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube in bed instead of reading that stack of books on your nightstand…
You’re not alone.
Tech is invisibly interwoven into our lives
Easily communicating with people all over the world with the tap of a key is truly evolutionary.
The ease with which we can follow any interest or answer any question online is remarkable. Working remotely is a dream come true for many. But all this screen time comes at an increasingly high personal cost.
We’re expected to be online and available all the time.
And we resent it. We feel trapped.
Always-on has a heavy price
The social and work pressure to stay connected is relentless. And research on the long-term damage to our personal relationships, physical health, mental fatigue and emotional anxiety caused by digital overload is piling up.
Worse, the tech environment we live in has stacked the odds against us.
Because in today’s digital economy, the value of capturing and keeping your attention is priceless. That’s why apps and tech platforms are spending billions on behavioral engineering to keep us scrolling, clicking, and glued to our screens.
That anxiety you feel isn’t a design flaw. It’s a feature.
What’s the deal with this Nature stuff?
Evidence.
Medical and academic research is finally catching up with what the ancient mystics, philosophers, Buddhists and Romantics have long known: Nature is us.
Nature is our original, primal operating system.
We’ve evolved with nature and in nature, for millions of years.
Our natural rhythms are aligned with the sun, the moon and the seasons.
It’s in our DNA.
And it’s the answer.
Digital behavioral engineers have only been at it for about 30 years
But they are really good at what they do: grabbing and controlling our attention by exploiting our primal pleasure-seeking drive for curiosity and reward. They’ve corrupted our original programming, if you will. And they will.
By design, the human species is incredibly adaptable. That strength is also our weakness – and makes us vulnerable to behavioral hacking.
Unless you know how to reboot your original, primal programming.
We’ve started a quiet but powerful rebellion
That’s what Essential Nature and the Unplugged Club is all about. My mission is to inspire millions of people to rebel by retaking control of their natural programming — “to match your heartbeat to the beat of the Universe, to match your nature with Nature.”
Finding your way through the digital swamp can feel daunting. But it’s a lot easier with support from a guide who understands the real-world challenges of making a real change and uses the planet’s largest ally – Nature – as a powerful partner.
I know first-hand the stress of screen dependence
I’ve always worked on a screen, starting with the early, clunky Apples and word processors that morphed into sleeker, faster systems and devices. And I’ve been working remotely for more than 15 years.
In 2010, I escaped from Detroit to a small town in the western North Carolina mountains after decades of getaway vacations into Nature. Seven years ago I found my own sanctuary on a mountain ridge among the bears – a perfect breathing space for a socially introverted writer, teacher and coach.
Like many of us, I was a big Facebook fan – enough so I raised nearly $1000 in a “birthday fundraiser” for wildlife rescue in Australia during the devastating 2019 wildfires.
Quitting Facebook launched the rebellion
But during the runup to the 2020 U.S. election, I found the political climate on the platform so disturbing that I quit cold turkey. That triggered a re-evaluation and resetting of my personal priorities and digital boundaries.
I still wrestle with the power of screens.
But I’ve also learned that Nature — with a capital N — gives us all the support and resources we need to reset our systems — if we give Nature time and space. The secret? Your state of mind.
Finding your way through the digital swamp can feel daunting. But it’s a lot easier with support from a guide who understands the real-world challenges of making a real change and uses the planet’s most powerful ally — Nature — as a partner.
This isn’t about abstinence
Relax. This isn’t digital detox. I’m not going to tell you to flush your phone down the toilet or give up every social media connection. Or quit Substack.
I will help you use screens and what I call Supportive Tech more intentionally and effectively by aligning your screen time with your personal goals and values, with what you deeply want in your life.
I will show you how to swap debilitating screen habits for energizing nature habits that sharpen focus and concentration, relieve stress and anxiety and bring awe, wonder, happiness and joy back into your life.
Big promise?
Nature is always ready.
Are you?
If you're ready, I've curated my work into three collections to help you find the topics you're interested in.
The Unplug Collection: Ideas to rethink tech use
Many of the tech wizards of the world would have us accept their creations without question, allowing them to take over our phones and screens to work their magic. And while some of it is magic, much of it is not. My intent with these articles is to offer you different perspectives to help you rethink the role tech, devices and screens play in your life.
The Reconnect Collection: Ideas to reawaken your Nature connection
The outdoor recreation industry would like us to believe we need their gear and getaways to develop a real connection with Nature. Hogwash, to put it politely. We’re wired for Nature — we’re part of Nature and it’s part of us. We can’t not be in Nature.
The Reset Collection: Ideas to reconsider your path
Our modern, tech-dominant society has developed uncountable ways to override the natural systems the human species has developed over millennia to run the complex human body. We’ve forgotten we have our own naturally evolved operating system. I call it our NaturalOS. It’s coded into our DNA.
Know that I appreciate that you’re here and you’ve read this far.
Now, go have a wander outside!
"The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the Universe, match your nature with Nature." - Joseph Campbell
It is up to us as individuals to set examples that others can follow. Keep leading the way Marsha.
It’s refreshing to hear your wisdom without the typical scolding mentality. I feel inspired. Looking forward to reading more 😊