Nervous System Mastery: learning from the tenets of telecoupling
Telecoupling explores the interconnectedness of distant human action and natural systems. Telecoupling takes the Greek adjective tele meaning far off or at a distance with coupling denoting an interaction between two or more systems. Coupling in a scientific sense can often indicate intricate feedback loops akin to the overall nervous system being comprised of multiple complex sub systems, with an insane amount of feedback loops.
Palm oil is a really straight forward telecoupling example, amongst many. The sending system such as Indonesia or Malaysia produce large amounts. The receiving system - Europe, China or US import palm oil for snacks, cosmetics or biofuels. This allows for flows to be established: palm oil exports, money from international trade, technology and corporate investment. Effects of sending regions: economic growth and jobs, deforestation, loss of wildlife. Effects in the receiving regions: cheaper products. Thereby action and consumerism in one part of the world directly affect ecosystems, land and economies in ‘distant’ regions.
The nervous system, our psychology and the different parts that make up our sense of self engage in a kind of telecoupling approach, albeit the tele element is just metaphorically distant! This is my playful example:
The sending system produce unsustainable needs/wants ( I need to avoid rejection at all costs, I need a vodka, I want to be ‘seen’, I want sugary foods, I want to buy more things, I want to keep scrolling. All viable options to to make us feel better in the moment. The receiving system accepts whatever is available to meet the needs/wants. This in turn allows for a flow to be formed, such as the production of unsustainable needs/wants are exported, surface level exploration and neuroplasticity ‘investments’ allow for quick immediate responses. Effects of sending region: short term satisfaction and pain avoidance. Effects on the receiving regions: needs and wants are met in the short term, loss of self worth and self belief, poorer mental, emotional and physical health in the long term. Thereby we can avoid and deny getting up close and personal with the contributory factors associated to the unsustainable needs/wants.
We seem to struggle with longtermism, which of course makes sense: preoccupying ourselves with the long term takes up energy consumption. Our biology is always trying to monitor or minimise our own energy consumption in the moment, preventing long term sustainable ‘change’, when paradoxically it would ultimately help us in the long and short term! This also makes sense as to how avoidance and denial are such powerful players in human existence.
Humans are like no other living species, our evolution has not seen much physical change but rather the evolution has focused on the mind. Our intelligence and creativity is unparalleled in many ways.
But we appear to have a limited supply of wisdom.
Humanity has forgotten to place nature at the front and centre of all human endeavour. Here are some examples in numbers:
171 trillion plastic pieces floating in the seas alone, alongside millions of tons on the seabed and beaches, harming wildlife and ecosystems globally
100 billion garments of clothes are produced annually
Global AI water use by 2027 is predicted to be the equivalent of half of the UK’s total annual water consumption
The modern day conflict: the human mind has outgrown the planet but yet without the planet there is no human mind. Maybe in 2026 we need to start listening to our bodies to find how our true purpose and our minds can work in harmony with nature.