Independent Study

What’s something that fascinates you right now? What are you thinking about when you stare out the window? Where’s your curiosity hanging out?

Set yourself up with a custom syllabus this winter. Immerse yourself in your own fascination, and luxuriate in it.

Here’s how:

Order 4-6 books that circle around your current curiosity and interests (the weirder, the better). Ideally, these titles will arrive around the same time for you.
Once you have your books in hand, set them in a nice big basket with a handle. You’ll want to carry them around with you from room to room.
Add to this basket: your journal, several pens and pencils, a highlighter, a pad of sticky notes, and whatever notes/dictation app you like to use.
Prepare a thermos of coffee or tea for yourself, and some healthy snacks. I like something with a crunch when I read, like an apple, almonds, or some carrot sticks.
Now, make yourself a nest: this could be on the couch, the floor, your favourite chair, or just in bed.
Read the books however you like, in whatever order you like. Give yourself permission to open them at random, especially at first, to see what catches your eye.
If needed, remind yourself that don’t have to know what you’re looking for at this stage. You don’t have to know what you’re doing. Trust the process.
Follow your hunches, and read whatever you feel like reading, in whatever order you like. Inevitably, you’ll start to see patterns and make connections.
Take notes on your insights. Write freely, with a loose hand, and let the results of your independent study reveal themselves to you.

My current nest is lined with the following books about nature, spirit, science, and intuition:

Rooted: Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature, and Spirit by Lyanda Lynn Haupt
Everyday Intuition: What Psychology, Science, and Psychics Can Teach Us About Finding and Trusting Our Inner Voice by Elizabeth Greenwood
The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth by Zoë Schlanger
What Is Real?: The Unfinished Quest for the Meaning of Quantum Physics by Adam Becker
The Prism: Seven Steps to Heal Your Past and Transform Your Future by Laura Day
The Source: The Secrets of the Universe, the Science of the Brain by Dr. Tara Swart

Have you read any of these titles? It’s an exciting curriculum: biologists, psychologists, physicists, poets, and spiritual teachers are all having conversations with each other across their respective fields. In some cases, they’re even quoting each other.

As I read these words and stories, I can picture their collective thoughts forming an elaborate French braid in the air over my head.

This is my happy place! Put me in a reading nest with a good cup of black coffee and a soft blanket, and I genuinely feel free and limitless.

Have fun.

xo,