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I really hope you’ve been enjoying our explorations of our inner and outer worlds. As you’ll remember, last week we explored the idea of our roots being the values that sustain us beneath the surface. And that the more we know ourselves, the more we can find ways to belong both inwardly and outwardly, within teams, communities and the wider world.

This week, the thread takes us somewhere different, into the territory of what happens when we lose our way. On many metrics, the world feels heavy right now. Headlines remind us daily of division, urgency and uncertainty. It’s no wonder so many of us feel overwhelmed, worried and searching for answers.

And yet, I believe deeply that humans are innately loving, compassionate and curious. These qualities are our natural state. But when we forget them, when systems reward urgency over presence and status over care, we experience conflict. We sense the dissonance between the optimism we hold for life and the reality we see reflected back in the media and our ‘leaders’.

It can leave us endlessly doom-scrolling in an attempt to find a solution to the insanity we can see unfolding in front of us. But the more we search, the more we get trapped in a loop of dissatisfaction. The answer won’t be found on a phone screen, the answer is already inside us, we just need to look differently.

This feels especially relevant as I prepare for an event with Cate Murden and Bournemouth University Psychology Professor John McAlaney. Together, we’ll explore our relationship with phones and social media through a compassionate lens.

Too often, conversations about addiction focus on symptoms and judgment. But the deeper question for me is based on the profound wisdom of Dr Gabor Maté who reminds us - “We don’t ask why the addiction, we ask why the pain.”

In his book ‘In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts’, Gabor draws on a Buddhist metaphor - beings with insatiable appetites, forever grasping but never satisfied. He uses this idea to describe how pain and disconnection drive us into compulsions. Addiction, he argues, is not about weakness or moral failure, but about unmet needs and unresolved wounds.

So maybe it’s a coincidence but I was in the loft at the weekend finding our Christmas decorations. And I found a box of old mobile phones which I’d forgotten about before I had a chance to send them off for recycling.

I now see more than obsolete devices. I see relics of searching - thousands of hours spent reaching for connection, relief and belonging. The phones were not failures, they were symbols of our hunger. Hunger for presence and coherence between our inner world and the canopy we show to others.

But remember, the hungry ghost is not a monster to be feared, it is a messenger to be understood. It points us to the places where the roots are dry, where the soil of our lives needs tending. Addiction whether to substances, screens or even work is a symptom of disconnection. From ourselves, from others, from nature.

So if you’re curious about your relationship with social media and mobile phones, come and join us for a unique evening of learning, sharing and discovery. I’m really excited to be sharing a stage with two other wonderful people which includes a Professor of Psychology. On 16th December at Patch, we’ll explore:

• Why our nervous systems cling to digital comfort

• How consumer design feeds on our exhaustion

• What our compulsions are really trying to tell us

• What a world centred on humanity, not optimisation, could look like

We’ll see that connection isn’t found in the endless scroll. It’s found in coherence and when our values are lived rather than stretched thin.

Nature continues to remind us - the trees don’t hunger for recognition, the rivers don’t optimise their flow, the roots don’t seek applause. They simply sustain faithfully until the canopy reflects their strength.

Technology may pull us further from ourselves, but nature reminds us of the way home. And perhaps the hungry ghosts, restless as they are, are simply pointing us back to the soil - to the roots that nourish, to the belonging that steadies and to the connection that truly satisfies.

Events & gatherings

There’s not long until the end of 2025 but we still have time for these two wonderful events. The timing feels perfect, on Tuesday 16th we’ll be pointing our awareness to the Hungry Ghosts and on Thursday 18th we’ll be finding our way home to ourseleves when we have our third Natural Network event:

All is Calm, Unless You're On Instagram!

16th December. 6-8 pm at Patch. Tickets here

A conscious conversation about tech, comparison and reclaiming your calm this Christmas.

The festive season is sold to us as a time of joy, connection and warmth - but for many, it’s also a time of overwhelm, comparison and digital distraction.

The Wintering: Event 3 in The Natural Network series

18th December. 3.30-5.30 at Four Acre Farm. Tickets here

In a change to our regular half day gathering, we’re mixing things up for December. We’re shifting to the afternoon to allow us to welcome the dark. If you’ve been thinking of joining one of these gatherings then this could be the perfect time. And as a newsletter subscriber, don’t forget your £10 discount code of Naturalnetwork10. You’ll experience:

• A fireside circle for grounding and reflection

• Winter cake, warmth and real conversation

• Space to listen to yourself, to nature and to the season

• Gentle facilitation to bring clarity for what’s next

Awareness is the first step, but hope is the fuel.

When we notice the patterns that pull us away from ourselves, we create the possibility of change. And when we choose to act from hope rather than fear, we begin to build systems that honour humanity, not just speeding up the path to where we’re already heading.

I’m passionate about building spaces where compassion, belonging and authenticity can thrive. I’m so pleased you’re here with me for the ride.

Until next week,

Nick

Well that’s it for another week. But we don’t have to stop there.

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