Blog Post 3, Trail Marker

Not far from our home the deep forest trail winds gently upward through the towering white

pines, oaks, hemlocks, maples, and poplars. Embedded in the red dirt, rocks show

rounded edges of wear from the hundreds of thousands of souls that have scuffed over

them. On that trail there is a bronze plaque, set in a boulder, marking the Southern

Terminus of the Appalachian Trail (AT). It’s the warmer end of an amazingly beautiful 2198.4

mile mountainous trek which attracts hikers from all over the globe.

The challenges of the undertaking are well documented. Most AT hikers have planned every

detail well in advance. They know where they’ll get food and shelter. They know where

they’ll start and finish. They’re super prepared for the anticipated challenges, yet it’s still way

beyond difficult. Things don’t go as planned. People quit. They get injured. Mentally, they

struggle. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy estimates that Since 2015, only one in five

have been successful in completing the entire trip. Through hiker, Meital Kupfer, having

been asked what lessons she learned, said “Now that I am re-entering the professional

world, there is not a singular, overarching lesson the trail has taught me that I can bring to

my daily life. It is rather the act of letting things go, embracing fluidity, and keeping things

simple.”

Letting things go, embracing fluidity, and keeping things simple are characteristics of being

led by heart intelligence. Hmmmm. If people abandon their efforts on the excursion because

they mentally struggle, doesn’t that suggest that their intellect may be talking them out of

it? Self-talk like “there’s too much discomfort”, “there’s too much risk”, “I’m not strong

enough”, “they’re right about me not being able to finish”, “I miss my family”. Emotions and

analytics are tools of the intellect, the brain. Yes, absolutely the intellectual mind plays a

key role in keeping us safe. I’m not faulting those who fail in their AT completion goal. I

wouldn’t even attempt that hike. My question is, when does safe become fear? How does a

person actually KNOW, especially if the only decision-making tool they use is their brain?

Fear stymies human potential. The heart opens up human potential with love, joy,

creativity, and knowing.

We’ve come to the bronze plaque in this blog. It reads, “Spoken from The Mountains, ESD-

101 Terminus”. I hope you’ve read Earth School Dynamics – 101 because from this point...

forward we’ll be letting things go, embracing fluidity, and keeping things simple. All the

intellectual brain needs are the facts in Earth School Dynamics. That’s it. The heart, the

subconscious, will now provide the guidance. We’re going to connect the heart with the

brain.