Glossary

Cognitive permaculture refers to the application and extrapolation of classic permaculture design principles and processes to the multidimensional realms of human cognition, simultaneously individual-collective and personal-relational. It is a way of describing and engaging with the characteristically ecological nature of cognition, which science has shown to be far, far more than mere "mental" or "psychological" phenomena.

Wétiko is an indigenous term for a sickness of the soul, or of spirit, mind/body, and relationality that has spread across the entire globe and infected nearly the entire human species. Various people describe it in various ways, which is appropriate given wétiko's multifaceted nature. It is a "sickness of exploitation" (Jack Forbes), a cannibalistic force that functions much like a cancer, virus, and parasite all at once.

More concretely, it manifests socially-structurally-institutionally as: colonization/conquests of cultural erasure and homogenization; imperialism; genocide; the rape and plundering of living beings and ecosystems (whether human, animal, plant, or planetary); authoritarianism; state-sanctioned violence and repression; privatization and corporate monopolization of basic life processes and resources; repressive legal codes and institutions; and dogmatic instructional systems (mandated, parochial, formal schooling programs), among related phenomena.

Intellectually-emotionally-relationally, wétiko manifests as chronic fear, anxiety, and doubt; toxic co-dependency/attachment; narcissism; nihilism; dogmatism; fundamentalism; cynicism; "holier-than-thou-ism," spiritual bypassing/escapism; social isolation; spiritual materialism; self-harm; and chronic depression/lethargy.

Biologically-neurophysiologically, this disease/virus manifests as metabolic dysregulation/disease; clinical endocannabinoid deficiency (CED); and the many chronic illnesses/conditions that these states underlie: migraines; fibromyalgia; IBS; insomnia; ADHD/ADD/OCD: chronic pain; PTSD; allergies; asthma; autoimmune disorders; various skin conditions; cancer; and neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia. 

(For the scientific evidence supporting all these claims, see the Resources page for literally hundreds of high-quality sources detailing these phenomena.)

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