134. The Evolved Nest: How We Raise Healthy, Wellness-Informed Communities / Darcia Narvaez

In Conversation with Nathalie Nahai

Today, I speak with Darcia Narváez, award-winning author and Professor of Psychology Emerita at the University of Notre Dame.

Darcia is the founder of the public and professional educational outreach project The Evolved Nest Initiative, whose nonprofit mission is to share her science research into developing appropriate baselines for lifelong human wellness by meeting the biological needs of infants. This wellbeing baseline is imperative at this time as the United States ranks 41st out of 41 developed countries in public policies that support families.

The former executive editor of the Journal of Moral Education, Darcia was listed among the top 2% of scientists worldwide in 2020, and she currently serves as the president of the award-winning, venerable nonprofit Kindred World, who has been "serving the re-generation since 1996." A board of directors member of Attachment Parenting International, Darcia is also an advisory board member of the Association for Pre- and Perinatal Psychology and Health, APPPAH.

Her pioneering book, Neurobiology and the Development of Human Morality: Evolution, Culture and Wisdom, won the 2017 Expanded Reason Award, and received the William James Award from the American Psychological Association in 2015.

In 2022 Darcia was elected a fellow to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the largest international body of professional scientists in the world and publisher of the prestigious journal Science, where she was honored for her distinguished contributions illuminating typical and atypical development in terms of well-being, morality and sustainable wisdom.

Having held interdisciplinary conferences at the University of Notre Dame regarding early experience and human development in 2010, 2012, and 2014, in 2016 Darcia organized a conference on Sustainable Wisdom: Integrating Indigenous Know How for Global Flourishing, which touched upon some of the themes she explores in her recent book, Restoring the Kinship Worldview: Indigenous Voices Introduce 28 Precepts for Rebalancing Life on Planet Earth, which she co-authored with Wahinkpe Topa.

KEY THEMES

• Returning to our species' normal way of raising children is crucial for promoting wellness and flourishing.
• The Evolved Nest consists of nine components that optimize normal development.
• Reconnecting with the present moment and practicing gratitude can help individuals foster a more flourishing mindset.
• Conscious parenting and engaging in meaningful relationships are essential for creating a more flourishing future. The separation from our bodies can lead to a lack of awareness of our own health and well-being.
• Attachment and trust are crucial for developing healthy relationships and the ability to judge whether someone is trustworthy.
• Social media can enhance the us-against-them mentality and exacerbate disconnection.
• Combatting disconnection requires turning off screens and creating opportunities for community gatherings.
• Orienting ourselves towards beauty and wholeness can be achieved through practices like connecting with nature and engaging in play.
• Enhancing the living beings we are with is a powerful way to contribute to a more connected and compassionate world.

WEBSITES

• https://evolvednest.org/
• https://kindredmedia.org/
• https://darcianarvaez.com/

VIDEOS

• 6-minute film: Breaking the Cycle (in Spanish and Subtitled in 16 languages at YouTube)
• 12-minute film: Reimagining Humanity (in Spanish and Subtitled in 16 languages)
• 2-minute trailer
• 8-minute film: The Evolved Nest: Nature's Way of Raising Children

BOOKS

• The Evolved Nest: Nature's Way of Raising Children and Creating Connected Communities
• Restoring the Kinship Worldview: Indigenous Voices Introduce 28 Precepts for Rebalancing Life on Planet Earth (North Atlantic)
• Indigenous Sustainable Wisdom: First Nation Know-How for Global Flourishing (Peter Lang)
• Basic Needs, Wellbeing and Morality: Fulfilling Human Potential (Palgrave-Macmillan)
• Embodied Morality: Protectionism, Engagement and Imagination (Palgrave-Macmillan)
• Neurobiology and the Development of Human Morality: Evolution, Culture and Wisdom (winner of the 2017 Expanded Reason Award and the 2015 APA William James Book Award)
• Evolution, Early Experience and Human Development (OUP)
• Ancestral Landscapes in Human Evolution (OUP)
• Young Child Flourishing: Evolution, Family & Society (OUP)

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