Experiences build memories which can last a lifetime ... whereas buying a person more stuff often just leads to more things which they accumulate and often don't need. These things often serve no real need and end up being added to landfill. Even if they might serve a momentary need, this need soon passes as the next need comes along. Needs are a fleeting thing, they tend to not endure and shift focus relatively quickly. Of course there are exceptions to this and some of our needs are genuine and these of course need to be met.
Nevertheless an experience as a gift, holds great value. Visceral and tangible experiences that connect us back to ourselves and to nature offer a far better alternative than to chase the monkey-mind of ethereal needs ... it will never be satisfied nor will ever be entirely still. Deep immersive experiences which require one to engage the entirety of one's mind and body with total focus, will bring about those inner moments that quieten the monkey mind. Adventure experiences do this even better. To immerse yourself into an adventure, potentially into a space you have never been in, makes you feel alive with all the senses buzzing. It releases a rush of endorphins, serotonin, dopamine & adrenaline ... all of these combined, make you feel truly alive. Experiences shared, add an addtional hormone to the mix; oxytocin. This can assist in building stronger connections in relationships. These make up the key neurotransmitters that can alter your mood and bring about true happiness.
The 4 happiness hormones + 1
Serotonin: can stave off depression and provide a feeling of euphoria (https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/serotonin-the-natural-mood-booster)
Dopamine: helps us feel pleaaure as part of the brain's reward system (https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/dopamine-the-pathway-to-pleasure)
Endorphins: the brain's natural pain reliever, can help release stress and create a feeling of well-being (https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/endorphins-the-brains-natural-pain-reliever)
Oxytocin: can help us bond with loved ones and is released when bonding with others (https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/oxytocin-the-love-hormone)
+1
The above happiness hormones help your body repair and build new cells, they help to alleviate feelings of stagnation, anxiety and depression, they can help to provide greater clarity on things and offer a welcome break from the everyday. Add adrenaline to the mix and you have yourself a powerful cocktail. This immersive total body experience, can offer a new perspective and can lead to a whole new view on your past, present and future ... in essence offer a life changing experience.
In today's world we spend so much of our time in a sedentary position and with our eyes often glued to screens, detached from real life experiences. This is not only bad for our bodies and our minds, but it also confuses our hormonal system. Quite often hormones are released and have nowhere to go because we do not act on these in a physical manner. This does not allow for a whole body experience and serves only to further detach ourselves from reality. We become used to our conditioned responses brought about by this stimulus and because we don't have a full body experience, we feel unfullfilled. We then seek out further releases of these hormones in order to try and fill the void that exists within us. This leads to a vicious cycle which leaves us feeling in need of something more.
Most people don't understand where this feeling comes from. Real-world experiences that are truly immersive, which require you to use all parts of your body, offer nourishment just like a well balanced meal. Sitting down enjoying some screen time like a movie or getting into a computer game, are great things to do at times ... but they are junk food to the soul. In order for our bodies and minds to truly thrive, we need a balanced diet full of nutrients. Real-world experiences are just that.
The same applies to those unwanted hours spent sitting, doing the required work we humans have created for oursleves in order to exist in our modern world. Add to this the associated stress of needing to work, and you have yourself a truly bad mix of hormones now causing real damage.
Getting outside, away from your desk, and providing your body with real-world experiences ... is truly a necessity in order to be healthy and not experience the variety of diseases which our modern world currently has in abundance.
Creating time in order for us to have these experiences is something that requires a conscious effort ... like breaking a bad habit. The longer you have been in the cycle of the bad habit, the harder it is to break. Unfortunately humans are creatures of habit and the body does not really make a distinction between whether it is good or bad until consequences arise indicating something negative. Quite often by this time it is extremely difficult to break out of the cycle. So why not develop a good habit and get yourself outdoors to immerse your body into an adventure activity, shaking off that stagnant energy and flooding your system with the happiness hormones + 1 :)
You can also help others break this habit by giving them the Gift of Adventure ...share the good vibes :) This should extend to the younger humans of our community, as well as the older ones.
We know getting your kids outdoors and away from their screens can be extremely difficult. So the more exciting the adventure, the more enticing it will be as an incentive :) They need to build good habits early in their lives to help build better humans as adults. As they grow and develop, their neuroplasticity fades and they become set in their ways. There is now alot of research around how maintaining your neuroplasticity as you grow older, is good for us on all levels. It is even said to keep dementia and its multiple different types of neurodegenerative diseases that include Alzheimer’s, at bay :)
So get your kids outdoors and build good habits early. Of course getting outdoors and being active is fantastic for your body as well :) Brain and physical health are closely linked, with both benefitting from outdoor activities.
Some light reading on neuroplasticity here:
Age does not need to be a barrier to a fully immersive nature experiences, as much as it can obviously have its limitations. If in doubt, its always worth checking things out and asking subject matter experts to assess suitability. We are more than happy to help :) This also applies to fitness levels. We are just a phone call or email away.
So in conclusion, this is why we believe that the gift of Adventure is an incredibly valuable thing to give to somebody that you love ... for any occasion ... not just the marked special ones :)
Why not check out some of the adventures that we offer on our website: www.spacechameleon.com.au and get in touch. Feel free to send us an email at info@spacechameleon.com.au or call us on +61 423 182 663. We are more than happy to answer any questions that you might have and to help you chose the perfect Gift of Adventure :)
SEE YOU OUT THERE :)