By Michael Joshin Thiele

When we enter the life of honeybees, we venture into a multidimensional landscape of being. Their 'ecology of selves' is as rich and all-pervading as it is intimately connected with the entire biosphere and our cultural life-sphere. As we know, their survival and well-being is critical for that of our own. From this realization emerges an intimacy which can be a guiding principle for our relationships with bees and a resource for our quest to find ways to provide for them on our farms, within our landscapes, and our local watersheds. The current zeitgeist seems to lead us naturally to inquire how we can create a holistic framework and engage with honeybees in a truly bee-centric fashion?

What kind of phenomenon does it represent? The nature of honeybees – which I would like to refer to from here on as the onebeeing – is complex, fluid and appears to integrate polar opposite qualities. The surprising mammalian-like qualities in an insect body, and the singularity of the macro-organism, which consists out of thousands of individuals, are examples of the multidimensionality of its being. The onebeeing is a vastly dynamic life form, exhibiting a breathtaking degree of plasticity and flexibility. Its own tissue consists of thousands of individual bees, who are the medium for countless physiological processes ranging from metabolism, gestation, sense perception, and neurological processing. What is unique is that the onebeeing functions as if it were undifferentiated tissue. No specific organ seems to appear, and yet all normal functions of inner organs are present. This tissue acts like stem cell tissue without ever losing a complete open dynamic state of evolving according to current needs. Its receptivity and aliveness towards formative forces and fields in general transforms this tissue-like 'gathering of individuals' into a new dimension of life.

The onebeeing is a network of interrelations. Unlike our own default sense of self, hers is not defined as a living being separate from the world, but rather as being part of the world through intimate belonging. Her sense of self is created in dynamic and multidimensional processes, as if she were embodying a network of multiple selves. We could almost say that she 'are' more other than self. This cornucopia of levels of selves comes with a change in language, as if common grammar was unable to reflect this phenomenon. What follows is a reshaping of our perception and understanding of 'them', and an inward shift of our frame of reference. Our own identity becomes more fluid, more open. Who 'is' we?

The symbiotic and relational quality of the onebeeing is beautifully expressed in the place of home, as the typical nest is located within another being, namely within the womb of a tree. It is a place of physical and emotional warmth, one of inwardness and sensing. It is often to be found high up in trees and therefore suspends the onebeeing between heaven and earth. It does not fully belong to the earth, but rather leans towards her. Hollows in trees have been the natural nesting site of the onebeeing for millions of years. The typical hollow develops over several years, if not decades, in trees in the aftermath of an injury. In the process, microorganisms, insects, and vertebras contribute to the shaping of the final nest hollow. Eventually the offspring of a onebeeing, also known as swarm, will find the hollow and establish a nesting site which can, depending on the tree species, stay viable for centuries. As the hollow transforms into the nest site of the onebeeing, it undergoes several changes. Specific to this new inner environment, over 200 symbiotic insects and around 8,000 microorganisms join the onebeeing and form a new unit of its own kind. This 'ecology of selves' represents the foundation of health, aliveness, happiness, and balance. This kind of nest is the true home of the onebeeing. In utter darkness and within an undisturbed and protected nest, white comb emerges and grows in natural ways, as it can freely follow her instinctual preferences. Comb is never moved, nor are any blue prints or implants, otherwise known as foundation, given. Only in such an environment can the onebeeing unfold her embodiment fully and freely. On a fundamental level, a birth right is granted: the birth right to be fully herself. The question arises how this natural home can become our reference for a holistic paradigm of apiculture? And how can we integrate this rich and complex focal point into our farms and our watersheds?

Earlier this year I went to Flagstaff, AZ to teach a weekend course on the subject. We were a diverse group of apiculturists, gardeners, and educators all united in a gesture of honoring the onebeeing and in finding new reference points for our life with bees. One of our activities was an experiential group exercise of receptive listing, similar to that of systemic constellation work. As a 'gathering of individuals', we not only entered an open ended process of listening and becoming, but we also entered into a field-like medium, a soulful awareness of being alive. This is what we can call 'Apisophia', the wisdom of the onebeeing. It is a wisdom which can be an inspiration in all aspects of our lives and a compass point for times of uncertainty.

Our farms and watersheds are trans-species organisms and diverse ecologies of selves, in which we live and are part of. The unique nature of the onebeeing can be a resource for our navigation through this greater web of life, as it teaches inclusive ways of decision making and promotes an awareness of the entanglements of our lives within the world. The onebeeing points towards an apiculture beyond bees, one that does not begin with a quest for honey, but rather with humility and a sense of prayer. It is concerned with the well-being of the web of life and a renewed human role and identity, one which is shifting away from viewing the world as 'otherness' and moves towards an awareness of being a constituent of a biotic, emotional, and spiritual community.

蜜蜂的生活向我們展示了存在（being）的多維景觀。他們的“多自我的生態(tài)”（ecology of selves）既豐富又無處不在，因為它與整個生物圈和我們的文化生活圈息息相關(guān)。眾所周知，他們的生存和幸福對于我們自己的生存和幸福至關(guān)重要。

從這種認識中產(chǎn)生了一種親密關(guān)系，它可以成為我們與蜜蜂關(guān)系的指導原則，也可以成為我們尋求在我們的農(nóng)場、在我們的景觀范圍內(nèi)以及我們當?shù)氐牧饔颍╳atershed）上為它們提供途徑的資源。當前的時代精神（zeitgeist）似乎很自然地引導我們?nèi)ヌ骄课覀內(nèi)绾文軌騽?chuàng)建一個整體框架，從而以真正以蜜蜂為中心（bee-centric）的方式與蜜蜂接觸?

它代表什么樣的現(xiàn)象?蜜蜂的本性——我想從此指稱它為the onebeeing——是復雜的、流動的，似乎融合了極端（polar）相反的品質(zhì)。在一只昆蟲體內(nèi)驚人的哺乳動物樣的特質(zhì)，以及由成千上萬個個體組成的宏觀有機體的奇異性，都是其存在的多維性的例子。The onebeeing是一種極富活力的生命形式，具有驚人的可塑性和靈活性。它的身體組織（tissue）由成千上萬只個體蜜蜂組成，它們是無數(shù)生理過程的媒介，比如新陳代謝、懷孕、感官感知和神經(jīng)處理。The onebeeing獨特之處在于，其功能好像是未分化的身體組織。似乎沒有特定的器官出現(xiàn)，但內(nèi)臟的所有正常功能都存在。

這種身體組織就像干細胞組織一樣，不會失去完全開放的動態(tài)狀態(tài)，根據(jù)當前的需要進化。它對一般的形成性的力和形成性的場的可接受性和活性將這種身體組織式的‘個體的聚集’轉(zhuǎn)化為一種新的生命維度。

The onebeeing是相互聯(lián)系的網(wǎng)絡。與我們自己默認的自我（self）不同，她的self不是被定義為與世界分離的有生命的存在，而是通過親密的歸屬感成為世界的一部分。她的自我感（sense of self）是在動態(tài)和多維的過程中產(chǎn)生的，好像她體現(xiàn)了一個由多個自我組成的網(wǎng)絡。我們幾乎可以說，她比自我更‘他者’。這種自我層次的夸張伴隨著語言的變化，仿佛普通語法無法反映這種現(xiàn)象。隨之而來的是我們對"它們"的認知和理解的重塑，以及我們的參照系（frame of reference）的內(nèi)移。我們自身的身份變得更加流動，更加開放。我們“是”誰?

Inside of beehive in hollow tree：油管BeekeepingVlog

The onebeeing的共生的和關(guān)聯(lián)的品質(zhì)在家的位置（the place of home）中得到了很好的表達，典型的巢位于另一存在體內(nèi)，也就是樹的womb內(nèi)。它是身體和情感溫暖的場所，是內(nèi)心和感知的場所之一。它往往被發(fā)現(xiàn)高高在樹上，因而懸置the onebeeing 于天地之間。它不完全屬于大地，而是偏向于她。樹上的空洞，幾百萬年來一直是the onebeeing的天然筑巢場所。典型的空洞在受傷后的樹上發(fā)展了若干年，即使不是幾十年。在此過程中，微生物、昆蟲、脊椎動物幫助塑造巢穴中空洞。最終，the onebeeing的后代，也叫分蜂群（swarm），將找到空洞，建立一個巢穴，根據(jù)樹種不同，可以存活數(shù)百年。

當空洞轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)閠he onebeeing的蜂巢位置時，它經(jīng)歷了幾個變化。具體到這種新的內(nèi)環(huán)境中，200多種共生（symbiotic）昆蟲和8000多種左右的微生物共同加入其中，形成了屬于自身種類的新單元（unit）。這種‘多自我的生態(tài)’代表著健康、活力、幸福、平衡的基礎。這種巢是the onebeing的真正家園。在完全黑暗中，在一個未受干擾和保護的巢穴內(nèi)，白色巢脾（comb）以自然的方式出現(xiàn)和生長，因為它可以自由地遵循她的本能偏好。巢脾從不移動，也沒有任何藍圖（blue prints）或植入物（implants），否則就是給定的基礎。只有在這樣的環(huán)境中，the onebeing才能充分自由地展開她的具身（embodiment）。在根本層面上，生育權(quán)被賦予了：完全屬于她的生育權(quán)。問題由此產(chǎn)生，這個自然的家園如何能夠成為我們對養(yǎng)蜂業(yè)整體范式的借鑒?我們?nèi)绾尾拍軐⑦@一豐富而復雜的焦點與我們的農(nóng)場和水域進行整合？

今年早些時候，我去了亞利桑那州（AZ）的弗拉格斯塔夫，教了一門關(guān)于這個課題的周末課程。我們是一個多元化的群體，包括養(yǎng)蜂師、園丁和教育家，我們都聯(lián)合在一起來表示對the onebeeing的敬意，并為我們的生活尋找新的參照點（reference points）。我們的活動之一是接受式傾聽（receptive listening）的體驗式小組練習，類似于系統(tǒng)星座練習（systemic constellation work）。作為一個“個人的聚會”，我們不僅進入了一個開放式的聆聽和生成（becoming）的過程，而且我們也進入了一個 場般（field-like）的媒介，一種對活著的深情意識。這就是我們所說的“Apisophia”，即蜜蜂的智慧。這是一種可以啟發(fā)我們生活的各個方面的智慧，也可以成為不確定（uncertainty）時期的指南針。

我們的農(nóng)場和流域是跨物種有機體和多樣化的自我的生態(tài)，我們生活在其中并成為其中的一部分。 onebeeing 的獨特本質(zhì)可以成為我們在這個更大的生命網(wǎng)絡中導航的資源，因為它教導了包容性的決策方式，并促進了對我們和世界糾纏關(guān)系的認識。 onebeeing 指向一種超越蜜蜂的養(yǎng)蜂業(yè)（apiculture），這種養(yǎng)蜂業(yè)不是從索求蜂蜜開始，而是以謙遜和祈禱的態(tài)度開始。它關(guān)注生命網(wǎng)絡的福祉以及更新的人類角色和身份，這種角色和身份正在從將世界視為“他者”轉(zhuǎn)向一種意識，即成為生物上的、情感上的和精神上的共同體（community）的一個組分（constituent）。