Spiritual Ecology

[catherine]

Rosemary had mentioned in Xmac's thread ("An Invitation") that she'd be interested in knowing more about spiritual ecology. I am certainly not the one to talk deeply about it, but I'd like to at least hazard some kind of description. This movement has somehow brought together so many threads of threads of interest for me and woven them into one umbrella.

One of the founders of spiritual ecology is the ecotheologian Thomas Berry, SJ. He has described our evolution over the past millennia as going from seeing nature as a tool for us to use (nature being apart from us) to us being an inhabitant of the natural world. The next step is for us to recognize that we are not at all separate from the natural world. "The universe is a communion of subjects, not a collection of objects."

He goes on to say "The devastation of the planet can be seen as the consequence of the loss of this capacity for human presence to and reciprocity with the nonhuman world."

Some of the broader practices that complement spiritual ecology as a philosophy are permaculture, the gift-economy (non-growth/negative growth economy), and non-duality thinking. Some of the people who are called spiritual ecologists are Thich Nhat Hanh, Joanna Macy, Wendell Berry, Vandana Shiva.

These people model and teach an appropriate response to sacred nature of creation and point the way to how to bring the world as a living whole back into balance.

Some talk about this movement as being a seismic shift from the Newtonian perspective.. so that's why I have expressed openness to vast paradigm shifts regarding money and politics. I see capitalism and global economics as it is now as being completely contraindicated to a system that is going to affirm the future health of the planet in the holistic sense. This is not a "Save the Whales" way of thinking. This is a "Save Us All" way of thinking. It's not me thinking "I like trees" it's me thinking "I AM that tree"

I'm not saying that capitalism can't be brought into line with a way that is will serve us going forward. It just has to be reconstructed and seen through a different lens. Some of these ideas on how to do that are so provocative!

Anyway, there's a new book I want to get called "Spiritual Ecology: The Cry of the Earth" by Llewelyn Vaugan-Lee. It's a compilation of essays by ALL the key voices in the spiritual ecology movement, so it looks like a great resource.

I'd love to hear the thoughts and perspectives of others on this...

[CathyA]

Thanks for sharing this info catherine. I can't express my thoughts, nor can I read much, so its so nice when others can say what I feel and point me in good directions.
(I'm referring to your ability to speak for me at times and help put my thoughts/feelings into words). Thank you!

[catherine]

Thanks for sharing this info catherine. I can't express my thoughts, nor can I read much, so its so nice when others can say what I feel and point me in good directions.
(I'm referring to your ability to speak for me at times and help put my thoughts/feelings into words). Thank you!

:)

ETA: Here is a video that is kind of promoting the book Spiritual Ecology, but it has great sound-bites about spiritual ecology from several of the leaders I talked about.


http://vimeo.com/wwo/spiritualecology

[Xmac]

"The universe is a communion of subjects, not a collection of objects."

"The devastation of the planet can be seen.................."

I see capitalism and global economics as it is now as being completely contraindicated to a system that is going to affirm the future health of the planet in the holistic sense.

It's not me thinking "I like trees" it's me thinking "I AM that tree"


Love the post Catherine, so thanks.
The first quote and your quote about trees are what I'd call uncommon sense and when it is common, the movement towards sustainability will reach a critical mass.

Using the word "spiritual" followed by "ecology" is almost redundant but in this case redundancy may be just what's needed because it will help 'get the words out'. The book could even be called Geo-wholism.

The second quote may not serve the stated purpose as much as what you said in the following sentence. This planet is not devastated that I can see. Although, we are moving towards an unsustainable environment, seemingly. The difference is significant since this is a movement that is founded on the shift of perception and beliefs. If it is to be a spiritual or inspired movement, the way it's characterized will have an impact on how it progresses.

If activists hold beliefs like the planet is devastated, there may be attachment (fear) to when, what, how and where changes occur. Noticing this, and what drives motivation is arguably the essence of spiritual practice and it can bring a clarity that will make the "doing" comfortable, thus making the process the goal.

[Gardenarian]

Catherine - I'm finding all of this fascinating, though I don't have anything to add to the discussion at the moment. My spirituality is deeply tied to the Earth; by any measure, scientific or religious, the Earth is what we are made of. Walking barefoot, lying down on the grass or on a beach and feeling myself part of that being, the Earth and her biosphere, this is my religion.

[CathyA]

Me too Gardenarian!

Here's a poem I found awhile back. What you said reminded me of it.


“Flat outstretched upon a mound
Of earth I lie; I press my ear
Against its surface and I hear
Far off and deep, the measured sound
Of heart that beats within the ground.
And with it pounds in harmony
The swift, familiar heart in me.
They pulse as one, together swell,
Together fall; I cannot tell
My sound from earth's, for I am part
Of rhythmic, universal heart.”

― Elizabeth Odell

[Gardenarian]

CathyA - that is so beautiful, and new to me.
I'm going to use that poem for my next calligraphy project.
Thanks!

I have been googling around on this topic and enjoyed this site: Global Oneness Project (http://www.globalonenessproject.org/library/articles/spiritual-ecology)

[puglogic]

CathyA, beautiful poem -- thanks so much.

Catherine, very thought-provoking and more importantly, heart-provoking. This is my religion as well - as much a part of me as the bonds that hold all my cells together, as clear and incontrovertible as can be.

[Rogar]

I am not an academic on the subject and maybe don't use the same words the books use, but this is what I think. I think that we humans are somehow all connected to a universal consciousness, and it the center of this consciousness is pure goodness or love . I think when a hateful event causes great loss of life or pain and suffering, that we feel this at a subliminal level. Or maybe even when there are a great amount of hate or love, that it affects us through an invisible web of connectedness.

The link between humans is stronger because we are alike. But there is also a link at maybe the cellular level that connects all life forms. Or maybe it even goes more remotely to a material level. We've become so accustomed to our cities, jobs in buildings, and media jabber, that our connection to other living things that parts of this communication that is older than words is forgotten. Maybe it is a language like how dogs can sense changes in the weather or how fish swim in schools.

When we get out of our media jabber and into more natural setting, some of these connections are reestablished. Hopefully, it doesn't sound like some sort of new age BS, but it reawakens parts of our wholeness that once existed, but have been lost or forgotten. I wouldn't go so far as to say that the trees talk to us like the Ents in the Hobbit, but how many cultures that live closer to nature do believe that the plants and animals may possess some sort of spirit that influences humans? And who is to say we are more advanced and by what standards.

Anyway, in a nutshell, that's what I think spiritual ecology is.

[catherine]

I love that, Rogar. Thank you!