Redefining ‘Environment’ – for a new Heaven and a new Earth d / ‘03
The environment of the Soul is the personality, or, for any Being the
environment consists of and contains all levels of denser vibration as well as
the one upon which it has its original cause or beginning.
The personality of our environment, for most human beings, are the leaves and the concrete of our natural and built environments.
The Soul of our environment is the relationship humans have with all
beings on all levels of lesser vibration – from the energetic field of our
thoughts to our feelings and actions on the physical plane. At one level this is our sun ~ moon
relationship of heaven and earth so to speak.
Practically defined it is how we truly relate to the planetary world we
live in. On a more subtle level it is
the relationship between the human and devic kingdoms, the form builders of our
environment. It is defined more by
attitude to how harmoniously we relate as individuals and as a whole to the
natural world, to our habitat, and to all other kingdoms – it therefore calls
upon our willingness to adapt to change and fulfil our part in the Plan and the
Scheme of things.
The Spirit of our environment is expressed in natural living – living naturally in touch with the beingness dwelling in all things, and with that order or level of being that sustains and underpins the universe, yet remains distinct and untouched.
A Historical Perspective
Whilst we may include in our thoughts the cataclysms and their causes from our ancient past, Humans have had little problem with their environment until recent times in our history. In fact they lived harmlessly within and with their environment to the point where ancient wisdom was not only recorded in the ground but such a relationship existed that could foretell of immense passages of time. Indeed today we sense the urgency of change both phenomenal and in our collective consciousness. The ancients sought to warns us of the need to prepare for these changes as the galactic and solar ecliptic paths coincide. However that all changed and most dramatically in recent times from the onset of industrialisation and its consequences.
I believe the Keynote impression of ‘natural living’ was given to humanity and registered during the process and build up that led to the world’s first United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development, the watershed “Earth Summit” of 1992 held in Rio.
That keynote was best expressed at the time in the two keywords of “sustainable development”, and recorded in the paradigm making document which almost all governments signed and to which all local governments were subsequently obliged to implement – it was called “Agenda-21”.
Agenda-21 boldly set out principles, activities, ideals and goals relating to every field and department of human living, in order to achieve a “sustainable development”. The true meaning of these words of power have taken almost two decades for a true sense of understanding what life can be, or is like, when it is developed in a sustainable way on Earth.
Such Hierarchical impression as it effected the human family as a whole gave rise to the twin phenomena of 1) an intellectual top-down approach attempting to implement sustainable development via tenuous community involvement and participation, and 2) environmental activism which at its height has seen an emerging protest by not just rainbow or eco-warriors but the ordinary citizens of the world as part of the anti-globalisation movement. As this bridge is crossed we can foresee phenomenal changes ahead.
To grasp a sense of the true meaning of what life will be like when developed
sustainably perhaps we can reflect upon the essential beingness expressing
through the archetype of the Spirit of the Environment.
In my view this aspect of Spirit calls for a radical reassessment of our living relations with ourselves – with one another, in our groups and our communities, and with all other forms of being with whom we are sharing the natural and built environment.
Sustainable development obviously means living sustainably – naturally in harmony with all forms and partners in all kingdoms – by our use of natural resources that fully realises our part in the great chain of life, or spiral flow of interwoven living substance,
Consciously Transforming Our World
The question of profound importance we may ask ourselves is this: given that the way of our society is patently unsustainable, yet we are all a complicit part of it, how best does one go about purifying and transforming our collective personality life or form related world?
The mind involuntarily puts distance between itself and its personality environment, especially the consequences of its preoccupations. Put plainly, our economy is dependent on oil over which wars are continuously being fought yet for which natural alternatives have existed for decades. (The Club of Rome and MIT forecast a massive collapse of our unsustainable civilisation within 10 to 20 years as the global economic system overwhelms the planetary eco-system). How best then to work with the “dweller on the threshold” and effect a transformation of our world?
We are told that the most appropriate attitude to have, in order to transform the personality experience, is by not feeding or giving energy to its mental, emotional and physical sense driven tendencies – but to be detached as an independent observer of one’s instrument of being, and to instil soul principles and rhythmic living.
Does it not follow that the best way to transform our world ~ let it become sacred ~ is by:
v withdrawing from our positions of dependency*,
v ceasing our passive complicity that is tantamount to agreement and support for a systemised state of dominance, not dominion over our lives and nature’s kingdoms,
v becoming instruments of living more naturally by a substitution of whatever means that inspire us so that others can see by our example of how we can live more freely.
By breaking free of an ancient and habitual thoughtform that is crucifying our children we may give expression to a new and more abundant principle of livingness.
True natural sustainable living bridges with all elements of human living and defines a new and creative relationship to life itself. It’s challenge for us lies in finding for ourselves a completely uninhibited approach to rediscovering how to live consciously in groups with a sense of unity and purpose and sharing a resonance of being as an organism of Self.
A new sense of identity quickly emerges that accepts self and neighbours, more than a clan or tribe – for human culture is often at its best as part of an interwoven identity – perhaps a glimpse of the ashramic living of our future civilisation.
Recent human experiments of this nature have evolved out of the eco-village network (often rural) and the co-housing movement (often in cities). Such experimental living calls into question and gives rise to new ways of handling political consensus and co-management of our shared lives and environment, economics and equitable sharing of skills and resources, a holistic education, the creative expression of culture, a non-judgmental more universal spirituality, a leading edge view of science and use of renewable and appropriate technology. All told this leads to a more natural collective consciousness and a ceremonial order or rhythm to a shared life of free individuals.
How to begin a new and dynamic relationship of Soul to any environment we may
find ourselves in?
Let us first observe the difference between dominance and dominion. Dominance has given rise to the nations of the earth dependent on their supplies of water, food, money, fuel and energy, even their education and religion from national, and international, levels of control and distribution.
Whereas dominion, from a position of personal autonomy (brought about through a combination of Love and Will), naturally gives rise to a direct participation, a response-able relationship, with all these things. The danger is that we take them for granted whereas they are more crucial to life than we may know – they are the gold of our eco-system). Such prompting may enable us to restore the natural supply of wells. spring fed or other local water sources (which have almost all be lost), to encourage local whole food production, to exchange our trades with a local barter currency, to convert to new renewable fuels etc etc. These are the greatest weapons for world peace.
There is a design guide that can help us if we are moved
this way. Derived from observing
inter-connected systems in rainforests, Permaculture is a modern integrated
approach to living more sustainably – from city tower block apartment to the
just as wild environments of our most natural planet.
Jonathan Evelight
(ola@rainbowcommunities.org)
For other insight, see also www.gaia.org
and http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/ecovillage/blueprint/blueprint-intro.html
try the questionairre!
Remember the only
constant is change, and ...
Future Living is Living Sustainably Now