What actions can we take that will help Mother Earth
to change her mind?
The virtuous cycle of living in communion and having reverence for life.
Page 61 - If living separately and greedily is the problem, then the solution is living in communion and having reverence for life. The way out of the vicious cycle is by pursuing the virtuous cycle.
Page 62 - Thinking and acting differently. That's what is required, and has been for many years. In the Christian scriptures the call is for a metanoia, a repentance, a literal change of the mind, a complete change of heart. It is letting go of the old worldview and living out of a new more enlightened worldview. One of the age old debates has been about change itself. The behavioralists among us say that we have to change our behavior first so that our minds will change. The more cognitively inclined say that a change in the mind will lead to a change in how we act. Both are true in this chicken or egg conversation. The injunction is clear. Change your worldview and change your behavior.
Page 62 - I recall Stephen Covey's wonderful book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Therein he made famous the "Urgent Important Matrix" that is referenced on page 14. I'm trying to grab your attention here. this is beyond URGENT and beyond IMPORTANT. When I first started to write this book I toyed with the title "Resolve to Change Today." I can't emphasize enough how urgent and important this is. We must resolve to change today.
Page 64 - This one page document does hang on the wall in my office. Conspicuously. It is there as a daily reminder that I am to tend my space, and to do so with Reverence for Life. If you would like a copy for your wall, you can download it right below.
| living_in_communion_with_reverence_for_life.pdf |
Page 64ff - I have mentioned Reverence for Life on pages 24, 33, 60, here on page 64, and again on numerous pages going forward. The concept, as I've noted, comes from Dr. Albert Schweitzer. It is his primary ethic.
Page 67 - I am building new habits... and you are invited to do the same. I am reading and reflecting a lot. My 2007 Honda Ridgeline pickup truck, with its 220,000 miles, has just gone through yet another round of bodywork to keep the rust at bay. My next vehicle, after this one is worn out, will be electric, or a hybrid of electric and hydrogen. My habits of consumption have changed a great deal and that has been made easier since the Covid pandemic. I'm writing Get Out the Vote letters on behalf of the Sierra Club. I'm speaking up more boldly about the Anthropocene Age and pending extinction when it comes to conversations around strategic planning. And I'm wondering what conversations will be generated by this little book of Big Ideas? What new habits are you working on? I wonder. Shoot me an email and let me know what your are endeavoring to do differently to show your LOVE FOR MOTHER EARTH.
Page 68 - The Five Movements that Support our Spiritual Growth as Environmentalists. This is a huge concept. In 1995 I was introduced to Ken Wilbers "Big Book," Sex, Ecology, Spirituality. You can Google it and find lots of references. Something like 250 pages of footnotes. If it is too much to handle, as it is for almost anyone, then take a look at the more popularized book A Brief History of Everything. Wilber's thinking has evolved and I can't keep up. Truth be told. When he writes about human development he references these five: WAKE UP, GROW UP, OPEN UP, CLEAN UP, and SHOW UP. I've stolen those five movements from Wilber and he deserves more credit than I can give him. His model of Integral Theory has been hugely influential in my work since 1995. There are many others that have stretched Integral Theory in many different directions and I'm especially thankful to Jeff Salzman and his neighbor Steve McIntosh for their work. Follow their links, if you will. I have added others in the Integral world to my website until RESOURCES AND TOOLS.
Page 70 - This is our shared mission. We are on the way to being Enlightened Lovers. I want again to make this point abundantly clear. As we evolve we step every forward toward being Enlightened Lovers. It is a stage of human development with its own state of consciousness. To become such a human being is to be the best among us. Jesus was the best version. Ponder that. Others have been there, too. They are all saints. Let us join them.