Author: Sitebeheerder

Benevolent Universe

Benevolent Universe

The world is how you see it. If you look at it with benevolent eyes, the world reciprocates with benevolence, and this is the quality we need to harness as the underlying ethos of a new environmental movement, writes Satish Kumar.

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We live in a benevolent universe. The soil is benevolent. It provides conditions for a seed to germinate, to grow, to realize its potential. In fact, its benevolence is endless; it helps one single seed to multiply into millions of seeds for hundreds of years, producing colorful, aromatic, juicy and delicious fruit, feeding birds, bees, humans and animals. The tree celebrates the benevolence of the soil and becomes benevolent in return, offering its fruit to whoever is in need, without judgment: a sinner or a saint, a poet or a prisoner, a prince or a peasant. The tree gives wood to fashion a chair, a bird a branch to make her nest, and oxygen to maintain life.

The benevolence of the sun is beyond words. It burns itself to maintain life; it ripens the crops to feed all beings. It provides the perfect conditions for photosynthesis, for the whole plant kingdom to nourish itself and give nourishment in turn to bacteria, insects, birds and animals.

The moon is benevolent. It maintains the cycles of life and time. Time and tide are sustained by its presence. The moon is the patron saint of poets and painters and an embodiment of feminine principles.

Rain is benevolent. It delivers itself to every farm, field, forest, mountain and human habitat, free of charge, without needing any external supply of energy. It moistens the soil, quenches our thirst, fills the rivers, ponds, lakes and wells and in partnership with the sun, it feeds the world.

Fire is benevolent – it is in our belly; it is in our hearth, it is there to purify, to heat, to light, to cook, to digest, to decompose, and to liberate; even a forest fire is a source of regeneration.

The benevolence of fire is of a different order than the benevolence of soil and sun; nevertheless fire is benevolent, and without it there can be no life.

Air is benevolent. We breathe, therefore we are. Air is related to the spirit, to inspiration, to spirituality; air is the breath of Brahman, breath of the universe, breath of God. In Sanskrit air is prana, which means life itself. In Chinese air is chi, which means the source of energy. We are blessed when we have a breath of fresh air. Our clothes and homes are renewed when they are aired. Lack of air causes stuffiness. Air is eternal and truly benevolent.

Space is benevolent. All and everything is held in space and by space. All movements, all changes and every kind of dynamism are sustained in the stillness of space. We always need to be mindful of reducing our clutter and maintaining spaciousness in order to be detached and remain free.

Soul is benevolent. Compassion, kindness, generosity and inner luminosity are the qualities of the soul. Mind, intelligence and consciousness are held in and processed by soul. Soul is the seed of life. Feelings, emotions, sentiments, intuition and reason pass through soul and manifest in the world. But it is not only humans who have soul; animals, birds, insects and microbes have soul. Soil, trees, rocks and rivers have soul. Even a home has soul. There is a world soul, anima mundi, of which we are an integral part. A soul that is cared for brings us joy.

Society is benevolent. Each and every one of us together make up our society, the human community. Language, culture, literature, arts, architecture, agriculture, knowledge, science: all of these and much more are created by society and shared among humanity. We pay no royalty to speak in English or French, Sanskrit or Chinese. Myths and legends, plays and poetry are handed down from generation to generation. Without society there is no civilisation and no culture.

We have inherited wisdom from indigenous peoples. We have received religion from the great masters like Muhammad, Mahavira, Moses, the Buddha, Jesus Christ and Lao Tzu. What we have gained through the long history of humanity is measureless. We are indebted to society, which we cannot pay back; nor is any payment demanded of us.

Families are benevolent. We are born of love. Our parents conceived us in love. Our mother gave us the security and safety of her womb until we were ready to embrace the world. The benevolent universe puts milk in our mother’s breast so that we can be nourished. Our fathers, uncles and aunts kept their benevolent eyes on us. Our parents worked hard to provide everything we needed and gave us a sense of responsibility so that we might share our love with our own children to ensure the continuing benevolence.

The world is how you see it and what you make of it. If you look at the world with benevolent eyes, the world reciprocates with benevolence. If you project suspicion and self-interest, you get the same back. Trust begets trust, and fear begets fear. Recognizing the benevolence of the universe is not to deny the shadow side, but if we sow seeds of malevolence, malevolence will grow; if we sow seeds of benevolence, benevolence will grow.

A traveler was passing through a village and asked someone standing by: “What’s the next village like? Is it friendly?”

The person asked in return: “How was the village you have just come from?”

“Oh, it was awful; people there were unfriendly and indifferent, some even hostile,” said the traveler.

“The next village is similar,” was the reply. So the traveler walked on with an anxious frown.

After a while another traveller stopped to ask the same question: “What’s the next village like?”

The same person replied with the same question: “How did you find the previous village?”

This time the response was different. “Oh, it was good; people were friendly, helpful and hospitable,” said the traveller.

The person in the village replied: “You will find the next village similar.”

If you project benevolence, you will get benevolence in return. This is the moral of the story, and we all understand it easily when we hear such a story. But when it comes to racial, religious or national conflicts, we lose our confidence and play a different role.

In spite of the innate nature of human kindness, the world faces multiple conflicts. Palestine versus Israel, Iran versus the USA, and India versus Pakistan; some of these conflicts have been with us for more than 60 years! Let us suppose that the leaders of the USA say to the government of Iran: “We wish to be your friends; we will never do anything to harm your people. We will sell our goods to you at a fair price and buy your oil at a fair price and never use military force against you.” This would be a statement of benevolence.

Then suppose the government of Iran says, “We never wish to harm the national interest of the USA. Nor will we attack Israel. Let us sit down together and never stop negotiating until we find a fair resolution for fellow Muslims – the Palestinians. They have suffered long enough. We will use only peaceful, nonviolent means to solve our problems.” With such statements of benevolence, it would be impossible for either the USA or Iran to engage in threats, ultimatums, suspicions or boycotts.

Apartheid ended through benevolence. The Berlin Wall came down and satellite states of the Soviet Union became free through the benevolence of Mikhail Gorbachev and other enlightened Russian leaders. The European Union came into being after centuries of strife, thanks to the foresight, wisdom, courage and benevolence of the promoters of the Treaty of Rome. Colonialism ended in many countries through negotiation, not violence. Slavery ended because many slave owners started to listen to their conscience and found it morally abhorrent to own other human beings. Racial discrimination in the United States became illegal through nonviolence and the benevolent struggle of civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King. As a result, now we have a black president in the White House.

Since the history of benevolence is so successful, there is no reason not to embrace it. But some people call me naive and unrealistic. Then what have the realists got to show for their efforts? What have the realists achieved? Under the watch of so-called realists, oceans are overfished and polluted, the biosphere is being saturated with greenhouse gases, and population is exploding beyond the carrying capacity of the Earth. If this is the achievement of realists, then now is the time to say goodbye to them and give idealists a chance.

The idealists need to work together now to build a movement of benevolence. At the moment there are benevolent individuals and benevolent organizations but no movement as there was against slavery and against apartheid. The Soil Association, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, WWF, RSPB, CPRE, the National Trust and similar organizations are mostly working in isolation from spiritual and social justice groups. Similarly, faith groups, New Age groups, yoga and meditation centers focus narrowly on care of the soul and personal development, while organizations working for social justice such as Oxfam, the World Development Movement and Médecins Sans Frontières are only fighting their corner. The movements for environmental justice, social justice and spiritual renewal are three aspects of benevolence. If they all came together and worked together, there would be a strong movement for transformation, for change and for the creation of a new paradigm.

The leadership for benevolence will not come from the prime ministers or presidents of the world, and a culture of benevolence will not be legislated through parliaments and senates. Such leadership and such culture has to emerge from the grass roots. Therefore, individuals and organizations committed to the care of the soil, qualities of soul and concern for society need to work together to build a grass roots movement.

Such a movement has to work at two levels. The first step is to challenge and resist malevolent institutions engaged in damaging the integrity of the Earth, undermining spiritual values and perpetuating social injustice and economic exploitation. In the past, such resistance was offered by the champions of social and political liberation such as Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi.

Exposing the folly of institutionalized violence is necessary to wake people up, but the second step is to build alternatives, develop new models and create institutions that promote organic farming, animal welfare, protection of wildlife, conservation of rainforests, respect for all faiths and interfaith dialogue, the release of political prisoners, nuclear and general disarmament, the promotion of cooperatives, and encouragement of conflict resolution through peaceful means.

Public awareness about environmental sustainability and social justice has risen by leaps and bounds in the last 50 years, since the publication of Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring. In the 1960s, concern for renewable energy in the form of solar and wind power was very much a minority interest. Animal welfare and vegetarianism was also a small movement. The idea of development was all about aid and charity, the westernization of the global south and the misguided industrialization of agrarian societies.

Now we are living in a different world. Evidence of global warming and depletion of fossil fuels has woken people up. The membership of environmental organizations is greater than the membership of political parties, so there is cause for optimism and hope. What is created by humans can be changed by humans. We need to build a movement with all the courage of our convictions.

Environmental, spiritual and social movements need to seize the opportunity and show that another world is possible, a world where Nature is respected, where compassion and cooperation are valued and where people come before profit. We can initiate and implement the great transition from a capitalist economy to an ecological economy and value natural wealth above financial wealth. This holistic vision, where natural, spiritual and social dimensions are brought together into an integrated reality, is an urgent necessity.

We may all have a part to play in the solution, but we need to know the big picture in order to build an effective movement. And that big picture has an ecological dimension, a spiritual dimension and a social dimension, encapsulated in that trinity I speak and write of: Soil, Soul, Society.

Soil, Soul, Society by Satish Kumar is published by Ivy Press, £16.99. This article is an edited extract from the book.

Satish Kumar was Editor-in-Chief at Resurgence & Ecologist The Resurgence Trust publishes Resurgence & Ecologist magazine. Registered Charity Number: 1120414

You can subscribe to the free newsletter of Ecologist-Resurgence magazine. You will find many more articles like this.

Go to www.resurgence.org

The Three Principles of the Cosmos

 

From the beginning the universe has been shaped by and is functioning by the primordial orderings;

  1. differentiation
  2. interiority (subjectivity)
  3. communion

The very existence of the universe rests on the power of these three principles. For were there no differentiation, the universe would collapse into a homogenous smudge.

For were there no interiority (subjectivity), the universe would not know creativity and would collapse into an inert, dead extension.

For were there no communion the universe would collapse into the hell of isolated singularities of being.

The human in the universe must root itself in these three dynamics in order to live in harmony with in the whole of Creation

Universe Earth nasa 17

free picture Internet ( NASA)

This means that the impulse that comes forth from the original fireball, which is the result of the creative energy of the Divine, moves in the direction of these three principles.

  1. Differentiation

Differentiation is the impulse towards diversity. It started when in the very first phases of the emerging universe hydrogen could no longer sustain itself as hydrogen and an atomic shift occurred. Out of that helium evolved. Now there was the possibility for interactions at the atomic level and out of this interaction something new occurred. It is this interaction that made the birth of stars possible and ever since the universe continues to become through this process of differentiation. New possibilities occur when existing modes of existence take the risk to disappear in order to develop into something else.

From the beginning the universe has been on a course toward greater and greater differentiation. Had the universe remained hydrogen, it still would be hydrogen. At every stage of combination greater and greater complexity, during that whole preparatory period of history, it was all differentiation, all that complexity which was the necessary condition out of which the next stage could unfold.

Differentiation is mandated. It is the rule of the universe. It comes out of the mind of God. The Earth says, “Who am I ” in every creature, in every human that has ever existed.

Differentiation is the mode of the universe expressing itself.

All the diversity of simple organic life from the basic protoplankton at the depth of the oceans to the neurons in our brains, every bit of that diversity is essential for the working of this whole Gaia planet.

There is not such a thing as the mandate for uniformity or conformity in the Earth. It is a violation of the very principle out of which the Earth functions.

The greater the complexity, the greater the diversity, the greater the differentiation, the greater the capacity of the Earth to function in a wholesome way.

That is why the loss of bio-diversity in our present times, mainly through the way humans deal with the Earth, is such a great threat for the total functioning of the Earth as an integral system.

Every violation of differentiation violates the basic structure of the Earth.

And when the Earth finally brings forth the human, that mandate toward differentiation enters a new phase because as conscious beings, we consciously evolve and participate in the evolution of differentiation.

The differences of languages, of racial structures, of art and architecture, the differences of the ideologies and religions, political systems of the Earth; they are as much a result of the unfolding of that first explosion of hydrogen as all the differentiation that we might find in the kingdom of birds, insects, plants.

Only very late in the development of human consciousness have we come to understand that Creation was meant to be differentiated and we still grope the meaning of it all , as we still fight in wars against the differences in the human race.

Our modern world is directed toward mono- cultures and standardization, globalization.

This is the inherent direction of the industrialization. It is basically an invariant process of multiplication with no enrichment of meaning. And as such it is opposed to the direction in which cosmos and creation are meant to be and function.

What is particularly striking in the story of the story of the developing universe is that there is a lack of repetition. There is only uniqueness in the cosmos.

The universe comes to us as a totality, where each being and each moment announces its thrilling news: “I am fresh. To understand the universe, you must understand me”.

  1. Interiority (subjectivity)

The second principle of interiority means that from the very beginning, every atom had its own inner, non-material intelligible dimension and its center opens up into what we still must call ” a mystery”. Every atom is a revelation, sacred scripture of the ultimate mystery and has an inner dimension, interiority, has identity, name, and voice.

It expresses the universe in a way that is differentiated from every other atom, star, galaxy. Everything has interiority, beginning from the smallest atom.

The universe is one and its diverse expressions come from the same inner place. And the universe, at any moment of its unfolding is the sum total of those differentiated interiorities.

With such an understanding, we can see that the atom can be considered a self, for each atom is an amazing blur of self-organizing activitiy.

We can also consider the interiority of a rock. We might never have reflected on the nature of a rock. But just think about a silicon crystal. A single silicate’s existence requires incessant storms of creativity at the elementary particular level alone- each 3

instant finds innumerably many interactions and energetic transformations, including the annihilation of some particles and the creation of new particles.

That is precisely why the silicate crystal is a storm of activitiy and can it exhibit such wonders as we find the in silicon chips of electronic technologies.

Looking back at the rock one can say, that each instant of a rock is an achievement.The rock is not simply passive. Rocks and mountains are not simply stuff that exist.

With subjectivity (interiority) we wish to refer to sentience as well as to spontaneity.

We refer to the experience of the universe as universe. That humans do have souls and therefore experiences we accept and know. It is easy to imagine whales having experiences, but the ants, seaweed?

The universe is a single energy event; everything comes forth out of the intrinsic creativity of the universe. Rocks, water, air, just by being what they are, flower into sentient beings.

“Sentience and interiority: It are the “within of things”. Everything in the universe has its own interiority, its voice, its self-organizing ability, its psychic-spiritual dimension, its holiness, and its sacredness. Each leaf on the tree says: ” see me….I am different from every other leaf on the tree”. Everything that exists has its own within and is a word spoken by Ultimate Mystery.

The molten rock formed itself much later into you and me…with our hope and fear prayer, dance and poetry. We are an expression of the Universe. Each of us in our interior depth carries the memory of all that went before us in life’s unfolding.

We have lost our ability to hear the voices of the natural world including one another. We are urgently in need of a spirituality that will nurture a more viable relationship with Earth and that will recognize the deep mystery and existence within everything.

This mystery is rooted in the Divine. Every atom, every leaf, every animal, every human being is an interiority that carries revelation. Every being has its own unrepeatable truth that influences continuing evolution. This is the true meaning of and ground for obedience. To obey the truth in one another. To be humble in its presence.

In that sense is matter holy and deeply spiritual from its very origin and not because we look to the world and all that is in a spiritual way. That is a dualism that violates the very origin of the deep Mystery present in every atom.

Thus it is that diminishment of the Earth is fundamentally a spiritual issue.”

J.Surette SJ

  1. Communion

The third principle of communion, meaning that from the very beginning each differentiated atom and each differentiated interiority existed only because it mutually indwelled with everything else in the universe. The universe is a single event. It is not fragmented. There are no vacuums. Every atom, every blade of grass, every breath, every ether wave is connected to the whole. It is the expression of this deep center, which is not material.

The bonding in the universe is such that it is not so strong that things fuse and loose their articulation and interiority. It is not so weak that things fall apart. The rate of differentiation continues to expand; each thing having its union with the whole both inwardly and outwardly. That is how the universe works.

When the universe in the human chooses to celebrate the difference and reverence the interiority and be conscious of this in communion, then love has come. From the beginning the universe has held the potential for love, the conscious bonding of the whole.

From the beginning the universe is a community of atomic elements, galaxies.

And in the process of evolution we see the universe develop in a community with ever-greater complexity, depth and bondedness. (The web of life).

The greater the diversity of the community is, the richer its expression of its depth and therefore of the depth of communion.

The history of the universe shows us, that the natural community is the basic community. 13.7 Billion years of development and evolution of the universe as community welcomed the human into this community of life. All this was needed so that the human could find a habitat in which they could survive. If the natural community is not in tact, there will never be a human community, whatever the efforts of humans to build community.

The loss of relationship and the consequent alienation is a kind of supreme evil in the universe. In the Christian world this loss of relationship was traditionally understood as an ultimate misery. To be locked up in a private world, to be cut of from intimacy with other beings, to be incapable of entering the joy of mutual presence- such conditions were taken as the essence of damnation.

M.T.Mc Gilles

 

Three Principles of The Cosmos,  Thomas Berry

These governing principles of the universe have controlled the entire evolutionary process from the moment of it explosive origin some fourteen billion years ago to the shaping of the earth, the emergence of life and consciousness, are now understood by scientific reasoning, although their implications have not yet been acted upon in any effective way. The ecological age must now activate these principles in a universal context if the human venture is to continue.

These principles on which the universe functions are three:

  • differentiation,
  • subjectivity,
  • communion.

Differentiation is the primordial expression of the universe. In the fiery violence of some billion degrees of heat, the original energy dispersed itself through the vast regions of space not as some homogeneous or jellylike substance, but as radiation and as differentiated particles eventually distributed through a certain sequence of elements,manifesting an amazing variety of qualities. These were further shaped into galactic systems composed of highly individuated starry oceans of fire. Everywhere we find this differentiating processes taking place. In our own solar system, within the sequence of planets, we find planet Earth taking shape as the most highly differentiated reality we know in the entire universe. Life on planet Earth finds expression in an overwhelming variety of manifestations. These themselves change through the centuries.

The second primary principle is that of increased subjectivity. From the shaping of the hydrogen atom to the formation of the human brain, interior psychic unity has consistently increased along with a greater complexification of being. This capacity for interiority involves increased unity of function through ever more complex organic structures. Increase in subjectivity is associated with increased complexity of a central nervous system. Then comes the development of the brain.

With the nervous system and the brain comes greater freedom of control over the activity of the organism. In this manner planet Earth becomes ever more subject to the free inter-play of self-determining forces.

A third principle of the universe is the communion of each reality of the universe with every other reality of the universe. Here our scientific evidence confirms, with a magnificent overview, the awareness that we live in a universe – a single, multiform, energy event,(DE, chapter 5, page 45)

DE: Dream of the Earth, Thomas Berry, ISBN: 0-87`156-622-2

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free picture Internet

 

Canticle of Creation

 

O Most High, all-powerful, good Lord God, to you belong praise, glory, honor and all blessing.

sunshine_Be praised, my Lord, for all your creation and especially for our Brother Sun, who brings us the day and the light; he is strong and shines magnificently.  O Lord, we think of you when we look at him.

Be praised, my Lord, for Sister Moon, and for the stars  which you have set shining and lovely in the heavens.

Be praised, my Lord, for our Brothers Wind and Air and every kind of weather   by which you, Lord, uphold life in all your creatures.

Be praised, my Lord, for Sister Water, who is very useful to us, and humble and precious and pure.

burning candle isolated on black backgroundBe praised, my Lord, for Brother Fire, through whom you give us light in the darkness: he is bright and lively and strong.

Be praised, my Lord, for Sister Earth, our Mother, who nourishes us and sustains us, bringing forth fruits and vegetables of many kinds and flowers of many colors.

Be praised, my Lord, for those who forgive for love of you; and for those who bear sickness and weakness in peace and patience — you will grant them a crown.

Be praised, my Lord, for our Sister Death, whom we must all face.

I praise and bless you, Lord, and I give thanks to you, and I will serve you in all humility.

Prayer of St. Francis

A Readers’ Guide to :”Laudato Si”

Jun 26, 2015
by Thomas Reese
Vatican

A volunteer picks up trash at Freedom Island, a marshland considered to be a sanctuary for birds, fish and mangroves in April in the Philippines. (CNS/Reuters/Romeo Ranoco)
This article appears in the Francis: The Environment Encyclical feature series. View the full series.

 

One of the many marvelous things about Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment, “Laudato Si’, on Care for Our Common Home,” is that it is written in a very accessible style. It does not read like an academic tome as did many encyclicals of the past. Anyone who can read a newspaper can read this encyclical and get something out of it.

True, it is 190 pages and about 40,000 words, but the six chapters flow nicely. It is not a hard read.

The encyclical is great for individual reading but even better for a book club, class, or discussion group. Reading and discussing the encyclical in a group is exactly what is called for because throughout the letter, there are calls to dialogue.

There is no need for people to wait while the bishops and pastors organize a response to the encyclical. Anyone can download the encyclical, call their friends and say, “Let’s read and discuss the encyclical.” Anyone part of a book club can recommend that the encyclical be their next read.

The impact of the encyclical is going to be significant even outside the Catholic church. Environmentalists and scientists have endorsed the document. Likewise, non-Catholic religious leaders are eager to discuss the encyclical, which will become a topic of ecumenical and interreligious dialogue.

So here is a readers’ guide with study questions to help in reading the encyclical. Because of the richness of the content, I would suggest taking one chapter at a time for reading and discussion. There are lots of questions. Use the ones you find helpful for discussion; don’t feel you have to answer them all.

The introduction

The pope begins the encyclical by summarizing his presentation and citing earlier popes and other religious leaders who have spoken about the environment. He says Sister Earth “cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her.”

Questions:

  1. Where have you seen harm inflicted on Sister Earth (Paragraph 2)?
  2. Why do you think few people knew that Paul VI, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI spoke out on environmental issues (4-6)?
  3. St. Francis of Assisi has been called the patron saint of the environment. What is attractive about him (10-12)?

Pope Francis concludes his introduction with an appeal (13-16). What is your response?

 

Chapter 1: What is happening to our common home

Pope Francis is a firm believer in the need to gather the facts in order to understand a problem. Chapter 1 presents the scientific consensus on climate change along with a description of other threats to the environment, including threats to water supplies and biodiversity. He also looks at how environmental degradation has affected human life and society. Finally, he writes about the global inequality of the environmental crisis.

Questions:

  1. How has pollution affected you or your family personally?
  2. What does the pope mean by a “throwaway culture” (22)? Do you agree with him? Why?
  3. What does the pope mean when he says, “The climate is a common good” (23)?
  4. What is the evidence that climate change is happening and is caused by human activity (23)? What will be its effects?
  5. The pope says “access to safe drinkable water is a basic and universal human right,” yet many poor people do not have access to it (27-31). Why is this? What can be done?
  6. Why does the pope think biodiversity is important (32-42)? What are the threats to biodiversity?
  7. What are the effects on people’s lives of environmental deterioration, current models of development, and the throwaway culture (43-47)?
  8. Why does the pope believe “we cannot adequately combat environmental degradation unless we attend to causes related to human and social degradation” (48)?
  9. Why does the pope think that simply reducing birth rates of the poor is not a just or adequate response to the problem of poverty or environmental degradation (50)?
  10. “A true ‘ecological debt’ exists, particularly between the global north and south,” the pope writes (51). What does he mean?

Why does the pope think the response to the world’s environmental crisis has been weak (53)?

Chapter 2: The Gospel of creation

The pope argues that faith convictions can motivate Christians to care for nature and for the most vulnerable of their brothers and sisters. He begins with the biblical account of creation and then meditates on the mystery of the universe, which he sees as a continuing revelation of the divine. “Everything is related, and we human beings are united as brothers and sisters on a wonderful pilgrimage, woven together by the love God has for each of his creatures and which also unites us in fond affection with brother sun, sister moon, brother river and mother earth.” He concludes, “The earth is essentially a shared inheritance, whose fruits are meant to benefit everyone.”

Questions:

  • According to Francis, the Bible teaches that the harmony between the creator, humanity, and creation was disrupted by our presuming to take the place of God and refusing to acknowledge our creaturely limitations (66). What does it mean to presume to take the place of God?
  • How does Francis interpret Genesis 1:28, which grants humankind dominion over the earth (67)?
  • How does Francis use the Bible to support his view that the gift of the earth with its fruits belongs to everyone (71)?
  • In reflecting on the mystery of the universe, what does Francis mean by saying that “creation is of the order of love” (77)?
  • What is our role “in this universe, shaped by open and intercommunicating systems” where “we can discern countless forms of relationship and participation” (79)?
  • Francis says, “Creating a world in need of development, God in some way sought to limit himself in such a way that many of the things we think of as evils, dangers or sources of suffering, are in reality part of the pains of childbirth which he uses to draw us into the act of cooperation with the Creator” (80). How do you understand this?
  • If the ultimate purpose of other creatures is not to be found in us, how do we and other creatures fit into God’s plan (83)?
  • Alongside revelation contained in Scripture, “there is a divine manifestation in the blaze of the sun and the fall of night” (85). How have you experienced God in creation?
  • What is your reaction to the hymn of St. Francis of Assisi (87)?
  • “The Christian tradition has never recognized the right to pri­vate property as absolute or inviolable, and has stressed the social purpose of all forms of pri­vate property” (93). When can the right to private property be subordinated to the common good?
  • What was the attitude of Jesus toward creation (96-100)?

Chapter 3: The human roots of the ecological crisis

Although science and technology “can produce important means of improving the quality of human life,” they have also “given those with the knowledge, and especially the economic resources to use them, an impressive dominance over the whole of humanity and the entire world.” Francis says we are enthralled with a technocratic paradigm, which promises unlimited growth. But this paradigm “is based on the lie that there is an infinite supply of the earth’s goods, and this leads to the planet being squeezed dry beyond every limit.” Those supporting this paradigm show “no interest in more balanced levels of production, a better distribution of wealth, concern for the environment and the rights of future generations. Their behaviour shows that for them maximizing profits is enough.”

Questions:

  1. What is Francis’ attitude toward technology? What does he mean by the technocratic paradigm (101, 106-114)?
  2. How does Francis argue that “technological products are not neutral,” (107, 114) that “the technocratic paradigm also tends to dominate economic and political life” (109)?
  3. Francis says, “We are all too slow in developing economic institutions and social initiatives which can give the poor regular access to basic resourc­es” (109). What does he mean? Why does this happen?
  4. Francis asserts that “by itself the market cannot guarantee integral human development and social inclusion” (109). Why does he say this? Do you agree?
  5. Francis argues, “To seek only a technical remedy to each environmental problem which comes up is to separate what is in reality interconnected and to mask the true and deepest problems of the global system” (111). What are the true and deepest problems of the global system in Francis’ mind?
  6. Francis calls for a broadened vision (112), “a bold cultural revolution” (114). What would that look like?
  7. What does Francis mean by “modern anthropocentrism” (115)?
  8. For Francis, “the present ecological crisis is one small sign of the ethical, cultural and spiritual crisis of modernity” (119). What does Francis mean by “practical relativism” (122) and cultural relativism (123)?
  9. Why does Francis argue that any approach to integrated ecology must also protect employment (124)?
  10. What does Francis see as the positive and negative aspects of biological technologies (130-136)?

Chapter 4: Integral ecology

Recognizing the reasons why a given area is polluted requires a study of the workings of society, its economy, its behavior, and the ways it grasps reality. We are not faced with two separate crises, one environmental and the other social, but rather with one complex crisis that is both social and environmental. Strategies for a solution demand an integrated approach to combating poverty, restoring dignity to the excluded, and at the same time protecting nature.

Questions:

  1. Why does Francis argue that “we are faced not with two separate crises, one environmental and the other social, but rather with one complex crisis which is both social and environmental” (139)?
  2. What would it mean to have “an integrated approach to combating poverty, restoring dignity to the excluded, and at the same time protecting nature (139)”?
  3. Why does Francis think it is important for us to understand ecosystems and our relationship to them (140)?
  4. Why do “we urgently need a humanism capable of bringing together the different fields of knowledge, including economics, in the service of a more integral and integrating vision” (141)?
  5. Francis speaks of an “integral ecology” that combines environmental (138-140), economic (141), social (142), and cultural (143) ecologies. What does that mean? How does it work?
  6. How does the environment of our homes, workplace, and neighborhoods affect our quality of life (147)?
  7. How does poverty, overcrowding, lack of open spaces, and poor housing affect the poor (149)? Why are these environmental issues?
  8. What does Francis mean by “the common good” (156)?
  9. What are the consequences of seeing the earth as a gift that we have freely received and must share with others and that also belongs to those who will follow us (159)?
  10. “What is the purpose of our life in this world? Why are we here? What is the goal of our work and all our efforts? What need does the earth have of us” (160)?
  11. Why does Francis say, “Doomsday predictions can no longer be met with irony or disdain” (161)?
  12. What does Francis mean when he says, “An ethical and cultural decline … has accompanied the deterioration of the environment” (162)?

Chapter 5: Lines of approach and action

What is to be done? Francis calls for dialogue on environmental policy in the international, national and local communities. This dialogue must include transparent decision-making so that the politics serve human fulfillment and not just economic interests. It also involves dialogue between religions and science working together for the common good.

Questions:

  1. The word “dialogue” is repeated throughout this chapter. What does it mean and why does Francis think it is important?
  2. Francis speaks of the need for a global consensus for confronting problems. Why is it needed, and how is it going to be achieved (164)?
  3. Why does he think that “the post-industrial period may well be remembered as one of the most irresponsible in history” (165)?
  4. What does Francis see as the successes and failures of the global response to environmental issues (166-169)?
  5. What international strategies does Francis oppose in responding to the environmental crisis (170-171), and which does he support (172-172)?
  6. Francis argues, “The same mindset which stands in the way of making radical decisions to reverse the trend of global warming also stands in the way of achieving the goal of eliminating poverty” (175). What is this mindset?
  7. “Given the real potential for a misuse of human abilities,” Francis argues, “individual states can no longer ignore their responsibility for planning, coordination, oversight and enforcement within their respective borders” (177). What does that mean for the United States?
  8. “The Church does not presume to settle scientific questions or to replace politics,” Francis says. “But I am concerned to encourage an honest and open debate so that particular interests or ideologies will not prejudice the common good” (188). What is the proper role of the church in political, economic and environmental issues?
  9. Francis is critical of many business practices, has no faith in the marketplace to safeguard the environment, and sees a robust role for government in the regulation of the economy and protecting the environment. How will Americans respond to this? How do you?
  10. What does Francis mean when he says, “There is a need to change ‘models of global development’ ” (194)? What is wrong with the current models? What would the new models look like?
  11. What are the separate roles of religion and science, and how can they dialogue and work together (199-201)?

Chapter 6: Ecological education and spirituality

We need to change and develop new convictions, attitudes and forms of life, including a new lifestyle. This requires not only individual conversion, but also community networks to solve the complex situation facing our world today. Essential to this is a spirituality that can motivate us to a more passionate concern for the protection of our world. Christian spirituality proposes a growth and fulfillment marked by moderation and the capacity to be happy with little. Love, overflowing with small gestures of mutual care, is also civic and political, and it makes itself felt in every action that seeks to build a better world.

Questions:

  1. Throughout this encyclical, Francis links concern for the poor with the environment. Why does he do that?
  2. Francis is critical of a consumerist lifestyle (204). Why? What would a new lifestyle look like?
  3. What could be the political and economic impact of a widespread change in lifestyles (206)?
  4. What does Francis see as the role of environmental education in increasing awareness and changing habits (210-211)?
  5. What does Francis mean by an ecological spirituality, and how can it motivate us to a passionate concern for the protection of our world (216)?
  6. Self-improvement on the part of individuals will not by itself remedy the extremely complex situation we face today, according to Francis. What is the role for community networks? Governments?
  7. What are the attitudes that foster a spirit of generous care (220-221)?
  8. Granted all of the problems we face, what gives Francis joy and peace (222-227)?
  9. Love must also be civic and political, according to Francis. “Social love moves us to devise larger strategies to halt environmental degradation and to encourage a ‘culture of care’ which permeates all of society.” How can we encourage civic and political love in the United States?
  10. Francis proposes that the natural world is integral to our sacramental and spiritual lives (233-242). How have you experienced this?
  11. How is this encyclical going to change your life?
For additional reading on the encyclical, see Francis: The Environment Encyclical.Click here to download the PDF.

[Jesuit Fr. Thomas Reese is a senior analyst for NCR and author of Inside the Vatican: The Politics and Organization of the Catholic Church. His email address is treesesj@ncronline.org. Follow him on Twitter: @ThomasReeseSJ.]

Article by Leonardo Boff on the Pope’s Encyclical

 

The Magna Carta of integral ecology: Cry of the Earth, Cry of the poor

By Leonardo Boff,  theologian and ecologist

 

Before making any comment it is worth highlighting some peculiarities of the Laudato Si’ encyclical of Pope Francis. It is the first time a Pope has addressed the issue of ecology in the sense of an integral ecology (as it goes beyond the environment) in such a complete way. Big surprise: he elaborates the subject on the new ecological paradigm, which no official document of the UN has done so far. He bases his writing on the safest data from the life sciences and Earth. He reads the data affectionately (with a sensitive or cordial intelligence), as he discerns that behind them hides human tragedy and suffering, and for Mother Earth as. The current situation is serious, but Pope Francis always finds reasons for hope and trust that human beings can find viable solutions. He links to the Popes who preceded him, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, quoting them frequently. And something absolutely new: the text is part of collegiality, as it values the contributions of dozens of bishops’ conferences around the world, from the US to Germany, Brazil, Patagonia-Comahue, and Paraguay. He gathers the contributions of other thinkers, such as Catholics Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Romano Guardini, Dante Alighieri, the Argentinian maestro Juan Carlos Scannone, Protestant Paul Ricoeur and the Sufi Muslim Ali Al-Khawwas. The recipients are all of us human beings, we are all inhabitants of the same common home (commonly used term by the Pope) and suffer the same threats. Pope Francis does not write as a Master or Doctor of faith, but as a zealous pastor who cares for the common home of all beings, not just humans, that inhabit it. One element deserves to be highlighted, as it reveals the “forma mentis” (the way he organizes his thinking) of Pope Francis. This is a contribution of the pastoral and theological experience of Latin American churches in the light of the documents of Latin American Bishops (CELAM) in Medellin (1968), Puebla (1979) and Aparecida (2007), that were an option for the poor against poverty and in favor of liberation. The wording and tone of the encyclical are typical of Pope Francis, and the ecological culture that he has accumulated, but I also realize that many expressions and ways of speaking refer to what is being thought and written mainly in Latin America.

The themes of the “common home”, of “Mother Earth”, the “cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor”, the “care” of the “interdependence of all beings”, of the “poor and vulnerable”, the “paradigm shift,” the “human being as Earth” that feels, thinks, loves and reveres, the ” integral ecology” among others, are recurrent among us. The structure of the encyclical follows the methodological ritual used by our churches and theological reflection linked to the practice of liberation, now taken over and consecrated by the Pope: see, judge, act and celebrate.

First, he begins revealing his main source of inspiration: St. Francis of Assisi, whom he calls “the quintessential example of comprehensive care and ecology, who showed special concern for the poor and the abandoned” (n.10, n.66). Then he moves on to see “What is happening in our home” (nn.17-61). The Pope says, “just by looking at the reality with sincerity we can see that there is a deterioration of our common home” (n.61). This part incorporates the most consistent data on climate change (nn.20-22), the issue of water (n.27-31), erosion of biodiversity (nn.32-42), the deterioration of the quality of human life and the degradation of social life (nn.43-47), he denounces the high rate of planetary inequality, which affects all areas of life (nn.48-52), with the poor as its main victims (n. 48). In this part there is a phrase which refers to the reflection made in Latin America: “Today we cannot ignore that a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach and should integrate justice in discussions on the environment to hear both the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor “(n.49). Then he adds: “the cries of the Earth join the cries of the abandoned of this world” (n.53). This is quite consistent since the beginning he has said that “we are Earth” (No. 2; cf. Gen 2.7.). Very much in line with the great singer and poet Argentine indigenous Atahualpa Yupanqui: “humans beings are the Earth walking, feeling, thinking and loving.” He condemns the proposed internationalization of the Amazon that “only serves the interests of multinationals” (n.38). There is a great statement of ethical force, “it is severely grave to obtain significant benefits making the rest of humanity, present and future, pay for the high costs of environmental degradation” (n.36). He acknowledges with sadness: “We had never mistreated and offended our common home as much as in the last two centuries” (n.53). Faced with this human offensive against Mother Earth that many scientists have denounced as the beginning of a new geological era -the anthropocene- he regrets the weakness of the powers of this world, that deceived, “believed that everything can continue as it is, as an alibi to “maintain its self-destructive habits” (n.59) with “a behavior that seems suicidal” (n.55). Prudently, he recognizes the diversity of opinions (nn.60-61) and that “there is no single way to solve the problem” (n.60). However, “it is true that the global system is unsustainable from many points of view because we have stopped thinking about the purpose of human action (n.61) and we get lost in the construction of means for unlimited accumulation at the expense of ecological injustice (degradation of ecosystems) and social injustice (impoverishment of populations). Mankind simply disappointed the divine hope”(n.61). The urgent challenge, then, is “to protect our common home” (n.13); and for that we need, quoting Pope John Paul II, “a global ecological conversion” (n.5); “A culture of caring that permeates all of society” (n.231). Once the seeing dimension is realized, the dimension of judgment prevails.

This judging is done in two aspects, the scientific and the theological. Let´s see the scientific. The encyclical devoted the entire third chapter to the analysis “of the human root of the ecological crisis” (nn.101-136). Here the Pope proposes to analyze techno-science, without prejudice, recognizing what it has brought such as “precious things to improve the quality of human life” (n. 103). But this is not the problem, it is independence submitted to the economy, politics and nature in view of the accumulation of material goods (cf.n.109). Techno-science nourishes a mistaken assumption that there is an “infinite availability of goods in the world” (n.106), when we know that we have surpassed the physical limits of the Earth and that much of the goods and services are not renewable. Techno-science has turned into technocracy, which has become a real dictatorship with a firm logic of domination over everything and everyone (n.108). The great illusion, dominant today, lies in believing that techno-science can solve all environmental problems. This is a misleading idea because it “involves isolating the things that are always connected” (n.111). In fact, “everything is connected” (n.117), “everything is related” (n.120), a claim that appears throughout the encyclical text as a refrain, as it is a key concept of the contemporary paradigm. The great limitation of technocracy is “knowledge fragmentation and losing the sense of wholeness” (n.110). The worst thing is “not to recognize the intrinsic value of every being and even denying a peculiar value to the human being” (n.118). The intrinsic value of each being, even if it is minuscule, is permanently highlighted in the encyclical (N.69), as it is in the Earth Charter. By denying the intrinsic value we are preventing “each being to communicate its message and to give glory to God” (n.33). The largest deviation of technocracy is anthropocentrism. This means an illusion that things have value only insofar as they are ordered to human use, forgetting that its existence is valuable by itself (n.33). If it is true that everything is related, then “we humans are united as brothers and sisters and join with tender affection to Brother Sun, Sister Moon, Brother river and Mother Earth” (n.92). How can we expect to dominate them and view them within the narrow perspective of domination by humans?

All these “ecological virtues” (n.88) are lost by the will of power and domination of others to nature. We live a distressing “loss of meaning of life and the desire to live together” (n.110). He sometimes quotes the Italian-German theologian Romano Guardini (1885-1968), one of the most read in the middle of last century, who wrote a critical book against the claims of the modernity (n.105 note 83: Das Ende der Neuzeit, The decline of the Modern Age, 1958). The other side of judgment is the theological. The encyclical reserves an important space for the “Gospel of Creation” (nos. 62-100). It begins justifying the contribution of religions and Christianity, as it is global crisis, each instance must, with its religious capital contribute to the care of the Earth (n.62). He does not insists in doctrines but on the wisdom in various spiritual paths. Christianity prefers to speak of creation rather than nature, because “creation is related to a project of love of God” (n.76). He quotes, more than once, a beautiful text of the Book of Wisdom (21.24) where it is clear that “the creation of the order of love” (n.77) and God emerges as “the Lord lover of life “(Wis 11:26). The text opens for an evolutionary view of the universe without using the word, but through a circumlocution referring to the universe “consisting of open systems that come into communion with each other” (n.79). It uses the main texts that link Christ incarnated and risen with the world and with the whole universe, making all matters of the Earth sacred (n.83). In this context he quotes Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955, n.83 note 53) as a precursor of this cosmic vision. The fact that Trinity-God is divine and it related with people means that all things are related resonances of the divine Trinity (n.240).

The Encyclical quotes the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of the Orthodox Church who “recognizes that sins against creation are sins against God” (n.7). Hence the urgency of a collective ecological conversion to repair the lost harmony. The encyclical concludes well with this part “The analysis showed the need for a change of course … we must escape the spiral of self-destruction in which we are sinking” (n.163). It is not a reform, but, citing the Earth Charter, to seek “a new beginning” (n.207). The interdependence of all with all leads us to believe “in one world with a common project” (n.164). Since reality has many aspects, all closely related, Pope Francis proposes an “integral ecology” that goes beyond the environmental ecology to which we are accustomed (n.137). It covers all areas, the environmental, economic, social, cultural and everyday life (n.147-148). Never forget the poor who also testify to the living human and social ecology ties of belonging and solidarity with each other (n.149). The third methodological step is to act. In this part, the Encyclical observes the major issues of the international, national and local politics (nn.164-181). It stresses the interdependence of social and educational aspects with the ecological and sadly states the difficulties that bring the prevalence of technocracy, creating difficulties for the changes needed to restrain the greed of accumulation and consumption, that can be re-opened (n.141). He mentions again the theme of economics and politics that should serve the common good and create conditions for a possible human fulfilment (n.189-198). He re-emphasizes the dialogue between science and religion, as it has been suggested by the great biologist Edward O. Wilson (cf. the book Creation: How to save life on Earth, 2008). All religions “should seek the care of nature and the defense of the poor” (n.201). Still in the aspect of acting, he challenges education in the sense of creating “ecological citizenship” (n.211) and a new lifestyle, based on caring, compassion, shared sobriety, the alliance between humanity and the environment, since both are umbilically linked, and the co-responsibility for everything that exists and lives and our common destiny (nn.203-208). Finally, the time to celebrate. The celebration takes place in a context of “ecological conversion” (n.216), it involves an “ecological spirituality” (n.216). This stems not so much from theological doctrines but the motivations that faith arises to take care of the common home and “nurture a passion for caring for the world” (216). Such a mystical experience is what mobilizes people to live in ecological balance, “to those who are solidary inside themselves, with others, with nature and with all living and spiritual beings and God” (n.210). It appears to be the truth that “less is more” and that we can be happy with little. In the sense of celebrating “the world is more than something to be solved, it is a joyous mystery to be contemplated in joy and with love” (n.12).

The tender and fraternal spirit of St. Francis of Assisi is present through the entire text of the encyclical Laudato Si’. The current situation does not mean an announced tragedy, but a challenge for us to care for the common home and for each other. The text highlights poetry and joy in the Spirit and indestructible hope that if the threat is big, greater is the opportunity for solving our environmental problems. The text poetically ends with the words “Beyond the Sun”, saying: “let’s walk singing. That our struggles and our concerns about this planet do not take away our joy of hope “(n.244). I would like to end with the final words of the Earth Charter which the Pope quotes himself (n.207): ” Let ours be a time remembered for the awakening of a new reverence for life, the firm resolve to achieve sustainability, the quickening of the struggle for justice and peace, and the joyful celebration of life.¨

 

 

Reflection Pope Francis, April 2017

 

PFR12

Good evening – or, good morning, I am not sure what time it is there.  Regardless of the hour, I am thrilled to be participating in your conference.  I very much like its title – “The Future You” – because, while looking at tomorrow, it invites us to open a dialogue today, to look at the future through a “you.”  “The Future You:” the future is made of “yous,” it is made of encounters, because life flows through our relations with others.  Quite a few years of life have strengthened my conviction that each and everyone’s existence is deeply tied to that of others: life is not time merely passing by, life is about interactions.

As I meet, or lend an ear to those who are sick, to the migrants who face terrible hardships in search of a brighter future, to prison inmates who carry a hell of pain inside their hearts, and to those, many of them young, who cannot find a job, I often find myself wondering: “Why them and not me?”  I, myself, was born in a family of migrants; my father, my grandparents, like many other Italians, left for Argentina and met the fate of those who are left with nothing.  I could have very well ended up among today’s “discarded” people.  And that’s why I always ask myself, deep in my heart: “Why them and not me?”

First and foremost, I would love it if this meeting could help to remind us that we all need each other, none of us is an island, an autonomous and independent “I,” separated from the other, and we can only build the future by standing together, including everyone.  We don’t think about it often, but everything is connected, and we need to restore our connections to a healthy state.  Even the harsh judgment I hold in my heart against my brother or my sister, the open wound that was never cured, the offense that was never forgiven, the rancor that is only going to hurt me, are all instances of a fight that I carry within me, a flare deep in my heart that needs to be extinguished before it goes up in flames, leaving only ashes behind.

Many of us, nowadays, seem to believe that a happy future is something impossible to achieve.  While such concerns must be taken very seriously, they are not invincible.  They can be overcome when we don’t lock our door to the outside world.  Happiness can only be discovered as a gift of harmony between the whole and each single component.  Even science – and you know it better than I do – points to an understanding of reality as a place where every element connects and interacts with everything else.

And this brings me to my second message.  How wonderful would it be if the growth of scientific and technological innovation would come along with more equality and social inclusion.  How wonderful would it be, while we discover faraway planets, to rediscover the needs of the brothers and sisters orbiting around us.  How wonderful would it be if solidarity, this beautiful and, at times, inconvenient word, was not simply reduced to social work, and became, instead, the default attitude in political, economic and scientific choices, as well as in the relationships among individuals, peoples and countries.  Only by educating people to a true solidarity will we be able to overcome the “culture of waste,” which doesn’t concern only food and goods but, first and foremost, the people who are cast aside by our techno-economic systems which, without even realizing it, are now putting products at their core, instead of people.

Solidarity is a term that many wish to erase from the dictionary.  Solidarity, however, is not an automatic mechanism.  It cannot be programmed or controlled.  It is a free response born from the heart of each and every one.  Yes, a free response!  When one realizes that life, even in the middle of so many contradictions, is a gift, that love is the source and the meaning of life, how can they withhold their urge to do good to another fellow being?

In order to do good, we need memory, we need courage and we need creativity.  And I know that TED gathers many creative minds.  Yes, love does require a creative, concrete and ingenious attitude.  Good intentions and conventional formulas, so often used to appease our conscience, are not enough.  Let us help each other, all together, to remember that the other is not a statistic or a number.  The other has a face.  The “you” is always a real presence, a person to take care of.

There is a parable Jesus told to help us understand the difference between those who’d rather not be bothered and those who take care of the other.  I am sure you have heard it before.  It is the Parable of the Good Samaritan.  When Jesus was asked: “Who is my neighbor?” – namely, “Who should I take care of?” – he told this story, the story of a man who had been assaulted, robbed, beaten and abandoned along a dirt road.  Upon seeing him, a priest and a Levite, two very influential people of the time, walked past him without stopping to help.  After a while, a Samaritan, a very much despised ethnicity at the time, walked by.  Seeing the injured man lying on the ground, he did not ignore him as if he weren’t even there.  Instead, he felt compassion for this man, which compelled him to act in a very concrete manner.  He poured oil and wine on the wounds of the helpless man, brought him to a hostel and paid out of his pocket for him to be assisted.

The story of the Good Samaritan is the story of today’s humanity.  People’s paths are riddled with suffering, as everything is centered around money, and things, instead of people.  And often there is this habit, by people who call themselves “respectable,” of not taking care of the others, thus leaving behind thousands of human beings, or entire populations, on the side of the road.  Fortunately, there are also those who are creating a new world by taking care of the other, even out of their own pockets.  Mother Teresa actually said: “One cannot love, unless it is at their own expense.”

We have so much to do, and we must do it together.  But how can we do that with all the evil we breathe every day?  Thank God, no system can nullify our desire to open up to the good, to compassion and to our capacity to react against evil, all of which stem from deep within our hearts.  Now you might tell me, “Sure, these are beautiful words, but I am not the Good Samaritan, nor Mother Teresa of Calcutta.”  On the contrary: we are precious, each and every one of us.  Each and every one of us is irreplaceable in the eyes of God.  Through the darkness of today’s conflicts, each and every one of us can become a bright candle, a reminder that light will overcome darkness, and never the other way around.

To Christians, the future does have a name, and its name is Hope.  Feeling hopeful does not mean to be optimistically naïve and ignore the tragedy humanity is facing.  Hope is the virtue of a heart that doesn’t lock itself into darkness, that doesn’t dwell on the past, does not simply get by in the present, but is able to see a tomorrow.  Hope is the door that opens onto the future.  Hope is a humble, hidden seed of life that, with time, will develop into a large tree.  It is like some invisible yeast that allows the whole dough to grow, that brings flavor to all aspects of life.  And it can do so much, because a tiny flicker of light that feeds on hope is enough to shatter the shield of darkness.  A single individual is enough for hope to exist, and that individual can be you.  And then there will be another “you,” and another “you,” and it turns into an “us.”  And so, does hope begin when we have an “us?”  No.  Hope began with one “you.”  When there is an “us,” there begins a revolution.

The third message I would like to share today is, indeed, about revolution: the revolution of tenderness.  And what is tenderness?  It is the love that comes close and becomes real.  It is a movement that starts from our heart and reaches the eyes, the ears and the hands.  Tenderness means to use our eyes to see the other, our ears to hear the other, to listen to the children, the poor, those who are afraid of the future.  To listen also to the silent cry of our common home, of our sick and polluted earth.  Tenderness means to use our hands and our heart to comfort the other, to take care of those in need.

Tenderness is the language of the young children, of those who need the other.  A child’s love for Mom and Dad grows through their touch, their gaze, their voice, their tenderness.  I like when I hear parents talk to their babies, adapting to the little child, sharing the same level of communication.  This is tenderness: being on the same level as the other.  God himself descended into Jesus to be on our level.  This is the same path the Good Samaritan took.  This is the path that Jesus himself took.  He lowered himself, he lived his entire human existence practicing the real, concrete language of love.

Yes, tenderness is the path of choice for the strongest, most courageous men and women.  Tenderness is not weakness; it is fortitude.  It is the path of solidarity, the path of humility.  Please, allow me to say it loud and clear: the more powerful you are, the more your actions will have an impact on people, the more responsible you are to act humbly.  If you don’t, your power will ruin you, and you will ruin the other.  There is a saying in Argentina: “Power is like drinking gin on an empty stomach.”  You feel dizzy, you get drunk, you lose your balance, and you will end up hurting yourself and those around you, if you don’t connect your power with humility and tenderness.  Through humility and concrete love, on the other hand, power – the highest, the strongest one – becomes a service, a force for good.

The future of humankind isn’t exclusively in the hands of politicians, of great leaders, of big companies.  Yes, they do hold an enormous responsibility.  But the future is, most of all, in the hands of those people who recognize the other as a “you” and themselves as part of an “us.”  We all need each other.  And so, please, think of me as well with tenderness, so that I can fulfill the task I have been given for the good of the other, of each and every one, of all of you, of all of us.  Thank you.

This is from the TED Talk of Pope Francis, Bishop of Rome and head of the Catholic Church, and filmed in April 2017 at the Vatican.

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Remembering the Universe Story in Our Bodies

The Remembering

The Purpose

With this guided visualization, our evolutionary journey becomes more real to us than before. We reawaken to our panoramic history as integral parts of the evolving universe, and feel within us the presence and summons of this history. Setting our recent chapter as humans within the context of our far larger story, the Remembering evokes the ecological self and loosens the grip of the anthropocentrism of today’s culture. At the same time it fosters a sense of authority; which we can claim when we act on behalf of the Earth: that is, it encourages us to act our age – our true age of fifteen billion years – and take part in the great turning to a sustainable Society.

Description

The Remembering can be offered as a guided meditation with people sitting or lying, or as spontaneous enactment, in which people use bodily movements and sensations to imagine or recapture evolutionary memories. Rocking, nosing, wriggling, crawling, pushing up all help us imagine the inner body sense of amphibian and reptile and early mammal. Even if we only imagine them now, these memories are embedded in our neurological system; each one of our bodies recapitulated our evolutionary journey in the womb. In offering this process, we often use a drum to sound a heartbeat; it enhances the connection with the pulse of life in all beings through time.

Come with me on a journey to the past, a journey to help us remember who we are. We begin with the heartbeat; place your hand over your heart and feel this beat, listen to this beat. Follow this pulse all the way back, back through the long eons .. follow it back to the first fire at the beginning of time, the immense hot birth of the universe some fifteen billion years ago, You were there. I was there, for the cells in our body burn with that same energy today.

We began, long ago, as great hot swirls of gas and dancing particles.

Our galaxy formed, and then our sun, and then, four and a half billion years ago our earth. The Earth was rock and crystal beneath which burned tremendous fires. Through eons it cooled to below boiling, and began to rain, and the oceans were born

In these warm seas, under the brown sky, this dance of rock and air, water and fire organic life arose. Can you remember your life as a single-celled creature, a simple being floating in the Mother Ocean? Only bounded by a thin membrane. You are a bacterium feeding on the minerals in this salty soup. In the warm sea, you are pulled by the currents, stirred by the wind. How does it feel to reproduce by simply becoming two identical beings, and then four…Every cell in our bodies is descended from those first ones.

Some of us learn to utilize the energy of the sun directly and become plants. But you and I from early on take our energy by eating others and we become one- celled animals. In our constant search for food, we actually invade other cells and combine our nuclei. In time this leads to a new way of creating life. Through sexual reproduction, unique individual creatures come into being, to love , to reproduce in turn, and to die.

Float on and remember linking up with other single-celled beings. Joining together, we become a sponge, or perhaps a jellyfish. What are our sensations now?

Can you remember our childhood drifting in warm sees? Even today, some of our relatives continue to live in ancient ways: the corals and snails, worms and plankton…They have never forgotten what we once knew and now try to remember.

Can you remember being a slim silvery creature , a few inches long? Feel the muscles from your head all the way down your body. Feel the strength and support that slowly solidifies and becomes over eons a string of vertebrae, extending the length of your body. We have evolved the first backbone. Now we can swim expertly with our fins, the water streaming past and through our gills.

Immensities of time are passing. Our gills slowly change to lungs. We begin to breathe the rich, harsh air, as our fins become strong lobes we use to drag ourselves through the mud of the receding lakes. We return to the waters to spawn, and our young still begin their lives there. Can you remember raising your eyes from the water into the sunlight, as our amphibian cousins, the frogs and toads and salamanders today? Blink your eyes in this brightness, and venture further and further into this strange new world.

Millions of years pass as we dream amphibian dreams, and the world around us changes. The swamps are drying up and we learn to carry the water necessary for our young ones in the shells of our reptilian eggs. We can live now completely on dry land. We have evolved limbs which straddle out from our body and move together, alternating from side to side. How does it feel to move in this new way, crawling over the land, eating insects and other small creatures? We store the sun’s warmth in our body by day, let our hearts slow down and rest at night. Same of our cousins grow huge and toothy, and send bellows echoing over the once silent earth. Some of our cousins let their legs become wings, their scales become feathers, their bones hollow, their hearts fast and hot. Their children live today as birds. And some of our cousins are content as lizards, as turtles and alligators and snakes; crawling on bellies. They keep today the old wisdom, adhere to the old ways.

But we and other cousins take another path. We grow fur and keep the sun’s warmth in our bodies by using the heat stored in our food. We let our young ones grow within us, to keep them safe and warm. More of our children survive, although they require more care. Our legs grow longer and swifter. As early mammals, we are nocturnal, hiding from dinosaurs during the day, and hunting at night. How alert we are as we dart among the roots of the huge trees, searching for food, ready to flee the great jaws. Remember returning to our underground den and curling up to sleep all warm together.

As we sleep, the rule of the dinosaurs fades away, and we mammals can spread now across the land. Some of our cousins return to the water and become dolphins and great whales. Others, like us, remain on land and become gazelles and lemurs, kangaroos and mice, and great cats. Except for resting, our belly seldom touches the ground. We take on thousands of shapes, try thousands of ways of life, and the ones that succeed are passed down. All around us now in the descendants of these cousins are unimaginable store houses of wisdom and diversity of ways.

We go our own way. We move on hands and feet with greater lightness, leaping and climbing. In the big trees, we run along branches and swing on them. Our acute binocular vision lets us judge accurately the distance between branches.

Our strong opposable thumbs help us grip and release. Our fingers are sensitive, able to test the ripeness of fruit, to groom a friend. Life is easy and full. The food we need is all around us. W e are curious, playful, adventurous. Some of our close cousins live in this way.

Night falls ; we nest in the trees. As we sleep and dream the dreams of monkeys , another transformation takes place. We wake with the body that is stronger and heavier. We balance easily on two legs and look to the far horizon.. We call to each other with strong voices.

As we sleep in our family groups, dreaming the dreams of great apes, our forests slowly give way to grasslands. We awaken to the next chapter of our story, where on the open savanna we learn to walk upright. Without trees to escape into, we are more vulnerable to the big cats and other large hunters that roam our world. But we are inventive, adaptable. We make intricate sounds that let us plan together in our groups. We send some members out to hunt while others gather plants for food and medicine, maintain the camp, and nourish the young. We learn in great leaps now, one discovery leading to another: tools, language, making fire, music, art, telling stories. It all happens so quickly.

We bury our dead with flowers, laying their heads to the east, to await rebirth in the womb of Mother Earth. We know we are related to all the cousins and that we are connected to all life, and we live in grateful harmony with cycles and seasons. We take the shape we now have; from now on we evolve through our minds and hearts as we live as gatherers and hunters for thousands of generations. Can you remember? Can you see the faces of the grandmothers and grandfathers lit by the evening fire, hear their songs and stories ,lean against their solid bodies, feel their arms around you, see in them features you wear today? Much has been forgotten, much passed on.

Only four hundred generations ago, we begin to cultivate food on land we have wrested from our cousin species. It all happens so quickly. Farming, property, domesticated animals, towns, markets, temples, governments.  We build fences and fortifications; we have houses in which to keep our goods and sleep safe from one another. Some of us begin to believe that we are separate from our world, and special .

Night falls, we sleep again, and now we open our eyes as modern humans. We awaken enclosed by the walls of a city apartment or suburban house, in a world constructed by machines. What do we smell and touch, see and hear? How did it happen so fast? Automobiles, freeways, skyscrapers, airplane , television screens, endless aisles in supermarkets filled with cans and boxes of processed food. We push our way along crowded city streets. We have not touched the earth or a wild cousin for weeks. Forces we have unleashed are darkening the air, cutting down and burning the trees, suffocating us and all our relatives. It all happens so quickly.

Yet we are the ones who can remember. We can remember who we have been. We can know once again that we are related to all things, that we are a dance of earth and air, fire and water. And we know we are more than this, too: we are the laughter of a child, the strength of compassion, the gathering under the full moon, the shiver of poetry, the melody of a song not yet sung. We are the part of the world that can gasp with wonder, be moved to tears, and imagine what can come. We are the witnesses and worshipers, the warm brainy ones with clever hands, ones who can love and who can destroy.

Let us enter once more into sleep and dreaming. Can you imagine the capacities that wait to take form in us, through us? This time as we awaken let us bring forth the powers and abundance of our evolutionary journey, and imagine we can help to recreate a life-affirming world. Let us once again take joy in our bodies and in each ether, and all our relatives in the more than human world .. You and I have lived in harmony with the Earth for millions of years and this knowledge has not been lost. It is time now to draw on these memories and these strengths, and to let new ways emerge, so that the fire can still burn, so that the heartbeat will not be lost, so that the dance will go 0n.

Joanna MACY  in Coming back to Life. ISBN 978-0-86571-8, page 154

 

 

 

 

We Are Everything

We Are Everything

 

Universe Earth nasa 17

Universe -Earth, NASA picture

 

We are one substance

Matter and energy,

Differing forms of the same thing.

We are one age.

Out of the substance of the universe

We are formed anew from what existed

Since the beginning of time.

 

We are star children.

The literal transformation of  light

Into thoughts, feelings and physical form.

 

We are one life.

Plants and animals,

we are part of and dependent upon

the total that we are.

 

We are one people.

Though we may differ in culture and colour,

In the core of our being we are all the same.

We are part of the process

Of the universe knowing itself.

 

We are the light of stars looking baçk at ourselves,

as we ponder the future

it is our destiny to Create.

 

Jim Bell, in the newsletter, Timeline May/June ’97

To Celebrate the Story of the Universe

The Cosmic Walk

As developed in Genesis farm, USA

 

A Celebration of the New Story

 

Introduction

This ritual was designed to provide some sense of the awesomeness of the time / space of the universe. You can change and adapt it as you see it. It conveys a sense of sequence in the Earth’s unfolding process. It also dramatically conveys the brief history of humanity, as well as the uniqueness of each person’s life.

The events that have been chosen for this are arbitrary. We recommend that you look over the “time-line” in the Universe Story by Br. Swimme and Th. Berry. There may be other events that you would wish to highlight. It is very important to “know” the audience. Be inclusive of the events which shaped their continent and bio-regions as well as the cultural, ethnic and religious story.

What you Need:

 

  1. A length of thick yarn or robe to represent the timeline of the story of the universe.  Total length is arbitrary. E.g. 1 billion years is 5 meters. Mark then the robe with intervals of 1 billion years. Put a piece of coloured yarn at the intervals .

Most of the events happen at the very end and can’t fit on the robe. Group them as close as possible.

  1. A tall candle to be placed at the center of the spiral.
  2. A small candle to be carried by the walker. If each participant is invited to walk the story, then provide a small light for every person.  Make a protection at the candle to prevent wax drippings.
  3. 30 small vigil candles to be placed at the robe at the right
  4. 30 index cards. Each is marked with the event and the year.
  5. Use appropriate solemn/contemplative E.g. Fairy Ring, Mike Rowland

People

  • The audience: sits in a circle in a large room, space around the rope that is laid on the floor in a spiral. The larger the feel of the spiral, the more effective the ceremony is.
  • A narrator: S(he) tells the story of the Universe
  • A walker: this person walks the spiral, slowly ,stops at each marked place ( index card) and lights the vigil light once the narrator stops talking.

Procedure

  • Begin the music.
  • The narrator stands off side and reads the prologue to the Story. ( see text*)
  • The walker stands in the center, close to the large candle. She waits till the reader is finished and light the large candle to mark the Beginning. Then the own candle is lit in the flame of the large candle. If it is a not a Christian setting then use another text to start the ceremony.
  • After that the walker slowly begins to walk towards the first marked place on the robe. Stop at that place and wait till the narrator tells the story. Light the vigil light and continue to walk. Till the end.

Narrator at the beginning of the ceremony* 

Now we enter into an enormous experience of space and time of the Universe. We celebrate the mystery of how all life came to be, how the Cosmos was created. We celebrate the story of all the humans that ever were, are and will be. We celebrate all the days of creation and how we have appeared at a certain time.

In the Beginning was the Dream The Dream was with God

The Dream was God

The Dream was with God in the beginning. Through the Dream all came into being

And nothing was created outside the Dream. Out of the Dream God created Light.

Now the candle is lit in the center.

The Universe Story, continuation of the text.

  • You can adapt your own text to audience and circumstances

To be used  by the Story teller in the Cosmic Walk ceremony

 

 

Big Bang  free picture NASA

 

 

  1. About 13.7  billion years ago, in a great flash the Universe fared into being. In each drop of existence a primordial energy blazed with an intensity that has never happened since. The Universe billowed out in every direction. Elementary particles could stabilize and hydrogen and helium were formed. And in a million years time the fire ball dissolved.

 

  1. One billion years of uninterrupted night went by. In the depth of the great silence the universe prepared for the formation of galaxies and the primal stars. Our Milky Way galaxy was formed, among the many other galaxies. One hundred billion galaxies in all… Each galaxy brought forth from its own materials billions and billions of stars.

 

  1. In a process of ten billions years all primal stars were formed. The stars went through transformation and became supernova’s ; exploded and gave birth to new generation of  stars. In the second generation of stars the element beings of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, calcium and other elements were formed. Five billion years ago, Tiamat our Mother star emerged and later went supernova. So she gave birth to our sun. The Sun is one of the ten thousand stars that were born out of Tiamat.

 

  1. The Sun in her self-organizing ability formed around her a system of planets, all circling around her. So our Earth came into being, the only planet with water and an atmosphere in which life is possible. 4.4 billion years ago the Earth came into existence.

 

  1. 4.1 billion years ago: the early Earth boiled as molten rocks and gaseous materials. She slowly developed a crust. Matter existed as solid, liquid and gas and created the chemical womb from which Aries, the first living cell arose. And the Earth brought forth an atmosphere, oceans and landmasses.

 

  1. 3.9 billion years ago; the first life emerged in the oceans. Aries and her descendants, the Prokaryotes – Eukaryotes, learned to catch pockets of energy from the Sun and the Earth invented photosynthesis. This shaped the future of all life on Earth.

 

  1. 2 billion years ago: after the atmosphere was filled with too much oxygen for eons of time, now there came a balanced atmosphere as we know it. Now every living being can breathe and live.

 

  1. 1 billion years ago: the Eukaryote cells invented meiotic sex. Sexual bonding entered the Universe as two genetically different beings united and fashioned out of their genetic endowment a radically new being. The foundation for creativity and bio- diversity is laid. The Eukaryotes invented the habit of eating living beings; predator- prey relationships were formed.

 

  1. 600 million years ago: The Eukaryotes dared to submerge themselves into a larger mind: trillions of them gathered and evoked Argos, the first multi- cellular animal. The jelly fish reminds us of this event. Multi-cellular animals arose in great variety: corals, worms, insects, starfish.

 

  1. 550 million years ago; the first fishes emerged. They have a nervous system and for the first time the Earth sees herself through the eyes of fishes. Early consciousness in animals makes that the Earth begins to think.

 

  1. 425 million years ago; ocean seas left plants stranded. They developed wood cells and land plants began to cover the continents. Life that had until now only developed in the waters of the seas, now was landed.

 

  1. 395 million years ago: the Earth’s mantle, lifeless for two billion years now heaved with amphibians, reptiles, insects, and dinosaurs. Insects live in communion with the bees help the Earth in her nourishing task through pollination.

 

  1. 370 million years ago: the first trees appear.

 

  1. 216 million years ago: the mammals entered Earth’s life. They developed emotional sensitivity, a new capacity of the nervous system to feel the Universe. Mother-infant bond entered the universe.

 

  1. 210 million years ago: the Earth up to this moment just one landmass, called Pangaea, now broke in pieces and the continents are formed.

 

  1. 150 million years ago: the birds appeared and the Earth broke out in song.

 

  1. 120 million years ago: flowers emerged and covered the Earth.  Because of the flowers food became plentiful. The last 67 million years the Earth has moved into its lyrical period. Beauty and diversity developed as never before.

 

  1. 4 million years ago: in Africa, humans stood on their two feet. From there on they have spread all over the Earth.

 

  1. 2. 6 million years ago: humans engage in gathering and hunting. They developed stone materials and discovered the fire.

 

20. 110.000 years ago. Homo Sapiens emerged, our direct Ancestor. Languages developed. Humans begin to populate other parts of the world: e.g. Australia.

 

21. 100.000 years ago: humans developed their first rituals and began to bury their dead. Humans began to express their wonder about the Earth in the first cave paintings.

 

  1. 20. 000 years ago: in the human flourishes awareness about Earth: patterns of seeds, seasons, primordial rhythms of the Universe are discovered. Humans began to domesticate plants and animals. The Mother God deity was worshipped, strongly connected with the fertility of the Earth.

 

  1. 12.000 years ago: Neolithic villages arise and gathering and hunting are left. This was the most radical transformation ever to occur in the human history. Humans settled down in villages. Pottery and weaving are developed.

24. 5000 years ago: urban civilization started. It brought many developments like trade, advanced irrigation systems, pyramids, military establishments. Warfare started.

24. 2500 years ago: universal religions emerged, like Buddhism, Christianity. Indigenous people were overwhelmed by these strong movements. Ethical and moral consciousness arose through the works of Buddha, Confucius and other sacred Scripture writers.

26.More than 2000 years ago: Jesus of Nazareth is born and lived among us.

27. 400 years ago: the modern European Scientific Age begins. Europeans colonized peoples all around the planet and destroyed indigenous cultures. The nation state was developed which was later overruled by the multinational corporations. The worldview of this period has brought us in the present global ecological crisis.

28. 100 years ago: the entire modern scientific enterprise, esp. through A. Einstein, has brought forth a radical new understanding of the Universe. The cosmos is a developing and expanding process, a community with the human who has a role and a place in the midst of it. The future of the Earth community rests in a significant way on the role of the human.

29. We connect ourselves to the dynamic process of the story of all life. Card with name, date of birth and eventually a word, sentence is put on the line. Each participant in the circle partakes in it.

30. NOW: all humans can know their common origin story as the story of the entire Earth community in a single sacred Universe.

text Miriam Therese Mac Gilles

Genesis Farm 1998

 

 

 

 

 

 

The History of the Universe

 

BIG COSMOS

free picture internet, NASA

 

Fifteen billion years ago, in a great flash, the universe flared forth into being.

In each drop of existence a primordial energy blazed with an intensity never to be equaled again. Through that power, the universe billowed out in every direction, so that the elementary particles could stabilize. Out of that process rose the first atomic beings of hydrogen and helium.

In a process of one million turbulent years after that very first beginning, the frenzied particles calmed themselves enough for the primeval fireball to dissolve into a great scattering, with all the atoms soaring away from each other into the dark cosmic skies opening up in the beginning time.

Now another billion years went by; an uninterrupted night. It was a time for the universe to prepare itself for its next macrocosmic transfiguration.

In the depth of its great silence the universe shuddered with immense creativity necessary to fashion the galaxies. And the galaxies were formed – the Andromeda galaxy, the Virgo cluster of galaxies, Pegasus, Fornax, the Magellanic Clouds, M33, the Coma cluster, Sculptor, the Hercules cluster, as well as our own Milky Way galaxy – one hundred billion galaxies in all.

These gigantic structures pinwheeled through the emptiness of space and brought together all the hydrogen and helium into self-organizing systems, and cluster of systems, and clusters of clusters of systems. Each galaxy had an unique form and had its own internal dynamic. Each brought forth from its own materials billions upon billions of primal stars.

The most brilliant stars went through transformation upon transformation and exploded in colossal supernovas – they became mother stars that matched a billion stars in luminosity and spewed stellar materials throughout the galaxy.

Out of this materials new stars were put together; again a process that took a billion years. These second -generation stars were richer in potentiality and had a more complex internal-structure, because the primal stars had created the elemental beings of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, molybdenum, calcium, magnesium, and all hundred elements. Here we find the building materials out of which all further forms of life were created in a process of ever greater complexity.

Some five billion years after the beginning of time, the star Tiamat emerged in our spiral galaxy. She was the mother star out of which our Sun was born.

When she exploded, all the materials she carried in her fiery belly were dispersed in all directions of the cosmos. Now the adventure of the creation could deepen and enter into a new phase.

Five billion years, after the universe had expanded and developed for ten billion years, our Milky Way galaxy hit a peacefully drifting cloud of Tiamat ‘s remnants. Out of this event ten thousand new stars were born. Some of these turned out to be small brown dwarf stars. Others became blue super-giants that flashed into white glowing new supernovas. Others became stable long burning yellow stars, and still others became slumbering red stars.

From this floating cloud of stars, the universe brought forth our own star, the Sun. Once granted existence, the Sun showed its own self- organizing ability. She blasted off nearly all the clouds of elements yet hovering about it. Out of the rest of the clouds, arose the bonded system of Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

The charged early planets boiled as molten and gaseous materials. On Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Pluto, chemical combinations slowly grew to become rocks and continents and planetary crust that eventually so dominated the dynamics that all significant creativity came to an end. On these planets life never developed beyond this point.

On Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus chemical creativity never advanced beyond simpler compounds and they continued to churn primarily as gases for billions of years. Only on one Planet life developed in the way we know it on our home planet Earth. This could happen because of the balance of the inner dynamics of the Earth and its position in the structure of the solar system. Matter existed as solid, liquid, and gas, and flowed from one form into another to provide an incessantly chemical womb from which Aries, the first living cell arose.

The first living cells- the prokaryotes- had the power to organize themselves, as did the stars and galaxies, but they had stunning new gifts as well. The cells could remember significant information, even including the patterns necessary to knit together another living cell. Cells also possessed a new order of creativity; the ability to catch the packets of energy hurled by the Sun at the speed of light and to use these quanta as food.

Aries and her descendants, the prokaryotes, by gathering their hydrogen from the oceans, released oxygen into the Earth’s system; the oxygen slowly saturated the land and atmosphere and seas.

Thus the prokaryotes altered the Earth’s chemistry and brought the Earth in an Extreme unstable condition because of the explosive capacity of the oxygen.

In time the prokaryote communities perished as their interiors were set ablaze by the oxygen.

Vikengla, the first eucaryotic cell, was fully capable not only to endure oxygen but of shaping oxygen’s dangerous energy for its own purposes. The eukaryotes invented meiotic sex. Sexual bonding had entered the universe as two genetically different beings could unite and fashion out of their genetic endowments a radically new being. Through this event the universe’s diversity expanded a hundredfold. The foundation for bio-diversity was born. The eukaryotes invented the habit of eating living beings; eco-systemic predator-prey relationships emerged.

Then finally, at the end of the period of life on Earth in which the eukaryotes were the most advanced organism in the Earth System, the eukaryotes took the daring step of submerging themselves into a larger mind as trillions of them gathered together and evoked Argos, the first multicellular animal.

Six hundred million years ago, multicellular organisms arose in great variety of qualitatively distinct body plans; they included corals, worms, insects, clams. starfish, sponges, vertebrates, leeches and other forms that went extinct.

Life in the meso-cosmos had begun. Worms sprouted wings to guide them through the oceans and invented the tooth when another creature invented the shell. Ocean seas left plants stranded on the hot rocks; unable to crawl home they instead invented the wood cell and learned to stand up as Iycopod trees that lived along the shores of oceans and rivers and that in turn transformed themselves in gymnosperm trees capable of covering whole continents.

The animals followed the plants to the land and soon the continents that had been floating lifelesly on Earth’s mantle for two billion years heaved with amphibians and reptiles and insects and the great dinosaurs appeared.

AII of this creativity taking place within the Earth depended on many different stabilities, including the Sun’s stable burning of hydrogen. Also the Earth’s stable revolutions about the Sun and the stability of many chemical bonds throughout the Earth’s system.

But disasters visited the Earth as well, most poignantly when other heavenly bodies collided with Earth and its delicate fabric of life.

Sixty seven million years ago astronomical collisions so changed Earth’s atmosphere and climate that nearly all forms of animal life perished or had to reinvent themselves to be able to survive. Mass extinctions occurred and the dinosaurs and many of her animals disappeared forever. Such destruction however has opened new possibilities; now came the time for the birds and the mammals to develop.

Two hundred million years ago the mammals entered the Earth’s life. They developed emotional sensitivity, a new capacity in their nervous system to feel the universe. During the last sixty seven million years of the Cenozoic period the Earth has moved into its most Iyrical period. Beauty and diversity developed as never before. The deep mother -infant bond grew in mammals. The deep sensitivity in mammaIs paved the way for a next step in neural capability; the dawn of humankind with its conscious self-awareness

humans begin to evolve   picture Dana Lynn Anderson

Four million years ago in Africa, humans stood up on just two limbs. And again two million years later they began to use their free hands to shape the Earth’s materials.

One and a half million years ago they were controlling fire, shaping the Sun’s energy that had been stored in sticks, to advance their own projects.

Thirty five thousand years ago, humans began to express their astonishment about existence by making cave paintings and developing rituals and celebrations.

Twenty thousand years ago Earth, through the humans, entered conscious self-awareness in the patterns  of seeds, seasons and the primordial rhythms of the universe. Humans began to domesticate plants and animals -wheat and barley and goats in the Middle East, rice and pigs in Asia, corn and beans and the alpaca in the Americas. A secure food supply enabled populations to grow. The first Neolithic villages to sustain human groups of more than thousand people emerged.

Soon all the world Neolithic villages arose as the bulk of humanity moved from its hunting and gathering mode of life into that of the settled villages. This was the most radical social transformation ever to occur in the human venture. Pottery, weaving, architecture were developed, calendars articulating the cosmic rhythm appeared and shrines to the Mother God deity were elaborated and replaced the totemic animals of the Paleolithic. This was also the time that languages were developed.

Five thousand years ago the human venture brought forth a new form of life, the urban civilization. Intensified social interactions would give rise to new power centers within the human process; Babylon,Paris, Persepolis, Banaras, Rome, Jerusalem, Constantinople, Sian, Athens, Bagdad, Tikal of the Maya, Cairo, Mecca, Delhi, Tenochtitlan of the Aztec, London, Cuzco, the Inca City of the Sun.

The invention of the bureaucratic system with its hierarchical authority relations (and its emphasis on specialization made possible vast transformations of the human and natural processes. Rivers became irrigation systems for agriculture. Caravans criss -crossed the world and forest was changed in shipping enterprises. Population and wealth soared, pyramids rose up along with elaborate temples, lavish palaces and cathedrals. To protect all of these concentrations of wealth and power military establishments came forth and a process of chronic warring had begun.

In the midst of this turbulence, the Tao, the Brahman-Amman Heaven, Nirvana impressed themselves upon the human mind. There arose the universalist beliefs of Buddhism, Christianity and Islam, which came to pervade the planet’s centers of civilization from Europe across North Africa and India and throughout the Eurasian continent to China and Southeast Asia. Only sub-Saharan Africa, the Americas, Australia, and pockets of indigenous peoples entirely escaped the control and influence of these four civilization complexes, the Middle East, Europe, India and China.

Five hundred years ago Europeans initiated the third of humanity’s great wanderings. Europeans encountered humans wherever they went; equipped with superior technologies and bureaucratic systems. They colonized peoples all around the planet, especially the Americas and Australia. In the nineteenth century India was added as a colony and China and Japan were forced into trading patterns with the Europeans. Thus the cultural shape of humanity was altered in a radical manner as the various human communities were in contact with each other and turned to a common. destiny in a way never previously existed.

Europe’s own internal articulation of global political connections came in the form of the nation-state with its self-government. The liberal democratic movement began to spread all over the globe and had its violent beginning in the French Revolution in 1789 and the American Revolution in 1776.

Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth century, the nation-state provided the integrating community, replacing the former contexts of the band, or the village, or the capital with its surrounding territory. The sacred mystic of nation-state can be found in ideals of nationalism and patriotism, progress and democratic freedoms, individual rights to private poverty and economic gain. The conflicts between nation-states took the character of holy wars over these sacred ideals end culminated in wars that engulfed the whole of humanity in the twentieth century.

Out of that came not any particular nation-state as dominant entity, but the multinational corporation. By the end of the twentieth century these new institutions direct scientific, technological, financial and bureaucratic powers towards controlling Earth process for the benefit of human economy.

The destruction left by wars between the nations was dwarfed in significance by the destruction of the natural systems by industrial plunder. In geological terms, human activities in the twentieth century ended the sixty-seven-million-year venture called the Cenozoic Era.

As industrial humans multiplied into the billions to become the most numerous of all the Earth’s complex organisms, as they decisively inserted themselves into the eco systemic communities throughout the planet, drastically reducing Earth’s diversity and channeling the Gross Earth Product into human social systems, a momentous change in human consciousness was in process.

Humans discovered that the universe as a whole is not simply a background, not simply an existing place; the universe itself is a developing community of beings. Humans discovered by empirical investigation that they were participants in this fifteen-billion-year sequence of transformations that had eventuated into the complex functioning Earth.

A sustained and even violent assault by western intelligence upon the universe, through the work of Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Newton, Buffon, Lamereck, Hutton, Lyell, Darwin, Spencer, Heschel, Curie, Hubble, Planck, Einstein , and the entire modern scientific enterprise, had brought forth a radically new understanding of the universe, not simply as cosmos, but as cosmogenesis, a developing community, one with an important role for the human in the midst of process.

The future of the Earth’s community rests in significant ways upon the decisions to be made by the humans who have inserted themselves so deeply into even the genetic codes of the Earth’s process.

This future will be worked out in the tensions between those committed to the Technozoic, a future of increased exploitation of Earth as resource, all for the benefit of the humans, and those committed to the Ecozoic, a new mode of human Earth relations, one where the well-being of the entire Earth community is the primary concern.

Prologue : The Story. Page 7- 15

The Universe Story:  Brian Swimme and Thomas Berry: ISBN: 978-0-06-250835-5

 

The Universe story told for Children

  • Born with a Bang. The Universe tells our Cosmic Story. Jennifer Morgan, illustrations Dana Lynne Andersen ISBN 1-58469-032-1
  • Mammals Who Morph. The Universe tells our Evolution Story. Jennifer Morgan, Illustrations by Dana Lynne Anderson ISBN – 58469- 085-2
  • From Lava to Life. Our Universe Tells Our Earth Story. Jennifer Morgan. Illustrated by Dana Lynne Andersen ISBN 1-58469-042-9

 

You want to go deeper?

A project funded by Bill gates makes it possible that people all over the world can learn more and know the Universe Story in all depth. Why do the history classes in our schools mostly start with the arrival of humans on the planet? Do we really know our whole history, starting from where everything that is originates?

Go to:

  • https://school.bighistoryproject.com  and https://bighistoryproject.com/curricula
  • Look at video’s of Brian Swimme at YouTube :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRykk_0ovI0V 6 min Why do we need a new story?
  • https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4394954F874680D1
    a beautifully animated overview of Brian Swimme ‘s “New Cosmic Story” the new story

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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