As I mentioned in my previous post I have been inspired by the Birth the New Earth Summit Over nine one-hour sessions, twenty experts and visionaries in various fields, share their wisdom and passion for doing just that. In the next few Posts I plan to share some highlights from each session. (I highly recommend you sign up and listen yourself if you can. What I share are some of the things that most inspired me and I certainly haven't covered everything!)
The first episode The Re-birth of People and Planet focussed on awakening through crisis. Most of us would prefer to avoid crisis! But what if we thought of crisis as an opportunity to “wake up” and discover resources we never knew we had? What if crisis was a motivating gift to energise our power to be part of a re-birth?
The Chinese characters for crisis mean danger and opportunity. How appropriate for the current time as we face climate crisis and a global pandemic. Victor Mair, professor of Chinese language, says the characters "represent an incipient moment; a crucial point when something begins or changes.” We have an opportunity to be part of this crucial turning point.
Sometimes this opportunity begins with a personal/spiritual crisis. Each of the four people in this episode refer to what they called a spiritual emergency as a turning point in their lives which motivated what they are doing now. They name our current crises a Global Spiritual Emergency. The good news is that spiritual emergencies can lead to spiritual awakenings. One told of his spiritual emergency taking him to a place of awe and knowing the one-ness and holiness of all things. (This reminds me of Thomas Merton's experience- and the experiences of many other mystics.)
I can see that many points of crisis in my own life stand out as significant positive turning points. As more of us learn to trust and integrate crisis a groundswell grows that can become a positive tipping point in our global crises.
Many years ago I learned about the Butterfly Effect (a very small change in one place can influence a much bigger change at a distance)
and the Hundredth Monkey Effect (when a critical number of people embrace a particular idea or behaviour it quickly becomes widespread).
I am hopeful that before too long there will be a "hundredth monkey" tipping point in a positive direction. (And don't forget that butterflies emerge from a constrained chrysalis where everything looks like mush!)
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Sometimes this opportunity begins with a personal/spiritual crisis. Each of the four people in this episode refer to what they called a spiritual emergency as a turning point in their lives which motivated what they are doing now. They name our current crises a Global Spiritual Emergency. The good news is that spiritual emergencies can lead to spiritual awakenings. One told of his spiritual emergency taking him to a place of awe and knowing the one-ness and holiness of all things. (This reminds me of Thomas Merton's experience- and the experiences of many other mystics.)
I can see that many points of crisis in my own life stand out as significant positive turning points. As more of us learn to trust and integrate crisis a groundswell grows that can become a positive tipping point in our global crises.
Many years ago I learned about the Butterfly Effect (a very small change in one place can influence a much bigger change at a distance)
and the Hundredth Monkey Effect (when a critical number of people embrace a particular idea or behaviour it quickly becomes widespread).
I found both fascinating but at the time didn't seriously apply them to my own behaviour. Currently these realities are in sharp focus. The pandemic and the climate crisis demonstrate that even the smallest actions we take affect the whole planet, and its people - for good or ill. As another panelist said: "The future is uncertain and we are all creating it together." That is a challenging reality.
One of the greatest challenges is to avoid being caught in the "mind-virus" of fear and pessimism. If that happens we become part of the problem. We are adding to a groundswell of anger, depression and helplessness. However, fear if faced and integrated can be a motivator to energise new action and creativity. If power is used unconsciously it is destructive and perpetuates the belief that we are separate from each other and from the earth. But we can choose to use the power within us to act creatively with love and compassion for each other and the planet - realising that we are all intricately connected.
One of the greatest challenges is to avoid being caught in the "mind-virus" of fear and pessimism. If that happens we become part of the problem. We are adding to a groundswell of anger, depression and helplessness. However, fear if faced and integrated can be a motivator to energise new action and creativity. If power is used unconsciously it is destructive and perpetuates the belief that we are separate from each other and from the earth. But we can choose to use the power within us to act creatively with love and compassion for each other and the planet - realising that we are all intricately connected.
Many tiny seeds planted in bare earth become a beautiful garden. What seeds are you choosing to plant?
I am hopeful that before too long there will be a "hundredth monkey" tipping point in a positive direction. (And don't forget that butterflies emerge from a constrained chrysalis where everything looks like mush!)
Re-birth of people and planet is possible - each of us has a role in bringing it about!
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