Rising from the Ashes: Climate Science and Good Fire

 

This is the final episode of the Birth The New Earth series. The title Rising from the Ashes intentionally brings to mind  allegory of the symbolic Phoenix bird that rises from the ashes to bring about new life: a symbol of life, death and re-birth. 

I confess that I expected this last episode to be full of hope and optimism with examples of the "phoenix arising from the ashes". I have to say that while there certainly were indications of what can turn the climate crisis around, there was a stronger sense of urgency because time is running out.

Two of the contributors in this conversation are Australian so it is no surprise that the "black summer" of 2019-20 was a graphic example of the power of fire to destroy the environment and its inhabitants. The sheer scale of the fires should be a wake up call to us all.

I was deeply challenged to hear Victor, the Aboriginal Australian, say that before colonisation there were no problems with bush fires because the aboriginal people knew how to use "good fire". He heads up the Firesticks Alliance which offers teaching and resources to bring indigenous wisdom to contemporary generations. Here's a two minute clip  where Victor says "You can't tell your children there is no hope" and offers an alternative.

I can't help thinking about the confronting words of Jesus: "I have come to bring fire on the earth..." Luke 12:49. The context suggests that Jesus is saying part of his mission is to wake us up to divisions among us at every level. Only when we see (really 'get') the extent of the damage and dislocation will we be ready to move to a new way of seeing and acting.  Jesus goes on to say: "How is it that you do not know how to interpret this present time?"  This is a spiritual crisis as well as an ecological one. I find that strangely hopeful. Perhaps we need "good fire" to catapult us into action. Michael Mann a prestigious climate scientist talks about "reclaiming the sacredness of the natural world". Yes!!

Here's a three minute clip of Michael showing how important it is to influence public consciousness. We need to reduce carbon emissions by 50% in the next decade. I believe that the integration of science, spirituality and indigenous wisdom is already happening. We need all three. Kylie (is also Australian) and is a transpersonal climate scientist.  (What a fascinating job description!) She urges us to take seriously the scientific nature of indigenous wisdom. When we can share our insights and listen with humility to those with different knowledge and skills things can change very quickly. Cooperation rather than conflict may seem a distant hope on the world stage or in the political realm but it starts at home! This is once again the quantum invitation. A seemingly small shift in a personal relationship or action can ripple out in ways we will never know. 

I find it helpful in the face of global challenges to remember how we do continue to see this in many situations. Here in New Zealand we can reflect on the outpouring of love and support after the Christchurch earthquakes and the Mosque shootings. Recently the news has been featuring people opening their homes and resources to those fleeing from Ukraine. There are many, many examples... 

Offering a refugee mother and child hope!

 

The Student Volunteer Army after
Christchurch Earthquakes

Another kind of Good Fire - that 'fire in our belly' can motivate us to act in ways (big or small) that enable us to play a part in  Co-creating Our Future World. This is the organisation founded by Catherine, who is also the host of this series of interviews. Thank you Catherine!

While writing this post I've been thinking about the Biblical promise of "beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning".

When Jesus was invited to speak in the synagogue on one occasion he chose to read from the Prophet Isaiah which includes this promise. When I looked up the whole passage it seems that every phrase is relevant to the time we live in right now. I'm Posting this on Easter Sunday 2022 and it couldn't seem more relevant! Here is what Birthing the New Earth will look like - and it takes all of us.

61 

Isaiah 61:1-3

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,

because the Lord has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim freedom for the captives

and release from darkness for the prisoners,

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor

and the day of vengeance of our God,

to comfort all who mourn,

and provide for those who grieve in Zion—

to bestow on them a crown of beauty

instead of ashes,

the oil of joy

instead of mourning,

and a garment of praise

instead of a spirit of despair.

They will be called oaks of righteousness, 

a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.

   

61 

Links:

Catherine G Lucas: Founder of Co-creating our future world

Michael Mann: Climate Scientist  website, free course: climate change the science and the global impact 

Victor Steffensen: Indigenous Australian, Co-founder of the Firesticks alliance   Educational resources

Kylie Harris: Transpersonal Climate Scientist Re-Birth of People and Planet an open letter

Conscious Evolution: Within and Beyond the Quantum

 "We behave as we believe".  This sentence caught my attention in this episode. Think about it: if we believe it is going to rain today we take an umbrella; if we believe 'the end of the world is nigh' we don't put any effort into significant change. 

It doesn't matter much if we are wrong about an inconsequential belief. It matters a great deal if we live from a belief that false.

Many of us live from a belief that we are separate beings in a world of unrelated parts. From this belief we look after ourselves and those closest to us as best we can, and then pretty much pull up the drawbridge and hope for the best. 

But what if the underlying belief is wrong? What if the truth is that, whether we realise it or not, we are intimately connected with every person, plant, animal, ecosystem and galaxy? How would that change the way we behave? 

Animal species are becoming extinct at an alarming rate. Even the smallest insect has a role that is crucial to the whole. Plants can't survive without pollinating birds or insects. The earth can't produce the oxygen we need if we destroy the forests. Our planet as a whole cannot survive if we continue to pollute it. It is human behaviour that has led to these critical losses. We behave as we believe. There are hundreds of similar examples. We can see all this and become despairing and depressed or we can wake up to the fact that we are being offered large scale neon signs that point the way to the solution.

We behave as we believe. The solution becomes clear when we truly understand what quantum science has been telling us for the last century: separation is an illusion. The uni-verse is calling us into a unified awakening, a new fundamental belief or paradigm. We literally cannot survive long term without bees, dung beetles, green trees or fresh water. Jude Currivan spoke passionately about the fact that science is telling us this. And science is based on evidence. Of course indigenous people have always known this and so have many religious traditions. Now it is more evident than ever that science, spirituality, indigenous wisdom and creation itself are all singing the same song. For me that is exciting! There is a new coherence; a coming together of wisdom and insight from various sources that for some time have seemed to be at odds - separate!

Here is a three minute link from the conversation where Jude Currivan speaks so encouragingly about this new paradigm that is beginning to emerge. As Mick  said "We are tipping into something. Trust the process and don't panic!" Ervin very helpfully pointed out that if we focus on the threat we go into "flight, fight or freeze" mode. If we focus on the evolutionary movement of transcendence then we see this as a time of breaking through rather than breaking down.

 Synchronistically, at the time I was writing this Blog post, I saw a beautiful three minute video called A Mighty Purpose showing an ordinary person who probably isn't delving into quantum science or entering into dialogues about evolution but is simply acting on how she sees the world. We can all be inspired to do the same. 

Links:

Catherine G Lucas: Founder of Co-Creating Our Future, Birth The New Earth host

Ervin Lazlo: Author, Philosopher of Science, Founder of the Laszlo Institute

Jude Currivan: Cosmologist, Author and Co-founder of Whole World View

Mick Collins: Occupational Therapist, Author and Birth the New Earth team member.

 

Emerging from Emergency: Callings, Sacred Activism and Quantam Leadership

 

I'm writing this as New Zealand is in the second week of a protest on the grounds of Parliament. The protest is mainly about Covid mandates, but it seems there are various groups and various issues to protest about. It's as if there is no clear leader or direction which makes mediation and a way forward difficult. The topic of sacred activism and sacred leadership could not be more relevant.

Shadow work. In this Birth The New Earth conversation one theme comes up several times. We need to face our shadow - personally and collectively. That unconscious "stuff" that we all carry, comes out forcefully when we have some "other" on whom to project our animosity, criticism and anger. We all do it! Anyone we "other" and react to has something to mirror back to us. 

Activism can become just as angry and oppositional as the original issue. Stephen Dinan said: "Don't denigrate 'the other' in your activism. Speak to the divine essence of the other." That's a challenge to stop us in our tracks! It's all too easy to catch myself classing all the protesters as "them" and wishing they would just see sense (the way I see it!) and go home. 

Facing our own shadow can feel like an impossible task. If shadow is what is hidden from my consciousness, then how can I face it, let alone deal with it?  One important step is to be compassionate with ourselves when it is revealed and mirrored back to us! It's easy to berate myself for my anger and frustration at "them" (and thus create more anger and judgement, this time at myself!) Another way would be to compassionately understand how stressful this whole issue is and offer myself emotional support or practical care. 

Of course there are cultural, as well as personal, shadows to be addressed. We all need to "come to terms with our undigested history", said Stephen Dinan. Here's a clip where he speaks about his experience of  being the only white person in a group of elders in Peru.

Sacred Activism requires a balance of activism and spiritual practice. Activism on its own can become egotistical and lead to burnout. Focussing only on spiritual practice can be a way of avoiding taking any action. The Centre for Action and Contemplation,  founded by Richard Rohr, models a healthy balance. Instead of seeking to destroy what isn't working seek to build a better way. Knowing what that better way might be requires prayerful discernment, rather than reactionary energy. 

Quantam Leadership. This quote from Mother Teresa has stayed with me for decades since I first heard it. And that reminds me that an apparently small thing (like this one quote) can have a significant and lasting impact. That is exactly what quantam science is telling us. We influence the world around us by every action and attitude. This has been a recurring theme in these Birth the New Earth conversations.

The challenge to be a "quantam leader" can seem totally unreachable. It's easy to say, "I'm not in that league"and dismiss leadership as someone else's role.  But the startling perspective of quantam theory is that, whether we like it or not, we are 'leading' in some direction by every choice we make. The Biblical parables of a planting a tiny mustard seed which grows into a huge tree or adding a small amount of yeast which then "works through all the dough" say the same thing. (Matthew 13:31-33) 'Quantam' refers to the mystery of how a small choice can lead to a surprisingly significant outcome. 

 

The Biblical story of David and Goliath demonstrates this in real historical terms. It was indeed a "quantam leap" to see power shift from an army equipped with weapons and full body armour to a young man with a stone and a sling. 

Every one of these conversations ends with the contributors challenging us to find our own particular contribution to a quantam shift. It could be the mustard seed of an idea, the yeast of offering a different perspective in a conversation or courageously standing up for justice even though we may be ridiculed or hurt.

 

Links:

Catherine G Lucas Founder of Co-Creating Our Future, Author and Birth The New Earth Host

Stephen Dinan CEO of The Shift Network

Carolyn Baker PhD Author and Sacred Activist

Mick Collins PhD Author and Birth The New Earth Team Member

Prophecy and the Great Shift: Knowing, Being and Doing

 

The first time I saw the title of this conversation I admit I felt a bit sceptical. There's a lot of misunderstanding about prophecy "foretelling the future". There are false prophets as well as genuine ones. In my Judeo-Christian heritage there are many genuine prophets, as well as warnings about false prophets, so perhaps my scepticism was more about being discerning rather than dismissive. I was delighted to find that once again this conversation was enlightening, challenging and grounded.

One person said quite simply, "prophecy is speaking for the divine, however you hear that." We are all connected to God, Spirit, Source however we name that essential essence. Tuning in and listening to the wisdom of the creator of this universe is an invitation and a responsibility. 

The four people in this conversation each gave an example of how they 'heard' something that motivated their passion for the work they do now. Steven saw a bumper sticker (370-0) that led to a conversation about how the American government had made 370 treaties with First Nations people and every single one of them had been broken. Here in New Zealand I'm writing this post just before Waitangi Day when we celebrate the Treaty of Waitangi.

There are always celebrations of all that has been accomplished since 1840 and protests that remind us we cannot be complacent. We still have plenty to do. I am personally aware how little I know and how few ways I am involved.

Luisah grew up in countryside that was full of trees and natural beauty. Then oil companies came in and destroyed "her whole world". She said she "heard the trees screaming" as they were felled. 

Mick spent three years in a monastery and  realised how disconnected we are from nature and native people. He had a powerful vision of the reality of the Ethiopian famine happening at that time. One day Catherine 'saw' millions of souls being taken into the light. It struck her that this represented millions of people dying. 

Whether it is a bumper sticker, a vision, or trees being felled, God is speaking. Prophecies from many traditions tend to say the same things. The themes of deep listening to creation and to indigenous people recur again and again. 

In my work as a spiritual director one of the main issues people are exploring is "how can I hear what God is saying?" One person in this conversation said, "Just be open and stop the chattering mind!" So simple and yet so hard for many. I think the difficulty is often because of an expectation that "God's voice" is somehow separate and distinct from any "ordinary" observation, thought, or issue that touches us deeply. How else is God supposed to speak?! 

Any readers who have spent time in a retreat setting will know how the spaciousness and silence usually heightens our alertness. One of the best ways to attend to what the Spirit is saying is to notice what you notice. It might be a bumper sticker, a flower pushing up through concrete, a homeless person, a breath-taking sunrise, a sentence in a novel, one line of a song, a dream... the options are endless. The divine creator of the universe is communicating all the time. You don't need to be on retreat to notice!

Notice

what you

notice!

The challenge of course, is to consider why you noticed and whether this noticing is a call to action of some kind. Each of the four people in this conversation were motivated by what they saw or heard. They are now giving a lot of their time, focus and energy to speak, act and share what they 'heard'. They each have their own unique prophetic voice.

We must be rather deaf and emotionally insensitive if we fail to hear the voice of creation at present. Luisah put it this way: "we are digging in her body, draining her blood, messing up her lungs..."

 

Thankfully, many of us individually and collectively are heeding the cry of our planetary home. Of course, there will always be those who ignore what they don't want to see and hear. As the prophet Jeremiah said: "Listen to this you foolish people, who do not have any sense. You have eyes but you do not see. You have ears but you do not hear." Jeremiah 5:21 

History reminds us that periods of great chaos precede times of great transformation. Throughout these Birth The New Earth episodes this reassurance is repeated. A tipping point is coming when those who hear and act outnumber  those who turn a blind eye. Biblical references to "a new heaven and a new earth" are spread throughout the Old and New Testaments. (Isaiah 65:17, Isaiah 66:22, 2 Peter 3:13, Revelation 21:1) We can each play a part in birthing the new earth. However insignificant we may feel, we can be given a vision of our particular part in the whole. 

Without a vision

the people perish

Proverbs 29:18

Luisah talked of "de-colonising" our minds and hearts and respecting indigenous wisdom. (We are all indigenous to the planet even if we don't have direct link to an indigenous culture where we live!)   Let's have the humility to stop assuming we know best. 

Steven talked of supporting restorative justice initiatives. Click here for the website of Restorative Justice Aotearoa. We can also empower businesses and organisations with our purchases and support.  The web of relationships means that every dollar helps and every perspective offered can influence others who may begin to act in new ways. The current pandemic vividly demonstrates the multiplying spread of one person's actions.         

Yeyeluisah Teish

Steven McFadden

Catherine G Lucas

Mick Collins The Unselfish Spirit  The Visionary Spirit

                           

Healing People, Healing Planet

I have to say that listening to these conversations for a second time is even more inspiring than the first time. In this conversation there are two Australians (one Aboriginal, one white), a neuropsychiatrist and a transpersonal climate psychologist! (See the end of this post for links). Living in New Zealand made the Australian wisdom even more interesting in relation to our own history with our indigenous culture.

The conversation focused mainly on healing from trauma - personal trauma and planetary trauma. One theme that stood out is the impact of trans-generational trauma. Some of the stories told were heartbreaking. They showed not only the trauma sustained directly by a child or adult as a result of the brutal actions of colonists, but also the ongoing trauma through the generations.Here is a two minute clip of Judy Atkinson talking about her own journey and her work with indigenous Australians. 

This, of course, is not limited to the effects of colonisation. Diane spoke of working with people who had never met grandparents or great-grandparents who had lost their lives in the Holocaust. Yet the trauma of that heritage needed deep healing in the life of the current person. The cellular memory (and soul memory) of the trauma remains. She has also worked in depth with some of the "lost boys of Sudan". I read a book about these "lost boys" some years ago. 20,000 boys were left without family or home in the genocide in Sudan during the Civil war 1987-2005.

Kylie, as a white Australian, spoke of feeling the guilt of being part of the colonising culture. A significant experience during her childhood was having an Aboriginal girl living with her family over a long summer holiday. She assumes it was a well meaning programme of "let us (white) help you (aboriginal)". For her it planted a deep sense of unity beneath any cultural divide. She is now a transpersonal climate psychologist.

It's not only people who bear the effects of generational trauma.. So does the planet. Judy spoke of "the memories of country". (We might say "memories of the land".) For example: On a "behind the scenes clip" on the current David Attenborough series, one of the camera team was close to tears as he returned to an area that had previously been home to trees specifically suited to that desert environment. They were lying dead because of increasingly extreme heat and drought. The wildlife he was hoping to film there was gone. The theme of really listening to the land and all that the land sustains is becoming more crucial every day.

Deep listening is also an essential factor in healing people. Returning to the "lost boys of the Sudan" situation, Diane spoke from her experience and affirmed: "no-one is beyond help". However, the kind of listening that leads to healing can only be offered by someone who is not afraid to "go to the depths of hell" with the traumatised person. If the listener is afraid to hear the worst of the story or tries to 'make it feel better', the speaker will quickly shut down. It is no longer a safe place for them to dare to explore the depths of their pain. When a person has a guide to travel with them to the deepest core of trauma they can begin to heal and journey back, still accompanied by the guide.

This healing journey can take a long time. Sometimes words are inadequate or simply cannot be found. An example in Judy's case was an extremely traumatised young girl who couldn't speak the horror of her abuse "or my head will burst". Judy gave her paper and art materials and said: "paint for me". It was many years later after many paintings that this young woman had courage to report her abuser and have him convicted. Judy's comment was that the young woman did this "out of her own authenticity". We are called to accompany the journey however long it takes.

I re-tell these examples for two reasons. Sometimes I think we feel overwhelmed by all that needs healing on the planet and in people. It feels too much to comprehend or cope with. Yet listening is something we can all do. Perhaps we are not skilled or trained in the kind of listening described here - but it is something we can practice every single day. We all put out little hints of something we hope someone will "hear" and shut down very quickly if the response shows that deep listening is not on offer.

Links to the people in this conversation:

Catherine G Lucas
Judy Atkinson 

Diane Hennacy-Powell

Kylie Harris and here

 

Sacred Economics for a Sacred Earth

One of the things I notice in every one of these conversations is that no matter what the specific topic is there are certain fundamental principles that come up every time. One of those is that everything in life is sacred. Looking for a specific "answer to a problem" or a way to "correct/heal" past wrongs or hurts is, as one person said, "a bottomless bucket". Only as we step into a new story, a new perspective, does fundamental change happen. That new story is what indigenous and spiritual elders have been saying for centuries: all of life is sacred and is designed to function with reciprocity, generosity and abundance. If we truly "get" that, then we are invited to participate in this story - right now. Fixating on the past can bring regrets and frustration. Looking at the future can make us scared and overwhelmed. Opening myself to what is asked of me right now, in this present moment, is motivating.

Economy:

It's interesting to me that in this time of pandemic and lockdowns and closed borders, much is said on mainstream news about "the economy". It is usually couched in literal monetary terms: profit, loss, GDP, savings, debt, inflation etc. Understandably there's a lot of anxiety for individuals and businesses - and for the country in general. I'm not passing judgement on that - I live in that "story" too. 

But what if we were corporately living from a new story of co-operation, generosity, reciprocity - knowing that there really is enough for all (ie abundance)? There are encouraging examples of communities and organisations who do live out this story. Here are three examples I personally know about: Our current NZ government launched a "wellbeing budget" in 2019 and still operates from those principles. A friend of mine recently sold her house. She told the real estate agent that she didn't need "top dollar" and the house must be sold to first home buyers. The church to which I belong is associated with a housing trust CORT Community Housing where rent is matched to income not market rates.

I'm sure there are many more examples - you probably know of some. At the moment they are probably the exception rather than the rule. However, I am optimistic that in time a tipping point will be reached where this new story becomes the norm.

The word 'economy' coming from the Greek means "good housekeeping"! Maybe like me you had a class called "home economics" at school. I don't remember learning anything about money in that course! It did focus on cooking and sewing however. For many of our mothers and grandmothers cooking and sewing were a key part of the good housekeeping economy. I'm sure in some households that is still true.  I'm really heartened that so much of this way of living is coming back into the mainstream. Schools are featuring gardens where children plant, nurture and then cook and eat the produce. Farmers' markets are popular and regenerative farming is becoming more well known.

Glen Eden Primary School: Garden to Plate

Values:

What do we truly value? It was suggested that our values are often "upside down". For example we value a tree when it is cut down and made into timber but we don't value it in the same way when it is alive. We value products but we often don't value the people who made them. (However, see TearFund's Ethical Fashion Guide.) Budgets often seem to value sickness (hospitals etc) more than health and well being. The NZ Wellbeing Budget is seeking to turn this around. We say we value the growing number of elderly in our midst but the pay scale for those who care for them certainly doesn't demonstrate that. 

Money:

All of us have some relationship with money. Maybe we fear it, worry about not having enough, feel guilty about having so much or are focussed on accumulating as much as possible to ensure our security.

 

It was suggested that money is a beautiful resource and energy for connection to the things/people we value. If it was generally seen in this way it could be the resource to drive things in a different direction.

What is your sacred currency?

We can also see "currency" in a different way. We each have a sacred currency to bring to the table. One may bring the currency of teaching, another of building, another of caring, another of legal training, another of gardening, another of parenting, another of political skill. If you are from a Christian background this is probably reminding you of the "gifts of the spirit" and the part we each play in the unity of the body (1 Corinthians 12). I'm sure all religions have their way of saying the same thing. All of life is sacred and each of us has gifts to bring and a part to play. It is when all these sacred currencies are woven together for the good of the whole that we create a culture of co-operation, generosity, reciprocity and abundance.

Our personal economy is how we spend our life energy. Do we "spend" it on what we value and share or on what we want to accumulate and protect? The resources listed below offer ways to explore our own approach to "the energy of money" (Sarah McCrum) and the outcome of this approach to life (Jyoti Ma). Mick Collins' books offer visionary challenges to the spirit in which we live out our values and Catherine G Lucas invites us to share in Co-creating Our Future.

Links for those in the conversation:

Catherine G Lucas Co-creating Our Future, Birth the New Earth

Sarah McCrum sarahmccrum.com The Energy of Money Scorecard

Jyoti Ma           thefountain.earth

Mick Collins   The Unselfish Spirit  The Visionary Spirit