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

 

Rewilding the heart, rewilding the earth

I hadn't heard the term "rewilding" before listening to this episode. It's not hard to guess what it means!

We need to bring back the conditions for our natural environment to be "wild"; we need to stop raping the earth of the very spaces and resources it needs to thrive. It sounds so obvious - the earth is our home. There is nowhere else to move to. Yet somehow, gradually and collectively, we have become blind and careless. Over recent years I've heard myself saying more than once: "We're like frogs in water that is slowly getting to boiling point." You probably know that analogy. Apparently if a frog is dropped into a pan of boiling water it will frantically struggle to get out. But if it is placed in warm water on a low heat it will quite happily enjoy the warmth and sink into a tranquil slumber eventually allowing itself to be boiled to death. The analogy is much too close for comfort.

Fortunately there are many organisations and individuals who are sounding the alarm - and showing us how to take action. If you Google the word "rewilding" you will find, as I did, many links.

A challenging insight in this episode is that we won't succeed in rewilding the earth unless we also rewild our hearts. "You can't find nature sacred if there is no sense of the sacred within you." For some, "rewilding the heart" happens unexpectedly and even through trauma. Clare Dubois, in this episode recounts her experience. Here's an 8 minute clip of her story. I was particularly fascinated by Clare's story because several years ago I joined Tree Sisters. Through a monthly donation "my forest" now has 363 new trees. The total number of trees planted by Tree Sisters at the time of writing this is: 22,850,619! If you did listen to the YouTube clip you will know that Clare was/is a confirmed introvert who had no idea how to deal with her grief at the rape of the earth until the event described. Of course not everyone has to go through such a dramatic experience. Our call to action may be quiet and progressive. But one way or another we each have a part to play. And as two of the panel commented - we have to feel the pain of our planet before we truly show up and take action. The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben is an inspiring read.

It's interesting that Covid is a disease of the lungs and trees are the lungs of the earth. A diagram of lungs shows that they even look like trees!

 "The whole fabric of creation is designed for peace, harmony and fullness of life," said one person. That echoes creation stories around the world and in many religions. For example: the creation story in Genesis 1. If you are interested in the mythology of trees in different cultures and religions this is an interesting site. Getting back to that "peace, harmony and fullness of life" is what this mutual rewilding of our hearts and our planet is about.

I've loved trees since I was a child. They seem so solid and rooted and dependable. They know how to weather storms and grow around obstacles. Their roots are strong enough to push up through concrete pathways. They stay put through the centuries often growing through cities now deserted and crumbling.

Take note of the last line: Our heritage is in our hands.

A final quote: "Trees are not insane.If you want to become sane go outside. Bow, listen, learn." 

Some links to those on this episode:

Catherine G Lucas: Founder of Co-creating Our Future, author and Birth the New Earth Host

Clare Dubois: founder of Tree Sisters

James Murray White: Filmmaker, Activist and Co-founder of XR Rewilding

Mick Collins: Occupational Therapist and Author of The Unselfish Spirit The Visionary Spirit and Birth the New Earth team member

Dark Night of the Globe

 

Calling our current environmental and pandemic crises a "dark night of the globe" may seem rather gloomy and daunting. However, this description holds a serious challenge and a wonderful hope.

Many of you will immediately think of the origin of the "dark night" language in the experience and writings of St John of the Cross (16th Century). John's experience included terrible external injustices and a deep personal spiritual crisis. It was a death/resurrection experience. Out of the trauma, the 'unknowing' and the surrender to what felt as if  his whole world was crumbling, John emerged into new life. He brought gifts of insight, poetry and writing we still draw on all these centuries later. It is significant that he is Saint John of the Cross. Yes. Jesus endured betrayal, abandonment and injustice culminating in a false trial and sentence. He entered the darkest night as he approached physical death on a cross. He begged to be delivered. He wished there was some other way, yet surrendered to going through with it: "Father, if it be possible take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." (Luke 22:42). That surrender to death was the doorway to resurrection.

The speakers in this summit conversation wanted to make clear that the global dark night terminology does not imply that "God caused this". Rather, it is the outcome of human behaviour, selfishness and greed. One panelist called the global dark night "savage grace" as it burns away our illusions and reveals the consequences of aligning with darkness. Darkness is often more 'thrilling' and intriguing. It provides a place to hide. (Sadly, it is also more newsworthy.) Light exposes and reveals the truth with nowhere to hide. Living in the light requires repeatedly dying to the ego and our illusions of separateness and control. 

But the dark night also invites us to recognise our creative capacity to co-operate in bringing about change. We have a part to play in Birthing the New Earth - that's what this summit is about.  As Quantam physics constantly reminds us: we live in a world of possibilities. Not just "nice ideas" but actual change brought about immediately by our attitudes, actions and choices.  (Remember the butterfly effect from the previous post.) 

One of my particular areas of interest is noticing how realities expressed in contemporary science are "hidden in plain sight" in spiritual texts. As a life-long Christian, of course I see this most clearly in the Bible.  Jesus puts "loving your neighbour as yourself" right up there with loving God (Mark 12:30-31). More and more I have come to see that loving my neighbour "as myself" doesn't just mean "as much as I love myself" although that's not a bad start! In a very real sense my neighbour actually is "myself".  What I do affects everyone else - directly or indirectly. The Buddhist image of Indra's net expresses this well. So does a spider web!

So our part in co-creating our future is to own our influence and express our creative potential. If we externalise the crisis as something happening to us we are pretending to be separate from it, denying any responsibility for contributing to change.  But each of us has potential to join in bringing about the light of a new era to follow this dark night.

This summit conversation was fiery and impassioned I felt quite breathless by the end of it! The urgency for "sacred activism" was evident. The facilitator, asked each person to ground it in a final practical word to those listening. The responses:

• What breaks your heart the most? Step up and do something about it - right now.
• What was I born for? I need to make every day a day I honour the truth.
• Words have power - watch how you speak. 
• The present moment is the portal for change.
• Don't get caught in pessimism - that is self perpetuating. In every moment there are infinite possibilities.

What strikes me in all of these responses is that they each bring the focus back to the present moment. It is easy to think it's all too big, too daunting, what could I possibly do that would change anything? There's the tempting escape route again! Both Jesus and quantam science say: "You can't get away with that. You are making a difference one way or another whether you are aware of it or not!" So even if we can't do "great things" let's make a habit of choosing to "do small things with great love" as Mother Teresa said not so long ago.

************************

Panelists in this conversation:

Catherine G Lucas: Founder of Co-creating Our Future; Author; Birth the New Earth Host.

Caroline Myss: Five time NYT best selling author and Internationally Renowned Speaker.

Andrew Harvey: Internationally acclaimed Writer, Poet, Translator and Mystical Teacher

Paul Levy: Author, Spiritual Emergence Pioneer and Birth the New Earth team member.

 

Awakening Through Crisis

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 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.

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!

                                                        *******************************

Some links to the four panelists in this episode:

Catherine G Lucas

Kylie Harris

Mick Collins

Paul Levy

Breathe new life - now!

 This feels like a new chapter in my Blog. I thought of starting a new Blog but decided it’s easier to continue this one. If I had started a new Blog the title of this post would have been the title of the new Blog.

I chose this title because it gives a feeling for what motivates me to write again. Some of the things I’ve been interested in for a long time seem to be coming together synchronistically recently. 

• Quantam physics
• Covid crisis
• Climate crisis
• Effects of colonialism
• Indigenous wisdom 
• Science and spirituality 

My challenge is to distill the interconnectedness of these seemingly random issues into meaningful bites for myself and readers!

So where does breathing fit in? 

Breathing is something we can only do right now. We can’t breathe our previous breath again and we can’t breathe next minute’s breath before next minute arrives.

Breathing involves breathing in and breathing out. As Covid shows us - every breath affects both me and those around me. (This is obvious when sitting near someone smoking). It is also true in less obvious ways. The ideas I take in and absorb affect the things I will say. The attitudes I nurture in myself will affect the atmosphere around me even if I’m not speaking. (We can “feel” anger, joy, disdain, warmth etc).

It may be a surprise to consider that these two simple realities are expressions of quantam reality. 

The only time we have is right now. We can’t ‘re-do’ the past and the future isn’t here yet!

We live in a participatory universe. In other words we are influencing the way life evolves whether we realise it or not!

So “breathe new life now” is an invitation to be aware of what we take in and what we put out. We are not separate beings who can watch from the sidelines of life.

Resources that are directly or indirectly contributing to my current thinking are:

The Quantam Revelation: A Radical Synthesis of Science and Spirituality

Paul Levy (Select books, 2018) 

Birth the New Earth summit  https://www.birthnewearthsummit.com/

Here we are again!

 "Here we are again" is a phrase we've used a lot over the past year in relation to COVID lockdowns. I'm using it here for another reason. After writing my Caravan of Selves Blog posts up to June last year it seems a pity to wait another two years before I'm old enough (!) to write the next episode. So "here we are again" or at least here I am again!

A Blog is a funny thing. It is halfway between private journal entries and very public FaceBook posts. I've missed Blogging, because for me it is a place to keep track of the most important things I want to remember. FaceBook is good for instant moments and photos but (for me at least) not for longer reflections on deeper things.

So I begin again by copying most of the Christmas letter I sent out at the end of 2020. I find Christmas letters a great way to remember the highlights of a year.

2020 will be a year to remember…
The Covid 19 pandemic has influenced almost everyone on the planet in some way. It would be wonderful if love, joy and peace would spread as globally as the virus. Perhaps that is still possible. When we choose to nurture love, joy and peace within our own hearts it permeates in ways seen and unseen.

We began the year with a wonderful cruise around NZ for seven days. The weather was perfect and the
cruise took us to some of the most beautiful places in our amazing country. Milford Sound, Akaroa and
the excellent Waitangi visitor centre were among our favourite places. Little did we know that all too
soon cruises would be off the agenda for some time. We look back with great gratitude.

Welcomed onto the Marae at Waitangi

Arriving in Milford Sound at sunrise

Beautiful Akaroa Harbour

Since that carefree beginning this year has been dominated by unexpectedly selling our house and moving into Evelyn Page retirement village!

Entrance

The timeline and circumstances of this are quite remarkable. For 18 months or so we had been
researching possible options for when the time was right to make a move. So one Saturday in February we went to an open day at Evelyn Page village. One of the show apartments was a sunny north-facing apartment with double aspect and both bedrooms opening onto a balcony. We thought it would be an ideal layout if one like that was available when we were ready to move. On Wednesday that week one of Anthea’s supervisees (K) mentioned her son, Andy, and wife and two children were looking to buy in Orewa. They wanted a house pretty much like ours. We explained that we weren’t ready to move just yet – partly because we would need to find an office space for our work. However if the family wanted to look through our place we were happy for them to come as long as they knew it wasn’t yet on the market. On Thursday K texted Anthea to say she and her husband would like to offer us an office space in their home near the beach in Orewa, if/when we did sell ours! On Friday Andy with his wife and children came to look and immediately said they loved the house and would like to buy it if they could!

We were quite shocked but also aware that something amazing was happening. We made a quick return visit that day to the apartment we had seen a few days before to make sure we still thought it suited us. It did, so we put a hold on it. On Saturday we got an updated appraisal on our house from agents we had used a year before as part of our research. Then on Saturday evening we did all the price negotiating with Andy by text message!! We came to a very happy agreement. On Monday we did the paperwork for the sale of our house and the contract on the apartment.

Our living area

Balcony

So within the space of a week we had sold our house, been offered an office space and put a contract on the apartment we are now living in! All along we had said “We’ll know when the time is right to move.”We certainly didn’t have any doubt!

All of that happened just before Covid really hit NZ. In a few weeks NZ went into five weeks of total lockdown. This is not a great time to be packing up a whole house, getting rid of at least half our furniture and many books, linens, crockery and other things we couldn’t bring to a small apartment! Of course we couldn’t have anyone come to help with heavy lifting! Op Shops were closed and no-one could come to view or pick up things for sale. It was tough! I found it very stressful physically and emotionally. But we made it. Ponsonby Baptist Church is linked with CORT (Community of Refuge Trust) which houses over 400 people. CORT took all our excess furniture. Women’s Refuge were able to take all our excess linens. These were both classed as essential services. It was wonderful to know that what we couldn’t keep was going to people in real need.

The settlement date for moving was 7th May. As the Covid situation continued we thought that date
would have to be extended. But amazingly moving house was possible when Lockdown went down to
Level 3. This happened ten days before settlement date! It’s almost a “too good to be true” story. But it
is definitely true and we have been living here now for seven months by the time most of you read this.

Of course there are adjustments and settling in to be done with such a move. But we have found both
residents and staff here to be very warm and welcoming. In fact we feel quite spoiled! A great advantage
is that we are literally “just down the road” from where we lived previously. The environment, shops and
services are all familiar. We are very happy and grateful.

The Election has been another major feature of this year. We are so blessed to live in New Zealand! Our
Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, has become a world renowned figure in the way she has managed the
pandemic here. The landslide victory of the Labour Party in the election is, in part at least, due to this.
Throughout her whole 3 year term Jacinda has modelled, and called us, to be a culture of kindness, compassion and inclusiveness. There is much hope for “peace on earth and goodwill to all people” under such leadership. But it takes us all to make it happen. Jacinda repeatedly
called us “the team of five million”. 

Doing my bit in the "team of five million"!

Family news includes the joy of new birth and the challenges of aging.
My niece Lydia and husband Phil are the proud parents of an adorable son, Oscar!

Oscar Andrew Miller

Anthea and I between us have five siblings (plus spouses) between the ages of 75 and 84! Supporting
where we can and observing the reality of various levels of need, makes us very grateful we have been
able to move here before we have significant health or disability needs.

Over the summer we plan a few days in Tauranga before Christmas to visit family members and four
days of retreat at the Tyburn Monastery on the outskirts of Auckland. Apart from that we will enjoy day
trips and “support local” – which is not difficult to do in this beautiful country!

None of us know what 2021 will bring but hopefully we will all be ready to enjoy each day with gratitude,
trust and love.