Each experience of love nudges us toward the Story of Interbeing, because it only fits into that story and defies the logic of Separation.
~ Charles Eisenstein, The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know Is Possible
Great Egret, Florida Everglades – photo from bigstockphoto.com, used with permission
Subtle activism provides an expanded view of social engagement in which the inherent power of spirituality is recognized in and of itself as a legitimate component of an integral approach to social change Direct action will always be needed and can itself be seen as a sacred calling. However, for many people with a certain temperament, or who possess certain spiritual or psychic gifts, subtle activism could represent the most effective means at their disposal to make a meaningful contribution toward social change.
~ David Nicol, from “Subtle Activism: The Inner Dimension of Social and Planetary Transformation”
Monument Valley and Starry Sky – photo from bigstockphoto.com, used with permission
We must remember that it is not only the human world that is held securely in this sacred enfoldment but the entire planet. We need this security, this presence throughout our lives. The sacred is that which evokes the depths of wonder. We may know some things, but really we know only the shadows of things.
~ Thomas Berry
Sunset Saguaro, Arizona – photo from bigstockphoto.com, used with permission
We feel the touch of the world upon us, and those millions of unique touches hold within them specific meanings, sent to us from the heart of the world and from the heart of the living beings with which we inhabit this world. This interchange changes the quality of our lives and reminds us that we are never alone. We are one organism among many, one ensouled form among a multitude.
~ Stephen Buhner
Sleeping Leopard – photo from bigstockphoto.com, used with permission
Only our love for the Earth can heal what we have devastated, redeem the inner and outer wasteland we have made through our greed and forgetfulness. It may seem too simple and idealistic, an inadequate response to the realities of ecological devastation. But love and prayer can reawaken the sacred within creation, make the ground under our feet both whole and holy. We cannot heal what we have ravaged only through science and technology, though they can help. But first we need to remember and return to what is sacred, to the hidden music of creation – the heartbeat of the world. Only then will our actions be in harmony with all of life, its interconnected web, and so help both humanity and the planet return into balance. Then the Earth can reawaken as the living, spiritual being it really is, and begin the work of healing itself. It can share with us its deep wisdom. We will learn to work together with the forces within nature and lifes deepest purpose.
~ Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, from “The Loss of the Sacred and A Prayer for the Earth”
Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska – photo from bigstockphoto.com, used with permission
We are called to revise our entire cultural story about what it means to be human and what our relationship ought to be with each other, the planet, and the cosmos love is the crucial ingredient in the transition
~ David Nicol, from “Subtle Activism: The Inner Dimension of Social and Planetary Transformation”
Sunrise Over Danum Valley Jungle, Borneo – photo from bigstockphoto.com, used with permission
subtle activism has the potential to elevate social movements by infusing them with a psychological sophistication and spiritual depth often lacking in traditional approaches to activism Subtle activism creates spaces that invite the emergence of deeper levels of collective wisdom about sociopolitical realities.
~ David Nicol, from “Subtle Activism: The Inner Dimension of Social and Planetary Transformation”
Lotus, photo by Ange DiBenedetto, used with permission
Subtle activism can be understood as a set of practices that allow us to connect, in the depths of our being, with our love for the world and our longing for it to reflect the highest potentials of human nature [It] represents the intention to cultivate this force as a transformative presence in the world…underlying and informing all [our] actions is a shift in consciousness involving a deeper awareness of our essential interconnectedness.
~ David Nicol, from “Subtle Activism: The Inner Dimension of Social and Planetary Transformation”
Naracoorte Caves National Park, South Australia, World Heritage Site – photo from bigstockphoto.com, used with permission
Shinrin-yoku is a term that means “taking in the forest atmosphere” or “forest bathing.” It was developed in Japan during the 1980s and has become a cornerstone of preventive health care and healing in Japanese medicine. Researchers primarily in Japan and South Korea have established a robust body of scientific literature on the health benefits of spending time under the canopy of a living forest. Now their research is helping to establish shinrin-yoku and forest therapy throughout the world.
The idea is simple: if a person simply visits a natural area and walks in a relaxed way there are calming, rejuvenating and restorative benefits to be achieved.
~ Shinrin-yoku.org
Deep Spruce Forest – photo from bigstockphoto.com, used with permission
Ecology and spirituality are fundamentally connected, because deep ecological awareness, ultimately, is spiritual awareness.
~ Fritjov Capra
Anasazi Ruins, Canyonland Natl Park, UT – photo from bigstockphoto.com, used with permission
There was a time when the distances between our world and those we considered “imaginary” were no further than a bend in the road. Each cavern and hollow tree was a doorway to another world. Humans recognized life in all things. The streams sang and the winds whispered ancient words into the ears of whomever would listen. Every blade of grass and flower had a tale to tell There was life and purpose in all things and there was loving interaction between the worlds.
~ Ted Andrews, “Enchantment of the Faerie Realm”
Mysterious Forest – photo by Krivosheev Vitaly, bigstockphoto.com, used with permission
We are our world knowing itself. We can relinquish our separateness. We can come home again – and participate in our world in a richer, more responsible and poignantly beautiful way than before
~ Joanna Macy
Japanese Maple in Autumn – photo from bigstockphoto.com, used with permission
May the Angel of Wildness disturb the places where your life is domesticated and safe,
take you to territories of true otherness,
where all that is awkward in you can fall into rhythm.
~ John O`Donahue
Rainforest Waterfall – photo from bigstockphoto.com, used with permission
The ancient human-Earth relationship must be recovered in a new context, in its mystical as well as in its physical functioning. There is need for awareness that the mountains and rivers and all living things, the sky and its sun and moon and clouds all constitute a healing, sustaining sacred presence for humans which they need as much for their psychic integrity as for their physical nourishment.
~Thomas Berry
El Capitan, Yosemite National Park, CA, bigstockphoto.com, used with permission
If we can hear the cry of the Earth, feel this grief in our soul, then something in our heart opens. We are not separate from the Earth, her loss is our loss, her cry our cry. Our heart becomes the Earths prayer that calls, and love the response to that call. We are drawn back to the simple human values of love and care – love and care for the Earth and its myriad inhabitants. More and more I believe that small things with love are what are needed – acts rooted in loving kindness – because it is in these qualities that the soul is present, and only when the soul is present can miracles happen, can magic come alive, and prayers be answered. And love is the greatest force in creation.
~ Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee
Iguazu Falls, photo from bigstockphoto.com, used with permission
