It’s one thing to feel that you are on the right path, but it’s another to think that yours is the only path.
~ Paulo Coelho
Sunset, Seljalandsfoss Waterfall, Iceland – photo by Fyletto, bigstockphoto.com
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Our separation from each other is an optical illusion. When something vibrates, the electrons of the entire universe resonate with it. Everything is connected. The greatest tragedy of human existence is the illusion of separateness.
~ Albert Einstein
Stellar Exodus – photo by images-assets.nasa.gov/image/hubble-catches-stellar-exodus-in-action_17644845341_o/hubble-catches-stellar-exodus-in-action_17644845341_o~orig
To me, the real challenge is the human mind, which is driving our actions: our beliefs and values shape the way we see the world, which in turn determines how we will treat it. So long as we assume that we are the centre of the universe and everything revolves around us, we will not be able to see the dangers we create. To see those, we have to recognize that our very lives and our well-being depend on the richness of nature.
~ David Suzuki
Farmer and Buffalo – photo by sutipond somnam, bigstockphoto.com
ALWAYS ASK PERMISSION
Before cutting a tree branch or taking a flower, let the spirit of the tree or plant know what you are going to do, so that it can draw its energy from that location and not feel the cut so hard.
When you go to nature and want to take a stone from the river, ask the river keeper if he allows you to take one of his sacred stones.
If you have to climb a mountain or make a pilgrimage through the jungle, ask the local spirits and guardians for permission. It is very important that you communicate, even if you don’t feel, hear or see.
Enter each place with respect, because all of Nature listens to you, sees you and feels you. Every move you make in the microcosm has a big impact on the macrocosm.
As you approach the vegetation, be grateful for the medicine it has for you.
Honor life in its various forms and be aware that each being is fulfilling its purpose. Nothing was created to fill the spaces, we are all here remembering our mission, remembering who we are and waking up from the sacred dream of returning home!
~ Mark Nilson
Central Park Tree People – photo by Devadana Sanctuary
Anything you do from the soulful self will help lighten the burdens of the world. Anything. You have no idea what the smallest word, the tiniest generosity, can cause to be set in motion…mend the part of the world that is within your reach.
~ Clarissa Pinkola Estés
Water Lily, Tahiti – photo by Devadana Sanctuary
Beliefs about identity can take a diversity of forms, greatly influencing human values, relationships and behavior. Indigenous cultures emphasize their deep ecological connection with Nature and other species. This has helped them to live in balance and harmony with surrounding environments for thousands of years…
Religious, political and nationalistic beliefs that are exclusive (and focus on surface differences) can become a source of social conflict, while deeper visions of all life and humanity as ONE FAMILY, one Earth Community, could help to generate peace and stability.
~ Christopher Chase
Double Rainbow, Long Island Sound – photo by Wendy Walker
Many years ago, I was fishing, and as I was reeling in the poor fish, I realized, “I am killing him for the passing pleasure it brings me?” And something inside me clicked. I realized as I watched him fight for breath, that his life was as important to him as mine is to me.
~ Paul McCartney
Coral Reef and Fishes – photo by mychadre77, bigstockphoto. com
How we see (and feel about) the world will influence our actions and values. When thinking is divided, people tend to focus on defending what they identify with. When our sense of identity is deep and unified, then wisdom, love and kindness arise in our hearts and circulate in the world more naturally.
~ Christopher Chase
Lotus – photo by Ange DiBennedetto
Take a walk through any thriving forest, and you won’t find uniformity—you’ll find balance through variety. Trees of every kind, fungi laced through the soil, insects, birds, predators, pollinators, and plants that bloom at different times, all playing their part. That’s not an accident. It’s a blueprint.
Diversity isn’t something nature tolerates. It’s something it requires to survive…We don’t thrive despite our differences—we thrive because of them. Just like the forest, just like the coral reef, just like the world we’re all lucky enough to be part of.
Diversity isn’t a threat. It has always been the plan.
~ Paul Avellino
Redwood Forest – photo by volare2004, bigstockphoto.com
Lakota Instructions for Living (Passed down from White Buffalo Calf Woman)
Friend do it this way – that is,
whatever you do in life,
do the very best you can
with both your heart and mind.
And if you do it that way,
the Power Of The Universe
will come to your assistance,
if your heart and mind are in Unity.
When one sits in the Hoop Of The People,
one must be responsible because
All of Creation is related.
And the hurt of one is the hurt of all.
And the honor of one is the honor of all.
And whatever we do effects everything in the universe.
If you do it that way – that is,
if you truly join your heart and mind
as One – whatever you ask for,
that’s the Way It’s Going To Be.
~ Passed down from White Buffalo Calf Woman
Upper Antelope Canyon, Navajo Reservation, AZ – photo by vichie81, bigstockphoto.com
My wish is that, one day, formal education will pay attention to the education of the heart, teaching love, compassion, justice, forgiveness, mindfulness, tolerance and peace. We must learn that humanity is one big family. We are all brothers and sisters: physically, mentally and emotionally…
~ H.H. The Dalai Lama
Summer Garden Flower – photo by George Herrick
Gratefulness…is an overall orientation to life. When we wake up in the morning and feel grateful just for the blessing of being alive, we open our heart and senses to the gifts and opportunities of another day, a day that was never guaranteed. This approach to gratitude is more radical since it isn’t contingent on a transaction—on something good happening to us—but is rather a way of living.
~ Kristi Nelson
Sunrise, Bavarian Alps – photo by maximkabb, bigstockphoto.com
The air that wraps Earth is a single entity, the matrix that holds us all. It is a global commons from which we draw a crucial element of life, sharing as we do molecules that have been breathed in and out of every living thing that has ever breathed on Earth. Molecules that pass through us have passed through brontosaurs, neolithic hunters, Roman emperors, hummingbirds, snails.
~ David Suzuki
Earth – photo from NASA.gov