For some years now, renowned marine biologist and oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle has been promoting the idea of “hope spots” in the world’s oceans.

A hope spot is a relatively intact area in the ocean that has been scientifically identified as critical to overall ocean health. Once a hope spot is recognized, it is championed by local conservationists, with logistical and scientific assistance from Mission Blue, Sylvia’s organization. The overall idea is that if we can work to support the resilience and diversity of places in the ocean where things are still working well, this resilience can gradually expand into less healthy areas, promoting ever-widening ocean recovery and regeneration. [Read more…] about Creating Spiritual Hope Spots in Nature

A few years ago, on a late summer’s day, I was hiking in the nearby mountains. The multitude of wildflowers that had been blooming all summer were now going to seed, and all the seed-eating birds were taking full advantage. At the edge of a meadow, I caught sight of some gawky young house finches. They were flying around, sampling seeds and displaying the general goofiness typical of recently-fledged birds. Suddenly one of them left its perch and flew briskly toward a tall, upright flower stalk crowned with a big puffy seed head. When it landed, the entire stalk bent over to the ground, and the surprised bird literally fell off, upside down onto the grass. Flailing its little wings, it righted itself and indignantly flew away. And I practically fell on the ground too, from laughing so hard. [Read more…] about Our Kids’ Green Hearts

How can we humans live fully in our hearts? From a Gaia-centered perspective, what we need to relearn is this: Our heart is completely linked with the natural world. Thus it has a built-in propensity to connect and ally with all life, not just other humans.

The heart chakra isn’t green by accident. Our heart resonates not only with human beings, but also with the Earth’s forests, mountains, oceans and rivers, and the material and spiritual beings who live there. Our hearts are nourished by relationship, connection and generosity toward humans and equally toward the entire more-than-human world. This makes it very important to keep our hearts healthy, robust and grounded in Gaia’s totality. [Read more…] about Grounding Our Green Heart