Deep Ecology and Earth-Centered Philosophy

About 15 years ago, some people I then knew were enthralled with a movie called “The Secret,” about how to achieve prosperity through the Law of Attraction. Drawing on supposedly ages-old esoteric spiritual principles, the movie claimed to reveal how to use your mind and ambition to visualize what you want, no matter what it is, and then draw that to yourself. The example that I recall most clearly was a boy who really, really wanted a new bicycle, and, it was implied, manifested it simply through the power of positive thinking.

When the movie was over, instead of being inspired, I felt a sense of unease. There is certainly something to be said for believing oneself to be worthy and deserving—indeed, many of us have had to overcome a deep inner sense of unworthiness, sometimes through years of counseling or therapy. But something seems to be missing in this picture. No matter how genuinely worthy I know myself to be, do I really, by definition, deserve to have anything I want?? [Read more…] about Gaia’s True Abundance–Part II

Visualize a beautiful earth, untouched by human greed. Imagine crystal clear skies everywhere, wild waters pure enough to drink, and vast, clean, undisturbed wild forests, deserts and seacoasts. It’s almost impossible for us to imagine, even those of us fortunate enough to live in fairly intact, semi-wild areas. In other, less fortunate places—in the cities, in the fossil fuel extraction zones, and the industrial agriculture zones—clean air, land and waters have been not only unattainable but almost unimaginable for generations. And humanity is in a constant state of deep grief because of this, whether we know it consciously or not. [Read more…] about Gaia’s True Abundance

Gaia—the vast, living, intelligent being that created and is still creating our planet and everything on it—constantly tends toward balance and inclusion, and toward every being within every ecosystem thriving according to its nature. Our indigenous ancestors lived lives that were centered around attuning to the patterns of Gaia in their local ecosystem, and honoring and harmonizing with the totality of life there. These ways are still courageously modeled for us by the remaining indigenous peoples around the globe.

Gaia in Her fullness can best be understood as a system, a web of infinite relationships and interactions among all of its members. Such a system cannot sustain itself without reciprocity, that is, all within it constantly finding and re-finding a balanced interchange, without anyone taking or accumulating more than they need. This reality is not a fluffy, sentimental one, of course: most interchanges within a living natural system involve finding food to eat, and its members literally eating one another. When a system is balanced, however, there is enough for all the various plant and animal beings within it to feed and shelter themselves, to reproduce, and to flourish as a totality. And when all beings (including human beings) who live in a forest or watershed, or in and around a sea or estuary, are flourishing, the entire system is vibrant, sustainable and regenerative. [Read more…] about Going with Gaia’s Grain