The Gaia Community College » sustainable

Evolving Spirituality

Biophile — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 18:37:24 +0000

Albert Einstein once stated that we can’t solve problems using the same kind of thinking we used to create them. If we throw in another gem from him that “Peace cannot be kept by force, it can only be achieved by understanding”, then we are well on our way to addressing an essential ingredient in any recipe for sustainable, conscious growth and development, and that is the nature of our fundamental relationship with ourselves.

This train of thought also makes me want to invoke one of my favorite Thomas Berry statements that we will only achieve peace with each other once we have established (an understanding that brings) peace with the earth. All of these thoughts seem to point in the general direction of not continuing to have complete faith that our technologies will solve all of our problems and get us out of the mess that we are in, but that we have to take a complete step back from our current course and learn how to imagine new kinds of beneficial relationships with ourselves, each other, and the world that we live in. After all isn’t that what spirituality should be all about?

There are a growing number of visionaries who are exploring this train of thought in increasingly integral and beautiful ways, and who have fully taken to heart the implications of developing a world-view that is thoroughly aligned with an evolutionary perspective and all that it implies. It is an exciting and vital conversation developing at the forefront of awakening communities, and fortunately for us, there is a growing collection of recently recorded dialogues exploring just what this means and how we might implement these insights in our daily lives. And best of all, access to these audio archives is free, which I hope is in the best spirit of encouraging the “we are all in this together” realization. After all, it is precisely when we are in service to each other that we begin to embody this emerging community consciousness a la Thomas Berry and his quest to establish mutually enhancing relationships.

There are three efforts along these lines that I would like to put forward as beneficial and inspiring contributions to this ongoing awakening, and I have been interacting with them and can vouch for their authenticity (and the fact that they are indeed free without any strings and the utmost of respect for your privacy). I should also make note for the record that I do not have any affiliation with any of these organizations and am putting these out there because I have experienced them as genuinely inspiring.

The first one is “Awakening the Impulse to Evolve ~ The Birth of Evolutionary Spirituality“.

The second: “The Sacred Awakening Series” featuring 40 of the worlds prominent spiritual teachers.

And the third, “Women on the Edge of Evolution” with 21 of the world’s leading spiritual luminaries, thinkers, artists, and agents for positive change.

I sincerely hope that you find inspiration and insight within some or all of these offerings, and that choosing to walk through this doorway will bring us closer to healing the deep divide between our hearts and our minds.
Always Love,
Eric

Playing for change – Peace through music

Biophile — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 16:23:48 +0000

The folks at Playing for Change (.com) have most certainly hit upon a magical formula. This is a profound and beautiful example of heart wedded with technology with the intention of inspiring planetary community. Using music as the universal language, they are traveling the world recording familiar songs with contributing musicians from different cultures, with the result being such a powerful demonstration of unity. I get so thrilled to the core of my being whenever I encounter such a wonder, and I can only hope that activities and energies like this get spread far and wide. Raising awareness about our global community, celebrating the simple things that connect us all, nurturing sustainable joy, these are the energies that we are focused on here as our lives unfold in a planetary context. I believe that these are the very things that have the power to transcend and heal the horrors and malignancies plaguing our planet at present, and everything that can be done to share them is a form of purposeful activism. Peace be with you and yours also!

Gotta love it!! Deep gratitude is surging through me….
Eric

Awakening the Dreamer

Biophile — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:00:25 +0000

The folks from the Pachamama Alliance are offering these low cost symposiums to help further along the transition from exploitative culture to a nourishing and truly sustainable one. This is a wondrously beautiful example of tell a different story, bring about a different reality. And I adore the fact that they are ensuring it is accessible to everyone. If you can find one anywhere near you, I would whole heartedly recommend attending. Their stated goal is bringing forth an environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling and socially just human presence on Planet Earth, and I can’t think of anything more worthwhile.

Awakening the Dreamer Symposium Trailer from Pachamama Alliance on Vimeo.

At it’s heart are four questions ~ Where are we? How did we get here? What’s possible for the future? And Where do we go from here? Affirming our connectedness throughout, and stimulating active community are just some of the results from this event.

Joanna Macy says “The Symposium is designed to accelerate the Great Turning to a just and sustainable world. It awakens us and reconnects us with our place in the web of life . . . I’m very impressed with the approach and the quality of the program.” And that alone makes me want to go…

Peace,
Eric