ECOLOGICAL AND SPIRITUAL REVOLUTION
Hanne Strong says that the key to restoring the Earth lies in
respecting the natural law observed by ancient and indigenous
peoples.
Since the beginning of time, of human life on this planet, ancient
peoples intimately understood that unless they lived in accordance
with natural law they would not survive. They spoke of this original
set of instructions given to them by the Creator, and knew and lived
by these laws, which guide humankind's relationship to the four
life-giving elements - earth, water, air and fire (energy) - and
teach respect for the oneness and interdependence of all life.
Indigenous peoples throughout the world are now breaking their
traditional silence to warn us of the consequences of ignoring
natural law, and to offer their help. The Kogi tribe of Colombia, who
have maintained absolute isolation for hundreds of years, have come
forward to warn that the Earth is in danger... that unless we stop
violating natural law, the world that contains and sustains us is
coming to an end.
[ PBS broadcast a program in September, 1991 in their "Nature" series
on the Kogi people and their message to humanity. Brief articles
on this program are available in the NATIVE-L archives:
593 91/09/18 20:55 31 PBS-TV docu on Kogi people / warning
598 91/09/18 16:53 19 Re: PBS-TV docu on Kogi people / warning
605 91/09/20 09:41 20 Re: PBS-TV docu on Kogi people / warning
--Gary ]
'We must live in harmony with the Natural World and recognize that
excessive exploitation can only lead to our own destruction. We
cannot trade the welfare of our future generations for profit now.
We must abide by the Natural Law or be victim of its ultimate
reality.' (Tadodaho Leon Shenandoah, Grand Chief of the Six Nations
Iroquois Confederacy.)
Shared wisdom
The wisdom keepers from around the world - Aborigines, Tibetans,
Hopi, Iroquois, Anishnabe - all share such prophecies and remind us
of what universal natural law instructs. It teaches, for instance,
that no one owns the land: we must take only what is truly needed
from the earth, and give something back. Today people transgress it,
neglecting to express gratitude, and failing to comprehend that for
every action there is an effect.
We violate these ancient wisdoms, disrespecting those who inherently
embody them, rather than learning from them how we must live in order
to survive. We have chosen an approach of subduing and dominating
Nature, considering the planet as a commodity, greedily plundering
the organs of our Mother, the Earth. Sustainable global development
is achievable only through a fundamental shift in the way we think
about and treat both the Earth and each other.
The environmental challenges we face - though clear and widely
recognized - have not stimulated responsive action at the level
necessary to rectify them. Perhaps our greatest challenge is
overcoming this apparent apathy and taking action at a level
commensurate with the dangers to the environment. The magnitude and
imminence of these perils is stunning - loss of cropland, toxic
agricultural technologies, irrevocable loss of plant and animal
species and biodiversity, limited water, large scale water and air
pollution, global climate changes, deterioration of the ozone layer,
dependence upon toxic and/or non-renewable energy/fuel sources,
desertification, deforestation.
There is also a great need for people, especially the young, to
discover greater meaning and dignity in their lives, and find
positive, healthy, productive alternatives to unemployment,
isolation, boredom, alienation, addiction and violence. Even in the
most prosperous neighbourhoods, where people are well fed, clothed
and housed, there is still a great need for renewal of the human
spirit. Fear, alienation, anger and resignation are prevalent,
creating the dispirited context which shapes youth.
Failure to address the issues
Societal challenges are the amplification of such individual human
imbalances, converging into collective patterns.
Policy-makers place the most emphasis on strategizing and financing
national security - but meanwhile we have no adequate system for
responding to our endangered environment, which is inextricably
linked with societal survival. The costs of failing adequately to
address maladies of heart, mind and spirit are enormous. Programmes
designed to help do not usually address the essential spiritual and
ethical issues that are at the root of the problem.
Education holds the key
At the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992, world leaders
raised the question of whether, without fundamental change, modern
society is sustainable on the planet. There are two basic positions
among those who accept the severity of the situation. Some feel that
we must do better what we are already doing, a belief that encourages
us to continue addressing the symptoms of current environmental and
social crises. Others believe that doing the same things in a better
way is not sufficient, that we must do something fundamentally
different.
As a devoted student and messenger of natural law, I believe, after
years of contemplation, that the most promising solution to the roots
of our problems lies through education. This belief led to the
creation of the Earth Restoration Corps (ERC), a training programme
designed to shift underlying attitudes and values into alignment with
Earth ethics, and prepare people to take immediate remedial action
on behalf of the environment. Its quintessential contribution is that
it instills ethical and spiritual integrity as a basis for
cooperative human relations and environmentally responsible living.
Nature, the best teacher, stimulates the capacity to handle
unforeseen circumstances and unpredictable events in alignment with
intent and generosity of spirit, thereby sparking moments of
transcendence and inspired creative action. The ERC is an intensive
training in nature, providing the circumstances for such sparks to
occur more often, and for more people. It makes use both of modern
science and traditional wisdom, bridging the best of current
sustainable technologies with the best of indigenous technologies,
many of which have proven sustainable over thousands of years. This
provides the conditions for individuals and groups to learn to care
deeply and skillfully for the Earth and one another, in alignment
with natural law, as a way of life.
Mobilizing awareness
On a larger scale, the ERC is a catalyst for a revolution in
consciousness and the mass mobilization of humanity to undertake the
work of restoring and sustaining the Earth and the human spirit.
Ultimately, millions of people will need to be organized. With
current estimates of global unemployment surpassing the 1 billion
mark over the next 10 years, opportunities for involvement in Earth
restoration support both environmental integrity and social
stability. Multicultural application of Earth restoration training
fosters the evolution of human consciousness throughout the world,
leading us from careless, selfish patterns to understanding how to
care for the whole.
Natural law generates a lifestyle rich with simplicity and humility,
with purity, truth, generosity and love. But, having forsaken the
universal law given by the Creator, we are suffering greatly from a
loss of heart and spirit. Unless we relearn natural law and
demonstrate love and reverence for the Earth, we will continue along
our presently chosen path of rapid self-destruction. Only when we
understand the Law of Interdependence - that all damage done to
nature is damage done to humankind - will we be able to reverse the
destruction of our four life-giving elements. Only when we experience
the interconnectedness of all can we begin to change at the source
- our human heart and mind.
The human race has gone through many stages, from hunter-gatherer to
the agricultural revolution, the industrial revolution, and the
science and technology revolution. Our technological industrial focus
developed momentum over years of greater and greater separation from
the laws of nature - and isolation from the nurturing and centring
influence of time spent in nature. Our perception that science and
technology are the answer to everything is an illusion, perpetuating
this imbalance. The real answer lies in an ecological and spiritual
revolution. Business and industry must devote their brilliance, and
some of their profits, towards restoring the Earth. Government and
non-governmental organizations must redirect efforts and funds from
projects that do not work to restoring and protecting our planet.
Direction and vigour
The stakes have never been higher, nor the choice more compelling.
Overwhelming evidence indicates that humanity's present direction
leads to an irrevocable loss of the natural systems which support all
life as we know it, a severely diminished existence, and an unknown
but clearly compromised future. Our only option is to pursue
alternatives with vigour, choose a direction which offers concrete
steps toward healthier, sustainable and humane life for all who call
Earth home. It is the duty of every human being to develop the
highest aspect of being human. When we evolve our consciousness, and
return to ways of living guided by natural law, our needs diminish
and we willingly choose to live simply, so that others can simply
live.
Hanne Marstrand Strong is President of Manitou Foundation and Manitou
Institute, and founder of the Earth Restoration Corps. For more
information, please write to P.O. Box 118, Crestone, Colorado 81131, USA.