Saving the Earth will require embracing Gaia spiritually...

[Guest guest]

Earth Calls For Radical Social Change And Spiritual Transformation

 

By Dr Glen Barry

 

26 September, 2007

Earth Meanders Blog

 

The population bomb has burst, the climate and biosphere are in tatters, and

tyrannical, militaristic governments rule; yet there remains a path to global

ecological sustainability

 

The Earth is a living organism, which some call Gaia. Humanity is taking apart

Gaia's life support systems in an orgy of procreation and consumption. Only

radical social change and profound spiritual transformation can save us now.

 

Radical is not a dirty word. It means markedly new opinions and actions far

beyond the norm, often in response to dilemmas that stymie conventional wisdom.

Many times in Western history radical political ideas expanded human dignity and

opportunity.

 

In this era of resource gluttony, tyranny and militarism, and post population

bomb explosion; the Earth and her humanity are crying out for radical social and

ecological change. We have gone from one billion to over 6.5 billion people in

just over 125 years. Dying oceans, an end to ancient forests, water scarcity,

unknown toxins interacting, over-consumption amongst grotesque inequity, and

climate processes disintegrating -- all are the face of a dying Earth as humans

eat, and shit on, their home.

 

How can humanity lighten its load upon, and restore, the biosphere's ecological

systems; even as plagued by war, injustice, poverty, disease and ignorance?

 

This is the question of all remaining time, and I welcome all comprehensive,

sufficient policy prescriptions. However, I am highly skeptical regarding the

ability of liberal democratic capitalism, Islamic fundamentalism, Chinese market

communism; or any other existing religious, political or economic traditions'

ability to equitably and justly feed 9 billion people on a failing Planet.

 

Sometimes radicalism and revolutionary thinking are the only way forward when

liberal and conservative status quo responses have failed society and the Earth.

Clearly this is now the case as over-population and inequitable over-consumption

well beyond the carrying capacity of the Earth threaten the very biological

basis of being. Radical political ecologism is the way forward.

 

Life, biological being, and ecological systems' very existences are threatened.

Wanton death and suffering loom. Where to go to escape China's tyranny and

America's imperialism, and their combined militaristic and ecocidal drain upon

Gaia? Where to go into exile from a collapsing Earth? When and how will the

liquidation of life end? Can we end it? How?

 

These are not my governments. I and my brethren are Earth citizens. This is not

my economy. We imperfectly seek to live in a manner that the entire world could

enjoy forever. These are not my wars upon the Earth and the poor. Tyrannical and

imperialistic governments do not speak for me. This is not my ecological

science, demonstrating plodding incautious caution in the face of global

ecological collapse. Nor is this my environmental movement, with allegiance to

what is in vogue and stylish half-measures rather than a commitment to

sufficient truths.

 

I am repulsed by all their Gods and prophets of war and oppression. In all my

life I have really only learned one unique thing: The Earth is Truth. Truth is

God. Thus the Earth is God.

 

What do I mean by this simplistic, transitive statement of my youth? In all my

early soul-searching and truth-seeking, the only demonstrably objective truth I

could find is my and your utter dependence upon the Earth. We need water, air,

land and other elements of good habitat to live. Thus the Earth is Truth.

 

God has been and is many things to many people, and I strongly suspect we are

all pursuing alternative ways to the spirit(s) in the sky and Earth. Yet the

idea that this spirit is best exemplified by what is truthful continues to

resonate with me as I grow older. The truth found in a beautiful blooming spring

flower, a laughing child and an intricate ecosystem is God.

 

And as every pre-algebra student knows, this leads us to the tautology that the

Earth is God. There are many ways to this place of transcendent truth beauty --

philosophical, scientific and ecological intuitions are all equally valid paths

to Gaia.

 

So what shall we do with this knowledge? If the Earth is truly God, which could

be called Gaia, then she and all of her lively components are worthy of awe

filled worship; and of unflinching, devotional protection at all costs.

 

Saving the Earth will require embracing Gaia spiritually, and pursuit of radical

change on her behalf. We are called back to the land even as we engage the Earth

destroying global growth machine. Certainly ending coal use, protecting ancient

forests and flying less are worthy and necessary rituals of Gaia worship.

 

 

Dr. Barry is founder and President of Ecological Internet; provider of the

largest, most used environmental portals on the Internet including the Climate

Ark at http://www.climateark.org/ and http://EcoEarth.Info/ . Earth Meanders is

a series of ecological essays that are written in his personal capacity. This

essay may be reprinted granted it is properly credited to Dr. Barry and with a

link to Earth Meanders. Emailed responses are public record and will be posted

on the web site unless otherwise requested.

 

http://countercurrents.org/barry260907.htm

[Guest guest]

Dear All,

 

i have never really known who 'Gaia' is, although i have read a bit on 'Gaia

theory' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_hypothesis However since i have read

'The Divine Feminine, Exploring the Feminine Face of God Around the World' by

Andrew Harvey and Anne Baring, i realise that 'Gaia' is none other than the

Great Mother of us all! The name may be different, but She is One and the Same!

So please enjoy the appended information on our 'Mother Gaia'!

 

violet

 

 

 

Gaia, mother of all

the foundation, the oldest one

I shall sing to Earth

She feeds everything that is in the world.

 

Homeric Hymn to Gaia

From The Myth of the Goddess

Translated by Jules Cashford

 

Gaia was the Great Mother of all life and Mother of the gods. Gaia was the

earth, the foundation. She was " in the beginning. " In Aeschylus's play, 'The

Eumenides', the priestess at Delphi opens her invocation to the deities with the

words, " First in my prayer before all other gods I call on Earth, primeval

prophetess. "

 

Today, as we awaken to the sacredness of our planetary home, the sacredness of

earth that we were once instinctively aware of, the name and image of Gaia, the

Great Mother, mysteriously returns to inspire and focus our longing to respond

to the planet's need and to the urgent spiritual and ecological crisis of our

time. The name Gaia gives us someone to imagine and relate to, rather than

something to dominate and control, and restores to us the lost feeling of

relationship with Earth as Mother. But Gaia was more than Great Mother as source

and foundation of all that is. She was also the active and dynamic consciousness

guiding and structuring the ordering of creation. She was the life ensouling it

and the law directing it.

 

The Divine Feminine in Greece stands between two visions, two phases of human

evolutionary experience - one focused on the goddess and the other on the god.

In Greece the awesome powers of the older Great Mother of the Neolithic and the

Bronze Ages were divided among goddesses who carried different aspects of her

being. The influence of a patriarchal culture is shown by the fact that Athena,

Aphrodite, Artemis, and Persephone are daughters of Zeus by various goddesses

and he is now the supreme father of the gods. But Gaia as well as her daughter

Demeter bring through into Greek culture the maternal dimension of the older

Great Mother who was the life of the Earth and the source of all the gods.

 

The Homeric hymns to the goddesses are among the finest expressions of the Greek

spirit. Through them we can feel the close relationship with the numinous, the

love of beauty and harmony that was so profound an expression of the Greek soul.

Through the fertile imagery of their ancient words, we hear a hymn of praise to

life. A divine presence is invoked, at once transcendent and immanent, godlike

and human. The same feminine presence pervades the pages of the Odyssey where

Penelope is the focus of Odysseus's long quest and Athena his constant and

luminous guide.

 

All the goddesses still transmit the feeling of earlier time, the feeling that

the Divine Feminine could be appealed to for help, guidance, and inspiration.

Through their image, people were made aware that they walked on sacred ground,

that they lived within a sacred reality where everything they were and

everything they experienced was rooted in that ground. As in Egypt, on every

side hidden beings were intermediaries between earth and heaven, connecting the

dimension of the physical world to the unseen dimension that ensouled it. There

was no rigid line drawn between what was imagination and what was reality. The

human soul was part of the greater soul of nature that was alive with these

unseen beings. The powers and qualities of this greater soul were named as

goddesses and gods, so people had an image that reflected not only the unseen

dimension of life but also the unseen dimension of their own nature. This gave

them the possibility of orienting their own lives to this dimension. keeping in

touch with it, gaining knowledge of it, and applying this knowledge to the

development of their soul and to the creation of an extraordinary civilization.

 

The Divine Feminine

Andrew Harvey & Anne Baring - Conari Press

Berkeley, CA

ISBN 1-57324-035-4 (hardcover)

Pg. 68; 70-71

 

 

 

,

" Violet " <violet.tubb wrote:

>

>

> Earth Calls For Radical Social Change And Spiritual Transformation

>

> By Dr Glen Barry

>

> 26 September, 2007

> Earth Meanders Blog

>

> The population bomb has burst, the climate and biosphere are in

tatters, and tyrannical, militaristic governments rule; yet there

remains a path to global ecological sustainability

>

> The Earth is a living organism, which some call Gaia. Humanity is

taking apart Gaia's life support systems in an orgy of procreation

and consumption. Only radical social change and profound spiritual

transformation can save us now.

>

> Radical is not a dirty word. It means markedly new opinions and

actions far beyond the norm, often in response to dilemmas that

stymie conventional wisdom. Many times in Western history radical

political ideas expanded human dignity and opportunity.

>

> In this era of resource gluttony, tyranny and militarism, and post

population bomb explosion; the Earth and her humanity are crying out

for radical social and ecological change. We have gone from one

billion to over 6.5 billion people in just over 125 years. Dying

oceans, an end to ancient forests, water scarcity, unknown toxins

interacting, over-consumption amongst grotesque inequity, and

climate processes disintegrating -- all are the face of a dying

Earth as humans eat, and shit on, their home.

>

> How can humanity lighten its load upon, and restore, the

biosphere's ecological systems; even as plagued by war, injustice,

poverty, disease and ignorance?

>

> This is the question of all remaining time, and I welcome all

comprehensive, sufficient policy prescriptions. However, I am highly

skeptical regarding the ability of liberal democratic capitalism,

Islamic fundamentalism, Chinese market communism; or any other

existing religious, political or economic traditions' ability to

equitably and justly feed 9 billion people on a failing Planet.

>

> Sometimes radicalism and revolutionary thinking are the only way

forward when liberal and conservative status quo responses have

failed society and the Earth. Clearly this is now the case as over-

population and inequitable over-consumption well beyond the carrying

capacity of the Earth threaten the very biological basis of being.

Radical political ecologism is the way forward.

>

> Life, biological being, and ecological systems' very existences

are threatened. Wanton death and suffering loom. Where to go to

escape China's tyranny and America's imperialism, and their combined

militaristic and ecocidal drain upon Gaia? Where to go into exile

from a collapsing Earth? When and how will the liquidation of life

end? Can we end it? How?

>

> These are not my governments. I and my brethren are Earth

citizens. This is not my economy. We imperfectly seek to live in a

manner that the entire world could enjoy forever. These are not my

wars upon the Earth and the poor. Tyrannical and imperialistic

governments do not speak for me. This is not my ecological science,

demonstrating plodding incautious caution in the face of global

ecological collapse. Nor is this my environmental movement, with

allegiance to what is in vogue and stylish half-measures rather than

a commitment to sufficient truths.

>

> I am repulsed by all their Gods and prophets of war and

oppression. In all my life I have really only learned one unique

thing: The Earth is Truth. Truth is God. Thus the Earth is God.

>

> What do I mean by this simplistic, transitive statement of my

youth? In all my early soul-searching and truth-seeking, the only

demonstrably objective truth I could find is my and your utter

dependence upon the Earth. We need water, air, land and other

elements of good habitat to live. Thus the Earth is Truth.

>

> God has been and is many things to many people, and I strongly

suspect we are all pursuing alternative ways to the spirit(s) in the

sky and Earth. Yet the idea that this spirit is best exemplified by

what is truthful continues to resonate with me as I grow older. The

truth found in a beautiful blooming spring flower, a laughing child

and an intricate ecosystem is God.

>

> And as every pre-algebra student knows, this leads us to the

tautology that the Earth is God. There are many ways to this place

of transcendent truth beauty -- philosophical, scientific and

ecological intuitions are all equally valid paths to Gaia.

>

> So what shall we do with this knowledge? If the Earth is truly

God, which could be called Gaia, then she and all of her lively

components are worthy of awe filled worship; and of unflinching,

devotional protection at all costs.

>

> Saving the Earth will require embracing Gaia spiritually, and

pursuit of radical change on her behalf. We are called back to the

land even as we engage the Earth destroying global growth machine.

Certainly ending coal use, protecting ancient forests and flying

less are worthy and necessary rituals of Gaia worship.

>

>

> Dr. Barry is founder and President of Ecological Internet;

provider of the largest, most used environmental portals on the

Internet including the Climate Ark at http://www.climateark.org/ and

http://EcoEarth.Info/ . Earth Meanders is a series of ecological

essays that are written in his personal capacity. This essay may be

reprinted granted it is properly credited to Dr. Barry and with a

link to Earth Meanders. Emailed responses are public record and will

be posted on the web site unless otherwise requested.

>

> http://countercurrents.org/barry260907.htm

>