The Spiritual Dimension of Transition
Whenever questions are asked about how we come to be here, why are we here, what is the purpose of living, we enter a line of inquiry commonly called ‘spiritual’. Children in their fresh innocence often ask very big questions with their persistent “why?s”.
In recent years science and scientists have been much more transparent in meeting that edge of spiritual inquiry. Fields such as quantum physics, Gaia theory or neuroscience, have shattered our long-held belief in a solid reality made of inert stuff. Two particular beliefs – our sense of each being as a very separate self, and the collective notion of the supremacy of the human species, have both been found to be deeply flawed in the face of evidence of the profound interconnectedness of systems of life on the planet.
Einstein said: “A human being is part of a whole, called by us ‘universe’, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest… a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of Nature in its beauty.”
Alistair McIntosh, one of our speakers in Totnes last year, says: “There is a danger when we speak about ‘spirituality’ that we enter a never-never land of fantasy which, as the existence of religious cults suggests, can be both delusory and deeply harmful”. Yet he says: “…it is not sufficient to think of spirituality – that which gives life – as being a mere optional ‘dimension’ or ‘element’. If activism is not grounded in spirituality it cannot be sustained in the long run: we either burn out or sell out as the oil of life runs low.”
There are many who believe that taking time and “being present” – intimate with life as it unfolds rather than stuck in mental constructions – allows wisdom and love to flourish and healing to take place. Through this state of sustained awareness, the pain and numbness of our ordinary busy-ness, which fuels insatiable wants, can be transformed and our consciousness expanded. We can start opening our heart to the grief of the world as we commune with it and allow wholesome responses to emerge.
In Totnes, there are many ways we can follow a path of awakening and expansion. As we each open to this possibility we can celebrate our differences and rejoice in them. We can help and inspire each other, creating a groundswell of goodwill and creative energy. As we learn to transition together with a renewed appreciation for our companions and for nature, we can feel kindness and care growing deeper roots in our heart, No spiritual labels are required on this journey of enquiry, openness and generosity.
Whether or not we agree with all of this, it seems likely that in a time of great challenge these issues, and the search for understanding that will enable us to make sense of what is happening, will be in the minds of an increasing number of people.
The challenges of peak oil, climate change – the need for energy descent –could provide a unifying catalyst for us to embrace a new way of seeing the future –as something that we create, rather than wait for. This will involve changes to the way we live our lives and the beliefs on which that is based. To transform our lives takes time, a sense of purpose, belief, imagination and courage, and in the process we may become more rounded, resilient, happier human beings.
A thousand years of healing
With this turning we put a broken age to rest.
We who are alive at such a cusp
now usher in a thousand years of healing.
From whence my hope, I cannot say,
But it grows in the cells of my skin,
my envelope of mysteries.
In this sheath so akin to the surface of earth
I sense the faint song.
Beneath the wail and dissonance
this singing rises. Winged ones
and four-leggeds,
grasses, and mountains and each tree,
all the swimming creatures.
Even we, wary two-leggeds,
hum, and call, and create
the changes. We remake our relations, mend
our minds, convert our minds to the earth.
We practice blending our voices,
living with the vision
Of the Great Magic we move within.
We begin the new habit, getting up glad
For a thousand years of healing.
Sue Silvermarie
For the Christian scholar Thomas Berry “The world is not a collection of objects but a communion of subjects”
The Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh tells us that “we are here to awaken from the illusion of our separateness”.
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