“Problems cannot be solved with the same mind set that created them.”
We are all unconscious from time to time - from believing that our perspective is the only one that matters to not having a point of view at all. Many have the unconscious bias that as humans we are better than - even separate from - the rest of the natural world. This sense of superiority and self imposed isolation devolves into ways of thinking that weaken our connections of all kinds – to family and friends, to those who are human but different from us, to the wider world outside ourselves and finally to a sense of alienation to our own inner ecology and balance.
As I read and listen to mainstream news, observe the world around me and attend to many of my clients, I notice that more and more, numbness and indifference are the result of this sense of separation.
Every day in our thoughts and feelings are examples of the power of this shadow world that clouds our mind and lead to beliefs like:
- I’m only one person how can what I think matter; how do I count?
- Money and power speak louder than integrity and collaboration.
- Society – and my lifestyle in particular - depends on those corporations that are too big to fail.
- The world is too complex – and screwed up - to be understood by the average person.
- Young people are ill informed, self-absorbed and inarticulate.
It’s almost impossible to face this contorted thinking and heaviness alone. Sometimes I feel that I’m being sucked inevitably into vortex of some black hole.
Here in Central Virginia where I live, one struggle against shadow power takes the form of the Atlantic Coast pipeline – a monument to unnecessary construction and destruction of the environment in service of corporate profit.
Not only will this pipeline spoil some of the last natural forested area on the eastern seaboard – the George Washington National Forest - but also has the potential to endanger the headwaters of nearby rivers.
The tree cutting began several months ago and recently the pipeline builders – Dominion Energy LLC – requested even more time to extend their tree cutting operations. While losing these trees has already been a blow to the environment, extending the cutting time would interfere with the migratory birds nesting season as well as the habitat of certain bat species.
It seems like a predictable grind…first appropriation of land and homes in the pipeline’s path; next trees are cut down, now the birds and bats are further endangered…what next?
For a small group of us this was just the opening we needed to spark another “outbreak” of conscious cooperation with Nature. What this means is that we gathered together with the intention of opening to the power and interconnection with the natural world.
Imagine linking to the web of mycelium in the earth, the unseen communication system between jellyfish or the interstitial layer of our own bodies to approach the natural world as an equal partner in achieving balance. It’s like saying: “We humans bring certain skills and talents, you oh trees, birds, mountains and nature spirits also have great power and experience. Could we sit, think and share together then combine them into some new spiraling, fractal and unfolding of infinite possibility?”
So for an hour we did. Sharing our individual perceptions of nature’s concerns, experience and advice with our own and then consciously weaving these individual strands into a shining and colorful tapestry of intention, which we then grounded into the core energetics of the planet.
It felt wonderful - a graceful kinship and dance of right relationship.
Caroline Casey, one of my favorite, wise teachers says that synchronicity only happens on a stage calibrated for equal and conscious collaborative endeavors. That popped into my mind when three days after our subtle action with Nature we heard that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) ruled against Dominion Energy’s request to extend their tree felling operations, requiring them to stop and honor their original commitment not to interfere with bird migration pattern.
It gives me hope and inspires me/us to do more in partnership with the natural world! Perhaps it will for you too. If it does and you want some advice, you can be in touch with me for some basic instructions on entering into conscious cooperation with Nature.