We can restore the earth

The separate parts of humanity are coming together to form a whole that is greater than and unpredictable from the sum of its parts. Synergy feels like love, loving one another as ourselves. We are, in fact, one body! Our capacities as a whole are infinitely greater than we we are separate tribes and nations. Once our consciousness shifts from feeling separated to knowing that we are all members of one body, our vast technological genius begins to serve the growth of ourselves as one planet. And that consciousness shift an happen in the twinkling of an eye. Once our consciousness shifts collectively, we can restore the Earth, we can feed all peoples, we can emancipate unique potential We can!

April 2000 (Vol. XIII, No. 4)

SPRING BLESSINGS: season of new growth! The miracle of the world around us is an endless source of spiritual nourishment for those who are truly aware. What if our sole purpose, our soul purpose, our basic goal, is simply to be gardeners of the planet iin praise of diversity! Too simple! something to ponder in the silence of our hearts.

New love to the world

We are here because Love recognizes our value and knows what we can become, what we can give, what we can do that will bring new life, new vision, new spirit, new love to the world.The call in the lives of each of us is the call to treasure and value and love one another and all the other creatures and things of the Earth.It is the call to acknowledge and to act from that knowledge that each person is just as valued and just as loved as the next, and all are invited to participate in the communion of that love.
~ from THE CALL by David Spangler
David Spangler The Call nature Buy on Amazon

Bird trust

When I had my breakfast I would leave the door open in the summer and the birds would come right inside and pick up the crumbs around my feet. They had no fear of me at all. These birds also brought their families when ready. I later found out that this bird trust was because of my silence. Once I spoke to them, all went like the wind, and I praised God for such trust. Providing I remained silent they had no fear of me and I learned a great deal about their ways.

~ from WIND ON THE SAND by Pinions
Pinions Wind On The Sand nature Buy on Amazon

The silence of nature

People talk about the silence of nature, but of course there is no such thing. What they mean is that OUR voices are still, OUR noises are absent.

~ Sue Halpern
Sue Halpern nature Buy on Amazon

An obligation to return to this planet

Every human being has an obligation to return to this planet and to all its creatures the sound of beauty, the power of prayer, the sense of harmony. In O PIONEERS!, Willa Cather reminds us of our need to believe in the good soil of our lives, to do what we can to wake it up and then to wait.

"The land had its little joke. It pretended to be poor because nobody knew how to work it right; and then all at once it worked itself. It woke up out of its sleep and stretched itself and it was so big, so rich, that we suddenly found we were rich, just from sitting still."

We can learn the same lesson from sitting still with the land of the heart. It, too, has its little jokes. We think it is poor soil because we don't know how to work it. When we learn to do our inner work, it will wake up and work itself. All we need is a PATIENT WAITING and a TENDER ABIDING.

~ from THE SONG OF THE SEED by Macrina Wiederkehr
Macrina Wiederkehr The Song Of The Seed nature Buy on Amazon

Nature's perfect economy

Nature's perfect economy is at work in the unfurling of leaves, the structure of galaxies, and the emergence of a butterfly from a chrysalis.  Universal patterns, forms and processes are embodiments of efficient harmonies, proportioned relatedness, and ways of sharing.  By looking at the world in a certain way, we can see patterns of interconnectedness and come to realize that the world is not a collection of "things", but an unfolding creative process at the deepest level.
~ from "A Natural Harmony" by David Fideler
David Fideler A Natural Harmony nature

Gardening can provide an opportunity to slow down

Gardening can provide an opportunity to slow down, be still, breathe, and connect with another form of life. For me, it is an experience of communion; I become one with this precious life in my garden, and it heightens my experience of love in the world. And that is what spirituality is all about: growing in love.

~ from GROWING MYSELF by J. Handelsman
J. Handelsman Growing Myself nature

Let the woodlands become your chapel

As you see the world as part of yourself
you will care for it;
As you see yourself as part of the world
you will be cared for.

When alone with your thoughts,
listen and hear the Silence.
Listen and see the Silence.
Listen and taste the Silence.
Close your eyes and feel the Silence
deep within.

Let the woodlands become your chapel --
your body the altar.
In the Silence, as you begin to
communicate with the Creator,
receive peace.

~ from a Seneca song with thanks to Richard Siebels
Anonymous Seneca Song nature

The earth is an awesome, fragile mystery

Responsible people are beginning to realize that the earth is an awesome mystery, ultimately as fragile as we are ourselves. ...That being so, there is need to be sensitive to the earth, for the earth identifies with our own suffering, exploitation of the earth is exploitation of the human, elimination of the aesthetic splendors of the earth is the diminishment of all existence.

~ Thomas Berry
Thomas Berry nature Buy on Amazon

The human being is a microcosm of the great cosmos

If each of us opens the depths of our hearts to the Mystery of God in the concrete events of life, and then -- in freedom -- decides for the good, then fecundity of cosmos and nature will proceed from this very personal act. For Hildegard the human being -- body and soul -- is a microcosm of the great cosmos and is meant to be a creative member of the circle of life on this precious earth. Each personal decision affects all of us. It can contribute either to the healing of the planet or to a further shriveling up in separation, hopelessness, fear, and pollution. We are responsible not only to God and to each other but also to the elements.

~ from HILDEGARD by Renate Craine
Renate Craine Hildegard nature Buy on Amazon

As the animals

Ask the animals and they will teach you, or the birds of the air and they will tell you; or speak to the earth and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of these does not know the hand of God?

~ Job 12:7-9
Job nature

As seed germinates in silent, fertile soil

As seed germinates in silent, fertile soil, may the seed of the Divine Word be nourished in the silence of your soul.  
 
~ Anonymous
Anonymous nature

To go into the wilderness

I found myself in a miniature inlet. An intense tranquility covered the scene. And yet -- within the tranquility, the lake and hills were burning with spiritual energy. The silence was almost palpable; still, the silence had a sound of its own, like a subterranean waterfall. I felt as if I had stepped back a million years in time; but the energy I felt was electric and immediate. ... The very wildness of the wilderness generates a spiritual field that connects us with the source from which all life evolved. To go into the wilderness, we must undertake a journey that purifies our senses and prepares us for the subtle lessons that the wilderness has to teach us.

~ Martin Hawes, author of ABOVE ME ONLY THE SKY (Tasmania) with thanks to Elaine Laforet
Martin Hawes Above Me Only The Sky nature

Sitting still

Sitting still
doing nothing
Spring comes
and the grass grows by itself.

~ a bit of Zen wisdom
Anonymous nature

New love to the world

We are here because Love recognizes our value and knows what we can become, what we can give, what we can do that will bring new life, new vision, new spirit, new love to the world.The call in the lives of each of us is the call to treasure and value and love one another and all the other creatures and things of the Earth.It is the call to acknowledge and to act from that knowledge that each person is just as valued and just as loved as the next, and all are invited to participate in the communion of that love.

Bird trust

When I had my breakfast I would leave the door open in the summer and the birds would come right inside and pick up the crumbs around my feet. They had no fear of me at all. These birds also brought their families when ready. I later found out that this bird trust was because of my silence. Once I spoke to them, all went like the wind, and I praised God for such trust. Providing I remained silent they had no fear of me and I learned a great deal about their ways.

The silence of nature

People talk about the silence of nature, but of course there is no such thing. What they mean is that OUR voices are still, OUR noises are absent.

An obligation to return to this planet

Every human being has an obligation to return to this planet and to all its creatures the sound of beauty, the power of prayer, the sense of harmony. In O PIONEERS!, Willa Cather reminds us of our need to believe in the good soil of our lives, to do what we can to wake it up and then to wait.

"The land had its little joke. It pretended to be poor because nobody knew how to work it right; and then all at once it worked itself. It woke up out of its sleep and stretched itself and it was so big, so rich, that we suddenly found we were rich, just from sitting still."

We can learn the same lesson from sitting still with the land of the heart. It, too, has its little jokes. We think it is poor soil because we don't know how to work it. When we learn to do our inner work, it will wake up and work itself. All we need is a PATIENT WAITING and a TENDER ABIDING.

Nature's perfect economy

Nature's perfect economy is at work in the unfurling of leaves, the structure of galaxies, and the emergence of a butterfly from a chrysalis.  Universal patterns, forms and processes are embodiments of efficient harmonies, proportioned relatedness, and ways of sharing.  By looking at the world in a certain way, we can see patterns of interconnectedness and come to realize that the world is not a collection of "things", but an unfolding creative process at the deepest level.

Gardening can provide an opportunity to slow down

Gardening can provide an opportunity to slow down, be still, breathe, and connect with another form of life. For me, it is an experience of communion; I become one with this precious life in my garden, and it heightens my experience of love in the world. And that is what spirituality is all about: growing in love.

Let the woodlands become your chapel

As you see the world as part of yourself
you will care for it;
As you see yourself as part of the world
you will be cared for.

When alone with your thoughts,
listen and hear the Silence.
Listen and see the Silence.
Listen and taste the Silence.
Close your eyes and feel the Silence
deep within.

Let the woodlands become your chapel --
your body the altar.
In the Silence, as you begin to
communicate with the Creator,
receive peace.

The earth is an awesome, fragile mystery

Responsible people are beginning to realize that the earth is an awesome mystery, ultimately as fragile as we are ourselves. ...That being so, there is need to be sensitive to the earth, for the earth identifies with our own suffering, exploitation of the earth is exploitation of the human, elimination of the aesthetic splendors of the earth is the diminishment of all existence.

Pages