I have been reflecting on how to bring about a new consciousness needed to awaken a more loving, just and sustainable world. This is partly in response to my ongoing concern at the electoral support for Trump and Dutton and their slogans to make people feel more secure and protect their way of life. I have been reading the Quarterly Essay on Peter Dutton which chronicles his journey to his current position as leader of the opposition. We grew up close by and at a similar time so I have some extra curiosity. Growing up at a similar time and location is no recipe for common values it seems.
That
support comes from many Christians makes me quite perplexed as my understanding
of the Christian message is one of love, hope and inclusion not fear and
division. The most often use phrase in the bible is ‘be not afraid’ yet leaders
are using fear to adopt policies of exclusion under the mantra tough on crime
and keeping borders secure. The fear of losing something runs deep and goes with
a philosophy of scarcity thinking rather than abundance.
Back to the
Christian side of things Jesus was pretty clear on this subject – the parable
of the loaves and fishes was a strong message of abundance – there is enough
for all if we share! A total of one-third of food produced is wasted and the
fact that we have kids going hungry is a blight on society. Aside from the
Sermon on the Mount one of my favourite parables is the lost sheep – the
shepherd left their 99 sheep to go and find the one lost sheep because all are
important. We are all worthy in contrast to Dutton’s and the Christian right
who judge who should be excluded.
But HOW do
we bring about change? In the writings of Richard Rohr the meditative
contemplative reflective mind is required to bring forward a new consciousness.
Personally a bushwalk is one of my ways to turn off the brain chatter and tune
in to the depths of the natural world to see what new ways of thinking might
emerge. The Courage and Renewal retreats that I’ve been lucky enough to go have
also been opportunities to go that bit extra deeper as well. Bringing a daily
discipline is hard and I recall Neville Watson’s view of an hour a day a day a
week for contemplation. Easier said than done though.
Wisdom from
the elders:
A nation's greatness is measured by how it
treats its weakest members. Mahatma Ghandi.
No problem can be solved by the same
consciousness that created it. Albert Einstein
And a
recent favourite from Brian McLaren below who shares his dream of a harmonious
earth (refer his podcast on ‘learning how to see’).
So in the Active Hope context:
Gratitude: I’m very grateful for the wisdom from
cultures and elders who understand the importance of inclusion for a more just
and loving community. I’m also grateful for the youth who have enthusiasm for
making the world more sustainable.
Honouring the Pain: I acknowledge that many are lost and may be
feeling unloved and left out of their families and communities.
Seeing with new eyes: To create the space to allow for
new ways of thinking – thinking sideways and upwards (see photo below).
Going Forth: I commit to adopting a regular contemplative
space and to be striving to be a source of healing and not judgement.
Dreaming of a Harmonious Earth - Brian McLaren
This is my dream, and perhaps it is your dream, and our dream, together: that in this time of turbulence when worlds are falling apart, all of us with willing hearts can come together … together with one another, poor and rich, whatever our race or gender, wherever we live, whatever our religion or education. I dream that some of us, maybe even enough of us, will come together not only in a circle of shared humanity, but in a sphere as big as the whole Earth, to rediscover ourselves as Earth’s multi-colored multi-cultured children, members of Team Earth.
I dream that the wisdom of Indigenous people, the wisdom of St. Francis and St. Clare and the Buddha and Jesus, the wisdom of climate scientists and ecologists and spiritual visionaries from all faiths could be welcomed into every heart. Then, we would look across this planet and see not economic resources, but our sacred relations … brother dolphin and sister humpback whale, swimming in our majestic indigo oceans, with sister gull and brother frigate bird soaring above them beneath the blue sky. We would see all land as holy land, and walk reverently in the presence of sister meadow and brother forest, feeling our kinship with brother bald eagle and sister box turtle, sister song sparrow and brother swallowtail butterfly, all our relations.
In my dream, the reverence we feel when we enter the most beautiful cathedral we would feel equally among mountains in autumn, beside marshes in spring, surrounded by snow-covered prairies in winter, and along meandering streams in summer. In my dream, even in our cities, we would look up in wonder at the sky, and a marriage between science and spirit would allow us to marvel at the sacredness of sunlight, the wonder of wind, the refreshment of rain, the rhythm of seasons. At each meal, we would feel deep connection to the fields and orchards and rivers and farms where our food was grown, and we would feel deep connection to the farmers and farmworkers whose hands tended soil so we could eat this day with gratitude and joy.
In my dream, our life-giving connection to each other and to the living Earth would be fundamental, central, and sacred … and everything else, from economies to governments to schools to religions … would be renegotiated to flow from that fundamental connection. In my dream, we would know God not as separate from creation, but as the living light and holy energy we encounter in and through creation: embodied, incarnated, in the current and flow of past, present, and future, known most intimately in the energy of love.
Photo: A
new way of seeing - looking up rather than down.
