I put “_______” in the title, because so many people automatically scroll past anything with “climate change.” Quite understandably, they think that they know basically what it is going to say, in main message if not in details.
Yes I did and it's fine to share. With acknowledgment you might add Poet's Journal, www.donhynes.com/blog. I'm not trying to "advertise" here but since you asked..
Having an event to talk about your spiritual experience in regards to climate change is one thing. Being an authority over the spiritual experiences of others is another. I hope that your intention will become clear. Please speak from your own innerstanding.
I recently listened to a discussion on how Native tribes of the Americas view land and one of the panelist stated that based on their creation stories, the land came first and then the people. That statement is loaded with many truths but the bigger one is that the land takes care of us, we don’t take care of the land because we don’t need to. The land takes care of itself and we are only to live in reverence and gratitude of her and her gifts.
I think it’s pretty arrogant for humans to believe that we have any power over the earth. Even when we do something that is seemingly irreparable it matters not in the grand scheme of her life cycle, for she will be here long before us and long after us and she always recovers with time. It’s funny how people love to talk about how the earth is millions of years old and been through this age and that age, having had whole species wiped out but in that same breadth fail to see that she always takes care of herself. We are not her caretakers, we are occupants, aliens, and invited guests. We should act accordingly.
The truth about climate change is that breadth is life and we die when we can’t breathe so making the air healthy is for us, not for the earth (because 👏🏾she 👏🏾can 👏🏾do 👏🏾this 👏🏾on 👏🏾her 👏🏾own👏🏾) and the sooner we come to terms with that truth, then we can move forward into responsible, gracious, and sustainable living.
Spoke my peace but I’ll end it with one other note. The characters at the forefront of climate change in the MSM are incredibly suspicious. They are the same characters involved in other psyops and it makes their involvement questionable. We should all be asking who stands to benefit economically from certain climate change legislation? What measures are being put forth? (I recently saw a proposal that would dictate when we could go into nature and for how long…so you can only go walk outside for 20 minutes in a national park because any longer and you’ll damage the natural environment. Huh?!?) Following bloodlines and money vines will always bring about answers 🙏🏾
Hello Charles, the ______ worked! I happen to be a graduate of one of Jonathan’s programs.
I listened to this yesterday (https://onbeing.org/programs/colette-pichon-battle-placed-here-in-this-calling/). It relates to this post of yours, and I urge you to listen before you make your presentation with Jonathan! Because it brings climate change home to place, to our story, and at the very end, weaves in a bit of Yin. For the very reasons you explain, I had decided not to attend the upcoming seminar with Jonathan. Because I do not like the approach being taken towards climate change. But when I listened to what Colette had to say, I softened and I opened. I listened. I needed to hear her story. Story of place.
When it comes to what I need to gather up my attention for climate change however, it is different again. Noise. And the silencing we all experienced when we entered into the Great Pause, 2 years ago yesterday. That was a bandaid for climate. We saw all kinds of proof of the miracle of life when we stopped. I am born up north with the Inuit so I have a lot of respect for their perspective ... the below, which I attach, may seem out of context, because I have extracted it from a paper, but there are some key words there. I don't know if you have time for what I contribute, but I make an attempt to be heard regardless!
Thanks for all the speaking up you do. I have a close friend who attended one of your last programs just before everything closed down, and I heard you speak at a biodynamic farming convention 10 years ago. Your work is important.
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Life in Canada’s North is one that is close to death. Food resources have always been scarce, and scarcer now that the ice is melting; and therefore, they had a serious responsibility to keeping their population numbers low and raising the best hunters. In her article, Catherine Madsen describes a “binding” moral literacy that is the result of the “physical needs of a subsistence community” (Madsen, 121) ruled by the harshness of Nature.
The Inuit moral principle is that of kinship - shared obligations and sharing the catch (118). Diverging for a moment ... if we drift onto the path of uncovering the meaning of life, one discovers that between stories of the Holocaust and stories of the survival of the Inuit, suffering and poverty are the “only things that can open up the [human] mind,” says Igjugarjuk (as quoted, Madsen 124). He says that if there is a link between physical distress and moral nobility, then in modern times there is a link between physical security and moral impotence.
The Inuit called the colonizers and missionaries “sons of thunder,” because everything that white people do and “everything they have makes noise” (quoting Fienup-Riordan in Madsen 123). And it might be ever more true today with climate change, that “the weather is hunting those who don’t listen, but amid the noise of machinery we cannot hear” (125).
Perhaps without enough suffering, or being overprotected by such doctrines as the UDHR, one is less able to appreciate what it means to be a human being.
This was extracted from a discussion of Indigenous peoples right to self-determination based on very different living conditions. (Anthropocentric arguments do not work in extreme climates and geographies, especially where some Indigenous populations live, so the UDHR can be deemed not entirely relevant to some Indigenous cultures, when it is written more so for a goal of a “political order conducive to the accumulation of wealth” (Bell, 657). This is not applicable to those who live close to the land.)
Kaytlyn "The world desperately needs powerful storytellers to help us make sense of the unfathomable events taking place." ~Alexis Wright
And thank you for your generosity and love you show us through your open and overflowing offerings.
Yes, it comes down to love. And I think we also must fall in love with our fellow people as strongly as we do the earth, so that we can build and hold onto hope that with our collective capabilities, we can actually get beyond all the silly, self-gratifying goals and bucket lists we are led to believe hold such weight towards our existence and identity.
When we can make living together and loving one another about loving the earth together, i think that is where we start to sow the seeds of change.
Always appreciate your insights, Charles, because they are grounded in truth and reality, while at the same time being life-affirming and inspiring. And yet, it's becoming increasingly imposssible to see any kind of livable future for humanity or the rest of our living biome if we continue on this trajectory. I say that as somewhat who is feverishly working on projects that push back against the narrative but I don't see nearly enough people who have the courage and fortitude to maintain what could be the longest and most dire war we've ever faced. Given that the oligarchs are holding all the cards - including the ability to release bio-weapons, launch nuclear war, alter the climate, harness the behaviour of the population to sociopathic ends - I see humanity as deeply flawed and incapable of commanding sufficient resources to effectively resist the onslaught of psycho-sociopathic projects like transhumanism and artificial intelligence. It really feels like we're headed for a Matrix-like future.
What keeps me going - other than your essays and others like it - is a saying from Chris Hedges: " “I do not fight fascists because I will win. I fight fascists because they are fascists.”
― Chris Hedges, Wages of Rebellion: The Moral Imperative of Revolt
PS Charles, the environmental changes started to be noticed by those of us who are still close to Nature in 1970. Birds, amphibians, reptiles, fish, all disappearing. Mammals not seen in parts of UAS and Canada now appearing. Trees, plants, infected with new fungi, migrating insects, new out-of-season droughts, weather anomalies, inhibiting crop growing.....Started 1968, more noticeable 1970. Remember "silent Spring' Rachel Carson? First 'popular' book of facts and warnings. All these disappearances increasing throughout the 70s,80s, 90s, 2000s. Human lack of contact, curiosity, Conscious dependence, relationships with Nature, the skies, even themselves, and dependence on manmade artificial environments and ways of living allow populations to disbelieve, doubt, create political and corporate (those who decide how we are to live...or not) denial of what is happening. There is no way to 'convince' these people, and yes, we are in danger. Grave danger. We were warned. There is no way, within the current paradigm demands of artificial ways of human feeling, thinking, awareness/consciousness, led by spoon fed 'beliefs', to change these ways. We who see, feel, experience, thus believe vs. being "taught" what to believe, tried creating ways of interacting with, and learning from Nature, and people's own Nature. We tried informing, providing different experiences, offering the opportunities to learn and love. It didn't work. Humankind is now dependent on artificial living. Like a drug, hooked on the manmade ways of living. Artificial ways of living that apparently has snuffed out human nature and replaced with with "goods and services". Humans have lost their instincts or would know, as other mammals, birds, fish, trees, flowers, food plants, know what is happening and will happen. All we who still see, feel, know, Nature and her messages can do, is continue our own paths and let thos who cannot experience or learn, continue theirs. And pray.
An important Man said something that describes our time and future is, "They know not what they do".
Thank you, Charles, for illuminating that which I've felt instinctively for the past few decades but hadn't recognized as a main factor in stepping away from the climate change discussion. It is so much more resonant for me to focus on "the Earth is our Mother" and "we are all connected/we are not separate" than "we're going to die." We heal, care, and give reverance to Her because She is not separate from us. Caring for this land, water, air, etc. is paramount to true self- (and Self-) love.
Just yesterday I was reading an article lamenting the tyrannical methods being implemented up in Canada to deal with their garbage. The people of Canada must sort their garbage into five different containers and pay for this privilege. I could empathize with the author's sentiments, but I could also see that by eliminating garbage from my life, I was immune from these onerous consequences. I know longer identify as a "consumer" anymore. I've bought about all I can ever have or want, and have moved on to other pursuits. I don't see a whole lot of spirituality in consumerism, and though it may feel like some sort of spiritual awakening to walk away from it, it's certainly a much more enjoyable life.
Hello Charles, Thank you so much for sharing your vigorous thinking. I find it refreshing to read your perspective. ..and it has awakened a desire to share where my view diverges.
I think climate change is a specious way to avoid dealing with human difficulties with other humans. There is an argument that growing populations are having an impact but that isn’t actually what is driving the burning of rainforests or the amount of plastic in the oceans and landfills and possibly why this covid virus is such a widespread disease. The root cause seems to be greed at the expense of everything else. Presently most humans are engaged in this pursuit mainly because of servicing the cost of land and buildings but for some its simply a drive to control. This is what human beings need to confront, then the other issues of the natural world will resolve themselves. And lets not forget the infinite creativity of the Divine that responds to even human degradation and destruction with spontaneity and innovation... such a force has no need to be saved. It will survive or transform or whatever ...in fact although we impact the natural world, it is arrogant of human beings to even consider that we can or need to fix her. No we need to turn our attention to ourselves.
I believe it will take a radical view of the resources freely given... the earth, water, air to breathe, plants and animals and minerals that sustain life. We as humans have invested collectively in an ownership culture, the possession and then the profiting from what was provided for everyone. There are more than sufficient resources on this planet for every living being to have a fullsome existence without fear. Human beings with their amazing brain capacity have developed technologies to share resources when there is a natural disaster on the other side of the globe. And to provide a variety of foodstuffs and goods.
Why shouldn’t land, water, air in particular be held as tenants in common by all human beings of a nation ? In Maori the term is Kaitiaki which means stewardship or caretaker of those resources. No one should own them but there could be systems that allow for people to have the use of a piece of land for their home without an exhorbitant cost which requires a couple to work 2 or more jobs just to survive. Waterways need to be accessible for everyone and businesses that damage the air that we breathe need to stop or change their practices.
However here’s the reason why this would not be seen as workable. Because our local communities have become progressively decimated as services have become systematically centralised in a huge bureaucratic ediface and this would be dismissed as unworkable on a larger scale and perhaps this is true. But I believe the main reason it would be difficult to implement, is that we have lost the skills of collectively working together in small communities, of resolving conflicts or misdemeanours, of caring for the vulnerable, the elderly and we have been trained in individualism in order to boost productivity but at the expense of inclusion and belonging and purposefulness. The results of this are before us : widespread depression and anxiety, a huge gap between the small band of the rich and the ever increasing poor, increased violence, homelessness, substance abuse, an increased culture of dependency due to Governments that are increasingly acting as parental figures.
But I am sure it could be workable on a regional level and perhaps a pilot project could demonstrate this. But I suppose the question is, are enough people desperate enough for another paradigm where status is not the paramount value.
Namaste from an increasingly concerned New Zealander
you’re so funny - the college joke really tickled me - but more importantly I’m super excited to join the zoom event bc this has been my core purpose and passion for a long time, and I’ve been working on some pieces all winter to publish/promo soon regarding this exactly… and my new offering to help: EarthCare Coaching!! Excited to be aligned as always 🌲🖤🦋 and thank you so much for continuing to share ideas beyond the binaries :)
If everything is a mirror then perhaps global warming is indicative of humanity’s chronic inflammation. One can correct this by slowing down and reconnecting with the Earth beneath our feet. Do this and we might become more conscious custodians of our beautiful home.
Hi Charles, I am very much looking forward to this event. Your book Climate - a New Story really resonated with me. You might be interested to know that when I initially saw your fb post about this event, it was around March 1st or 2nd, and I saw a brand new flag show up, that I had never seen before. Suddenly, as we have somewhat discontinued obsessing over metrics that have been flagged in the same way over the last 2 years, a new 'climate flag' showed up... so I can now view the temperatures in my own area. It has such a "I measure therefore I am" ring to it, that I was more than deeply unsettled by it.
Something has been really moving me and prompting me in the last while, to explore what slow, curious, movement looks like. To move in such a way that whispers to the future... that pilgrimage will be part of the new story, even as we localize. Anyway, there was something that really unsettled me about this new flagging, and this new set of metrics we're being herded toward narrowly staring at... as all manner of other injustices keep freely passing us by.
You're right when you say the environmentalists made a mistake when they shifted their message to "we're, all going to die". That message makes the movement seem fundamentalist and extreme when everyone can get behind the "protect the nature we all love" movement.
The story under the climate change story is population; there are too many people for a finite planet to support. So, who dies? Who chooses which ones die? This is the 800 lb gorilla in the climate change room because we all know there is going to be a die-off and maybe not accidental. Those rich guys don't party at Davos for our health.
Dearest Charles! Well, I can take liberties as I will be 74 in April, a mother and a grandmother of four - for one thing age is good! I am only writing to say that I consider myself a truly, deeply, profoundly spiritual person... However, it has always been hard for me to understand/feel why Love is courage, and lack of Love is fear! Well, I got the answer and it is in this, very strong in its simplicity, example of yours about the Mother’s love for her child! Love is Courage! My eyes are brimming with tears! Be blessed and continue your service to humanity!
Uh oh. Newly "politically ambitious" Charles E. has a narrative for the world?
Klaus! Young World Leaders! Take heed! Succeed with religion (oops, sorry, my bad)... succeed with the carrot "Beauty and Sacredness" where the stick "Fear of Death" has failed!
(and now, my narrative):
"And so, ladies & gentlemen (& all variations thereof), "spirituality" lumbers on grotesquely as a tool of persuasion, long past its' "sell by date" smelling of yesterdays' rotting, wilted buffet yet comically presenting itself as crisp, healthy sustenance."
Alright. Put on some music. Let's do "The Charles". One step forward, two steps back....spirituality is what we lack...
Does it give you joy to shoot down people who hold onto hope through action? Surely there is a more productive way to engage with people you disagree with in this already prickly and contentious realm of the etherworld?
Fair enough, norie ~ I am well aware some of the things I say hurts some folks here. It may not interest you to hear where I'm coming from, but oh well, here it is anyway:
I suppose I am something like the smart-ass kid at the back of the classroom who sees through the drivel called "education" that is constantly being force-fed to us "impressionable children". Most of us kids seek only to please "their superiors" and to find their way in life by fitting in somewhere & going along with the program. This has never been me.
Being a kid who once had a paper route I know how to shoot rubber bands with great accuracy and speed having been hit by them on a daily basis. Nobody here is going to send me to the principals' office so, hey, why not shoot rubber bands straight at the teacher? Okay, most kids will probably bum out, but some won't. Other kids in the classroom may be choking on the rotten baloney being fed to us, same as me.
I realize they sting. Do I enjoy it shooting them? You betcha. Not so much because I want to hurt anyone, but because a teacher (or anyone on a soapbox) telling lies is essentially a charlatan hawking snake-oil. If you had bought that snake-oil the last time the con artist rolled through town & learned that it didn't work and never would, wouldn't you take pleasure shooting rubber bands at the scoundrel next time he appeared?
Of course, I could walk away and let it go, but what good would that do? I myself might've benefited from talking to a person who'd wasted their time & money on the peddlers' snake-oil before I got suckered. I certainly understand your frustration, norie, with what I've said or the way I've said it. If I am standing there seduced by the snake-oil pitch, wanting very much to believe it all and stood ready to buy, I might also find news that destroys my hope painful.
Indeed, I remember well the sting that caught my attention way back when (counter-culture neighborhood hippies, punk rockers, psychedelics). Their sting stopped me from following the herd down the well-trodden path to consensus-reality-hell long before I travelled down it too far to turn back. It definitely hurt, but as my little world within fell apart, piece by piece, I felt a lot better.
The only thing that actually has power to shoot down lies is truth. What is true stands on its' own & remains what it is regardless of human fantasies, concepts, ideas, wishful thinking, hope or belief. Once the world was flat. For a while there as a kid I believed Santa Claus lived with elves & reindeer at the north pole. I cried when I learned it wasn't true. The truth of things is always there, we just don't necessarily care about it because our minds are capable of sustaining indefinitely belief in all manner of falsities so long as we desire to cling to them.
Aren't you glad you don't still believe in Santa Claus? I certainly am. Learning the truth certainly explained why he didn't appear to have a clue as to my taste in clothes. It follows then, that new worlds open up within us, firmer ground is stood upon, real energy runs up from the earth through our feet establishing strong connection when truthful things are fearlessly allowed to enter our consciousness. Remaining lies (there are always more) are then more easily shattered and we become more open-minded yet less gullible.
Experience has taught me that the world is full of extremely clever liars who gain powerful benefit from speaking monumental falsehoods to people and thereafter carefully attending to their maintenance.
Is Charles E one of these? Yes and no. One essay may find him hacking down deadwood & opening up new vistas, the next one he'll slip back into the mire and make concessions to long-stale, tried-and-failed consensus muck. Whether he does this wittingly or not this amounts to setting a trap. Attracted by sweet nothings that speak to our hope of a better future, we take the bait. The trap then snaps shut and we find ourselves in the same old universe of charlatans, lapping up their bullsh*t and giving them our support.
"...people who hold onto hope through action" - by this, norie, I assume you mean Charles, you, & many of his readers?
Politicians roll into town, peddling hope. Same old sh*t every time. We buy it (voting, taxes, democracy), again & again believing, hoping somehow all this is going to get better one day. But ask yourself this:
Does it ever get better? Even a little? What does the reality of your life tell you? The life of your parents, your grandparents, your kids (if applicable)? What is the truth of things regarding the efficacy of "democracy", narratives (ever-changing lies), hope through action, spirituality, etc.? As time goes by, do you see more love being shared out there amongst us humans, or less? Are we more at peace with each other, or less?
Take a hard look out there. Tell me what you actually see. Not what you'd like to see, not something that gives you hope, but something real & tangible that is happening right now as a result of political action, democracy, "new & improved" narratives, hope in action, tax dollars being spent.
In America, we've been at it quite a long time now (250 years). Surely that's plenty of time to take stock & determine whether or not this system we have constructed benefits us all.
Maybe there are truthful things I am not seeing. Sting me, if you can, norie. This kid at the back of the class is always watching, always listening. Deeper truths are always welcome.
Truth, in the eyes of the largely emotionally-driven masses, is assumed to be a sweet, liberating realization of some sort... one that gently shifts awareness slightly in one direction or another.
In actuality, truth will not only and literally blow one's mind, it'll leave a humongous, very painful psychological mess to clean up afterwards. And that's the result of only 1 truth out of hundreds of them that need to be tackled to actually evolve oneself. Therefore, hardly anyone really wants truth... they want more 'sweet nothings,' as you said. Most effective for the emotionally-driven are your 'long-stale, tried-and-failed consensus muck' pleadings, again as you said. The snake-oil salesmen who wish to grab the hearts (and usually the dollars) of the starry-eyed will always shift into 'We' mode. Works like a charm. The emotionally-driven desperately want to belong, fit in and go along with the herd. Feels more secure, you see.
Truth blows this all apart. Truth rips, shreds, destroys. Truth isolates. Truth magnifies. Truth elevates. Truth has absolutely nothing to do with consensus, compromise or pragmatism. The higher one goes in seeking truth, the lonelier it gets, which is the opposite of the desires of the 'We' folks.
Ironically, Truth is simple, easy, very workable. Conversely, consensus, compromise and pragmatism always result in half-baked, temporary success, at best. Along for the ride with consensus comes confusion and mediocrity. Initial passion turns into dull banality. A very sad state of affairs that we see all around us.
Might you be familiar with Spiral Dynamics? See here:
Charles, IMHO, sits squarely in Green level, making periodic jumps into Yellow, where dramatically more clarity reigns. The Green is the consensus muck, the Yellow is when dead wood is chopped away.
There are many, many evolving folks at Green level in many 1st world nations. If you examine the characteristics of the Green level, you'll see exactly why certain 'issues of the day' are being highlighted and jammed down the throats of everyone over the past decade or so.
The enticing and exciting part is this: When a significant number of Greenies have their personal Truth Breakthroughs and move into Yellow level, THAT'S when the New Agey 'hoped-for' spiritual jump will actually occur... though how it will look has just about nothing to do with how such a jump is imagined to look by the current Greenies.
ps. i still believe in Santa! and yes, it does get better - your deep share alone has opened a new door to a great many possibilities. and it gave me hope.
Thank you for this careful and beautiful response, Edgar Allen Poe. I will respond after the tears stop rolling and I have some time to meditate on a response. For now, just wanting to give you a big hug and tell you I understand. I have been in that space of despair and know it very well. For now, I will end with the thought that the only truth is your truth, but the more you share it from the heart, as you did here in your response, the bigger it expands into becoming OUR truth. Thank you again. My heart is full.
such a sweet, gentle soul you are norie. i am utterly disarmed. thank you for your reply. i appreciate your concern for my feelings as well.
yes, despair... oh well. to me, this is just another color in the kaleidoscopic rainbow of human feelings. they come and then they go. i do not really live examining or cherry-picking my feelings. not anymore, anyway. tried that for a long time. it just wore me out. actually, it brought me to my knees. now i accept them and feel them fully in the moment as best i can. i've learned that my heart is not something i am able to forcibly command and direct. painful feelings, pleasurable feelings, everything else in between, for me these are all part of the human songbook and i am not the DJ.
"...the only truth is your truth..."
Unsurprisingly, I get that a lot. People say this as if it were universally true. ; ]
It always confuses me-- the word "truth" being used to render its' own definition meaningless. If truth exists only as "mine" or "yours" then there is no truth at all. There is only what we think.
Seems to me what folks mean when they say "my truth/your truth", they are referring not to the actual but rather to individual perception based on personal point of view. One makes no distinction between a picture of a chair and an actual chair. This, then, gives rise to opinion, or, "your/my truth" which then is usually colored/commandeered by emotional reactions based on identity/systems of belief.
One can sit on a picture of a chair but that does not mean one is sitting on a chair. The pain in your arse then reveals what is true about what you are sitting on.
The "my truth/your truth" thing is also commonly expressed by the statement "we create our own reality." "Creating our reality" denies that anything existed prior to our creating of it. Whoosh! Actual reality then goes down the toilet along with the paper (truth) we just wiped our butt with. The entire universe has just dissolved into a mental fantasy realm-- you & I along with it. We are now at the movies. Each of us watching a different one. I am in yours, you are in mine, neither one of us is real and some unknown person somewhere out there has written the story.
This leaves us utterly alone, isolated & lost in a cosmic theater of meaningless indifference. We are now doomed to toil away endlessly at imaginary work intended only to escape the despair of unreality. The ground under our feet collapses. We find ourselves clinging to slippery roots, forever falling like Alice down the rabbit hole.
From there it only gets worse. In wonderland, relationships are forever doomed, given time. I mean, everyone at all times is making everything up in their own head. Where does that leave me in your movie? As some strange entity you only imagine? I am not me, I am a phantom creation of your mind, either in our out of sync with "your truth"? A lasting relationship, then, becomes little more than two dreamers dreaming more or less the same dream. How is that love?
How is all this supposed to work? It can't and it doesn't. How could it? We exist in a realm where everyone and every thing we encounter, our very selves even, essentially presents to us a lie? What then, can be counted on, relied upon? Nothing is what it is, but rather what we make of it? If we choose, we can pick up a dog turd, take a bite and it will taste like chocolate if we think/imagine/believe/convince ourselves that it is in fact, chocolate?
This is the snake-oil. Look up at the stars & fall to your knees and thank them that this is not at all the case. This crap is what is being so cleverly sold and re-sold & marketed & re-marketed to us-- very much like a snake shedding its' skin. That we are all "masters of our reality", that we don't have to feel anything we do not want to feel, that one can be healthy, happy & contented living inside a prison cell eating dog turds-- hey, it's all good, we need only to "look at it the right way". Ugh. Please. Follow this path & watch yourself turn into a snake-oil salesman.
"....the more you share it from the heart, as you did here in your response, the bigger it expands into becoming OUR truth. Thank you again. My heart is full."
so good to hear that, norie. thank you for engaging here.
I suppose I write comments on substack for myself first and for others second, perhaps as a form of self-exorcism? I don't imagine myself doing anyone a great service with them. I am content to be ignored, liked, or tussled with. Whatever happens, I figure I got it coming. All my words come from real energy, (good or bad, I'll let you decide) within my body, heart & mind operating in concert with the aim of dancing & rolling with the wondrous waves & unknowable forces of creation. Reality, truth, these are the music-makers I listen for and (sometimes) hear-- I am not the composer, nor do I know who is. Maybe there's two of them. Maybe two zillion.
This means I am not happy all of the time, or even most of the time. But every once in a while, if I'm lucky, I feel something like a sweet little kiss on my neck.
well alright. that makes us almost real then, norie. we have moved out of the seats and onto the screen. we are now only one step removed from reality rather than two. one more step and we shall meet in paradise.
The writings of Charles brought me here, but it's the people that make me stay. Heart & soul can always be found in the comments section.
Not that CE lacks this, but there's a lot more he can give once he removes himself from the stagnant, mosquito-infested pond he's become so accustomed to.
i would be one of the last people to tell you how to look at things, and even less likely to say there is a right or wrong way to look at things.
your first explanation in response to my question was more than what i could have wished for, Edgar Allen Poe, and so I thank you again.
my perception of reality is that our reality is entirely created by our connections to other. and so, to illustrate, i am the one to give you that sweet little kiss. (and how it affects you or doesn't is of course up to you!) i don't think i am trying to sell anything here. only to open my heart to you.
and, to bring us back to the point, i also think that is what Charles is doing--he is not trying to sell us anything. he has proven this over and over - to the many who know him personally and also from his writings. i encourage you to join me in finding that out for yourself.
"i would be one of the last people to tell you how to look at things, and even less likely to say there is a right or wrong way to look at things."
We're cool, norie. No sweat. Each of us is expressing our state of mind, bouncing off each other, getting to know ourselves (and each other) in the process-- something I always enjoy, be it nice or nasty or in-between.
Alright then. Of course, there is always a right or wrong way to do anything. (That is, if you want to achieve a desired outcome. Sometimes flailing away randomly at something (like art) helps achieve a non-desired outcome (something unpredictable & possibly brilliant). Even then, an artist zeroes in on what type of random flailing works for them and what type doesn't.)
Take for instance, the act of riding a bike. Everybody who wants to ride a bike has to learn the "right way". If one wishes to not fall down, if one wishes to travel via bicycle, there is only one "right way" to do it. It's the same for everyone. Nobody decides for themselves the manner in which the bike stays upright. They either do what bicycle-riding physics requires or they fall down or crash into something.
Our minds are like a really weird, complicated, emotionally-oriented bicycle. We navigate our lives with them. How we "look at things" is an action that determines the way we "ride our bike" which then steers the direction our lives take. If our desired outcome is not achieved, our destination not arrived at, or, god forbid, we crash into something/someone and cause them or ourselves harm, we can then safely conclude we are not riding our bike the right way.
And so we learn by screwing things up, by falling, crashing or finding ourselves somewhere we did not wish to go. Each time we screw up, we then have the opportunity to re-arrange our view, "how we look at things", so that it may more accurately align with how the bicycle (our mind) actually works to steer our lives.
Learning by ourselves, in our own way, can be painful and time-consuming. We may then opt to explore short-cuts. But this means asking others for guidance and instruction. One then puts oneself into the hands of another who may or may not have your desired outcome/destination in mind.
Nobody knows better than you how to best ride your bike. Learning to ride on your own is painful, yes. No way around that. But rest assured, anybody who tells you they know an easier, less painful way is selling something.
You see what I'm getting at. The consistently brutal, increasingly insane world we live in is the result of a chaotic mess of people who have barely a clue as to how to ride their bike and haven't the slightest inclination towards learning how.
Instead, we become masters of avoidance & denial. We jerk ourselves off with nonsense like "Spirituality of Climate Change" which enables us to look in the mirror and see a caring, saintly person when in fact what we are is a pitiful, bloody-nosed, bruised up little kid who repeatedly, petulantly & absurdly demands that his bicycle not be a bicycle but instead change itself into something that will be "ridden my way!"
Mystery Unfurled
With a muddy road ahead
and a steep wall behind
decisions aren’t as important
as the inner resolve to continue.
Keep faith with the flowering trees
and align your thoughts
with the strength of the tide.
You will be disappointed,
wounded again and again
but you will not fail
no matter the oppressor.
The inner deity will shine bright
and the mystery of your spirit
unfurled in the gathering dark.
Beautiful Don, this really captures this moment in time. Keep faith with the flowering trees and align your thoughts with the strength of the tide.
Did you write this and is it ok to share with acknowledgment?
Yes I did and it's fine to share. With acknowledgment you might add Poet's Journal, www.donhynes.com/blog. I'm not trying to "advertise" here but since you asked..
Thank you!
Having an event to talk about your spiritual experience in regards to climate change is one thing. Being an authority over the spiritual experiences of others is another. I hope that your intention will become clear. Please speak from your own innerstanding.
I recently listened to a discussion on how Native tribes of the Americas view land and one of the panelist stated that based on their creation stories, the land came first and then the people. That statement is loaded with many truths but the bigger one is that the land takes care of us, we don’t take care of the land because we don’t need to. The land takes care of itself and we are only to live in reverence and gratitude of her and her gifts.
I think it’s pretty arrogant for humans to believe that we have any power over the earth. Even when we do something that is seemingly irreparable it matters not in the grand scheme of her life cycle, for she will be here long before us and long after us and she always recovers with time. It’s funny how people love to talk about how the earth is millions of years old and been through this age and that age, having had whole species wiped out but in that same breadth fail to see that she always takes care of herself. We are not her caretakers, we are occupants, aliens, and invited guests. We should act accordingly.
The truth about climate change is that breadth is life and we die when we can’t breathe so making the air healthy is for us, not for the earth (because 👏🏾she 👏🏾can 👏🏾do 👏🏾this 👏🏾on 👏🏾her 👏🏾own👏🏾) and the sooner we come to terms with that truth, then we can move forward into responsible, gracious, and sustainable living.
Spoke my peace but I’ll end it with one other note. The characters at the forefront of climate change in the MSM are incredibly suspicious. They are the same characters involved in other psyops and it makes their involvement questionable. We should all be asking who stands to benefit economically from certain climate change legislation? What measures are being put forth? (I recently saw a proposal that would dictate when we could go into nature and for how long…so you can only go walk outside for 20 minutes in a national park because any longer and you’ll damage the natural environment. Huh?!?) Following bloodlines and money vines will always bring about answers 🙏🏾
Finding this dead on, Tracie Chavonne, thank you.
Hello Charles, the ______ worked! I happen to be a graduate of one of Jonathan’s programs.
I listened to this yesterday (https://onbeing.org/programs/colette-pichon-battle-placed-here-in-this-calling/). It relates to this post of yours, and I urge you to listen before you make your presentation with Jonathan! Because it brings climate change home to place, to our story, and at the very end, weaves in a bit of Yin. For the very reasons you explain, I had decided not to attend the upcoming seminar with Jonathan. Because I do not like the approach being taken towards climate change. But when I listened to what Colette had to say, I softened and I opened. I listened. I needed to hear her story. Story of place.
When it comes to what I need to gather up my attention for climate change however, it is different again. Noise. And the silencing we all experienced when we entered into the Great Pause, 2 years ago yesterday. That was a bandaid for climate. We saw all kinds of proof of the miracle of life when we stopped. I am born up north with the Inuit so I have a lot of respect for their perspective ... the below, which I attach, may seem out of context, because I have extracted it from a paper, but there are some key words there. I don't know if you have time for what I contribute, but I make an attempt to be heard regardless!
Thanks for all the speaking up you do. I have a close friend who attended one of your last programs just before everything closed down, and I heard you speak at a biodynamic farming convention 10 years ago. Your work is important.
- - -
Life in Canada’s North is one that is close to death. Food resources have always been scarce, and scarcer now that the ice is melting; and therefore, they had a serious responsibility to keeping their population numbers low and raising the best hunters. In her article, Catherine Madsen describes a “binding” moral literacy that is the result of the “physical needs of a subsistence community” (Madsen, 121) ruled by the harshness of Nature.
The Inuit moral principle is that of kinship - shared obligations and sharing the catch (118). Diverging for a moment ... if we drift onto the path of uncovering the meaning of life, one discovers that between stories of the Holocaust and stories of the survival of the Inuit, suffering and poverty are the “only things that can open up the [human] mind,” says Igjugarjuk (as quoted, Madsen 124). He says that if there is a link between physical distress and moral nobility, then in modern times there is a link between physical security and moral impotence.
The Inuit called the colonizers and missionaries “sons of thunder,” because everything that white people do and “everything they have makes noise” (quoting Fienup-Riordan in Madsen 123). And it might be ever more true today with climate change, that “the weather is hunting those who don’t listen, but amid the noise of machinery we cannot hear” (125).
Perhaps without enough suffering, or being overprotected by such doctrines as the UDHR, one is less able to appreciate what it means to be a human being.
This was extracted from a discussion of Indigenous peoples right to self-determination based on very different living conditions. (Anthropocentric arguments do not work in extreme climates and geographies, especially where some Indigenous populations live, so the UDHR can be deemed not entirely relevant to some Indigenous cultures, when it is written more so for a goal of a “political order conducive to the accumulation of wealth” (Bell, 657). This is not applicable to those who live close to the land.)
Kaytlyn "The world desperately needs powerful storytellers to help us make sense of the unfathomable events taking place." ~Alexis Wright
Thank goodness for your strong gut, Charles!
And thank you for your generosity and love you show us through your open and overflowing offerings.
Yes, it comes down to love. And I think we also must fall in love with our fellow people as strongly as we do the earth, so that we can build and hold onto hope that with our collective capabilities, we can actually get beyond all the silly, self-gratifying goals and bucket lists we are led to believe hold such weight towards our existence and identity.
When we can make living together and loving one another about loving the earth together, i think that is where we start to sow the seeds of change.
Always appreciate your insights, Charles, because they are grounded in truth and reality, while at the same time being life-affirming and inspiring. And yet, it's becoming increasingly imposssible to see any kind of livable future for humanity or the rest of our living biome if we continue on this trajectory. I say that as somewhat who is feverishly working on projects that push back against the narrative but I don't see nearly enough people who have the courage and fortitude to maintain what could be the longest and most dire war we've ever faced. Given that the oligarchs are holding all the cards - including the ability to release bio-weapons, launch nuclear war, alter the climate, harness the behaviour of the population to sociopathic ends - I see humanity as deeply flawed and incapable of commanding sufficient resources to effectively resist the onslaught of psycho-sociopathic projects like transhumanism and artificial intelligence. It really feels like we're headed for a Matrix-like future.
What keeps me going - other than your essays and others like it - is a saying from Chris Hedges: " “I do not fight fascists because I will win. I fight fascists because they are fascists.”
― Chris Hedges, Wages of Rebellion: The Moral Imperative of Revolt
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7172542-i-do-not-fight-fascists-because-i-will-win-i
PS Charles, the environmental changes started to be noticed by those of us who are still close to Nature in 1970. Birds, amphibians, reptiles, fish, all disappearing. Mammals not seen in parts of UAS and Canada now appearing. Trees, plants, infected with new fungi, migrating insects, new out-of-season droughts, weather anomalies, inhibiting crop growing.....Started 1968, more noticeable 1970. Remember "silent Spring' Rachel Carson? First 'popular' book of facts and warnings. All these disappearances increasing throughout the 70s,80s, 90s, 2000s. Human lack of contact, curiosity, Conscious dependence, relationships with Nature, the skies, even themselves, and dependence on manmade artificial environments and ways of living allow populations to disbelieve, doubt, create political and corporate (those who decide how we are to live...or not) denial of what is happening. There is no way to 'convince' these people, and yes, we are in danger. Grave danger. We were warned. There is no way, within the current paradigm demands of artificial ways of human feeling, thinking, awareness/consciousness, led by spoon fed 'beliefs', to change these ways. We who see, feel, experience, thus believe vs. being "taught" what to believe, tried creating ways of interacting with, and learning from Nature, and people's own Nature. We tried informing, providing different experiences, offering the opportunities to learn and love. It didn't work. Humankind is now dependent on artificial living. Like a drug, hooked on the manmade ways of living. Artificial ways of living that apparently has snuffed out human nature and replaced with with "goods and services". Humans have lost their instincts or would know, as other mammals, birds, fish, trees, flowers, food plants, know what is happening and will happen. All we who still see, feel, know, Nature and her messages can do, is continue our own paths and let thos who cannot experience or learn, continue theirs. And pray.
An important Man said something that describes our time and future is, "They know not what they do".
Thank you, Charles, for illuminating that which I've felt instinctively for the past few decades but hadn't recognized as a main factor in stepping away from the climate change discussion. It is so much more resonant for me to focus on "the Earth is our Mother" and "we are all connected/we are not separate" than "we're going to die." We heal, care, and give reverance to Her because She is not separate from us. Caring for this land, water, air, etc. is paramount to true self- (and Self-) love.
Just yesterday I was reading an article lamenting the tyrannical methods being implemented up in Canada to deal with their garbage. The people of Canada must sort their garbage into five different containers and pay for this privilege. I could empathize with the author's sentiments, but I could also see that by eliminating garbage from my life, I was immune from these onerous consequences. I know longer identify as a "consumer" anymore. I've bought about all I can ever have or want, and have moved on to other pursuits. I don't see a whole lot of spirituality in consumerism, and though it may feel like some sort of spiritual awakening to walk away from it, it's certainly a much more enjoyable life.
Hello Charles, Thank you so much for sharing your vigorous thinking. I find it refreshing to read your perspective. ..and it has awakened a desire to share where my view diverges.
I think climate change is a specious way to avoid dealing with human difficulties with other humans. There is an argument that growing populations are having an impact but that isn’t actually what is driving the burning of rainforests or the amount of plastic in the oceans and landfills and possibly why this covid virus is such a widespread disease. The root cause seems to be greed at the expense of everything else. Presently most humans are engaged in this pursuit mainly because of servicing the cost of land and buildings but for some its simply a drive to control. This is what human beings need to confront, then the other issues of the natural world will resolve themselves. And lets not forget the infinite creativity of the Divine that responds to even human degradation and destruction with spontaneity and innovation... such a force has no need to be saved. It will survive or transform or whatever ...in fact although we impact the natural world, it is arrogant of human beings to even consider that we can or need to fix her. No we need to turn our attention to ourselves.
I believe it will take a radical view of the resources freely given... the earth, water, air to breathe, plants and animals and minerals that sustain life. We as humans have invested collectively in an ownership culture, the possession and then the profiting from what was provided for everyone. There are more than sufficient resources on this planet for every living being to have a fullsome existence without fear. Human beings with their amazing brain capacity have developed technologies to share resources when there is a natural disaster on the other side of the globe. And to provide a variety of foodstuffs and goods.
Why shouldn’t land, water, air in particular be held as tenants in common by all human beings of a nation ? In Maori the term is Kaitiaki which means stewardship or caretaker of those resources. No one should own them but there could be systems that allow for people to have the use of a piece of land for their home without an exhorbitant cost which requires a couple to work 2 or more jobs just to survive. Waterways need to be accessible for everyone and businesses that damage the air that we breathe need to stop or change their practices.
However here’s the reason why this would not be seen as workable. Because our local communities have become progressively decimated as services have become systematically centralised in a huge bureaucratic ediface and this would be dismissed as unworkable on a larger scale and perhaps this is true. But I believe the main reason it would be difficult to implement, is that we have lost the skills of collectively working together in small communities, of resolving conflicts or misdemeanours, of caring for the vulnerable, the elderly and we have been trained in individualism in order to boost productivity but at the expense of inclusion and belonging and purposefulness. The results of this are before us : widespread depression and anxiety, a huge gap between the small band of the rich and the ever increasing poor, increased violence, homelessness, substance abuse, an increased culture of dependency due to Governments that are increasingly acting as parental figures.
But I am sure it could be workable on a regional level and perhaps a pilot project could demonstrate this. But I suppose the question is, are enough people desperate enough for another paradigm where status is not the paramount value.
Namaste from an increasingly concerned New Zealander
you’re so funny - the college joke really tickled me - but more importantly I’m super excited to join the zoom event bc this has been my core purpose and passion for a long time, and I’ve been working on some pieces all winter to publish/promo soon regarding this exactly… and my new offering to help: EarthCare Coaching!! Excited to be aligned as always 🌲🖤🦋 and thank you so much for continuing to share ideas beyond the binaries :)
If everything is a mirror then perhaps global warming is indicative of humanity’s chronic inflammation. One can correct this by slowing down and reconnecting with the Earth beneath our feet. Do this and we might become more conscious custodians of our beautiful home.
Hi Charles, I am very much looking forward to this event. Your book Climate - a New Story really resonated with me. You might be interested to know that when I initially saw your fb post about this event, it was around March 1st or 2nd, and I saw a brand new flag show up, that I had never seen before. Suddenly, as we have somewhat discontinued obsessing over metrics that have been flagged in the same way over the last 2 years, a new 'climate flag' showed up... so I can now view the temperatures in my own area. It has such a "I measure therefore I am" ring to it, that I was more than deeply unsettled by it.
Something has been really moving me and prompting me in the last while, to explore what slow, curious, movement looks like. To move in such a way that whispers to the future... that pilgrimage will be part of the new story, even as we localize. Anyway, there was something that really unsettled me about this new flagging, and this new set of metrics we're being herded toward narrowly staring at... as all manner of other injustices keep freely passing us by.
You're right when you say the environmentalists made a mistake when they shifted their message to "we're, all going to die". That message makes the movement seem fundamentalist and extreme when everyone can get behind the "protect the nature we all love" movement.
https://nakedemperor.substack.com/
The story under the climate change story is population; there are too many people for a finite planet to support. So, who dies? Who chooses which ones die? This is the 800 lb gorilla in the climate change room because we all know there is going to be a die-off and maybe not accidental. Those rich guys don't party at Davos for our health.
Dearest Charles! Well, I can take liberties as I will be 74 in April, a mother and a grandmother of four - for one thing age is good! I am only writing to say that I consider myself a truly, deeply, profoundly spiritual person... However, it has always been hard for me to understand/feel why Love is courage, and lack of Love is fear! Well, I got the answer and it is in this, very strong in its simplicity, example of yours about the Mother’s love for her child! Love is Courage! My eyes are brimming with tears! Be blessed and continue your service to humanity!
Uh oh. Newly "politically ambitious" Charles E. has a narrative for the world?
Klaus! Young World Leaders! Take heed! Succeed with religion (oops, sorry, my bad)... succeed with the carrot "Beauty and Sacredness" where the stick "Fear of Death" has failed!
(and now, my narrative):
"And so, ladies & gentlemen (& all variations thereof), "spirituality" lumbers on grotesquely as a tool of persuasion, long past its' "sell by date" smelling of yesterdays' rotting, wilted buffet yet comically presenting itself as crisp, healthy sustenance."
Alright. Put on some music. Let's do "The Charles". One step forward, two steps back....spirituality is what we lack...
Does it give you joy to shoot down people who hold onto hope through action? Surely there is a more productive way to engage with people you disagree with in this already prickly and contentious realm of the etherworld?
Fair enough, norie ~ I am well aware some of the things I say hurts some folks here. It may not interest you to hear where I'm coming from, but oh well, here it is anyway:
I suppose I am something like the smart-ass kid at the back of the classroom who sees through the drivel called "education" that is constantly being force-fed to us "impressionable children". Most of us kids seek only to please "their superiors" and to find their way in life by fitting in somewhere & going along with the program. This has never been me.
Being a kid who once had a paper route I know how to shoot rubber bands with great accuracy and speed having been hit by them on a daily basis. Nobody here is going to send me to the principals' office so, hey, why not shoot rubber bands straight at the teacher? Okay, most kids will probably bum out, but some won't. Other kids in the classroom may be choking on the rotten baloney being fed to us, same as me.
I realize they sting. Do I enjoy it shooting them? You betcha. Not so much because I want to hurt anyone, but because a teacher (or anyone on a soapbox) telling lies is essentially a charlatan hawking snake-oil. If you had bought that snake-oil the last time the con artist rolled through town & learned that it didn't work and never would, wouldn't you take pleasure shooting rubber bands at the scoundrel next time he appeared?
Of course, I could walk away and let it go, but what good would that do? I myself might've benefited from talking to a person who'd wasted their time & money on the peddlers' snake-oil before I got suckered. I certainly understand your frustration, norie, with what I've said or the way I've said it. If I am standing there seduced by the snake-oil pitch, wanting very much to believe it all and stood ready to buy, I might also find news that destroys my hope painful.
Indeed, I remember well the sting that caught my attention way back when (counter-culture neighborhood hippies, punk rockers, psychedelics). Their sting stopped me from following the herd down the well-trodden path to consensus-reality-hell long before I travelled down it too far to turn back. It definitely hurt, but as my little world within fell apart, piece by piece, I felt a lot better.
The only thing that actually has power to shoot down lies is truth. What is true stands on its' own & remains what it is regardless of human fantasies, concepts, ideas, wishful thinking, hope or belief. Once the world was flat. For a while there as a kid I believed Santa Claus lived with elves & reindeer at the north pole. I cried when I learned it wasn't true. The truth of things is always there, we just don't necessarily care about it because our minds are capable of sustaining indefinitely belief in all manner of falsities so long as we desire to cling to them.
Aren't you glad you don't still believe in Santa Claus? I certainly am. Learning the truth certainly explained why he didn't appear to have a clue as to my taste in clothes. It follows then, that new worlds open up within us, firmer ground is stood upon, real energy runs up from the earth through our feet establishing strong connection when truthful things are fearlessly allowed to enter our consciousness. Remaining lies (there are always more) are then more easily shattered and we become more open-minded yet less gullible.
Experience has taught me that the world is full of extremely clever liars who gain powerful benefit from speaking monumental falsehoods to people and thereafter carefully attending to their maintenance.
Is Charles E one of these? Yes and no. One essay may find him hacking down deadwood & opening up new vistas, the next one he'll slip back into the mire and make concessions to long-stale, tried-and-failed consensus muck. Whether he does this wittingly or not this amounts to setting a trap. Attracted by sweet nothings that speak to our hope of a better future, we take the bait. The trap then snaps shut and we find ourselves in the same old universe of charlatans, lapping up their bullsh*t and giving them our support.
"...people who hold onto hope through action" - by this, norie, I assume you mean Charles, you, & many of his readers?
Politicians roll into town, peddling hope. Same old sh*t every time. We buy it (voting, taxes, democracy), again & again believing, hoping somehow all this is going to get better one day. But ask yourself this:
Does it ever get better? Even a little? What does the reality of your life tell you? The life of your parents, your grandparents, your kids (if applicable)? What is the truth of things regarding the efficacy of "democracy", narratives (ever-changing lies), hope through action, spirituality, etc.? As time goes by, do you see more love being shared out there amongst us humans, or less? Are we more at peace with each other, or less?
Take a hard look out there. Tell me what you actually see. Not what you'd like to see, not something that gives you hope, but something real & tangible that is happening right now as a result of political action, democracy, "new & improved" narratives, hope in action, tax dollars being spent.
In America, we've been at it quite a long time now (250 years). Surely that's plenty of time to take stock & determine whether or not this system we have constructed benefits us all.
Maybe there are truthful things I am not seeing. Sting me, if you can, norie. This kid at the back of the class is always watching, always listening. Deeper truths are always welcome.
Well done, EAP. Bravo.
Truth, in the eyes of the largely emotionally-driven masses, is assumed to be a sweet, liberating realization of some sort... one that gently shifts awareness slightly in one direction or another.
In actuality, truth will not only and literally blow one's mind, it'll leave a humongous, very painful psychological mess to clean up afterwards. And that's the result of only 1 truth out of hundreds of them that need to be tackled to actually evolve oneself. Therefore, hardly anyone really wants truth... they want more 'sweet nothings,' as you said. Most effective for the emotionally-driven are your 'long-stale, tried-and-failed consensus muck' pleadings, again as you said. The snake-oil salesmen who wish to grab the hearts (and usually the dollars) of the starry-eyed will always shift into 'We' mode. Works like a charm. The emotionally-driven desperately want to belong, fit in and go along with the herd. Feels more secure, you see.
Truth blows this all apart. Truth rips, shreds, destroys. Truth isolates. Truth magnifies. Truth elevates. Truth has absolutely nothing to do with consensus, compromise or pragmatism. The higher one goes in seeking truth, the lonelier it gets, which is the opposite of the desires of the 'We' folks.
Ironically, Truth is simple, easy, very workable. Conversely, consensus, compromise and pragmatism always result in half-baked, temporary success, at best. Along for the ride with consensus comes confusion and mediocrity. Initial passion turns into dull banality. A very sad state of affairs that we see all around us.
Might you be familiar with Spiral Dynamics? See here:
https://tinyurl.com/yd8erku6
Charles, IMHO, sits squarely in Green level, making periodic jumps into Yellow, where dramatically more clarity reigns. The Green is the consensus muck, the Yellow is when dead wood is chopped away.
There are many, many evolving folks at Green level in many 1st world nations. If you examine the characteristics of the Green level, you'll see exactly why certain 'issues of the day' are being highlighted and jammed down the throats of everyone over the past decade or so.
The enticing and exciting part is this: When a significant number of Greenies have their personal Truth Breakthroughs and move into Yellow level, THAT'S when the New Agey 'hoped-for' spiritual jump will actually occur... though how it will look has just about nothing to do with how such a jump is imagined to look by the current Greenies.
thanks for your thoughts (and the url too), BDev.
ps. i still believe in Santa! and yes, it does get better - your deep share alone has opened a new door to a great many possibilities. and it gave me hope.
Thank you for this careful and beautiful response, Edgar Allen Poe. I will respond after the tears stop rolling and I have some time to meditate on a response. For now, just wanting to give you a big hug and tell you I understand. I have been in that space of despair and know it very well. For now, I will end with the thought that the only truth is your truth, but the more you share it from the heart, as you did here in your response, the bigger it expands into becoming OUR truth. Thank you again. My heart is full.
such a sweet, gentle soul you are norie. i am utterly disarmed. thank you for your reply. i appreciate your concern for my feelings as well.
yes, despair... oh well. to me, this is just another color in the kaleidoscopic rainbow of human feelings. they come and then they go. i do not really live examining or cherry-picking my feelings. not anymore, anyway. tried that for a long time. it just wore me out. actually, it brought me to my knees. now i accept them and feel them fully in the moment as best i can. i've learned that my heart is not something i am able to forcibly command and direct. painful feelings, pleasurable feelings, everything else in between, for me these are all part of the human songbook and i am not the DJ.
"...the only truth is your truth..."
Unsurprisingly, I get that a lot. People say this as if it were universally true. ; ]
It always confuses me-- the word "truth" being used to render its' own definition meaningless. If truth exists only as "mine" or "yours" then there is no truth at all. There is only what we think.
Seems to me what folks mean when they say "my truth/your truth", they are referring not to the actual but rather to individual perception based on personal point of view. One makes no distinction between a picture of a chair and an actual chair. This, then, gives rise to opinion, or, "your/my truth" which then is usually colored/commandeered by emotional reactions based on identity/systems of belief.
One can sit on a picture of a chair but that does not mean one is sitting on a chair. The pain in your arse then reveals what is true about what you are sitting on.
The "my truth/your truth" thing is also commonly expressed by the statement "we create our own reality." "Creating our reality" denies that anything existed prior to our creating of it. Whoosh! Actual reality then goes down the toilet along with the paper (truth) we just wiped our butt with. The entire universe has just dissolved into a mental fantasy realm-- you & I along with it. We are now at the movies. Each of us watching a different one. I am in yours, you are in mine, neither one of us is real and some unknown person somewhere out there has written the story.
This leaves us utterly alone, isolated & lost in a cosmic theater of meaningless indifference. We are now doomed to toil away endlessly at imaginary work intended only to escape the despair of unreality. The ground under our feet collapses. We find ourselves clinging to slippery roots, forever falling like Alice down the rabbit hole.
From there it only gets worse. In wonderland, relationships are forever doomed, given time. I mean, everyone at all times is making everything up in their own head. Where does that leave me in your movie? As some strange entity you only imagine? I am not me, I am a phantom creation of your mind, either in our out of sync with "your truth"? A lasting relationship, then, becomes little more than two dreamers dreaming more or less the same dream. How is that love?
How is all this supposed to work? It can't and it doesn't. How could it? We exist in a realm where everyone and every thing we encounter, our very selves even, essentially presents to us a lie? What then, can be counted on, relied upon? Nothing is what it is, but rather what we make of it? If we choose, we can pick up a dog turd, take a bite and it will taste like chocolate if we think/imagine/believe/convince ourselves that it is in fact, chocolate?
This is the snake-oil. Look up at the stars & fall to your knees and thank them that this is not at all the case. This crap is what is being so cleverly sold and re-sold & marketed & re-marketed to us-- very much like a snake shedding its' skin. That we are all "masters of our reality", that we don't have to feel anything we do not want to feel, that one can be healthy, happy & contented living inside a prison cell eating dog turds-- hey, it's all good, we need only to "look at it the right way". Ugh. Please. Follow this path & watch yourself turn into a snake-oil salesman.
"....the more you share it from the heart, as you did here in your response, the bigger it expands into becoming OUR truth. Thank you again. My heart is full."
so good to hear that, norie. thank you for engaging here.
I suppose I write comments on substack for myself first and for others second, perhaps as a form of self-exorcism? I don't imagine myself doing anyone a great service with them. I am content to be ignored, liked, or tussled with. Whatever happens, I figure I got it coming. All my words come from real energy, (good or bad, I'll let you decide) within my body, heart & mind operating in concert with the aim of dancing & rolling with the wondrous waves & unknowable forces of creation. Reality, truth, these are the music-makers I listen for and (sometimes) hear-- I am not the composer, nor do I know who is. Maybe there's two of them. Maybe two zillion.
This means I am not happy all of the time, or even most of the time. But every once in a while, if I'm lucky, I feel something like a sweet little kiss on my neck.
pps. to use your analogy, i would say that we are not at the movies, but we are the movie!
well alright. that makes us almost real then, norie. we have moved out of the seats and onto the screen. we are now only one step removed from reality rather than two. one more step and we shall meet in paradise.
The writings of Charles brought me here, but it's the people that make me stay. Heart & soul can always be found in the comments section.
Not that CE lacks this, but there's a lot more he can give once he removes himself from the stagnant, mosquito-infested pond he's become so accustomed to.
i would be one of the last people to tell you how to look at things, and even less likely to say there is a right or wrong way to look at things.
your first explanation in response to my question was more than what i could have wished for, Edgar Allen Poe, and so I thank you again.
my perception of reality is that our reality is entirely created by our connections to other. and so, to illustrate, i am the one to give you that sweet little kiss. (and how it affects you or doesn't is of course up to you!) i don't think i am trying to sell anything here. only to open my heart to you.
and, to bring us back to the point, i also think that is what Charles is doing--he is not trying to sell us anything. he has proven this over and over - to the many who know him personally and also from his writings. i encourage you to join me in finding that out for yourself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJ86Qvw1L_I (the free and openly accessible recording of "Climate Change as Spiritual Practice")
"i would be one of the last people to tell you how to look at things, and even less likely to say there is a right or wrong way to look at things."
We're cool, norie. No sweat. Each of us is expressing our state of mind, bouncing off each other, getting to know ourselves (and each other) in the process-- something I always enjoy, be it nice or nasty or in-between.
Alright then. Of course, there is always a right or wrong way to do anything. (That is, if you want to achieve a desired outcome. Sometimes flailing away randomly at something (like art) helps achieve a non-desired outcome (something unpredictable & possibly brilliant). Even then, an artist zeroes in on what type of random flailing works for them and what type doesn't.)
Take for instance, the act of riding a bike. Everybody who wants to ride a bike has to learn the "right way". If one wishes to not fall down, if one wishes to travel via bicycle, there is only one "right way" to do it. It's the same for everyone. Nobody decides for themselves the manner in which the bike stays upright. They either do what bicycle-riding physics requires or they fall down or crash into something.
Our minds are like a really weird, complicated, emotionally-oriented bicycle. We navigate our lives with them. How we "look at things" is an action that determines the way we "ride our bike" which then steers the direction our lives take. If our desired outcome is not achieved, our destination not arrived at, or, god forbid, we crash into something/someone and cause them or ourselves harm, we can then safely conclude we are not riding our bike the right way.
And so we learn by screwing things up, by falling, crashing or finding ourselves somewhere we did not wish to go. Each time we screw up, we then have the opportunity to re-arrange our view, "how we look at things", so that it may more accurately align with how the bicycle (our mind) actually works to steer our lives.
Learning by ourselves, in our own way, can be painful and time-consuming. We may then opt to explore short-cuts. But this means asking others for guidance and instruction. One then puts oneself into the hands of another who may or may not have your desired outcome/destination in mind.
Nobody knows better than you how to best ride your bike. Learning to ride on your own is painful, yes. No way around that. But rest assured, anybody who tells you they know an easier, less painful way is selling something.
You see what I'm getting at. The consistently brutal, increasingly insane world we live in is the result of a chaotic mess of people who have barely a clue as to how to ride their bike and haven't the slightest inclination towards learning how.
Instead, we become masters of avoidance & denial. We jerk ourselves off with nonsense like "Spirituality of Climate Change" which enables us to look in the mirror and see a caring, saintly person when in fact what we are is a pitiful, bloody-nosed, bruised up little kid who repeatedly, petulantly & absurdly demands that his bicycle not be a bicycle but instead change itself into something that will be "ridden my way!"