It seems to me that so many of our present crises have their roots in our disconnection from the natural world, the feminine and henceforth our failure to truly inhabit our own bodies which serve as a repository of our planetary and ancestral wisdom. I have long pondered how it is that we have developed a civilization so far removed from natural law, from full participation in the great story of our planet and our own evolutionary process. Our religious myths have us banished from Paradise by an angry Sky God and Eve (woman) is to blame and there is no recognition of a Divine Feminine. Perhaps our transition from hunter gatherers to agriculture had a lot to do with this exile from the Garden and began the slow and inexorable alienation from the field of intelligence which pervades us.
After the Age of “Enlightenment” (and the great plague) we developed a militaristic stance which pits us against life. Alchemy shifted from an esoteric art of self transformation to chemistry. The practice of medicine shifted to favor harsh and chemical interventions and the suppression of herbal medicine, midwifery and “magical” interventions. The great breakthrough which allowed allopathic medicine to overcome its rivals like homeopathy and osteopathy in the 21th century was the discovery of antibiotics: which means against life. While momentarily efficacious and seemingly miraculous, we now face drug resistant strains of bacteria which will dwarf the death tolls of previous plagues in the coming years according to many experts.
We have a war on cancer, which is a leading cause of death in the USA: a disease that reflects a state of tremendous disequilibrium due mostly to exposure to chemicals we invented for “better living” and consumption of industrial foods devoid of nutrients and full of artifical additives. We seek to conquer this consequence with chemotherapy and radiation which ofttimes spur more virulent expressions if we happen to survive these toxic treatments.
Our agricultural Green Revolution’s runoff, heavily dependent on petroleum products and artificial stimulants like nitrogen and ammonia to stimulate growth which is applied to a lifeless soil is causing dead zones in the oceans into which the runoff drains. GMOs and their pesticidal partners have generated super weeds which are causing thousands of acres of arable land to be abandoned, and are causing cancer, neurological damage, infertility and autism. How we came to be so alienated from sustainable, life affirming, vitality enhancing practices is a subject I have explored for many years.
I grew up spending a lot of time in nature and always felt an affinity and sense of belonging in the forests and meadows I was able to roam. Trees had distinct presence, and places I meandered in had a spirit I could recognize and celebrate. I was drawn to natural healing methods, yoga and the eastern arts in my early adolescence and chose to pursue a degree in Acupuncture vs an MD degree. The book The Magic of Findhorn appealed to my experience of there being unseen forces about me which had much to do with the flourishing of life on our earth. To remedy a soul loss, I studied Shamanic Healing Practices. A profound earth initiation similar to Hildegard von Bingen’s vision of Viriditas, “Greening Power”, or The Green Flame occurred to me in Ireland in the National Forest near Killarney while attending the conference whose theme was Towards Earth Community convened by The International Transpersonal Association. In Hildegard’s cosmic vision, she saw the divine present as a feminine force in the earth and all living things.
In spite of so much evidence that we are indeed interconnected and require relationship to thrive from varying fields of study: agriculture, biology, physics, medicine, psychology, our present system has failed to integrate all of these truths into a coherent, functional story which can serve to inspire us to recover our collective soul lost in the rupture from our place int the world, to explore, discover, develop and integrate the potentials that lie within us to repair our relationship with Life, our bodies, our spiritual source, the cosmos and this wondrous planet upon which we have incarnated.
In response to what I felt was needed to generate change on a personal and social scale which could counter these disruptions, I formed a nonprofit Viriditas whose mission is to revitalize people and planet through the application of self care methods, lifestyle adaptations and developing skills with which to interact with the forces of nature that will allow us to come into resonance with natural law. Lectures, workshops and practicums on Permaculture Design, gardening, composting, yoga, tai chi, qi gong and shamanic journeying will enable participants the opportunity to shift behaviors at their own place towards those which foster well-being, lessen environmental impacts and restore a sense on unity with our earth. The magnitude of our challenges require the participation of many people, it will not trickle down in policy and product. The measures I propose are inexpensive and grassroots oriented.
In bringing this vision to life, I will be serving what is perceive to be a sacred dream, a dream of the earth, our spiritual destiny and to mirror my spirit double in “heaven” who has impelled me all these years to challenge and question the status quo when it seems insane. In spite of how dire our present circumstances are, I believe the effects of morphic resonance and heart centered acts coupled with practical change can shift our predicament from one of extreme crisis to one of ecstatic co creation.
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