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Opening Essay for Human Ecology

A New Covenant with the Earth and All Life:

What we Bring to the Millennium

By Dr. Larry Buell, Earthlands Founder (c)

The World in the first years of the 21st Millennium is swinging on a precarious thread between awareness and ignorance. At this important time, humankind has an opportunity to reflect on our 100,000 year journey to this moment of truth, the truth that compels us to lay open our conscious relationship to the Earth and all Life.

This reflection will encompass deep probing questions of our very elemental nature. Can we reflect on this remarkable journey that has both integrated and separated our ecological, social,

spiritual, economic, and emotional aspects so that as we enter the new Millennium we may transform our relationship with all life to one of

Following this 4.5 billion year journey from fin, to feather, to finger, by the year 100,000 BC, we finally arrived as the modern human, Neanderthal. Our ecological selves were keenly aligned with the Earth's cycles, as we shifted physical evolution into cultural evolution during this first 100,000 years. Living as hunter-gatherers, we observed Earth rituals and seasonal celebrations that were as common as consumer attitudes are today. Great cultural shifts were born from the Agricultual Revolution, 10,000 years ago, which spawned such great civilizations as Mesopotamia and Teotihuacan, with private ownership, economics, and division of society. Then, a mere 250 years ago, came the great Industrial Revolution, which just a few generations ago, with its dependence on material energy and depletion of the Earth's resources, severed our deep

relationship with all life.

Our Worldview is Created. Our history, literature, education, science, economics, and political science writings grounded our story into institutions of the society and informed our mechanistic-technological worldview. The patriarchal players on the cultural stage who confirmed and extended this worldview were: Sir. Thomas Bacon who, in the 17th Century, established the "how" of the scientific method by challenging the traditional wisdom of the Socratic Method, which asked deeper questions of "why." Adam Smith, author of Wealth of Nations, held that material self-interest was the primary motivating factor, and that, if left alone, each individual would maximize the common good through self-centered activity. Tribal values and community compacts were eradicated from our whole western worldview by Smith's assertions. The third member of the triumvirate of western worldview creators was political philosopher. John Locke, who viewed the land as a vast unproductive wasteland which could only be transformed to value through human labor and technology. In his article, The Philosophy of the Global Environmental Crisis, Jeremy Rifkin, writes that Locke "elevated the new self-centered materialism onto the metaphysical plane, arguing that the new era of utilitarian greed placed humanity on an irreversible sojourn toward an earthly cornucopia."

These three men shaped the western mind and established the foundation of the anthropomorphic worldview, where man was at the pinnacle and power and greed were the birthright of the European power elite. This worldview, still dormant today, separates us from our brothers and sisters, alienates us from the Earth, and feeds to the "ticky-tack" ravaging consumer lifestyle we accept as normal.

From Conservation to Earth Action. Voices in the wilderness were silenced quickly as the Celtic witch or the Iroquois shaman were vanquished, when this dominant way of life, based on fear and power, permeated the world. Though many lives, native cultures, and species were overtaken, their voices could not be annihilated. Yet the pain of our severed lives runs deep, as we reflect on the roots of our present condition. Slowly, as a soft meadow breeze, some isolated voices, were able to share the plight of the Earth in the last century of the past millennium. Sierra Club's John Muir, the Wilderness Society's John Marshall and Aldo Leopold with Sand County Almanac and Rachel Carson with Silent Spring offered a more informed way. The agricultural movement not only fed the nation, but spawned these and other environmentalists who grew to love the land through their utilitarian lifestyles. These progressive environmentalists of the early conservation movement lived close to the land and, heard the Earth crying out and saw the torture of the captive animals. Moved by the Nature Study movement of the 1920's, the Outdoor Education popularity of the 60's, and by the Earth Days of the 1970's, environmental educators arrived in new waves. William Stapp's environmental education curriculums and Steve Van Matre's sensory involved acclimatization approach were among them. With guidance from the protests of the tumultuous 60's and the quickening decline of the Earth's stability, a new brand of environmentalist came onto the scene. Radical environmentalists shared many engaging strategies for working with the Earth. According to Peter C. List in Radical Environmentalism, "many ordinary environmentalists' ideas, whether mainstream or not, are taken to be radical because they supposedly bear little relationship to business or economic reality."

These movements are in direct contrast to the dominant western technological-industrial paradigm and share many innovative strategies for forming a new relationship between humans and the Earth, they include:

The Deep Ecology movement, stresses the intrinsic value and interdependence of all life and advocates a commitment to minimizing humanity's destructive interference with the natural world and to the restoration of the diversity and complexities of ecosystems and human communities.

Social Ecology argues that ecology can help humans understand the complexities and principles of nature that are analogous systems and structures in social communities. When such understandings are implemented, a non-hierarchical society decentralized, creative, and collective can exist.

The Bioregional Movement believes in ecologically sustainable human com- munities that exist in harmony with their unique natural surroundings and cultural institutions in a particular geographical area over time.

Ecofeminism envisions new gender relationships between men and women and the Earth and calls into question the patriarchal society that so shuns harmony, integration, and wholeness. The qualities of all natural beings are celebrated while domination and violence against all life are opposed.

Ecopsychology feels that the psychological and sociological development of the individual is closely aligned to the natural world. An integrated connection to the natural world will relieve much of the stress experienced by modern humans.

Creation Spirituality holds that the Universe can consciously reflect on itself, and when it does, humans arrive at a new meaning of the cosmos and a nature of the human that is aligned with the Planet.

Voluntary Simplicity is a way of being in authentic relationship with the Earth and all life that is based upon sincerity and honesty and demands less from our communities and from the Earth itself.

Earth First demands that there be no compromise in defense of the Earth and that actions should focus upon wilderness preservation and natural cycle restoration.

While there are many other approaches to reshaping and regaining our relationship to the Earth, the above movements have unique sets of values, content, and methods. Common to the approaches is the belief in the world as a Gaia living organism, recognition of the rights and wisdom of Indigenous Peoples, and integration of all aspects of spirit, mind, and body in our connection to the Earth. A review and understanding of the historical roots of our relationship to the Planet and the evolving leadership and modeling that spur us on to greater clarity about our connection to the Earth will help inform us in our work with our higher selves, our role as global citizens, and our interconnection with the all life.

Entering the 21st Millennium. As we enter the sphere of the new Millennium, there is widespread evidence from scientific fact to personal intuitive guidance that we are about to enter a New Age, the Age of Aquarius. As we enter this historic time we will draw forth new levels of Gaian Leadership that will empower everyone, restructure institutions that will respect all life, and support new and renewed forms of community where all people and Earth's creatures express their full potential through service and love. We are in social change mode on a free will Planet that requires commitment and intention by all. Lester R. Brown, author of the annual State of the World reports from Worldwatch Institute, holds that social change demands two essential ingredients for success: understanding of the compelling information that educates and directs our decisions and experiential opportunities that integrate and preserve our understandings. The University of the Wild and the Cathedral of the Forest will be incorporated into public classrooms, community centers, and transform workplaces into healthy and healing environments.

Community where it is all held together. Living in community is the norm, rather than the exception, and has been throughout history. In the past, people joined together for mutual support and physical survival. The ravaged and painful ways that many people live today is proof that we were not meant to exist as little islands, isolated in the great sea of humanity. Communities are centers and circles where common intentions join people together for a range of goals, including reducing living expenses, companionship and group support, personal freedom and empowerment, sustainable living practices, and service to others. Communities are centers of vision and light for personal and planetary healing. As the present forms of social organization become more dysfunctional, chaotic, and unhealthy, intentional communities will become a more popular arena for transformation and inspiration for a bright future.

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We are all longing to go home to some place we have never been - a place half-

remembered and half envisioned we can only catch glimpses of from time to time.

COMMUNITY. Somewhere there are people to whom we can speak with passion without

having the words catch in our throats. Somewhere a circle of hands will open to receive us,

eyes will lightup as we enter, voices will celebrate us whenever we come into our own power. Community means strength that joins our strength to do the work that must be done.

Arms tohold us when we falter. A circle of healing. A circle of friends.

Someplace where we can be free.

-Dreaming the Dark, Starhawk

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Living in the New Millennium: Love in Action. No matter what happens to the planet and its inhabitants, each one of us in the privacy of our own deeper intuitive insight can assess what is really happening to the Earth and all life. In the contexts of our loving and supportive communities, our loved ones, and the presence of the mysterious and magical Earth herself can we truly identify our paths of action.

There are many methods, techniques, and strategies for healing our relationship with the Earth, coming into a deeper bond with our brothers and sisters, and living in harmony with all life, yet we must decide and act on approaches that are aligned with our own deeper wisdom. It will be ritual and celebration that informs our actions and dictates our daily practice. These practices will be held in covenants we make between ourselves, our people, the Earth, and all life. Earth Covenants or shared intentions are formal binding agreements between ourselves and other life forms. These Covenants honor and celebrate the diversity of all life and rejoice in the wonder and miracle of each individual form. They recognize the exquisite interrelationship and interdependence of all life. Covenants provide blueprints for action and concert strategies for implementation. They are honored like legal contracts and are always central to everyday activity. They can be committed to in large community circles, or be vows between loving partners and friends, or they can be individual personal intentions. Read them aloud daily as your morning prayers, use them as mantras in meditation, and analyze them deeply in your own sharing circles. Be as committed to their instructions as an artist is to her object or a yogi to his position.

Each individual, group, and community can create its own Earth Covenant. The journey of exploration and investigation toward an agreed upon covenant will be deeply transforming work unto itself. There exists Earth Covenants which may give guidance to your own creation. One example extracted from the Deep Ecology tradition are the Ten Community and Personal Principles of Earthlands. These principles are designed to guide an Earth-centered intentional community and focus the outreach service of an educational center that provides ecological living skills, support for personal growth, and encouragement of activism on behalf of the Earth.

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Earthland's Covenant for the Earth

1.) Ecological Living. Integrate each day bread labor, community contribution, personal maintenance, and creative endeavor.

2.) Community Living. Live in a supportive, cooperative setting with people of like intent. Work toward a common path and live a deep commitment to self, others, and the Earth.

3.) Voluntary Simplicity. Enhance the quality of life by consuming less and living simply. Encourage ourselves to receive daily nourishment from renewable green plants.

4.) Right Livelihood. Know the environmental and social impact of our work. Work or volunteer in only those efforts that enhance the quality of all life.

5.) Environmental Action. Practice nonviolent action in defense of the Earth. Know the facts and the implications of an action and do not waiver from a path.

6.) Spiritual Practice. Perform a daily practice that encourages attunement with those encompassing powers that nourish the Earth and intuitively guide all human endeavors.

7.) Scientific Understanding. Know the basic laws of Ecology and apply them to a specific bioregion and be able to extend such understanding to other global regions.

8.) Cultural Diversity. Study past and present cultures who live in harmony with the Earth. Know the psychological, sociological, and cultural roots of one's own tradition.

9.) Education of the Citizenry. Use every action, insight, and interaction to share environmental understandings. Be a model world citizen. Spend time with children, seniors, and those less fortunate.

10.) Personal Growth. "Know thyself" with and through the universe. Search for, find, and accept a path of insight and action that will assure peace, love, and truth for all life.

Larry Buell, October 1991

Lake Baikal. Siberia, Russia

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The Journey to Fulfillment. Beyond any written statement, what is called for at this vital time are personal intentions and commitments that are grounded in natural laws, woven into communities, and inspired by a spiritual path. We must understand the depth and detail of the Native American statement that the "hardest journey we will ever make is the journey from our head to our heart." Because we have not made this connection, the world we have created is not sustainable for spirit, mind, or body. Like the ancient mythic Shambala Warriors, we must possess compassion for others and deep wisdom. There may be no single survivor on the next phase of our journey we are together as interspecies, or as Thich Nhat Hanh says, "Interbeings".

It is empowering to believe that it is no accident that we are here together to give witness, participate, and share our gifts in this great transformation of our relationship to the Earth. This time will be wrought with great despair, anger, and, pain as well as great joy, creation, and, celebration. We have been warriors here before and possess the qualities to create a way to be in right relationship with all life. As our hearts and our minds become illuminated by the truth, we will take responsibility for what we see and act upon what we feel. As we prepare to continue our journey to fullfillment, we are guided by Chief Seattle's Message:

The earth does not belong to humans;

humans belong to the earth. This we know.

All things are connected: like the blood which

unites one family, all things are connected.

Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons and

daughters of the earth. Humans do not weave the

web of life. They are merely a strand in it.

Whatever humans do to the web, they do to themselves.

-Chief Seattle, Pacific Northwest 1854

Sources:

Earth In Mind, David Orr, Island Press, Washington, DC, 1994

Think Like A Mountain, John Seed, Joanna Macy, et.el., New Society Publishers, 1988

The Philosophy of the Global Environmental Crisis, Jeremy Rifkin,

Melampus Journal, Spring 1992 Vo. 1 No. 1

Radical Environmentalism, Peter C. List, Wadsworth Publishing Co., 1993

Dreaming the Dark. Magic, Sex, and Politics, Starhawk, Beacon Press, 1988.

The State of The World, Lester Brown, World Watch Institute, 1996.

Earthlands 10 Principles, Larry Buell, 39 Glasheen Road, Petersham, MA 01366

About the Author:

Dr. Larry Buell is founder and Executive Director of Earthlands, an earth-centered intentional community and ecological living center.. At Greenfield Community College, MA, he established and formerly directed the nationally recognized Outdoor Leadership Program and presently is instructor of Human Ecology. Larry received his BS from Springfield College, his Master's Degree in Outdoor Education from Penn State University and his Doctorate from the University of Massachusetts. Buell is consultant to numerous schools, colleges, and community agencies. He frequently provides workshops and addresses regional and national conferences. He has an extensive background in international travel and work/study. He is author of The 24-Hour Experience: An Outdoor Adventure Program, The Outdoor Leadership Competency, and a new volume of Earth Poetry, Return to the Meadow: Poetry, Prose, and Images of Place. Larry lives at Earthlands, an ecological living center in Petersham, MA.

39 Glasheen Road, Petersham, MA 01366 www.earthlands.org

(978) 724-3448 larrybuell@earthlink.net or buell@gcc.mass.edu