ECOLOGY PERSONAL: EMOTIONS AND SACRED SPACES - Miriam Subirana Vilanova Today the human family faces a potential disaster, the threat of destruction of our home land.
In times of crisis tend to unite divided families. Now more than ever is when we need to unite to respond to the global environmental crisis. The need immediate change in human activity is undeniable. The attending this call or not depends on the principles and values that sustain and are the basis of our decisions and actions. We must recognize that the root of this situation is values and attitudes that we have inadequate. It is these that determine the quality of human activity. We must transform these values and thus transform how they think. Reconsider our priorities. Attitudes, values and lifestyles more careful in the face of ourselves, to others and the environment. No ending the pollution of nature until we put an end to the pollution in our minds and in our hearts.
We need to ask some fundamental questions:
• What are our spiritual and moral obligations as individuals, communities, nations, to our environment?
• How to understand the natural law of interconnection and its link with the sustainable development?
• What is the lifestyle that we live if we want to help with the planet's resources and reduce the imbalance?
• How can we create sacred space in the world for what it is address is resolved and we can return to our natural state of peace?
The planet earth is a sacred space, but because of our greed, selfishness and violence have forgotten to live in that awareness.
Our thoughts affect the area, others and ourselves. The thoughts also affect the environment.
When you see involved in a train of negative thoughts that takes you into spiral down, remember that you can talk to yourself and get you out of there. If you decide to do an action motivated by anger, jealousy, resentment, hatred or resentment, recalls that's what you will return to you. Doing something nice for your enemy to help Dissolve the situation between you and them. Keeping an aggressive posture toward another fuels the situation and intensifies the conflict. If you refuse to maintain a posture aggressively toward the other, he or she can not keep it to yourself. It requires two for create and sustain a conflict.
The destination is a personal level, a level of relationships and communities and also at of nations. We see it constantly in the news. We see it among the States U.S. and Middle East, between India and Pakistan, between Israel and Palestine. When fails
peace process and increases aggressiveness, the account is worse among nations and scale. With demands hostile, creating more enemies, and following violent ways, it was aggravates this collective destiny. When greed, economic control, racial hatred.
Religious attitudes and fueling the conflict between nations and groups, the potential devastating is incalculable.
It's easy to talk about the need for a new world order, but Who will bring this change in practice? Bring this change economists or politicians? Do Wars will bring change? Are the environmentalists will change the world? The only real basis for this new world order is the transformation in our consciousness, a spiritual transformation involves rid of the anger, lust, ego, greed and attachment. Until this happens, will send the present world order awash with violence, suffering and arrogance.
The shortfalls caused greed that comes from spiritual emptiness, the lack of fullness. As we act based on these human weaknesses, the result is suffering, sorrow and pain. If we act according to the values, virtues and qualities human and spiritual, the result would be cooperation, solidarity, happiness, joy, peace, welfare and, finally, the fullness.
Where there is selfishness there is greed. We want to have and possess more, which leads to a state of anxiety and expectation. This causes imbalances in oneself, in the relationship with others and between man and nature. We are filled with objects, properties and things. Then we are afraid to lose them. In general, go, consume more of what nature can give, and pollution more than it Nature is capable of recycling. We generate all sorts of expectations and, if not met, we reacted with anger, frustration or disappointment.
Greed, selfishness and attachment units are the roots that cause a large imbalance on a global scale and also on a smaller scale (local and family).
Greed works on several levels: personal, interpersonal, at the level of the performance of the companies and national and international level. For many companies and their greed managers are unwilling to modify certain aspects in their business to be reduce the emission of gases that pollution and the environment that are destroying environmental balance. They are endangering the planet, our existence and the lives of many animals and living beings, but because of their greed, not
change.
Our greed leads us to consume so lopsided. The companies prefer pay a penalty to reduce toxic gases or pollution to the rivers to lay and atmosphere, to be able to continue producing at the same pace with minimal costs economic, but involves costs to another level (pollution, global warming and environmental imbalance).
In short, what all this tells us? Greed that leads to a lack of respect towards ourselves, others, animals and the environment. Greed generates lust for power and fear of change.
To reverse this trend, we have to go into ourselves and realize that this greedy need arises because we did not care to be. We have Gutted. Learn to take care of being, realize our ability to give and our potential for love. If our mind thinks too fast and hit one thought to another, our intellect and certainly is not decided, our past affects us and our habits and traps make us worry endlessly, without a doubt we touch us again and again by the circumstances that surround us.
To prevent this from happening we have to regain our power inside, be alert and pay attention. So we will not allow the situations we absorb and slowly destroy our calm to sink into a river of concerns. We need to have a greater mastery of our inner world: in our mind, intellect, tendencies, and conditioning habits.
If we try to prune a tree by removing some sick leaves or branches, not will achieve nothing. If The Tree is sick and we just some branch or remove some leaves, the disease remains in that tree. What we must do is to look at the roots, and when we see what is going wrong, we'll see what we have to do with the disease of The Tree. Are the roots that need healing.
When we look at The Tree of humanity and all the diseases that are flooding the society today, we realize that if we try to put patches on the different problems here and there, in the long term is not a solution to be function. But if we look at the root of society's problems, we will see that everything is has become very artificial and materialistic.
Instead of recognizing our spiritual identity, we think of ourselves as matter, and we connect our identity and our attention on the subject. As result, there is much fear. In the culture of fear and violence, people we act based on our ego, greed, attachment, anger, lust, sloth and arrogance. If we want to change all this, the answer is very simple, yes is the only answer: change the paradigm. Away from the materialistic paradigm and enter a spiritual paradigm.
Returning to a spiritual paradigm, we return to the values that underlie our civilization and we return to truth, peace and confidence. It is not the governments that will bring this change, not religious leaders, spiritual or politicians who will bring this change. Who can do? You and me. In fact, every one has to do for himself. I can not do it for you. All I can do it for me. When a person changes, his change has an impact on around them. A return to spiritual awareness is our responsibility. When we do, we see that our world is changing and we began to live the kind of life we could and we should live: awake, fully conscious and responsible.
On one side is a matter of controlling our thoughts, to have clarity in our decisions and not allow our unhealthy habits dominate us. On the other aside our internal power lies in not thinking a thing, feeling another, and another saying finally act differently. We must listen to our conscience as it is the tiller our life, and if we hear our decisions will be based on what keeps our integrity and our strength. So in our actions we will express our potential to help us and others. When we act with a clear vision, with self-esteem, confidence and serenity, we have the ability to after our purposes successfully. In doing so, we will be satisfied.
When, on the contrary, what we do is not what we think or what we say, our words are losing strength. When a Father tells his son that you do not do something, but he himself does, those words have no force and not carry the power of example. The son listens to advice from his Father but he did not see what follows. That seeding a doubt in him: why did this but I advised him not practicing?
On one occasion when the speakers were preparing to participate in Sao Paulo, in the panel discussion on the threats of environmental pollution and potential solutions, the Minister of Environment smoked in a way that resembled a fireplace living. One cigarette after another. On the one hand spoke to propose solutions to pollution, and on the other side lived like a chimney living. This lack of integrity between what one thinks, says and does cause loss of power in action, lack of consistency and reduced confidence.
What happens is that sometimes our conscience tells us to go in one direction but our habits lead us to another direction, then Who rules? Does the conscience that is nurtured by our values or our habits? At that time we have to ask ourselves what do we really want? Listen to the voice of our heart, the center of our being. So connect with our inner wisdom and our innate strength to help us overcome the habit.
To be creators of change that this entails and build a better reality, we have to do so from the authenticity, love, courage and power inside. The other attitudes (complaint, anger, guilt, greed, dependencies) weaken us and prolong the creating environments and situations of stress and violence. In all areas of life we have the freedom to use our immense creative power. Doing so is in our hands.
Meditation helps us to cleanse the mind of interference and thereby accumulate energy needed for the transformation and to become creators of fate we want for ourselves and the world. Many have good intentions but they lack the power and energy to put them into practice.
As well as to strengthen the muscles need exercise with body regularity and discipline to regain the power we have inside of disciplining the mind. Exercise of positivity and silence. The less we think, more power, light and every thought and clarity will therefore carry a greater impact on our reality. The practice of meditation helps us to soothe the mind, focus attention, Drop wounds of the past, being fully present, and heal the heart completely thus achieving a great liberation.
It is entering the inner space in which there are no boundaries nor borders. It what are usually looking away from us. When you've reached that Heart-being, it's like to have arrived home, your real me. To get there you realize you have everything you really need to be happy, ending the state of your feeling victim and constantly needing, wanting and depending. In this when you're a free spirit, and are fully available to give to others.
The regular practice of meditation allows you to get in touch with the essence immutable of your being, with the best of you, with the body of your pure essential nature. It is an experience of serenity and concentration essential to the construction of an authentic self-esteem, security and confidence in yourself and in the others. Meditation helps you recognize and understand your true identity, original and authentic, as a metaphysical energy, a spiritual energy, which is the base high thinking.
© Miriam Subirana Vilanova - http://www.miriamsubirana.com - Feb 14 2008