Getting around this site:
Links work from the menus at the top of every page, though some will find it more convenient instead to use the Archives section to navigate -- especially those using tablets or smart phones. External links are found on Links. Archives gives links to all the blogs on the site, listed under several categories. Every blog page has links to all the other blogs within that category. This way of setting the site up makes it easier for people using any type of device to access all the pages on Tumbleweed Over the Deep Blue Sea.
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New Blog: Elf & Opus, Winter 2011-2012, updated late January
In which December's thick ice finally disappears and
we meet flying termites in January
as finches and doves tune up for nesting
On Dogs & Friends:
Check out a couple of videos:
Dogcam view of a dog park. Wow.
A miniature donkey and the Budweiser Clydesdales,
A Golden Retriever who dances better than many people!
Recent blogs:
Occupy Wall Street and Baha'i Views in Dry in the Sea: Musing
Filming Schwarzenegger in Dry in the Sea: Musing
In which we find that the Doodlebug is about to be restored
thanks to the production crew of Arnold Schwarzenegger's
Last Stand!
The Eco Principle: Ecology & Economics in Symbiosis, Arthur Lyons Dahl
For people who sense that traditional economic and environmental systems are letting us down, this is a great read. What the publisher says:
Rooted in the Bahá'í teachings and in the scientific study of living systems, Dahl correlates the findings of science and the values and spirit of religion to produce a highly original theory that shows how the same fundamental rules and structures govern the life and death of organic and social systems. From the humble bacteria to the most highly developed nation state, systems must be able to transform themselves to meet the ever-changing challenges of their environment.
This readable book clearly demonstrates how … a well-trained mind can bring together the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh with the best of scientific thought to produce an accurate analysis of the world situation as well as a stunningly creative tool to help humankind move forward into its collective adulthood.
You can also pick up used copies on Amazon, though they go fast.
A Question of Sustainability
| January 22, 2012 |
Of course, I accept that the planet’s far older than the human species, and without us will continue to heal itself in geological time until it’s ready for a new creation. Is that what we want? Can we ensure our own survival? In quantum physics the theory has been established that waves become particles when there is an observer. So, what would creation be like without humans to observe Earth and what’s beyond it? Above all, what can a person effectively do about human caused climate change, extremes of poverty in many countries, the fact that economics as we know it places no value -- has no means of placing any value -- on people's spirits and other intangibles that make us feel satisfied or miserable about life, and numerous other issues related to sustainability?
In the Persian Hidden Words Baha’u’llah has written: “Out of the wastes of nothingness, with the clay of My command I made thee to appear, and have ordained for thy training every atom in existence and the essence of all created things.”
As the Prophet-Messenger who founded the Baha’i Faith, the utterances of Baha’u’llah demonstrate clearly that the time has come for human beings to recognize that we are all one family, that we are spiritual beings who, in order to maintain our lives and unity, require spiritual views to be in control of material views. Recently to better understand the Baha’i point of view on sustainable development I took a three-month course on the subject through the Wilmette Institute.
The necessity to do more than recycling, conserving energy, shrinking my carbon footprint and eating locavore style every way I could was obvious. I came to see that joining groups of people committed to doing these same things and more is a good step but will not penetrate the surface of dust and smoke which covers any solution to our huge sustainability problems. No. It’s more basic, requiring just one act to get started: An expanding throb of the heart, accepting that we are one human family. For the first time in recorded history it is the Will of the Creator that we learn to live as such on a global basis. We are all in this world together, and in the teachings of Baha’u’llah -- which affirm and uphold teachings of all other Prophets in the past -- we are told how to do this spiritually. For only when the spirit is involved is a deep change of heart and vision possible for the human collective. A quantum shift for mankind. A shift that will naturally bring about the will to address sustainability of life on our planet. A person with a spiritual balance wouldn't choose to live in a manner that causes sickness, deprivation and degradation to others -- family members -- some of whom live on the far side of the planet where s/he doesn't have to see how they suffer. From a person to a family, to a neighborhood, to a community, to a nation, to the world a strong thought like this spreads. Don't believe it? Remember a time when the smile of a stranger cheered you, charged up your flagging energy. Remember how good you felt when you had a spontaneous opportunity to offer an act of kindness to somebody.
"The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens." ~Baha'u'llah
The ocean refuses no river, no river
The open heart refuses no part of me, no part of you.
I am one with all that is, one with all;
All that is is one with me, one with all.
~Sufi chant (originally)
"All you under the heaven! Regard heaven as your father, earth as your mother, and all things as your brothers and sisters."
~Shinto, Oracle of Atsuta
+++++++++
"Where power goes, governance must follow" ~Paddy Ashdown
What does it mean to be a spiritual person? Do you meditate constantly, retire to a monastery, renounce ice cream? Not for the main part of your life if you are influenced by Baha'i teachings, which emphasize that deeds are more important than words, that engagement with others is the means of spiritual growth. The disparity between wealth and poverty, inequality of men and women, hunger or starvation, lack of education and opportunity on the one hand, wars, rampant consumerism and materialism on the other now cause enough conflict to launch a revolution if something isn’t done about them. Yes, these issues have been around for millennia but today we have the internet to make downtrodden, disenchanted, disenfranchised people instantly aware of what goes on elsewhere to assist them with their troubles, or to push them further downwards. Because of the internet and transportation we are interlocked now in ways we never before have been, as Britain's Lord Ashcroft noted, in a recent TED talk (link below). Add to this potent mix the reality of climate change and what it threatens all life with on the planet, and it’s easy to see the necessity of tackling every one of these matters immediately. Politicians as well as huge corporations with vested interests in every pie on the planet place self interest as the adjudicator of what they will or will not do to bring stability and equity to the challenges faced by over 99% of humanity because of the controlling activities of less than 1% of us. Politicians and gigantic corporations also have think tanks to come up with ways of telling us all we're better off living the way they want us to.
Baha'u'llah guided people to discern truth: "The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice... By its aid thou shalt see with thine own eyes and not through the eyes of others, and shalt know of thine own knowledge and not through the knowledge of thy neighbor. Ponder this in thy heart; how it behooveth thee to be..."
"The most important thing that you can do is what you can do with others… [Individuals] understand this -- governments do not." ~Paddy Ashdown
For the practical among us, wondering how spiritual you have to get to start seeing sustainable changes being made: Here is a link to a rousing TED talk called “The Global Power Shift” by Paddy Ashdown which gives a keen analysis of structural changes occurring in the world. Lord Ashdown is not, so far as I know, a member of the Baha’i Faith.
Paddy Ashdown: The Global Power Shift
And here is the setting in which humanity must come to terms with the need for sustainability:
From the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha, son of Baha'u'llah: "All these endless beings which inhabit the world, whether man, animal, vegetable, mineral - whatever they may be - are surely, each one of them, composed of elements. There is no doubt that this perfection which is in all beings, is caused by the creation of God from the composing elements, by their appropriate mingling and proportionate quantities, the mode of their composition, and the influence of other beings. For all beings are connected together like a chain, and reciprocal help, assistance, and influence belonging to the properties of things, are the causes of the existence, development and growth of created beings."
~Some Answered Questions
Over the next several months I’ll be writing more about sustainable development. Meantime, there are numerous quotations on issues relating to it on This Page.
Twitter list below, updates automatically.
