Seeds for Thought: an Ecopsychology Blog

Sacred Places

I'm reading a wonderful book right now, called Circling San Francisco Bay: A Pilgrimage to Wild and Sacred Places, by ecotherapist Ginny Anderson.

It's using the beauty of the natural world around San Francisco to convey a sense of the sacred mystery  inherent in all wild places, and whether or not you live in (or are planning to visit) the bay area, there is much to enjoy and learn from in this book.

One thing that really struck me is how she has used the power of the collective to access and express the sacred in the places she's chosen to explore. She took a circle of others with her out to each location, and there is a detailed section in each chapter about the exercises they did in each spot and the reflections that came of those exercises, along with ideas for how the reader might explore the territory they covered on our own.

Ginny's book is a rich and evocative delve into the relationship between the human psyche and the rest of the natural world, and in my opinion it is an invaluable addition to anyone's 'key reading' list for understanding the ideas behind ecopsychology and how to apply them in practice.

Ecotherapy and Spiral Dynamics

When my husband and I took the Permaculture Design Course last year, our teacher was always reminding us to ask the following questions on every design project: WHERE ARE WE? WHEN ARE WE? In other words, we needed to take note not only of the deep ecology of the landscape we stood on but also its (and our) place in the natural succession of things. Are we at the disturbed earth/pioneer plants stage? Or are we members of the mature forest?

Recently I discovered Spiral Dynamics, developed by Dr. Clare W. Graves and his followers, and was pleased to see that it too deals with this critical question of “when” we are in the evolving nature of things. SD focuses not on natural biological succession, but rather on the succession patterns of human culture. It is highly controversial, especially when misunderstood and misapplied – but also profoundly thought provoking.

what money can't buy

being in nature...
observing...
walking...
feeling fantastic.

ethics

The Independent newspaper has had some very good stuff about climate change, consistently giving it front page coverage. But what happens in the rest of the paper?

This weekend as well as the usual travel supplement it had a special feature on lovely holiday destinations, and it would be very difficult to reach any of them without an aeroplane.

I don't want to single them out here, all newspapers do this. Advertising rules. Thoughtful pieces on global poverty are juxtaposed with adverts for jewellery. Articles on feminism with fashion.

The Whale of Indifference

On December 23 a whale was found on the beach near my house.  I heard about it early in January when my mother mentioned she had seen an item about the event on television.  Between December 23 and early January, I went to the post office almost daily; I made several purchases at the only general store in the village; I bought gas at the only garage; I spoke to children who came by to collect bottles for a fundraiser.  On each of these occasions, I chatted with folks about all sorts of things including the weather, the holidays and sports events.  Nobody -- nobody -- mentioned the beached whale.

Sustainability

As climate scientists become more alarmed at the pace of climate change it might be good to take a closer look at what the goal of a “sustainable” culture might look like. Current estimates suggest that the planet can “sustain” somewhere between one and ten billion humans. As we are at about 7 billion now there is concern that we may have already passed the optimum number of people on the planet. It seems clear now that the current population exists due to energy intensive technologies and global market systems. It also requires a stable “temperate” climate and that either much warmer or much colder conditions would not sustain current population levels. Global economies depend heavily on “growth” and there are tremendous political and economic efforts to maintain high growth rates even as they inflict devastating consequences. History is littered with examples of societies that overshot their limits and collapsed (see Gerard Diamond and Thomas Homer-Dixon).

THE LUNAR CALENDAR

I’ve been puzzling about how and why the lunar year turned into the solar year. The idea of starting the new year around the Winter Solstice and counting thirteen 28-day lunar months seems somehow more “natural” and nature-connected than the convoluted Julian calendar Western culture still uses.

I was fascinated to read in Wikipedia that “as a religious tradition, the thirteen-month years survived among European peasants for more than a millennium after the adoption of the Julian Calendar.” I wonder why…

The natural lunar cycle is intimately connected with the female menstrual cycle and other earthy and planetary influences. As Heather Witham points out to us in her Moon Letters, losing touch with the moon’s cycles seems to separate us from awareness of, connection with and reverence for both nature and the deep feminine. And the number 13, of course, has come in the Christian era to have all sorts of frightening connotations, so no good patriarch would advocate a return to such an ominous system.

Belissimo Felissimo

I just learned about a intriguing company called Felissimo. From what I can tell, they're a multi-dimensional and multi-national design company with offices in Italy, Japan & New York. They list several philanthropic activities/projects, one of which is "Eco Aesthetics: Living in Harmony with Nature". Here's the blurb about it from their website:

FELISSIMO believes that ecology and living in harmony with nature is central to the union between man and nature. We call this “Eco Aesthetics.”

FELISSIMO is actively involved in promoting environmental awareness through various programs, projects and products.

To ensure harmony with nature, all of the products shown in FELISSIMO’s catalogues bear the “f.e.a.” mark (FELISSIMO’s Seal of Approval), showing proof that they have met strict product development standards. Consideration is given to production materials and manufacturing processes. Substances harmful to the environment are not permitted. Only items conceived and manufactured with renewable resources and technologies that decrease waste receive FELISSIMO’s original f.e.a. mark.

We hope this commitment to strict standards will make a lasting contribution to the environment.