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Prof. Mofid to speak at the Spiritual Heritage Education Network (SHEN) Annual Conference: Education to Globalise the Human Mind, Wilfrid Laurier University, Ontario, Canada, 28-29 September 2013.
Please visit the following links for complete information about (SHEN), the conference schedule, presentations and presenters:
Fourth Annual Reflective Conference on Education to Globalize the Human Mind, 28-29 September 2013, Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada
“The mission of the Spiritual Heritage Education Network (SHEN) is to provide educational access to the thinking and findings of those enlightened beings (prophets, sages, and seers), who have spent their lives studying the nature of humankind and its relationships in the universe.”- Details
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A painting by Berrin Duma. Photo: turkishpaintings.com
“In the beginning by the sixth day morning
The whole creation was given birth
And then God made man and gave him dominion
Over every living creature on the earth
Tragedy in the garden, we all know what happen
Shamefully banished from Eden
We witness the first Paradise lost
And since then is Mother Earth who end up paying the cost
That’s why I’m begging.
Mother Earth is crying, she say to stop the polluting…oy oy oy
Mother Earth is dying, we got to stop the polluting…oy oy oy
Whole attitude got to change, and priorities rearrange
We got to become more competent
The way we protect the environment
And fight, fight for all that it’s worth
Fight to save Mother Earth…oy oy oy
Mother Earth crying… oy oy
In case you don’t know, the planet Earth dying slow
What a sad way to go.”… “Mother Earth Crying”, a song by Baron
Corporate visions of sustainability focus on material prosperity – but leaders must respect the soul as well as the soil
“As our world stumbles to the brink of ecological collapse, the "tipping point" of irreversible climate change, sustainability has become a vital issue. But in order to consider the question of sustainability, it is important to begin with the question: who or what is being sustained?
Does sustainability refer to sustained economic growth, and an environment that is able to maintain the status quo with our energy-intensive, consumer driven needs? Or does sustainability refer to the whole ecosystem, an interconnected web of life with its vast and rich diversity of species? What is the relationship between sustainability and the economy?
What kind of world do we want to sustain?
The first image of sustainability presents economic models of growth and energy efficiency, often with accompanying "green" ideas, such as green technologies or green energy, to help our civilisation develop. This is the corporate image of sustainability, orientated almost solely towards our human prosperity, with images of material progress that the environment is seen as supporting. This is sometimes referred to as "surface ecology".
The second image of sustainability is often referred to as "deep ecology", and it considers the ecosystem as a living whole of which humanity is only one part. In this complex web of interrelationships all species are dependent upon each other, and it is this organic pattern that needs to be sustained. No one part can be considered as separate from the whole, and the idea that the environment is just here to support us and our prosperity is a travesty of real environmental consciousness.
Deep ecology maintains that the idea of endless economic growth is unsustainable, and that business as usual will destroy the beauty and diversity of our world. It calls for new economic models, which respect and support the ecosystem of which we are a part.
The spiritual dimension
And there is another, deeper dimension to sustainability, which is as foundational as it is almost forgotten. Thomas Berry, a priest of the Passionist order and one of the leading voices in "eco-spirituality", said: "There is now a single issue before us: survival. Not merely physical survival, but survival in a world of fulfilment, survival in a living world, where the violets bloom in the springtime, where the stars shine down in all their mystery, survival in a world of meaning."
Berry suggested that there is a spiritual dimension to our present ecological crisis. It has long been understood by indigenous peoples that our relationship to the Earth is spiritually as well as physically sustaining. For indigenous peoples this is often included in their way of life, and expressed through their rituals and prayers.
In our Western culture we may sense this spiritual nourishment in the beauty, peace, or sense of wonder that the natural world gives us. This belongs to the quality of life rarely valued by our solely economic images of progress. And yet we are sustained in ways we cannot easily measure. In the words of Satish Kumar: "The contemporary environmental movement, in the main, follows the path of empirical science, rational thinking, data collection and external action. This is good as far as it goes but it doesn't go far enough. We need to include care of the soul as a part of care of the planet."
Disconnection
If we go to the root of the present ecological crisis we will find a state of disconnection. We appear frighteningly disconnected from real awareness of the effects of our materialistic culture upon the very ecosystem that supports us. The challenge is to develop a value-based economic structure, that is not concerned solely with our material well-being, but embraces the whole human being – body and spirit – as well as the rich biodiversity of the Earth.
The idea of a value-based economic structure is far more realistic than many of our present business models, which are short-sighted in the extreme. To quote Charles Eisenstein in Sacred Economics: "When we must pay the true price for the depletion of nature's gifts, materials will become more precious to us, and economic logic will reinforce, and not contradict, our heart's desire to treat the world with reverence and, when we receive nature's gifts, to use them well."
We need to explore ways that businesses can serve humanity in its deepest sense, rather than creating a poverty of spirit as well as an ecological wasteland – develop an awareness that the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the energy we use are not just commodities to be consumed, but part of the living fabric of a sacred Earth. Then we are making a real relationship with our environment.
This deepening of awareness may seem idealistic and impractical, but only a few decades ago organic farming, which respects the well-being of the soil, was considered uneconomic and idealistic. Now it is recognised as both environmentally and economically sustainable.
The next step is to reconnect with a way of life that respects and includes the soul as well as the soil, and encourage values-based businesses that respect both the individual and the environment. If we understand the importance of these values, and how central they are to the world we will leave to our children and grandchildren, we will find new ways that business can support these very human needs, and create an economic model that is not solely concerned with "surface ecology" but is sustainable for our deeper selves and for the whole ecosystem. This is one of the greatest challenges.” (Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee)
See the original source of this article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/eco-spirituality-values-based-economic-structure
If you wish to read more on this topic please see below:
Visions of a New Earth: Responding to the Ecological Challenge- The Report
https://gcgi.info/308-visions-of-a-new-earth-responding-to-the-ecological-challenge-the-report
Pursuing Common Values: A Call to Recover our Moral and Spiritual Imagination, Transforming Society
Our Crises are not merely Economic but Spiritual: A Time for Awakening
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2011/11/01/global-crises-are-spiritual-time-awakening
The Power of Yellowstone: ‘for the enjoyment and benefit of the People.’
http://www.gcgi.info/blog/359-my-guest-blogger-steve-szeghi-the-power-of-yellowstone
A Franciscan Environmental Restoration Path Engaging the Youth in Climate Change Adaptation
The Wisdom of "ubuntu": Giving and Sharing for the Common Good
http://www.gcgi.info/blog/345-the-wisdom-of-qubuntuq-giving-and-sharing-for-the-common-good-
How Much is Enough? Money and the Good Life
http://www.gcgi.info/blog/333-how-much-is-enough-money-and-the-good-life
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Pope Francis urges global leaders to end 'tyranny' of money
Countries should impose more control over their economies and not allow “absolute autonomy”,
in order to provide “for the common good”.
Reuters
Pope Francis has attacked the “dictatorship” of the global financial system and warned that the “cult of money” was making life a misery for millions.
Pope Francis has called on world leaders to put an end to the "cult of money"
Money should be made to “serve” people, not to “rule” them, he said, calling for a more ethical financial system and curbs on financial speculation.
Countries should impose more control over their economies and not allow “absolute autonomy”, in order to provide “for the common good”.
He said free-market capitalism had created a “tyranny” and that human beings were being judged purely by their ability to consume goods.
Money should be made to “serve” people, not to “rule” them, he said, calling for a more ethical financial system and curbs on financial speculation.
The Rev. Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman, said the speech was intended to draw the world’s attention to social justice and the needs of the poor amid the financial crises.
In the speech, the pope singled out for criticism policies which are based on a “gravely deficient human perspective, which reduces man to one of his needs alone, namely, consumption.”
“We have begun this culture of disposal,” he said, in which people themselves are “considered as consumer goods which can be used and thrown away,” while a minority of people accumulate “exponentially” increasing wealth while income “is crumbling” for the majority.
The pope blamed that on “ideologies which uphold the absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation, and thus deny the right of control to states, which are themselves charged with providing for the common good.” He said inadequate regulation has resulted in “a new, invisible and at times virtual, tyranny … one which unilaterally and irremediably imposes its own laws and rules.”
“Not to share one’s goods with the poor is to rob them and to deprive them of life,” he said, quoting St. John Chrysostom. “It is not our goods that we possess, but theirs.”
Read more:
Pope attacks "tyranny" of markets, urges renewal in key document
"Caritas in veritate"(Charity in Truth):Economics and Theology Together Again