Wonderful. Pierre has it in it's simplicity, I'm surprised Einstein understood what he wrote, and of course Rumi show us that even 800 years ago,we've been doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results, and the Dali Lama notes it is time to change be be proactive.
I guess I would have assembled these insightful quotes, these tools one can use to produce change int their lives, in a different sequence, or maybe it simply made me look at all of them harder in this sequence to see them as a whole. Scott > âSpiritualâ People In A Perfectly Crazy World > Posted by Ron Rattner on April 23, 2012 > ________________________________ > > âLook how the caravan of civilization >>has been ambushed. >>Fools are everywhere in charge. >>Do not practice solitude like Jesus. >>Be in the assembly, and take charge of it.â >>~ Rumi > âIn the present circumstances, no one can afford to assume >>that someone else will solve their problems. >>Every individual has a responsibility to help guide our global family in >> the right direction. >>Good wishes are not sufficient; we must become actively engaged.â >>~ His Holiness the Dalai Lama, from âThe Path to Tranquility: Daily >> Wisdomâ > âA human being is a part of a whole, called by us âuniverseâ, >>a part limited in time and space. >>He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated > from the rest⦠a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. >>This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal > desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. >>Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our > circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of > nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but > the striving for such achievement is, in itself, a part of the > liberation, and a foundation for inner security.â >>~ Albert Einstein ( N. Y. Times , March 29, 1972) > âWe are not human beings having a spiritual experience. >>We are spiritual beings having a human experience.â >>~ Pierre Teilhard de Chardin > > > > As we commemorate another Earth Day, isnât this a time for people who > intuitively experience our spiritual common essence and nature to > become politically engaged? > > We live in an age of mental malaise; the Hindus call it Kaliyuga. Our > precious planet is polluted by human ignorance and greed. âThe more that > money rules the World, the more that money ruins the World.â > > We have degenerated into an insane society, unconsciously committing mass > suicide by ecocide. > > Unrestrained corporate capitalism coercively and insidiously exploits > vulnerable people and myopically plunders, depletes and corrupts finite > planetary resources which sustain life. Billions of people suffer > needless poverty, starvation and avoidable disease, while obscenely > privileged corporate, political and religious plutocrats greedily > acquire power and excessive material wealth far beyond their conceivable > needs. > > Life as we know it is threatened by environmental catastrophe or > nuclear annihilation, possibly precipitated by corrupt world > âleadersâ. > People are so crazy that they are myopically scuttling Spaceship Earth; > destroying the life support systems which sustain us. > > Even in âadvancedâ countries, it is virtually impossible now to breath > air or drink water which is not in some way polluted by our species. > Agricultural soils have been depleted and corrupted. Global weather > patterns and hydrologic systems have been materially disrupted by human > activities; protective atmospheric ozone is being depleted. Glaciers are > melting; long frozen Arctic tundra is thawing. Though non-polluting > alternative technologies are available and feasible they are considered > âeconomicallyâ impractical. > > No one is protected. By âbio-engineeringâ living organisms we are > even > tampering and blindly experimenting with our genetic origins. From birth > (and even prenatally) every personâs body/mind is polluted by numerous > and ubiquitous manmade chemical and radioactive materials, many of which > are carcinogenic. > > Many species are rapidly becoming extinct. Around the world, thousands > of birds are suddenly falling dead out of the sky, and countless dead > fish are appearing on shores of rivers, lakes and oceans. Honey bee > colonies crucial to pollination of food crops are disappearing; nearly > one-third of all honey bee colonies in the US have vanished. The oceans > are polluted with our detritus, and much marine life is threatened. > Even remote Arctic polar bears are becoming hermaphroditic because of > phthalates and other chemicals dispersed by humankind, and they are > threatened with destruction of the ecosystem on which they depend for > survival. > > So, how should âspirituallyâ conscious people live and be in this > crazy > World, in which spiritual values seem forgotten? Do we not see omens, > portents or signs of impending catastrophe? > > As we widen our circle of compassion to embrace the whole of Nature and > all living creatures, does it become our moral responsibility to help > solve imminent ecological crises? If so, how? > > Should we âbecome actively engagedâ as the Dalai Lama suggests? > If so, how? > > Can we, with heartfelt common intention and spiritual vision, co-create > salutary solutions to the immense challenges facing us? If so, how? > > Here are observations by the Dalai Lama from which we may draw > inspiration and motivation, counseling that we must act to solve > ecological crises and restore peace âbefore it is too lateâ: > > âPeace and the survival of life on earth as we know it are > threatened by human activities that lack a commitment to humanitarian > values. Destruction of nature and natural resources results from > ignorance, greed and lack of respect for the earthâs living things. > > This lack of respect extends even to the earthâs human descendants, the > future generations who will inherit a vastly degraded planet if world > peace does not become a reality, and if destruction of the natural > environment continues at the present rate. > > Our ancestors viewed the earth as rich and bountiful, which it is. Many > people in the past also saw nature as inexhaustibly sustainable, which > we know is the case only if we care for it. > > It is not difficult to forgive destruction in the past which resulted > from ignorance. Today, however, we have access to more information; it > is essential that we re-examine ethically what we have inherited, what > we are responsible for, and what we will pass on to coming generations. > > Many of the earthâs habitats, animals, plants, insects and even > micro-organisms that we know to be rare may not be known at all by > future generations. We have the capability and the responsibility to > act; we must do so before it is too late. > > Just as we should cultivate gentle and peaceful relations with our > fellow human beings, we should also extend that same kind of attitude > towards the natural environment. Morally speaking, we should be > concerned for our whole environment. > > This, however, is not just a question of morality or ethics, but a > question of our own survival. For this generation and for future > generations, the environment is very important. If we exploit the > environment in extreme ways, we will suffer, as will our future > generations. When the environment changes, the climatic condition also > changes. When the climate changes dramatically, the economy and many > other things change. Our physical health will be greatly affected. > Again, conservation is not merely a question of morality, but a question > of our own survival. > > Therefore, in order to achieve more effective environmental protection > and conservation, internal balance within the human being himself or > herself is essential. The negligence of the environment, which has > resulted in great harm to the human community, resulted from our > ignorance of the very special importance of the environment. We must now > help people to understand the need for environmental protection. We > must teach people to understand the need for environmental protection. > We must teach people that conservation directly aids our survival. > > If you must be selfish, then be wise and not narrow-minded in your > selfishness. The key point lies in the sense of universal > responsibility. That is the real source of strength, the real source of > happiness. If we exploit everything available, such as trees, water and > minerals, and if we donât plan for our next generation, for the future, > then weâre at fault, arenât we? However, if we have a genuine sense of > universal responsibility as our central motivation, then our relations > with the environment, and with all our neighbours, will be well > balanced. > > Ultimately, the decision to save the environment must come from the > human heart. The key point is a call for a genuine sense of universal > responsibility that is based on love, compassion and clear awareness.â > > (From âHumanity and Ecologyâ, © 1988, The Office of His Holiness the > Dalai > Lama)http://sillysutras.com/%E2%80%98spiritual%E2%80%99-people-in-a-perfectly-crazy-world/ > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > ------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:laamn-unsubscr...@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:laamn-subscr...@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:laamn-dig...@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:laamn-ow...@egroups.com?subject=laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:la...@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/laamn@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! 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