One Earth… One Humanity… the Earth is Love – A Green Philosophy.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
– Albert Einstein
The following is excerpted from Tequila and Chocolate: The Adventures of the Morning Star and Soulmate and the forthcoming Morning Star’s Seven Steps to Spiritual Awakening: The Mindful Guide to Life and Stress Reduction.
We believe and live a Green Philosophy. This is an egalitarian philosophy of humanity’s partnership with the seen and unseen things of the Earth and nature. Humans are part of nature, not at the center of nature. Furthermore, society has lost many of the values treasured by past indigenous cultures, such as a partnership with nature, truth telling, and elder/ancestor respect and honor. We need to discover meaning in life, not accumulate money and material things. The equality of men and women as well as the equality of all things—as all have the starlight/divine spark within them—needs to be reinstated. These and other lost values need to be reinstated throughout this Earth. Nature needs to be respected, loved and cared for by humanity. We need to be partners in relationship with nature, not its stewards. We need your help. We would ask that you join us on this Earth Day embracing a Green Philosophy of life and spread this knowledge to others.
Green Man
A commonly accepted word for humanity’s connection to nature is the mythic “Green Man.” However; it is my belief that a more appropriate name would be the “Green Woman” or the “Green Human.” I will still use the commonly accepted term with the realization that the concept refers not to the male or female sex exclusively, but to humanity at large.
The Green Man symbolizes fertility, eternity, death and rebirth. The archetypical Green Man may be visualized as a human face peering through vegetation or possibly as a mystical mixture of human form and vegetation merging into each other. This imagery of the Green Man symbolizes a portal to the Otherworld, a connection between humanity and nature. The Green Man is that spirit, energy, and presence inherent in every cell of the vegetative realm and transmitted to the animal/human realms through the foods we eat, the flowers we smell, the trees we hug.
The Green Man calls us to learn from the earth. When the earth is our teacher, we will be drawn more fully to honor, nourish and protect her. “Steering our way from destroying ourselves will take a level of knowledge that surpasses the knowledge we have had before. So the Green Man echoes Einstein’s thoughts: ‘No problem can be solved at the level of consciousness that created it;’ and ‘Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.’
“Nature is our teacher not merely in physical form, but is also completely at one with our inner being. The Green Man symbolizes this unity of inner nature and Mother Nature. As Emerson says, ‘Nature is the symbol of the spirit.’ By learning to be enlightened readers of nature’s sacred manuscript, we can attune our hearts to know how to take care of the Earth. As we each awaken to our true nature within, we can spread and share the consciousness of the Green Man, and bring compassion and caring to the Earth.”[i]
The Music of Trees
dod yn ol at fy nghoed
Welsh phrase meaning “to return to a balanced state of mind” – Translates literally as “to return to my trees.”
The standing sentinels of our world whose roots bury deep within the body of the Great Mother and whose bare or green-covered branches reach towards the sky provide life and beauty for all. The grandeur Sher and I have experienced on forested mountain tops and in verdant valleys has brought us joy and peace of mind and memories that are priceless.
Trees, like all other things, are conscious and aware. In fact, they communicate with each other and will listen to our words and thoughts. “Two decades ago, while researching her doctoral thesis, ecologist Suzanne Simard discovered that trees communicate their needs and send each other nutrients via a network of latticed fungi buried in the soil – in other words, she found they ‘talk’ to each other. Since then, Simard, now at the University of British Columbia, has pioneered further research into how trees converse, including how these fungal filigrees help trees send warning signals about environmental change, search for kin, and transfer their nutrients to neighboring plants before they die.”[ii]
It seems that few humans understand the impact of the gifts that trees provide to the Earth and humanity, and intrinsically, every tree has its own unique song. A vibrational and harmonic essence of its “soul”—an eternal divine starlight of perfection. To discover a tree’s song, first we must believe that trees have consciousness. Second, we dialogue with the tree, bless it and become familiar with each other. Dialogue is not only verbal but with images in our mind that matches our words. This needs to happen for a period, possibly weeks or months before the tree is open to share its song.
To discover the song, bless and honor the tree, kiss the tree, and hug it. Ask permission if it is willing to share its song with you. If so, then sit at its base with your back and head on its trunk, quiet your mind and listen…. Listen and then begin humming its song… when complete, thank and bless the tree stating that you will honor it by singing/humming its song on a regular basis. Finally, gift something back to the tree. And do not forget the tree, bless it, its song, and its essence and presence every so often.
[i] H. Talat Halman, Ph.D., “The Green Man Symbol of Our Care for Mother Earth,” http://www.sevenpillarshouse.org/article/the_green_man/
[ii] Diane Toomey, “Exploring How and Why Trees ‘Talk’ to Each Other,” Yale Environment 360, September 1, 2016 (https://e360.yale.edu/features/exploring_how_and_why_trees_talk_to_each_other).