Ecological Awareness

Index of Working Papers
The Emerging Ecological Awareness



That experience, therefore, must be the metaphysical ground of ethics
and consist simply in this:

that one individual should recognize in another, himself in his own true being.

--Arthur Schopenhauer

Summary
In the awakened state, all of nature is viewed as sacred, as an expression or reflection of the splendor of the One. This realization transforms one's relation to the rest of the cosmos. Our perception of connectedness, of our integral place in the web of life, emerges as an attribute of our connection with the eternal, beatific source of all existence. This perennial wisdom widens our "circle of understanding and compassion, to embrace all living creatures in the whole of nature". Our behavior, as it emerges naturally out of our perception of the sacredness of the natural world, will naturally embody love and respect for all life forms. This awakened insight promotes the healing of our long-standing alienation from the natural world and offers hope for renewal in the midst of widespread cultural deterioration.

Integral Spirituality
An integral spirituality will recognize the universal transcendent core of the world's spiritual traditions while simultaneously embracing the multiplicity of religious practices and beliefs. It will provide an integrating framework, grounded in spiritual experience, which unites the disparate theological systems by representing each as a unique but partial view of the same infinite divine reality. Contemplation of the transcendent One develops the spiritual faculties which enable the realization of the immanence of the One in all the actual entities of the cosmos. As we recognize God in ourselves we are able to recognize God in the phenomenal world. Nature is viewed as a focus for the divine manifestation, as the medium par excellence through which that uncreated beauty reveals itself and exercises creative activity. In this awakened state, all of nature is viewed as sacred, as an expression or reflection of the splendor of the One. This realization transforms one's relation to the rest of the cosmos.

A Compassionate Integral Vision
In light of the perennial wisdom, true compassion is born when we realize that the same divine light that shines through own being also shines through all other sentient beings. Schopenhauer has explained that the essence of compassion is the act of seeing oneself in another, and that this compassion is the metaphysical ground of ethics: "For if plurality and distinction belong only to this world of appearances, and if one and the same Being is what is beheld in all these living things, well then, the experience that dissolves the distinction between the I and the Not-I cannot be false. On the contrary: its opposite must be false. The former experience underlies the mystery of compassion, and stands, in fact, for the reality of which compassion is the prime expression. That experience, therefore, must be the metaphysical ground of ethics and consist simply in this: that one individual should recognize in another, himself in his own true being" (Schopenhauer, 1969; Wilber, 1995, p. 290). In realizing that all sentient beings are expression of one true Self, one universal Soul, then all beings will naturally be treated as one's own self. Loving one's neighbor as one's self no longer requires a moral imperative, it "comes as easily and naturally as the rising of the sun or the shining of the moon" (Wilber, 1995, p. 291).

The perennial wisdom tradition summons us to the realization and expression of a universal compassion which transcends and outshines all previous egocentric, sociocentric, or anthropocentric forms. This is the "profound fruition of the decentering thrust of evolution- a compassion which breathes the common air and beats the common blood of a Heart and Body that is one in all beings? universal compassion through universal identity with the commonwealth of all beings: that I would see in an Other my own Self" (Wilber, 1995, p.291).

This expansion of the sense of self to the point of identification with all of nature is the grounding of the deep ecological vision, as Arne Naess emphasizes:




Care flows naturally if the "self" is widened and deepened so that protection of free Nature is felt and conceived as protection of ourselves? Just as we need no morals to make us breathe? [so] if your "self" in the wide sense embraces another being, you need no moral exhortation to show care? You care for yourself without feeling any moral pressure to do it? If reality is like it is experienced by the ecological self, our behavior naturally and beautifully follows norms of strict environmental ethics (quoted in Fox, 1990, p. 217)




This concept of an "ecological self" has been explored by a number of authors (Capra, 1996, p. 12; Thompson, 1987). Philosopher Warwick Fox is developing the concept of "transpersonal ecology" (Fox, 1990); deep ecologist Joanna Macy describes the "greening of the self" (Macy 1991); and cultural historian Theodore Roszak expresses the deep connection between the fields of ecology and psychology using the term "eco-psychology" (Roszak 1992). John Seed (1988) has developed a "council of all beings" to facilitate the emergence of this ecological vision. In light of the perennial wisdom tradition, these approaches can reach their fullest potential by more fully integrating the Ascending path with the Descending path.

These works emphasize that the new ecological ethic that emerges out of this ecological vision is not logical but psychological (Fox, 1990, pp. 246-47). Our behavior, as it emerges naturally out of our perception of the sacredness of the natural world, will naturally embody love and respect for all life forms. Saint Isaac the Syrian (Issac, 1958) asserts that, for the awakened human, a tremendous compassion "burns in his heart without measure in the likeness of God": "And what is a merciful heart? It is the heart's burning for the sake of the entire creation, for men, for birds, for animals, for demons and for every created thing; and by the recollection and sight of them the eyes of a merciful man pour forth abundant tears. From the strong and vehement mercy which grips his heart and from his great compassion, his heart is humbled and he cannot bear to hear or see any injury or slight sorrow in creation."

This is the resolution of humanity's long standing alienation from the natural world, the path that leads out of fragmentation and back to wholeness, to feeling "at home in the universe", as expressed in the canticle of St. Francis of Assisi (quoted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1994):




May you be praised, O Lord, in all your creatures,

especially brother sun, by whom you give us light for the day;

he is beautiful, radiating great splendor,

and offering us a symbol of you, the Most High..

May you be praised, O Lord, for sister water,

who is very useful and humble, precious and chaste...

May you be praised, O Lord, for sister earth,

our mother, who bears and feeds us,

and produces the variety of fruits and dappled flowers and grasses...




Enlightenment and Healing
Healing the fragmentation and alienation that is at the root of the current world crises requires an integrated epistemology that embraces both the rational knowledge of scientific empiricism and the inner knowledge of spiritual experience. This integrated epistemology is fostering the emergence of an integral worldview that is consistent with modern science and rooted in the perennial wisdom of the world's spiritual traditions. This emergent "ecological vision" heals and rebalances our fragmented worldview by restoring the balance between the Ascending and Descending paths- between the inner and outer, the spiritual and material, the mystical and the scientific. This vision transcends the illusion of separateness to discern the unity, the "unbroken wholeness" which underlies the diverse forms of the universe. Our perception of connectedness, of our integral place in the web of life, emerges as an attribute of our connection with the eternal, beatific source of all existence. The perennial wisdom widens our "circle of understanding and compassion, to embrace all living creatures in the whole of nature". Our behavior, as it emerges naturally out of our perception of the sacredness of the natural world, will naturally embody love and respect for all life forms. This awakened insight promotes the healing of our long-standing alienation from the natural world and offers hope for renewal in the midst of widespread cultural deterioration. Spiritual awakening may be the post-postmodern Enlightenment which elevates humanity above the nihilism of postmodern materialism into a renewed understanding of the purpose and meaningfulness of life. This understanding emerges from the wonder evoked by an awareness of the profound splendor of the cosmic unfolding.


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