B.Y.O. Numinous Self: Remembering Thomas Berry

Posted on by
Reply

On June 1st, 2009, Father Thomas Berry—a Passionist priest, scholar, professor and self-professed “geologian”—died at age 94. I write this column in celebration of his life and the Great Work. Blessings be upon you, Thomas Berry!

_______________________________

Visionary author of The Great Work, The Dream of the Earth, and The Universe Story (co-authored with Brian Swimme), Thomas Berry inspired many of us to create, live and practice a new story—the true story—the story that brings together religion and science, the physical and the psychic; and the story that celebrates the human role within the ever-expanding cosmic-earth process.

It is pretty common to look around these days and feel a sense of breakdown. A few weeks ago at the gym, I was in a darkened, sweaty room, riding a stationary bike with 20 other “spin class” junkies. The song accompanying our simulated bike ride was Bob Dylan’s, “Everything is Broken.”  Do you know it?

“Broken bottles, broken plates, broken switches,
broken gates, broken dishes,
Broken parts; streets are filled with broken hearts.
Broken words never meant to be spoken.
Everything is broken.

Broken cutters, broken saws, broken buckles,
broken laws, broken bodies,
Broken bones; broken voices on broken phones.
Take a deep breath, feel like you’re chokin’.
Everything is broken.”

Drenched, breathless and spinning like a hamster on a wheel, my heart opened. I surrendered completely to the lyrics and laughed for a solid three minutes. The song rang so true for what I was seeing in the news and the conversations I was having with newly laid-off friends, or others losing their homes.

The progressive leaders continue to blog like mad, “Don’t resurrect what wasn’t working, re-invent! Make something new!” Their instructions echo the Hebrew Bible:

“See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.” (Isaiah 43:19)

When everything around us appears to be breaking, the invitation is to move beyond breakdown, to breakthrough. The invitation has been heeded by so many already: consider the community gardens, the local Farmer’s Markets, the alternative economic and micro-credit lending practices gaining attention not just internationally anymore, but here, in the U.S., because there is such a need, such a hunger to try something new.

This activity illustrates the invitation offered in the work of ThomasBerry.  Always, Berry stressed the numinous nature inherent in all beings and particularly in each of us. In his ongoing effort to empower humans to create and live a new story, Fr.Thomasemphasized three universal laws to impress upon us the divinely co-creative role each of us must play in the story unfolding on this earth: continued differentiation, subjectivity and communion. As I attempt to highlight each law, I encourage you to find yourself in this story of ours and to identify the actions that only your numinous self can take to contribute to this urgent and beckoning chapter of which we are inextricably a part.

The simplest way to understand continued differentiation is to revel in the universe story, itself. Putting 15 billion years of history into several sentences, Berry observes the universe story as one, “in which each new level of being emerges through the urgency of self-transcendence. Hydrogen in the presence of some millions of degrees of heat emerges into helium. After the stars take shape as oceans of fire in the heavens they… eventually explode into the stardust out of which the solar system and the earth take shape. Earth gives unique expression of itself in its rock and crystalline structures and in the variety and splendor of living forms until man appears as the moment in which the unfolding universe becomes conscious of itself. Man… bears the universe in his being as the universe bears him in its being. The two have total presence to each other.”

For a moment, appreciate continued differentiation with me. Close your eyes. Imagine the Milky Way in formation, in turn becoming earth in turn, becoming oceans, mountains, wetlands, trees, animals of all sorts and then, your great-great-great-great grandparents! All these continued transformations, differentiating to become unique, and differentiating to become something new. And one day….the result is YOU. Each of us, a significant, brilliant transforming agent resulting from all that has been and in turn, shaping all that will be.

The variety of human manifestations is more extreme than any other species on earth. The awesome irony and struggle for us humans, is coming to see (again and again!) how similar yet uniquely individual we all are.

And that leads to the second law, subjectivity. Fr.Thomas doesn’t mess around with the importance of subjectivity: “Every being has its own interior, its self, its mystery, its numinous aspect. To deprive any being of this sacred quality is to disrupt the total order of the universe. Reverence will be total or it will not be at all. The universe does not come to us in pieces any more than a human individual stands before us with some part of his being.”

Subjectivity is about our own waking up. It is about our coming to know and honor the truths that make up our being. Subjectivity is how we discern our right work in this world and balance our own becoming internally, with all that is forming and shaping us externally.  In a world running wild with information and access, perhaps the best compass we have for our own subjective understanding of home is the earth, and acknowledging our connection to the million-years-old rocks, to the trees deeply rooted in the soil, to the salt and minerals found in water and plants as well as in our blood and our bones.

When we honor and respect our subjectivity, we stumble at once upon the third law, “the intercommunion of the universe within itself and of each part with the whole.” And in this place of communion, our real opportunity as co-creators comes to life. As fragments of the Divine Light, the choices and actions of our lives reflect and refract, informing each sentence of this great, interwoven story documenting our existence.

Are you feeling broken down? For so long (centuries!) our story has revealed a disconnect, a dis-association from our ecos. When we remember our origins, tightly fastened to the fiery stars, we can connect to the power in each of us to blaze a new trail. When we consider our surroundings, so intricately tied to the water and the land, we can take action to conserve and preserve the richness our livelihoods depend upon. And when we humble ourselves, offering thanksgiving for the gift of life’s cycles and seasons, we are able to value and cherish the miraculous, fleeting fragility of life right now—life, as it is, inviting us simply to bring our numinous self to breakthrough to the largeness of what is.

It’s quite an invitation: Be sure to RSVP!

 

Soulstice Midwifery: Standing at Door #3

Posted on by
1

“You must give birth to your images.  
They are the future waiting to be born…
Fear not the strangeness you feel.  
The future must enter into you long before it happens.”
(Rainer Maria Rilke)

One of my favorite eco-comic strips is a picture of a man standing at the grocery check-out. A voice beyond the frame appears in a bubble proverbially asking, “Paper or plastic?” The bubble above the customer’s head bursts forth, “Suddenly Jon realized he didn’t want paper OR plastic. He wanted something new, something fantastic!”

I love this because it illustrates a sentiment felt by most of us at any given time: “I don’t want this and I don’t want that.” Perhaps we want some combination of the two, or possibly (my personal tendency) we want something altogether different, something out-of-the-box. “What’s behind Door #3?”

In India’s Vedic scriptures there is a Sanskrit phrase, “Neti, Neti,” or, “Not this and Not this.” It is used by spiritual teachers when pressed by students to define the way things are, or to comment on the nature of Self. When things are neither ‘this way’, nor ‘that way’; when we are neither this, nor that—then who and what are we?

As the Schoolhouse Rock song of the 70’s put it, “Three is a magic number.” Never in our evolution have we so needed that which is waiting behind Door #3.

For all its magic, three is also tricky for us dually-inclined humans. Three introduces something new to my clean straight line. Now I’m not simply traveling from here to there. Now there’s a less familiar route on the map, twisting toward a destination that is less certain, possibly foreign.

Our spiritual traditions have supported us on these divergent, curious, exciting albeit nerve-racking adventures to the mysterious territory of three. I’m thinking most obviously of the Trinity in the Christianity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit), but also of the Egyptians’ sacred geometry and the Triple Gem in Buddhism (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha), as well as the Triune of deities in Hinduism (Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu), ever creating and destroying life’s dance. Our religious beliefs and faith traditions illustrate and model for us that, uncomfortable though it may be, the third way often leads to expansion, liberation and spiritual depth.

On Nov. 4th, citizens across this country walked up the front porch steps and stood bravely in front of Door #3. (For some, it took a leap of faith, while for others it was as simple as…well, 1, 2, 3.) Drawing from a diverse community of ideas in clean technology, renewable energy and green jobs, Barack Obama’s vision is to create a more sustainable way of living for all of us on multiple levels: in Iraq, in our bank accounts, in the air we breathe and in our relationships to and with others. This means that, beginning January 20th, the United States will have a leader who claims he will be incorporating ideas that are a giant combination of “Yes We Can,” and, “Neti, Neti.”

Our nation elected Obama in the wake of the harvest, a time of earthly abundance painted in vibrant Fall colors, bursting with fertile fruits—apples, maize and squash—and wrapped in the special cast of Autumnal Equinox light. Now the season has changed, and the Solstice is upon us. Solstice brings to us both its gift and a special invitation.

As stewards of Creation, we have a lot of work to do. Be we fearful or of great courage, scientists cannot paint the picture with any more clarity: last Summer, in the Arctic Circle, an area the size of Colorado was melting every week. In the words of NASA scientist, James Hansen, “If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted….carbon dioxide will need to be reduced from its current 385 ppm (parts per million) to at most 350 ppm.”

Given American culture’s emphasis on Christmas, I would like to reflect on the potency of the Solstice season, pairing it with Christianity. Let’s begin with the gift of Solstice—the incubation period it provides. Unlike any other season in the earth’s calendar, the Solstice season creates holy time to pause, recollect and consider the journey ahead.

In the Christian calendar, this season is called “Advent,” or “coming,” markingMary’s Immaculate Conception and pregnancy. Christians are invited to use this time metaphorically, tending the fruits of our soul’s womb. Like tulip or amaryllis bulbs waiting in the cold, dark earth, we plant our hopes and prepare for what is to come. Different from the hibernating response of bears, humans in the season of Advent prefer to warm one another and to stand firm in the conviction that the light will return. We do this by lighting candles, singing songs, and exchanging gifts to celebrate the birth of the Divine.

As we move into the darkest hours of the Solstice, journeying through to the return of the light and the inauguration of one who stands ready to make decisions on behalf of how we care for the health of our planet and our future with one another, Door #3 awaits. It invites us to knock and walk through. It is “soulstice” midwifery. The Holy Spirit is seeking to be born through you in this sacred season.

What “new thing” is waiting to be born in you in the coming year? Might it take you on the road less traveled? How, in the next weeks, is it asking to be tended in your soul’s womb? And what is it asking of you to bring to our hurting world? 

How will this season lend you space to innovate and practice? Perhaps, it is calling on you to join with others. Why not use the simple sweetness of the Solstice season to practice ways of sharing, collaborating and weaving community?

At the threshold of Door #3, our future calls us to bring our divine gifts with trust, joy and gusto. In this season of holy incubation and Divine birth, prepare yourself and those around you for the great joy that is to come. Good news indeed!

All blessings!

 

What is the Power of Your Love?

Posted on by
Reply

[I delivered the following homily in the summer of 2007 at my Renewing Ceremony.  The ceremony was created as a ritual to both renew my 1999 Ordination vows as an Interfaith minister and profess myself an Eco-chaplain.  Similar to a minister whose Call is healthcare ministry or prison ministry, I had come, through uncomfortable discernment, that my calling is to care – very intentionally – for the Earth and all Her inhabitants.  With my seminary’s endorsement and the blessing of my spiritual communities, I stepped into this new “office” on June 23, 2007. The ceremony began with an invocation by Jane DeCuir, of the Cherokee Metis Nation…]

 

Jane's Invocation

 

In seminary I was taught that Interfaith ritual should begin first by honoring the land on which you are gathered and the people to whom it belongs.  Thank you, Jane, for your presence here today.

I’ve heard that when the Europeans began arriving in America, they confused the Native People by asking them to translate “God” and “nature.”  In many indigenous languages, of course, the two words are the same. It’s the newer languages that felt a need to distinguish the God we know in nature as different from the God we know, perhaps, in the train station.

Looking for God, seeking the Holy in a variety of settings, is the work of a chaplain. Just as the chapel is separate from the church or temple, a chaplain resolves to create sacred space in the complexity of hospitals, war zones, city streets, Wal-Mart… At first glance, these intense places may be perceived as separate and God-less. A chaplain’s call is to bring some light; to prophetically state, “Here, too. No matter how horrid, the Source of our Breath abides in this place, too.”

A year ago, I began to see that my work was changing. Caring for the Earth had become my deep love in ministry. I’ll admit I’ve been making it up as I go, but I’ve been calling the work “Eco-chaplaincy.” I say it with love and dread because, after all, what does it mean when our Earth is so ravaged that it too, like a prison or the Iraqi desert, needs a chaplain?  And what, exactly, does an Eco-chaplain do?

Offering Homily

One of my favorite movies of all times is Mary Poppins. I love how Mary Poppins finds magic in the mundane. I also love her fastidious tendencies. For a good long while now, I’ve wished badly I could snap my fingers and—just like the toys in Jane and Michael’s nursery—have the environment return itself to a lush, forested, healthy planet. InMaryPoppins’ world, it’s fine to use what’s around you and to play with vigor, so long as you put it back…each article in its right place.

I went through a dark, troubling period last Fall. In the world around me, nothing was being returned to its right place. I saw 1-person-per-car idling on the freeway, an endless supply of Styrofoam cups and plastic bags being used once and tossed. Then one day, walking down University Ave., I saw a “SALE” sign in the Goodwill store window!

What does it mean when a thrift store has so much stuff it requires storewide liquidation?!?  We are clearing the Earth’s forests to the tune of 69 acres per minute, so we can drive to the store and buy stuff, to give to Goodwill, so they can send it to the landfill, some of it contaminating our soil and water for a millennium or more.  What is going on???  The whole scene had me feeling desperate, judgmental and angry — a pretty undesirable litany for a minister.

Blessing of Earth Worms

 

I knew that blame was pointless and staying mad felt miserable, so I did what one is wont to do when feeling sad, afraid, and misunderstood: I turned toward what I love. I spent a lot of time alone, turning toward the rocks, the trees, the smells of nature. With some kind coaching and encouragement, I got strong enough to ride my bike into these hills so I could sweat and breathe Mother Earth’s theology. It’s Her theology, after all, that gives birth to all the others. The miracle of our 13 billion year story on this planet is what, for me, truly makes sense.  We are this soil, this water, one great breath, breathing together.

 

As I connected again with all that I am and what I so dearly love, I began to thaw. The anger melted to grief, and the words of Eco-philosopher, Joanna Macy comforted me: “The grief you carry for this world comes from your love for it. It is high time we tasted the power of your love.”

My work as an Eco-chaplain, I’m coming to see, lies in the very heart of this question: What is the power of your love? My guess and my hope is that there are more Eco-chaplains out there.

I’m not at all certain how this work will continue to evolve, but I would like to close by sharing my present intention for what I will do in this role:

What is the Power of YOUR Love?

  • As an Eco-chaplain, I want to remind us all of our True Nature.  We are inextricably connected and linked to everything in this universe.
  • From this awareness, I want to act and serve on behalf of all species, advocating eco-justice.  I want, likeMaryPoppins, to teach that the magic is in the mundane. I want to celebrate the abundance inherent in simplicity.
  • In the face of adversity or despair, of which I know there will be plenty, I want to practice not closing down, but rather, “allowing in.”  I’ve heard this practice described as “poor man’s equanimity.”  With the stakes so high and the enormity of the crisis so deadening, “poor man’s equanimity” frees us to move and act without the guarantee of success.  After all, I have no clue how this story ends. The Divine invitation for each of us is to bring our creativity, our compassion and our Whole Self to each moment … one at a time.
  • And finally, the biggest secret: I want to do this work with joy!  An Eco-chaplain’s work, though wrought with a sense of urgency, is wonderfully Joyful!  I believe this is so because in caring for our interconnection to all and with all, I can clearly recognize—at least for brief, ecstatic moments—that there is no end to our mutual belonging.

If we humans want to live sustainably on this Earth, we have our work cut out for us: BIG time. As an Eco-chaplain and fellow human, my vote is that we get busy. And I invite us, like Mary Poppins, to find the magic in the mundane—to draw deeply from the wellspring of joy and love.

The Divine is ready, willing, awaiting our next act.

What is the power of your love?

 

The Making of an Eco-chaplain

Posted on by
Reply

The Making of an Eco-Chaplain

A year ago, I began to see that my work was changing.  Caring for the Earth had become my deep love in ministry.  I’ll admit I’ve been making it up as I go, but I’ve been calling the work “Eco-chaplaincy.”  I say it with love and dread because after all, what does it mean when our Earth is so ravaged that it too, like a prison or the Iraqi desert, needs a chaplain?  And what, exactly, does an Eco-chaplain do?

I found my answer at Walmart.

Lauren visits her first Walmart

My Eco-chaplain livelihood found its groove when I joined the founding team that designed and facilitated over 200 day-long sustainability workshops for the 1.2 million associates of Walmart Stores, Inc. Traveling across the country in the Spring of 2007, speaking with the faces of America at hundreds upon hundreds of Walmarts—a place I had been taught to oppose and avoid—I turned toward love. With a necessary naiveté and “beginner’s mind,” I entered corporate America to invite change, to be changed, and to provide space to consider a new operating practice.

One of my all-time favorite movies is MaryPoppins.  I love how Mary finds magic in the mundane.  I also love her fastidious tendencies.  For a good long while now, I’ve wished I could snap my fingers and – just like the toys inJaneandMichael’s nursery – have the environment return itself to a lush, forested, healthy planet.  InMaryPoppin’s world, it’s fine to use what’s around you and to play with vigor, so long as you put it back…each article in its right place.

There is no "away!"

In my work with Fortune 500 employees, I facilitate retreats where we talk about, “nano-practices.” It sounds technical, and it is based on a great deal of theory, but its essence is exceedingly simple: small actions result in big impacts.

Take, for example, a participant from the retreat at Frito-Lay Headquarters – I’ll call him Mark.  I askedMarkwhat one action – one behavior change – he wanted to exercise regularly to bring greater sustainability to his life and the planet. Marksaid, “I’d like to spend more time with my family.”

“That sounds great,” I said intrigued, “How does it help the planet?”  “Well,”Markschemed, “….one night a week, we’ll turn off the TV and go for a walk, as a family.” I nodded, liking where this was going, “We’ll save electricity and spare CO2 emissions by not using electricity; we’ll be out in the park getting exercise and enjoying nature together…AND!”  Markwas getting pretty excited, “we’ll also pick up litter while we’re out walking. Any recyclables we collect, we’ll cash in and give the money to a charity.”

Small actions; big impacts.

Through this work, I’m reminded again that a chaplain’s call is to bring connection; to prophetically state, “Here, and now! No matter how set apart, lost or beyond-love this place may appear, the Source of our Breath abides here, too.” Looking for God or honoring the mystery in a variety of settings is the work of a chaplain. Just as the chapel stands apart from a church or temple, a chaplain endeavors to create sacred space in the free-standing complexity of hospitals, campuses, military bases and, yes, corporations (even Walmart).

A Joy-filled moment during corporate retreat at the Houston Zoo

 

Furthermore, an Eco-chaplains’ calling is to serve and act with Joy.  I feel strongly that activism is defined as much by the peace-marching, protesting activist as by the devoted nano-practitioner who experiences a ripple over time— and that it works best when our actions bring us joy. Mother Earth wouldn’t have it any other way; it is written in the scriptures of every Faith Tradition I know.

Eco-chaplains, unite! The planet has made her aches known and the scientists have let humanity know we have a limited amount of time to act. May you be moved to act boldly, and to live and serve from the place of your deepest joy.