Reclamation - don't throw the baby out with the bathwater!!

One of the useful things about a sleepless night, is you can scan through half written articles on your laptop! Sometimes I come across somthing I wrote and it sparks again into my consciousness as an area to explore with others.

Tonight was one of those nights! I decided to post this one because it makes me mad ...and sad ...that so many young people today have thrown out the idea that a religious element in life has any relevance in modern day living. It's true perhaps we need a whole new template to discover afresh how to think about it all..and this is what prompted this beginning attempt!


The Reclamation : Religion without the power and politics - an inner journey between humans, the planet and the universe.



Throughout history, in every culture and every age, there has been a spiritual element in living. An awe, a respect, a sense of belonging within the greater picture of life on earth, the urge to play one’s part in the refinement and progression of civilisation, to express outwardly these inner feeling and longings.

There are so many examples stretching through the millennia …..

Our own culture in the 21st century is a unique situation…we have an extensive understanding of past centuries, access to religions above and beyond our own, a day by day communications media that keeps us up to date with world events, and world problems….and on top of all of that, most Western cultures are an absolute mixing pot of different nationalities and religions.

The horrors of what has been done in the name of religions are well known to most. The barbarities of the Crusades, the many wars being fought in the name of religion, the injustices of the caste system, genetic culling, modern day terrorism, the cover ups within the classic religions of perversities practiced within the cover of religious authority …the list goes on and on and on. No wonder that so many people today decry religion, deny its usefulness in society and indeed see religion to be a major cause of the problems in today’s world.

Yet often when people speak of religion in those terms , of course they mean religion in its classic sense. Religion that is embroiled in power and politics and centuries old ceremony and regalia, that seems somewhat bizarre to those outside the religion to which they are attached...and let's face it.... a lot of it is pretty weird!!

Yet, let’s try for a moment to leave behind the outer trappings of religions and look to what has been steady and consistent throughout our very long history since homo sapiens emerged. In all cultures across the globe, there are certain aspects that seem to be constant throughout the centuries though perhaps in today’s world seem to be in diminishment.

Some of those are a sense of belonging to the greater picture, an awe at the largeness of the universe, an urge to give thanks for the gift of life, a feeling of ones place in nature, the need to find ways to influence and refine our behaviour with values & principles, a desire to learn from and give respect to our ancestors. In different ways, cultures the world over, have sought this continuity and refinement. One of the features that makes us uniquely human is that non physical part of ourselves which has consciousness, makes choices and gives us our unique individual possibility. Some may believe this to be based in the soul or spirit, others may see it to be more to do with the mentality and the mind (and most religions would see it be a combination of both) but few would deny that it is this unseen and self forming part of us that gives us our unique identity as human beings, both collectively and individually. Most religions would have the view that the life we have now has the possibility of continuance…and that the quality of that next opportunity is governed by the life we lead today.


Those who today down-cry traditional religion, see this after life as a ‘threat or promise’ as a means of control by the authorities and no doubt this is a part of the picture. However, unless every culture and civilisation has simply got it wrong, this is only a tiny part of the picture


JUST IMAGINE

Just imagine for a few minutes, that indeed they had it right, at least in the fundamental part… that this life we live today can be a starter ( or continuation ) of a life which can extend for thousands and possibly millions of years…. That indeed the quality of our life today ……does indeed influence this next possibility? Then, looked at from outside, wouldn’t it be the case that our generation which bases itself so heavily in materialism and individual gain and stature, may indeed be making the biggest mistake of all time? In the West, some of the most publicised views about the 'afterlife' are the Islamic promise of Paradise for the elect, or for the Christians the notion of heaven and hell…both concepts which go back over thousands of years and indeed in their portrayal are part of the reason why so many young people today see it all in the same kind of context as ‘fairy tales’. The Hindus have an even older and perhaps more logical view that sees reincarnation and karma as the keystones to a series of lives in which all participate one way or another... However this too has had its controlling aspect within the caste system. One could go through all the major religions like this but in an age where we move beyond the differences of our religious heritage…is there a place to look which might unify some of these age old beliefs whilst leaving behind the out of date attachments which have caused so many to discard anything to do with religion ?

Some Things Don't Change !

Coming in to work this morning, I was rather astonished to find a rather large crow had found it's way into the office and was wildly flapping around, trying to escape though a closed window. Not what you expect to find before the first coffee of the day !!

Understandably, it was flying into the glass again and again, and getting into a real panic.

I remembered the old country lore about birds, that as soon as dark falls, they go into complete 'inaction' mode! Dawn = wake up and dusk = go to sleep!

Approaching the bird carefully, I dropped my scarf over it, covering it's head completely so it was cut off from the light. Like magic, it became totally still in an instant, allowing me to pick it up and set it free.

Amazing! Isn't it great that in changing times, some things are delightfully consistent!!

Political, tactical ..or what do we call it?

With a couple of days to go to the UK elections, an unprecedented situation is being talked about in very public terms on tonight's news, as well as being discussed between many private individuals.

Some of the poticians are quite publically implicitly advising people to vote tactically ....ie in closely run election seats, rather than voting for the party one supports, to vote for the party which has the most chance of ousting the party one does NOT want.

It all sounds very logical and I found myself having a similar thought process about my own vote.

Yet another part of me pulled back and thought how crazy this all is.

Politicians have increasingly lost so many people's confidences over this last year with the expenses scandal. Many young people think politics is a joke and take little interest. Even the word 'political' can be used to mean simply to do with politics or to imply responding in a way which is not frank, honest, straight forward, or has an unspoken agenda.


Now with an election looming, even the voters are being pulled into being 'political'!!

Isn't this all a bit topsy turvy and strange ?

Is there a contract with the planet ?

I went walking yesterday with an old friend and she asked me the question

" What do you think is the contract with the planet ?"

Great question, I thought! First thing that came into my mind is that in human to human dealings, contracts come in quite a way down the line between people.....you don't just make contracts with strangers..it's not a casual sort of idea, but a binding agreement for future agreed dealings.

That got me to thinking about the deal between people and the planet and the degree to which there is already a 'bound in' situation from the simple fact that we are born onto and live within the 'laws' of the planet. A bit like kids without the option to leave home ( at least whilst we are alive in our physical form!!) The planet has supplied an 'all found' situation with all the conditions for life to continue, to refine and to evolute over the millenia. The right temperature, the right air mix, and so much more. We know that gravity applies, and we can't jump off a cliff and not drop to the ground!! In fact a lot of growing up is learning what are the rules! We touch something like an electric heater or hot kettle and immediately start to learn about fire, burning and the fragility of our own tolerance to heat!!

But what do we as people provide from our side of the deal? Well, what is immediately apparent when I stopped to consider this, was that everyone alive is part of the whole ...and there is no option to sit on the fence, to count ourselves out from being an active contributing 'resident' on earth. One way or another, we are adding something positive, or negative, to the current human and planet story. Even apathy or inaction is not sitting on the fence, but what we might elect to add to the mix.

Being good stewards of our 'home turf' is clearly part of an attitude which would have been second nature in a pre industrial society as the well being of the land, the flora and fauna would have interrlinked with our own survival and prosperity.

But what about other aspects we can add or take off the table ? Things like qualities such as kindness, fairness, creativity or a more negative range of input.


We are given so much with no binding upon our response ( we have free choice and can do what we like) but there is an implicit opportunity to engage in a life which can not only build and express our own individual strengths and characters, but improve ( or detract from) the quality of the growth of civilisation?

Is this part of a contract with the planet?

Beyond humanity

I was out shopping yesterday and overheard a conversation between one of the ladies working in the shop and a couple of customers.

In truth it was a pretty shocking conversation where she was recounting an incident which had happened in a small West Wales market town this week. A young girl disappeared in broad daylight in the midst of M & S. Her parents were frantic but fortunately quick to act. The police were called and the store locked and thoroughly searched. The girl was found locked in one of the toilets with three men who had cut her hair and were disguising her ready to leave the store ...one does not even want to think what might then have ensued.


The lady recounting the dreadful story was herself both a mother and grandmother and it was clear she could hardly believe that such a thing was happening right here in what is mostly a very kind, friendly, rural ecology. It was the second time this week I had heard someone so incredulous at the cruelty which goes on in our world today, both at a personal and collective level, such as genocide.

In both cases the ladies were sort of shaking their head and saying that they could not even imagine another member of the same human race they were part of, having these kind of thoughts ...never mind carrying them out. Somehow it is even more horrific when there is more than one person's mind involved in cruelty, particularly to children. It adds their mental agreement and conscious intention to such foul behaviour and goes against every grain of the sapiens' of 'homo sapiens'.


It's almost as though parts of the human race are removing themselves by their behaviour from the right even to be called human or humane .....and reverted to a level below much worse than anything we see in the animal kingdom.

At a time when our thinking is becoming more global, and our thinking more collective, is there a real polarity appearing in the human race ?

Vocanic Eruption Disruption

I am reading James Lovelock's 'The Revenge of Gaia' at the moment and find it very interesting .... though I find the title pretty ridiculous! Why would anyone want to ascribe 'revenge' - one of humanit'y most destuctive of negative emotional reponses to the planet?

However, that aside, being in the midst of the disruptions and aftermath from the recent eruption of the Icelandic volcano, one particualr sentence on page 13 jumped out to me in my nocturnal browsing.

" There is a small chance that the sceptics are right or we might be saved by an unexpected event such as a series of volcanic eruptions severe enough to block out sunlight and so cool the earth"

Food for thought!

Yet again, this recent event has brought home to me that as people we make our own affairs so important, make ourselves the centre of the universe, yet how easily we can all be brought to a standstill by the power of the planet.

Any irregularity has us talking and complaining for days...but what about the extraordinary constancy that we often take for granted ? That for millenia and for generations, human life has been supported and given continuous conditions to live, refine and evolute ? Things like the stability of the earth, the cleansing quality of water, the warmth of the sun or the very air we breathe.

LLanerchaeron ..a snapshot in time

I visited LLanerchaeron on the weekend .. a beautiful NT property which evocatively encapsulates life in byegone days. It is a snapshot of the life of a Welsh country estate, and not only has a beautiful period house full of interest but has immaculately preserved servant's quarters, and working home farm, which I find quite fascinating. In the late 19th century & early 20th century, this estate was like a little village, and completely self sufficient, apart from tea and sugar which was dropped off by special stop by train from Harrods!


Apart from the gorgeous walled garden which is my top favourite and place I love to spend time, the kitchen always draws me and I enjoy sitting there on a wooden chair and imagining life in another generation.

One aspect particularly captivates me..this is the fact that every item in that kitchen, from the cooking range,long sturdy table, to the simple wooden chairs, to the earthenware jars, to the copper and wooden cooking utensils, were all designed to last for generations. I've spent many a happy hour in that kitchen, encouraging my mind to re-create life as it might have been. And one of the things which really impresses me is that aspect of being surrounded by things which are durable...it gives a sense of stability and security which is really rather settling to the mind.

In comparison, in our century, most items in a modern kitchen, has an in built shelf life. Washing machines, fridges ....all come and go with alarming speed! And even items which might last, tend to look jaded, a bit 'past it' and the general tendency is towards constant updating.

Again, I do wonder how this general sense of expendability, affects the quality of our lives today? And even our dealings with each other ?