I was thinking about the current hate and rage-filled sphere of human consciousness, and wondered whether there is any hope for the human race long-term. Frankly, the idea of peace on earth (which is, after all, just an absence of killing and war) seems more out of reach than at any time in my 73 years of existence on this planet. Then I started thinking about the planet itself. I’ve often considered the earth to be just a Gameboard, a place where human beings live out their lives and work through their karma. Is there a purpose for the earth other than a place for us to pollute, to war, and to exploit? I wondered if such a dismissive attitude toward this beautiful planet, so rich in resources, species, ecosystems, and LIFE, was part of the difficulty human beings have in getting along with each other.
What other function – perhaps even a meta-function – could the earth have other than a place human beings walk on, a sort of resource platform that we exploit to build our civilization’s infrastructure? Earth is basically just there, we don’t have to pay much attention to it. Right?
The idea that the earth could be conscious is even considered evil by some, a pagan concept that detracts from the worship of God.
That’s how humanity – other than the indigenous – regard the planet that provides us with every conceivable ecosystem that cocoons an astonishing variety of life that we harvest and use for our benefit. We take all that for granted. We never acknowledge the earth as an entity that might be alive, and that might even have consciousness. That might even be a helper that deserves acknowledgment and thanks every once in a while.
A helper?
Oh there is the Gaia Theory, which was introduced in the 1970s. But our current politicized science considers that laughable nonsense even though the concept was developed by two scientists: chemist James Lovelock and microbiologist Lynn Margulis. Moreover, there isn’t one religion on the planet that acknowledges the earth as humanity’s partner – except for the indigenous. And (of course) these people are just ignorant, superstitious barbarians. I mean, they have no knowledge of technology and are as dumb as squirrels trying to figure out how an iPhone works. Ha ha, we already have weather modification technology and can make the earth do anything we want: we can cause an earthquake, ionize the atmosphere and cause floods and windstorms, and use directed energy and EMP weaponry to smash stuff on the ground and out of the sky. Now that’s progress! So why do we need amorphous concepts such as a conscious earth?
Somehow I feel that we are going down the wrong road using this paradigm. Perhaps the current insanity in human affairs is related in part to the insane way we look at the planet that nurtures and sustains us. We all know the old saying: “Don’t shit where you eat.” But it’s way more than that. Humanity, I believe, has a fundamental misconception about the planet we live on. Perhaps if we changed our conception of the earth to a helper instead of the ‘third rock from the sun,’ we might also condition ourselves to a new level of awareness about the earth. And that might, in turn, change the way we look at ourselves.
Frankly, I don’t think we are going to make much progress toward peace on earth until we get a new attitude. The earth is part of the partnership of peace on earth, but our current climate science regards the earth as an enemy: Popular movies like “An Inconvenient Truth” postulate an irreversible global warming trend that will inevitably destroy all life on earth (see my previous post, “Thoughts on Climate Change”). We look for confirmation of this hypothesis and scare the living crap out of people with it.
From oregonlive.com: Gov. Kate Brown, shown at a ceremonial bill signing in March of 2020, quietly signed a bill on July 14 that suspends a requirement for Oregon students to demonstrate reading, writing and math proficiency in order to receive a diploma.
But what if the planet were not our enemy but our friend? Is the idea of earth as a helper or a partner too big a reach? Well, if the earth is conscious, then it can be communicated with. You know, like a friend.
Eight billion conscious human beings could have an enormous mental and spiritual impact on the earth, if it was conscious. Just sayin’. It might be nice every once in a while to acknowledge the earth’s existence, its enormous abundance, and its contribution to our lives.
Perhaps we could also consult the indigenous on ways to promote a Human-Earth partnership. They have been doing this for thousands of years.
We don’t have to change our way of life, maybe just add a new idea to our toolbox of living. And then see where it takes us.
It’s worth a shot.