Photo by Courtney Louge
See the world with a broad and penetrating perspective. From the subjective point of view, an eartHeart’s cultural worldview needs to seek the greatest good. His or her intentions need to always be to seek to realize, protect, and restore the beauty of the Kosmos. From an empirical, objective point of view, eartHearts need to always seek the greatest depth of truth.
EartHearts seek the integration of mind, nature and culture by encouraging a shift from the present way of knowing—which is focused primarily on the objective observation of the surfaces of things—to an increased use of interpretation through dialogue to reveal more about the two realms of subjective, interior depth: namely, the realm of intentions and the realm of moral/ethics.
This last realm is the world where environmental ethics can and need to be interpreted. These ethics generally come in four sorts:
bio-equality (all living holons––things that are both parts and wholes–– have equal value, worms are equal to apes, for example);
animal rights (all holons are not equal, value is determined by the possession of rudimentary feelings, depending on whether an animal can feel sensations);
hierarchical (each more complex living entity possesses more rights, humans having the most rights but not the right to plunder other living things which also have basic rights); and
stewardship (humans alone have rights, but humans also have the responsibility to care for the Earth and its living inhabitants).
All of these schools of environmental ethics have to do with value which, in turn, also comes in sorts:
ground value (all holons are perfect manifestations of Emptiness or Spirit);
intrinsic value (value is determined by the level of depth intrinsic to the entity); and
extrinsic (value is determined by the number of other holons dependent on the entity; for example, an atom has more extrinsic value than a horse because if you destroy all horses less of the universe would be affected than if you destroyed all atoms).
To The Fourteenth Of Many Touchstones Of People-Nature Interfacing…
HumaNatureConnect Activity
After reading the text, finding a natural being, appreciating it, gaining its consent, and scanning the list of natural senses, use your heightened awareness and nature-induced optimal functioning to do the following activity and engage in as many follow-up components as you see fit.
Generating Patterns Of Human-Nature Interaction #13: Riding On An Animal
For this activity, imagine riding on an animal after you feel connected to your chosen attractive natural being. In doing this interaction pattern, you could think about riding an orca (killer whale) in an aquarium show (a perverse interaction pattern) or you could think about riding a horse on a ranch (a domestic interaction pattern). By choosing instead to think about riding a camel to explore a pristine desert (a wild interaction), you would be doing something that will have a positive psychological effect on you.
In your journal, write down what meaning you would derive from this wild interaction pattern (either doing it or imagining doing it); what joy, if any, it would produce; how, if at all, it would build within you a bond between your mind and nature; and how, if at all, the wild version of this interaction pattern would be better for you than the perverse or domestic instantiation of the same interaction pattern; and how not being allowed to participate in this sort of wild interaction pattern – riding a camel in a pristine desert – would make you feel? How does interacting in this way in the presence of your attractive natural being make you feel? How would it feel to have this interaction without the presence of your attractive natural being? In writing down these responses you will be adding to our collective nature language, so important to rekindling the bond between humans and nature. Look over your impressions and think about them as you fall asleep tonight before dreaming.
Nocturnal Pilgrimage
In deciding on a place for your Dream Council figures, follow your gut, with the following caveats: 1) the area ought to be away from heavy traffic, 2) pick an uncluttered space, 3) choose a space that is protected from disturbance over time, 4) decorate the space with candles or incense, 5) if disturbance is an issue, place the figure in some sort of special container.
With this knowledge, move to the next learning station. This and every other waypoint unfolds outside in nature. Something important happens when one touches the earth outside. Do not stay indoors long after you read the Heartwood Path text. Go outside. Feel your weight pressing down firmly on the undeveloped earth. Think about how the sensation of gravity outdoors evokes a feeling of security and how indoors the pull of gravity is simply not as satisfying.
