Ecology and the Sacred

SCHUMACHER COLLEGE
An International Centre for Ecological Studies

Ecology and the Sacred

By Marie Satrdeski

My Schumacher experience continues to fuel my desire for promoting ecological education in the school system. The course “Ecology and the Sacred” explored how the concepts of ecology integrate within three different religions, Jainism, Buddhism, and Christianity. Being a Christian in a predominant Christian community has not offered many opportunities for being exposed to other religions. I appreciated the beauty and depth in all three religions and was filled with hope at how the spirituality of each could promote ecological principles. Each in their own way advocates interconnectedness, interdependency, and reverence for the sacredness of all. These sacred principles have been trampled on and forgotten by a world bent on competitive, individualistic, and economic principles. To restore our world, it is pertinent that these sacred principles of interdependency, interconnectedness and reverence be embedded in an ecological education that fosters an eco-spirituality in all children.

Living in community for three weeks with a dedicated group of individuals from all over the world was a life changing experience. This group consisted of 16 course participants, students in the 1 year Masters of Holistic Science course, 3 instructors and Schumacher staff and helpers. There was representation from the Philippines, Ireland, New Zealand, Holland, England, Canada, United States, Thailand, Russia, Italy, Spain, Germany, and Norway. There was not only diversity in cultures and accents but in the many different ecological projects that they were involved in throughout the world. Their passion and determination to make a difference was inspiring and humbling. Their focused enthusiasm compels me to dig deeper into my own desire to create a better world.

To capture the beauty of such diversity and passion, I interviewed twenty of this imaginative, creative group and took many snapshots of the events that took place throughout the course. I hope to create a CDROM about my experience at Schumacher College and give presentations to the College of Education at the University of Saskatchewan and to the Meewasin Valley Authority, a conservation agency in Saskatoon. As a Masters student in the Educational Foundation Department, I will incorporate many of the ecological ideals and principles that I’ve learnt from the instructors and the participants of the course into my thesis next year. The thesis will focus on the marriage between Outdoor Education and Ecological Education. It is my belief that ecological education will only foster an appreciation and reverence for nature if the majority of it takes place in the outdoors. As our children become increasingly urbanized and bombarded with technology, the more pertinent it is to provide opportunities for them to get in touch with nature whether that be in their own backyard, their schoolyard, parks, or in wilderness areas. It is through these direct experiences that they can begin to understand the roots of their belonging and responsibility in this world.

As instructors of the course Satish Kumar, Stephanie Kaza, and Rosemary Ruether had much to offer. I would like to share some quotes from each of them that reveal the commonality between the three religions and the unity that an eco-spirituality can evoke.

Satish Kumar – Reverential Ecology:

“To become sacred, you must sacrifice yourself to a point where you are not self-seeking.”

“In fact the creator and the creation are not separate, as the dance and the dancer are not separate.”

“We should learn from the river which keeps itself pure and healthy by continuing to flow.”

“Nature is generous – there is enough for everybody’s need but not for everyone’s greed.”

“In a spiritual world one seeks satisfaction from within. In a material world one seeks gratification from without.”

“In order to belong, one needs to cultivate ‘longing’.”

“The connection between the intimate and the ultimate is beauty.”

“Fragmentation of knowledge leads to war. Holistic knowledge leads to peace.”

“If working with the hands and being creative is denied, the soul suffers.”

Stephanie Kaza – A Buddhist Perspective on Nature:

“You can choose to be attached to something as long as you don’t get attached to the attachment.”

“...it is about the attentive heart, the heart that feels the presence of others and the call to respond, the heart that lives in relationship with other beings. The attentive heart is not a purchasable item; its value cannot be measured in economic terms. The capacity for compassion and response grows slowly from cultivation and practice.” “By learning in community, we practice breathing in a circle of friends and companions.”

“Make an altar of your own home by removing dead energy. For example, remove brand names off of all groceries to better celebrate the gift of the food itself rather than the company who made it.”

Excerpt from a Metta Sutta that Stephanie shared with us:

So with a boundless heart

Should one cherish all living beings,

Radiating kindness over the entire world,

Spreading upward to the skies,

And downward to the depths,

Outward and unbounded.

Rosemary Ruether – Shifting from a Patriarchal to Ecofeminist Worldview:

“We need to think of the divine as a living dynamic process.”

“We must shift from a conception of God as holding all sovereign power outside of and ruling over nature to a conception of God who is under around, sustaining and renewing nature and humans together.”

“We must strive to change the worldview from a mechanistic view of the universe as composed of inert physical matter pushed and pulled from outside, to a view of the universe as organic, a living whole manifesting energy, spirit and creativity.”

“The psychology that splits mind from body, mind from physical nature, setting mind as superior and ruling over body and nature, must be transformed to a holistic psychology of humans as psychophysical wholes in interrelation with the rest of nature as psychophysical beings in one community of life.”

“We must shift from an ethic that non-human entities on the earth and the universe; animals, plants, minerals, etc, only have utilitarian use value for humans for industrial development, production, consumption and profit, to a view of all things as having intrinsic value, to be respected and celebrated for their own being.”

“A politics of survival of the fittest that allocates resources and power to the most powerful, must change to a political community based on participatory democracy, community-based decision-making and representation of the interests of nature in making decisions.”

Thank you to all those responsible for making my dream a reality. Without the scholarship I received from Schumacher College and the Dartington Foundation, I would not have benefited from such a powerful experience. In gratitude, I will spread the ‘good news’ of attending the dynamic courses offered at Schumacher College, which has become infamous for attracting prominent instructors and participants from around the world. Who knows, maybe someday I’ll return as a facilitator or instructor myself? One must dare to dream.

Written by Marie Stradeski, Course Participant “ Ecology and the Sacred “ 2002

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Schumacher College is part of the Dartington Hall Trust, a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and as a charity (company no. 1485560, charity no. 279756). Registered office: The Elmhirst Centre, Dartington Hall, Totnes, Devon TQ9 6EL, UK.