Earthday 2022:A Shamanic Perspective
Earthday has been celebrated on April 22nd every year since 1970. It was a movement set up to inspire, challenge ideas, ignite passion and motivate people into action on climate change. It gave a voice to the awakening consciousness at that time, and was conceived to channel human energy into environmental issues, and forge a healthier relationship to our planet.
But fifty-two years later, we are in an even worse environmental crisis. Ignoring the science, the IPCC, and the environmentalists, we have not only continued with our over exploitation of the earth’s resources for financial gain, there is still no real political change. Our global leadership remain in denial of what is happening on Planet Earth, despite the irrefutable signs.
Stratospheric ozone depletion, degraded air quality, degraded water quality, land contamination, deforestation, soil erosion, habitat loss, plastic debris, mercury poisoning, extreme climate changes, and now most worrying a rise of methane in the atmosphere, to name but a few challenges we are facing. All this has led us into what is now termed the ‘sixth mass extinction’, with over 150 species of animals and plants becoming extinct every day, according to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
There is a huge environmental movement and change is happening, thanks to activists like Greta Thunberg, who seems to have single-handedly put the environment back on the political agenda, and Vandana Shiva, who has done so much for the environmental movement, but in reality, it is not changing fast enough.
On Earthday’s website it urges us to get involved by planting billions of trees, divesting from fossil fuels, making cities 100% renewable, educating the young, focusing on the importance of regenerative agriculture (finally), and building on the Paris Climate Talks momentum.
A Beautiful ‘Dream’
The problem with these solutions is that it’s still stuck in an old paradigm. These actions are only cutting the tip off the problem, but still leaving the root to continue to rot.
Since my MSc in Development Studies (majoring in Sustainable Development), in 1999 I have seen little progress in the sustainability debate. It is the same old rhetoric of planting trees to offset carbon dioxide, and educating the young to be more aware.
I attended both the Brazilian Earth Summit in 1992 and the South African World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002. Each summit suggested unobtainable goals we needed to attain to bring the planet back into balance. Since the last World Summit, I have watched the global COP meetings with growing dismay, culminating in 2016, with the signing of the legally binding international treaty on climate change, adopted by 196 Parties at COP 21, in Paris. However, since the signing of this climate change treaty, it’s been business as usual. Without an Internationally recognised law of Ecocide, defined as ‘the destruction of a natural environment, or very great damage to it’, the perpetrators of environmental destruction are not liable for prosecution, arrest and imprisonment, which means that at present there is no political will to change our collective behaviour. Without sufficient funding and incentives in renewable energy and change, ending fossil fuels, planting lots of trees, and making all cities renewable is just a beautiful dream.
The latest IPCC report 2022, underlines the need to conserve 30% to 50% of the Earth’s land, freshwater and ocean areas but we're far from that goal. Less than 15% of the world’s land, 21% of its freshwater and just 8% of oceans are under some form of protection, often with “insufficient stewardship”.
It urges governments to invest in climate action, but so far, we are not seeing the funding levels needed because to invest in renewable and sustainable technology, and effective solutions. There are too many vested interests, and too much consolidated power is at the top to stop the oil addiction.
But we can no longer afford to wait for billions of trees to save us, or for those in power to make real changes to our political and economic ideology. “The scientific evidence is unequivocal: climate change is a threat to human wellbeing and the health of the planet.
Any further delay in concerted global action will miss a brief and rapidly closing window to secure a liveable future,” said Hans-Otto Pörtner (physiologist and marine biologist and IPCC Scientist).
If we want to see substantial, fast, long-lasting and powerful change, each one of us has to take personal responsibility for our actions and rip out the rotten root that is festering within.
And that rotten root is our individualistic value system.
Shift in Consciousness
Without a cultural shift in consciousness, we are blinded by meaningless rhetoric. Rooted in Christianity, Genesis 1:28 “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth” (King James Bible), and fuelled by a capitalist system designed for perpetual growth, we are driven to take more, regardless of the consequences. If we want to see real change, we must rip out this rotten root of individualism, and fundamentally change our value systems.
When we start living shamanically, and in tune with nature, we naturally change our behaviour because we are living as a part of nature, not apart from it. We understand that all living things are interconnected and have equal importance to the preservation of life on earth, and each species is contributing to a healthy and sustainable ecosystem.
Everything on this planet feeds off another living thing in order to maintain and sustain life. Every bee that pollinates a flower, every animal, bird and reptile is an essential part of our incredibly intricate web of life. When we lose a species of animal, plant, tree or flower to extinction, we lose a vital link in our biological chain, and the delicate balance of the eco- system is affected.
As we face possible extinction, our environmental crisis is creating a new awareness. It is sparking an internal process within each one of us, and giving us the opportunity for us to evolve to a new state of consciousness. It is giving us the choice to shift from individualism to unity consciousness, and adopt a new value system that encompasses all living things.
In order for us to stop the trajectory that we are on, we need to heal the deep separation and isolation we are feeling to come out of this mess, and leave a healthy planet for future generations. To show us the way, we can turn to the teachings and wisdoms of our tribal and indigenous communities, who understand the importance of living as a part of nature, and not apart from it.
We are the most conscious, and self-aware mammals on earth, and our role is to maintain the healthy balance of the eco-system for all living things, in order to preserve and sustain life for future generations. We have been given this task because only humans have the unique ability to consciously choose each action they take, and can understand the consequences of each action.
When we put social and environmental values first, and unconditionally honour, respect and love ourselves, mother earth and all living things, we are essentially changing the way we interact with the ecosystem of our planet, and automatically start being part of the cure.
There is no escaping the situation on Planet Earth. Climate change is affecting all of us, regardless of race, wealth or colour, and levels the playing field making us all equals. We can no longer wait for our politicians to change, or ignore the deep inner conflict we are feeling.
Living Shamanically
Just as the caterpillar starts to consume three times its body weight, we as a species are Doing the same thing to our natural resources. As it reaches crisis point, the caterpillar goes into hiding in its chrysalis. Within the cocoon, imaginal cells begin appearing in the body of the caterpillar. Over time, these imaginal cells consume the caterpillar transforming it into a greater, more beautiful vision of itself – the butterfly.
Living shamanically is part of our metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly enabling a thriving, healthy planet for all living things and our future generations.
On this Earthday, remember you are one of the imaginal cells on planet Earth that is envisioning a healthy and thriving future. Spend some time reconnecting to our planet, and all the living things that share it with us. Ignite your drive to be the change, and realise you have a choice. If all of us knew we are a part of nature and not apart from it, and start living shamanically our future can change in an instant.
