Spiritual Practices from the Inside Out: The Spiritual Life of Earth

Spiritual Practices from the Inside Out: The Spiritual Life of Earth April 22, 2017

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The Spiritual Life of Earth

Everything we, and everyone we know, has ever tasted or smelled came from the Earth. Every vehicle, every computer, and every phone ever made was made of part of the Earth.

Our own bodies are made of the Earth, and to the Earth they shall return. We depend on the planet’s air, water, and other resources to stay alive.

Everything we have ever discarded remains on the Earth.

The Earth is our home planet. We were born here and almost all of us live out entire lives here. The Earth is familiar, it is everything we know.

Some of us do not think of the Earth as spiritual, but as its opposite. They see a dichotomy between earthly or Sacred. We need to look deeper to see the relationship, the unity, the spiritual life of the Earth.

The Breath of Spiritual Life

It begins with breathing. Breathing is the earliest form, the first step, of meditation and reflection. When we get carried away with everything else, we pause to remember to breathe.

We forget, and the Earth draws us back and takes our breath away. The trees, the sky, the plants which cover the Earth fill us with life. We breathe in all the aromas of life, even spiritual life. Not merely the smells of candles or incense, but all the flavors of spiritual life. The smell of freshly turned earth or just mown grass, certain flowers or a new book.

We may find spiritual life in the smell of our favorite foods or baking bread. The smoke of a campfire or cold, fresh air. The way the ocean smells, or the people we love the most.

We breathe in the spiritual life of Earth, then breathe out the same life. It surrounds us and fills us. We are immersed in the spiritual life of Earth and forget, because it pervades our experience.

Praying for the Earth

We pray for the Earth. Some of us pray with words and some pray beyond words.

It is somewhat selfish for us to pray for the Earth since we are so completely dependent on it. We pray the Earth will be sustained and that it continues to sustain us. Many of us pray for and in the Sacred places with which the Earth is filled.

We may pray for rain, or for safety in storms. Some of us stand in awe at the beauty we find on the Earth. Many of us pray with our feet and our bodies as well as with our hearts and minds. Our walking prayers take us from person to person and place to place.

We pray for the Earth with our eyes opened in new ways.

There are times when we are moved to pray for forgiveness. We see how we have torn and injured the Earth seeking resources we could sell. Some of us experience the devastating ways the Earth feels conflict and combat, and we pray.

We confess and plead. We intercede and express our awe and delight. The Earth is in our prayers.

Spiritual Life and Protection

Our relationship to the Earth is one of mutual respect and protection.

The Earth and its atmosphere protect us from radiation and other extreme conditions around us. It nurtures and strengthens us, teaching us what we need to know. Like a loving parent, the Earth feeds us and gives us shelter, fresh air, and clean water.

The Earth is our haven in the Universe, our home.

We, in turn, protect the Earth. Like people for generations before us, we work to protect the beauty of the Earth. We take responsibility for defending the trees, the water, the air, and the Sacred places. When necessary, we take action to prevent the diversity and power of the Earth from being destroyed. We care for the Earth so the generations coming after us will see wilderness with their own eyes.

The Earth has been very good to us, and we want to be very good to it in return.

Practicing the Spiritual Life of the Earth

We are each drawn into our own personal ways of practicing the spiritual life of the Earth.

Some people change the way they buy and eat food, while others begin to grow their own. There are people who recycle very intentionally. Others focus on buying less. We may be drawn to change public policy, or help other individuals and families change their habits. There are people who drive less and people who go on road trips to national parks.  The diversity of our practice reflects the diversity of the Earth. We are all on the Earth together.

Our unique actions are not as essential as the fact we all put our values into practice. None of us can do everything, but we can all do something. Each of us needs to practice what we believe about the Earth in our own ways.

Moments of the Spiritual Life of the Earth

I have come to appreciate the spiritual life of the Earth in particular moments. Reading books and watching films, listening and reflecting have been helpful. It is the moments in which a light has come on which have changed me.

I spent one such moment lying on the ground looking up at the night sky.

It was not a realization the Earth was so complex and beyond my understanding. For me, it was looking up toward the stars and seeing how small we were. That moment was the spark which lit my inspiration. It revealed the spiritual life of the Earth in new ways.

The Earth is our home, our small safe place in the vast expanse of the Universe.

How will you practice the spiritual life of the Earth this week?

Where is the Sacred part of the Earth which nurtures spiritual life in you?

[Image by Jaime Olmo]

Greg Richardson is a spiritual life mentor and leadership coach in Southern California. He is a recovering attorney and university professor, and a lay Oblate with New Camaldoli Hermitage near Big Sur, California.  Greg’s website is StrategicMonk.com, and his email address is StrategicMonk@gmail.com.


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