“About the oil spill; what can we do?”
~ A Collection of reflections written after three Wisdom Writers
gatherings in Foley, Alabama ~ June 2010
SEEING THE INTENDED WAY OF WORKING
With the oil spill and its implications – for all of life and life of the whole – at the forefront of our minds, we focused our Wisdom Writers reflective dialogue by reading “Dealing with the Notion of Source” from Work for All Children (pp. 93-94, or www.pathofpotential.org). A few wisdoms from that paper follow:
We, as well as the rest of creation – the observable and beyond – emanate from somewhere… somewhere, a Source beyond ourselves… a somewhat unfathomable mysterious Source, truly beyond our total grasp.
What is, however, clearly within our grasp – fully encompass-able within our minds, within our hearts, within the deepest reaches of our humanness – is the truth that we, either individually or collectively, are not the source.
Even in the presence of all our creativity, intellectual prowess and scientific magic, we find our confidence and conviction in this truth does not diminish, but rather strengthens.
Another truth, a reality of our design: we, humankind are living creatures; an essential characteristic of ourselves is our living nature, a characteristic we share with multitudes of other living creatures and with the life processes of earth.
This truth, like the truth of our not being the source, is equally clear – intellectually and intuitively – and therefore both worthy of and required to be part of any thinking regarding the whole… or any thinking that would seek to be complete.
The understanding, the embracement of this truth that we humankind are, by intent, by nature, by characteristic, members in the larger community of life, enables us to see that we are not separate from – outside of – life and the life processes of earth, but rather fully woven into life’s web.
Earth is organized by living planetary energy fields, each of which – when we are open to it, and when it is working as intended – can actually organize us. Not surprising given our membership in the community of life. We experience ourselves being organized differently by mountains, forests, prairies, deserts, seashores, estuaries, and on and on. This common experience is reflected by the often expressed, “You go to the mountains to build your mind; you go to the ocean to soothe your soul.”
Each larger landscape has an essential virtue, an enfolded virtue intended to be unfolded by the life processes within that energy field. We, humankind, as living beings, are intended to participate in, cooperate with, enhance and enable the unfolding of these virtues… an intent expressed thousands of years ago when we were given the prayer, “…Thy will be done on earth…” Taking the essential virtue of a planetary energy field as our living philosophy enables us to come together as a people in its unfolding.
And so, at our Wisdom Writers gathering, we turned to our experience of the Gulf Coast energy field by generating and sharing images of those experiences about which we would say, “These lands are truly working; they are doing their intended work; the essence virtue of these lands, their rhythmic soothing, life replenishing, intentional reminding processes, are working on us.” We turned to this reflective work, for we are seeing daily that the mind of issues and problems tends to necessarily divide everything into segmented parts in order to “solve the problem”… divisiveness, frustration and anger seem to be leading thinking, blocking the guidance of wisdom: wisdom of wholeness, wisdom of intent, the wisdom of the essential virtue. Now is a time – the time of great threat to the life of the whole – for wisdom to guide reason. And so, we reflected together with the aim of better seeing the intended way of working of this beautiful land where we have chosen to make our home.
When this land is truly working, unfolding its enfolded potential, each and all – if we are open and receptive – can and do experience this virtue – this rhythmic soothing, life replenishing, intentional reminding virtue – working on us.
Whether experiencing a hummingbird dropping to the ground from exhaustion after migrating across the Gulf, or a family arriving for a week of vacation after a hectic year of work and school, the promise of this energy field – if its processes are not blocked out by the world of our making – is rhythmically making whole our state of being… bringing us to a sense of peace, order, wholeness, serenity that enables us to pick ourselves up and go on… go on to our intended work and roles.
Reflecting on the life processes here… calls and migrations of birds, warm damp smell of earth, fragrance and beauty of flowers, frolicking of young dolphins, shrimpers returning after a night of fishing, families sharing the abundance of their fields, we experience life replenishing processes at work, and as well, our lives being replenished by this experiencing.
And as we are taking in the cleansing ebb and flow of the surf, the renewing process of hurricanes, the compassion of caring about springing to life after devastating storms, seeing everything is eating and being eaten, we are becoming awakened to the truth that we, each and all, are a living breathing part of this whole, intended to harmonize with its working. We are intended to bring the world of our making into congruence with the world of intent.
…and oh, the clouds, watching and reflecting on the process of clouds forming late on a summer day, giving replenishing rain, then moving on while the sun shines through, radiating streams of light, we experience the realness of intent, of intended ongoing unfolding creation… we are all one, one people of earth, one living earth…. all intended to participate – take up work and roles – in the unfolding. Experiencing and reflecting on migrations, tides, the life birthing processes of estuaries, we are intentionally reminded of the truth, “Touch one, you touch them all.”
Yes, the wisdom of intent expressed in the few words – rhythmic soothing, life replenishing, intentional reminding – brings us to realize that we each may have a unique path, we may not even know one other, yet we all can work together, becoming one living whole in harmony with the essence life processes of earth… by taking up the imbedded virtue of the land as our philosophy, as our practical and practice-able philosophy of living and working. We can begin living this philosophy by our paying attention to, is what we are doing or not doing enhancing the rhythmic soothing processes of the energy field? …enabling the life replenishing processes? …making intentional reminding more accessible?
What a beautiful and miraculous gift is the seeing of essential virtue, and being able to cooperate as a community, as a people, with the intended unfolding!
THE TIME TO CHOOSE LOVE
A few days following our regular Wisdom Writers gathering in Foley, Alabama, I experienced our reflective dialogue working within me, interspersed with images of the reactions and responses to that which is tragically occurring in the Gulf… then, as I put pen to paper early one morning, these words unfolded…
If love is not present in our processes,
then love will not be present in the outcomes.
Each day, we read, hear and see that people are angry… people are angry with and do not trust our major institutions, the right ethical working of which is essential for becoming an intentional civilization… people are angry with all essential institutions, religious, scientific, political, medical, financial, news, and on and on. And, as well, those who are within, identify with, or have attachment to these institutions and groups are ongoingly taking turns fueling the fires of anger, using them as the motivating source for furthering divisive causes. None of us is untouched by this enkindling of the fires of anger; anger has become one of the more habitual energy addictions of our society.
We, as a people, seem to have turned to blame, anger and hate as the primary source, justification and mover of change. And yet, through reflection, we know – in our heart of hearts – the truth that if love is not present in our processes, love will not be present in the outcomes (no matter how noble our causes). Change, motivated by anger, takes us off of and away from the path of intent, the path of love in the process… a path of becoming fully and truly human… a path of pursuing life of the whole approaches that work for all children… a path of answering YES to our instrumentality, YES to taking up work and roles in the process of “thy will being done on this earth” at this time.
It seems we look to anger and frustration as a sign of someone being serious. If people, including our leaders, do not appear angry, we do not think they are serious about taking action – especially the action we want. Thus, for example, until leaders express anger with B.P. and the oil spill, we do not think they are serious in that regard. Of course the motivation for this anger is fear; the expectation being that with proper inducement of fear, the desired problem solving action will occur; they will do something that will “fix the problem.” We see this form of anger to demonstrate seriousness in parenting as well.
Now is the time for developing serious intent – not from anger or fear, but through instrumentality and love. How do I choose love? What does that look like when anger is not a choice I consider? How do we experience serious intent in others, in ourselves? Reflecting on Mother Teresa – her way of working – may be useful.
Now is the time… the time to choose love.
COMING TO GRIPS WITH ENERGY ADDICTION
Are we pursuing a path, not of energy addiction, but of developing serious intent?…
Are we pursuing a path not of “my will,” but of “thy will”?
As Wisdom Writers once again gathered together around a kitchen table in Foley, at the forefront of our minds was (and of course still is) the oil spill which is currently threatening the estuarial land where we live. The current situation brings to the fore our state, as a people, of energy addiction – often unconscious energy addiction – addiction which is turning against us much like the globs of oil in the Gulf are turning against the life within it.
If we are to come to grips with the reality of our situation, we soon see that we are addicted to oil – addicted to the energies oil provides (heating, cooling, lighting, moving, clothing, building, recreating, housing, and on and on)… we seemingly no longer know how to live without these energies… having much in common with our addiction to credit across our country and the world… we are using both oil and credit in ways that do not work for all children now and into the future… placing a burden on future generations, while simultaneously failing to teach our young people how to live without them.
As we reflect on our energy addictions, we hold the hope and aim of bringing the world of our making into congruence with the world of intent – congruence with the wisdom of intent, with intended ways of working. We turned to the following wisdoms to aid in our reflective dialogue:
When the wisdom of intent – the intended way of working of life and the life processes of earth – drops out, we, through reason and reasoned interpretation, commonly shape our existence – our ways of living and working – in accord with our image, our intents, our desires. And inevitably, as our intents grow increasingly out of tune with “the intent,” we become more self focused, more self serving; ultimately we move further away from our instrumentality and more towards the illusion of our being the source – in many ways, the source of life.
Through the gift of reason, we have a capacity for understanding, creating and building structures. In the absence of the wisdom of intent, that which we create does not bring spirit and meaning into existence, into our life, but rather turns this gift of reason against us, against the whole of life.
Cleaning up the oil spill in the Gulf; this is problem solving. It is the work of reason. Finding ways to assure this never happens again is, as well, the work of reason. Protecting the estuaries is a problem solving process: divide into parts and find solutions to the problems of the parts. What is called for now, to lead any and all work of reason, is the wisdom of intent, the wisdom of intended ways of working. The essential virtue – the pattern of intent – of these estuarial lands is rhythmic soothing, life replenishing, intentional reminding. If we are to truly harmonize with intended ways of working, then a good place to begin – as we set out to put in place any structure on or over this land (be it a house, a business, a law, a drilling rig, etc.) – is with the question, “Is this, which we are about to do, enabling, enhancing, cooperating with the ongoing intended upward unfolding of the rhythmic soothing, life replenishing, intentional reminding processes of this land?”
Whether we do or do not live on the Gulf, we are all a part of this catastrophe; the problem reflects the world of our making, a world incongruent with the world of intent… which brings us back to a few questions – questions which will aid in our further reflection…
• Are we pursuing a path, not of energy addiction, but of developing serious intent – serious intent in harmony with intended ways of working?
• Are we turning hearts, from financial extraction, legal solutions and escape from ethical reality, to life of the whole approaches that work for all children in the world… now and into the future?
• Are we going forth, not with divisive politics, but with love present in the process; are we seeking to “Love God” through harmonizing with the intended ongoing upward unfolding of the whole of creation?
• Are we turning minds, from fragmented thinking and unquestioned acceptance of how we do things, to wisdom of intent, wisdom of wholeness… are we seeing the essential virtue – the pattern of intent – in the ways of working of the intended unfolding creation?
…Are we pursuing a path, not of “my will,” but of “Thy Will”?
DEVELOPING SERIOUS INTENT
Making a Difference that Matters
After our Wisdom Writers gatherings in Foley, I usually share (via email) a reflection that emerges over the days following our reflective dialogue. After receiving our recent writings, those relating to the oil spill, a friend and coastal resident, who participates in Wisdom Writers from afar by reading and reflecting on our shared reflections, asked for help with organizing her thoughts on the Gulf crisis and the part we can play in it. Her request reflects the realness of the Wisdom Writers dialogue reaching well beyond our regular face-to-face gatherings, and another process (written correspondence) through which we can help one another “wisely change the conversation.”
And so, it is with appreciation that I share here my reflective response to her request. To begin, a “wisdom” from “Taking the Path of Intent” serves to focus our thoughts.
If we are serious, truly serious about shifting the ground – the platform upon which we live and work – we must begin with the wisdom of intent, the wisdom required to guide reason such that the intents of reason – our intents – can move towards being more and more congruent with the intent of the Source.
Developing serious intent in regard to the Gulf oil spill crisis calls for a particular intentional philosophy… a philosophy born of faith, hope and love… a philosophy in harmony with the intended ongoing upward unfolding of the life processes of the Gulf… a philosophy whole enough and complete enough to enable people of all walks of life – people who believe in one common Source of creation and who have at heart the upward advancement of humanity – to come together to address the critical issue before us in ways that lead to the planetary ethics so desperately needed at this time. Developing serious intent calls for a philosophy born of faith, hope and love…
…Faith that we will be shown the way, if our prayer becomes one of asking a question and then silent receptivity… asking a question such as “What is thy will in regard to the working – the intended way of working – of the whole of life within the living energy field of the Gulf?”… and silent receptivity – remaining openly receptive to that which comes from the Spirit through the intuition of wholeness. When we begin from issue, and our prayer takes the form of petition for help with our “solutions’’ (for example, “How can I play a part in making sure this never happens again?”), we are entering the path of reason, a path that tells us wisdom can wait; this is a crisis that calls for action… a path ultimately leading to making ourselves, our favored leaders, or even our “solutions,” the source. Yes, faith is essential… faith we will be given, if we are open and receptive, the wisdom needed to guide reason, the wisdom essential for guiding our problem solving… the wisdom we need to live in harmony with the intended ongoing upward unfolding of the life processes of earth.
…And hope… hope which comes through “seeing” essence. For through reflection on life experiences, for example the raising of children, we see that dwelling on the existence aspects of the child and the child’s life can and most often does diminish our accessing hope. We may see poverty, incurable diseases, violent environments, etc. … or we may see the presenting behaviors of the child that are going down a path disconnected from spirit. Hope comes not through our dwelling on existence, but through “seeing,” through seeing essence – the pattern of intent – within the child… seeing the essential virtue enfolded within them, essence intended to be nourished and enriched, enabling their manifesting spirit on this earth. This is an example that we each, in one way or another, have seen and experienced.
Having been, through the ages, human-centered rather than life of the whole-centered in our perspective, we find ourselves largely unfamiliar with the processes of “seeing” the essence – the essential virtue – of the life energy field within which we live and of which we ourselves are living members. With a bit of reflection, we recognize that earth is organized – intentionally organized – in planetary life energy fields, each of which works to organize the life processes within that field. Deserts, prairies, great lakes, oceans, forests, mountains… each work on all of life within – including ourselves – in unique intentional ways. They too have an essence virtue – a pattern of intent – enfolded and yet to be manifested in the world through the unfolding. We show some recognition of such working when we reflect, “We go to the mountains to build our minds; we go to the ocean to soothe our souls.” It is in the seeing of the essence virtue imbedded within the energy field, and in participating in its unfolding – intentionally taking up work and roles in manifesting that essence – that we experience hope entering. We access hope. Just as the seeing of the essence of the child enables intentional parenting, the seeing of the essence of an energy field enables our intentionally living and working in harmony with life energy fields, particularly when we take on the essential virtue as our common intentional philosophy.
We have come to see the essence virtue of the Gulf Coast as being rhythmic soothing, life replenishing, intentional reminding. Taking this as our common working philosophy, our practical and practice-able philosophy of life, we are becoming able to live in harmony with and develop ethics from the intended. Rhythmic soothing, life replenishing, intentional reminding is becoming our living guidance, our way of life and living here on the Gulf. We are becoming full and intentional members in the intended life processes of this energy field.
Helpful to remember is that not only is it possible, but it is quite common that through our actions and structures, we can and do enable, obstruct, or disenable intended ways of working of an energy field. Thus, if we step back from the issue or the desired action and see wholistically what is at work – before we take action or create resolving structures –, we can better ensure that our approaches and efforts will be in the direction of harmonizing with intended ways of working… and, through conscientious attention, add to our understanding of intent. Remembering a useful truth in regards to living systems, “If you touch one, you touch them all,” helps us develop a wholistic – life of the whole – approach. Misunderstanding this truth leads us to efforts to “save” particular energy fields to which we are endeared, or extract from fields of which do not see ourselves a part. As soon as we set out to save or to extract, we hazard making ourselves separate from, perhaps even hierarchical to the energy field. We hazard moving away from two essential truths: There is but one Source; we are not the source; all, the whole of life and its members, are intended instruments… and we, humankind are living creatures, intentionally a part of life, a living part of life of the whole; we are not separate from life.
Hope comes when we are “seeing” essence, and taking up work and roles in the unfolding of essence… when the essential virtue is becoming the wisdom guiding the working of reason. In the absence of seeing and harmonizing with essence, we are merely problem solving, no matter how noble our cause. In the absence of seeing and harmonizing with essence, we have no hope of making a difference that really matters.
…And love. When we take in, experience within our hearts, minds and souls, an issue of significance (hunger, oppression, ecological degradation, for example), anger and hate soon show themselves. The world of existence is a cause-effect world. In the world of existence, if there is an issue of significance, there is a cause. Fueled by anger and hate, we turn our attention to the finding the cause, attacking the cause, and if necessary, “killing” the cause… excusing our actions with notions such as justified anger, right to our anger, or need to “get our anger out.” Yet anger leads to hate, and hate leads to instilling fear in others – fear that (we hope) causes them to do what we want. Anger and hate never bring out imbedded essence, essential virtues; in truth they actually obstruct such “seeing.” Anger and hate never lead us to peace among people and harmony with the life processes of earth. Anger and hate work to divide. Only love moves us towards wholeness and away from that which divides. We humankind are intended to become instruments of love, instruments into and through which love enters earth, and returns to the Source. If love is not present in our processes, love will not be present in the outcomes…
… and with love, all things are possible.
Sandra Maslow-Smith
Philosopher of Potential
Foley, Alabama
