At its deepest level this planet has the potential to give meaning and purpose to our souls as well as nourish our bodies. This has always been understood by traditional cultures that were rooted in the sacred. Many of their rituals of daily life as well as their spiritual practices were enacted for the purpose of looking after the sacred nature of creation, keeping the balance between the worlds.
When the Pomo Indians made baskets, the women would go out and pray over the grasses before they cut them. As they wove the baskets, they prayed over them. The basket wove together the physical and the spiritual parts of life. It is only through awakening to an awareness of the sacred within creation – and of its relationship to our own sacred nature – that we can begin to redeem the primal imbalance that lies at the root of our present predicament. Any awareness of the world as a living whole needs to include its spiritual dimension.
To quote the Buddhist leader, the 17th Karmapa: “At every moment, our physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing are nurtured by the earth and yet, we are indifferent to this fact as we go about our way pursuing material success.
-Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee