Category Archives: over population

Universal Unitarianism And Environmental Groups? Are there any or is the Church just one big one?

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This post is dedicated to Carol Kneedler who you can find at: carol kneedler <carol@o3internet.com>,

and who is a Universal Unitarian. She is a our web Diva and genius, and she along with Shane Bumgarner and Lanny Montgomery make this web site possible.

But First, “What is Unitarianism?”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unitarianism

Unitarianism is the belief in the single personality of God, in contrast to the doctrine of the Trinity (three persons in one God).[1] It is the philosophy upon which the modern Unitarian movement was based, and, according to its proponents, is the original form of Christianity. Unitarian Christians believe in the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, as found in the New Testament and other early Christian writings, and hold him up as an exemplar. Adhering to strict monotheism, they maintain that Jesus was a great man and a prophet of God, perhaps even a supernatural being, but not God himself. Unitarians believe in the moral authority, but not necessarily the divinity, of Jesus. They do not pray to Jesus. Their theology is thus distinguishable from the theology of Catholic, Orthodox, mainline Protestant, and other Christian denominations, who hold the Trinity doctrine as a core belief.

Some Evangelicals hold a unitarian theology in that they see God as a single person, and are thus antitrinitarian, but because they perceive Jesus to be God himself do not fall into the general theology discussed here, which sees Jesus as subordinate to God and a finite being. Instead see: Sabellianism, Oneness theology, Oneness Pentecostalism, Monarchianism, Binitarianism.

While there are both religiously liberal and religiously conservative unitarians, the name “Unitarian” is most commonly associated with the liberal branch of this theology.

Conservative (Biblical or Evangelical) unitarians strictly adhere to the principle of sola scriptura and their belief that the Bible is both inspired and inerrant and uphold “fundamentals” of belief. This version of unitarianism is more commonly called Nontrinitarianism, rather than Unitarianism.

Unitarians sum up their faith as “the religion of Jesus, not a religion about Jesus.” Historically, they have encouraged non-dogmatic views of God, Jesus, the world and purpose of life as revealed through reason, scholarship, science, philosophy, scripture and other prophets and religions. They believe that reason and belief are complementary and that religion and science can co-exist and guide them in their understanding of nature and God. They also do not enforce belief in creeds or dogmatic formulas. Although there is flexibility in the nuances of belief or basic truths for the individual Unitarian Christian, general principles of faith have been recognized as a way to bind the group in some commonality. Adherents generally accept religious pluralism and find value in all teachings, but remain committed to their core belief in Christ’s teachings. Liberal Unitarians value a secular society in which government stays out of religious affairs.

OK are you asleep yet? But as a Red Letter Christian I find it all very interesting.

Wiki goes on:

The term “Unitarian” has been applied both to those who hold a Unitarian theological belief and to those who belong to a Unitarian church. A hundred years ago, this would not have made much of a difference, but today it is a distinction that needs to be made.

Unitarian theology is distinguishable from the belief system of modern Unitarian and Unitarian Universalist churches and fellowships in several countries. This is because over time, some Unitarians and many Unitarian Universalists have moved away from the traditional Christian roots of Unitarianism. For example, in the 1890s the American Unitarian Association began to allow non-Christian and non-theistic churches and individuals to be part of their fellowship. As a result, people who held no Unitarian belief began to be called “Unitarians,” simply because they were members of churches that belonged to the American Unitarian Association. After several decades, the non-theistic members outnumbered the theological Unitarians.[2] A similar, though proportionally much smaller, phenomenon has taken place in the Unitarian churches in the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, and other countries, which remain more theologically based.

But I guess I could have let them speak for themselves….

 subsection-photo-visitors.jpg:}
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http://www.uua.org/visitors/index.shtml

Welcome to Unitarian Universalism!

Unitarian Universalists are a caring, open-minded religious community that encourages you to seek your own spiritual path. Our congregations are places where people gather to nurture their spirits and put their faith into action by helping to make our communities—and the world—a better place.

Explore our website,visit a congregation in your area and discover Unitarian Universalism. We invite you to join us.

Unitarian Universalism: 
Nurture Your Spirit.  Help Heal Our World.

Find Out More!

Unitarian Universalists are committed not only to spiritual growth and transformation but also to involvement in the world.  Read these Unitarian Universalist Perspectives to see how we live out our values. 

  • Ecology, Justice, and Compassion
  • Affirmation of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender People
  • The Relationship Between Religion and Science
  • The Role of Religion in American Democracy
  • Religion, Morality, and Sexuality

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Please note that their FIRST issue is Ecology! Is that cool or what? But then there is the pretty picture syndrome:

http://uuministryforearth.org/mfe_overview.htm

uuaworld.jpg

UU Ministry for Earth (formerly the Seventh Principle Project) is an affiliate organization of the Unitarian Universalist Association.

Our mission is to facilitate and support the work of Unitarian Universalists by affirming and promoting the Seventh Principle of the UUA, “Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.” Our members believe that the Earth is in peril from human activities, and for us as people of faith, this is a moral and spiritual crisis of utmost importance.

We sponsor the congregation based Green Sanctuary Program which provides a framework for study and reflection, and encourages individual and collective action for responding to the call to heal the Earth. In addition, our annual programs and exhibit booth at General Assembly provide hundreds of Unitarian Universalists with education and collaboration opportunities around critical environmental issues.

 So there you have it…it is the Whole Church. Pretty amazing actually…

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Respect Existence

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Jainism and Environmental Groups? It seems that every religion has one so I guess

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Religiously Exhausted – I am going to do 2 more posts on religion and the environmental movement in part because I am exhausted mentally. Learning a whole new religion everyday is extremely grueling. Also I am running out of religions. I mean at one level there are 4,200 seperate religions in the world. Out of what is left on the list Shinto, Cao Dai, and Tenrikyo are Japanese and Vietnamese indigenous religions that share much with the other indigenous religions. Some even lump them in with Taoism or Buddhism. I actually treated one as a premier religion under the banner of Chinese Tradional Religion simply because of the shear number of people that practice it so please see either the post on Indigenous Religions, African Traditional Religions or the Chinese Tradional Religion to get the general drift.

Also on the list are Neo-paganism, Rastifarianism and Scientology. All I can say about that is NO WAY. I will not write a post about people who are “trying to be pagans”. Heh you either are or you ain’t. A religion based on smoking weed? I don’t need an excuse for that. A religion based on a missing science fiction writer. WOW.

Then there is Zoroastrianism, along with Buddhism and the Indigenous religions it is one of the oldest practised religions in the world. But it is dieing. And there is nothing pretty about that. One of the first monetheistic religions in the world it could have contributed to some of the foundations of Jewish thought as well. But in the last decade or so it has dropped from 2.6 million adherents to 200,000. Not good. So why a post on Jainism which isn’t in much better shape? Because I always wanted to talk about naked priests. And why finish with Unitarianism? Because my web mistress and Diva goes to that church and she is worth it!

I had never heard of Jainism before the early 1990’s. I was working on a Homeless Project at Tulane University and one of the students that was a Tracker on the Project said that there was an Jainism Exhibit at the New Orleans Museum of Art. He was going to play some weird African musical instrument on Sunday afternoon. Would I come? I was a member of the museum anyway so I said I would go. I was really impressed. They had a complete Alter that filled one whole room. It was some of the best carved wood and ivory that I had ever seen before or since. The music was exotic. But the blessed thing was the film they had to accompany the exhibit. It was about a naked Priest that wandered from village to village in India begging for food.

But first the obligatory pretty picture:

  http://environment.harvard.edu/religion/religion/jainism/index.html

 jain_mountain.jpg

http://environment.harvard.edu/religion/religion/jainism/index.html

The Jain Faith in History
The Jain religion originated more than twenty-five hundred years ago in India. It developed a path of renunciation and purification designed to liberate one from the shackles of karma, allowing one to enter into a state of eternal liberation from rebirth, or kevala, which is roughly equivalent to the Buddhist concept of nirvana. The primary method of attaining this ultimate state requires a careful observance of nonviolent behavior. Jainism emphasizes nonviolence, or ahimsa, as the only true path that leads to liberation and prescribes following scrupulous rules for the protection of life in all forms.1The origins of Jainism are somewhat difficult to trace. The tradition holds that twenty-four great teachers, or Tirthankaras, established the foundations of the Jain faith. The most recent of these teachers, Vardhamana Mahavira (also known as the Jina) most probably lived during the time of the Buddha. Recent scholarship suggests that the Buddha lived in the fourth century BCE. However, the traditional stories of Mahavira indicate that he was born into a family that followed the religious teachings of Parsvanatha, the twenty-third Tirthankara, who possibly taught during the eighth century BCE. Because virtually no archaeological ruins can be found in India for the period from 1500 to 300 BCE, exact dates cannot be determined. However, the first excavations of northern India during the Hellenistic era (ca. 300 BCE) include statues of Jain images. Furthermore, the earliest Buddhist texts discuss Jainism in some detail, suggesting that it was a well-established tradition even before the time of the Buddha.

Jainism and Environmentalism
The common concerns between Jainism and environmentalism can be found in a mutual sensitivity toward living things, a recognition of the inter-connectedness of life-forms, and support of programs that educate others to respect and protect living systems. For the Jains, this approach is anchored in a cosmology that views the world in terms of a cosmic woman whose body contains countless life souls (jiva) that reincarnate repeatedly until the rare attainment of spiritual liberation (kevala). The primary means to attain freedom requires the active nonharming of living beings, which disperses the karmas that keep one bound. Jains adhere to the vows of nonviolence to purify their karma and advance toward the higher states of spiritual attainment (gunasthana). For Jain laypeople, this generally means keeping to a vegetarian diet and pursuing livelihoods deemed to inflict a minimum of harm. For Jain monks and nuns, this means the need to avoid doing harm to all forms of life, including bugs and microorganisms (nigoda).

Harvard listed no Jain Environmental groups or sites, but referred people to the also normally reliable Alliance of Religion and Conservation. I could find only one group their:

 http://www.arcworld.org/

http://www.arcworld.org/faiths.asp?pageID=47

Young Jains is a UK-based organization for the young and not so young that encourages the discussion and exploration of Jain philosophy, spirituality and its practical importance to life, in an open and friendly environment.

This site also is for Young Jains but it seems to be based in the US:

http://www.yjponline.org/index.asp

And that is about it for the web at least. But what about the naked priests you say? Their monks or priests are so afraid of hurting living beings that they cover their mouths for fear of killing microbes..

 jain-monk1.jpg

But no force on earth, police or otherwise, can triumph over the unquestionable purity of a great Jain sage, and the day we were taken to see His Holiness, by Mr. Ratanchand Hirachand, a wealthy Jain shipping merchant, Shri Nemi Sagarji Maharaj was, as usual, completely naked.

So I am really sorry to say that I could only find one image of one of the naked priests. Which is too bad because the movie ended showing this cute little old skinny priest from the rear walking down a dirt road with 2 deveotees in front of him sweeping bugs out of the road with tree branches so he would not step on them and kill them. What a sweet devout man.

naked1.jpg

This is the only picture i could find of a naked priest and it is too small to really see but he is standing by the river chanting until someone comes up and feeds him. Oh they don’t wear clothes because they can not be sure that something was not harmed to make them. Some priests get around this by making their own simple clothes like a wrap around blanket. But if you are desiress of simplicity or no good at spinning and weaving well there you go.

Found a lot of these though:

naked2.jpg

Please Harm No One Today

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Spiritism? OK I give up…

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Spiritism: 15 million

The problem with the list I have been using to meditate on the relationship between religions and the environment is it is all inclusive…noting religions that have less adherents then the population of New York City. Not that I am making fun of or discounting any of the “smaller” religions…In fact in honor of CES’ web mistress I will post on the Unitarians no matter what BUT Spiritism? I am almost afraid to see what pops out of the search engine. Could it be spooks!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritism

This article is about Spiritism. For the similar movement prominent from 1830 to 1920 in most English-speaking countries, see Spiritualism.

Allan Kardec (1804-69),

 

Allan Kardec (1804-69), “decoder” of Spiritism

Spiritism is a spiritualist philosophical doctrine, established in France in the mid-nineteenth century.

Spiritism, or French spiritualism, is based on books written by French educator Hypolite Léon Denizard Rivail under the pseudonym Allan Kardec reporting séances in which he observed a series of phenomena that could be only attributed to incorporeal intelligence (spirits). His assumption of spirit communication was validated by many contemporaries, among them many scientists and philosophers who attended séances and studied the phenomena. His work was later extended by writers like Leon Denis, Arthur Conan Doyle, Camille Flammarion, Ernesto Bozzano, Chico Xavier, Divaldo Pereira Franco, Waldo Vieira, Johannes Greber[1] and others.

Spiritism has adherents in many countries throughout the world, including Spain, United States, Japan, Germany, France, England, Argentina, Portugal and especially Brazil, which has the largest proportion and the greatest number of followers.[2]
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OK where is Houdini when you need him?

http://www.spiritistdoctrine.com/basicsstart.htm

*   Spiritism is a lesson of love and everlasting life in a continued pursuit of self-improvement and harmony with all the creation throughout multiple existences.
*   It is the collection of principles and laws, as revealed by the Superior Spirits, contained in the works of Allan Kardec, which constitute the Codification of Spiritism: The Spirits’ Book, The Mediums’ Book, The Gospel According to Spiritism, Heaven and Hell and The Genesis According to Spiritism.
*   It is the promised Consoler which came, at the appointed time, to compliment and remind us of what Jesus taught, “reestablishing all things in their true meaning”, so bringing to Humanity the true basis for spiritualization.

But I forgot about mother earth and the New Agers.

http://www.crossroad.to/Books/UnderSpell/5-goddess.htm

Under the Spell of Mother Earth – Chapter 5 

 

Welcoming the Goddess
 

Human Sacrifice

  

 







“Pagans at the Harvard Divinity School.  A Goddess-centered ritual at the University of Pennsylvania.  A feminist seder in Silver Spring.  New moon groups at a rabbinical seminary.  Women’s spirituality sessions at Appalachian State University, Wesleyan University, Brown …. What on earth is going on?”  (Judith Weinraub, The Washington Post)1 “In the beginning, there was no God.  There was the Goddess.  She peered into the great void and created the Heav­en and the Earth, and in this new domain women ruled.  The world was peaceful and both sexes worshiped Her.”  (Sonia L. Nazario, The Wall Street Journal)2

 “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done.” (Matthew 6:9-10)

LINDA, A STUDENT in elementary education at California State University at Sacramento, had to take a course titled “Curriculum and Methods in Elementary School Social Studies.” On the first day of class, her professor drew a large serpent on the chalkboard.  “This will protect you against evil forces,” he explained.  “What kind of a class is this?” wondered Linda.  A few weeks later, she wrote the following message to her mother who sent it on to me:

I absolutely hate it!  The teacher is wearing a crystal around his neck. If this gives you any idea – here are some of our text titles: When God Was a Woman, Myths to Live By, Return of the Goddess, Cows, Pigs, Wars and Witches, The Once and Future Goddess, etc.  If I didn’t have to be here, I would have walked out already.  I’m so amazed that this is our required class.  

Linda was being trained to teach Goddess spirituality.  As a Christian, she recognized the deception.  But what about her peers?  What kind of social studies will they be teaching their students?  And if the Goddess is spreading her pagan roots through public education, how are her values influ­encing the rest of the nation?

The Rise of Goddess Spirituality

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During the mid-eighties, I searched local bookstores in vain for information on ancient Canaanite idol worship.  I wanted to understand God’s prophecy to Abraham con­cerning the time his descendants would enter the Promised Land.  God promised it would happen after 400 years of captivity, when the “sin of the Amorites” reached “its full measure.”3  As always, His timing would be perfect.  Israel would not be allowed to possess the land until Canaan’s degrading idolatry made it ripe for judgment.

Suddenly, in early 1990, books about Goddess worship burst into public view with voluptuous illustrations, they described the Babylonian religion that had captivated the Canaanites in earlier days.

Our most popular local bookstore displayed thirty-one books on the Goddess.  Some titles, like those on Linda’s reading list, express today’s growing fascination with the mythical Earth Mother: The Goddess Returns; The Way of the Goddess – A Manual for Wiccan Initiation; The Serpent and the Goddess – Women, Religions and Power in Celtic Ireland; The Goddess Within, Goddesses in Every Woman, The Sacred Age of the Goddess; The Triple Goddess; The Once and Future Goddess …

Other titles joined Goddess worship to ecofeminism, fem­inine spirituality, and witchcraft: Priestesses; Kali-The Femi­nine Force; The Great Cosmic Mother – Rediscovering the Religions of the Earth; Myth and Sexuality; Drawing Down the Moon – Witches, Druids, Goddess Worshipers and Other Pagans in America Today; The Great Cosmic Mother,, The Holy Book of Women’s Mysteries – Feminist Witchcraft, Goddess Rituals, Spellcasting and other Womanly Arts.

Why this outpouring of publicity for the ancient God­dess?  Roger Woolger and Jennifer Barker Woolger gave an answer in their article “‘The Wounded Goddesses Within”:

Throughout the world, but most prominently in West­ernized countries, we are witnessing a reawakening of the feminine, a profound upheaval within the consciousness of women… Radical commentators have called it figuratively a “return of the Goddess,” because it seems to suggest the very antithesis of patriarchal society.4

The myths and practices that beckon seekers resemble those of Deep Ecology.  But followers of the Goddess express far more anger toward our male-dominated culture. To save the earth, they plan to …

  •  Replace the obsolete patriarchal system of a Father God which, they say, is squeezing our planet dry of resources, with the more compassionate culture of the ancient Mother Goddess.

  •  Revive the ancient myths, images, and rituals of the Goddess.

  •  Reclaim the power and sacredness of eroticism.

“Ecofeminism develops the connections between ecology and feminism that social ecology needs in order to reach its own avowed goal of creating a free and ecological way of life.”5 (Ynestra King in Healing the Wounds) 

Ecofeminists envision a world without authority figures or male saviors, “for the saving and sustaining power is in herself.”6 Filled with earth’s psychic energies and wisdom, we would each be free to do

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http://www.experiencefestival.com/gaia_hypothesis/page/2

A Wisdom Archive on The Gaia Hypothesis

Gaia Hypothesis

The Gaia Hypothesis proposes that our planet functions as a single organism that maintains conditions necessary for its survival. The truly startling component of the Gaia hypothesis is the idea that the Earth is a single living entity with the capacity of self regulation.

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http://www.care2.com/c2c/group/santmat

If you want to chat about it you can go to the site above. I don’t think the new agers have groups per se…the very idea of organizations is so OLD World. But they do have festivals:

http://www.experiencefestival.com/

OMMMMMMMMMM OHHHMMMMMMMM

Juche – a simple name for a nasty idea. Kim Il Sungism

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Jodie Foster, Pregnant Man, Iran, Prince Philip, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, American Idol, Obama, China, Beyonce, Rolling Stones. (sorry for the deception but please read below)

Normally I wouldn’t bother to cover this but since it’s on the list I felt I needed to “dis” it as much as I could. I even took the time to get Buzzes top searches for the week to punch it up a bit. I even checked every category Energy Tough Love has to publicize this human indignity. The list of “Religions” that I used to start this meditation on the relationship between Religion and the Environment placed Juche well down on the list but with 18 million adherents that still alot of folks. I had never heard of it before and I even asked a couple of people if they had heard of it. Imagine my suprise when I typed it into a search engine and up popped this Prick who claimed he was god:

www.dictatorofthemonth.com

kim.jpg

During his lifetime he forced millions of people in North Korea to worship him. Can you imagine anything more degrading or disgusting then a man who points a loaded gun at your head and demands that you treat him like a god. You must pray to him. Oh most Divine Leader. Makes me want to puke. But then he is followed by this buffoon:

www.beconfused.com

jong.jpg

Now they are “worshiping” something no better than a trained monkey. If they had an ENVIRONMENTAL group in North Korea, I wish them the best of luck but I ain’t gonna publish it. I ain’t even gona type it into a search engine. If anybody ever deserved to get a nuke shoved up his poop shoot. This would be it.

Sikhism and the Environment? I got my doubts.

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I may be wrong but after yesterdays frustration I am coming to the realisation that maybe there is an enabling level of adherents. That is maybe there is a threshold of the number adherents to a religion reached before they take on “side issues”. But it also could be an access to technology issue. Maybe the ATR’s don’t have easy access to the web. Whatever the reason I found not one (bumpkis, nada, zero zilch) African Traditional Religious groups involved in Environmentalism. If I strike out today, I may be done with religion for now. 

Sikhism (IPA: /?si?k?z?m/ (help·info) or /?s?k-/ (info); Punjabi: ?????, sikkh?, IPA: [?s?kk?i?] (info)), founded on the teachings of Nanak and nine successive gurus in fifteenth century Northern India, is the fifth-largest religion in the world.[1] This system of religious philosophy and expression has been traditionally known as the Gurmat (literally the counsel of the gurus) or the Sikh Dharma. Sikhism originated from the word Sikh, which in turn comes from the Sanskrit root ?i?ya meaning “disciple” or “learner”, or ?ik?a meaning “instruction.”[2][3]

The principal belief of Sikhism is faith in V?higur?—represented using the sacred symbol of ?k ?a?k?r, the Universal God. Sikhism advocates the pursuit of salvation through disciplined, personal meditation on the name and message of God. A key distinctive feature of Sikhism is a non-anthropomorphic concept of God, to the extent that one can interpret God as the Universe itself. The followers of Sikhism are ordained to follow the teachings of the ten Sikh gurus, or enlightened leaders, as well as the holy scripture entitled the Gur? Granth S?hib, which includes selected works of many devotees from diverse socio-economic and religious backgrounds. The text was decreed by Gobind Singh, the tenth guru, as the final guru of the Khalsa Panth. Sikhism’s traditions and teachings are distinctively associated with the history, society and culture of the Punjab. Adherents of Sikhism are known as Sikhs (students or disciples) and number over 23 million across the world. Most Sikhs live in the state of Punjab in India and, prior to the country’s partition, millions of Sikhs lived in what is now known as the Punjab province of Pakistan

Then again maybe I was wrong. I found this neat site and it lists Jains and the B’hai as well so I will be at it for a couple of days at least.

http://www.arcworld.org/faiths.asp?pageID=57

 But first the Pretty Pictures

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Way to go Punjabians.!.

Realisation of Truth and Truthful Living for all.
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Primal/Indigenous Religious Environmental Groups – Why do I think I am in over my head?

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primal-indigenous: 300 million

Let me start by saying that this is a real tough topic because most religions of this type make no distinction between a person and a place. Thus they could be inherently environmental BUT. There is a strain of this way of thinking that argues that Skyscrapers are just as natural an extention of Gaia as are termite colonies. So beware:

http://staff.jccc.net/thoare/primal.htm

Some Basic Concepts in Primal Religion

Some Basic Concepts

  • Unity of experience: The primal world is not fragmented but remains whole as a symbolic paradigm of the sacred. There is no perceived division between the physical and the spiritual. The physical can indeed be a channel for the spiritual, as opposed to something “corrupt” that stands in opposition to it. In contrast, recall my use of the expression “the divorce of Mom and Dad” in regard to Western religious consciousness. Divine worship, therefore, would not be regarded as an activity to be separated or isolated from other activities. Life as lived is a sacred “activity” in and of itself. One worships as one breathes.
  • Place (“Not available for export”): What is the difference between “space” and “place?” Place is space with a line drawn around it. The physical location of the community is the spiritual pivot of the universe. The primal consciousness is identified with the earth in this particular place. In other words, one’s physical place is one’s spiritual base (consider the Native American crisis of relocation, e.g., the Cherokee nation). Compare this with the Western emphasis upon “history as destiny.”
  • Orality (“Tell me a story”); Where should story dwell? Where do ancestors live? In the soul or in a text? There are advantages and disadvantages to each. Whoever said “Sticks and stones will break my bones but names will never hurt me” did not know what he was talking about. Words have life and breath. Stories may change and evolve, but they are always relational events (“And then what happened?!”). Texts, on the other hand, preserve story, tradition, information, etc. as a constant. But how often do we go read them? We often seem content simply to know they are over there safe and sound (i.e., in the library).
  • Time: in relationship to the characteristics articulated above, time is better thought of as “timelessness.” In the West or in technological cultures, time is linear. This implies that time and history are “going somewhere,” i.e., in fulfillment of a destiny or purposefulness. Primal time is not linear but eternal. “Eternal” does not mean “forever,” as the idea of forever is in itself linear (i.e., going on and on). Eternity simply “is.” This “isness” or beingness is the stable, unchanging backdrop within which the gods and ancestors simply “are.” It is encountered in any number of ways, such as dreams, shamanic ecstasy, mask performance, etc. Primal people may indeed speak of “the Past,” but this should be understood not as chronological but causal: the past is not “back then” but closer to the original Source of things. This relates once again to the primacy of “place” as something eternal and central.
  • Ritual enactment: each of the above ideas is present in what one enacts. Rituals and rites of passage are rehearsals or performances of the original creative act. Creation, therefore, is not a chronological event that took place “back then,” but an ever-presentness. Ritual enactment keeps one in touch with that presentness as an eternal reality.
  • Related closely to ritual enactment is the concept of liminality. From the Latin limen, meaning “threshhold” or “entryway,” liminality refers to the ritual state of transition in a rite of passage, wherein the initiand is in a condition (or non-condition) of ambiguity or “between two worlds.” He or she is in the midst of the process of leaving something old and becoming something new. Compare this to, for example, the contemporary process of engagement and marriage. The period of time between “Will you marry me?” and “I do” can last for months, and it is often filled with confusion and chaos. The partners-to-be are not married yet, but they are not single, either. They are in a liminal state of ambiguity in which they are, in a sense, non-persons, until they re-emerge on the other side as husband and wife. This is why a bride is traditionally “carried over the threshhold” on her wedding day. A similar custom is that in which both partners jump over a pole, such as a broom handle, that is extended out in front of the couple at about ankle height.

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Harvard Comes Shining through again. But then this is what you would expect from the place where Ralph Waldo Emerson taught. First the pretty picture:  

http://environment.harvard.edu/religion/religion/indigenous/links.html

ayers_rock.jpg

Alaska Native Knowledge Network
Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources
First Nations Environmental Network
Honor the Earth
Indian Trust Management Information
Indigenous Agricultural and Environmental Knowledge Systems
Indigenous Environmental Network
Intertribal Environmental Council
National Environmental Coalition of Native Americans
National Laws and International Agreements Affecting Indigenous and Local Knowledge (article)
National Tribal Environmental Council
Native American Fish and Wildlife Society
Native Americans and the Environment
Native Web Resources
Pluralism Project
World’s Indigenous Women’s Foundation

Alpha Institute Indigenous/Environmental Links
Acre Amazon Link
Center for Indigenous Environmental Resources
Center for World Indigenous Studies
Elders and Graduate Level Educators
Taiga Rescue Network
Pictish Nation
Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO)

Akwesasne (Mohawk) Task Force on the Environment
Cherokee Nation
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
Comunidades Indigenas de los Altos de Chiapas
Dine CARE (Navajo environmental organization)
Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs
Muscogee Creek Nation
Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation
Oneida Indian Nation
Operation Amazonia Nativa
Organization of the Indigenous Peoples from Tarauacá and Jordão (Amazon)
Zapitistas

Constitution of Iroquois Nation

Lakota Links Page

University of Texas: Lanic (Indigenous Peoples in Latin America) Resources
Native American Indian Resources
Resources on Aztec and Mayan Law
Traditional Ecological Knowledge Database

And This Note Before We Leave China for the Primal – Indigenous Religions, whatever the heck that is?

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primal-indigenous: 300 million

http://www.eeo.com.cn/ens/Observer/2008/02/29/92990.html

 AGRICULTURE

The Day China Runs Dry

By Rui Bingyou

Published: 2008-02-29

China’s massive but dwindling aquifers would be on track to run virtually dry if over-pumping continued, said Lester Brown, prominent US environmental policy advocate. At that point, its grain production would dive, severely exacerbating any food price increases that had already accumulated. Without rationally priced water, Brown predicted this scenario and a severe global food shortages as inevitable.At once an ecologist, author, farmer, and activist, Brown was one of the earliest pioneers of the modern environmental movement. He had worked in various capacities for the US Department of Agriculture, ultimately becoming the director of the International Agriculture Development Service in 1966. In 1974 he founded World Watch, a non-profit devoted to global environmental issues, and in 2001, the Earth Policy Institute.In 1995, Brown wrote a book entitled “Who Will Feed China?”, prompting worldwide attention and fierce debates in China on its role in affecting global food security.As part of the EO focus series on China’s rising food prises, Brown discussed with us the greater ecological significance in agricultural production.The key, he said, would be water.

As a bonus Austin Arensberg also lists a group of Chinese Energy Advocate Groups

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WOOHOO I love this guy now if he would just cover the Sikhs, the Jains and all the rest that I have as yet to do…

http://www.austinarensberg.com/?page_id=313

China Energy Conservation Association

Gansu Province Solar Home System Project

http://www.nrel.gov/international/china/gansu_pilot_project.html
South-North Institute for Sustainable Development
http://www.snisd.org.cn
Global Village Beijing
http://www.gvbchina.org/
Energy Foundation
http://www.efchina.org
BP-Tsinghua Clean Energy Centre
Shangde Solar Energy Power Company
BECon – The Beijing Energy Efficiency Center
http://www.beconchina.org/
Shanghai Energy Conservation Science and Technology Center
Alliance to Save Energy China Program
http://www.ase.org/section/program/eeip
China Energy Group
http://china.lbl.gov/
Chinese Renewable Energy Industries Association
http://www.creia.net/

Chinese Traditonal Religion Operates An Environmental Group? How do I write about this and avoid racism?

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If you go back and look at the original list of the WORLD’S RELIGIONS there are roughly 1.5 billion people that fall into 2 pretty blurry categories. Easiest to deal with are th 1.1 billion,

Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist: 1.1 billion

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Because I write about them everyday when I am not writing directly about Energy Issues, I am not going to do a post here.. The Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth and most of the other environmental nonprofits are of this group. Much harder to discuss though are religions like those of mainland China.

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Chinese traditional religion: 394 million

Chinese Traditional Religion causes clouds in westerner’s minds. I mean it would be so easy to get all New Earthy here with cliches and stuff. Or make rude references to the television program Kung FU and  being like a “grasshopper” or make fun of Shanghai Knights and Jackie Chan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_folk_religion

Western views

The absence of a proper name for this religion, associated with the absence of any canonical literature, have for a long time caused Chinese folk religion to be viewed by Westerners as a popularized version of an “authentic” religion, in the same way that the cult of the saints is viewed. Both in China and outside, adherents often describe themselves, or are described by others, as followers of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, or a mix among these.

http://www.blurtit.com/q738169.html

Blurtit expands on this definition:

“Worship of animals, the sun, moon, earth, the heavens and stars has been a tradition of this religion. Various devotions in celebration of legends, festivals, folk gods and goddesses has been part of the Chinese culture for centuries. Mythical figures, “saints,” immortals, and demigods are part of the Chinese tradition.”

The real problem for many of the world’s religions from a Jewish/Christian/Islam perspective is that they lack a Messianic Character (Christ); they are largely oral and interpretive in nature; and they are not monetheistic. This is true of a post already put up that dealt with Hinduism, but even more true of Jainism and some others.

Yet many of these religions directly address the environment as being much more important than the current leaders of the food chain, and caution against the over use of resources such as energy.

I rarely ever get lucky, but on this topic I did. a guy named Austin Arensberg put together this enormous list of groups, mostly local NGOs, working on environmental issues in China and sharing a traditional perspective.


A partial list includes:

Green Earth Volunteers

http://www.virtualfoundation.org/about/consortium/greenearth.html

Green Watershed
http://www.greenwatershed.org

Green River
http://www.green-river.org/


Nu River Project
http://www.nujiang.ngo.cn

China Rivers Network
http://www.chinarivers.ngo.cn

Wild China
http://www.wildchina.com

Han Hai Sha: Volunteer Website Dedicated to Desertification in China
http://www.desert.org.cn

China Green Foundation

Green Camel
http://www.greencamel.ngo.cn/

Perspectives plateau

www.plateauperspectives.org
Contact: Marc Foggin
Phone: +86 0 976 889 2104
Email: marc_foggin@hotmail.com

Green Khampa
Contact: Mr. Ding Xiaotao
Phone: +(86) (0) 836 283 9119
gzdingxiaotao@vip.sina.com

Friends of Grasslands
Contact: Mr. DA Lintai
Phone: +(86) (0) 471 4312480
steppecl@eyou.com

Green Campbell – Lanzhou Grasslands Research Institute

Gansu Grassland Ecological Research Institute
Contact: Dr. Liang Tiangang
Phone: + (86) (0) 0931 8662047, Fax: 86 0931 8497314
ggeri@public.lz.gs.cn
Address: P.O. Box 61, 730020, Lanzhou, Gansu Province

Snowland Great Rivers Environmental Protection Association
www.snowland-great-rivers.org
Contact: Gara Sandrup Rokai
Phone: + (86) (0) 971 6116 843, 0976 882 9088
Fax: 0976-8829099
uyohata@sina.com ,

okphone2001@yahoo.com

Upper Yangtze Conservation Development Organisation
China Vetiver Network

China Biodiversity Conservation Foundation
Fujian Bird-watching Society
Fujian Fire Bird?
HongKong Bird-Watching Society
Xiamen Bird-Watching Society
Shenzhen Bird-Watching Society
Wetland of the Dongting Lake?

Center for Biodiversity and Indigenous Knowledge
(http://www.cbik.org/)
Siberian Tiger Park
Wuhan Baiji Dolphin Conservation Foundation
China Wildlife Conservation Association
Nature and Culture Conservation Club

Green Dalian
Friends of Nature


And a 2006 Worldwatch Institute article makes this point:


http://www.worldwatch.org/node/3870

In this 2006 article by Lila Buckley, titled:

Maturing Environmental Movement Takes Uniquely Chinese Approach

“While many of their issues are familiar to activists around the world, environmentalists in China recognize that they must forge their own path. Speaking at the NGO Forum, Mei Yue, media director for Greenpeace China, explained how her organization tries to take advantage of environmental principles embedded in Chinese culture and philosophy. “Thinking locally in China involves traditional ideas of humanity in harmony with nature,” she said, noting that environmentalists need to stress more broadly the notion that this harmony is out of balance. “Then we can come up with uniquely Chinese understandings of new terms like ‘ecology’ and ‘sustainable development’ in order to solve our problems,” Mei explained.”

Unfortunately hindsight paints a less than hopeful Picture. The main point of the article is that Chinese Environmentalist are ready to dig in and fight. This last year brought global warming to China producing the first Heavey snowstorms during their New Year and ruining everyone’s holidays. The drought continued in the west and their deserts expanded and they drove the price of oil up over a 100$$$ per barrel.

And as usual the pretty pictures too:

indexpicture1.jpg

Hindu Environmental Groups? I know that there are Indian Environmental Groups

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But what about specific HINDU Environmental Groups?

First a note of clarification, Energy Tough Love (ETL) has been suffering from what our Web Diva calls bad code. ETL is more of an accumulator or an aggregator than an original poster. There is so much Energy/Environmental stuff out there that I just pick what interests me at the moment OR occassionally what is the hot topic of the day. We do original blogs on local issues but even then we usually “borrow” from our local newspaper – most notably Tim Landis – who does some of the best writing in the Springfield area and the AP. I have never had any problems with this approach from a production stand point in the 7 months that CES had issued this blog. We can debate the ethics of it over a beer…but besides sizing problems, the nuts and bolts of it has been fairly straight forward. That is until I got to this series on Religious based Environmental Groups…Right – go figure. One of the Muslim/Islam and one of the Jewish Websites had viruses embedded in them!!! Yah and I loaded them up to the blog.

It has taken Web Diva and me the last 5 days to get all of the yuck cleaned out and I am now studying each blog post by the coded line to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

On to the Hindu Environmental groups. Harvard is turning out to pretty much have cornered the market on Religion and The Environment…Why am I not suprised by that?

http://environment.harvard.edu/religion/religion/hinduism/projects/spirit_nature.html

and the requisite pretty pictures:

hinduism.jpg

Hindu Engaged Projects

Spirit in Nature (SpIN) Interfaith Path Sanctuary

pirit in Nature (SpIN) Interfaith Path Sanctuary is a non-profit organization that brings together people of diverse religious traditions to promote reverence and care for the earth. Through education, dialogue, and spiritual reflection in nature, SpIN seeks to awaken people to environmental problems, promote environmental action that is spiritually or religiously rooted, and provide a replicable model for engaging diverse religious traditions in caring for the Earth. Seeking to create an opportunity for people of diverse traditions to meet, meditate, walk, and worship in a setting that is conducive to spiritual reflection on nature, SpIN established a network of eleven “faith paths” in the foothills of the Green Mountains, near Ripton, Vermont. Nine of the paths represent different religions (Bahai, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Pagan, Quaker, and Unitarian Universalist), while the other two, including the children’s path, are inter-religious. The paths meet at a sacred circle, highlighting the interconnections between different religious traditions and between humans and the environment. SpIN encourages reflective walking along the paths, which are marked with “nature notes” indicating special points of interest in the natural surroundings. The paths have benches and quotes from each religious tradition about connecting with the earth. Located on seventy acres of land, the Vermont path center now has six to eight miles of paths with more than 6,000 feet of river and brook frontage. In addition to maintaining the paths, SpIN sponsors public events geared toward stimulating dialogue and action on behalf of the earth, such as its Bread and Soup Speaker Series, Earth Day Fair, discussion groups, guided walks and experiential activities at the path center. Each year SpIN publicly recognizes a person who has contributed to the connection of religion and ecology with its annual Eco-Spirit Award. “Spreading the Seeds” workshops are available for people interested in starting SpIN path centers at other locations, and the quarterly Spirit in Nature newsletter keeps readers informed about events, activities, and political issues related to religion and the environment. The Spirit in Nature Handbook, which contains information about SpIN and the Vermont path center, is available in print and on-line. At present, SpIN has more than 270 members nationwide, about one third of whom are not affiliated with any particular religious organization. New SpIN groups are forming in Boston and western Massachusetts; Norwich, Vermont; and Saratoga Springs, New York.

There is this Blogger:

http://kalyan98.wordpress.com/2008/03/13/setu-violation-of-environmental-protection-norms-and-coastal-peoples-livelihood/

Who sites this newspaper article:

http://www.livemint.com/sethusamudram.htm

Which cites this group:

COASTAL ACTION NETWORK

Contact Addresses

Jesu Rethinam, 546, Selva Prabha Complex, Public Office Road, Velippalayam, Nagapattinam – 611 001.                            

Ph: 04365 – 248674, Tele / Fax: 04365 – 248907; E-mail: coastalactionnetwork@rediffmail.com

Ossie Fernandes, No. 10, Thomas Nagar, Little Mount, Saidapet, Chennai – 600 015.Ph : 044 – 223 53 503, Fax : 044 – 223 55 905,

E-mail – hrf@xlweb.com,

hrf@md3.vsnl.net.in


Then there is this site if you want to get into the hardcore stuff

https://www.himalayanacademy.com/taka/past/2003/June/June_04_2003/

“To the Hindu the ground is sacred. The rivers are sacred. The sky is sacred. The sun is sacred. His wife is a Goddess. Her husband is a God. Their children are devas. Their home is a shrine. Life is a pilgrimage to liberation from rebirth, and no violence can be carried to the higher reaches of that ascent. While nonviolence speaks only to the most extreme forms of wrongdoing, ahimsa, which includes not killing, goes much deeper to prohibit the subtle abuse and the simple hurt. Rishi Patanjali described ahimsa as the great vow and foremost spiritual discipline which Truth-seekers must follow strictly and without fail. This extends to harm of all kinds caused by one’s thoughts, words and deeds–including injury to the natural environment. Even the intent to injure, even violence committed in a dream, is a violation of ahimsa. Vedic rishis who revealed dharma proclaimed ahimsa as the way to achieve harmony with our environment, peace between peoples and compassion within ourselves. The Vedic edict is: “Ahimsa is not causing pain to any living being at any time through the actions of one’s mind, speech or body.” Aum Namah Sivaya.”

Gurudeva

Then there is this report:

http://www.foe.org.au/media-releases/2002-media-releases/mr_25_11_02.htm

November 25, 2002

US Corportions fund Right-Wing

 Indian Hindu Groups

Hindutva, the Hindu supremacist ideology that has under girded much of the communal violence in India over the last several decades, has seen tremendous growth outside India over the last two decades. This report focuses on one US based organization–the India Development and Relief Fund (IDRF), which has systematically funded Hindutva operations in India. “The Foreign Exchange of Hate” establishes that the IDRF is not a secular and non-sectarian organization as it claims to be, but is, on the contrary, a major conduit of funds for Hindutva organizations in India

And if you want to CHAT it up well:

http://www.hindunet.com/forum/postlist.php?Cat=&Board=environmentalism

Sanatana Dharma