The book, Defy Gravity by Caroline Myss, encourages us to go beyond in our thoughts and understanding of what we see and hear—to learn a new way of thinking. For instance, what we see as someone illegally speeding down the highway may be a man transporting his pregnant wife to the hospital. We are often prone to pre-judgment which may not be true. Myss mentions throughout the book, “All is one.” An exemplary example of “All is one,” is the coronavirus pandemic. If we had any doubts of our connectedness to the rest of the human race, by now those doubts should be shattered. “All is one,” goes beyond humanity to include all of Earth—animals, trees and plants, the soil, the water, the air—which is communally shared even at great distances. Caroline Myss studied the mystics of past centuries. Her writings reflect St. Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross, both living in the mid-1500s. She uses their writings to help us understand that what we do affects our soul: “John of the Cross viewed sin as a negative act that we consciously choose to initiate, knowing that others might be harmed but weighing such consequences as insignificant given the dark passion fueling our ego. That the deed is consciously enacted and that we or others suffer (emotionally or physically) is a violation of the soul’s creative power or nature, and, as such, it is more than just “wrong”. John sees such action as a celestial or cosmic violation, the very archetypal meaning of a sin. Conscious negative action that is self-serving, incidentally, is also the kind of violation that accrues karma.” And with that thought, the arrival of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22, 2020 appears to be a kind of reckoning. Gaylord Nelson, a Democratic Senator from Wisconsin instigated Earth Day. In the ’70s there was unrest with government policies or lack thereof. Rivers were used for dumping by large corporations and many rivers were toxically polluted. No restrictions had been put on the poisonous emissions factories were spewing into the air. Animals were becoming extinct at what we then thought was an alarming rate, but not close to what is happening now. The crux of the massive demonstrations on that first Earth Day had results. Within a few months, Congress passed the Clean Air Act. Soon, the Clean Water Act along with the Endangered Species Act came into law. DDT was banned and other actions to help protect and save the environment came into being. Earth Day demonstrations transformed our lives and changed America. Over the past 50 years, Earth Day lost the intense dedication shown by the first demonstrators. Some teachers still mention it in the classroom but action has waned. However, once again there is unrest in America, especially with the young. I believe that, if the coronavirus had not become a pandemic, Earth Day would have been a staging ground for all who are concerned about climate change. Because, once again, our leaders and government are doing nothing to address what needs to be done to keep our planet habitable. How are these three things coalescing? In my mind it is like the water spout spinning. “All is one.” When drug companies sell drugs which they know to be harmful and cause medical problems such as cancer, that is a sin. Whether it is a corporation or a single person who intentionally causes another harm, it is a sin. What about a leader and a government lacking the initiative to do what is right to save its citizens? Is that a sin? Like the water spout, will these actions eventually collapse in on themselves? Are souls lost when they knowingly act in the absence of grace?
Earth Day is a reminder that citizens can make a change. The dark passions that seem to be predominant, that have been a lifetime method of action, can be changed. John of the Cross thinks it is possible. The coalescence of the three subjects resounds as a commitment, a commitment to live the truth and do what actions one can do to help restore good spiritual energy to life. Truth is a powerful force. [email protected] ©Ann Rains–April, 2020
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