Introduction
In this collection, we spotlight submissions in which students seek to grow and to articulate spiritual roots in the natural world.
Selected Artwork and Writing听
Seeking Inner Wellness by Embracing our Oneness with Nature
In "Thoughts While Sitting on a Log in the Okanagan" (Spring 2016 pg. 18),听Andi Antal writes, 鈥淚 am alone but not secluded. The wind murmurs in the language of the universe and the leaves listen, swaying in agreement. They are free. We are all connected to the earth in the same way: our spirits must sway, whistling with the wind, in order to be free. I call to the birds and they respond because they know who I am. Together, on this rock, we spin around the sun, soaking in her rays and breathing to her rhythms.鈥澨�
鈥淲e are not separate from the Earth. We are the Earth, in all its chaos, balance, and cruel beauty.鈥� 鈥擲arah Needles, 鈥淒ivine Songs,鈥� Nov. 2007
鈥淣ature鈥檚 whole course is an integrated, interconnected and interdependent system of immense complexity. Just as the fish circle each other in the river, as the dragon and phoenix dance in the heavens, and as the sun and moon chase each other in the sky, so too are you constantly in flux. Rather than chase the person you were yesterday, release the frustration or ecstasy and breathe. Root yourself in the Now. Feel the Dragon inside you: the strong, the positive, the bright. Feel the Phoenix inside you: the weak, the negative, the dark. And find the balance you need to be the person you want to be.鈥� 鈥� Jonah Dabora, 鈥淧hilosophical Magniloquence,鈥� Spring 2018
鈥淥ur Arboreal Habitat鈥� by Lucas Garrett, Spring 2016:
听
To that island in the west, then,
where the sun once set
into ancient cedars,
and years passed by
unnumbered,
in every nameless grove,
听
when we were new,
before the individual had been invented,
together without identity
in primordial anonymity,
effortlessly,
before the trees met the fate
of becoming substrate
for consumable contemporary text,
听
through every effort
to there may we return.
听
Wisdom Gleaned from Students' Heritage and Rituals
鈥淲hen we Smudge, we bring the smoke over our heart - lots of love for ourselves; we bring the smoke over our head - so that we may think good thoughts and use our mind in a good way; over our eyes - so we can see what we need to see; over our ears - so that we can hear what we need to hear and that it be helpful; over our mouths - so that we can say good things. We Smudge the left side of our body (feminine side) and the right side of our body (masculine side).鈥� 鈥擩ean Stevenson, 鈥淪mudging,鈥� Winter 2017
Vita Azaro Mar. 2014 pg. 15-16 鈥淚t should be noted that the Sibylline mountains rest on fault lines and strong magnetic points. Their magnetic energy is for the most part positive. You can actually feel this when living there. Although the zest and energy you feel is due to the clean air, abundance of nature, pure spring water and many other joys that come with mountain living, it is more than just that. I am convinced that it is this magnetism that drew the Sybil in the first place. It is that energy that still calls spiritually to all around. It may also be that energy that draws stronger electrical and elemental forces. It is not at all hard to imagine how medieval peasants always viewed the mountains as deadly, dangerous and magical. It is not difficult to imagine a prophetess crouched in her grotto, in a mountain crowned by clouds. When you see the first evening star rise just above Mount Sybil every night, and you feel the majestic presence of those mountains every day, it is not hard to sometimes sink to your knees, facing them, and pray to the Sybil, to the mountains themselves, to the elements and to nature鈥檚 magic.鈥�
Advocating for Spiritually-Conscious Relationships with the Earth
鈥淐learly, as humans we need to have a certain degree of separation from nature, even if only in the form of a coat and long johns to protect us from her harsher elements. But has this separation gone too far? After too many days spent in comfortably climate-controlled cars and buildings, it can be easy to forget the earth that provided it all for us.鈥� 鈥擡van Forward, 鈥淗ow to Mix Plants and People,鈥� Apr. 2003
Shalom Spira, April 2003, pg. 6-7 鈥淭he continuing ecological degradation that is transpiring across the face of our planet presents a matter of pressing urgency in the eyes of many scientists. Although the attention of the news media has recently been diverted toward the struggle between the West and "terror", there is no gain saying the fact that the environmental dilemmas of yesteryear are still waiting to be addressed. I believe that the values of Halakha (a system of Jewish religious law) can potentially help humanity handle the pollution crisis it currently faces.
鈥淔irstly, as a prerequisite to effectively handling the present crisis, it is essential to develop a sound perspective on the environment. The Torah furnishes us with precisely such a multi-dimensional perspective*. There are at least six facets to the Judaic perspective on nature, namely that nature (1) represents the Creator's handiwork, (2) serves as a ritual vehicle for the praises man ought to offer the Creator, (3) serves as a source of moral instruction (4) is completely divorced of any sacred or deified status, (5) is the raw material that man is charged with being industrially creative and productive with and (6) serves as the theatre in which man must exercise protective stewardship.
鈥淔rom these points it emerges that the environment must be appreciated and not recklessly abused, but at the same time some degree of human intervention in nature is expected. Human craft is an intrinsic component of nature's beauty (see Psalms 104); thus, a careful balance must be struck between caring for the planet and promoting the human mission to subdue the planet.鈥�
Laura Gallo, Apr. 2003 pg. 4 鈥淢odern Pantheism is often misunderstood, as it is not theistic, nor is it atheistic. Pantheism does not involve a belief in deities, spirits or any supernatural powers. Instead, Pantheists believe that what is divine is right here on earth; in fact, it is earth. Pantheism鈥檚 central tenet is that the universe, the earth and nature are divine and so they should be treated as sacred. So although modern, or scientific, Pantheists don鈥檛 believe in supernatural deities or powers, they do believe in the divine greatness of the earth, and that is why the earth is so deeply revered. In place of worshipping the supernatural, Pantheists venerate what is natural. This may seem bizarre to the Western world, as what is usually considered divine lies above and beyond this earth. So here is the Pantheistic worldview in a simplistic equation: God = Universe.
鈥淒ue to the fact that greatness lies within this very earth, Pantheists believe that it should be loved, valued, protected and revered. In this way, Pantheism is a religion that promotes environmentalism.鈥�
Julian Paparella Spring 2016 pg. 27 鈥淔or Pope Francis, caring for our environment also entails caring for one another. How could we care for the family home without caring for our brothers and sisters, and vice versa? 鈥榃e are always capable of going out of ourselves towards the other.鈥� We must concern ourselves with 鈥榗aring for things for the sake of others,鈥� restraining our consumption 鈥榯o avoid the suffering of others or the deterioration of our surroundings.鈥� Spurning self-centeredness and self-absorption in favour of 鈥榙isinterested concern for others鈥� [is] essential if we truly wish to care for our brothers and sisters and for the natural environment鈥�.鈥�
听
听
