Friday, April 2, 2010


We're sitting on our blessed Mother Earth 
from which we get our strength and determination, 
love and humility - 
all the beautiful attributes that we've been given.  
So turn to one another; love one another; 
respect one another; respect Mother Earth; 
respect the waters - because that's life itself!  
-Phil Lane, Sr.

I just received the May edition of Yoga Journal...and as always I was excited to read it.   I found myself drawn to an article titled "Sustainable Spirit."  The concept of sustainability is readily in my mind as I am always looking for opportunities to lessen my footprint on this beautiful planet I am blessed to inhabit.

But this article took the word "sustainability" in a direction I had never gone before.  The author married sustainability with another aspect of life that is remarkably important to me...the beauty of honoring the spirit of Mother Earth.  It went beyond the concept of preserving planet so our children, and our childrens' children will be able to live healthy lives and experience the beautiful, rich, and majestic scenery.  And instead, author Swami Veda Bharati, brought to awareness that our desire to preserve nature is best served when we recognize & honor our unity with all of nature!

Such an amazing & simple concept...yet for some reason one I've neglected to bring into my own awareness....until now that is!  When we bring this awareness into our hearts, we begin to preserve because we hold sacred the spirit that resides within each living thing.  We preserve because we recognize the spirit that resides in a tree, in a mountain, in the water, in the air, in the flower, in the bird, in the deer is the same spirit that resides within ourselves.

We recognize the spirit living in everyone and everything is Great Spirit, Great Mystery, God, the One who is known by a thousand names yet is the unnameable One...and even more, we recognize that everyone and everything is Great Spirit.  So "to cut a tree down is to cut yourself down."  To offer a tree love is to offer yourself love.  To offer it admiration is to admire yourself.  To celebrate the growth of its new canopy of leaves in the spring is to celebrate your own growth & expansion!

Mother Earth, has so much to teach us, so much to share.  When we open our hearts & recognize that we share the same spirit we begin to honor not only our wholeness, perfection, & Divinity, but the same qualities in nature.  And we begin to fully recognize our beautiful image in nature's reflection!

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