Stewardship: Part 3 of 3

This is the 3rd of 3 Discourses on Stewardship.  Part 1 was a brief attempt to Inform the Public.  Part 2 discussed The Spiritual Aspects of Stewardship, and Part 3 will provide some action steps we can take to be better Earth Stewards.

Part 3:  Actions Steps to be Better Earth Stewards

From the state of our environment, it would be easy for an outsider to conclude that humans, here on Mother Earth, tend to give a whole lot of lip service about doing the will of the Creator/God; we go to church; we pray; we meditate …

As we discussed last week, all who serve the Creator/God are Earth Stewards.  To tend and take care of Mother Earth and all her inhabitants is a great honor and privilege, as well as a great responsibility. As a whole, humans are not living up to our spiritual responsibility.  Instead, we tend to blame others.  We blame our government; we blame our neighbors; we blame big business; we blame everyone but ourselves. 

We may or may not vote at the polls; we still vote though.  Every time we make a purchase, we cast a very important vote.  You see, we vote with our dollars.  When we purchase, oh say, Styrofoam cups, we unconsciously cast a vote against the Creator/God and Mother Earth.  

As we grow personally and develop spiritually, we consciously take better care of ourselves.  As we take care of ourselves better, we come to be aware of our votes and strive to cast votes in harmony with our inner state of being.  There is no more blame, only harmony. 

 

“… it is who we become that changes the world and our environment not what we do.  Harmony within will create harmony without.  So the true work is learning how to change our thoughts, attitudes and belief systems … We actually have to work with “the alchemy of the soul” to really be able to change our inner environment as our inner state of being is reflected back to us in the outer world. The literal definition of alchemy is “working within and through the dense darkness inside.” This is big work and involves committing to spiritual practices that we must engage in daily and throughout the day.”  Sandra Ingerman

There are many things that we can physically do to help ourselves and the environment.  The following information is not meant to be exhaustive.  If you have a favorite tip or DIY recipe, please share it on our Facebook Page.   Thank You!

 

Personal: Avoid wearing harsh synthetic fabrics, like polyester. Avoid artificial fabric dyes; instead, make your own.  Use organic, renewable agricultural products, like Bamboo and Hemp.  Purchase or make your own natural Health & Beauty products (soap, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, deodorant, lotions, cosmetics, perfume/cologne, etc.).   Avoid processed foods; instead make your own.  Shop at Farmer’s Markets and get to know the vendors. When leaving a room, turn off lights and appliances. Unplug electronics, and turn down your thermostat, before leaving the house or going to bed.   Pick up your pet's poop and dispose of it properly. Pick up and throw away litter/trash. When it’s hot, gas up vehicle(s) and other gas powered equipment (like lawnmowers) early in the morning or later in the evening, and don't top off the gas tank.   Replace toxic household cleaners with products that have a Design for the Environment (DfE) label.  Better yet, learn to make natural cleansers.  

Practice the three R's:

1.     Reduce how much you buy and use: Buy permanent items instead of disposables.  Buy and use only what you need.  Buy products in bulk.  Buy products with minimal packaging.  Buy products that use less toxic chemicals. Use durable (real) plates, cups, silverware, etc. Use cloth napkins or towels. Mend torn fabric. Repair broken items. Reduce Carbon Footprint (Walk, Cycle, Carpool, Use Public Transit, Work from Home, Shop Online, Consolidate Trips.)

2.      Reuse/Repurpose: Be Creative.  Make crafts and homemade craft supplies using household or recycled materials Use empty jars for leftovers/storage containers. Give Away/Donate useable items.

3.      Recycle:  Aluminum Cans, Batteries, Cardboard, Electronics (cell phones, computers, DVD players, and other electronics),Glass, Paper (newspapers, catalogs, junk mail, etc.), Metal (Aluminum, Scrap Steel, Copper, Gold, Silver, etc.); Plastic (food containers, dry cleaning, newspaper & bread bags; plastic around toilet paper/paper towels, etc.).  Tires, Used motor oil.  

Perform a home audit: Replace conventional light bulbs with compact fluorescent or LED bulbs. Repair leaky faucets.  Insulate water heater and pipes. Install a water-efficient showerhead.  Repair or replace old or damaged fixtures.   When replacing fixtures and/or  other products, look for Energy Star or WaterSense labels.

 

Conserve Water: When using a dishwasher, scrape plates instead of  pre-rinsing them.  When using a dishwasher or washing machine, wash a full load.  Wash clothes in cold water.  When hand-washing dishes or clothes, turn the water off between rinses.  Instead of using a clothes dryer, hang clothes on a line or drying rack. Take Showers instead of baths.   The toilet does not need to be flushed, every time it’s used.   “If it’s yellow, let it mellow.  If it’s brown, flush it down.” Turn the water off while shaving or brushing teeth. Refrigerate drinking water.
 

Lawn & Garden:  Invest in, or make your own compost bin, and compost as much as you can.  When mowing, do not bag grass clippings; leave them on the lawn. Fertilize after, not before it rains. Instead of using pesticides and herbicides, weed by hand, purchase or make your own natural pest control products, attract and utilize beneficial insects in your garden(s). Water the lawn or garden during the coolest part of the day (early morning is best).  Set sprinklers to water the lawn or garden only - not the street or sidewalk. Use a soaker hose or trickle irrigation system to water trees. Install gutters and rain barrels. 

Let us continue to grow personally and develop spiritually; let us consciously take better care of ourselves; let us be aware of our votes; let us cast votes in harmony with our inner state of being;  let us pray: 

Dear Mother, our human species, thanks to the precious gift of awareness, has been able to learn to recognize its own presence and has found its true place in you and in the Universe. We know that we are tiny and insignificant, yet our minds are capable of encompassing three thousand worlds. We now know that our beautiful planet Earth is not the center of the Universe but we can still see that it is one of the Universe’s most wondrous manifestations. We have developed science and technology, discovered reality’s true nature of no-birth and no-death, neither being nor non- being, neither increasing nor decreasing, neither the same nor different. We realize that the one contains the all, the greatest is in the smallest, and each particle of dust contains the whole Cosmos. We are learning to love you and our Father more and to love one another in the light of such insight. We know that this non-dualistic way of seeing things and the teaching of inter-being help us to transcend all discrimination, all fear, jealousy, hatred, and despair. We aspire to transmit this insight to future generations.

We are no longer naive in thinking that humans are the masters of the Universe. Many of us have gone beyond dualistic views of right and wrong and are no longer puzzled about what we used to call the Will of Heaven and Earth.  We have transcended the concept of a creator in human form– we are no longer able to believe that God is an old man with a white beard, sitting in the sky, controlling everything on Earth, or that there is a Goddess on a cloud, finding and helping us every time we are in danger. God, for us, is the Ultimate Reality, the true nature of no-birth, no- death, no-coming, no-going, of all phenomenal manifestations. But some of us, when going through suffering, believe absolutely that whatever brings suffering is evil and whatever brings happiness is good; not knowing that suffering and happiness are just perceptions. All our perceptions are based on our sense organs, which are inherently limited. If our sense organs were differently formed, then our perceptions would be correspondingly different. Thus we see that happiness or suffering, the Pure Land or the mundane world depend very much on our way of perceiving. (Thich Nhat Hanh, Intimate Conversations with Mother Earth)

 So it is, sealed in trust, faith and truth, in the Sacred Divine Light/Jesus. Amen.

Stewardship: Part 2 of 3

This is the 2nd of 3 Discourses on Stewardship.  Part 1 was a brief attempt to Inform the Public.  Part 2 discusses The Spiritual Aspects of Stewardship, and Part 3 will provide some action steps we can take to be better Earth Stewards.

Part 2: The Spiritual Aspects of Stewardship

The Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh was asked
what we need to do to save our world.
“What we most need to do,” he replied,
“is to hear within us the sound of the earth crying.”

Around the world, leaders of the great religious/spiritual traditions respect and care for Mother Earth and all her inhabitants.  These spiritual leaders have been taught that, despite diversity in teachings and traditions, it IS our spiritual duty to care for Mother Earth and all her inhabitants. 

The Scriptures very clearly state our human responsibility to the Creator/God for the care of Mother Earth and all her inhabitants.  Over and over throughout the bible, starting at the beginning of Genesis through the end of Revelation, mandates regarding our role and responsibility as Earth Stewards are clear.

Despite the clearness of these scriptures, Earth-based spirituality was banned by the early Christian Church in Rome.  As a result, many modern-day Christian and Jewish spiritual leaders have not heard or read this teaching; just as often, those that have heard or read it, have dismissed and/or forgotten the teaching.

“… the ox knows his duty, but humans have forgotten their Lord.” Isaiah 1:3

The Bible tells us that Mother Earth was created with humans in mind. We were created from the dust of the earth. 

”The first man is out of the earth and made of dust …” Corinthians 15:47

“And Jehovah God proceeded to form the man out of dust from the ground and to blow into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man came to be a living soul.”  Genesis 2:7

“In the sweat of your face you will eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken.  For dust you are and to dust you will return.” Genesis 3: 19  

“For he himself well knows the formation of us, remembering that we are dust.”  Psalm 103:14  

“All are going to one place.  They have all come to be from the dust, and they are all returning to the dust.”  Ecclesiastic 3:20

Being but a speck of dust, in the cosmos, at large, connects us to the earth. 

“God . . . did not create it (Mother Earth) simply for nothing [but] formed it even to be inhabited.”  Isaiah 45:18 

The Creator/God endowed Mother Earth with everything that her inhabitants needed, not just to exist, but to joyfully flourish.  Many micro-ecosystems enable life to flourish.  

 Early on in the bible, humans were given stewardship of Mother Earth and all her inhabitants.  To tend and keep the garden is one of the first mandates in the bible regarding the care of Mother Earth and her inhabitants.  

“And Jehovah God proceeded to take the man and settle him in the garden of E′den to cultivate it and to take care of it.” Genesis 2:15

We were also given dominion over creation and charged with stewardship of its bounty.

“Further, God blessed them and God said to them: “Be fruitful and become many and fill the earth and subdue it, and have in subjection the fish of the sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and every living creature that is moving upon the earth.” Genesis 1:28

“For every species of wild beast as well as bird and creeping thing and sea creature is to be tamed and has been tamed by humankind.” James 3:7  

All who serve the Creator/God are Earth Stewards.  To tend and take care of Mother Earth and all her inhabitants is a great honor and privilege.  To be entrusted to tend and take care of Mother Earth and all her inhabitants is also a great responsibility. 

 As Earth Stewards for the Creator/God, we are allowed to utilize Mother Earth and her inhabitants.  We are not, however, given a license, or free reign to abuse, rape, ravage, pollute or ruin in any other manner, any part of her or her inhabitants. 

“We … do not destroy the harmony of nature … We care for and nurture our environment, trying to be all-forbearing like Mother Earth.  This gives us union with all existence, all the creatures which live in the world: wild animals, little crawling things, even men.” (San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico)

As a whole, humans are not living up to the spiritual responsibility we were mandated to fulfill.  Rather than cultivating Mother Earth and taking care of her, and all her inhabitants, we abuse and desecrate our environment to such a degree, that sacred substance has all but disappeared. 

The way that we treat Mother Earth and her inhabitants, reflect our individual and collective values.  The second mandate given by the Creator/God, to humans, is to love our neighbors as ourselves. Ignoring and/or neglecting our spiritual responsibility to care for Mother Earth and all her inhabitants, directly contributes to the suffering of our human and non-human brothers and sisters. 

Around the world, more than 50% of all of the problems humans currently face can be directly and/or indirectly linked to environmental issues. Polluted drinking water, genetically modified seeds and food, toxic chemicals via agricultural herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, growth hormones, etc., are all major causes of death and disease. Barren soil and poor crops play a significant role in urbanization, poverty and hunger. The list goes on and on.

When we act as good Earth Stewards, we care about Mother Earth and all her inhabitants.  This includes, but is not limited to:  the trees, the fields, the plants, the air, the rivers and oceans, the hills and mountains, the wild animals, the livestock, the domestic animals, the birds, the fish, the reptiles, the insects, etc.  We recognize that each has an intrinsic value which does not include being a resource/raw material to be exploited for human consumption and/or commerce. 

Mother Earth and her inhabitants exist for all of us, as well as for future generations. We must not destroy it to meet our immediate wants.  We each have a spiritual duty to leave the world in a better state.  When our actions show respect for Mother Earth and all her inhabitants, we are exhibiting love for the Creator/God, which is the first mandate given to us. 

“Let all creation rejoice before the Lord.”  Psalm 96:13 

Let us fulfill the mandates to love the Creator/ God, to love our neighbors as ourselves, and to care for Mother Earth and all her inhabitants.

Let us Pray:

The manifestation of each of your children is beautiful and each contributes to your beauty. A clear lake, a green pine, a pink cloud, a snow-capped mountain top, a fragrant forest, a white crane, a golden deer... these miraculous manifestations of life are all your children and each one of them enhances and magnifies your beauty. Your children include millions of species, each with its own language. Since you are our Mother, you understand all these languages, including the languages of humans. You are a planet, Mother of all beings, not just of humans, therefore we feel very at ease every time we talk to you and offer you our prayer. We are all your children, and at the same time, we are you, for you are fully present in each one of us.

There are those of us lacking right thinking, who consider this place on which we live to be separate from the Pure Land. They advise us to reject this land and to aspire to be reborn in a faraway Pure Land. They do not know that if their minds are calm and pure, filled with love, if they have the capacity to transform compost into flowers, to use mud to grow lotuses, then they will see that their afflictions are in fact realizations and that this very land is already the Pure Land. They do not know that their way of perceiving has a lot to do with whether or not this is the Pure Land. Each physical manifestation on your body, such as a floating cloud or a falling leaf is sufficient for us to see the no-birth and no-death, no being and no non-being nature of reality. We then can appreciate and enjoy life fully, without being fearful or worrying about being or non-being, having or not having, increasing or decreasing, being the same or being different.  (Thich Nhat Hanh, Intimate Conversations with Mother Earth: The Earth is Not the Environment—the Earth is Us)

 

So it is, sealed in trust, faith and truth, in the Sacred Divine Light/Jesus. Amen.

Please join us next week as we outline some action steps we can take to be better Earth Stewards.

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