THE FOG – The New Wave of Ecopsychology
The New Wave of Ecopsychology
As the world turns we are all witnesses to the current state of affairs. What can you see with your own eyes? What is happening in your own back yard? Do your eyes expose reality and reflect the truth or are they cast aside and exist in a state of denial? The truth will set us free but it will also demand payment. What price are you willing to pay for yourself, families and fellow human beings to live in a world of peace and harmony?
We have all heard loud voices shouting that our time on this planet is limited and will be cut short due to climate change, war or any other human condition of ignorance. But what good has this done. Humans cannot be shamed into action. Shame can only drive us deeper into self-destructive behavioral patterns. Hence we willingly drink from the cup of apathy.
The efforts of boisterous scientist attempting to shame people into adopting more healthy behavior does not work. You cannot shame people to become more green or self-aware. A good tongue lashing will not reduce greenhouse gasses, famine or war. When this strategy is used by well-intentioned people all they accomplish is the creation of more guilt which manifest as apathy. After all if there is nothing I can do and we are all doomed then why not just live for today and have fun with the time I have left?
People must be informed, not shamed! In fact much of the information people have is simply over whelming. Some reluctantly accept it while others express denial and burry their heads in the sand. Still other’s try to do the best they can. Some deny the facts while others accept them. Regardless of your position the truth is we are all in this together whether we like it or not. So what can we do? If the facts are paralyzing then where or who do we turn to? We know that when an animal feels trapped it will fight. This is also true of the human animal. But in our case by the time we feel our backs to the wall it will be too late. So we have to act now. This is not shame. This is truth. And the truth can set us free. So we must ask ourselves the difficult questions. We must wake up to the realization that as a species we have been seduced for centuries by the power elites. We must recognize our own greed and addiction to the false image of the good life being peddled by corporate power. When we accept the good life whose image are we buying into. Our own or the one we are told will make us happy. The first step to overcome any falsehood is to wake up. In humanities case this means to to embrace gnosis and break free from our addictions. For instance how many of our bad environmental habits stem from compulsive behaviours?
The way forward is to make a conscious decision to break free from addiction and to wake up to our own truth. In this way we can break free of the hypnotic grip corporate and governmental elites have over us. One way to break free of the trance of materialism and consumerism is to embrace the new paradigm of ecopsychology. This is the new wave of ecotherapy which will help us develop the courage to look into the future without being taken hostage by guilt and shame.
If individual or family therapy can help in the healing of dysfunction, then undoubtedly ecotherapy can help in healing the dysfunctional relationship we experience with Mother Earth. The Goddess has been waiting millennia for humanity to return to her healing graces. It is now up to us to make the decision to ask her for help. We have alienated nature for far too long. We are quickly approaching the precipice and our future is in our hands. All we have to do is ask the Goddess of love and nature for help. Therapy can help individuals to heal. Family therapy can help families to heal. And ecotherapy can help the human family to heal its suppressed ecological subconscious. In this way the walls of denial can be breeched.
One of the defining features of modern life is that our eco-consciousness has been repressed by an urban industrial culture of consumerism. Therefore if we want to restore health to planet Earth we also need to restore our lost connection to the natural world. Many of us know someone who has been trapped in a dysfunctional relationship. Many of us have been forced to look at ourselves in order to heal unhealthy relationships. The same can be said about our relationship with nature. If we do not put time and effort into nurturing it, the result will be the loss of intimacy and trust. Once this happens it becomes more difficult to rekindle. The relationship can eventually wither and die. For many the solution is to simply move onto another relationship. Possibly to repeat the same mistakes. However when it comes to our relationship with planet Earth there is no other planet to move to. Earth is our destiny and the buck stops here. The good news is we have everything we need to make this relationship work. Nature is willing to do her part now we must be willing to do ours. Therefore we must open our hearts and receive the eco-therapeutic healing of Mother Earth. This is the next cultural, biological, psychological and spiritual evolutionary wave of Homo Spiritus. This is the missing link between sustainability, co-evolution and harmonization with Mother Earth.
Humankind has learned how to create technologies. But we have lost our way by letting greed dictate our priorities, morals and spiritualities. When an individual or a cultural is ready to address the cult of urban industrial society the status quo can be healed of its schizoid maladaptation. Until then all we need to do is our best and hope that along the way we meet like-minded people who will join us in tipping the balance back towards the sacred.
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