We are all Part of the Earth: Climate change

Showing posts with label Climate change. Show all posts

Monday, August 19, 2019

Make the Climate Crisis Personal

We created this page because we want to make a difference for our forests. We are inspired by the work of the National Forest Foundation and want to support them by raising money as part of our participation in 50 Million Trees for Our Forests.

Please help us help them by giving whatever you can. Use the 'Give Now' button. The more people who know about the National Forest Foundation, the greater their impact, so please also spread the word by sharing our page with your friends and family. Thank you in advance for your generosity, it means a lot!

Make the Climate Crisis Personal by taking Action with us. Are you tired of waiting for federal and state politicians to take action on the climate crisis? Then you can act now and join us in planting trees to sequester carbon for the future of the planet and our children. This year instead of buying presents for your friends and families we ask you to consider donating a tree in their name. It is estimated that 20 million trees burned in California wildfires in 2018. Help us to replace these trees and others by joining our effort at Help Make the Climate Crisis Personal Plant Trees make a difference National Forest Foundation https://50-million.everydayhero.com/us/make-the-climate-crisis-personal-plant-trees all donations are tax-deductible.

WHY ARE TREES SO IMPORTANT TO THE ENVIRONMENT?

Fossil fuels and deforestation are causing increasing levels of carbon dioxide. Trees absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide and reduce the effects of the climate change crisis.
By capturing rainwater, trees play a major role in reducing the risk of flooding and landslides.
Trees can reduce the overall temperature in cities by up to eight degrees Celsius by storing carbon dioxide in their trunks, branches, and leaves and releasing oxygen back into the atmosphere.
Trees provide shelter for animals and shade for people from the sun’s harsh rays.
Walking through a forest of trees allows reconnection with nature and the reduction of stress.
Trees support life on our planet. Trees are homes for hundreds of species of insects, fungi, moss, birds, and animals. Trees contain key ingredients for some of our life-saving medicines. Thank you for taking action with us.

Gene and Joyce Stone

Monday, October 24, 2016

Prayers for the Earth

We live in a time when it is now more important than ever to rise above the sense of separateness from the natural world. We are invited by Native Americans and Indigenous peoples from around the world, poets and mystics to become aware of the inter-connectedness of everything and everyone in the universe. The Oneness of the Circle of Life.

Examining our world, we can see clearly everything that needs our care - the land that feeds all creatures, the air we breathe, the water which gives us life - and we know in our deepest spiritual self that life is sacred and we are each responsible for doing our part to live in harmony with the earth.

Come add your prayers for the Earth and the life she gives to all. As we drum, sing and dance ours prayers into sacred actions that will heal all creation. November 30, 7 PM at the Center for Spiritual Living Capistrano Valley. 1201 Puerta Del Sol Suite 100 San Clemente, Ca. 92673.

“This we know. The Earth does not belong to us; we belong to the Earth. All things are connected, like the blood that unites one family. Whatever befalls the Earth, befalls the children of the Earth. We do not weave the web of life; we are only a strand of it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.” Chief Seattle

"The beauty of the trees,

the softness of the air,

the fragrance of the grass

speaks to me,

the summit of the mountain,

the Thunder of the sky

the rhythm of the sea

speaks to me,

And my heart soars" Chief Dan George

"Air, water, plants, animals and humans give themselves to each other. It is in this giving-themselves-to-each-other that we actually live." Kodo Sasaki

An Iroquois Prayer

We return thanks to our mother, the earth, which sustains us. We return thanks to the rivers and streams, which supply us with water. We return thanks to all herbs, which furnish medicines for the cure of our diseases. We return thanks to the corn, and to her sisters, the beans and squash, which give us life. We return thanks to the bushes and trees, which provide us with fruit. We return thanks to the wind, which, moving the air, has banished diseases. We return thanks to the moon and the stars, which have given us their light when the sun was gone. We return thanks to our grandfather He-no, who has given to us his rain. We return thanks to the sun, that he has looked upon the earth with a beneficent eye. Lastly, we return thanks to the Great Spirit, in whom is embodied all goodness, and who directs all things, for the good of his children.

“Sowing the seed,

My hand is one with the earth.

Wanting the seed to grow,

My mind is one with the light.

Hoeing the crop,

My hands are one with the rain.

Having cared the the plants,

My mind is one with the air.

Hungry and trusting,

My mind is one with the earth.

Eating the fruit,

My body is with the earth.” Wendell Berry

Oh Great Spirit, Grandfather, Grandmother,
You walk together hand-in-hand
across the sky of the Sacred Earth Mother,
walking with great beauty
with your robes of stars trailing along behind you as the milky way,
you walk on rainbows
coming to us in the sacred hoop.

Your gifts of love keep the heart of we,
the two legged people, beating with the breath of life.
We stand before you with our hearts filled
from the Sacred Mountain.

We ask only to give away and share the gifts of this hoop,
this sacred ceremony, as we come out of this circle
into this land of beauty that you have asked us to hold
and take care of for you, Grandfather.

We see many of our brothers and sister
are sick in their hearts and bodies,
and the Earth Mother cries with tears of the souls
of many who now walk upon the rainbows with you.

We know that if one child cries or is sick
it is because the sacred hoop of love is broken by hate and lies.
We have only to listen to our hearts and speak the truth
that is spoken within the great circle of life.

The power of our vision, Oh Great Spirit, is within our hands.
We have only to speak it and share it, each in our own way.
I hear you speaking Grandfather, form the Sacred Place,
from Pa-ha Wast-ta: The Mountain Beautiful.

You call to us to sing in a sacred way,
and to dance in a sacred way
so that we might heal ourselves.
In doing so also heal others, as the sacred circle fills
and ever expands with all human beings
and our understanding of all living things grows,
with the light from within.

So that we may stand before you Grandfather,
in a Sacred Way. Eagle that Flies through Two Skies

Prayer from the Green Gulch Farm

"It is lovely indeed, it is lovely indeed.

I, I am the spirit within the earth.

The feet of the Earth are my feet,

the legs of the Earth are my legs.

The strength of the earth is my strength,

The thoughts of the Earth are my thoughts,

The voice of the earth is my voice.

The feather of the earth is my feather,

All that belong to the Earth belongs to me,

All that surrounds the Earth is me.

I, I am the Sacred works of the Earth.

It is lovely indeed, it is lovely indeed." Suzanne Anderson

"Sometimes, when the birds cry out,

and the wind sweeps through a tree,

or a dog barks at a far-off farm,

I hold still and listen a long time.

My world turns and goes back to the place

Where, a thousand forgotten years ago,

The bird and the howling wind

Were like me, and were my brothers.

My soul turns into a tree,

And an animal, and a cloud bank.

Then changed and odd it comes home

And asks me questions. What should I reply? Hermann Hesse

"We live by the sun

We feel by the moon

We move by the stars

We live in all things

All things live in us

We eat from the earth

We drink from the rain

We breathe of the air

We live in all things

All things live in us

We call to each other

We listen to each other

Our hearts deepen with love and compassion

We live in all things

All things live in us

We depend on the trees and the animals

We depend on the Earth

Our minds open with wisdom and insight

We live in all things

All things live in us

We dedicate our practice to others

We include all forms of life

We celebrate the joy of loving-dying

We live in all things

All things live in us

We are full of life

We are full of death

We are grateful for all being and companions" Stephanie Kaza

“O our mother the earth, O our father the sky,

Your children are we, and with tired backs

We bring you gifts that you love.

Then weave for us a garment of brightness,

May the warp be the white light of morning,

May the weft be the red light of evening,

May the fringes be the falling rain,

May the border be the standing rainbow.

Thus weave for us a garment of brightness

That we may walk fittingly where grass is green,

O our mother the earth, O our father the sky!” Tewa Pueblo

"Apprehend God in all things,

For God is in all things.

Every single creature is full of God

And is a book about God.

If I spent enough time with the tiniest creature--

Even a caterpillar--

I would never have to prepare a sermon. So full of God is every creature." Meister Eckhart

"And now we will count twelve

And we will all keep still…

For once on the face of the earth

Let’s not speak in any language,

Let’s stop for one second,

And not move our arms so much.

It would be an exotic moment

Without rush, without engines,

We would all be together

In a sudden strangeness.

Fishermen in the cold sea

Would not harm whales

And the man gathering salt

Would look at his hurt hands.

Those who prepare green wars,

Wars with gas, wars with fire,

Victory with no survivors,

Would put on clean clothes

And walk about with their brothers

In the shade, doing nothing.

What I want should not be confused

With total inactivity.

(Life is what it is about,

I want no truck with death.)

If we were not so single-minded

About keeping our lives moving,

And for once could do nothing,

Perhaps a huge silence

Might interrupt this sadness

Of never understanding ourselves

And of threatening ourselves with death.

Perhaps the earth can teach us

As when everything seems dead

And later proves to be alive.

Now I’ll count up to twelve,

And you keep quiet and I will go." Pablo Neruda

"Lord the air smells good today, straight from the mysteries

within the inner court of God.

A grace like new clothes thrown

across the garden, free medicine for everybody.

The trees in their prayers, the birds in praise,

the first blue violets kneeling.

Whatever came from Being is caught up in being, drunkenly

forgetting the way back. Rumi

Apache Blessing

May the sun bring you new energy by day, may the moon softly restore you by night,

may the rain wash away your worries, may the breeze blow new strength into your being,

may you walk gently through the world and know it's beauty all the days of your life. Apache Blessing

Black Elk last Prayer

"Hey! Lean to hear my feeble voice.

At the center of the sacred hoop

You have said that I should make the tree to bloom.

With tears running, O Great Spirit, my Grandfather.

With running eyes I must say

The tree has never bloomed

Here I stand, and the tree is withered.

Again, I recall the great vision you gave me.

It may be that some little root of the sacred tree still lives.

Nourish it then

That it may leaf

And bloom

And fill with singing birds!

Hear me, that the people may once again

Find the good road

And the shielding tree." Black Elk

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Nature in Balance

“Fill the earth with your songs of gratitude.” Charles Spurgeon

This past autumn, a group of volunteers came together to plant a teaching garden for the girls and boys at the Oso Lake Camp. This garden is filled with drought resistant plants which are native to California. The plants provide good habitat for California quail, butterflies and other native birds and wildlife. All of these plants were used by the indigenous native California tribes for medicinal purposes. One of the plants, for example, is Eriogonum fasciculatum var. foliolosum, California Buckwheat. It has flowers, leaves and seeds that are all used by butterflies and small birds. The buckwheats are very important butterfly plants and are one of the pillars of their communities. Another plant, Baccharis pilularis consanguinea, Coyote Brush, provides a place for Jays to plant acorns under the bushes. Baccharis species are the nectary sources for most of the predatory wasps, native skippers (small butterflies) and native flies. The Mexican elderberry or Tapiro,(Sambucus mexicana) is a deciduous shrub to tree with butter yellow flowers in April-August followed by purple berries in September-October. If you look carefully as you pass an Elderberry you may see a hummingbird, butterfly, chipmunk, Jay, Thrasher, or other bird as it is an excellent wildlife plant.

Indigenous people everywhere hold the view that we are all part of the earth in which we are related to all things and each thing has its place and purpose in this living world. There is a natural order that creates life and balance to this ecosystem. When we support this natural system we live in harmony with all of our relations. Our purpose in planting this garden was to teach the younger generation the importance of habitat restoration to maintain the natural order of their local environment. Rather than just taking from the earth, we can make a choice to replenish, to revere, and to support growth of all living things. To choose otherwise contributes to imbalance and a future of greater uncertainty.

While we planted we remembered that the soil cares for us as we care for the soil. As we felt the joy of cooperation and achievement through working together we realized that we are a natural part of the ecosystem that sustains life.

We would like to thank all those who participated in the project.

Gene and Joyce Stone

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Tree of Life

“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness”. John Muir

While hiking through the woods in Sequoia National Park one summer, we came upon a grove of redwood trees. Entering the group of Standing Ones, we felt ourselves become quiet as the awe within us grew. The trees formed an almost perfect circle. Allowing the silence of the place to sink in, we breathed deeply of the forest scent and relaxed into the peace surrounding us. In this sacred grove of trees, we felt the connection with the Infinite.

In our home, we have on our walls beautiful woven pieces depicting “The Tree of Life”

symbol. Each was created by a weaver from a different culture: Indian, Guatemalan, Native American. The Tree of Life is a common image in art from around the world. This ancient symbol is understood by people everywhere. The symbol speaks of roots buried in the earth with branches stretching upward to the sky. The tree serves as a living connection between this and other worlds. Many myths describe gods and their messengers traveling from one world to another by climbing up or down the tree.

Long ago, in many cultures, trees were intensely worshipped. The Native American peoples called them the “Standing Ones.” They respectfully used trees for medicine, food, fiber, dye, musical instruments, lodges for habitation and ceremony, and many other things. Something precious was lost once modern peoples no longer viewed trees as living beings. It became easy to clear cut acres and acres of trees to use as lumber without a thought of how great a loss this created. For the sake of our Mother Earth, it is time to recall Dr. Albert Schweitzer’s words, “Reverence for all life.”

We cannot live without trees. Trees are called “the lungs of the world.” They clean the air we breathe, taking in the carbon dioxide we exhale and we breathe the oxygen they exhale. Trees are needed to produce rain and without the rain, topsoil is blown away, leading to the creation of deserts and hunger from famine.

“Oxford University scientists, after years of research, have determined the best technology to suck carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and try to reverse global warming is to plant trees.” (Bloomberg News)

Over the past seven years, we have planted over two hundred trees in Orange County, CA. Man has taken so many trees that it is now time for us to reforest the earth that provides us with the basis for all life. Your help is desperately needed to replenish trees, locally and around the world. “God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools.” John Muir We must always remember that we are all part of the earth.