The New Creation Story
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It is in the great tradition of Thomas Berry’s Universe Story. It is a terrific book that describes a new, more accurate, and more hopeful story of humankind on its evolutionary journey. It is practical philosophy that gives a context for reflection and action.”
– David Orr, Oberlin Distinguished Professor and environmental sustainability author
Several years ago we began a series of gatherings at the Malibu Pueblo, the home of EarthWays Foundation. Our gatherings occur once each month, on the Sunday that is closest to the full moon.
The intention is to build community around the relational principles found in The New Creation Story trilogy, which is subtitled: Spirit, Eros and Climate Chaos.
This meeting is more a social and interactive gathering than a book “reading”. There will be a 15 minute presentation to describe our present-day human condition—the context in which we find ourselves. In addition, we will have a short reading from The New Creation Story, and a question and answer discussion about ideas that spontaneously arise, such as: who are we are as species, where did self-reflective consciousness come from? What are our current planet-threatening (therefore child threatening) challenges, and how might we heal the wounds that current human activity is causing.
This healing is personal, including one’s physical body, emotional well being, one’s psyche, and one’s spiritual connection–it results in both relational and cultural transformation, as the term Eros in the books’ subtitle implies: Spirit, Eros and Climate Chaos. Our objective in being together is to help heal one another, our culture and our planet Earth. There will be an almost-full moon for us to enjoy.
No charge or donation is required. We will officially end before dinner, but please feel free to bring “finger food” to share with others. Our gathering will include lots of time to visit with each other. Bring a friend or two; we have room.
“A bold and brilliant analysis of the human story set against the predicament of climate change. Beath strikes at the heart (exposes the pain) of our cultural paralysis, explores the root causes and skillfully describes the way to a responsible and enlightened future. I can genuinely say how very good it is, and how particularly poignant it was to read it after the Climate March in NYC—in the context of the ever-present question of what will become of us, what should we do?”
— Linda Solomon Wood, Editor-in-Chief,
The National Observer
Buy Book 3 from Amazon.
“Beath has written a thoughtful, passionate history of The Planet, The Human Species, and, basically, The Future, where we are now, and where may be headed. It’s both an easy-going and a stunning read, one of these profound books that seemingly come out of nowhere. One of the best reads in a long time, and couldn’t be more timely.”
—Steve Chapple, UCSD
Dear Friends,
On sunday from 4:40 pm to 7 pm we are gathering for:
full moon rising and lunar eclipse
council conversation based on the recently published trilogy:
The New Creation Story
Spirit, Eros and Climate Chaos
if you want to stay for the eclipse, please bring some food and / or drink for yourself. There won’t be a formal meal.
See you Sunday.
“Enlightenment is intimacy with all things” (Dogen, 13th century)
beauty, love and courage,
Andrew Beath
Earthways’ purpose is to find a deeper understanding of our relationship to the natural world in order to bring additional light to the wisdom of our ancestors, the elders that have come before us. This awareness will help us address some of the problems that face the entire community of life with whom we share our planet. Upon realizing the interrelationship of all living things and becoming conscious of the destructive potential of local and planetary problems, such as ozone holes and global warming, it seems clear that action is needed to restore an appropriate balance.
Misunderstanding our circumstance within this global community has imposed a huge burden on the community. Humans’ sense of self importance, of standing outside the larger community, is the very thing that gives us license to exploit the planet: by eliminating habitat, by over-consumption, by not paying attention to what we are all doing.
Economics can not come first. Economic decisions must be woven with ecological wisdom. To paraphrase Gary Snyder from his book, Earth House Hold, the word “ecology” means the planet as a “house and home” . This context should be the underlying essence of all economic decisions. We have polluted our home out of ignorance. Will we continue to spoil our nest? How will we be truly nurtured? The children of the planet are suffering.
“Developing world” children are dying of malnutrition and preventable diseases at the rate of 40,000 per day, while in our society, wealth, fame and influence are compelling distractions that frequently consume our precious gift of life. Young people in our country have enough to eat but suffer deprivation from lack of connection to family, to Nature, to Spirit; and yet, these are the very things manifested when we understand the nature of interconnectedness.
So, what are we doing at EarthWays? Again and again I’m drawn to a poetic phrase from a Kate Wolf song: “We are crying for a vision that all living things can share”. We are crying within from the anguish of the destruction, crying tears. We are crying out to bring attention to the devastation and to find that vision for the Whales and Dolphins, for the two thousand year old Redwoods being brutally taken at Headwaters, and for the children dying daily. From this inward crying comes personal awareness that gives direction to our desire to take action. Personal transformation is the first step to global change. From “crying out” comes an action to contribute, in however small a fashion, to making things a little better.
We can help to save endangered species and stop destroying wildlife habitat, and we can reduce pollution in our cities. We can also change our perception and encourage our friends to awaken to a new understanding of Human’s relationship to Nature. Are we, at EarthWays, improving things for the community of life that Mother Earth has so generously created to accompany us on our short adventure here? I think that we are, at least a little. And I also believe that as more of us become involved things really will improve noticeably. As more of us become aware that happiness can come from appropriate relationship to plants and animals and people, the growing planetary problems will subside. A vision that all living things can share is complicated. But doing something to help is simple. Lets all just start there. What is EarthWays? We’re a group of people trying to do something to help.
Please join us by becoming a member of EarthWays.
Andrew Beath, Founder
(For an expanded explication of our mission and philosophy please refer to Andrew’s book: Consciousness In Action, the Power of Beauty, Love and Courage in a Violent Time at www.consciousnessinaction.com )