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SUBTLE ACTIVISM

Feb12

Carmel Bracken RSM*, is the author of this guest blog, with Laudato Si’ addition from me. 

Hidden Wholeness 

DSC_5144In the heart of the Civic Centre of San Francisco there is a beautiful fountain which has two quotations etched on it. One quote by Franklin D. Roosevelt is written in a very prominent position and states that ‘The structure of world peace cannot be the work of one man, or one party, or one nation …. it must be a peace which rests on the cooperative efforts of the whole world.”

The second quote by John Muir  reads ‘If you try to pick out anything at all in the universe you will find it hitched to everything else.’ This is  written on a slab of stone that is  underneath the water and easy to miss. For me this is very  symbolic, that of the two quotations this was the one placed in a deeper, underwater place. It reminds us that we need to do deep soul work to uncover the hidden wholeness of all of life and that only by living from an awareness of unity consciousness, will we truly know how to co-operate with each other and all of life.

 Essential Unity

Science is now offering us proof of what John Muir intuitively understood and what  the mystics knew for generations, that “at our essence we exist as a unity, a relationship utterly interdependent, the parts affecting the whole at every moment…”

galactic_stairway-wbPope Francis makes this point again and again in Laudato Si’. For one example:
It cannot be emphasized enough how everything is interconnected. Time and space are not independent of one another, and not even atoms or subatomic particles can be considered in isolation. (par. 138)

How do we embody this wisdom? What are its implications? Mercy Sisters have asked themselves this in their Chapter question “In what ways will we allow our place in the interdependent and interconnected community of all of life to influence us?”

Subtle Activism

11214128_826056660848348_9202236779506786994_nIn trying to live into this question, I found myself exploring the path and potential of subtle activism, which is based on an awareness that “every improvement we make in our  private world improves the world at large for everyone.”   Subtle activism is any “activity of consciousness or spirit, such as prayer, meditation …. intended to support collective healing and social change.” Subtle activism influences social change through the inner or subtle plane, rather than through conventional exterior means like marches, demonstrations, lobbying, etc.

The potential for subtle activism is only beginning to be tapped. As breakthroughs in quantum physics began to reveal “the unified field of universal intelligence at the basis of mind and matter” a number of scientific projects began to explore the effects of intention and meditation.  A study in Washington DC showed there was a decrease in crime for a two month period in which 4,000 people gathered to meditate. Intention experiments —  “a series of scientifically controlled, web-based experiments testing the power of intention to change the physical world” —  have produced extraordinary results. Findhorn experiments showed how “positive thoughts improved  the growth of plants, and Masaru Emoto’s experiments showed how human emotions effect the nature and composition of water.”

gandhi2-1000x300

Subtle activism does not replace action in the world, it just extends the range of options open to an activist who is awake to a holistic and integral vision of reality where “the subtler, inner dimension of human experience is being reclaimed.” It can be a means of making a contribution to social change for those who no longer have the physical stamina for action in the outer world and for “people of a certain temperament, or who possess certain spiritual gifts.”

Subtle activism is deeply challenging for  it calls us to live from a place of awareness, knowing that “Every thought, action, decision or feeling creates an eddy in the interlocking, inter-balancing, ever-moving energy fields of life, leaving a permanent record for all of time….” Subtle activism is not about telling others what to do, but a call to embody whatever quality we wish to see in the world, to “be whatever it is we ‘send’ out.” This is implicit in Ghandi’s call to “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

1 Lynn McTaggart, The Bond
2 David Hawkins, Power Versus Force
3 Gaiafield project
4 John Hagelin
5 Robert Moss
6 David Nicol
7 David Spangler
8 David Hawkins, Power Versus Force
9 David Spangler

MIA20_4_Workshop1_ss *Carmel Bracken is a member of the Irish Congregation of Sisters of Mercy, Northern Province. A member of their Mercy Global Action Network (MGAN), Carmel received an MA in Culture and Spirituality in Sophia Center in Oakland, California. She has inspired me with her writings and presentations, and I am grateful for this blog.

Care for Our Common Home during Lent

Jan11

Lent (which begins February 10) offers the perfect time to connect the Sunday Scripture readings with Pope Francis’ “urgent appeal … for a new dialog about how we are shaping the future of our planet.” (Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home, par. 14)

laudato-si400Laudato Si’, the Encyclical

News reports (and gossip) about this document often select isolated elements without appreciating the interconnections stressed throughout Laudato Si’. The Pope’s vision of the world is inclusive. Underlying his call to care for people within the context of our planet is his conviction that nothing can be considered apart from all else. Pope Francis is unfailingly hopeful about the possibility of change for the better.

Laudato Si’, Reflection Resource 

Laudato Si’ Reflection Resource offers help for anyone 100_1392interested in participating in this dialog. (The encyclical is addressed to everyone, any religion.) This resource integrates the Pope’s words with Lent’s Sunday Scripture readings. Pertinent videos and music enhance the content so that the words reach both head and heart.

Laudato Si’ Reflection Resource requires five sessions and participants’ desire to learn what Pope Francis really says in his first Encyclical — and why. Devoting the first of the five sessions to the Introduction establishes a solid foundation for accepting the full document. Practical weekly action suggestions lead to lasting commitments.

100_1324Participants who have already used this resource have proven that this program results in understanding, appreciating, and implementing Pope Francis’ words. This results from memorable prayer, thought-provoking discussions, and joyful community-building.

Loreta N. Castro, Executive Director of the Center for Peace Education and a Professor at Miriam College, Quezon City, Philippines, writes:

I love both the content and process! I think it gives a great balance between knowing about Laudato Si’ and its core message and feeling the love, empathy, and connectedness with Mother Earth. I also appreciated the last section on “Suggested Actions.”

This free 8-page, five-session resource
is available now:
LaudatoSi’.ReflectionResource.OnCare

REFUGEES, CLIMATE CHANGE, YEAR OF MERCY

Dec1

Refugees

I am writing this on Thanksgiving Day in the United States, a day we join with friends and family to give gratitude for the abundant blessings we enjoy. In contrast, think of what one refugee replied when asked what he had brought with him on the boat heading for Turkey. He thought for a moment and answered: “Sadness.”

This man is caught in the greatest migration since World War II. Though numbers cannot 5288632902_85224781d1_bbe exact, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees reports that 2014 saw almost 60 million women, children, and men displaced either within or outside their home areas. That number is approximately the population of Italy!

How we respond to the hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing terror and persecution, war, poverty, gangs, climate change, and hopelessness is a major issue for both leaders and citizens of the countries to which these homeless people flee. We must get beyond the numbing numbers and “feel” the plight of individuals. For those aware of how closely we are interconnected to all creation on our common home, the decision to welcome these brothers and sisters is inescapable.* (The US terror attacks have come from within.)

Connection to Climate Change

Researchers and policymakers warn that these numbers are sure to increase because of climate change. The Internal Displacement Monitoring Center states that roughly three times as many people were displaced by environmental disasters between 2008 and 2013 than fled from conflict and violence.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned recently that the scenes of chaos and heartbreak in Europe will be repeated globally unless the world acts to mitigate climate change. “Wait until you see what happens when there’s an absence of water, an absence of food, or one tribe fighting against another for mere survival,” Kerry said.

Climate change leads to crop failures, natural disasters, higher food prices and the spread of waterborne diseases, creating poverty and pushing people at risk into destitution. The World Bank warns that rising temperatures could drive 100 million people into extreme poverty. Professor Norman Myers of Oxford University and other reputable scientists put the number at twice that amount.

Talks in Paris now until Dec. 10 give hope that the world’s leaders will take positive steps to reduce climate change and thus reduce refugee numbers in the future.

Jubilee Year of Mercy

JUBILEE-YEAR-OF-MERCYCare of Earth and care of humanity cannot be separated. Pope Francis recently said, “There is a clear link between the protection of nature and the building of a just and equitable social order. There can be no renewal of our relationship with nature, without a renewal of humanity itself.”

December 8th begins the Roman Catholic Year of Mercy that extends to November 20, 2016. Calling us to a spiritual conversion, Pope Francis writes: “We want to live this Year in the light of the Lord’s words: ‘Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.’ (cf. Lk 6:36)” Addressing Catholics, he writes: “I am convinced that the whole Church will find in this Jubilee the joy needed to rediscover and make fruitful the mercy of God, with which all of us are called to give consolation to every man and woman of our time.”

It seems relevant that Human Rights Day will be celebrated two days after this special year begins. The Year of Mercy reminds Catholics — and others — to show mercy by helping refugees achieve their human rights. Welcoming refugees is a direct response to the Gospel mandate to welcome the homeless and treat everyone as we would treat Christ. It is an important way to show mercy. We also practice mercy by taking action to mitigate the reasons — like climate change and war — that cause people to flee their homes.

Listening to those who would withhold compassion for certain groups makes one wonder if the innkeepers who refused Joseph and his pregnant wife 2000 years ago truly had no room, or if they didn’t choose to accept people from Galilee. How sad if we could be similarly blinded!

 

* Entering the United States as a refugee is already a long and difficult process. It takes anywhere from 18 to 24 months or longer, and involves the FBI, Homeland Security, the National Counterterrorism Center, the Defense Department and the State Department. Your biometric data is checked against law-enforcement databases. You must pass a battery of interviews. And if you’re from Syria, the process is even more rigorous.

*My parish, St. Gertrude, Chicago, true to its pledge that “All Are Welcome!” is making plans to welcome a family from Syria (or whatever family is in need). Over 100  parishioners have volunteered to help, and the entire parish will contribute as needed.