Free! Eco-Education

Before going on with lots of other words, first let us contemplate the words of Buddha:
“If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole lives would change.”

To me, this is a reminder that everything I need to know is beyond words- it’s the whole living world! It also reminds me to go outside and seek out places and creatures that were not made or destroyed by the hands of humans. It inspires me to join in the larger dance and get right into it, glorying in the interconnections of life and the beauty all around me, instead of merely reading or talking or painting about it.

However, I also believe that even insides are outsides, and there is really no such thing as inside or outside in any objective sense. I believe that my mind is a garden, and my internal worls contain flowers of its’ own. Words are an intersting way of engaging with the world, and there is lots of to learn from the words and internal landscapes of others. Indeed, we all stand upon the shoulders of giants. It is up to us to realize this, and to lean down and investigate what is in reach. For example, there are tons of videos available for free online that are incredibly powerful and educational with regards to ecology, permaculture, and the interconnectedness of life on this planet. Eco-education with the goal of grounding people with a solid knowledge of ecology (the science of relationships, processes, and interconnections), also known as ecoliteracy, is greatly lacking from our culture and from our educational systems.

Yet theoretical knowledge of ecology is not quite enough. We need to be able to relate and integrate it into our lives as human beings, and so this is where 1) going outside and 2) the study of our relationships with being outside becomes important (ecopsychology). The knowledge and wisdom is out there, waiting to be found, waiting to be absorbed. Perhaps you could learn everything you need to know by growing a flower in your garden, but I believe that our biases, prejudices and beliefs are so deeply ingrained, that communication and discussion about these beliefs with other people must happen first, to break the spell of our illusion of separateness. We must first change our hearts and our values. Knowledge and information are clearly not enough to motivate and bring about real change in our lives and in the world. Only then, when we have integrated this knowledge not just in the brain but within the entire organism, may we re-enter a world that is animated, enchanted, respected, and valued. Higher education on these topics is available out there, such as very expensive graduate programs in ecopsychology, but I believe that information as important and urgent as this should be free and available to all, not just those who can afford or be eligible for a degree in University.

So this is an attempt to compile a free eco-educational curriculum, with videos found on YouTube, presented with rhizomatic organization. A rhizome is “”image of thought”, based on the botanical rhizome, that apprehends multiplicities. A rhizome […] is characterized by “ceaselessly established connections between semiotic chains, organizations of power, and circumstances relative to the arts, sciences, and social struggles.” The rhizome presents history and culture as a map or wide array of attractions and influences with no specific origin or genesis, for a “rhizome has no beginning or end; it is always in the middle, between things, interbeing, intermezzo.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhizome_%28philosophy%29).

If we are to bring bout in a meaningful way the “shift in consciousness” this is so desperately needed at this time, particularly in relation to our relationships to the living Planet that we are a living part of, we must allow ourselves to be open to a diversity of voices, to listen deeply to the those voices of wisdom which are all around us (the human and the more-than-human), and to allow ourselves the opportunity to be meaningfully moved and changed by our experiences.

The internet and other technologies that connect us to this vast cyber-web are such potentially powerful tools and means of connection, and yet are often used in ways that further our alienation from all aspects of our existence, including ourselves, others people, other beings, the land, the elements, and the sun, moon and the stars.

You are invited to witness, connect and care, and to be moved and to be grounded by the following voices and images. May your heart, body, mind and soul be open to learning, connecting, and caring about the Earth, and all its’ ecosystems both internal and external. May you have courage to question your beliefs, and the courage to cast aside those that do not serve you any longer. May you unveil the illusion of your separateness, and realize your interconnection with all that is.

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VOICES

Joanna Macy