SOUL & NATURE
“The environmental anguish of the Earth has entered our lives as a
radical transformation of human identity.
The needs of the planet and the needs of the person have become one.”
(Theodore Roszak in ‘Person/Planet’)
I use the term “soul-nature” because it reflects the fact that the soul and Nature are of one essence.
There is no fundamental split between the soul and matter, between soul and body, between soul and Nature. The soul manifests a body in the physical, material Earthly realm as the vehicle for its experience, learning, and service to others and to Life in this unique world of form.
This is why we seek out experiences of the natural world to soothe and awaken our soul - in the park or the woods, in the fields and meadows, by the river or sea, in the hills or mountains. This is why our connection with pets and animals can be so healing to our souls.
Part of our original soul essence is drawn to and resonates deeply with the soul essence of Nature. This is also why experiences of beauty, magnificence and awe in Nature are often such powerful triggers of soul awakening and realisation.
It is also why the body is such a powerful vehicle for messages from the soul, and why the world seemingly ‘outside’ of us can speak to us in powerful synchronicities - those seeming ‘coincidences’ which are so profoundly meaningful to us.
There is an underlying soul unity of all things.
“Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you, like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.”
(Mary Oliver in ‘Wild Geese’)
In Western society and culture we are caught up in a historical ‘mind trap’ as a result of the orthodox Judaeo-Christian belief in the duality of spirit and matter. This proposes that spirit / soul and matter are two very different things.
The reality is that there is an underlying unity that includes both spirit / soul and matter.
Spirit / soul reside within, and emerge from, matter and the material world - that is, they are immanent. It is also true that aspects of spirit and soul also exist in realms and dimensions beyond the body, the physical and the material realms - that is, they are also transcendent.
Historically, Western religions have tended to focus on spirit and the ‘spiritual’, transcendent aspects, and thus have accentuated the seeming spilt between spirit and matter. There is a certain truth to the transcendent nature of aspects of the soul and spirit, but it is not the whole truth.
Soul is embodied within matter, within the body, within the natural world, and within the cosmos at large. The soul also exists in dimensions and realities beyond these.
This focus on the split between spirit and matter was taken on by the secular scientific materialists in the European ‘Enlightenment’ of the 17th and 18th centuries through their proposed duality of mind and body.
This split has been the root cause of Western society’s ‘war’ on Nature and suppression of women and of the feminine as a whole.
The healing of this split between spirit / mind and matter (as well as the integration of feminine qualities at the individual, social, political and cultural levels) is a major task for our time, and one that must happen if we are to create the sustainable and just world that is possible.
“When in obedience to a narrow reality principle, we make the non-human world less than it is, we also make ourselves less than we are.”
(Theodore Roszak)
There are three key stages of humanity’s evolutionary journey in relation to the realm of matter and form - in relation to Nature, the Earth, and the Cosmos. The first stage is unconscious union, in which our identity is merged with the world around us. There is no separation but there is also little or no individual or individuated consciousness.
Next comes the process of separation in which we believe ourselves to be separate from the natural world and are thus free to act on it in ways driven by consumption, dominance and destruction.
Finally (if we make it) there is the stage of conscious unity and union in which we realise that we never were separate from nature, and that the Earth and the Cosmos itself are our larger bodies, our greater ‘selves’. We re-member that we exist within, and are an essential part of, the natural world, and that, whilst we are alive here, the Earth is our home.
With this re-membering and re-union will come the birth of a planetary culture that is ecologically sustainable and benefitting to all of humanity, as well as to the Earth and to all of her children.
As we awaken, align with and express our soul-nature, we move towards this experience of conscious union with the Earth. We outgrow the stage of materialistic consumption as we move beyond and heal our limited and wounded sense of self.
We will no longer need the strategies we have used to attempt to fill the hole inside or to distract ourselves from the emptiness, grief and loss within.
We will create a more soulful, regenerative global culture that is less focused on material things and more on meaningful and creative experiences, deeper relationships, and the simple joys of being fully alive on a vibrant planet of beauty, freedom and love.
“Soul has been demoted to a new-age spiritual fantasy or a missionary's booty, and nature has been treated , at best, as a postcard or a vacation backdrop or, more commonly, as a hardware store or refuse heap.
Too many of us lack intimacy with the natural world and with our souls, and consequently we are doing untold damage to both.”
(Bill Plotkin in ‘Nature & the Human Soul’)
In this planetary awaking process we may well discover that Nature / Earth Herself has a soul. This was a belief held by some of the great minds of the ancient world, including Plato, who spoke of the '“Anima Mundi”
the Soul of the World.
Because it is all made of soul stuff.
The physical realms are a manifestation of the Divine, so Divine Intelligence / Consciousness is immanent in matter and is ‘emergent’. That is, as material things become more complex, Divine Intelligence / Consciousness emerges from within matter itself.
This is how Life emerges from seemingly ‘dead’ matter. Because it is all ‘alive’. The whole Universe is a vast living system, a vast organism, in which Life begets life.
“Thus, then, in accordance with the likely account, we must declare that this Cosmos has verily come into existence as a Living Creature endowed with soul and reason ...
a Living Creature, one and visible, containing within itself all the living creatures which are by nature akin to itself.”
(Plato in ‘Timaeus’)
With this understanding comes the realisation of the miracle that is matter and the worlds of form. Emerging out of the dark womb of ‘no-thingness’ comes Consciousness, then come the energetic dimensions and finally the physical, material realms. All comes from spirit and all returns to spirit.
But right now you are gifted life in this physical realm, in and as the unique soul and body that you are, on this unique and magnificent planet that is Earth. How extraordinary!
It is said that angels envy humans the human experience of life in a physical body. It is true that there are times in life that this may not seem likely - times of struggle, pain, grief, and loss.
Though there are always opportunities for life, love, learning and growth in and through these challenges too. And that is why this world has been seen as “the vale of soul-making”.
It is a place where spirit, through soul, takes on physical form to experience itself in the realms of duality - in a body, in relationships, in the dance of physical life.
“Given that the human soul is the very core of our human nature, we might note that, when we are guided by soul, we are guided by nature.
Both soul and greater nature do guide us in our individual development, whether or not we ask for this guidance.”
(Bill Plotkin in ‘Nature & the Human Soul’)
The natural world around us can also be seen as a symbolic mirror of the deeper nature of Reality. Our Sun represents the eternal radiant Light of our transcendent spiritual essence or Self, whilst the moon mirrors our immanent soul-nature which is ever-changing in cycles that include both dark and light.
Nature is also a rich source of symbols that reflect aspects of our deeper lives - a snake shedding its skin, the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly… because Nature is an expression of our greater self, our deeper identity, and so can ’speak’ to us, and with us, in a multitude of ways. We just need to learn how to align ourselves and listen.
We now face multiple ecological and social crises on a planetary scale which call for a complete transformation of the way we have been living on the Earth.
These outer crises reflect inner crises. And both are caused by the limited and limiting cultural beliefs about who we are, and our deeper relationship with Nature and the spiritual dimensions.
We are called to awaken to a deeper soul-reality and to our multi-dimensional nature within a multi-dimensional Cosmos.
“Yet the alienation from soul is more than a mental-health crisis. It is, quite possibly, the most fundamental problem on the planet, the knot at the very center of our dilemmas.”
(Bill Plotkin in ‘Soulcraft’)
We face an initiatory transformation of our culture which, if we navigate it successfully, will birth a very different reality for humanity as a whole and for our relationship with Nature and the Divine.
A soulful reality which honours and encourages diversity whilst being built on principles of unity and the underlying Oneness of all things. A future that is equitable, sustainable, just, and centred in Love, compassion, and sharing.
“In addition to the magnitude and speed of change, we are obliged also to recognise the depth of change required for this time of great transition. ‘Choosing Earth’ means choosing a new relationship with Earth - which means choosing a new relationship with the totality of life.
By our own hands, we have created the conditions that force us to look at our behaviors more consciously and to deliberately choose our path ahead, both individually and as an entire species.
The breakdown of life on Earth brings with it the breakdown of our collective psyche. Eco collapse brings with it ego collapse. Fundamental advances in our collective psyche are now imperative.
We cannot repair the Earth without healing ourselves and our relationship with the rest of life.”
(Duane Elgin in ‘Choosing Earth’)
