"Yesterday, filmmaker Velcrow Ripper and I had the honor of interviewing Joanna Macy – eco philosopher, scholar of Buddhism, deep ecology, and systems theory for Velcrow’s documentary film
FierceLight (coming to theaters Fall 2008). Filming Joanna amidst fiery pink bouganvilla next to a beautiful stone icon of the Buddhist goddess Kwan Yin, we definitely felt Gaia’s breath. Joanna spoke with such elegance, simplicity and passion about our need to become active and reconnect with the planet, each other, and life.

Joanna began by describing how our civilization, the industrial growth society, is beginning to unravel - financially, environmentally, politically, psychologically. She said that most people are reacting to this destruction out of fear and obedience or by going numb, but she believes the spiritual challenge is to be present, to truly take in and see what is happening to our world, allow ourselves to open up and feel the pain, mourn the dishonor and destruction and loss, so we are then better able to take action based on the natural compassion that arises in us when we tap into our humanity and connection to the earth. She calls this time period, The Great Turning.

There are 3 Dimensions of The Great Turning:

1. Actions to slow down the destruction being wrought by industrial growth society. These actions are what we generally think of as “activism”. This is a call to protect life and to save as much as you
can, but this alone, is not enough.

2. Planting the seeds for new structures after the old ones fall away, such as alternative fuel, alternative ways of growing and distributing food, alternative health, alternative currency. But,
this is also not enough.

3. A revolutionary shift in consciousness is needed. A sense of awe, gratitude, wonder and devotion to this planet, life, and each other needs to arise from the heart.

Joanna told us there were 3 revolutions in human history:

1. Agricultural Revolution
2. Industrial Revolution
3. This one. While the first two did not require an immense amount of consciousness and had the luxury of time, this Third revolution must be conscious and is happening fast. (btw, the Redvolution is one of millions of current revolutions that support, point to, and illuminate this Third one. Wake up, turn red, and serve babee!

Alright, back to the mystic ecologist.)

In this new consciousness, there is no room for fear or self-criticism. Joanna commented on how we’ve internalized the idea that we’re somehow lacking or not good enough, that we need to buy more, look better, work harder to compete with life. It’s a distraction and false. And yes, sometimes, when we do begin to wake up, we get so overwhelmed by the negative state of the world and how we’ve dishonored this planet and each other that we want to run back to Bloomingdales, our mac and cheese, and Desperate Housewives.

But Joanna says to just give up and feel powerless about the current planetary situation is an easy out and a form of self-pity and shows disrespect for the gift of life given to you. “If you have air to
breathe, there’s something you can do. You’re not powerless - you’re sad, you’re appalled, you’re scared”. She also made an interesting point that our grieving and depression that we might think is our personal stuff, our own private unique craziness, is also coming from this awareness of what is happening to the oceans, the lands, the animals, the humans. When we can admit this, feel this, we are capable of seeing our responses as forms of compassion. And we realize that we’re not alone nor completely nutz.

Joanna reminds us that the power holders want us to feel alone and isolated and numb, but a pain-free life is a kind of death. Feeling brings us back to life and teaches us how to truly see each other and this planet again. Joanna cautions us not to act alone. We need to reach out to others. Get involved on our block, in our city, make sure we create or find community. After all, we’re relational beings.

Then Joanna quoted the poem Rilke (oh yeah, along with changing the world and making a mean ice tea, she also translates Rilke poems)

“We come towards each other to meet and be met and to make each other
real” - Rilke

Joanna truly believes that now is one of the greatest times to be alive. It’s exciting, challenging, and has the potential for utter greatness. There is a possibility that those 7 generations after us
will call this time period something special, like “The Great Turning”, or “the time humans finally woke up, got off their asses, and started to act like the beings they really are already”. That would be my name for it…perhaps it would sound better as an acronym.

Joanna said the true meaning of apocalypse is not just disaster, but revelation disclosed. There is something being revealed now about life being lived and breathed through us. There are such great things life can do if we let it pour through us, with gratitude. In fact, she said gratitude is like oxygen. At one point during the interview Joanna uttered “I never thought it could get this bad, and I never
thought it could be this good”. She asks us to dance the paradox – to see both the promise of a new tomorrow and the possibility of no tomorrow.

We need to give ourselves totally to the shift, without knowing how it will turn out. After all, if we knew all things were going to be fine and dandy with a cherry on top, we might not work so hard. If we knew things were just gonna blow, we’d probably give up and dive into a bottle of Gin. Giving ourselves totally without knowing is a fundamental “spiritual” way to live life. It’s this time, more than
any other in history, that has the potential to break us open and into our authentic divine natures. If we choose to become conscious.

If we choose to become free. And if we learn to have a good time
doing so.

Tallyho!"

_____________________________

For more info on Joanna Macy go to: www.joannamacy.met

For more on Sera Beak go to: www.serabeak.com

www.spiritualcowgirl.com

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