reconnecting with earth 5 ecopsychology

canopy above us ~ a world we seldom see

In attempting to understand human foolish misbehaviour in terms of the environment, John Seed (Australian director of the Rainforest Information Center and co-creator of the Council of All Beings) explores the philosophy of deep ecology. He writes:   

     The fundamental problem is anthropocentrism or human centredness.  We are obsessed with our self-importance...we blindly destroy the future for 10 million species so as to fill the world with humanity for a few generations more.

     In deep ecology, the world is seen not as a pyramid with humans on top, but as a web.  We humans are but one strand in that web and as we destroy other strands, we destroy ourselves.

Bill Plotkin (described as a wilderness guide, ecotherapist and depth psychologist) further emphasizes that children need nature, to explore freely in their own way the natural world: unsupervised play with peers in field and forest, with mud and stones and sticks, observing animals, birds, flowers, wind, snow, stars in order to grow into healthy, vibrant, creative human beings, fully belong to the world into which they were born and from which they were born. He emphasizes that this need, nature immersion, not only helps prevent modern maladies including depression, hyperactivity/attention deficit disorder, obesity, but that it is an essential dimension of human development to ensure creativity and rootedness in the earth community.

We can teach ourselves to be more aware
of our own mutual dependence.

As every living being wants happiness instead of pain,
we share a common basic feeling.

We can develop right action to help the earth and each other
based on a better motivation.

When we are motivated by wisdom and compassion,
the results of our actions benefit everyone,
not just our individual selves or some immediate convenience.

Words from the Dalai Lama