I apologise for this posting, as it was originally a footnote after one of the radio programs. So please forgive the inadequateness of this post. Thank
you. - Tim
With more and more issues coming to our notice, often we are stretched so widely, that we have to take an in-breath and take time out.
Auckland’s Aio Wira retreat centre is situated in the bush, in the Waitakere ranges on the outskirts of the city, and you can take personal retreats as
well as fasting and meditating.
When we rest and nurture our being, we can again come out into the world to participate in community and be more effective in what we do.
Vipassana Meditation Centre - Dhamma Medini | Kaukapakapa, New Zealand ...
And we can also spend time at www.holisticliving.co.nz
As the word holistic implies we need to see and experience the universe as a harmonious and connected way of being. An open system emphasizing the
importance of the whole and the interdependence of its parts.
Although often described as a New Age concept, Eastern, earth-centric, and indigenous peoples have practiced holism for many centuries. The term holism
derives from the Greek holos (whole), and was first used by Jan Christian Smuts an ex South African Prime Minister. His book Holism and Evolution in
(1926).was way ahead of its time.
The notion prefigures theologian Teilhard de Chardin's theory that the human race is "evolving mentally and socially, towards a final spiritual unity."
Within this web site that you can join, you can learn of the many aspects of knowing the self, to being part of family, community from the local to
the global, plus health, metaphysics and spirituality.
There are many articles of interest covering a wide range of subject matter.
Finally, to obtain an understanding of the seriousness and urgency of climate change and what is happening ecologically on our planet:
Originator of Gaia theory, that our planet is a self regulating super organism, he is also the inventor of the electron capture detector (which made
possible the detection of CFCs and other atmospheric nano-pollutants that affect the ozone layer) the microwave oven and he proved to NASA, with out
them going to Mars, that there was no life as such on that planet.
Though we may strongly disagree with Lovelock because of our Nuclear Free status in NZ, the reason he pushes nuclear power, is because as a polymath
(being capable in a large number of scientific disciplines) he sees that overpopulating industrialized man has pushed us over the tipping point, and
it his contention and many others, that it is too late to save the planet, and that we have to in the meantime - now save our civilsation.
He calls for a sustainable retreat. And sees only practical solutions, where regrettably he gives no credence to a higher state of evolutionary consciousness
to come into being. This idea to propel us into a new unheralded, co-creative, consciousness where planetary oneness could instantly bring a shift
in attitudes. Which in turn reconnects us to all life, our selves and our planet in terms of being a high frequency, dynamic, synergistic - cooperative
whole. This is the concept of the 'Noosphere' that Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, the French idealist philosopher and Jesuit priest who trained as a paleontologist
and geologist and took part in the discovery of Peking Man. He spoke of this as our next evolutionary leap.
Post Script: Mid May 2016.
James Lovelock hints at the concept that we human beings are extensions of Gaia - Mother Earth. He alludes to us being the nerve endings for our planet.
That when I stand on a riverbank with a sign in NZ that says, stop soil erosion from entering our rivers - I am a nerve ending telling all people who
are present and can read, that there is a problem here in NZ. Same for a Palestinian in Gaza with a microphone calling out for peace. Any TV reporter
that records that person and broadcasts it to Europe, is another expression of the Palestinian connecting with all the other nerve endings watch that
TV broadcast in Europe. Same with an Anti Nuclear protester with a sign in Times Square in New York, telling all people who read the sign that Mother
earth has a huge problems with Nuclear weapons that could terminate all life.
When we humans, as activated nerve endings, communicate our message to the world at large, we then trust that other people will act in response to these
messages and this is one way that we as a humanity can initiate the solutions for an ecologically sustainable planet, that lives in peace.