Ecological spirituality is the recognition that the divine is not separate from the world but woven into the intricate, interconnected tapestry of all living things, inviting us to move beyond seeing nature as a resource and to experience it as a sacred, numinous presence worthy of our awe, reverence, and protection.
Ecological Spirituality and Sacred Tapestry
By Angela Manno
“The universe and all beings are saturated with Spirit. To recognize its presence in every corner of the cosmos is the work of spirituality” — Leonardo Boff, Come, Holy Spirit: Inner Fire, Giver of Life, and Comforter of the Poor
“The crisis is spiritual, and the great medicine is spiritual”— Kathleen Deignan, CND, founder of CND Institute for Earth and Spirit.
We are in a time of great change regarding our perceptions of animals and ecosystems and our awareness of their status. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List now provides the world’s most comprehensive information on the extinction risk status of species globally.
The almost clinical term “biodiversity” does not convey the most amazing reality, however; in creating this series of icons of threatened and endangered species, I came to realize this seamless fabric of matter, this tapestry of beings and ecosystems, is one gorgeous interconnected evolving pattern that repeats itself in variations of color, texture, and form through- out the biosphere, yielding nothing less than the whole phenomenon of Life regulating itself.
In this work, I have sought to convey the presence and spiritual power of each species, as well as their magnificent and varied physical attributes. In our hyper-rational worldview, we have all but lost the capacity for awe, wonder, reverence, and humility before mystery. These sensibilities form the basis of my spirituality, which is ecological at its core. The more I am exposed to the beauty and diversity of the living world, all species great and small, the more I experience the world itself and each creature as numinous. The fish that feel and care for their friends, the intelligence of the octopus, the talent of the lynx, cooperative hunting throughout the animal kingdom, the love of orangutans, the outlandish, intricate design of reptiles, the kindness and affection of dogs, and the sweetness of pigs and cows.
Their shapes and colors and forms are all crying out, “Look at me! I am beautiful. I am unique. I feel, I think, I strategize, I cooperate, I rescue, I fly, I swim, I crawl, I am patient, I am fast, I love. I am ancient. I am fragile. I am noble!”
My first inklings of an ecological spirituality emerged when I was exposed to the most ancient form of ecological spirituality—Indigenous spirituality—in particular, the spirituality of Native American tribes in the western United States.
By a stroke of synchronicity, in 1986, I was invited to attend a Sundance on the Southern Ute reservation. I was privileged to witness this five-day ordeal where the dancers fast from food and water and pray for a healing vision for their people and for the Earth. The Sundance is a complete self-emptying, so the Spirit can fill each dancer and, through them, convey healing to the community. In preparation for the main ceremony, witnesses and dancers alike take part in sweat lodges—a rigorous earth-based form of prayer utilizing rocks, water, fire, and steam (instead of bread, wine, and incense), in a small enclosed “lodge” made from willow saplings covered with blankets and a tarp.
The most potent lesson from this ceremony was a profound experience of humility before these elements and forces of Nature. Learning about the Great Law of the Iroquois Confederacy, which requires tribal leaders to consider the welfare of the seventh generation to come in all their deliberations, further enriched my understanding of ecological spirituality and responsibility. How different this is from our shortsighted decision-making process focusing on the next financial quarter or elections four years hence! At the same time, I read atmospheric chemist James Lovelock’s “Gaia hypothesis” that the Earth itself is a living being, maintaining its homeostasis in order to preserve the optimal conditions for life, just as individual living organisms maintain their optimal body temperature.
It was my “Eureka moment”—Aha! It’s all alive! And then, as if to top it off, I came upon the Apollo astronauts’ accounts of their ecstatic and sometimes mystical experiences of behold- ing the Earth from space in all her ineffable beauty and fragility, deeply resonating with their feelings and perceptions. As Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean once said after seeing the Earth from the moon, “I don’t think we were thrown out of the Garden of Eden. Just look around. We’re still in it, particularly when you compare the Earth with the Moon.”
We are indeed in the Garden of Eden.
Integral Ecology
“But man is a part of nature, and his war against nature is inevitably a war against himself” — Rachel Carson, Silent Spring
“The needs of the planet are the needs of the person” — Theodore Roszak, Person/Planet: The Creative Disintegration of Industrial Society
Much later, I was introduced to the concept of integral ecology, as described in Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato Si: On Care of Our Common Home. In his groundbreaking letter to the world, Francis addresses the interconnection between the plight of the Earth and vulnerable human communities, illustrating the impact of pollution, biodiversity loss, habitat loss, and climate change upon both people and planet.
So much of the environmentalism I had encountered until that point had a certain disdain for human beings because of the destruction we had wrought upon the Natural World. Integral ecology sees the interconnectedness of environmental, economic, political, social, cultural, and ethical issues. Such an ecology requires the vision to think about comprehensive solutions to what is both an environmental and a human crisis. “When biodiversity flourishes, human life flourishes.”
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About the Author
Angela Manno trained with a master iconographer from Russia and studied at the San Francisco Art Institute, Parsons School of Design, and l’Ecole des Arts in Lacoste, France, through Sarah Lawrence College. Her work has been exhibited in private and public collections around the world, including NASA, the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts. She works with the Center for Biological Diversity on its endangered species programs and lives in New York City. https://angelamanno.com/
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