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‘As our world becomes increasingly urbanized and mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety become seemingly more prevalent, it is time we pause and consider ways to alleviate this stress. Growing numbers of psychologists claim that several of our modern stressors are due to a departure from the natural world. Since industrialization, we have become disconnected from our relationship with nature. However, there is a solution…’
Especially at risk are the Millennial burnouts, the youth, our future leaders: It’s all about being hyper-healthy, hyper-clued-up, hyper-fashionable, hyper-achiever, be best, be perfect,... - and this is too exhausting, too draining.
Photo: nbcnews.com
Together, We Hold the Future in Our Hands
We must not fail our children and grandchildren. We must do the right thing. We must save the web of life
At the GCGI we believe every child, young person, students and their teachers should have regular opportunities and ease of access to connect with nature, so they can learn to value it, appreciate it, enjoy it, prioritise it and take action to save it.
“Be like the sun for grace and mercy.
Be like the night to cover others’ faults.
Be like running water for generosity.
Be like death for rage and anger.
Be like the Earth for modesty.
Appear as you are.
Be as you appear.”-Rumi
Desperately seeking Sophia: The Wisdom of Nature
Photo: Stock
Mental and physical health: The Healing Power of Nature
‘You’ve got problems. Perhaps more than you know. Apart from all the usual woes—work, relationships, money, time—the ‘civilized’ life may also be causing you psychological trauma.’
'Humans have long been deeply moved by a still expanse of water, a deep forest, a mountain peak. After all, nature is where we find our soul and come into contact with our spirituality. Yet, most of people today live in cities and spend far less time outside in green, natural spaces than the populations of only a few generations ago.’ Photo:123rf.com
Nature heals, Nature soothes, Nature restores, Nature connects: Yes, Nature is what makes us Human!
‘Being in nature, or even viewing scenes of nature, reduces anger, fear, and stress and increases pleasant feelings. Exposure to nature not only makes you feel better emotionally, it contributes to your physical wellbeing, reducing blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension, and the production of stress hormones. It may even reduce mortality. Research done in hospitals, offices, and schools has found that even a simple plant in a room can have a significant impact on stress and anxiety.’
‘Psychoterratica is the trauma caused by distance from nature’*
The high costs of nature deprivation
‘You’ve got problems. Perhaps more than you know. Apart from all the usual woes—work, relationships, money, time—the civilized life may also be causing you psychological trauma.
Disconnection from nature can be bad for our mental health. But there was no name for this particular malaise until 2000, when Australian philosophy professor Glenn Albracht coined the term psychoterratica, creating the beginning of a vocabulary to discuss the relationship between mental health and environment.
Since then, he’s thought up a whole lexicon. In May, Albrecht’s dictionary, Earth Emotions: New Words for a New World, will be published by Cornell University Press. It includes gems like the word ecoagnosy, a term created to describe environmental ignorance or indifference to the ecology. Then there’s solastalgia, a uniquely contemporary nostalgia: the psychic pain of climate change and missing a home that’s transforming before your eyes.
The healing power of nature
Photo:theodysseyonline.com
Julia Plevin, author of the upcoming book The Healing Magic of Forest Bathing, to be published in March by Random House, used to suffer from psychoterratica. As a design student in New York, Plevin recognized that all the gray buildings and dearth of greenery, was making her depressed and anxious. She focused her studies on psychoterratica and began examining the connection between space, nature, health, and design.
When she returned to her native San Francisco to work in Silicon Valley, she alighted upon a miracle treatment for her psychological malaise. It’s remarkably simple…and if you live near a forest, especially. As Plevin puts it, we just need to “rewild” regularly, spending time outside, especially among trees. Walking in the woods and cultivating a connection with nature is her medicine, and sharing this therapy has become her mission.
Plevin is the founder of the San Francisco Forest Bathing Club. When she started the group on Meetup.com in 2016, she didn’t know if people would be into it. They were. Within months, more than 500 members signed up, and she was talking to reporters worldwide about the tonic of the wilderness. Forest bathing, one of humanity’s oldest pastimes, was experiencing a sudden resurgence in popularity.
In Search of Well-being, Joy and Happiness: ‘Nature and ‘Forest Bathing’ is the Path
A walk in the park: just 20 minutes with nature beats stress and makes you happier
A 20-minute stroll through a park is one of the most effective stress-busting treatments that a doctor can prescribe, research suggests.
Through contact with the natural environment and engagement in health-promoting and/or social and recreational activities in parks, users experience physical and mental health benefits such as stress reduction and recovery from mental fatigue... Continue to read
Imagine a sunny day, one in which many people, on walking out of the house for the first time, will note a particular brightness to the light, and a balminess to the air, which may trigger a surge of hope and a willingness to look at familiar problems with renewed determination...
Angel Oak Tree, South Carolina, USA. Photo: naturedeprived.com
‘Healing power of nature – it was once the preserve of tree hugging hippies. Today, nature’s powerful potential to heal mind, body and spirit is recognised by science. Being in nature makes you feel good. And, surprisingly, nature’s powers extend beyond wellbeing to the healing of social and economic problems too.'
In this troubled world let the beauty of nature and simple life be our greatest teachers
We should look beyond economics and open our eyes to beauty
'Come forth into the light of things, Let Nature be your teacher'
'One of the pleasantest things in the world is going a journey.'
'In the mysteries of natural scenery': This is one of the places we often go, to be inspired, nurtured, nourished, find inner-peace and contentment
What’s old is new again
Wood wandering as therapy began in Japan in 1982, when the government introduced the concept of shinrin yoku, or “forest bathing.” It urged citizens to make use of the country’s 3,000 wooded miles to improve their wellbeing. Tomohide Akiyama, then chief of the forestry ministry, understood intuitively that the woods do people good, while distance from nature makes us sick.
Soon, Japanese researchers tried to quantify this intuition, studying the healing effect of trees. They discovered that forest bathing not only feels good but it is also healing, physically, because it exposes people to the healthy essential oils that trees release, called phytoncides. These antimicrobial oils protect trees from germs and have a host of human health benefits, including boosting mood and immune system function; reducing blood pressure, heart rate, stress, anxiety, and confusion; improving sleep and creativity; and possibly fighting cancer and depression.
From 2004 to 2012, Japanese officials spent about $4 million dollars studying the physiological and psychological effects of forest bathing, designating 48 therapy trails based on the results. In one very small (and thus limited) but interesting study, Qing Li, a professor at Nippon Medical School in Tokyo, measured the activity of human natural killer (NK) cells in 12 men’s immune systems before and after exposure to the woods. These cells provide rapid responses to viral-infected cells and tumors, and are associated with immune system health and cancer prevention. In a 2009 study, Li’s subjects showed significant increases in NK cell activity in the week after a forest visit, and positive effects lasted a month following each weekend in the woods.
Japan now has 62 designated therapeutic woods, attracting about 5 million visitors annually, and Li has become known as a postmodern shaman, the scientist pioneering tree medicine. Finland advertises itself to tourists as a forest bathing destination. There are forest therapy guide and certification programs in the US, UK, and Canada, and there’s a Global Institute for Forest Therapy. Around the world, groups like Plevin’s forest bathing club, official and unofficial, are treating their psychoterratica with a dose of nature, whether or not they know it.
Nature and Simple Living is a Blissful Life
A rural scene on l’île d’Orléans, Québec, Canada. Photo:theguardian.com
Civilization and its discontents
That said, there are plenty of ways to take your nature medicine. Blue mind science is the study of water’s curative properties, and studies have shown that both a trip to the ocean and a shower at home prove soothing. A visit to the park is also restorative, as is walking barefoot and earthing—which is basically just connecting to the ground.
Even just digging your fingers in the soil of a potted plant can improve your mood and boost your immune system. It turns out that, like trees, dirt has properties that are good for human health. Soil has a microbiome and the more we contact it, the more we let it infiltrate our systems, the better our chances of maintaining physical and mental wellness.
We have both a physical and psychological need to be in nature, as new research increasingly reveals, and we get sick when we’re disconnected from it. Luckily, the prescription for what ails us turns out to be a simple fix that is inexpensive and has no negative side effects.’
*The above article by Ephrat Livini was first published in QUARTZ on 24 February 2019
Getting More Nature***
How nature helps us feel good and do good
Photo:bing.com
‘Experiencing the benefits of nature requires you to S L O W D O W N and to pay attention to your surroundings mindfully by immersing yourself using your 5 senses. If you think this sounds a lot like Mindfulness, well you are correct! – Being in nature can make you more mindful, and being more mindful can help you enjoy being present in nature.
- Mindful Awareness: Enhance your experience of being immersed in nature by thinking about think about how you can actively incorporate your 5 senses as – eg, Ask yourself: “What can you see, smell, hear, taste, and feel on my skin?” Choose to deliberately tune into what you are focusing on – noticing whenever you have a thought, and gently returning your focus to stimulation by nature of your 5 senses.
- Viewing or listening to nature: Such as watching a storm, spending time in a forest or the bush, reading a beautifully illustrated book, drawing or painting something in nature, standing at a lookout, studying a flower or insect, listening to sounds – or field recordings – of nature, or watching a nature video. Any of David Attenborough’s documentaries are great example of soothing videos that can inspire an appreciation of nature. The BBC’s Blue Planet Series is a great example.
- Being in the presence of nature: Witnessing a beautiful sunset or a sunrise, lying on the grass looking at the clouds, eating a nice meal feeling in the sun warming your skin, swimming in the ocean, watching and listening to the waves from the beach, watching and listening to the flames while being warmed by a fire, watching the moon rise, or going somewhere remote to see an amazing starry-sky. The options are endless – the key is to be present, open, and curious!
- Actively participate in nature: Take a camera and be a photographer for the day – look for little things in nature that you wouldn’t normally see! Do things that require you to spend time in nature – gardening, trekking, running, swimming, snorkeling, horse-riding, or camping. Walk a dog, go for a bush-walk, or meet friends in a park. Meeting with friends or walking with an animal can help get you outside and into nature if you are finding motivation is tricky.
- S L O W down in nature: Learn about how to increase the powerful relaxing and rejuvenating effects of being in nature by practicing Soothing Rhythm Breathing. With this type of breathing, you can quickly deactivate your ‘fight/flight’ response & activate your soothing system. Do this breathing in nature, and you will be well on the way to being more calm, more present, and more at peace.’
- ***The above excerpt are from an article Dr Andreas Comninos, ‘The Mental Health Benefits of Nature’ which was first published in Mindfulness & Clinical Psychology Solutions.
Photo: shutterstock.com
..And now, come and be my fellow-traveler on a journey of self-discovery: Come and visit My Wisdom Corner. Surprise yourself. You will love it!
What is this life all about?
Why am I here? What’s my Life’s purpose? How can I make the most of my Life?
The Wisdom Corner
“Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving. It doesn't matter. Ours is not a caravan of despair. come, even if you have broken your vows a thousand times. Come, yet again , come , come.”- Jalaluddin Rumi, The Persian Sage of Beauty, Wisdom and Love.
Come, come, whoever you are, come
Do you hear that voice calling you, calling us?
...And finally, lest we forget
My generation has trashed the planet. So I salute the children and the youth striking back, showing us how to face up to the crisis of our own making.
‘You have issued a challenge to which we must rise, and we will stand in solidarity with you. Though we are old and you are young, we will be led by you.’ Students take part in the climate change strike in London. Photo: The Guardian
‘The Youth Strike 4 Climate gives me more hope than I have felt in 30 years of campaigning. Before this week, I believed it was all over. I thought, given the indifference and hostility of those who govern us, and the passivity of most of my generation, that climate breakdown and ecological collapse were inevitable. Now, for the first time in years, I think we can turn them around.
My generation and the generations that went before have failed you. We failed to grasp the basic premise of intergenerational justice: that you cannot apply discount rates to human life. In other words, the life of someone who has not been born will be of no less value than the life of someone who already exists. We have lived as if your lives had no importance, as if any resource we encountered was ours and ours alone to use as we wished, regardless of the impact on future generations. In doing so, we created a cannibal economy: we ate your future to satisfy our greed.'... George Monbiot. Continue to read
Let us all salute the youth of the world. They will change and build the better world. They are the ones to Make the World Great Again! Heed them and Hear them. Carpe Diem!
Youth climate strikers: 'We are going to change the fate of humanity'
Climate crisis and a betrayed generation
In an open letter, published in the Guardian on Friday 1 March 2019, activists behind recent youth-led climate protests say their views are being ignored in the debate about global warming.
'We, the young, are deeply concerned about our future. Humanity is currently causing the sixth mass extinction of species and the global climate system is at the brink of a catastrophic crisis. Its devastating impacts are already felt by millions of people around the globe. Yet we are far from reaching the goals of the Paris agreement.
Young people make up more than half of the global population. Our generation grew up with the climate crisis and we will have to deal with it for the rest of our lives. Despite that fact, most of us are not included in the local and global decision-making process. We are the voiceless future of humanity.
We will no longer accept this injustice. We demand justice for all past, current and future victims of the climate crisis, and so we are rising up. Thousands of us have taken to the streets in the past weeks all around the world. Now we will make our voices heard. On 15 March, we will protest on every continent.
We finally need to treat the climate crisis as a crisis. It is the biggest threat in human history and we will not accept the world’s decision-makers’ inaction that threatens our entire civilisation. We will not accept a life in fear and devastation. We have the right to live our dreams and hopes. Climate change is already happening. People did die, are dying and will die because of it, but we can and will stop this madness.
We, the young, have started to move. We are going to change the fate of humanity, whether you like it or not. United we will rise until we see climate justice. We demand the world’s decision-makers take responsibility and solve this crisis.
You have failed us in the past. If you continue failing us in the future, we, the young people, will make change happen by ourselves. The youth of this world has started to move and we will not rest again.’- Read the letter in the Guardian
Youth Voices are Crucial to Driving Change to Build a Better World. They Will Be Heard!
I am delighted and honoured that over the many years, since the GCGI was founded in 2002, we have been at the forefront of supporting our children, grandchildren, the youth and students world-wide.
So, it is with utmost pleasure that I say, once again: My dear young people, our future hopes and dreams, our future leaders to build a better world in the interest of the common good, I wish you all the best in life. I love, admire and support your inspiring initiatives, and I thank you for who you are and what you do. Youth of the World: Your Voices will be Heard. GCGI will always be your friend.
Millennials Building a Better World
"We are committed to building a better world for the common good"
Photo:ricecentre.ca
In a message that I wrote to mark the International Youth Day on 12 August 2012 In Praise of Youth on International Youth Day, I noted the following:
'...Over 50% of the global population is under 30, and with the global population at over 7 billion - that’s a lot of young people. Young people are incredibly important in bringing about change, they are generally less afraid to speak out about what they believe in than older people, and they are the ones who are going to be affected the most by the decisions made today. If we effectively harness the leadership and potential of young people around the world then together we can empower youth for the common good.
We must realise that what the young lack in experience they make up for in courage and vision, dreams and hope for a better, more sustainable future...
Today mark a time when youth are raising their voices to claim their place in the future of their communities, societies, countries and the world. The need to be heard, and to go beyond and actually shape decision-making, is of the essence.
Today the youth of the world have committed themselves to build a world that is just, free and prosperous for all, by promoting and practicing the true human values of love, compassion, justice, dialogue, truthfulness, honesty, trustworthiness, humility, courtesy, hard work, dedication, commitment, sympathy, empathy, volunteerism and service. Values such as these should never be underestimated; the power of a value-led life coupled with the commitment and the passion of young activists is a force for change that cannot be matched. The youth are empowering the world for the common good.
These qualities, essential for the moulding of character, must be internalised, and be expressed in daily action, whether in the context of family, community, country, or the world at large. The youth are an instrument of peace, promoting dialogue, advancing justice, so that we can all realise our dreams. The dream of young people has become the dream of the older generation. Their hope is now our hope...'
That was 2012. Today, I am very pleased to share with you a bit of good news. It seems, I was right in my predictions and assumptions. I was right to say that we are in good hands. It seems our world is being steered in the right direction by our younger generation, our youth, who are acting in the interest of the common good… Continue to read
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Spike Lee implores US to regain its humanity*
The film-maker gave a heartfelt and political speech after winning the best screenplay Academy Award for BlacKkKlansman
Spike Lee accepts the award for best adapted screenplay for his film ‘BlacKkKlansman.’ Photo: The New York Times
Spike Lee celebrated winning his first non-honorary Oscar in his long career as a filmmaker with an explicitly political speech, during which he called on the audience to “regain our humanity” at the next US election.
Lee was accepting the award for best adapted screenplay for his film BlackKklansman, with co-writers David Rabinowitz, Charlie Wachtel and Kevin Willmott. It is a satirical film loosely based on a true story about a black policeman who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan by using a white, Jewish proxy.
Although it is set in the 70s, the film explores how racism has remained in America’s bloodstream since slavery, and how it has erupted into the mainstream with the election of Donald Trump. BlackKklansman concludes with real footage from Charlottesville, where Heather Heyer was killed when a car was driven into a crowd protesting against a “unite the right” rally of white supremacists.
The speech** that followed touched deeply on black history and exhorted the crowd to get involved in the 2020 presidential election.
The word today is “irony.” The date, the 24th. The month, February, which also happens to be the shortest month of the year, which also happens to be Black History month. The year, 2019. The year, 1619. History. Her story. 1619. 2019. 400 years.
Four hundred years. Our ancestors were stolen from Mother Africa and brought to Jamestown, Virginia, enslaved. Our ancestors worked the land from can’t see in the morning to can’t see at night. My grandmother, [inaudible], who lived to be 100 years young, who was a Spelman College graduate even though her mother was a slave. My grandmother who saved 50 years of social security checks to put her first grandchild — she called me Spikie-poo — she put me through Morehouse College and N.Y.U. grad film. N.Y.U.!
Before the world tonight, I give praise to our ancestors who have built this country into what it is today along with the genocide of its native people. We all connect with our ancestors. We will have love and wisdom regained, we will regain our humanity. It will be a powerful moment. The 2020 presidential election is around the corner. Let’s all mobilize. Let’s all be on the right side of history. Make the moral choice between love versus hate. Let’s do the right thing! You know I had to get that in there.
*Spike Lee implores US to regain its humanity during Oscars speech
**Spike Lee Won an Oscar. Read His Passionate Speech.
Spike Lee implores US to regain its humanity: Watch the Video
Read more:
Recalling an epoch-defining day: “I Have a Dream” speech remembered
‘I Have a Dream’: Yearning for Dr. King’s Interconnected World
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“We are the first generation to know we are destroying our planet and the last one that can do anything about it.”- World Wildlife Fund
Saving the Web of Life: The Time is now to Tune into Peace, Love and Wisdom with a Spiritual Revolution
Falling back in love with Mother Earth and not Economic Models will Save the World
We are the seeds of the future. We are the pillars of the better world we are all hoping for. The human family, indeed, the entire web of life, is going through some very chaotic times now.
The current dominant economic model of neo-liberalism has been one of materialism, consumerism, individualism, conquest, greed, militarism, war, injustice, inequality, violence and values-less thinking; everything goes, as long as it makes money and profit for the 1%.
That paradigm is collapsing now, mindsets are shifting. Attitudes are changing. We are shifting away from the mechanistic world view, devoid of any humanity or spirituality, to a holistic, ecological view. Thus, we can now all be a part of something new that is more in tune with the ways of Nature, more balanced, wholesome, compassionate, creative, cooperative, giving, sharing, caring, loving and wise.
All in all, despite many bad and ugly things happening all around us, we must also recognise that there are so many goodness, beauty and love in this world.
In short, in the wise words of the Persian sage, poet and philosopher of love, Hafez, we must remain positive and hopeful: ‘'Don't Despair Walk On'
With this in mind, below, I offer you the following for your reflection. Hope you may find it of interest and useful.
We are the Ones
We Have Been Waiting For
Thich Nhat Hanh: Be Beautiful, Be Yourself
Photo: goodreads.com
‘Beyond environment: falling back in love with Mother Earth’
Yes, indeed, words of wisdom, love and beauty, are timeless.
In an interview with Jo Confino for the Guardian Professional Network in 2012, Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh explains why mindfulness and a spiritual revolution rather than economics is needed to protect nature and limit climate change.*
"We have constructed a system we can't control. It imposes itself on us, and we become its slaves and victims.
"We have created a society in which the rich become richer and the poor become poorer, and in which we are so caught up in our own immediate problems that we cannot afford to be aware of what is going on with the rest of the human family or our planet Earth.
"In my mind I see a group of chickens in a cage disputing over a few seeds of grain, unaware that in a few hours they will all be killed."-Thich Nhat Hanh
Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh says a spiritual revolution is needed if we are going to confront the environmental challenges that face us. Photo:balancedachievement.com
‘Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh has been practising meditation and mindfulness for 70 years and radiates an extraordinary sense of calm and peace. This is a man who on a fundamental level walks his talk, and whom Buddhists revere as a Bodhisattva; seeking the highest level of being in order to help others.
Ever since being caught up in the horrors of the Vietnam war, the 86-year-old monk has committed his life to reconciling conflict and in 1967 Martin Luther King nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize, saying "his ideas for peace, if applied, would build a monument to ecumenism, to world brotherhood, to humanity."
So it seems only natural that in recent years he has turned his attention towards not only addressing peoples' disharmonious relationships with each other, but also with the planet on which all our lives depend.
Thay, as he is known to his many thousands of followers, sees the lack of meaning and connection in peoples' lives as being the cause of our addiction to consumerism and that it is vital we recognise and respond to the stress we are putting on Earth if civilisation is to survive.
What Buddhism offers, he says, is the recognition that we all suffer and the way to overcome that pain is to directly confront it, rather than seeking to hide or bypass it through our obsession with shopping, entertainment, work or the beautification of our bodies. The craving for fame, wealth, power and sex serves to create only the illusion of happiness and ends up exacerbating feelings of disconnection and emptiness.
Small is Beautiful: The Wisdom of E.F. Schumacher and Buddhist Economics
Thay refers to a billionaire chief executive of one of America's largest companies, who came to one of his meditation courses and talked of his suffering, worries and doubts, of thinking everyone was coming to take advantage of him and that he had no friends.
In an interview at his home and retreat centre in Plum Village, near Bordeaux, Thay outlines how a spiritual revolution is needed if we are going to confront the multitude of environmental challenges.
While many experts point to the enormous complexity and difficulty in addressing issues ranging from the destruction of ecosystems to the loss of millions of species, Thay sees a Gordian Knot that needs slicing through with a single strike of a sharp blade.
Move beyond concept of the "environment"
He believes we need to move beyond talking about the environment, as this leads people to experience themselves and Earth as two separate entities and to see the planet in terms only of what it can do for them.
Change is possible only if there is a recognition that people and planet are ultimately one and the same.
"You carry Mother Earth within you," says Thay. "She is not outside of you. Mother Earth is not just your environment.
"In that insight of inter-being, it is possible to have real communication with the Earth, which is the highest form of prayer. In that kind of relationship you have enough love, strength and awakening in order to change your life.
"Changing is not just changing the things outside of us. First of all we need the right view that transcends all notions including of being and non-being, creator and creature, mind and spirit. That kind of insight is crucial for transformation and healing.
"Fear, separation, hate and anger come from the wrong view that you and the earth are two separate entities, the Earth is only the environment. You are in the centre and you want to do something for the Earth in order for you to survive. That is a dualistic way of seeing.
"So to breathe in and be aware of your body and look deeply into it and realise you are the Earth and your consciousness is also the consciousness of the earth. Not to cut the tree not to pollute the water, that is not enough."
Putting an economic value on nature is not enough
Thay, who will this spring be in the UK to lead a five-day retreat as well as a mindfulness in education conference, says the current vogue in economic and business circles that the best way to protect the planet is by putting an economic value on nature is akin to putting a plaster on a gaping wound.
"I don't think it will work," he says. "We need a real awakening, enlightenment, to change our way of thinking and seeing things."
Rather than placing a price tag of our forests and coral reefs, Thay says change will happen on a fundamental level only if we fall back in love with the planet: "The Earth cannot be described either by the notion of matter or mind, which are just ideas, two faces of the same reality. That pine tree is not just matter as it possesses a sense of knowing. A dust particle is not just matter since each of its atoms has intelligence and is a living reality.
"When we recognise the virtues, the talent, the beauty of Mother Earth, something is born in us, some kind of connection, love is born.
"We want to be connected. That is the meaning of love, to be at one. When you love someone you want to say I need you, I take refuge in you. You do anything for the benefit of the Earth and the Earth will do anything for your wellbeing."
In the world of business, Thay gives the example of Yvon Chouinard, founder and owner of outdoor clothing company Patagonia, who combined developing a successful business with the practice of mindfulness and compassion: "It's possible to make money in a way that is not destructive, that promotes more social justice and more understanding and lessens the suffering that exists all around us," says Thay.
"Looking deeply, we see that it's possible to work in the corporate world in a way that brings a lot of happiness both to other people and to us ... our work has meaning."
Thay, who has written more than 100 books, suggests that the lost connection with Earth's natural rhythm is behind many modern sicknesses and that, in a similar way to our psychological pattern of blaming our mother and father for our unhappiness, there is an even more hidden unconscious dynamic of blaming Mother Earth.
In a new essay, Intimate Conversation with Mother Earth, he writes: "Some of us resent you for giving birth to them, causing them to endure suffering, because they are not yet able to understand and appreciate you."
Economic Growth: The Index of Misery
How mindfulness can reconnect people to Mother Earth
He points to increasing evidence that mindfulness can help people to reconnect by slowing down and appreciating all the gifts that the earth can offer.
"Many people suffer deeply and they do not know they suffer," he says. "They try to cover up the suffering by being busy. Many people get sick today because they get alienated from Mother Earth.
"The practice of mindfulness helps us to touch Mother Earth inside of the body and this practice can help heal people. So the healing of the people should go together with the healing of the Earth and this is the insight and it is possible for anyone to practice.
"This kind of enlightenment is very crucial to a collective awakening. In Buddhism we talk of meditation as an act of awakening, to be awake to the fact that the earth is in danger and living species are in danger."
Thay gives the example of something as simple and ordinary as drinking a cup of tea. This can help transform a person's life if he or she were truly to devote their attention to it.
"When I am mindful, I enjoy more my tea," says Thay as he pours himself a cup and slowly savours the first sip. "I am fully present in the here and now, not carried away by my sorrow, my fear, my projects, the past and the future. I am here available to life.
"When I drink tea this is a wonderful moment. You do not need a lot of power or fame or money to be happy. Mindfulness can help you to be happy in the here and now. Every moment can be a happy moment. Set an example and help people to do the same. Take a few minutes in order to experiment to see the truth."
The GCGI-SES Lucca Forum: Here's to 2018, Our Journey of Hope, caring for Our Sacred Earth
OUR SACRED EARTH Tuscany Forum: The Videos
Need to deal with ones own anger to be an effective social activist
Thay has over many years developed the notion of applied Buddhism underpinned by a set of ethical practices known as the five mindfulness trainings, which are very clear on the importance of tackling social injustice.
However, if social and environmental activists are to be effective, Thay says they must first deal with their own anger. Only if people discover compassion for themselves will they be able to confront those they hold accountable for polluting our seas and cutting down our forests.
"In Buddhism we speak of collective action," he says. "Sometimes something wrong is going on in the world and we think it is the other people who are doing it and we are not doing it.
"But you are part of the wrongdoing by the way you live your life. If you are able to understand that, not only you suffer but the other person suffers, that is also an insight.
"When you see the other person suffer you will not want to punish or blame but help that person to suffer less. If you are burdened with anger, fear, ignorance and you suffer too much, you cannot help another person. If you suffer less you are lighter more smiling, pleasant to be with, and in a position to help the person.
"Activists have to have a spiritual practice in order to help them to suffer less, to nourish the happiness and to handle the suffering so they will be effective in helping the world. With anger and frustration you cannot do much."
Touching the "ultimate dimension"
Key to Thay's teaching is the importance of understanding that while we need to live and operate in a dualistic world, it is also vital to understand that our peace and happiness lie in the recognition of the ultimate dimension: "If we are able to touch deeply the historical dimension – through a leaf, a flower, a pebble, a beam of light, a mountain, a river, a bird, or our own body – we touch at the same time the ultimate dimension. The ultimate dimension cannot be described as personal or impersonal, material or spiritual, object or subject of cognition – we say only that it is always shining, and shining on itself.
"Touching the ultimate dimension, we feel happy and comfortable, like the birds enjoying the blue sky, or the deer enjoying the green fields. We know that we do not have to look for the ultimate outside of ourselves – it is available within us, in this very moment."
While Thay believes there is a way of creating a more harmonious relationship between humanity and the planet, he also recognises that there is a very real risk that we will continue on our destructive path and that civilisation may collapse.
He says all we need to do is see how nature has responded to other species that have got out of control: "When the need to survive is replaced with greed and pride, there is violence, which always brings about unnecessary devastation.
"We have learned the lesson that when we perpetrate violence towards our own and other species, we are violent towards ourselves; and when we know how to protect all beings, we are protecting ourselves."
Remaining optimistic despite risk of impending catastrophe
In Greek mythology, when Pandora opened the gift of a box, all the evils were released into the world. The one remaining item was "hope".
Thay is clear that maintaining optimism is essential if we are to find a way of avoiding devastating climate change and the enormous social upheavals that will result.
However, he is not naïve and recognises that powerful forces are steadily pushing us further towards the edge of the precipice.
In his best-selling book on the environment, 'The World we Have', he writes: "We have constructed a system we can't control. It imposes itself on us, and we become its slaves and victims.
"We have created a society in which the rich become richer and the poor become poorer, and in which we are so caught up in our own immediate problems that we cannot afford to be aware of what is going on with the rest of the human family or our planet Earth.
"In my mind I see a group of chickens in a cage disputing over a few seeds of grain, unaware that in a few hours they will all be killed."
*The interview above was first published in the Guardian on Monday 20 February 2012.
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