Looking Back on Nature
One perspective is that nature is a habitat we humans left thousands of years ago. We have evolved and become the dominant species on this planet. We are more than biology; we have culture. The other species have not evolved as far as we have.
This is the looking-back-at-nature perspective, which dominates our way of thinking and acting today. We try to solve our planetary problems by protecting nature. This will not work because it’s rooted in the false idea of separation—the idea that we have moved forward and are now looking back at the others.
Looking Forward with a Planetary Perspective
The looking-forward perspective, the planetary view, is just emerging. It evolves out of our human capacities to develop technologies and conduct science. We have seen our blue planet from space and started to understand ecology and evolution.
We know we are related to all life on Earth. We know that we are one huge family tree, living and breathing together in one planetary ecosystem. In our minds, we know we are interdependent. However, we still act based on the old idea of separation.
Planetary Awareness – No Separation
What is emerging now is a new planetary awareness that is transforming how we see ourselves. It’s springing up everywhere in different forms. Wider Embraces is one expression of this new paradigm.
Realising that I’m a part of planet Earth, I am the planet. Everything that is me, from my atoms and cells to my actions and thoughts, is part of this planet. There is no separation possible. Everything I am or do is an expression of this planet.
These three perspectives give us three different senses of self: from a self that is separate from nature to one that knows that I’m part of a planet to one that is living as a part of the planet. Living as an expression of planet Earth.
Wider Embraces is an easy-to-do yet profound method that helps us move from knowing about our oneness to experiencing it.