Category Archives: climate change

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Adyashanti’s Climate Wisdom

Here are teachings from Adyashanti‘s inspiring talk on “Climate Change as Spiritual Teacher“ on 1/21/23, with Jonathan Gustin of the Purpose Guides Institute (from my notes, lightly edited & resequenced.)

Adyashanti: We are simultaneously holding the facts of climate change, the arising of heartbreak, and the fullness of courage in finding a full-hearted response. It is not about rejecting the facts, nor about rejecting the heartbreak. It’s about accepting, about being with what is.

I experience human heartbreak / sadness / grief at what is happening, alongside an experience of transcendence. The only thing I trust, in my own experience, is when both perspectives are present.

The closer we get to paradox, the closer we get to truth. We can be not okay and okay at the same time. Everything is eternally, absolutely okay, even though it is very not okay.

Is there a little corner of you that is okay, even with the situation of our planet not being okay? Once you find that corner, you may find it is more expansive than you could have imagined.

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We Are in a Climate Emergency

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Recently I attended a Climate Compassion Salon in Berkeley. Over 40 people crammed into the living room of a private home to hear Ezra Silk, The Climate Mobilization‘s Director of Strategy & Policy, speak at length about the climate emergency that we face. Below is my synthesis of inputs—Ezra’s as well as other Salon participants—from this memorable evening.

Friends, we are in an environmental, economic, social and spiritual crisis. For ten years people have been talking about climate change as an 11th hour problem. Now the climate clock has struck midnight, and we have a very small window of time to prevent ecological and social collapse.

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Speaking Our Truths About the Climate Crisis

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Recently I joined in a “Wisdom Circle for a World on Fire” convened by Shams Kairys and Cindy Spring—a space to join others in exploring our deepest thoughts and feelings about climate change. Here is a summary of our purpose, from Shams’ email that brought the group together:

“Those who are willing to peel back the forces of denial and look at our actual condition, who are often left feeling isolated and distraught, need to be talking with each other. In a dedicated space with a small group, we will peer into our hearts and minds and engage in honest conversation. This milieu is conducive not only for informing each other, but also for hearing our own trials and emerging recognitions in a fresh light. The focus is not so much on the facts of the matter or actions to address it as on expanding our capacity to face and integrate what we are learning, and its impact upon us.”

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