In my own personal definition of "spiritual Ecology" I focus on the thoughts of seeking balance, and yet evolution (as in my own personal growth) is a result from being unbalanced.

 

Using definitions from the on line Merriam-Webster Dictionary refers to spiritual being from the Latin word spiritus – of breathing, of wind and ecology as a branch of science concerned with the interrelationship of organisms and their environments.

 

Being new to Quakerism , searching for the meaning of "Spiritual Ecology" on line, being a "first time attendee to the FGC, not to mention that I am one who will resist political activity at almost any cost, has led to very insightful sometimes unsettled experiences this week.

 

My first days here I seemed to be unconsciously focusing on special interest committees such as Friends Committee on Unity with Nature fcun@together.net. This led me to the personal question of is this political activism while very necessary and result producing in today’s world is it driven by anger? Then my collaborator in this endeavor pointed me to the magazine Earthlight http://www.earthlight.org/index.html which we were told about by a fellow Quaker from California unable top attend FGC, who read this page in it’s infancy. A particular article on line from the most recent issue answers this question; Zen, Ecology, and the Inner Life, an Interview with James Thornton , [EL #24, Winter 1996-97, pp 14-15, 21] http://www.earthlight.org/interview24.html

 

What was reconfirmed to me this week was the interconnectedness of the universe. From the response from this web site in less than a week to the "coincidences of meeting people that led me to web sites such as the couple I talked with at lunch who educated me about the Institute in Culture and Creation Spirituality (Sophia Center) at http://www.well.com/user/norwich/CS/#anchor9700106. A related article on "Creation Spirituality" discusses the "Original Blessing" an exert from the text sums it up for me "Creation Spirituality seeks a wholistic spirituality that overcomes the dualism between religion and science, between spirituality and social justice and between psyche and society." http://www.iac.net/~dlature/itseminary/creaspir/whatis1.html

 

I came to FGC wanting a "spiritual retreat" yet I really didn’t know what to expect – and I was right! What I found was a smorgasbord of activities and opportunities for numerous paths. I felt as if I was a new comer to a huge family re-union. A definite holistic spiritual community.