ECOLOGY
The Ecological Implications of Planetization
THE ECOLOGICAL Implications of planetization
Some people consider Planetization as little more than some sort of 'super-sized' Nation-State or One World Government. But this globalist vision is the exact opposite of everything Planetization stands for; especially in terms of its ecological implications and the new Earth/human bond which it makes possible. Planetization represents not only the evolutionary fulfillment of our species - but for our Earth as well. Our creation of the Noosphere marks an evolutionary turning point not only for ourselves... but for our planet. And by aligning ourselves with this emerging planetary impulse, we're able to tap into this trans-personal, trans-species source of wisdom which is available to guide, harmonize and inspire our efforts.
"And this amounts to imagining in one way or another, above the animal biosphere a human sphere, a sphere of reflection, of conscious invention, of conscious Souls (The Noosphere, if you will).
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
This planetary source of wisdom is the still, small voice ever more insistently telling us its time to evolve beyond our human-centered abstractions which render us blind, deaf and dumb to the more primal bonds that connect us to our Earth... to the rest of our species... and to all other living beings. It's leading us toward an Earth-centered perception of 'The World'. Only a lack of vision prevents us from more fully embracing this inner wisdom. It's only our instinctive urge to fearfully clutch and cling to the familiar (even as that familiar worldview increasingly threatens our survival) which prevents us from opening up to it.
A well-known aphorism tells us that "There's no more powerful force in the Universe than a truth whose time has come." And the time has come for the higher truth embodied in the new Earth/human bond of Planetization to be realized. This new Earth/human relationship will radically alter our thinking, not only in terms of greater ecological awareness - but in our understanding of what it is to be a human being.
"(T)ruth has to appear only once, in one single mind, for it to be impossible for anything ever to prevent it from spreading universally and setting everything ablaze."
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
A More Mature Earth/Human Relationship
What is the nature of this new Earth/human bond? Developmental psychologists speak of the infant's wholly narcissistic relationship to his or her 'mother object'. To the infant, the mother object exists solely to fulfill his or her immediate physical and emotional needs. But as we mature into adulthood, we begin to see our parents as persons in their own right, separate and distinct from their parental roles. We begin to see them as individuals with their own needs and wants, dreams, fears, and shortcomings. These parental revelations are sometimes disconcerting at first, but as adults we eventually settle into a more adult/adult relationship to our parents that accommodates this awareness of them as fully-dimensional persons outside of their role as 'Mom" and "Dad". This more mature awareness transcends our earlier infantile projection that our parents exist only to meet our own needs and demands.
Likewise, as a species we've now matured to the point where we can perceive our Earth Mother as a living organism separate and distinct from the role of sustainer and provider of human needs. This new Earth/human bond enables us to evolve beyond the infantile and narcissistic objectification and commodification of our home planet which characterizes the old paradigm. It's a growing awareness of Earth as Gaia, a living organism, and not merely the fertile 'not too cold, and not too hot' Third Rock from the Sun that somehow spawned us - and now exists solely to meet our biological needs (with the needs of all other living creatures hardly factoring into the equation at all).
Not On… But With
This new Earth/human bond isn't just a more evolved spatial awareness - but a higher order relational awareness. Although literally true, we're not so much 'on' our Earth Mother as we are with our Earth. And once we develop this more mature way of relating to our Earth, we'll never again be able to go back to the utilitarian objectification of our home planet which is so central to the present paradigm. We'll never again be able to go back to a state of not being in relationship, of not having an emotional bond to our Earth which makes possible all the ecological devastation, exploitation and abuse under the existing paradigm.
"The more (m)ankind becomes conscious of the immensity, and even more the organicity of the world around it, the more the necessity for a soul makes itself felt, for a soul that is capable of maintaining and directing the vast process of planetization in which we are involved."
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin