A first pass at Berry's complex, influential philosophy, uniting physics & metaphysics into a unified "dream of the Earth" and "story of the universe."
There is a flow to this day I have been waiting to arrive for well over a decade. It started with beginning to read Roll May's The Courage to Create this very morning, followed by listening to an interview with him, that touched deeply in my heart and soul. Then to find beloved Thomas on the heels of this. I share this link, because I sense it will touch you as well. With deep appreciation and respect. Rollo May: The Human Dilemma (Part One Complete): Thinking Allowed with Jeffrey Mishlove - YouTube
Lynne, thank you so much for posting this. I had seen this interview way back when, but in those days, most of what they were saying went right over my head. However, I did start reading Rollo May – just to unpack what was being said. As I listened again today, it makes perfect sense because I have grown to appreciate the wisdom of his words. (Talk about the evolution of consciousness and how that is a never-ending process, right?) It is time for reflective humans to look deeply at the source of despair and anxiety and convert these into hope and creativity. At age 80, I have confronted my fear that I would not live long enough to complete the "great work" that I feel compelled to do. So now, I go back to Plato's way of seeing reality in its totality with all its paradoxes, and cling to "the good, the beautiful, and the true." For me these concepts frame humanity's eternal desire for the "Divine Fire" that mystics speak of, especially Teilhard and Meister Earhart, who dared to show us the basis for existence despite the risk of rejection by society.
Thank you so much for this, Jennifer. This message needs to be heard by teachers all over the earth. The message of creativity and hope is expressed in Pierre Teilhard de Chardin's poetic work called "Building the Earth." I'm looking forward to learning more about "genetic coding / “spontaneities” / psychic intuition in relation to the “biospiritual” Earth and cosmos." The word "biospiritual" says so much about what Brian Swimme and others call the noosphere, a combination of biosphere and planetary mind – a Teilhardian word. To learn more about Human Energy and planetary conciousness, access this full audio recording of Teilhard's Building the Earth on YouTube, here: https://youtu.be/EMsLh52inx4
Thanks for this reference, Viola! I need to study Teilhard more deeply. In The Dream of the Earth, Berry is very clear about how human "genetic coding" and "cultural coding" go hand in hand, but the problem is that our current cultural coding, which we pass on through education and general social conditioning, is out of balance with our genetic coding--that is, our built-in biospiritual balance and right relationship with All That Is. We can't do much to change our genetic coding, but we can, and should, work on our cultural coding, ie, education. And he lays out a plan, most clearly in the essay "The American College in the Ecological Age," which I wrote about in my most recent post. I am so grateful to him for leading the way!
Yes, exactly. I need to go back and read your past blogs and follow up on new ones. I've been involved recently in teaching a course on Brian Swimme's Noosphere, and the planning for it has been intense and time consuming, but it helped me understand Teilhard's vision of Planetary Mind, "Earth's Mind" and connect that to Berry's Dream of the Earth. Berry had the intuition to see all this. It's amazing what all you're made of this.
My doctoral training in comparative literature taught me to look for patterns and make connections between widely disparate texts and traditions, from the scientific to the mystical to the educational...it's so helpful to me to do these short takes, sketches for the book that will eventually emerge out of this long and deep exploration! And so very encouraging to get your feedback and thoughts, thanks so much!
Jennifer, one more thing. How do we get your blogs in the DeepTime Network and into Herman Green's Ecozoic link? To join the Deeptime Network, go to dtnetwork.org and join for 8.00 a month. Or I could post your T.B. blogs in the Resources page since I prime member of DTnetwork. Somehow, all this work needs to be seen by the Thomas Berry followers, teachers, and relgious folks in the Deeptime Network.
Hi Viola, I joined at the basic level but it does not appear that I can do much to share my work--do I have to upgrade to the $8/month? If you want to share my Berry-related posts with a link to the Spirit of Education site, I'd be glad!
There is a flow to this day I have been waiting to arrive for well over a decade. It started with beginning to read Roll May's The Courage to Create this very morning, followed by listening to an interview with him, that touched deeply in my heart and soul. Then to find beloved Thomas on the heels of this. I share this link, because I sense it will touch you as well. With deep appreciation and respect. Rollo May: The Human Dilemma (Part One Complete): Thinking Allowed with Jeffrey Mishlove - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HH-9XkjqYHY
Lynne, thank you so much for posting this. I had seen this interview way back when, but in those days, most of what they were saying went right over my head. However, I did start reading Rollo May – just to unpack what was being said. As I listened again today, it makes perfect sense because I have grown to appreciate the wisdom of his words. (Talk about the evolution of consciousness and how that is a never-ending process, right?) It is time for reflective humans to look deeply at the source of despair and anxiety and convert these into hope and creativity. At age 80, I have confronted my fear that I would not live long enough to complete the "great work" that I feel compelled to do. So now, I go back to Plato's way of seeing reality in its totality with all its paradoxes, and cling to "the good, the beautiful, and the true." For me these concepts frame humanity's eternal desire for the "Divine Fire" that mystics speak of, especially Teilhard and Meister Earhart, who dared to show us the basis for existence despite the risk of rejection by society.
Viola, I am so grateful for the weaving together of different threads, creating a more whole tapestry! Thank you for responding in kind. <3
Thank you so much for this, Jennifer. This message needs to be heard by teachers all over the earth. The message of creativity and hope is expressed in Pierre Teilhard de Chardin's poetic work called "Building the Earth." I'm looking forward to learning more about "genetic coding / “spontaneities” / psychic intuition in relation to the “biospiritual” Earth and cosmos." The word "biospiritual" says so much about what Brian Swimme and others call the noosphere, a combination of biosphere and planetary mind – a Teilhardian word. To learn more about Human Energy and planetary conciousness, access this full audio recording of Teilhard's Building the Earth on YouTube, here: https://youtu.be/EMsLh52inx4
Thanks for this reference, Viola! I need to study Teilhard more deeply. In The Dream of the Earth, Berry is very clear about how human "genetic coding" and "cultural coding" go hand in hand, but the problem is that our current cultural coding, which we pass on through education and general social conditioning, is out of balance with our genetic coding--that is, our built-in biospiritual balance and right relationship with All That Is. We can't do much to change our genetic coding, but we can, and should, work on our cultural coding, ie, education. And he lays out a plan, most clearly in the essay "The American College in the Ecological Age," which I wrote about in my most recent post. I am so grateful to him for leading the way!
Yes, exactly. I need to go back and read your past blogs and follow up on new ones. I've been involved recently in teaching a course on Brian Swimme's Noosphere, and the planning for it has been intense and time consuming, but it helped me understand Teilhard's vision of Planetary Mind, "Earth's Mind" and connect that to Berry's Dream of the Earth. Berry had the intuition to see all this. It's amazing what all you're made of this.
My doctoral training in comparative literature taught me to look for patterns and make connections between widely disparate texts and traditions, from the scientific to the mystical to the educational...it's so helpful to me to do these short takes, sketches for the book that will eventually emerge out of this long and deep exploration! And so very encouraging to get your feedback and thoughts, thanks so much!
Jennifer, one more thing. How do we get your blogs in the DeepTime Network and into Herman Green's Ecozoic link? To join the Deeptime Network, go to dtnetwork.org and join for 8.00 a month. Or I could post your T.B. blogs in the Resources page since I prime member of DTnetwork. Somehow, all this work needs to be seen by the Thomas Berry followers, teachers, and relgious folks in the Deeptime Network.
Hi Viola, I joined at the basic level but it does not appear that I can do much to share my work--do I have to upgrade to the $8/month? If you want to share my Berry-related posts with a link to the Spirit of Education site, I'd be glad!