We’re All Gonna Die!
By Erik Assadourian, Gaianism
Now the title to this week’s reflection may sound a bit alarmist. Intentionally so. It’s right out of a thousand disaster movies where people scream this wildly as their ship is sinking, their plane is crashing, or the tsunami is heading for them.
This Life Is Not Yours
By Erik Assadourian, Gaianism
But then he dropped a big rock, the ripples of which reached all the way to me standing a bit removed on the shore. He said, “This life is not yours.”
Is a Techno-linguistic Transition Inevitable?
By Erik Assadourian, Gaianism
So get outside every day. Somewhere. Walk barefoot through a park, collect some wild edibles, do some yoga in your yard, some breathing exercises in the forest, or simply sit under a tree somewhere, whatever you can. This will help heal you, and keep you happy in the unplugged world and tethered to the real world.
Can a Good Gaian Eat Meat?
By Erik Assadourian, Gaianism
It is foolish to lose the knowledge of animal husbandry and butchering skills. It is only a matter of time when we (in consumer cultures) will need and rely directly on them again. In the meantime, if we choose to eat meat and animal products, we should support those who are caring for their animals humanely and sustainably, who are reintegrating these farming skills and services into our local economies, and who are helping to build or sustain a resilient local food system.
Returning to—and Tidying Up—the Fold
By Erik Assadourian, Gaianism
To survive we must return to the fold of Gaia. Returning to the fold means “to begin participating in some group or activity that one left for a period of time.” In other words, we have stopped participating fully in the Gaian community, following Earth’s laws, and have been making up our own rules
Listening to Plants, Whales, and Elephants
By Erik Assadourian, Gaianism
The only way an ecocentric (or any) belief system spreads is from person to person, as all missionaries have understood from the days that Buddha’s disciples walked from India to China or sailed to Sri Lanka or Japan.
Waves, Waterfalls and Our Eventual Return to Gaia
By Erik Assadourian, Gaianism
Knowing that our lives are brief—and worse—not knowing where the end of the waterfall is (is it a short drop or a long one?) means it is up to us to live every moment of our lives well. Not “live it up” but live meaningfully, purposefully, and conscious that life could end at any moment.
Why Are We So Anxious?
By Erik Assadourian, Gaianism
Being present in the now, connecting with nature, knowing you’re doing all you can to heal Gaia and prepare yourself and your community for the transition that is coming, and avoiding the bits of modernity that foment anxiety: all of that will help reorient you, dulling the anxiety and helplessness you feel, strengthening your sense of self and purpose and hopefully helping you to stay committed to using your life energy to heal the planet that you are part of and utterly depend on.