Defining Eco-Spirituality

Eco-spirituality is based in a fundamental belief in the sacredness of nature, Earth and the universe. Traditional eco-spirituality is as old as humanity and has been practiced by indigenous peoples since the begriming. Today's nondenominational evolution eco-spirituality--as practiced on this website--includes yet transcends traditional eco-spirituality. We also include the discoveries of science from universe evolution on what has been proven to make a species or environment sustainable and thriving.

On a personal level, this inherent sacredness of nature generally leads to a spiritually motivated engagement in the current environmental crises of our planet's catastrophic climate destabilization (Job One for Humanity Climate Plan) and a dedication to the justice and long-term goal of a sustainable prosperity for all.

Native Americans and other indigenous peoples' theologies hold much wisdom in this regard. (For an example of traditional indigenous eco-spirituality see Chief Seattle's message to US President Pierce to further elucidate the traditional eco-spiritual worldview.)

Furthermore, eco-spirituality understands the position of human beings to be inextricably related to all other life forms within an interrelated, interconnected web that is part of Ultimate Reality's (Origin, Totality, God, Spirit, Buddha, Consciousness and/or the Divine,) dance of life. Eco-spiritual perspectives can be found in all the world's religious traditions. No matter how they are articulated, however, these perspectives all provide for recognition of the importance and relevance of the immanent Divine, the power of understanding our human relationship to the planet, and our direct experiences of the natural world.

"... we believe that all is connected-the Divine is in all things and all things are in the Divine.  We, therefore, seek to live sustainable lives in harmony with the cosmic interconnectivity in which we have our being.  ... We believe that ecological justice is essential for the sustainability of life on Earth.  We, therefore are exploring our pattern of resource use in order to meet human needs equitably while preserving the environment, so that our needs can be met in the present and for future generations." Matthew Fox

From the eco-spiritual perspective, Ultimate Reality (we strongly recommend clicking the Ultimate Reality link for its full definition,) is not just the source of creation, it is very much also a part of ongoing creation; a part with which we can interact on a daily basis through our senses and from such experiences gain greater insight into the wonder of reality.

In the religious traditions that are either panentheistic (that is, believe that Ultimate Reality is both transcendent and immanent), or believe that Ultimate Reality pervades creation, there is a directly stated or theologically implied imperative to care for and protect Earth's natural systems. Depending on the religion or tradition, this may be because our natural systems are understood to be either the gift of Ultimate Reality or the source from which Ultimate Reality acts and dances in the world.

Such spiritual truths create a real and critical religious imperative that also asks believers to demonstrate congruity through acts of spiritual love and care for all beings and creatures now, as well as for future generations. For example, some Christians have reinterpreted the biblical Genesis story to mean that, rather than giving humanity absolute dominion over nature, God gave humanity the spiritual duty of care and sustainable stewardship for nature and the planet.

Globally, more religions and spiritual traditions are becoming active in the environmental movement by going green and educating members about their spiritual duties and obligations to protect our natural systems. People are increasingly yearning to live a life congruent with the tenets of their faith and the will of Ultimate Reality as they understand it regarding the sacred values of nature and stewardship for nature.

The new eco-spirituality movement (which is also an essential part of the Evolution Spirituality found on this website,) is growing within religions all over the world. This is exciting because it provides both a critical revitalization of our relationship to nature's unique sacredness and a powerful Ultimate Reality-leveraged spiritual imperative and support for the current secular sustainability movement’s programs and goals.

In our eco-spirituality iteration, Evolution Spirituality, one of our key spiritual pro-mandments is:

"to be a responsible sustainability steward of the bio-systems of the planet and universe and to create a sustainable prosperity based on sustainable lifestyles and livelihoods that align with the developmental directionality of evolution."

We empower and base most of our evolution eco-spirituality upon evolutionary science as embraced by the new Universe Evolutionary Worldview. We view eco-spirituality as essential to creating a sustainable prosperity and also achieving the now necessary Job One for Humanity Climate re-Stabilization Plan.

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