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Opening To Greater Life
by Thomas Berry
[Listen to Audio!]
 Tell them something new is happening, a new vision, a new energy, a new sacred story is coming into being in the transition from one era to another.
Tell them in the darkness of this time, a vast transformation is occurring in the depths of human consciousness, which is leading to the recovery of the soul, the earth, the universe and a sense of the sacred …
Tell them that they must develop the inner vision that we need if we are to make the adjustments required for a viable future. Our existential questions must now be: How do we relate to the earth and to the universe? Our most basic issue is how we bond with the earth.
And tell them they will meet great companions along the way, including those that burrow in the soil, fly in the air and swim in the sea…
Tell them to seek their own role in the larger evolutionary process: tell them that humans are always in the process of becoming, always “opening to greater life,” if they can learn to see it. Tell them the greatest need is to develop a sensitivity to recognize the inner promptings that emerge from the depths of one’s own being where the sacred reality resides…
Above all, tell them to practice an intimate presence to the beauty and wonder of the natural world through their intuitive awareness that recognizes the oneness of all life; tell them to stop and enlarge moments throughout their days to become aware of the mysteries and miracles of creation all around them – the movement of a squirrel, the sound of a bird, the pattern of a leaf, changing patterns of light, the sun, the rain, the stars, dawn and sunset. Tell them we are not ourselves without everything and everyone else.
Tell them to remember the great seasons and cycles of life. In moments of intimacy with the natural world they will recover the lost sense of the sacred in the human-earth relationship. And they will be participating in the evolution of a new consciousness on earth that can overcome the mental fixations of our times expressed in radical division between humans and the natural world. A mutually enhancing relationship will then become possible as the communion of all things is understood.
About the Author: Before his passing, when Thomas Berry was asked for words for future generation, above was his response. Quoted in Carolyn Toben‘s Recovering a Sense of the Sacred.
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Opening To Greater Life
What does ‘opening to greater life’ mean to you? Can you share an experience of a time you were able to evolve a mutually enhancing relationship through a recovery of the sense of the sacred in the human-earth relationship? What helps you practice communion with all things? |
| +Jagdish+P+Dave wrote: How do I relate to the earth makes a significant difference in living my life. If I view the earth as a collection of matter to be used for my personal selfish gain the future looks very dismal and d… |
| David Doane wrote: For me, opening to greater life means to become aware that all life is one life, and human life participates in the one life. I began to be aware long ago that all life is one and all life is sacred,… |
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