disposition to love nature, solastalgia, the pain experienced when there is recognition that the place where one resides and that one loves is under immediate assault, and the con- cept of getting students involved in Envirothons. Words have tremendous power. Once they are in com-


mon parlance, they take on a reality and are rarely ques- tioned. If there is a word for it, it must exist. I asked myself a different question. Do these words go


far enough? Do they get to the root of the matter? They go part-way to be sure, but do they give us the empowering handle, or leave us in what the late great Irish poet Seamus Heaney called limboland.


Completing the first circle: holism For an adequate exposition of any subject, there must be


an attempt at holistic seeing. Generally, I believe we do not access the full field of potential because our individual spe- cialisms keep us narrowly focused. This trains our brains into a left-brain bias, and 80 per cent of people in western cultures have this now. My own postgraduate training taught me we are all ppb; partial, prejudiced and biased, with no pejorative meaning attached. It simply describes the filtering state of our reality-processor, the human brain. Right-brain led training mitigates against this, but is not generally pri- oritised in schools. How we learn, the techniques, strategies, methods allowable, official and unofficial, sanctioned and tabooed, takes us one level deeper than the learning itself. This deepening exposes the roots, the source. When patterns (that is patterns of behaviour, patterns of


thought, patterns of development) are given precedence over simple logical reasoning and are seen as being more deeply informative, we key into the synthesis-skills offered by the functioning of the right hemisphere of the brain.


Earthcentrism and Anthropocentrism Anthropocentrism noun. The belief humankind is the most


important element of existence. Earthcentrism noun. The belief the human species


should see itself primarily as part of the Earth’s ecosystem. Derivatives, earthcentric adj. earthcentrically adv. Google Analytics reveals a rising interest in the term


anthropocentrism. Unlike the status of other nature-con- nected words like ecology, conservation, environment. As both earthcentrism and anthropocentrism address human existence, our place in the cosmos, this new academic- sounding word links to this internet growth-pattern. But before we begin to look at the implications of these


two mind-sets or global overviews, it is absolutely essential not to set them up as dualities. All we are doing by stat- ing one or the other is identifying our major allegiance at a global societal level. Without doubt, the duality-approach will be used to bring anthropocentrism and earthcentrism into conflict, but at least it offers an upfront and robust look at what we, as a species, are creating on Planet Earth. It makes things more real. If the Diversity-in-Unity model of all existence, the very


one given by nature herself, is prioritised and preferred, the duality-trap can be avoided altogether. The conclu- sion I came to in writing my book on Earthcentrism4 was that we are all, at different times, both anthropocentric and earthcentric. To exist within cultures forces this. The major


reason to invent the term earthcentrism is to offer an alter- native, a vision of future possible, the subject treated so extraordinarily well by visionary Jean Houston.5 Working mainly in an anthropological context, she has discovered how disadvantaged indigenous people can empower them- selves through changing the inner imagery associated with their situation. Others, like psychotherapist Dina Glouber- man6, have long practised this holistic right-brain led trans- formative technique with astounding results.


Completing the second circle:


development and expansion The crucial matter of positioning oneself on any contentious issue is one we all face. The Hindu philosophy of ahimsa – no harm – helps, alongside the desire to leave enough for the next seven generations. The visionary will want to go a step further – leave the planet in a better state than at present. The native Amerindians talked of the Fifth World of Peace. References to indigenous wisdom give a profound-


ness and depth to our collective understanding and work against superficiality of thought. The effect of introducing such ideas at appropriate moments to a group of concerned young people should not be underestimated. It can be done formally, by having an ‘indigenous wisdom’ theme running alongside the competition, or as a subject for a poem. Or less formally, by asking students to express their feelings in energy-raising ways that invite solutions. ‘Things that have not previously been connected’ are the source of both creativity and future syntheses of thought and ideas. What I personally find really useful about the term earthcentrism is it helps to position ourselves, give ourselves an identity in relationship to the planet, and not just a colour. Colour is the shorthand, but the tokenism of green-washing is part of the modern world too. There is a need for vigilance. If peo- ple were asked to state their baseline relationship to Earth, rather than their gender, sexual orientation, culture-of-birth and age on official forms – and there are certainly sufficient form-filling opportunities to make a societal impact – the way we see ourselves would be upfront, and therefore facili- tate and encourage meaningful debate.


Completing the third circle: vision,


action and results Do I really believe that if the term earthcentrism were cur- rent in our language, the attitude of Roxanne’s parents would have been different? Is that pushing the argument too far? To reframe that direct question is more helpful. What I


believe I witnessed was the lag-factor in operation in inter- generational learning. The young person saw the need, immediately volunteered her services and her impulse to do the right thing was quietly and systematically eroded behind the scenes. At this juncture, any and all ameliorat- ing influences – from humour-based competitions to naming the unnamed – are to be welcomed. By habitually engag- ing solely in what is, we do not give ourselves the space to access the clarity of mind needed to build a vision of what is possible in the future. One heartening thing emerged from this Children’s


Humorously Captioned Photography Competition. Early entries, posted on the website of our local newspaper, attracted interest. By the end of the competition, there were


GREEN TEACHER 109 Page 15


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52