If you want to contribute to a positive change in environmentalism, where can you start? How is the natural world a place for you to deepen your spirituality? What can you do to preserve the life and spirituality of nature in our modern times of change?
In this podcast episode, Lisa Lewis speaks about sacred harmony and delves into environmentalism, spirituality, and ethical commitments with Roger Gottlieb.
Meet Prof. Roger Gottlieb
Roger S. Gottlieb is the Smith Professor of Philosophy at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and the author or editor of 21 books and more than 150 articles on environmental philosophy, religious environmentalism, political philosophy, contemporary spirituality, the Holocaust, and disability. His two works of environmental fiction, Engaging Voices and The Sacrifice Zone, won Nautilus book Awards and his recent philosophy work, Morality and the Environmental Crisis, was called “Book most likely to save the planet” by Independent Publisher Magazine.
Visit Roger’s website and connect on LinkedIn.
IN THIS PODCAST:
- Do you want to help make change?
- Be intentional about remaining hopeful and loving
- The spiritual power of nature
Do you want to help make change?
Inform yourself. It’s difficult … It’s not practically difficult because in 15 seconds you can find endless sources of information … What’s difficult is to take in the information.
Roger Gottlieb
Taking in the information, and really facing the reality that it presents you with, is one of the main reasons why so many people avoid addressing the full scale of environmental changes.
Even though it can be a tough situation to face, it is necessary to do so. Informing yourself and understanding the gravitas of the situation itself means that you can no longer keep living falsely, and it pushes you to start making real, small changes.
Secondly, look around you. Find the people who are already making these small changes.
Wherever you are … There are already people working on this. In your church, in your place of business, in your family, your neighborhood, in your town … Connect [with] other people.
Roger Gottlieb
Working together with a group of like-minded people creates hope, because hope is stronger with action taken.
Be intentional about remaining hopeful and loving
Don’t give into despair! Even though the world is going through so many environmental changes and shifts, and some people are telling you not to care because it’s futile, or others are telling you that we’re all doomed – don’t take that approach.
Keep the good faith, and keep the good energy. Encourage yourself and your loved ones to err on the side of hope and in taking positive action.
Even though we do not know the future, as Roger explains, we do know the present. So instead of throwing your present away because you fear that the future is doomed, be fully aware within your present moment – and make the most of it.
And I think we are capable, to a greater or lesser extent .. We are capable of giving that kind of love to life on earth, and that life on earth includes human beings … So today, where can I – we, somebody – give love today? You feel better when you are loving.
Roger Gottlieb
The spiritual power of nature
The connection between nature and spirituality is millennia old.
If you think of spirituality as the place to develop a detachment from the ego, some compassion, a larger sense of self … People get that and have gotten that from nature for three, four, five thousand years.
Roger Gottlieb
Part of the old idea of nature was that it was largely untouched by human beings, and that it was a place to go to so that someone could get some distance and reflect on their human life back in the safety and arms of nature, the “original” home.
However, human activity has impacted nature now.
So then, what form does nature’s spirituality take? … For those of us who are in love with nature, who find solace in the natural world, what happens when something has been cleared, cut, extinct, and paved over? Well, there’s a way to find spiritual connection; it’s in the connection of defense, of giving up certain things in order to defend what’s left, it’s in appreciation for what we’ve had.
Roger Gottlieb
As Roger goes on to say, keep thinking about what you can do today.
RESOURCES MENTIONED AND USEFUL LINKS
BOOK | Roger Gottlieb – The Sacrifice Zone
BOOK | Roger Gottlieb – Engaging Voices
Visit Roger’s website and connect on LinkedIn.
Find Out More About Sensitive in Nature
Practice of the Practice Network
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CONNECT WITH ME
Email me: lisa@amiokpodcast.com
ABOUT THE SENSITIVE IN NATURE PODCAST
So you’ve been told that you’re “too sensitive” and perhaps you replay situations in your head. Wondering if you said something wrong? You’re like a sponge, taking in every word, reading all situations. Internalizing different energies, but you’re not sure what to do with all of this information. You’re also not the only one asking yourself, “am I ok?” Lisa Lewis is here to tell you, “It’s totally ok to feel this way.”
Join Lisa, a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, as she hosts her, Am I Ok? Podcast. With over 20 years of education, training, and life experience, she specializes in helping individuals with issues related to being an empath and a highly sensitive person.
Society, and possibly your own experiences, may have turned your thinking of yourself as being a highly sensitive person into something negative. Yet, in reality, it is something that you can – and should – take ownership of. It’s the sixth sense to fully embrace, which you can harness to make positive changes in your life and in the lives of others.
This may all sound somewhat abstract, but on the Am I Ok? Podcast, Lisa shares practical tips and advice you can easily apply to your own life. Lisa has worked with adults from various backgrounds and different kinds of empaths, and she’s excited to help you better connect with yourself. Are you ready to start your journey?