Tenth International Conference on Religion & Spirituality in Society

Abstract

“Perception precedes reality”–Andy Warhol. “We are bonded with everything all the way out to the stars.” – Thomas Berry. In 1967, Lynn White called the ecologic crisis a religious problem. More recently, Al Gore and others have called it a spiritual crisis. Both approaches point to a crisis of perception and meaning: what does it mean to be human? To promote action for sustainable societies will require a change in our perception of who we are as human beings, the values we choose to live by, and our relationship with Earth’s community of life. In this interactive session, we will consider the implications of a working definition of spirituality as: Spirituality describes the reality of interconnectedness within all of existence, known by each human individual consciously or unconsciously. From this reality flows a spiritual purpose and challenge for each human being: to awaken to this reality, to grow in one’s capacity to sense this interconnectedness, and to live it ever more consciously with ever greater integrity, and to contribute positively to this interrelationship of which everyone is an integral part. What spiritual practices will help us to do this? In this interactive workshop, we will experience several forms of meditation and reflection inspired by the writings of Thomas Berry, Passionist priest, and Sri Eknath Easwaran, spiritual teacher and originator of passage meditation. We will explore how these practices help to evoke and reinforce our sense of interconnectedness and our commitment to the transformation of our societies toward sustainability.