The Sacred Manuscript of Nature & Ziraat

This concentration creates an accommodation for the awakening and evolution of humanity to its “inter-being”, our living interdependence with all life. Through a process of self-transformation, we awaken to the awareness that all nature, all life is sacred, and we live in greater harmony with this living organism to which we are so deeply connected. This concentration is an essential solution to the present crisis on our planet

We participate in this concentration to teach ourselves how to become stewards and protectors of Mother Earth. We awaken to the fact that in order to survive on this planet we must protect, honor, respect, and nurture Mother Earth. She has given us life and in turn teaches us Her deep wisdom to use and foster the awakening of ourselves and our planet.

The Sacred Manuscript of Nature offers the following activities:

Spiritual Ecology

Spiritual ecology is an emerging field recognizing that there is a spiritual dimension to all issues related to conservation, environmentalism, and earth stewardship. Proponents of spiritual ecology assert a need for contemporary conservation to include spiritual elements and for contemporary religion and spirituality to include awareness of and engagement in environmental solutions.

Spiritual ecology also involves understanding the connection and relationship between our present outer ecological crisis and our corresponding inner crisis and the spiritual dynamics at the root of environmental degradation.

The reconciliation of spiritual ecology is certainly an inner process requiring outer action. For truly what we perceive before us is a reflection of our collective inner environment. To preserve life as we know it, we must understand that we are part of nature and depend on healthy ecosystems to live and thrive. We must also come to the realization that all life is sacred, including one’s own, and that life on Earth is a precious gift.

Our common home, beautiful Mother Earth, is endowed with intelligence and the light of the Divine. Nature is a sacred teacher giving inspiration on how to live in greater harmony with all life. The haunting melody of the wood thrush, the delightful bumblebee foraging for nectar and pollen, the intoxicating fragrance of a wild rose, the sweet taste of wild raspberries, the comforting warmth of sunlight on skin as the sun makes its daily ascent. These love letters from the Divine are living messages.

We must look within the subtle heart and cultivate conscious relationships, beginning with oneself, and ultimately including all manifestations of life. Our hearts are the universal language and bridge in which we can welcome and embrace all beings we encounter. We must realize that each life is sacred.

To become what I might be, I have to see myself in another myself who shows me who I truly am

The Spiritual Ecology activity includes:

• Training as Earth Stewards
• Training in Local Ecological Knowledge
• Learning to Create Living Landscapes at Home
• Developing Conscious Connections with Nature
• Cultivating Heart-centered Relationships with Life
• Nature Immersion Retreats

Ziraat

Ziraat strictly translated means “agriculture”. This activity uses the metaphor of cultivation of the Earth as a transformational process to awaken human consciousness through the metaphorical stages of: plowing (preparing the mind to awaken), harrowing (purifying the heart), sowing (awakening to our divine purpose and qualities), and reaping (the fulfillment of our life’s awakening and service to others). These are all inherent processes not only of farming but of all human growth and evolution as well as understanding one’s own self-transformation and growth.

By force of circumstance, the arena of Ziraat has evolved from a metaphor for the cultivation of spiritual development into an essential, compelling practical concern for the continuity of the planet.

If we allow the Earth to continue to be polluted and harmed, not only do we continue to destroy wildlife and human life, we destroy the unique evolution of the Divine’s purpose to awaken and evolve through humanity, and for us to recognize the Divine as ourselves.

The Ziraat Lodge is a personal practice and ceremony that honors the five elements of earth, water, fire, air, and ether as a vehicle to connect with nature as a living being that becomes more conscious through us. This ceremony may also be done as a group.