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| Reality is less cool, but at least it won't make you go blind. Copyright: Lightstorm/20th Century (credit: Ollympian) |
Humans are not supernatural beings. This might, on the face of it, sound like a statement with which the vast majority of us agree. However, it is anything but. Western Agro-industrial civilization holds at it's heart two overriding principles. Principles that it shares with the Abrahamic religions, and which have survived the Enlightenment and the Age of Reason completely intact, and which it could be argued have even been reinforced by them. These principles, those of anthropocentrism and of human supremacism or exceptionalism, declare humans to be supernatural beings.
These beliefs hold that humans are exceptional creatures, and are a distinct and entirely separate living being from all other life on Earth, and from Gaia/Nature/The Biosphere as a collective whole. We are literally supernatural beings, floating ethereally above, separate from, and superior to any and all aspects of the living world. We talk about "animal welfare", "animal extinctions" or "animal rights" (in the positive), or "animal instincts", "behaving like an animal" or "no better than an animal" (in the negative), as if humans were not one among millions of species of animals ourselves.
The Abrahamic religions tell us that our supernatural essence can escape the "fallen" Earth and be received in a heavenly world. Modern industrial culture tells us the same thing, dressing up the same trope as "science" or "rationalism" by substituting "Mars or "Singularity" for "Heaven", and "rocket" or "AI" for "salvation".
Neither the Abrahamic nor "Scientific" supernaturalism is either true or beneficial. If anything, the latter (pseudo)-scientific claims are even more ridiculous, for unlike the Abrhamic god and it's heavenly promises, we can, much like the medieval peasant observing the field of f**ks on Mars, see that it is barren. Both, however, are magical thinking.
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| Mars: So devoid of life that even f*cks are in short supply. |
We are animals. And, like all our sibling species, both animals and others, we are inseparably a part of, entirely dependent upon, and physiologically, evolutionary and psychologically belong to, and are inextricably bound to, our parent organism. This bond is spelt out in our DNA, is the oxygen drawn into our lungs with every breath that sustains us second by second, and the water that saturates or body with life. Our bond defines us from our bone marrow to our philosophy. It is ever present, unbreakable, and involuntary. This bond is not a covenant with a deity. It does not depend on belief or acknowledgement. It is not weakened by an imagined sin, nor is it strengthened by prayer. It is formed before we are born and lasts after we die.
Supernaturalism, be it abrahamic or scientific, seeks to use magical thinking to wish the bond away. But it cannot. We merely engage in denialism. But what is the point in such denialism? It stymies understanding of ourselves and the big, beautiful world around us. It taints every relationship with have with more-than-human life. It stymies our ability to build a lasting, stable and resilient society that exists in harmony with our siblings and our parent. Such denialism has brought only destruction, loss and impoverishment to both human and more than human alike.
So let us not give into magical thinking and denialism. We can instead acknowledge this bond - and we might as well, since it will never go away. We can celebrate and seek joy, meaning and connection in our bond - it is our belonging to our world,to our parent, a reciprocity of gifts, dependency, purpose, meaning and understanding.
Reflecting on the bond, be it through meditation, prayer, or an act of obligation is something central to my daily life. Each sunrise, I go to my place in the rainforest reserve behind my home, and engage in a breath meditation that focuses my thought.
Breathe... slow... steady... deep.
Breathe... slow... steady... deep.
Breathe... slow... steady... deep.
Hold that last breath.
Tell yourself... I am not of this world. I am separate from it. I am better. Above. Exceptional. Etheral. I do not depend on this world. It is nothing to me.
Repeat...
And again...
And again....
Believe it.
Make it feel real.
Beginning to feel the desire to breathe.
Repeat...
Desperately feeling that desire now. Don't forget. You are exceptional. You recognise no bond.
And again...
And again...
Must breathe...
And again...
And again...
Now at last, breathe out that carbon dioxide, and draw in that oxygen. That relief. That joy. That gift. The moisture in the air, that the tiny specks of life from the forest shall latch on to give us clouds, rain... forests... soil... life... sustenance. Our bond.
Our bond is that gift. I receive it with gratitude, reverence, adoration, and a renewed commitment to my obligation - and my mind and heart are put into that mental, emotional and spiritual space where I can focus on that gift, my communion with my siblings, my parent, knowing I belong.
This does not strengthen my physical bond. It does not please Gaia. Neither are possible or even conceivable. The first is unbreakable, and the second is no more possible than it is to have a conversation with your own skin cells. But neither of those things are the purpose. It strengthens me. It allows me to better fulfil my niche, to be better adapted, more aware, more purposeful and more resilient. It ensures my bond is treasured and understood for what it is. It is not a shackle. It is being led hand in hand to the realisation that heaven isn't a supernatural fantasy, nor a science fantasy, it is here. We evolved as part of and within this world. We are perfectly adapted to Her. She is our paradise. She is what we must we must serve, heal and protect above all else, for She is where we belong to, and what we rely on - completely - every moment, waking or otherwise.
