Yesterday, I read an interesting article by John Stanley and David Loy, who interpret our current worldwide ecological crises as the result of the triumph of the left side of the brain over the right. They remind us that "The inclusive and empathic right hemisphere is attuned to intuition, empathy, relationship and creativity. The left hemisphere gives us linguistic consciousness (re-presentation of life in words), mathematics and control of the dominant hand from which arose the making of complex tools."
The authors then make an interesting observation. "An inner power struggle between these hemispheres can be inferred in Western history," they point out. "This led to a comprehensive triumph for left-hemisphere verbal thinking, computation and technology. It produced the so-called Enlightenment, Newtonian physics and the coal-driven Industrial Revolution. We now live in the world the left hemisphere has built, replacing the ancient Soul of the World (Anima Mundi) [perceived intuitively by the right hemisphere] with it own mechanistic model. Its preoccupation with competition and control has been institutionalized. It has become our way of life. The right hemisphere's concern for empathic relationship and a broader vision has been marginalized. We could understand the twentieth century as the left hemisphere's project to build a planetary empire. It did so through an industrial growth-economy powered by oil, advertising and consumerism. This one-sided ambition for power and profit has proved so intoxicating that we now find ourselves 'at the edge of the roof.' "
The authors go on to quote Albert Einstein, who once said: "The intuitive mind is a sacred gift, and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a world that honors the servant, but has forgotten the gift." By "rational mind," I assume he means the ability to analyze a situation and break it up into pieces. This contrasts with the intuitive mind, which is more wholistic, and which understands the relational interconnections of all things.
Stanley and Loy then point out that "The difference between the two brain hemispheres invites comparison with a distinction in Asian spiritual traditions between small self and big Self. For example, Mahayana Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta both distinguish our usual limiting ego-self from an unlimited 'original self.' Ego-self is characterized by what Einstein called the 'optical illusion of separateness.' But we do not have to be stuck with it. In fact the key point of the evolutionary crisis of the human spirit is that we can no longer afford to be limited by it. Fortunately, the ego-self can be re-trained, to develop a more inclusive identity. I am more than me. I am connected to you. I am a member of we." And this "we" includes the Divine Presence and the entire planet, with all of its peoples, cultures, creatures and ecosystems.
I find that the perception of natural beauty never fails to put me in touch with the intuitive mind, the one that is able to perceive the world through wholistic images, metaphors and myths. The joy I feel in the presence of natural beauty serves as a sort of heat that melts my ego-self, allowing me to be a part of the landscape that I perceive and enjoy. It is crucial that each of us find such places, either within the city or outside of it.
Photo: Pink Heather, Spray Park, Mount Rainier National Park, WA; July 28, 2013
If you'd like to make a donation to help fund Nature Photo-Quotes, please go here. Thanks!
No comments:
Post a Comment