Here’s a great contribution to the global efforts to save ourselves from ourselves.
We have met the enemy, and it is us. We can also stop being the enemy.
Go here to go from me to we.
Read about the new logo for this campaign. It’s brilliant.
Unfortunately, it’s also not the whole picture. More on that later.
I was asked recently, during a conversation about whether conscious evolution was a movement and what would happen to religions, what about the fundamentalists? I certainly don’t have an answer, and I don’t think my strengths are necessarily in giving answers. The most important part of finding answers is in asking the right questions. So how do we think about the fundamentalist Muslims the media tells us to worry about?
Following, then, are straight-thoughts: simple content strung together to evoke your own interpretation and answering abilities:
I think that the point is that the Iraqi situation the world is in, not to mention the many other conflicts and crisis around the planet, cannot just be boiled down to “they are crazy.” We are to blame. They are to blame. There is in fact no us nor is there a they. There is only a we. We have found the enemy and it is us. The ONLY way we can really get past our conflicts in the world, and in our personal individual lives, is to have a hard and long look in the mirror and ask two questions: “how have I contributed to getting us here?” and, “what can I do now?“
Michael Dowd has just released the new book trailer for Thank God for Evolution!, made possible by a generous grant from the Foundation for Global Community. Below Michael Dowd’s comments, I’ll post a few media links.
From Michael Dowd:
As we enter 2008, I am overjoyed to report that we are in our second printing of Thank God for Evolution! The book is already attracting attention from major media worldwide including Newsweek, Wired, and the BBC, among many others. It’s introduction of Evolution Theology is inspiring thoughtful new conversations about the marriage of science and religion throughout the blogosphere. Connie and I are deeply grateful for your role in helping us realize our dream of sharing a sacred, meaningful view of evolution with as many people as possible, as soon as possible.
This April, our mobile ministry will enter its 7th year! As you know, Connie and I live on the road full-time, offering all of our programs and presentations for free to churches and other organizations across the continent. What you may not know is that 100% of the profits and royalties from Thank God for Evolution! will go toward furthering this movement and keeping us on the road sharing the good news, hopefully for the rest of our lives. We are grateful for the many gifts we’ve received, and this year we have a special request.
This one act alone, when taken together, may help us reach enough people to inspire an evolutionary revival in 2008.
As news of global warming and global warring dominates the headlines, we believe that nothing matters more at this crucial crossroads in human history than accepting evolution as a fact of life. Reality is teaching us that it’s not just what we believe that matters, it’s how we choose to evolve. A sacred evolutionary worldview offers a way for people to make peace with themselves, each other, and the planet, and no gift could be greater than that right now.
So, thank you again for your support, and thank you in advance for helping us evangelize The Gospel of Evolution throughout 2008 and beyond!
Blessings,
Michael Dowd
Michael@ThankGodforEvolution
.com P.S. Here’s a short note that you can cut and paste into a new email and send to your friends, which makes it easy for them to do the same:
If this book doesn’t end the science and religion war, it’s certainly a MAJOR step in the right direction!
http://www.ThankGodforEvolution
.com/book-trailer.html If you are so led, please pass this announcement on to others. Thanks!
Here are some media links:
Many of us are not scientists. What, then, can we hope to know and understand about the science of climatology so we can judge for ourselves what is happening across the Earth? Why do some people consider the current climate talks critical to humanity’s longevity on earth, while others view it as a waste of time, a hoax, among other dismissals?
I think there are many reasons. If we simply start where we actually are, it is not difficult to see that humans are making a mess of the world - just look at the pollution we can and cannot see, the number of species that are making it into the extinct list, and the consumer and often wasteful way of life so many of us lead. Imagine the amount of stuff you go through in a day, and multiply that by six billion. Who is supposed to do what with all of that waste? It’s not possible to do what we are doing forever in a planet of limited resources and limited renewability.
But some people don’t see it. They don’t get it. To them, climate change is not happening, is a far way off, or is just a democratic prank.
Others see the problems, but their actions don’t reflect the intellectual understanding. We throw away when we should recycle, drive cars that are bigger than we need, and eat convenient foods that support an unsustainable way of living.
Some leaders get it too, but some lack the political will to make action happen. Shortsightedness makes it look like change for our own good will cause economic suffering. This is only as true as asking an overweight man to change the eating and lifestyle habits that are killing him. It may seem like suffering, but that’s only from a perspective that has lost its perspective. Normal is not normal anymore.
That’s why Bali is so important. It’s the first time that such talks are given real credibility by the world, and it’s the first time that so many developing countries and nations have stood up collectively to one of the nations that is blocking the world’s progress. This country should be leading, not blocking. But Bali has made progress and the US has joined, though it has done so in a way that is embarrassing to freethinking people.
We can do only what we can do.
In the news lately:
“But at least we all seem to be headed in the same direction, if not at the same speed. “This is not an issue between the developed world and the developing world,” said Rona Ambrose, India’s environment minister. “This is a global issue. The challenges are huge. The task is huge.”
- TIME Magazine’s article
“The conference nearly broke down, but the U.S. dropped its last-minute demands and signed the new pact after an outpouring of outrage and disappointment from other delegations. Nations now have two years to craft a legally binding treaty.”
- NPR’s piece
What was actually achieved at the talks?
- See the list of achievements, thanks to Reuters here.
Where can I find informative blogs and links about climate change?
http://blogs.reuters.com/environment/
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change
When people ask me about my studies in Conscious Evolution, I tell them I’m hoping to save the world. Looking at an integrated view of philosophy, science, spiritual and wisdom traditions does give a more comprehensive view of what is happening and what is behind the problems in the world. Understanding development and evolution, and paradigms and worldviews, do help me understand so much more than I could have otherwise. A phenomenal site pointing to the positive changes that are happening, the fundamental changes we need to get past our notions of separation and causes of violence, is Global Mind Shift at www.globalmindshift.com
Yes, a reality check is always a good thing, if not a pleasant one. The major news outlets these days get away with peddling fear-based stories for the most part, or stories that reinforce the very thinking that ends of in expressions of fear and violence, but what’s the truth behind the stories? This interesting Global Incident Map focuses on the terrorist and suspicious happenings around the world. It’s quite an eye opener!
When you click on the website link below, a world Map comes up showing what strange & dangerous things are happening right now in every country in the entire world & is updated every few minutes. You can move the map around, zero in on any one area & actually up-load the story of what is going on. It is amazing when you can see the things that are happening right here in the U.S., sometimes right in your own state or even your city. Global Incident Map: There is a lot happening in our world every minute. This “map” updates every 300 seconds…constantly 24/7.
and before your hope descends to despair, visit