Earth Stewardship

Spirituality is a difficult word to pin down and define. But, if it could be summed up in a single word, it might be consciousness. The essence of life is consciousness, the goal of our efforts is an increase of consciousness, the solution to our challenges is a shift in consciousness.

The greatest creative force is consciousness. And, of course, as spiritually-minded NLP practitioners and hypnotists we expand that term to include the vast storehouse of the unconscious, which holds potentially conscious information that just doesn't happen to be in the awareness at a given moment.

Increasingly rising into the awareness of popular culture is an accelerating environmental crisis, but also the power of our choices and intentions to heal the Earth. It's not surprising that the greatest, most important step in reversing damage to the environment is to be conscious of how our lifestyles impact the planet. Only from a position of consciousness can we reevaluate these choices and make positive changes to embrace our role, as individuals and as a species, of Earth stewardship.

The connection between spirituality and Earth stewardship was recently made explicit at the Bioneers Conference by Evon Peter, chairman of the Native Movement, whose very presence onstage with a host of other indigenous Americans from various tribes was a reminder that we are all guests on this planet and that our connection to the forces of creation, the Great Spirit, come up through our relationship with the land and our bodies, not in spite of them.

It was in this spirit that Janis and I recently attended the Bioneers Conference and Green Festival in the San Francisco Bay area. It was truly remarkable to see how the environmental movement has grown from a few very expensive and inconvenient items that required great sacrifice, to a loving community with its own alternative economy of easy to use products literally covering every aspect of daily life from clothes, food and pet care to furniture, cleansers, media and office equipment. It's not just about alternative energy (though that's important, too)! With the holiday shopping season now upon us, this is a fantastic time to learn about these new companies and their products, and to share this knowledge through our gift-giving.

These two recent events were experiences we cherish and will never forget. We hope you'll take the time to explore this email, save it as a reference, and share in the effort to raise awareness about the environment and fair trade practices. Support our commitment to improving the world through conscious intent -- join us on purpose!

Joe Nicholson
San Rafael, CA
November 2007