Tourist or Pilgrim?

I wrote on 5th November of the conference I attended organised by Resurgence: To be a Pilgrim or a Tourist. But I did not say much there about the session given by Peter Owen Jones, and for my money he was the most brilliant speaker of the day.
I love Peter, as indeed do many others. I am sure he has broken a few hearts in his time. But he is not to everyone's taste! Maverick priest he has been called by some. The Times has called him "the bravest vicar in Britain...a man living with his soul." But his message is clear, sincere and persuasive. We have to act as individuals and communities to restore spirituality back into our lives, for the sake of our future, because there is an emotional and spiritual illiteracy amongst our leaders, in local and national government, and indeed globally.
The computer age, Peter explained, has destroyed our calling to explore, and a general loss of hospitality is destroying the opportunity for pilgrimage. And pilgrimage is not the same as travelling. Intimacy is of the pilgrim, not the traveller. The experience of the pilgrimage enriches us, we return changed. As travellers the effect is short lived - we simply return to the life we were escaping from, the life we have created - nothing changes there.
Why are we still travelling? What are we looking for? Paradise is actually around us if we only have eyes to see. And he reminded us that holidays were actually "Holy Days," for rest and quality family time, not for frenzied shopping, consuming, driving, travelling, generally stressing ourselves!

This all reminds me of Peter's wonderful book I reviewed some time ago on Amazon; Letters From an Extreme Pilgrim: Reflections on life, love and the soul. (For some reason this is not available from Amazon.com).

Do read the book. It is a gem.

A New Rennaisance; Transforming Science, Spirit and Society

E. F. Schumacher once said: “man is far too clever to be able to survive without wisdom.” And we now need that wisdom in large measure.

Someone said to me today: "the trouble is, (a phrase I dislike as much as "the problem is") there are so many books on this climate change stuff and other problems of our age, but nothing ever gets done."

That is simply not true, but there is always room to do more.

I went recently in London to a day conference at the University of London, the occasion being the launch of A New Renaissance; Transforming Science, Spirit and Society. This book was born out of a vision by the Scientific Medical Network of the urgent need for action to address the now deeply rooted and dangerous ecological, political and spiritual crisis in which we find ourselves.
Members of the Network were invited to submit essays on aspects of the crisis, which would discuss the causes of, and/or the paths beyond, the current crisis, to create an important repository of wisdom.

The predominant aim was to underpin a programme of action, to help the Network to “move boldly from theory to practice,” with progressive solutions, not only within the Network itself but by working with other like minded organisations and within the wider global community.

What we have now in this excellent volume is a compilation of 25 of the best essays, many of them from some of the world’s leading thinkers, bringing the latest scientific discoveries and philosophical ideas alongside ancient spiritual wisdoms.
The book is divided into four sections, under the headings; Worldviews in Transition, Consciousness and Mind in Science and Medicine, Spirituality and New Understandings of the Sacred, and finally Global and Local Transformation: Governance, Economics and Education (and also including, importantly, a chapter on the role of music and the arts in a possible future). This final part is most important, examining as it does some possible reforms in politics, economics and education, to help "bring forth a society that can sustain the flourishing of human beings in the twenty first century."

The scene is set in the first chapter (by Ervin Laszlo) by diagnosing the world’s own health problems –unsustainable living, irrational behaviours and obsolete beliefs and aspirations. But crisis brings opportunities for transformation, in enlightened politics, a more socially aware business ethic, and personal responsibility. And underlying all of this is the need for a greater spiritual awareness, a shift of our dominant consciousness towards a connectedness with each other and with the natural world, a new understanding of humans as psychic beings. This is a theme that occurs again and again in many of the essays; that rediscovery of our souls, or the spirit in matter, or a sense of the sacred, or changes in human consciousness in some way, will be essential for finding a more meaningful and spirit filled world and for healing our planet. And this new understanding of reality must acknowledge the inadequacy of reductionist materialism and the mechanistic scientific worldview.

Readers will not agree with everything here. Boundaries are being pushed to limits of thought and understanding, but there are common threads of purpose, and urgency. There are practical ideas in plenty, and there are messages of hope from some authors, whilst others seem more doubtful that we still have time for change or indeed about the nature of the crisis itself.

I enjoyed reading all these essays immensely. Some are more technical than others, some the reader will find controversial. But all have their own profoundly important message from the authors’ own hearts. They combine a rich pattern of diverse thinking, knowledge, wisdom and proposed solutions and together they form a valuable resource for healing this wounded earth.

However, all this effort will have been in vain unless the book promotes positive healing actions. As humans we have freedom of choice and the benefits of hindsight and foresight and if we want to we can put this to a healing purpose. And this, we are reminded, will variously require courage, confidence and determination to move ideas forward, changes in education, changes in mindset, hearts and minds, and a sense of personal responsibility. Some believe that change must start from small groups, within community, a bottoms- up approach, and that we have to change our beliefs and attitudes before we can change our values and behaviour. Others stress the need for careful and respectful dialogue to establish a shared wisdom, for a unifying vision of our purpose on this planet and a call for global unity in diversity.
I could go on – there is so much wisdom in these pages. But to go into detail on any specific chapter would surely offend, albeit unintentionally, those I have left out.

As humans we yearn to be happy, at peace, part of a global family. This book is an important step in that direction if we heed its wisdom and advice.

(This article, with a few small changes, repeats the review I have posted on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk).

HRH Prince Charles too old fashioned to be King?

I wrote very recently about HRH Prince of Wales and his new book Harmony. Now I am saddened - indeed worried - to hear that many of us (do not include me) believe he is too "old fashioned" to be our future king and that he should stand down to make way for his son William in due course.

Clearly his message is not getting through yet to many of the populace. Far from being old fashioned, His Royal Highness is very much up to speed with all that is going on in our world and more than happy to embrace new ideas - as long as they are sustainable and not harmful to our planet. He thinks and feels very deeply about these issues, is hugely knowledgeable about them and passionate to do all he can to promote a new sustainable way of living for us all in the interests of protecting our planet from any more harm. And if that means resurrecting many values which we have lost sight of in the profligate West, what is wrong with that? We must not confuse ancient wisdom with the derogatory implications of the term "old fashioned."

I quote again from my earlier blog on his latest book Harmony; A New Way of Looking at the World:

From the publisher's notes - this book is: "A practical guide to what we have lost in the modern world, why we have lost it and how easily it is to rediscover. Harmony is a blueprint for a more balanced, sustainable world that the human race must create to survive...Drawing on his own practical experience, Prince Charles charts how changes to how we look at the world could lead us toward a better future. He describes how knowledge and perspectives now largely lost could help us meet very modern challenges, including in the built environment, engineering, medicine and farming."

Beautifully illustrated and thoughtfully written, this would make a lovely present for anyone who respects the Prince's views on these vital issues, but perhaps more importantly anyone who will be receptive to having their eyes and hearts opened to the really urgent need for a change in perception and heart to save our planet. And we need to open as many peoples' hearts and minds and souls to these issues as we possibly can.

The Rise and Fall of Civilisation: Perspectives of Moral Political Economy

We are in the midst of a crisis in values, moral and ethical, of an enormous scale - in a society desperately in need of cosmic spiritual values.

These are the words of the Reverend Canon Peter Challen, Chairman of the Christian Council of Monetary Justice - who opened a debate on The Rise and Fall of Civilisation: Perspectives of Moral Political Economy held on 20th July 2010 in London. Speakers included Moeen Yaseen, Managing Director Global Vision 2000, Daud Pidcock, also of Global vision 2000, Muhammad Rafeeq, Banking Consultant, Vijay Mehta, Lawrence Bloom, and Michael King.

The purpose of the debate was to "promote alternative holistic sustainable solutions which open the door to an era of prosperity within the framework of a moral political economy."

The human predicament is now dire - deeply deeply so, Peter reminds us - and we need a coalition for the common good of an inclusive justice - we are stealing from the future in our current behaviour - there is a fierce urgency of now.. Peter concluded a powerful 10 minutes introduction by calling for a new "world cup" of compassion and inclusive justice.

Please spend 10 minutes to watch this video and carefully listen to his words.



Clips of the other speakers are all available on You Tube.