Many of us realize that something isn't quite right in the world. The air, water, and earth are choked with poisons; our communities and societies are filled with more apathy, bitterness, fear, and domination than love or hope; and frankly, we don't feel too good on most days of the week. But even as our heart longs to live in saner world, we often find ourselves at a loss for how to translate that heartfelt vision into reality. Where does our journey of healing begin?
Of course, there is no one answer to this question. Each of us lives at the center of a different set of circumstances and relations. This means that there are currently six or seven billion paths to personal and planetary healing. However, as all of those paths criss-cross one another, we may soon discover that many of them share common themes and principles. As we discover these commonalities, we can learn to work together to create a better world.
In reading the works of Dr. Gabriel Cousens, world-renowned live foodist, I came across the theory that our health as human beings is rooted in the health of our inner terrain. Most of contemporary Western science focuses on the germ theory of health and illness, asserting that 'germs' – small biological invaders – are the primary cause of infectious disease. In the days since this theory was first championed by Louis Pasteur, it has sparked amazing advances in our understanding of the world of microbes. However, it has also lead to an extremely narrow view of human health and an obsession with 'killing bugs' as the primary approach to healing.
There is a competing theory on the nature of health and illness that is making a comeback: terrain theory. Simply put, this theory argues that the internal environment of the organism is the primary cause of disease, not external microbes. A well-balanced internal environment offers external microbes little opportunity to do harm, whereas an internal environment out of balance may actively encourage microbial invasion. According to one account, Pasteur himself ultimately conceded to this viewpoint, stating on his deathbed that “the terrain is everything.”
As a long time advocate of ecological consciousness and student of personal healing, I was quick to take this information to heart. Terrain theory revealed a valuable link between personal and planetary healing. In both cases, we are working to create a terrain in balance, a terrain in which all of our actions are based on life-affirming principles of health and ecology. Even more exciting was the realization that the health of our inner terrain (self) and outer terrain (social and ecological environment) are two sides of the same coin.
This was quite an advancement in my understanding of personal and planetary healing. Even so, the question remained – where does our journey of healing begin?
For further inspiration, I drew on my experiences as an activist and spiritual healer.
My years of activism had shown me the importance of actively resisting social and ecological destruction. Perhaps more importantly, it had also taught me to address the institutions of domination hierarchy, working to create a new society based on principles of free cooperation and ecological integrity.
But no matter how much my understanding of such activism deepened, this approach still seemed incomplete. Many of my fellow activists were prone to burnout and disillusionment. There were too few activists and too much power stacked against us. Our humble efforts at positive social structures were constantly threatened and dissolved by the overwhelming momentum of the dominant system. Even when thousands of us marched in the streets crying out for revolution, the disruption only lasted for a few hours, a few days at best. Soon, business as usual resumed. The terrain of humanity, both inner and outer, was a smoldering ruin, and our efforts to mend it kept falling short. What was missing?
The final piece of the puzzle fell into place as I pursued my studies in spiritual healing. There were at least two principles known to the Healer that few if any activists were applying. First of all, consciousness is the foundation of all that we create and experience in this life, from our innermost feelings to the structures of external power. In other words, consciousness is the bedrock of our inner and outer terrain. Second, even though the world is a place of deep interconnection, each of us has only one means of transforming consciousness. We each have access to only one tool as a gardener of our inner and outer terrain. That tool is our self – our own individual consciousness in the form of our physical body, our emotions, our mind, our heart, and our spirit.
After seven years of searching, I had found my answer. It was a principle so simple that someone could have told it to me in a single sentence – and yet, seven years of deep experience had only just begun to teach me how to put it into practice. If I wanted personal and planetary healing, I had to create the seeds of that change within myself, plant those seeds in my community, and work with other communities throughout my bioregion, society, and planet to grow a new reality.
How specifically can each of us become a Revolution of One and use our own consciousness as a vessel for healing ourselves and transforming the world? To explore that topic further, I’m currently working on a book called “The Warrior Healer Revolution” and several works of fiction and poetry. In the meantime, I would like to share a few introductory thoughts.
No two journeys of healing are alike. Therefore, there can be no universal blueprint. However, since the self is our one and only tool in transforming consciousness, the first step for most of us will be self-development. From there, we can work in our communities. Finally, community organizing can become the foundation for improvements in our bioregion, our society, and our planet.
We can improve our physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health through exercise forms such as t’ai chi and yoga; healthy ways of eating such as live and raw foods; and other personal or group practices such as meditation, guided visualization, psychological processing, and spiritual healing. Self-development also includes our relationship with our loved ones and our personal involvement in our community. Finally, no pursuit of self-development would be complete without a deep understanding of our place in world. This involves an examination of the history that has shaped our circumstances, the issues that are close to our hearts, and the power structures of domination and liberation. Developing a healthy inner terrain in these areas empowers us both to lead a happier life and to bring balance to the social and ecological terrain that surrounds and permeates us.
As we work toward self-development, we can deepen our relationship with our community. Instead of merely participating, we can become a force for transformation. We can form consciousness-raising groups and study groups. We can organize housing cooperatives, community centers, community enterprises, and social services. We can even create new institutions of community discourse such as public assemblies that are rooted in our vision for a free, cooperative, ecological society. This organizing in our community can become the centerpiece of our work of transformation, serving both to continue our own development and to lay a foundation for greater changes to come.
Finally, our work in the community can empower us to work with other communities in our bioregion. The public assemblies and other institutions that we’ve formed in our community can offer us a clear and meaningful method of communicating and coordinating our actions with similar bodies in surrounding communities. If and when we can agree to a common set of principles for living together in free cooperation, we will become the founding communities of a new society.
Can you envision it? A grassroots revolution that begins with you? I’ll bet that you never even knew you had it in you! But you do – and if you choose to take your first steps on that journey, we can all find our way to that happy terrain together.