WCCM Earth Crisis Forum 10: A Tapestry of Place, People and Possibility

Dear Friends

As we write this, we are in the midst of heatwaves and wildfires which seem appropriate when talking about the Earth Crisis Forum. We are UK meditators and members of the international Earth Crisis Meditation Group who hosted the Forum in April.

The Group started in 2023 in response to the Contemplating Earth Course, the Earth Crisis blog and previous Forums. It runs weekly with a focus on the ecological crisis. Meditation is followed by a time of sharing thoughts and feelings around the climate crisis.

Initially we were a group of about eight led by Jane Greenlees. The group has grown, now approximately twenty, with members from around the globe.

The way the group has developed has made it unique and special, so when we were asked to host a Forum, we decided to share the format of our weekly sessions. The group also asked several questions, e.g. What does the group mean to you? What actions have you been inspired to take outside of the group? However, the most significant and precious aspect was the process by which we arrived at the final presentation. It is important to us that everyone who wanted to, should be able to contribute, whether through art, poetry, reflection or by modelling direct action.

This approach does not sit easily with the dominant approach in Western culture, where the loudest voice is what is heard. It meant we had to listen closely to one another and work together to create something that could be shared. This approach comes closer to the model of consensus decision-making endemic to many indigenous peoples and is what we will need to embody if we are to shift our culture towards a new way of seeing and respecting all life, so as to save our beautiful Earth.