The earth and ourselves are inseparably connected. But we generally don’t seem a realise that. We appear to believe that the earth is at our unlimited disposal, rather than we ourselves being part of it.

The purpose of this book is to show how you can restore the natural connection between yourself and the earth. The authors, Johannes Witteveen and Brigitte van Baren, discuss the subject — each in the context of their own spiritual tradition and their personal experiences in life and work — on the basis of the four key principles of the Earth Charter.

In the process they explain the importance of aspects such as silence and conscious breathing, as well as providing practical tips that will enable you to discover that heart for yourself is heart for the earth. And vice versa, of course.

HEART FOR THE EARTH
HEART FOR YOURSELF

HEART FOR THE EARTH
HEART FOR YOURSELF

A guide to living naturally

Brigitte van Baren & Johannes Witteveen

Gibbon Publishing Agency

Published in November 2015 by Gibbon Publishing Agency,
Van Ostadestraat 207d, 1073 TN Amsterdam, The Netherlands

First published in Dutch as Hart voor de aarde, Hart voor jezelf in September 2015 by Gibbon Publishing Agency

© 2015 Brigitte van Baren and Johannes Witteveen
Editing Daan Rosenberg Polak
Cover Design b’IJ Barbara
Translation Hugh Quigley

www.gibbon.nl

ISBN 978 94 913 6356 6

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission of the publisher.

CONTENTS

FOREWORD by Eva Kuit

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1

Ecological integrity

CHAPTER 2

Social and economic justice

CHAPTER 3

Respect and care for all forms of life

CHAPTER 4

Democracy, non-violence and peace

CHAPTER 5

Zen, Sufism and Franciscan values

CHAPTER 6

Silence works

CHAPTER 7

Unity in diversity

CHAPTER 8

Consciousness-raising exercises

CHAPTER 9

Poems and classical prayers for inspiration

CHAPTER 10

Care for the earth is care for yourself

Practical suggestions

LITERATURE

APPENDIX – Earth Charter

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

FOREWORD

When you are a child, it is not difficult to feel at one with the earth when your parents take you for a walk through the woods or along the beach and amuse you with stories about all the magnificent birds and other creatures that you see. Or if they have an allotment with a piece of ground where you can grow your own strawberries, pumpkins or tomatoes. Not to forget the impact of a favourite teacher whose love of nature is infectious and who is able to convey that love to the children in the class. But there many children who grow up without such influences and do not realise that milk does not grow in a carton on a tree, but comes from a cow. There are also many adults who, although they intuitively understand that milk does not grow in cartons, are not fully conscious of the fact that cows also need space, as well as care and attention. What they want is cheap products, preferably ready-made and nicely packaged. How is that possible? Why do we opt for what is convenient, for what is quick and easy? Perhaps it is because we have become increasingly cut off from what was once natural. Because we believe we have the luxury of not having to think about how we feed ourselves or how we produce the fuel that keep us warm in the winter. We believe all the worrying stories about climate change, but at the same time regard them as somebody else’s concern. So we are perfectly willing to donate money to the World Wildlife Fund and Greenpeace, but will just as easily take a long-haul flight to Thailand for a holiday. Or choose the cheapest chicken breasts for our barbecue. There is sometimes a very wide gap between theory and practice. We know that climate change has to be halted and that what we buy and eat should be produced sustainably, but it is not always easy to follow those principles in practice. It is a conflict that can quickly create a sense of guilt. How can you overcome this contradiction?

Fortunately, a growing number of initiatives are being developed with the aim of having a direct and visible impact in terms of protecting our earth. I myself was once involved in the predecessor of Rotterdam Oogst, an organisation that holds a farmers’ market in the centre of the city to bring together farmers, producers and consumers in Rotterdam and the surrounding area. Similar initiatives are now taking place in many other parts of the Netherlands and in other countries. On an entirely different scale is the Earth Charter, a document that was written by people from all around the world and contains an appeal for ecological integrity, peace, social justice and respect for all forms of life. Although they are fantastic ideals, they are concepts that can easily make you, as an individual, feel very small and cause you to wonder: what can I do to help in caring for the earth? This book is a book for you, and others like you. Because heart for the earth starts with heart for yourself.

The idea that opening your heart to yourself is the same as opening your heart to the earth is explored in more detail in the following chapters, with thanks to spiritual leaders from two different streams, Sufism and Zen, whom I interviewed about what the Earth Charter and the principles it contains mean to them. Two very different individuals who are united when it comes to discovering the key, namely the secrets of your own heart.

I am very grateful to both of them for allowing me to interview them and giving me the opportunity to learn from them the importance of caring for yourself when it comes to caring for our earth.

Eva Kuit

INTRODUCTION

The Earth Charter is an extraordinary document, written by and for people from all around the world who are concerned about what is happening to us and to our earth. The document calls on us to live with ourselves and with others in a just, sustainable and peaceful society. Pope Francis referred to the charter several times in his recent encyclical and called for greater awareness in the world. He argued that we must show greater concern for the earth and should be guided not just by economic considerations but also by ecological values. Someone who was already living by the principles espoused in the Earth Charter centuries ago is the Pope’s namesake, Saint Francis of Assisi. Saint Francis gave his followers guidelines on how to live in brotherly solidarity with nature and in service to humanity by caring for the poor and the sick. These values, as embodied by Saint Francis as a true reformer and champion of the elements of nature with respect for all living beings, are summed up in this book. The first four chapters are devoted to the four basic principles of the Earth Charter: ecological integrity; social and economic justice; respect and care for all forms of life; and democracy, non-violence and peace. They are presented in the form of a dialogue1 between the authors of this book – Johannes Witteveen and Brigitte van Baren – using Sufism, Zen and St. Francis of Assisi as their sources. Sufism, Zen and the Franciscan values are explained in chapter 5, while chapters 6 and 7 describe some unnoticeable but active steps based on Zen and Sufism that you can take towards personal growth and the effect they will have on those around you, and even on the world. Because stillness intensifies one’s awareness and it is only in silence that we can hear the earth and respond appropriately, chapter 8 includes a number of short consciousness-raising exercises. Chapter 9 contains a number of poems to provide you with inspiration. Finally, chapter 10 presents some practical suggestions for applying the principles in your own life and work.

Spiritual awareness touches our heart, because without the earth we would not exist. ‘Only if our heart melts, will the world change,’ said Angaangaq Angakkorsuaq, a shaman and elder from Greenland, during the international conference ’Celebrating Soil! Celebrating Life!’ that was organised at the Tropical Institute in Amsterdam in June 2015. ‘We will then recognise our connection to the earth and be able to live in peace with all living creatures, each according to its uniqueness, as a community with a common destiny.’ Let this book touch your heart, so that the heart of the earth can be healed in time.

In conclusion, we would like to thank a number of people who helped to make this book possible. Our special appreciation goes to Eva Kuit, who immediately responded enthusiastically to our request to facilitate our dialogue and to help in transforming that dialogue into book form. That process yielded further insights that have given added value to the book. We would also like to thank Bernadet Bos who, inspired by our dialogue, created some of the consciousness-raising exercises based on the four principles of the Earth Charter. Our thanks also go to Jan Greijn and Marian de Heus for their positive criticism of the text, and to all the readers who are willing to open their hearts, to themselves and to the earth.

1 The Sufi/Zen dialogue was filmed in the spring of 2015 at the suggestion of Brigitte van Baren, who later had the idea of using the conversation as the basis for this book. The dialogue can be found on YouTube, under the title ‘Earth Charter Dialogue Professor Witteveen & Brigitte van Baren’.

1

Ecological integrity