As evident in Ken Caldeira’s New York Times article, “How to Cool the Globe”, there seems to be widespread misdirection about the end goal of this climate change movement.
As I understand it, we are working to address climate change to maintain a natural environment that has the very basic conditions necessary for each of us to even have a chance of achieving happiness, namely a global environment that is safe-yes, safe-ecologically-healthy, and livable for at least human beings (if not all beings). We are currently in a period of time where the unsustainable ways of living advocated by the West, now blindly adopted by much of the world, have led to the phenomenon of global warming. We need to be clear, however, that the underlying problem is not global warming itself - global warming is merely the outcome, or symptom, of a serious disease that is afflicting human civilization - the consumerist, capitalist, individualist, unsustainable ways of living advocated by the West. These lifestyles, along with the effects of global warming, are the biggest obstacles in humanity’s path towards having a safe, ecologically-healthy and livable environment. What needs to be addressed, therefore, is how we can change our ways of living and thinking to remove the disease from it root causes, not what type of interim solution we can implement such as pouring sulphate particles into the stratosphere, underground carbon sequestration, bio-fuels or nuclear power, all of which are likely to cause even more problems.
Fortunately, we already have a tool that can address the root causes - mindfulness - the practice of stopping and deep looking in our daily activities so that we can not only recognize the fears, despair, and other notions that drive our unsustainable ways but also transform them in order to be able to touch the wonders of life right in the here and now.
With the practice of mindfulness we can see that the root causes of this pandemic disease of unsustainable behavior are our attachments to the deep, misguided notions of life as being non-changing and non-interdependent. Because of the presence of these notions in our thinking, we are attached to our bodily sensations, feelings, perceptions, relationships, people, our jobs, ideologies, new technologies, products we don’t need - all of which produce fleeting instances of excitement but not true happiness. These attachments prevent us from fully enjoying our lives while we are living it; in trying to keep things permanent or independent we are dragged into our past, we are dragged into our future and we live life not as human beings that are currently alive but ghosts from the past and the future. This lack of attention to our lives as we are living it, often leads us to take actions (including consumption choices) that hurt us, our families, circles of friendships, countries, and now a planet. We produce without awareness, we consume without awareness, leading to environmental degradation, social inequity, and ultimately a life without true happiness.
By practicing mindfulness we can understand the impermanent and co-dependent nature of life, enjoy the wonders of life as they occur in the present moment and thus, consume and produce in ways that help sustain this safe and livable planet that we were born into.
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(Many of us may already practice mindfulness in several of our daily activities. This list has some additional guidelines to help us deepen our practice.)
16 exercises to help us become more mindful
These exercises can be practiced during any activity, in any position and in any order.
The Four Preliminary Exercises
1. As we breathe in, we say, “Breathing in, I know I am breathing in.” As we breathe out, we say, “Breathing out, I know I am breathing out.”
2. “Breathing in a long breath, I know I am breathing in a long breathe. Breathing out, I know I am breathing out a long breath.“
This will vary depending on what we notice about our breathing - our breath can be long, short, deep, easy, uneasy, etc. We simply notice the characteristics of our breath.
3. “Breathing in, I am aware of my whole body. Breathing out, I smile to my whole body.”
We become aware of different parts of our body, the different elements of which our body is composed of, the positions of our body - whether we are sitting, walking, lying down, washing dishes, etc and the process of change occurring in our body. For instance, we can be aware of our feet, calves, knees, thighs, hips, back, stomach, small intestines, large intestines, lungs, heart, liver, spleen, kidneys, bladder, your throat, face, head, hair and brain.
4. “Breathing in, I am aware of my whole body. Breathing out, I calm the activities of my whole body.”
We can invite all the cells in our body to participate with this exercise. We can also be as specific or as general as we want. For example, we can say, “Breathing in, I am aware of my brain. Breathing out, I calm the activities of my brain.”
The Second Four Exercises
5. “Breathing in I feel joyful. Breathing out, I feel joyful.”
6. “Breathing in, I feel happy. Breathing out, I feel happy.”
7. “Breathing in, I am aware of feelings (pleasant, unpleasant & neutral). Breathing out, I am aware of my feelings.”
We become aware of the arising, duration and fading of pleasant, unpleasant and neutral (functional) feelings. We also observe their psychological, physiological and physical roots and the impacts of our feelings on our mind, health and so on.
8. “Breathing in, I calm my feelings. Breathing out, I calm my feelings.”
The Next Four Exercises
9. “Breathing in, I am aware of my mind. Breathing out, I am aware of my mind.”
We become aware of other mental formations besides feelings including contact, attention, perceptions, volition, intention, determination, concentration, insight, etc. We observe these in the spirit of non-duality, with no barrier between the subject and object of observation.
10. “Breathing in, I make my mind happy. Breathing out, I make my mind happy.”
11. “Breathing in, I concentrate my mind. Breathing out, I concentrate my mind.”
12. “Breathing in, I liberate my mind. Breathing out, I liberate my mind.”
The Final Four Exercises
13. “Breathing in, I observe the impermanent nature of all dharmas (objects). Breathing out, I observe the impermanent nature of all dharmas.”
14. “Breathing in, I observe the disappearance of desire. Breathing out, I observe the disappearance of desire.”
15. “Breathing in, I observe cessation. Breathing out, I observe cessation.”
16. “Breathing in, I observe letting go. Breathing out, I observe letting go.”
Sources:
Thich Nhat Hanh, Breathe! You are alive: Sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing, (Berkeley, Calif.: Parallax Press, 1988).
Thich Nhat Hanh, Transformation & Healing: Sutra on the Four Establishments of Mindfulness, (Berkeley, Calif.: Parallax Press, 1990).
1) Aware of the suffering caused by the destruction of life, I vow to cultivate compassion and learn ways to protect the lives of people, animals, plants and minerals. I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to condone any act of killing in the world, in my thinking and in my way of life.
2) Aware of the suffering caused by exploitation, social injustice, stealing and oppression, I vow to cultivate loving kindness and learn ways to work for the well-being of people, animals, plants and minerals. I vow to practice generosity by sharing my time, energy, and material resources with those in real need. I am determined not to steal and not to possess anything that should belong to others. I will respect the property of others, but I will prevent others from profiting from human suffering or the suffering of other species on earth.
3) Aware of the suffering caused by sexual misconduct, I vow to cultivate responsibility and learn ways to protect the safety and integrity of individuals, couples, families and society. I am determined not to engage in sexual relations without love and a long-term commitment. To preserve the happiness of myself and others, I am determined to respect my commitments and the commitments of others. I will do everything in my power to protect children from sexual abuse and to prevent couples and families from being broken by sexual misconduct.
4) Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful speech and the inability to listen to others, I vow to cultivate loving speech and deep listening in order to bring joy and happiness to others and relieve others of suffering. Knowing that words can create happiness or suffering, I vow to learn to speak truthfully, with words that inspire self-confidence, joy and hope. I am determined not to spread news that I do not know to be certain and not to criticize or condemn things of which I am not sure. I will refrain from uttering words that can cause division or discord; or words that can cause the family or the community to break. I will make all efforts to reconcile and resolve all conflicts, however small.
5) Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful consumption, I vow to cultivate good health, both physical and mental, for myself, my family, and my society by practicing mindful eating, drinking and consuming. I vow to ingest only items that preserve peace, well being, and joy in my body, in my consciousness, and in the collective body and consciousness of my family and society. I am determined not to use alcohol or any other intoxicant or to ingest foods or other items that contain toxins, such as certain TV programs, magazines, books, films and conversations. I am aware that to damage my body and my consciousness with these poisons is to betray my ancestors, my parents, my society and future generations. I will work to transform violence, fear, anger and confusion in myself and in society by practicing a diet for myself and for society. I understand that a proper diet is crucial for self transformation and the transformation of society.
Exercises for recognizing and transforming feelings
1. Breathing in, I am aware that a feeling (pleasant, unpleasant, neutral) is present in me
Breathing out, I smile at the feeling
2. Breathing in, I am aware that the feeling (anger, fear, etc) is still present in me
Breathing out, I smile at the feeling
3. Breathing in, I am aware that the feeling has psychological (or physiological or physical) roots
Breathing out, I am aware of the roots of the feeling
4. Breathing in, I am aware of the health impact of the feeling
Breathing out, I am aware of fading away of the feeling
Exercises for recognizing and transforming other mental formations
1. Breathing in, I am aware that my mind is desiring (or fearing, tense, discriminating, or not fearing, etc) __
Breathing out, I see the impermanent nature of __
Five Contemplations for Eating with Mindfulness
1. This food is a gift of the earth, numerous living beings and much hard work.
2. May we eat with mindfulness and gratitude so as to be worthy to receive it.
3. May we recognize and transform our unskillful states of mind and learn to eat with moderation.
4. May we take only foods that nourish us and prevent illness, reduce the suffering of living beings, and help reverse the process of global warming.
5. We accept this food so that me may nurture our sisterhood and brotherhood, build our community and nourish our ideal of serving living beings.
Source:
http://www.plumvillage.org
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Err, what the heck is the “protect the lives of people, animals, plants and minerals.” about? I get the first three, but as a trained mineralogist and lover of mountains…we might want to preserve them…but protect their lives? Am I missing something?
Rocks are people too. Er…
You actually hit on one a crux of the issue. Many ordinary folks are concerned about climate change, but are put off by what they see as climate change being used to implement “social revolution” that they don’t agree with. If climate change can be fixed with carbon sequestration and other relatively small innovations, then it is the burden of the advocates to explain both why bigger changes are necessary and how the economic and social disruptions will be ameliorated.
Otherwise, perhaps a more inclusive strategy would be more effective. My guess is even the minimum required IPCC recomendations will cause large social and economic changes that will need amelioration.
I agree with you 100% that solving global warming is not the end goal.
For me, central goals are (i) protecting our natural environment and the biodiversity it contains and (ii) improving well-being while eliminating unnecessary suffering.
An important key to addressing both of these problems is the development of affordable and environmentally-friendly energy systems.
Another important key, as you indicate here, is decoupling the connection between a personal sense of well-being and consumption of material goods. While the well-being of a person in want of food or medicine can certainly be improved by material goods, that is not the case for most people in the developed world.
this is right on - the solution lies in accountable community institutions, mutual aid, local self-reliance, etc.
the climate movement is an opportunity to re-energize our grid, our economy, and our culture.
The west or white man were not the ones who invented consumerism, it has been around for thousands of years. In a basic sense consumerism is a form of ownership of something. Ownership is a concept that was developed to create wealth for a few and poverty for many and has been used in the oldest civilizations. The true human beings never used this concept so they never had disease, unnecessary suffering of people or animals or environment and its consequences on themselves. It doesn’t matter who started what it only matters how long you are willing to continue a concept that serves no purpose other then extinction of all living things on this planet.