Going Green on the Pagan Path
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Green. To those of nature-based spiritualities, it's not just a color. Green is the grass spreading lushly across mother earth, the leaves just beginning to unfurl, the bushes that have reminded us through the dark time that life always renews, and of course the most beautiful of Gaia’s waters. Green is the cloak of the Druid, or the magic of witches who work with the flora and fauna, as well as the blessed Emerald Isle itself. It is also the shining jewel of the heart chakra, which connects all people, and the glowing sephiroth of Netzach, the sphere of beauty and the loves of filia, eros, and agape. Green is an energy that pulls at our heartstrings, and shows us where we connect to each other, the earth and the Divine. Is it any wonder that the movement to cleanup the earth is Green?
So what does “going green” mean to me? It means returning to a life that is interconnected, realizing how I affect my own life and surroundings by the choices I make, bringing me more in tune with the peace of the Divine. This means not only recycling my cans, plastic and paper, but also finding ways to use less of those products to begin with. It means keeping my own piece of earth clean and growing, as well as helping to clean up my city’s waterways and roadways. It means patronizing local growers, small businesses and organizations who are within my own community, rather than the corporations who continue to be part of the “grand machine” that has become our earth’s problem. It means paying attention to the plight of nature in my own area, and making sure to pass that information along to others, so we can be a larger voice. It means voting for legislation and legislators who want to correct the mistakes of the past and look forward to a clean and sustainable future. It means thinking outside the box, putting the future ahead of the now.
“Going green” is personal change too. It means respecting the Divine within myself by listening to the vessel that houses my spirit. Partly this means choosing foods that bring my system harmony and not imbalance, which sometimes that requires my refusing foods that I love, but I have grown intolerant of, and instead trying foods I may never have looked at before. It also requires me choosing as many fruits, vegetables and grains as I can grown without pesticides or hybridization, meats which were raised humanely and without antibiotics or hormones, and water from my own tap rather than some bottling company. It also means paying attention to my circadian rhythm and living as much in tune with what my own internal clock says is right for me as I can, even when it seems slightly at odds with “society’s clock”.
My personal “going green” also has to do with paying attention to my psyche, my heart and my soul. This means consciously pay attention to my stress levels so that I can remain productive and accessible to others, as well as recognize when I am doing too much and not nurturing Self. It means paying attention to the pulls of synchronicity, which always lead me to new avenues for my mind to explore and grow within. It means letting myself feel the green glow of my own heart and learning how to share that warmth and love in ways others need, while still keeping myself healthy and happy.
I guess “going Green” for me really boils down to trying to be the best example of Light I can be for my children, family and friends so that we ALL learn to nourish ourselves, each other, the planet and Life.
So what does “going green” mean to me? It means returning to a life that is interconnected, realizing how I affect my own life and surroundings by the choices I make, bringing me more in tune with the peace of the Divine. This means not only recycling my cans, plastic and paper, but also finding ways to use less of those products to begin with. It means keeping my own piece of earth clean and growing, as well as helping to clean up my city’s waterways and roadways. It means patronizing local growers, small businesses and organizations who are within my own community, rather than the corporations who continue to be part of the “grand machine” that has become our earth’s problem. It means paying attention to the plight of nature in my own area, and making sure to pass that information along to others, so we can be a larger voice. It means voting for legislation and legislators who want to correct the mistakes of the past and look forward to a clean and sustainable future. It means thinking outside the box, putting the future ahead of the now.
“Going green” is personal change too. It means respecting the Divine within myself by listening to the vessel that houses my spirit. Partly this means choosing foods that bring my system harmony and not imbalance, which sometimes that requires my refusing foods that I love, but I have grown intolerant of, and instead trying foods I may never have looked at before. It also requires me choosing as many fruits, vegetables and grains as I can grown without pesticides or hybridization, meats which were raised humanely and without antibiotics or hormones, and water from my own tap rather than some bottling company. It also means paying attention to my circadian rhythm and living as much in tune with what my own internal clock says is right for me as I can, even when it seems slightly at odds with “society’s clock”.
My personal “going green” also has to do with paying attention to my psyche, my heart and my soul. This means consciously pay attention to my stress levels so that I can remain productive and accessible to others, as well as recognize when I am doing too much and not nurturing Self. It means paying attention to the pulls of synchronicity, which always lead me to new avenues for my mind to explore and grow within. It means letting myself feel the green glow of my own heart and learning how to share that warmth and love in ways others need, while still keeping myself healthy and happy.
I guess “going Green” for me really boils down to trying to be the best example of Light I can be for my children, family and friends so that we ALL learn to nourish ourselves, each other, the planet and Life.
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