Spiritual ecology is the study of the interrelationships of all levels of our being, the recognition of the ways in which our body, feelings, time-thinkings, eternal concepts and initiative interfunction.
As in natural ecology we observe that the destruction of one form of life unbalances the whole natural system.
So in the realm of spiritual ecology the malfunction of one level produces deterioration in others.
We cannot neglect any one of our five levels of function without impairing the rest.
- If we do not take adequate care of our physical body, we expose ourselves to the possibilities of infection and disease. Physical cleanliness is essential to the maintenance of health.
- If we do not understand and control intelligently our feelings and emotions, we endanger our organism with stress disorders.
- If we do not pay sufficient attention to our time-commitments and the needs of daily life, we may find our mental life out of phase with our time-schedule.
- If we do not make ourselves aware of the eternal principles that rule the universe, we may foolishly strive to accomplish things that are by nature illogical and impossible.
- If we do not use the initiative which is the essence of our free will, we shall fall under the laws that govern all inertic things, and finally we shall lose our faith in our own freedom.
Once faith in our free will is lost,
We tend to fall under the dominion of the stimuli that strike upon organism;
We tend to become slaves to the things that surround us;
We tend to become negative, depressed, unable to respond adequately to the challenges of our situation.
We have repeated the conditions of our original fall.
As long as we have a whole belief in our capacity to act freely by the power of our will, we retain our positivity towards our life in the world, and we do not fall under the dominion of the outer world’s things.
But as soon as we lose our faith in our power of free will we are reduced to the level of all subhuman things.
By study of the principles of spiritual ecology, we become able to embody these principles in our own selves, and to balance the various forces that constitute our being. In our study we can do this most effectively by reminding ourselves that the five levels are all expressions of the sixth, which is pure consciousness itself. To become conscious of what constitutes us is to have taken a decisive step towards the regaining of our lost freedom.
When we speak of “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ” we are referring to his freedom, his capacity for absolute self-determination, a capacity resulting from his total self-knowledge. “He knew what was in man”, means that he knew himself thoroughly, and, in knowing himself, knew all men. Only by such whole self-knowledge could He be “all things to all men”.
Wholeness of Being
Spiritual ecology we have seen to be the balancing of all the distinguishable functions of our being. It is this balancing that confers on us what is called “holiness”. Holiness is whole-ness, the bringing together in harmonious interrelation of the whole of our being. It is the purpose of the Bible to tell us how to regain our wholeness.
Today, world-wide unrest demonstrates to us the unwholeness of the human race. Everywhere there is conflict, between nations, political parties, social groups, families and the different parts of individuals. Yes, even the parts of an individual contest with each other, the head warring with the heart, these with the appetival nature in the lower abdomen. As long as the battle continues within us, we must see the truth of the observation that “there is no health in us”. Health is wholeness, harmonious interplay of all parts of our being.