Please find further resources on Environment & Nature within this section of the site.
Being Part of Nature – the Spiritual Beliefs of King Arthur Pendragon of Stonehenge
King Arthur is a Druid and spends a lot of time at Stonehenge in Somerset. To him, spiritual beliefs are a natural way of life. He lives as a part of nature as opposed to being ‘apart’ from nature and believes that we are all part of the cosmos and all have our part to play. It is a matter of being 'in tune' with that which is infinite, the very earth we live on and the universe that surrounds us.
He also believes that we all have the need to feel a part of something, and find our place within the greater system. He says: ‘All of a sudden when I was least expecting it, I realised that actually I had a place in the greater scheme of things. It came as a flash of inspiration. I realised that I was not alone on the path and also that maybe I had been here before and would come back again’.
Matthew Fox speaking in the film ‘Earth Spirit Action’ on UTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6jCpChUxOw ‘Unless we can have a kind of a spiritual revolution, then those changes that we put in place at the institutional level will not be binding. We need a total revolution, a complete revolution that's both inner and outer. If we don't deal with the inner shadow basically, then we're going to project it out into the world and so we need to do our own psychological work of transforming ourselves to recognize and befriend our own shadow side so that we're not continually reflecting it and needing it to manifest in somebody else who we want to see as the enemy. If there's a war inside going on, then we're going to see a war outside.
Ruth Rosenhek http://www.rainforestinfo.org.au/deep-eco/rosenhek.htm: ‘I too have a mystical faith in Nature. Not only is nature a miracle maker, nature also has the capacity to stun us out of our short-sighted, self-serving ways and open us up to the larger collective - the Earth community, which we are a part of. A miracle might well be needed to save the preciousness of the Cenezoic era but I wouldn't put it past Mother Nature to pull off such a feat. Every day babies are born, life evolves in daring and creative ways, who knows. Perhaps as the poet Rilke says:
‘If we surrendered
to earth's intelligence
we could rise up rooted, like trees.’’
Bernadette Valley, Save The World Club , Kingston, London: ‘I believe children have a right to be in their communities and play on the streets safely. When people walk in the streets they see what is going on, they connect with their environment, the earth, and with their community….after more than 500 square metres of our mosaic have covered the worst eyesores of our town and 10,000 people have taken part we can be proud of our environment. The biggest bonus is not the amazing artwork, (which has won awards) but the connection that ordinary citizens have to their town, their environment. It has made them feel proud, confident and connected.’