4. For the Welfare of the Earth and All Living Beings

PREPARATION

Objectives of this Module:

To understand the nature of pollution and climate change and how they impact people.
To realize the power of maximum utilization and rational distribution.
To understand the power of consciousness-raising groups and to learn how to form one of them.

Check Your Understanding:

At the end of this module, you should be able to explain the following concepts:

Why can global capitalism be compared with a cancer?
How does air pollution affect us?
Why is the maximum utilization of the planet’s resources important?
Why are effectiveness, efficacy, and efficiency needed for maximum utilization?
Why is rational distribution also important?
According to Prout, what are the three priorities for deciding rational distribution?
Are individual interests or collective interests more important?
What are the physical, metaphysical, and spiritual potentialities of a person and society?
Why and in what way should scientific research and development be redirected?
What is a consciousness-raising group, and what are its three rules?

CIRCLE-TIME

Excitement Sharing:

“What is something good that has happened in your life since we last met? Or would anyone like to read from your journal or share your recent activities?”

The Social Reality: Pollution and Climate Change

Global capitalism has become a cancer, out of control and lethal to the world in which it lives. It is unsustainable, because it strives for ever-bigger markets, increasing consumption and production on a finite planet. The drive for profits results in corporations using their influence, money, and power to get around or limit environmental laws and regulations. Each year industries release into the air about 10 million tons of toxic chemicals, of which two million tons are known carcinogens (Worldometers). This air pollution kills prematurely seven million people worldwide—over 50,000 people per year in the United States, half a million people in India, and 1.2 million people in China (WHO 2014). It is contributing to climate change and destroying our planet’s life support systems.

Ninety-seven percent of climate scientists agree that carbon pollution from burning fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas is driving climate disruption and warming our planet. In fact, the world has already gotten nearly 1°C (1.8°F) warmer since 1900 (The Climate Reality Project 2018).

Warmer temperatures have caused world sea levels to rise nearly 20 cm since 1901, swallowing entire islands and creeping closer to great coastal cities like Miami, Guangzhou, New York, Kolkata, Melbourne, Venice, Tokyo, Dakar, Guayaquil, and Chittagong. Extreme weather events like hurricanes, torrential rain, floods, heat waves, and drought are becoming more frequent and intense.

The Social Reality Discussion Question: Pollution and Climate Change

Our question now is: What are your thoughts on the issues of pollution and climate change? How do they impact you? How do they make you feel?

We will go around the room, and ask everyone to say briefly what your thoughts are on the issues of pollution and climate change, and how they make you feel. Please speak for just one minute each.

[After everyone has spoken, 10-15 minutes] Excuse me, please, but we’re going to stop this discussion now, only because, as usual in this course, we want to focus on the solutions.

Cooperative Game – Namaskar Game:

“This next game involves no movement or touching, but is a very powerful non-judgmental reflection about who we are.

“First, I will teach you a greeting from India. Put your hands together and touch your thumbs to your forehead and then your heart. ‘Namaskar’ is a Sanskrit word which means, ‘I greet the divinity within you with all my mind and all my heart.’ Please repeat after me, ‘Namaskar.’ (Namaste is a variation of this Sanskrit word that is commonly used in Northwest India, and Namaskaram is the South India form.)

“We will do this exercise twice. Sit in pairs facing someone you don’t know very well. One person of each pair has to close his or her eyes for three minutes. The second person will watch. Afterwards we will switch. Decide now who will be the first one to close their eyes.” [Start soft music if you have it.]

“I will now give directions to the one whose eyes are open.

Look at the person in front of you. [pause] Imagine that this person is rather like you. [pause] Imagine that he or she has experienced some disappointments in life like you have. [pause] Imagine that he or she has made some mistakes in life like you have. [pause] Imagine that he or she has been hurt in life, sometimes physically, sometimes emotionally, just as you have. [pause] Imagine that because of these hurts, he or she has some worries and fears like you do. [pause] Imagine that he or she, like you, has also tried to be kind and to help people when possible. [pause] Imagine that he or she has some hopes and dreams like you have. [pause] Imagine that he or she would like to be a better person, just as you would like to be. [pause] Imagine that he or she has physical, mental and spiritual potential like you. [pause] Imagine that this person is profoundly beautiful inside, like you are. [pause] Now everyone, open your eyes, and put your hands together and touch your forehead and then touch your heart and say, ‘Namaskar.’

“Now we will repeat, so those who were watching, now close your eyes and meditate; and those who were meditating, open your eyes.” [repeat instructions]

It is better to read the instructions, so that both groups hear the very same words. After you have read the instructions twice, ask everyone to share with their partner for a couple of minutes what they experienced in this game. Then ask everyone to come into a circle.

You can explain that we are used to judging people a lot, even without knowing them (“he is bad,” “she is good”), and that this exercise is designed to help us see another person without judgment, and to realize that everyone has good and bad within them, and the same physical, mental and spiritual potential we do. Prison inmates who do this are sometimes moved to tears. When we do this, we can overcome other emotions and feel forgiveness and compassion for the other person, as well as for ourselves, and finally unconditional love.

Did this game give you a feeling of compassion, and do you think it can awaken feelings of compassion in others? (15 minutes)

Prout’s Vision: Maximum Utilization and Rational Distribution

2-5 of the Fundamental Principles of Prout

“There should be maximum utilization and rational distribution of all mundane, supramundane, and spiritual potentialities of the universe” (Sarkar 1992).

A unique aspect of the Prout model is that it recognizes the physical, psychic, and spiritual qualities of human beings as well as those aspects of natural resources.

Maximum utilization is to make the best use of the planet’s resources, with maximum economic and mechanical efficiency while protecting the natural environment. Everyone can enjoy a high quality of life if we use our resources wisely. As the American scientist and visionary Buckminster Fuller, said, “We have enough technological know-how at our disposal to give everyone a decent life, and release humanity to do what it is supposed to be doing—that is, using our minds, accomplishing extraordinary things, not just coping with survival” (Fuller and Dil 1983, 212).

Extreme wealth concentration causes decay and poor use of the earth’s resources and human-made material resources. Corporate capitalism focuses on quarterly profits, ignoring externalities and using up non-renewable resources. When an elite few own vast land holdings, they often leave them sitting idle, or they grow cash crops for export. Poor rural farmers are thus forced onto marginal land, which they clear and cultivate for bare subsistence with dire effects on the planet.

Supramundane potentialities are properties which cannot be perceived by the sense organs, but which include subtle knowledge and powers, such as ideas, concepts, scientific theories, aesthetic creations, intuition, etc. Spiritual potentialities refer to spiritual philosophy and practices, and the subtle force of the universe, which draws people toward self-realization.

Maximum utilization has three parts: first, effectiveness, or utilizing the resource in a way that it meets people’s real needs; second, efficacy, or getting things done in a timely manner; and third, efficiency, or doing things economically, reducing waste, and achieving more with less.

Research and development are key to finding more effective and efficient use of resources, minimizing the harmful effects of production, and finding alternative ways to harness renewable energy sources.

Rational distribution is crucial, because without it, the world will continue to have huge stockpiles of food while people die of starvation. The three priorities of Prout for rational distribution are to guarantee the basic necessities to everyone, to take care of the special needs of some people (those with disabilities, for example), and to provide incentives for those who make greater contributions to society.

“There should be maximum utilization of the physical, metaphysical, and spiritual potentialities of the unit and collective bodies of the human society.”

This principle concerns the utilization of all human resources, stressing the value of both individual and collective well-being. Healthy individuals create a healthy society, just as a healthy society fosters the development of healthy individuals. According to Prout, there is no inevitable conflict between personal and collective interests. Rather, their true interests are shared.

The results of extreme individualism can be seen in the breakdown of the family and the selfish “me-first” attitude which is sadly all too common in the Western world. A materialistic consumer society pressures people to increase their own pleasures and comforts, while staying indifferent to the needs of others.

This principle, however, does not direct us to bury our individual nature for the good of the collective. Society needs to respect human differences, and to allow people the freedom to think for themselves, to express their creativity, and to form diverse relationships. An important aim of Prout is to encourage individuals to realize their full potential and achieve their dreams and goals. Communism amply demonstrated the danger of excessive collectivism. Most communist governments have been vastly inefficient, and made life joyless, dull, and mechanical for their citizens.

A continual process of education and consciousness-raising is required to help people realize that true happiness comes from overcoming selfishness and doing good for others. We need to balance our individual and collective interests.

Metaphysical or intellectual resources are wasted when people lack education, or are denied opportunities to develop their talents and contribute their ideas because of racial or sexual discrimination or economic exploitation. How exciting it will be when the creativity of human beings is encouraged and channeled towards improving our world, instead of being wasted or misdirected by advertising that tries to convince us to buy what we don’t need.

Spiritual human potential allows us to develop peace, harmony, wisdom, wholeness, and lasting happiness. This is rare in materialistic societies. Yet throughout history, mystics of all cultures have dedicated their lives to practicing spiritual techniques to realize this inner treasure and share it with others.

This principle aims at giving everyone and every group the chance to develop their full potential. This requires learning and training opportunities, meaningful work, and a culture that is accepting of everyone and which encourages creativity and initiative. These standards will continually rise as social justice improves.

“There should be a proper adjustment among these physical, metaphysical, mundane, supramundane, and spiritual utilizations.”

This principle concerns how to make the real-life decisions in choosing how to use each resource. The desire for short-term profits must be balanced with the long-term needs of future generations and the planet. Material needs must be considered along with cultural and spiritual needs.

The traditional economic principle of comparative advantage states that each country should do what it is best at. Sadly, this principle has sometimes been used to argue that Central America is best at producing bananas for North Americans, and that the United States is best at producing everything else! Food First has revealed that every country in the world today has the agricultural potential to feed its entire population (Lappé and Collins 2015). Prout asserts that regional self-sufficiency is the most effective means to increase the living standard of all people. Hence Prout requires that the farmland of every region should first produce food for its people, and only after that requirement is met, should surplus products be exported.

The central issue here is one of holistic development of both the human being and society. For example, in China during the Cultural Revolution and in Cambodia after the Khmer Rouge took over, all doctors, nurses, and other university graduates were forced to the countryside to do farm work on communes. This both greatly harmed the society and underutilized their valuable skills. It is true that all who are engaged in honest work have dignity and deserve society’s respect. However, those with developed intellectual skills should not be employed only for manual labor.

Individuals who have developed spiritually, who embody deep wisdom and compassion, are still rarer. They should be allowed to spend the majority of their time sharing their teachings with others.

Prioritizing the rarer and more valuable qualities also pertains to physical resources. A wilderness area with especially inspiring scenic beauty should be preserved as a natural park instead of being mined for iron ore. The burning of fossil fuels is destroying our climate and our environment. To re-establish pramá—dynamic balance—every effort should be made to develop and utilize alternative energy sources such as sunlight, wind, tides, wave power, magnetism, and geo-thermal.

“The methods of utilization should vary in accordance with the changes in time, space, and person, and the utilization should be of a progressive nature.”

This principle acknowledges that change is constant. There are many types of change: natural, seasonal, gradual, sudden, disasters, human-made, technological, etc. Change requires that we adapt, often overcoming resistance, fear, traditions, dogmas, and sometimes the government itself.

The Prout model is not set in stone—rather it is a complete set of dynamic principles to be applied, considering the many special conditions of the location and culture.

Technology has the capacity to both create and destroy. Today, institutions and individuals with great wealth control the direction of scientific research, and use that power for their own interests. Capitalists often use technology to decrease labor costs and to control workers.

The challenge for a Proutist society is to direct research and development for the long-term welfare of humanity and the planet. We welcome new technology when it frees human minds and hands for higher pursuits. Every effort should be made to assess technology’s impact and to minimize its negative results.

Prout’s Vision Discussion Questions:

Have you ever felt a personal sense of loss about the disappearance of a natural area, animals, or plants? If so, describe what happened and how you felt.

Worldwide 100 million people live within a meter (three feet) of sea level. Sea level rise associated with climate change could displace all of them. How will we resettle climate refugees?

Do you agree that Planet Earth and her wealth of resources are the common inheritance of all living beings? Why or why not?

Does consumerism bother you? Why or why not?

“Healthy individuals contribute to a healthy society, and a healthy society fosters the development of healthy individuals.” Do you agree with this statement, and that individual interests and collective interests do not have to be in conflict?

Activist Tools: Consciousness-Raising Groups

In the United States in 1968, the Women’s Liberation Movement began to form consciousness-raising (CR) groups. Similar groups were used in the Chinese Revolution and in the United States Civil Rights Movement. Building on these traditions, Women’s Liberation Movement leaders, some of whom themselves organized in the Civil Rights Movement, began holding feminist CR sessions (National Women’s Liberation). Small groups of women, usually less than 15, met weekly, sat in a circle, and shared their personal experiences. By relating openly and honestly with one another in these sessions, women became aware that they were not alone.

Participants heard that many other women shared their experiences of discrimination in the workplace, including high paying jobs being closed to them, wage inequality with men in the same job, discrimination in hiring due to employers’ concern that women would lose work due to pregnancy or due to being the primary caretaker of children, and to sexual harassment on the job. Many women felt that they were confined to cooking, cleaning, and taking care of children even if they worked outside the home, having to become “Super Moms.” Members of these support groups also found they were not alone when they shared stories of rape, sexual abuse, and domestic violence. They began to realize that all these problems were not their own fault, but instead, were the result of institutionalized sexism, that “the personal was political.”

Hundreds of thousands of women took part in consciousness-raising groups. Participants gained self-confidence, felt less isolated, and expressed righteous anger at oppressive situations. Then, after ten years, the groups declined, partly because some workplaces had started to open up, resulting in more women taking charge of their lives.

A much smaller variation of men meeting together began in the same decade to explore how traditional gender roles were harmful to women and also to men. The men tried to connect to their feelings as they deconstructed male identity and masculinity and supported feminism.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender activists also formed consciousness-raising groups to empower members to “come out of the closet,” as they viewed self-disclosure as a means of self-emancipation, as well as a way to raise awareness in the wider society of their need for equal rights. They shifted public opinion so dramatically that by 2018, same-sex marriage is legally recognized (nationwide or in some parts) in 25 developed countries (Perper 2017).

The environmental and climate change movement also uses consciousness-raising to raise awareness.

When Donald Trump was elected president of the United States, there was a huge reaction against his lewd remarks about women. The day after his inauguration, on January 21, 2017, the Women’s March was a grassroots worldwide protest that drew half a million people in Washington, DC, with worldwide participation estimated at five million, the majority of them women (Chira 2018). Afterwards, consciousness-raising groups called “huddles” were formed across the United States (Next Step Huddle Guide 2017). Women, and some men, recounted their political awakenings, their fears about being outnumbered in conservative areas, and their ideas about how to move forward.

Nowadays, many people, both women and men, young and old, feel isolated, politically powerless, and unfulfilled. Consciousness-raising groups can be a powerful tool to raise awareness and empower participants.

There are usually three rules: First, the main purpose is to share feelings openly and honestly. Second, no judging, fixing, giving advice, or moralizing is allowed. Third, what is said in the group must be kept confidential to build group trust.

The following list is adapted from the Chicago Women’s Liberation Union Herstory Project’s “How to Start Your Own Consciousness Raising Group.”

Decide your focus. The environment? If you are going to talk about gender issues, will you invite only women, only men, or both? Be aware that many people feel safer and more open when they are with only their gender.
Find a location. Maybe your home, a library community room, or your office will work.
Decide on a weekly time and day to meet.
Advertise. You can start a Meetup Group, Facebook group, a website, or create ads in publications. Flyers can be effective, too. Word of mouth is often the best way to advertise.
Decide how many you want in your group. Usually 6-12 is ideal so that everyone has a chance to share in every meeting. If you get more than 12, start a waiting list, because not everyone who joins will stick with it. Or form a second group.
Convene your group. Introduce yourselves and ask everyone what their needs are. Explain the three rules listed above. Set your goals for the group.

Whatever your consciousness-raising group is focused on, in this age of technology and alienation, getting away from our screens and spending time to listen and share in a supportive group will raise awareness and make new friends. The personal is political.

Activist Tool Exercise: Nature’s Beauty, Loss, and Return

Let’s do an exercise. Close your eyes for a few minutes and think about nature. Remember some happy times you’ve had in different places in nature. [pause] Remember some favorite places in nature that you experienced in your childhood and later in your adult life. [pause] Remember wild animals, fish, and birds you’ve encountered. [pause] Remember how good the natural world has made you feel at different times in your life. [pause] Now open your eyes. Would anyone like to briefly share some of your happy memories in nature? [Let participants share their feelings.]

It is said that we can’t heal until we grieve. Please close your eyes again for a few minutes. Remember some natural places you’ve known that have been lost or polluted or damaged. [pause] Remember the ugly sights and smells of dead animals, trees, water and earth. [pause] Remember some tragic scenes you’ve seen or heard about. [pause] Become aware of how that environmental destruction makes you feel. [pause] Now open your eyes. Would anyone like to briefly share some of your grieving memories of nature? Please focus on your feelings. [Let participants share their feelings.]

Now place your hands on that part of your body where you feel the loss. Close your eyes for a moment and be aware of what you’re feeling. [pause]

Now make a sound that expresses how you’re feeling. [pause while everyone simultaneously makes sounds]

Now take a deep breath in and, as you breathe out, make the sound of a sigh. Let’s do it again two more times together.

Close your eyes again. Imagine the energies of the earth and sky, all beings, all animals, all plants, with which we are connected. [pause] Imagine that beautiful energy of the universe grow and feel that energy surround you. [pause] Feel it wash away your grieving, like a cleansing bath. [pause] Imagine a beautiful light surrounding all of us so that we are collectively held. [pause] With your eyes still closed, imagine that it is fifty years from now. There is no more war or hunger or poverty. It is a world of peace and harmony with nature. We have stopped polluting the air and sea and land. A lot of reforestation has been done; the rivers are flowing clean again. Most of the endangered wildlife species have multiplied and are safe now. [pause]

Call out what that world looks like to you. [Let participants call out what they imagine.]

Open your eyes. Place your hands on that part of your body that is feeling this new world. What does that world feel like in your body? [Let participants express what it feels like to them.]

Imagine that hope and that vision is touching everyone. That beautiful vision means that people cannot help but get involved, infused with that possibility. Hundreds and thousands of people around the world are joining together with values of caring for one another and caring for the planet. How does that feel? [Let participants express what it feels like to them.]

Take a deep breath. Would you like to share how you felt about this consciousness-raising exercise? [Let participants express what it felt like to them.]

Joanna Macy has created many more and deeper practices to honor and grieve the Earth.

Closure:

The facilitator should remind everyone about further viewings, readings, and activities – Do as many as you can. Ask everyone to read the next module in the manual before the next meeting. Confirm the date, time, and place of the next meeting. Show the following roles for the next module and ask people to volunteer to lead a part.

MODULE 5: ETHICS FOR PERSONAL AND SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION
Facilitator: _______
Timekeeper: _______
Excitement Sharing: _______ (10 min.) 0:00
The Social Reality: Corruption – review and lead discussion question: _______ (15 min.) 0:10
Cooperative Game – Moral Dilemmas: _______ (25 min.) 0:25
Prout’s Vision: Cardinal Human Values, Ten Universal Moral Principles – review and lead discussion questions: _______ (20 min.) 0:50
Activist Tools: One-on-Ones – review: _______ (10 min.) 1:10
Activist Tool Exercise One-on-Ones, Breakout Rooms in Pairs: _______ (25 min.) 1:20
Closure, Feedback, Role Assignments for Next Week: _______ (15 min.) 1:45

Ask participants to write anonymous feedback about the session before they leave. They can use the Feedback Form at the end of Module 1, or write whatever they like.

Activities—Do as many as you can:

Visit an environmental organization and learn about the issues facing your country.

Make a list of choices you can make to help the environment.

Do research about the food that the people of your country consume. How much of it is produced in the country, and how much is imported?

Take a poll of your family and friends. Ask each one whether they feel able to fully express themselves in the work they do. Did they get the education and training they wanted? Do they like their work? Does their job give them the chance to be creative, to realize their full potential, and to achieve their dreams and goals?

Ask around if any consciousness-raising group exists in your community. If it does, ask if you could attend a session.

Start a consciousness-raising group.

FOLLOW-UP

Further viewings:

“Before Consciousness Raising Groups Women Couldn’t Speak Without Being Interrupted by Men.” 2017. 3 minutes.

Katz, Jonathon. 2012. “Violence Against Women: It’s a Men’s Issue.” TEDxFiDiWomen. November 2012. 17 minutes.

Klein, Naomi and Jeremy Corbyn. 2017. “How to Get the World We Want.” The Intercept, July 13, 2017. 18 minutes.

National Geographic. 2017. “Causes and Effects of Climate Change.” August 28, 2017. 3 minutes.

Slat, Boyan. 2017. “How We Will Rid the Oceans of Plastic.” The Ocean Cleanup. May 14, 2017. 30 minutes.

Uygur, Cenk and John Iadarola. 2017. “The Young Turks Explain How to Solve the Climate Crisis.” 2017. 8 minutes.

References:

The Chicago Women’s Liberation Union Herstory Project. 1971.“How to Start Your Own Consciousness Raising Group.”

Chira, Susan. “The Women’s March Became a Movement. What’s Next?” New York Times. January 20, 2018.

The Climate Reality Project. 2018. “Climate Crisis 101.”

Fuller, R. Buckminster and Anwar S. Dil. 1983. Humans in Universe. New York: Mouton, p. 212.

Kravetz, D. 1978. “Consciousness-Raising Groups in the 1970s.” Psychology of Women Quarterly, 3(2), 168–186.

Lappé, Frances Moore and Joseph Collins. 2015. “World Hunger: 12 Myths.” August 12, 2015.

Larson, P. 2014. “Consciousness-Raising Groups.” In: Teo T. (eds.) Encyclopedia of Critical Psychology. New York: Springer.

National Women’s Liberation.

Network of Spiritual Progressives.

“Next Step Huddle Guide.” 2017.

Perper, Rosie. 2017. “The 25 Countries Around the World Where Same-Sex Marriage is Legal.” Business Insider, November 19, 2017.

Scovell, Nell and Sheryl Sandburg. 2013. Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

World Health Organization. 2014. “Seven Million Premature Deaths Annually Linked to Air Pollution.” Geneva: WHO News Release, March 24, 2014.

Worldometers.

Continue to Module 5