Introduction Editorial

Realigning with Earth Wisdom


The wisdom of the Earth belongs to all Life, is all Life, encoded in our DNA. It is the wordless, fathomless reality of being. First, there are the phenomena we encounter with our senses. Rain and the way it smells, birdsong at dawn, the glittering dew, the summer breeze. Everyday gifts offered by the Earth, if we are available to receive them.

Deeper looking reveals the wisdom of living cells and the elegant processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration, essential to all Life. Photosynthesis requires carbon dioxide and releases oxygen, cellular respiration requires oxygen and releases carbon dioxide. The products of one process are the reactants of the other, an elemental pas de deux of breathtaking consequence. Earth further expresses her wisdom in the way all the elements of an ecosystem cooperate and contribute. And in the way the veins in your hand resemble the branches of a tree, a watershed, a leaf.

All sentient beings are expressions of Earth wisdom, and in this edition of Kosmos, you will find the wisdom of the elephant and the hummingbird, indigenous wisdom, the wisdom of the farmer, the mystic, the scientist. Tree wisdom. Ocean wisdom. Glacier wisdom. And so, when we talk about Realigning with Earth Wisdom, we mean coming home to our true nature, as Earth. Because every civilization that ever was, every invention, every idea, every breath, has arisen from one body, our planetary home.

As clever as humans may be, we have repressed much of our innate Earth wisdom. Yet, at last, we are beginning to re-member our place in the story of the Universe. As science reveals what many wisdom traditions have known all along – the reality of our interbeing – we now have the capacity to align our ideas and systems more closely with the rhythms and requirements of the Earth. To do so, as our authors so beautifully explain, will require healing centuries of trauma, alchemizing suffering into love, and applying regenerative principles into our designs and systems. That’s the transformation we need and it begins in our minds.

Our collective consciousness truly shapes our reality. Imagine a room of a hundred people. They are enraged and filled with anger, hatred and greed. What reality will they create? Now, the same room. But each of the hundred people is loving and kind. They share ideas and resources with openness and joy – they embody Earth wisdom. What possibilities might emerge?

We all know the Earth is in danger, yet we act as though our consciousness and actions have nothing to do with that. Yes, it is true – without humans, the Earth would recover in time. And maybe there is solace in knowing that Earth would bring forth new forms, as magnificent as the dinosaurs and the humans in some distant time. But we are a young species, with a duty to explore our full potential and to take care of the Earth body, as our own.

Contributing to this transformation of collective consciousness is the mission of Kosmos. We stand on the side of Life – all Life everywhere. And we are dedicated to deepening our understanding and capacity to witness Earth’s boundless beauty and steward it. We take refuge in the wonders of Mother Earth in order to refresh and strengthen our resolve to confront the very great tasks ahead. Mother Earth is there for us, inside all of us, urging us to live, to be Life.

It is a delight to share the insights of our writers and artists with you. Enjoy Realigning with Earth Wisdom.

In loving service,

R. Fabian

About the Cover

The Watchers: Ancient Ones, is by visual Hermetic philosopher Leigh McCloskey. Visitors from all over the world make the pilgrimage to visit his home, Olandar and tour his masterwork of fixed 3D multidimensionality and symbolical meaning, The Hieroglyph of the Human Soul or THOTHS library.

Leigh McCloskey’s work is presented in two separate galleries in our summer edition, a Kosmos first! Gallery 1 presents work from Olandar andTHOTHS library.

An innate polymath, Leigh engaged in a seventeen-year effort to create Tarot ReVisioned, considered one of the most important contributions to the field in 100 years. Gallery 2 presents a Kosmos ‘reading’ of five archetypes for our time created by Leigh.

About Rhonda Fabian

Rhonda Fabian is Editor of Kosmos Quarterly. She is an ordained member in the Order of Interbeing, an international Buddhist community founded by her teacher, Thích Nhất Hạnh. Rhonda is also a founding partner of Immediacy Learning, an educational media company that has impacted millions of learners worldwide.

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