Our Real Environment

We are faced almost on a daily basis with big environmental issues, they seem relentless. Global warming and climate change, violent weather and poor human practices are reported to be impacting both the natural world as well as the economy, even our own finances are being effected. It’s obvious that solutions are needed and needed quickly! Einstein said that, “you can’t solve a problem from the level of consciousness that created it”. Viewing environmental issues from a different point of view, a more spiritual one, can provide hope and healing solutions.

A friend of mine once looked at a natural problem from a different level, from a more spiritual view point, and found that it brought practical healing solutions. During a long period of drought, an acquaintance had rung very afraid as a bush fire was bearing down on her property. No surface water was left, the paddocks were parched and the fire had been steadily moving towards her for days and now it was only a kilometer away. 

As no material help was available, the friend wondered how she could help and realized that she had to look for spiritual solutions. So she took a more spiritual view of things. Instead of looking at the material scene she looked at the spiritual landscape. She saw that God filled those paddocks. The Bible describes God as Love and as being wholly good. Goodness and Love are spiritual, non-material, and so cannot burn. Seeing the paddocks filled with spiritual substance, not material, she suddenly saw that there was nothing for the fire to burn. And within half an hour she received a call to say that the wind had suddenly reversed and the fire had turned on itself, and having no fuel, it burned itself out and was now completely extinguished.

On many levels we are making attempts to be ‘greener and cleaner’, which is a vital step. However, thinking about the challenges that face us and the world need not be arduous nor distressing. For every problem there is a perfect solution and these challenges only present an opportunity for us to shift our focus from the apparent problems at hand - the material view of life, where things are limited, destructible, imbalanced and beyond our control, to a spiritual view of life and environment where all is harmonious, indestructible and entirely good.

An online dictionary defines the word environment as “the totality of surrounding conditions; the area in which something lives”. Where do we live? In the Bible, Paul states in Romans, “that in Him we live, and move, and have our being” (Act 17:28), he also says that to be “spiritually minded is life and peace” (Romans 8:6).  He makes a clear distinction between being carnally minded [materially minded] and spiritually minded.

Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven is “within us”; is within our thinking; it is a spiritualized state of consciousness. Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science describes this heavenly state of consciousness as “the reign of harmony” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures pg 590:1). The Bible tells us that God is “all in all” (Eph 1:23). God is therefore the only real power, Love, Principle, Mind, intelligence, substance, Truth, Spirit there is. The kingdom of heaven must then be the ‘totality’ of these conditions; must be the total consciousness of all goodness, perfection, supply, balance etc. This must be our environment.

Can we now start to envisage our environment to be so much more than merely material (carnal)? Can we now start to see that our true environment is a divine state of consciousness?

If God is all Mind, and there is no other consciousness, what is this perfect Mind conscious of? What consciousness can we have then as His creation, His reflection? Can we ever be conscious of anything else, can we ever be out of His environment? I suppose it’s easier said than done, but, if we understood that right at this very moment, that we are spiritual and an integral part of God’s perfectly harmonious spiritual creation, never separated from Him, not even able to think anything He cannot think then where can all the problems exist? The solution then to all our problems is seeing the earth and our environment as spiritual. In God’s environment there is balance, harmony and regeneration because God is always in control, lovingly supporting and maintaining His creation. Because God is spiritual and eternal then His creation must reflect this, our environment must eternal, unending, never dying – extinction cannot logically occur there. Since God is good and loving he cares for His creation, for us and our environment and gives us the ideas we need to take better care of it. The totality of God’s environment must be all bliss, perfection, unity, beauty, principle, soul, love, agility, diversity, eternality, continuation and progression. Therefore turning to our loving Father-Mother God is all the help we need and the right ideas which will sustain good environmental practices will become conscious to us. Truly seeing that our environment is spiritual and related to our thinking and choosing spirituality over materiality will bring us into the kingdom of heaven, the reign of all harmony. Material thinking pollutes, spiritual thinking elevates and regenerates. In times like these this hymn (Hymn 145, Christian Science Hymnal) seems to say it better than I can:

“In atmosphere of Love divine,

We live, and move, and breathe;

Though mortal eyes may see it not,

‘Tis sense that would deceive.

The mortal sense we must destroy,

If we would bring to light

The wonders of eternal Mind,

Where sense is lost in sight.

For God immortal Principle,

Is with us everywhere;

He holds us perfect in His love,

And we His image bear.