• Would you like to live as a responsible steward of the Earth
while still maintaining a level of material comfort you feel happy
with?
• Would you like to be surrounded by a cooperative culture that
shares your joys and sorrows, supports you in all areas of life,
and provides day-to-day social intimacy?
• Would you like to be 100% integrated with Spirit in your daily
life?
If you are longing for these things, you are not alone. Many,
many people are plagued by a gnawing sense that things could be
A LOT different. In fact, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that
they must be if we’re going to grow beyond our current ecological
and social crises, into a way of living that’s life-serving all
the way around. But the enormity of what’s required to make this
shift happen can seem overwhelming. Is there anything one person
can do to really make a difference?
We believe there is. In fact, we believe there’s a lot we can
do. But to do it, we must root our lives in a whole different
understanding and intention. What might that look like?
Imagine… You wake up on Monday morning and receive a phone call from an old friend who says,
Now, in your old life you’d have to tell him the following bummer story:
“Gee, I’d love to, but I can’t get off work because I’m the only dentist my patients trust to work on them. Also, my SUV’s in the shop, so we couldn’t get out to the lake. And my daughter has a ballet class this afternoon that I have to pick her up from. So I’m booked all day – again.”
But instead, you’ve designed an entirely different life for yourself. In your new life, your old friend doesn’t live across town – he lives with his wife and two children on the same 80-acre piece of land that you, 30 other adults, and 18 children all co-own. So you say to him:
“Hey, that sounds great! Let me call up the other three people in my cooperative dentistry practice and see if they can cover for me. We have a light day today, so I know one of them will say ‘yes.’ How about if we meet at the meditation hall at 9 a.m., sit for half an hour, and then head over to the community pond? Hey, that’ll really work out great because tonight’s my night to make dinner for the community, and I didn’t know what I was going to fix. I’ll make a big sushi dinner from our catch. How’s that sound?”
“Sounds good to me. Do you want to drive so we can bring the fish back easily?”
“Nah, let’s just each take a wheelbarrow. I don’t even wanna deal with the solar-powered golf cart today. Let’s really rough it!”
“Cool. How late can you stay out? Do you have any responsibilities in the garden or with the kids this afternoon?”
“No. Yesterday was my day teaching the pre-teens about the connection between diet and emotional balance, and Wednesday I’m leading a crew in planting the community’s new corn patch. I’m psyched on that. I love being able to have a garden, with all that fresh organic food, and not need to grow it all by myself. Also, did you know that this year we’re going to plant an extra acre to sell at the farmers market to pay for bringing in a Nonviolent Communication specialist to help us with our co-parenting skills?”
“Yeah, I know. I really pushed for that. It’s been so frustrating for me to have us get into conflicts, only to find out later that we were actually in agreement but had just misunderstood each other. I’m glad you reminded me. I’m going to be there Wednesday to help plant that corn.”
“Great. I guess my only other consideration is that I was going to watch my daughter practice ballet with the other kids this afternoon. They’re getting ready for their big performance for the community next month. But I can watch her tomorrow, so I think she’ll be OK with that. Yeah, this sounds great– let’s go fishing. It’ll be a fun way to spend the day together, plus I just love all the quiet out at the pond. I can really feel Spirit out there. So let’s do it! I’ll make those calls and see you there in 45 minutes.”
“Yahoo! I love this life. I’m so glad we made the change 10 years ago. Imagine where’d we be if we hadn’t?”
“Yup, we’re really fortunate, and even more so today from all the work we’ve put into ourselves, this community, the land, and our spiritual practice.”
“You said it. Love you. See you soon.”
What we’re suggesting in this illustration is that we can live in a way that honors our diverse needs as individual, social, terrestrial, and spiritual beings. The people in this example were doing that. They had the courage to seriously evaluate their lives and re-design them to provide what they truly desired. They wanted to live sustainable, non-polluting, lifestyles; they also wanted physical and emotional health, happy and well-cared-for children, balanced careers, a full spiritual life, a community of people to share it all with, and a land-base to make it real and grounded. In other words, they saw the need for the integration of Spirit, self, community, and Earth. And they were willing to do the necessary work – including personal and relational growth, acquiring the material resources, and developing practical skills – to make it all happen.
Cultivating this kind of holistic understanding, developing sensitivity to one's own need for integrated and sustainable culture, and taking the practical steps to bring it into life – that’s what GaiaYoga is all about. It’s a “yoga” (i.e. a practice of unification) for living holistically and sustainably on the Earth.
There are many different ways to practice GaiaYoga – this is just one example. You don’t have to live in the country, co-parent, meditate, or be a gardener. It also isn’t about losing control of your life to a group. What it is about is addressing our core needs for Spirit, self, community, and Earth in an integrated and intelligent way. How these needs will be met will vary from person to person and from circumstance to circumstance, but the process that leads us to these different choices will be the same. Through GaiaYoga we can transform fragmented, unsustainable ways of living, step-by-step, into holistic ways of being that are balanced, sustainable, and deeply fulfilling. It is possible.
If you would like to find out more, we invite you to read this booklet:
An Introduction to GaiaYoga™: A Holistic Vision for Living Sustainably as Spirit, Self, Community, and Earth, by Ano Tarletz and Mercedes Kirkel.
Send $9 (+ $2 shipping) to Pan Piper Press, RR2 #3334, Pahoa, HI 96778, and we’ll ship ‘em to you.
We also offer GaiaYoga educational programs and are actively creating GaiaYoga Gardens, an educational center and intentional community that we call “home."
Contact us to learn more about GaiaYoga and support it’s sprouting in the world – through classes and workshops, personal consultations, work-trade, exploring our community, or patronage. We’re happy to speak to individuals and groups about this exciting way of life.
