'She misses you. She misses the way you used to think about her, and she wants that to return." These were the words of Tiokasin Ghosthorse, an Indigenous activist and advocate of the Cheyenne River Lakota Nation of South Dakota, who spoke at the "Inner Dimensions of Climate Change" conference in Bangkok last month.
Ghosthorse was not talking about a jilted ex-lover or girlfriend, but about Mother Earth. His words were an unsettling reminder that as we play on our phones, drink through our plastic straws, and bask in the temporary cool relief of air conditioning, we neglect and abuse the very being that gave us these luxuries in the first place -- mother nature. We have forgotten her, explained Ghosthorse, and we must make peace with her, by first looking within ourselves.
This was one of the many takeaways from the conference, which saw over 30 young emerging leaders in the environmental field come together to explore how climate change and ecological destruction can be viewed through a spiritual lens. Under the guidance of elders and mentors from the Buddhist, Hindu/Yogi and Indigenous spiritual traditions, the delegates, hailing from around the world and aged between 22-35, participated in discussions to share best practices in climate mitigation in the Asia-Pacific region and ways to tackle climate change through inner transformation.
Now in its fourth year, the five-day programme was jointly organised by Dharma Drum Mountain Buddhist Association (DDMBA), an organisation engaged in interfaith and environmental advocacy; the Global Peace Initiative for Women (GPIW), an international non-profit organisation addressing critical global issues; Sathira-Dhammasathan Center in Bangkok (under the direction of the Ven Mae Chee Sansanee Sthirasuta), and the Earth Charter Centre for Education for Sustainable Development.
The conference raised no doubts about the potentially devastating effects of climate change, with statistics from the 2015 World Bank Report suggesting that the climate crisis could push 100 million people into poverty by 2030.
"It's as if the whole cycle of human civilisation has put itself on a train without looking at where it's going, and driving itself towards complete collapse," said Sraddhalu Ranade, scientist and scholar, from Sri Aurobindo Ashram, India.
For Ranade, one of society's biggest issues is that climate change is viewed as an external problem -- separate from one's personal existence -- and thus has been treated as such when conceiving possible solutions.
"The solution so far attempted has been patchwork corrections by external laws, structural changes, systemic reorganisations, changes in content of curriculum and so on. None of these have helped; they've only worsened the problems by creating more divisions, more conflicts," said Ranade.
Dr Stefanos Fotiou, director of environment and development at Unescap. Warinkorn Plumejit
In today's world of consumerism and materialism, many tend to treat Earth's resources as an unlimited commodity for human use. The Asia-Pacific region in particular, said Stefanos Fotiou, director of environment and development at Unescap, is consuming too many resources for the wealth it is generating.
"Overusing the planet is not an option because the planet is limited," said Fotiou. "We made the assumption that the planet is indefinite -- that we can use it as much as we want. We make the assumption that as humans, we are a higher species in relation to other animals and other species or the flora and fauna. We make the assumption that economic growth is all we need to be happy. And all of these assumptions are wrong."
Rather than thinking on an individual level, from which one might not be able to directly see or feel the environmental impacts of one's actions, the conference emphasised shifting one's mindset to recognise climate change (and other social issues) as something that affects everyone and everything.
"The thing we have to change is the lack of understanding of the true meaning of interconnection and interdependence of all," said Dena Merriam, founder and convener of the GPIW. "The problems we face all impact one another and cannot be dealt with piecemeal. They all come from a similar pattern of wrong thinking, and to address one, we must address all. Climate change and ecological destruction are one and the same. Poverty, conflict, gender disparity, economic disparity, racial and ethnic bias -- they all come from the same distorted thinking."
Fotiou highlighted this interconnectedness by explaining that women in the Asia-Pacific region are one of the most vulnerable groups to be impacted by climate change. Due to culture, lack of education and traditional family roles, many women lack the knowledge to better prepare and respond to environmental disasters.
Narrow, short-term and self-centred thinking is another ongoing problem preventing societies from effectively combating climate change.
Tiokasin Ghosthorse playing the traditional flute. Warinkorn Plumejit
"Today, the attention span of humanity is the next quarterly report that governs the financial world, the next election cycle that governs the political world. And this way of thinking is disastrous," said Merriam.
Instead, Ranade suggested that by taking a step back into a more unified and reflective consciousness, society can realise that this sense of time and personal individual existence is misguided. Rather, longer-term, sustainable thinking is the way forward.
"In the most ancient cultures, both in India and here in Thailand, and the native traditions in the Americas, we used to think in terms of seven generations," said Ranade. "We still have festivals where we offer thanks to our ancestors going back seven generations, and we are taught that with every action we make here and now, we should think of its consequences for the next seven generations."
Although addressing climate change through an inner-dimensional approach is quite unusual, Saudamini Bagai, one of the delegates representing Thailand at the conference, said it helped her realise how it places individuals in a better position to tackle environmental issues.
"When you start thinking that every action you take is connected to something else, when you start thinking that your own self is part of this larger picture and you're part of a larger network, a larger system, then you start to feel more conscious about the impact of your own actions," said Bagai, who currently works for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
"This may not be the thing that solves climate change, and it's hard to also say that individual action is the only thing -- you need a lot of policy change, you need a lot of structural change, you need to work with corporations who operate on a completely different playing field. But it's about looking again at the things that we think are important and I think that starts within."
For a country like Thailand, the challenge moving forward will be balancing its development with environmental sustainability. According to Bagai, it is difficult to ask smaller countries still on the path of development to stop producing and consuming, when developed countries are reaping the benefits of their industrial revolutions. But for Bagai, the solution is to transition to a renewable-energy-based economy, which will still allow for successful development but with less environmental impact.
Delegates, mentors and volunteers from the International Spiritual Volunteer Club. Warinkorn Plumejit
