The Blue Star Environmental
Philosophy
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Blue Star supports living in harmony with Nature through understanding
and increasing awareness regarding the interconnection of
all life. All life is viewed as an expression of the Supreme
Consciousness of which we are all a part. We should support
and sustain Nature, just as Nature supports and sustains us
(the human community). Since the practices that promote clean
earth, air, and water also promote our health; they are encouraged
at all levels, from individual to community to national to
global. Education, experience, and practical management tools
are the keys to developing an awareness of Nature in a developing
world.
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Living in Harmony...
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Tropical Rainforest in Trinidad’s Northern Range
mountains |
We need
to understand there is a web of life, in which ecological
systems are finely balanced and removal of one species
can affect the well-being of the whole. |
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Squirrel Snake at Claxton Bay’s Blue Star
Centre
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“Our relationship with Nature
is important in the context of creating a world of harmony
and coexistence...Being in a community is not just living
with human beings. True natural communities include relationships
with all living (and non-living) things.”
- Sri Vasudeva
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Beauty in an insect |
Relating to the world in a harmonious
way we can see we are one with Nature. We can understand
the intimate relationship between plants and animals
and the ways they sustain each other (and us). As
the most intelligent species on the planet, we are
a caretaker and need to look after the environment.
We should understand how to relate, to communicate
(i.e., whether it is at the cellular level of our
own bodies or the level of other species). We need
to know how to see the environment in a way of giving
and receiving. The very act of breathing is an example
of this beautiful and intimate connection: the plants
of the world give us the oxygen we need to breathe
just as we give them the carbon dioxide they need
to sustain life. We can look at Nature as a partner
in life, with every aspect a gift to be shared. With
this outlook, we will attain the most beautiful of
relationships with our environment.
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We are One...
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Blue Star Youth Camp hikes through the Rainforest
of Maracas Mountain |
Although human beings have become
more and more disconnected with Nature, it is important
to understand that there is really no separation between
the two. Everything in the Universe is interconnected.
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Fern leaves |
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There is a biological oneness that connects us all. There
are similarities between us and all other life forms from
the cellular level to the community level. We have only to
open our hearts and minds to see that there is intelligence
in the function of a single cell or of a solar system. In
raising one’s awareness of this interconnection, the
intelligence of the Universe and all its components can begin
to be recognized. We can see there is a Supreme Consciousness
and that Consciousness pervades everything and everyone.
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Sri Vasudeva states, “All
of life is Consciousness. Whether plant or animal, everything
is Consciousness in expression. The world is full of intelligence
and sensitivity. Even the planet has its own intelligence.”
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Self-Transformation
through Nature…
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Fruit-eating bats leave their cave for the night in the
mountains of Trinidad’s Central Range.
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“Relationships with the plant
and animal world can help us move into a more spiritual domain...
We can experience spiritual transformation through connecting
with nature. Once you understand
your connectedness with all of nature, life will never be
the same. Your appreciation will be so much more and you will
naturally learn to live in harmony with the biological world
around you.
When we understand the role of all living things in nature,
fear of certain species will disappear in the understanding
of their greater purpose in the scheme of life. All of creation
is working with purpose contributing to the general well being
of the whole.”
- Sri Vasudeva
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Black Vulture (Corbeau) |
With this view, we
can use the living Universe as a way of Self-Transformation,
connecting with spirituality to every component and
as a whole. We can experience a heightened awareness
of Nature which will transform our view of ourselves
and the world around us. Looking at a colony of bees
or ants can give us insight into the selfless working
of a natural community. The roles of bats as pollinators
and for seed dispersal, of spiders and snakes for insect
and rodent control can give us an understanding and
appreciation that transcends fear. In turn, transcending
fear lifts us to a new space for appreciation of ourselves
and Nature. |
Tarantula in hand |
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