Look upward! It's been a rough week for news: the surging Pandemic, vaccine and mask refusal, the devastating Dixie fire, the U.N. Climate report and international upheavals. I sought my own freedom from the collective burden by heading outside. While on an evening walk, I turned onto a neighborhood street with pines at least 4 stories high. Despite the recent heat, they were thriving. Most bore newly sprouted short branches up and around the lower trunks. The short new growth sprouted vibrant green needles, making the trees resemble gigantic bottle brushes. In a flash, I saw the unrelenting and reassuring resilience of nature. But my eyes only briefly hovered there; instead, the magnetic view pulled my vision upward. It was a moment of gratitude and peace for such beauty and power in these times of human struggle. I felt awe.
The ancient idea of God (or gods) above in Heaven and humanity below on Earth, remains a deeply rooted spiritual image despite our knowledge of a round globe, suspended in infinite space, spanning all directions. The image has it's usefulness, reminding humanity of what we do not yet know and more importantly, what we do not control. We understand the meaning of pointing upward to the spiritual level, or letting our eyes gaze upward in prayer, just as we may bow or lower our heads in times of reverence. The western Bible has many references to this upward turning and Jesus, despite his Oneness with God, would publicly pray with eyes turned upward (e.g. John 17:1, 11:41). Physically, the upward gaze can sometimes signal a medical condition, but spiritually, it is part of the human psyche--even if momentary--allowing our humanhood to acknowledge our dependency and faith in something greater than the solitary self. Even when we have assimilated the realization that the Allness of God or Transcendent Good is indeed an inner reality--the actual essence of the self--our upward gaze has its purpose.
In 2015 a research article: "Awe, the Small Self, and Prosocial Behavior" by Paul K. Piff , et. al. was published online by the American Psychological Association. The article describes 5 psychological experiments providing the first experimental evidence that awe creates a diminished sense of individual self and self concern and increases prosocial behavior. One of those experiments measured the effect of awe, generated as the participants stood gazing upward for 1 minute in a grove of towering trees. Unlike the control group which looked up at a building, the tree group reported both an increase in their own ethical behavior and a decrease in their sense of individual entitlement. The underlying dynamic suggests the towering impact of nature shrinks our inflated sense of self importance, pointing us to a broader social context and our place within our community. This shift includes taking action to help others in ways that benefit society as a whole. While further research on awe is now being done that tracks awe in other natural environments beyond "looking upward" (and even through video and virtual reality experiments), my point today brings us back to the immensity of nature, to those living trees.
Sunday is a time for spiritual renewal, which is also your part in the renewal of collective consciousness. We need to nourish our inner life and paradoxically we can find that nourishment outside. Begin with a tree. Look upward. (Susan Nettleton)
For a link to the cited research, click here then scroll to 'Articles and External' links: https://hillsidesource.com/philosophers
For poetic inspiration, follow the link: https://thewellnessalmanac.com/.../when-i-am-among-the...