The life of Jesus is a ceaseless prayer that we may all ‘be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.’ (John 17:20) The Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh gives voice to the same eternal wisdom when he says that ‘we are here to awaken from the illusion of our separateness.’ It is this illusion that has created the rampant individualism of contemporary human culture and the conflicts that arise when we see those who are different from us as merely the others. It separates us, as well, from any way of understanding the world other than one with humanity and its desire for material growth and satisfaction at the very centre of everything.

Every day now we are seeing the result of being trapped in the slumber of this toxic illusion. What we have glibly called ‘nature’ or ‘the environment’ – somehow holding it at arm’s length from us – has turned into nothing more than a resource to be exploited by humanity for our own limited and, ultimately, self-defeating purposes. Now the forests are on fire or simply disappearing, the rivers are flooding and the seas rising. Because of the climate catastrophe our soils are depleted, species are vanishing and humanity itself is threatened by famine, conflict and war.

The dominant world-view of our times has moved a long way from the biblical vision, in which humanity is a steward – a gardener – on this planet. With our massive increase of technological power and economic growth we have became exploiters. We have found ourselves disconnected from the power of beauty that is manifested throughout the cosmos and, with heart-breaking intensity, on this fragile planet. 

The situation has become critical. The effects are everywhere and inescapable. But, because humanity has produced the problem, humanity can also solve it. We have the science and resources for a green revolution. But do we have the mind? Do we have the common purpose and sense of interdependence? Above all, do we have a capacity to see the sacred in our ecological relationships? Can we be ‘saved by beauty’? 

WCCM’s activities seek to develop a Unified Consciousness – a description of the way of being that Jesus embodies in his life and shares through his prayer for us to the Father. This is the mind, taught by every wisdom tradition, that sees though all ideas of separateness. Such contemplative consciousness is integral to the saving of our planet. It nurtures in each one of us the capacity to see how economic and social justice, a healthy lifestyle, self-control and the creative use of resources and technology are all inseparable.

Meditation does not solve every one of our problems but it does radically change the way we see them. Most vitally, it opens the eye of the heart so that we can shape our policies with wisdom and ensure that compassion is never lost. Earth’s crisis – the ravaging of its climate, the imbalances in its ecology – is a central concern for the WCCM. We are committed to the healing of our relationship with Earth through our shared practice and through the teaching and resources our community provides. With this same commitment we will continue to reach out to all interested individuals and organisations in a spirit of collaboration, raising and unifying consciousness, strengthening our ever-increasing global sense of unity.