FOR TOO LONG we have assumed the earth beneath us to be a static and stable constant. In fact, it is anything but. The flow of cosmic matter and momentum that first formed our planet has never ceased its spin. With no vestige of a beginning and no prospect of an end⁵², the ever unfolding confluence of Earth’s unique combination of matter and energy, composes a cosmological pattern of process all its own. Indeed, in our entire galaxy we know of no other entity that has so thoroughly realized the very ecological enrichment to which we now so long to manifest ourselves.
Truly, the transformation of our once barren planet into a thriving biosphere is the penultimate example of green.
In the same way that kincentric societies have been guided by the example of ancient masters of ecological integration, so too can we be guided by the example of Earth.
Observing the planet’s shift over the eons from barren to bounteous, from grey to green, we can discern an underlying pattern in Earth’s ways.⁵³ In the resonance of our scientific and kincentric knowing, we can discern five principles that compose Earth’s underlying pattern of process:
1. Earth’s processes tend towards cycles that spiral.
2. Earth’s cycles tend towards the outwards spiral of energy.
3.Earth’s cycles tend towards the inwards spiral of matter.
4. Earth’s spirals of energy and matter tend toward diverse systems.
5. Earth’s systems tend towards ever greater awareness of their interconnection.
From organism to ecosystem, from biome to biosphere, we are surrounded with the verdant consequences of these primordial principles unfurling through space and time. Whether the process is minute or massive, ancient or ongoing, in looking closely, we can glimpse the same Earthen ways reflected and embodied— a microcosm of the macro— within every organism and ecosystem. Within the life-cycles of everything from a forest to a tree, a bird to a flea, we can observe the tendencies of Earth’s character expressed— a vast symphony of a trillion processes, cycles and systems all tending towards a more diverse, resilient, vibrant, interwoven and hospitable home for us all.⁵⁴
While there are hints of these tendencies upon other planets, upon ours, they definitively incline the cycles of matter and energy⁵⁵, setting Earth apart in their expression and consequence.
Yet, Earth, in this way is not an exception to other spheres of matter spinning through space. Given the unique coalescence of every planet, each has its own cosmological configuration and unfurling. From the endless storms of Jupiter, to the endemic volcanoes of Venus, to the very color of Mars, each planet’s character tends towards its own expressions of surface, ocean and atmosphere.
That said, each planet’s tendencies are not hard and fast rules. Not all Jovian storms turn to giant red spots, not all Venusian mountains erupt and not all Martian rocks are red. Likewise, not all Earthen systems express Earthen tendencies with equal clarity and consequence.⁵⁶
In this way, over the eons, certain of Earth's organisms and ecosystems have come to express Earthen tendencies more than others.⁵⁷
And so too certain human kincentric cultures.
In the next five chapters, we shall examine five Earthen phenomena that have attained an exceptional magnificence in their geometric expression of each of the five facets of Earth’s cosmological character. With the help of cyclocentric societies and the guidance of contemporary physics, biology and astronomy we will examine the ways of the Igorots, the cycles of the salmon, the manner of mollusks, the process of a coral polyp and the means of a mycorrhizal forest. Each shall aid us in discerning the essence of a particular Earthen principle, and together reveal the full character of ecological contribution.
What we shall call an Earthen ethics.
Applying these Earthen ethics, we can then confidently discern and define what is green (what is an ecological contribution) and what is grey (what is not).
What is green is that which embodies the five-faceted geometry of Earthen principles and leads to processes, cycles and systems that are ever more vibrant, stable, resilient, abundant and conscious.
What is grey is that which conflicts with any one of the Earthen principles, leading to the opposite— lowering consciousness, reducing biome abundance, vibrancy and stability, and decreasing resiliency.
Let us move forward now to discern in detail the five parameters of ecological enrichment on planet Earth— the requisite five pillars of a new green age and a thriving common home for all.