S.O.S. – Pray for Planet Earth

S.O.S. ~ Pray for Planet Earth

We have forgotten who we are
And why we have come
A clarion blast
Awakens us to our injured
and dying world
Together we answer
Her urgent call
To treat Her with reverence
By extending Love and Light
to our Home – Planet Earth

~ Susan Trout ~

We can begin to live the new story of living life with integrity and interconnectedness by praying for Planet Earth.

Alarm bells are ringing. Our beloved planet is experiencing extreme ecological and spiritual distress. The resilience and regenerative ability of Earth’s ecosystem is no longer sustainable. Organisms – all living things – and their environments are unable to play their distinctive role in the interconnected ecosystem of relationships. The air, land, and water are toxic, poisoning what we eat, drink, and breathe, causing birth defects and life-threatening diseases. The dire consequences of global warming, natural disasters, and the destruction of land, sea, animals, and insects are ignored by governments with no political will. Human relationships at home and abroad have become increasingly divisive and rigidly rooted in discrimination, polarity thinking, prejudice, fear, and a separation of the “haves” and “have-nots.” Violence, rage, and severe depression abound.

Your life will be enriched and filled with meaning and grace when you make a commitment to answer the urgent S.O.S. from our beloved Home.

To stop the speed of coming disaster, Planet Earth has put out an S.O.S. – a call for humanity to Save Our Souls. Earth’s S.O.S. asks that we design and put into practice a new story about how to live a life with integrity on Planet Earth. This new story will enable us to acknowledge our interconnectedness and to live it. For the good of all, we will recognize and engage our spiritual relationship with Planet Earth. One primary way we can live this story is by praying for the planet. With love and prayer, we will transform our energies, from dark to light and from separation to joining. We answer the S.O.S. by aligning with our Soul and joining with humanity to create this new story for ourselves, our countries, and Planet Earth.

In his 2019 book, Including the Earth in Our Prayers, renowned Sufi teacher Llewelyn Vaughn-Lee writes that, “Earth is dying, species are depleted, oceans are full of plastic, as our cultures seem caught in divisiveness.” Earth, who has “nourished us with Her endless generosity, whom we have raped and desecrated, is unbalanced, sick, and needs our care and attention.” To survive, Vaughn-Lee writes, humanity must immediately make a major change in its mindset by going beyond focusing on self-transformation and by no longer denying that we are starving the Soul of the World of its spiritual energy – of Love and Light – energy that it needs for regeneration and evolution. In other words, with a mindset of Love and Light, humanity must take action and dedicate itself to being of service to life and to Earth’s Divinity.

Humanity must take action and dedicate itself to being of service to life and to
Earth’s Divinity.

How can we handle the uncertainty of our times? We can keep the sacred alive with a commitment to pray for our planet daily. We can use the opportunity this challenge of uncertainty presents by changing our mindset. In addition to praying for our planet, we can seek out practical ways to engage in ecology. We can plant healthy mental, emotional, and spiritual seeds within ourselves and our families. We can nurture these seeds and see what they can do with their own power over time.

How to Pray for Planet Earth

The Prayer

Praying for Planet Earth extends Love and Light to its entirety – thereby inviting individuals, countries, nations, and nature (plants, animals, all living creatures, together with earth, air, land, sky, and sea) to receive Love and Light from the Divine.

Step One: Place one or both hands over your heart. In silence, visualize Planet Earth and feel its spiritual presence in your heart. You may wish to express directly to Planet Earth your deep concern for Her health and wellbeing.

Step Two: From your heart, say this prayer as many times as you wish:

“As part of humanity, I pray that Planet Earth receive Divine Love
and Light for its highest possible evolution.”

The prayer does not focus on what we think the planet needs, such as better government, cooperation among countries, or an improved economy. Rather, this Buddhist prayer invites Love and Light to support and guide Planet Earth’s highest possible evolution at this time.

After the Prayer

After saying the prayer, we must take some sort of appropriate action. His Holiness the Dalai Lama highlighted this need during a talk he gave to a small group a few years ago in Dharamsala, India. When asked, “Is praying for peace in the world helpful?” he responded:

Praying for peace [or Love and Light] is good, but if that’s all you do, it’s a waste of time and may be counterproductive. If you walk away from such prayers feeling that you’ve done your part, you’re deceiving yourself.

In other words, after you pray you must take appropriate actions every day to support bringing that prayer into reality.

Enacted in the right spirit, any action brings us into alignment with our Soul – and this in turn serves the planet and all its inhabitants.

What appropriate actions can we personally take to help Planet Earth receive Divine Love and Light for its highest possible evolution? We each must reflect on what that might be for us. For example, you might decide to focus on helping nature by reducing your family’s household wastefulness by more than half in the next six months. You could become active in some ecological group or committee in your community. You might volunteer at an animal shelter. You could decide to listen from your heart when communicating with others about the needs of Planet Earth.

Your actions must be practical, integrous, and something you commit to doing. Small actions can lead to further actions, as well as inspire others to take action themselves. Enacted in the right spirit, any action brings us into alignment with our Soul – and this in turn serves the planet and all its inhabitants.

After regularly using the prayer, “As part of humanity, I pray that Planet Earth receive Divine Love and Light for its highest possible evolution,” you will discover that you can easily connect your heart to the planet in prayer. Decide when and what amount of time you wish to spend offering prayers of Love and Light to Planet Earth. Honor that commitment.

Most importantly, call on your inner strength to handle the uncertainty of our time.

Most importantly, call on your inner strength to handle the uncertainty of our time. Do your best not to harm and add further pain to Planet Earth. Know your life will be enriched and filled with meaning and grace when you make a commitment to answer the urgent S.O.S. from our beloved Home.

Closing Thoughts

Praying for Planet Earth is an expression of offering True Service. True Service turns the beneficial energy of our inward growth back out to flower in the external world. It supports health and wellbeing on all levels of participation – self, family, leadership, group, country, and Planet Earth. True Service is alive within us when we take any action that protects our planet and all of her inhabitants, sentient and insentient.

To have a sense of empowerment and possibilities for True Service related to healing the planet, follow Theodore Roosevelt’s advice to “keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground.” Begin NOW to live “the new story” of interdependence and sacred ecology – to Save Our Souls and save our beloved Planet Earth.

References:
Perkins, John. “Stop Facebook? And Other Questions for the New Year.” Newsletter. January 1, 2019. johnperkins.org
Saraydarian, Torkom. The Solar Angel. Volume II. Cave Creek, AZ: T.S.G. Publishing, 2004. 208-209. tsgfoundation.org
Vaughn-Lee, Llewelyn. Including the Earth in Our Prayers: A Global Dimension to Spiritual Practice. Point Reyes, CA: The Golden Sufi Center, 2019. goldensufi.org

Who will speak for Planet Earth? ~ Carl Sagan

On behalf of Planet Earth, journal on how you plan to manifest Theodore Roosevelt’s advice to “keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground” –
or how you might live “the new story” of interdependence and sacred ecology.

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