Losing my nature religion
Could our suppressed spirituality bring us back in sync with nature?
Each month I choose a topic for my letter to you. This month I set out to write an article about fear. Then I got so scared myself that my writing flow was completely blocked.
Oo the discomfort of fear! Either when you have it yourself or when you are dealing with someone who has it and you don’t, and you can barely understand what they are going through.
Fear is as old as time, as are social changes, crises and transitions. In fact, it is fear (and the other unpleasant one, anxiety) that drives human evolution. In other words, thanks to the fears of our ancestors, we are where we are today.
And I’m curious: How did our ancestors deal with the changes of their time and the fear that came with them? And what can we learn from this?
In early summer, I asked you what topic you would like me to write about. I was very inspired, and several letters followed, including one about fear and the future.
But in the poll I took, you also voted for the suppression of ancient spirituality and how that affects our relationship with the earth. That was the topic I was most afraid of, so I saved it for another time.
But here it is! In the eternal battle between my fear and my curiosity, curiosity has once again won!
So be prepared for some discomfort as you read this. I believe it is meant to be that way. Let’s walk through it together. I very much look forward to hearing your thoughts.
It is an exciting month for me as a facilitator. In the section below, you can see where you can find me next. Let me know (future@marleen-mulder.nl) if you would like to attend any of these events and I will send you an invitation.
And at the very end, you’ll find additional stories. Things I have found, things people have shared with me. And I hope they inspire you to share yours.
It’s a 20-minute reading or audio recording. Take this letter with you on your next bike ride or to the gym. Just press play at the top.
NEW PERSPECTIVE: Suppression of ancient spirituality and how it affects our relationship with the earth
This topic came to my attention when I saw the Dutch documentary ‘Ondersteboven van de Amerika’s’ by BBN Vara. Waldemar Torenstra travels the Americas from north to south in search of pre-colonization, indigenous knowledge. And guess what: he found quite a lot of it - about nature and man's relationship to it.
Another important theme of the documentary is the ongoing suppression of spirituality other than Christianity and how this affects nature.
Waldemar Torenstra: In Europe, people don’t do this [express their gratitude for Mother Earth]. What do you think about that?
Kinsa Cocha community member, Peru: People should realize how important Pachamama (mother earth) is for us. We are all children of the earth. Thanks to Mother Earth, we are alive. We should be thankful for that.
Just imagine someone with this Kinsa Cocha worldview in a position of power! Well, if you can imagine it, it’s already here: find some good news all the way at the end of this letter.
Native Americans can teach us, the rest of the world, so much about nature! Yet this knowledge is still denied, suppressed and ridiculed today. Knowledge about nutrition, medicines, spirituality and well-being in general. Knowledge that could be very helpful in today’s societal transitions toward a more nature-inclusive society (energy transition, protein transition, circular economy transition).
So I’ll be bringing some of that to a Sunday brunch about these societal changes that I’m hosting in November (see below).
Should we continue to be afraid? Or do we trust our curiosity, dare I say our hunger for it? Do we trust that this is the fear (that we have suppressed for the longest time) that we now need to propel us forward once again in our human evolution, to survive as a species on this planet?
Losing my nature religion?
I have always been inclined to look beyond what we have accepted as normal. To be open to a different perspective, not only to respect it but also to gain new insights that help me solve problems, and innovate (evolve, right?)
Through my BSc in Cultural Anthropology, I know that “our world” is limited. Our education is limited. Our religions are limited. Our culture is limited, and for good reason. To give our lives a sense of clarity, predictability, and ultimately security.
But once society begins to change, as it always does, an outside perspective can help us make sense of it and better navigate it.
Fortunately, there always is more knowledge outside of what we know. Outside of our religion, our upbringing, our family, our time. Outside of what we have accepted as normal.
Listen to this Only Human podcast by Omniology where I share a story about ‘the notion of normal that is holding us back, so much’, recorded in 2020 when we were in the midst of the Covid Crisis.
Fascinated by the documentary on America, I began to wonder about Europe. What was our relationship with nature like before Christianity? Before the Catholic marketing machine and the Protestant ethic of capitalism? (Max Weber, 1905)?
We know a lot about what was gained after these transitions. But do we also know what was lost? And could this have been the beginning of the separation from nature?
Have you ever heard of the national monument for witches in the Netherlands? A group of ancestors who were feared and considered "wrong", "maladjusted" and "abnormal". Might we today begin to see them and their view of the world through different eyes? And re-evaluate their knowledge?
The website (which is in Dutch) says that the number of executions of witches was among the highest in the regions where my family came from. What did they know that could be helpful today?
Blaming it on religion would be too easy, I agree. But religion dictated to a large extent what was right, acceptable, and ultimately normal, and what was abnormal. And over the centuries, that has shaped our culture today, including our relationship with nature.
What about the knowledge of the indigenous people of this continent, of Europe? What about my ancestors? Who, I now know, could very well have been among the witches burned at the stakes of "Onstwedde" and "Groninger Ommelanden”. Or among those who burned them and their knowledge along with them. Was any of this knowledge saved? What are the rituals, medicine, diet and worship for the land of my ancestors?
The normal outside of nature
Oo how simple are these people who are without world religion….... No Protestant ethics or Catholic knowledge to guide them. This has been the picture for a long time, hasn’t it? Pathetic, childish, ignorant, savage, poor, primitive, scary people.
But what if they are the wisest, most civilized, most connected people in the world? Could you imagine that?
Like fear and social change, animism is ancient. It is the first religion of mankind. And it’s still around. Nothing big and no worldwide reach and organization of its members. Not a world religion like the one we know and may have grown up in. But animism has always been practiced in all places of the world and is very locally organized. It has often blended with other religions that came later (like Christmas trees at Christmas and horseshoes for good luck).
Animists believe that all natural things have a spiritual essence: People, animals, the sun, the earth, plants, water, and even "inanimate" things like rocks. It is the view that everything has a spirit and a consciousness.
Before the Christian faith conquered Europe, many "animists" lived in Europe. They knew all kinds of sanctuaries like trees, menhirs, and stone circle monuments. The only official nature and life religion that still exists (recognized since 1972) is ásatrú in the Scandinavian countries.
I’m not that familiar with it yet, but it seems to be a revival of an ancient religion from before Christianity. And I can’t help but notice a current movement toward nature and the spiritual in this generation as well. Have you noticed that, too? People are looking for connection and meaning, and nature plays an essential role in that.
Earlier this year I was on a weekend getaway with my friends, and within a few hours the kitchen table was covered with spiritual card decks, and we were sharing ideas and experiences about meditation, spirit animals, plants, astrology, and human design. I was not aware that my friends were ‘into this.
At home, it was just normal. But at school, I tended to keep quiet about it for fear of not belonging if I talked too much about what books were on our kitchen table. But recently, a friend and I had to admit that our own bookshelf was becoming more and more like our mom’s.
My grandfather shared wisdom about swallows and the weather, and my grandmother about chestnuts and rheumatism. Grandfather and grandmother (who grew up during the Second World War) were not so far from that, in fact, they would be very advanced nowadays, with their reuse of all things, homemade things, never throwing anything away, never buying anything without really needing it.
But is that all? Is there such animist wisdom in your family? Share it with me. I would love to collect more and see how far back this wisdom goes.
In the eternal current of social progress, we tend to focus only on what is to be gained. On the constant improvement of human life on this planet. In the process, we are moving further and further away from nature and spirituality. Perhaps we are now beginning to realize that something has been lost. Could we face the fear in our hearts and reconnect with that part of ourselves that has always remained through the centuries? And use it to restore our relationship with Patchamama?
Does this help you in any way? Be sure to let me know. I couldn’t think of another reason to write this than for you 🙏 Your thoughts would be much appreciated in a comment or reply.
Would you like to continue this conversation? Or start this conversation with your audience or team? Book me as a facilitator or speaker for your event or meeting. Please send me a message at future@marleen-mulder.nl to receive my full speaker guide.
Much love,
Marleen
WERE TO FIND ME NEXT
I believe that underlying all activities against climate change is this deep and ancient love for Mother Earth. We may not say it, we may not see it, but it is there. And with it the urgent knowledge that our lives and the continuation of our species depend on it.
This month I will be hosting several events in The Hague, and I expect that this love and longing to reconnect with nature will be at each event's core.
Chairing an event for the sunny rooftops of apartment owners associations. Solar panels we understand (more or less). But what about financing and legal structures when you co-own the roof space of an apartment building?
This event is already over. For useful resources and experts, see my recentLinkedIn post.
In November, I’m hosting my brand new workshop on climate-proof lifestyles. We’ll be getting ready for winter. Small lifestyle adjustments you can easily make to save money and the planet! (Reminder to self: I really need to get some proper rain gear this season!) Please find the dates and details here.
Later on, I’ll be chairing pitches and the awarding of prices up to € 50,000 when the Hague welcomes brand new local initiatives in the energy transition, saving, storing, and generating local green energy.
To close Climate Week in The Hague, I will host my biggest Sunday brunch yet:
the Goed Bezig Brunch, welcoming the city's climate leaders. We will talk about the interconnectedness of today’s transitions in the environment, clean energy, sustainable mobility, and circular economy.
LET YOUR STORY ILLUMINATE THE WORLD
Below you’ll find a collection of inspiring stories. And I’m curious to know your stories too. After reading this and after reading the powerful messages below, what personal story are you reminded of from your own experience?
Share them in a comment for others to relate to or with me personally at future@marleen-mulder.nl. I can’t wait to hear from you! And if you let me, I want your story to be heard by others too. Let your light make it easier for the next person to do it too. And together our stories will light up paths and places we never knew before.
A friend who comes from another continent also seems fascinated by these topics. A few weeks ago, she told me how she and her partner are trying to reconnect with the indigenous way of life in their home country of Namibia. They are looking for the wisdom, the connectedness, and the richness that we seem to have lost.
“My fiancé and I often talk about what we should learn and re-introduce from “old ages” and indigenous people. Last night we spoke about how predators and “tribal people”, only “work/hunt “ 20% of their day, then rest, socialize, etc. Such contrast to the life modern society has shaped…”
With all the achievements and prosperity over the centuries, it seems, we have indeed also lost. Ancestralhabits backs this up with the perspective that we used to have valuable things in our lives. Things that people once thought were quite normal, but which have somehow become luxuries today.
Getting back to the Americas: Last month there was big news from Brazil, where the first ever Minister of Indigenous Peoples was appointed, and she is also a woman. Sônia Guajajara brings a refreshing perspective on climate:
“there is no need to invest so much in new technologies in the fight against climate change. It is proven that where there is Indigenous presence, there is standing forest, clean water, and poison-free food. More than ever, it is time for the world to look at this way of life of Indigenous peoples.” - the Guardian
A refreshing and interesting point made here, since the focus in the climate context is often on technology. And ‘indigenous peoples’ perspectives on climate are rarely considered when it comes to climate issues. So keep your eyes on Brazil on the coming months.
The musical background to this letter: Oeaho by Alexia Chellun and R.E.M’s Losing my Religion. Do you know what it means, to lose one’s religion? Find out more.