Archive for Wednesday 9th October 2002
Our place in the intricate web of life should be the source of profound meaning and understanding.

US eco-prophet, Fritjof Capra, has embraced this new vision for living. Everything, he believes, exists as a inter-connected, self-sustaining network - from a microscopic collection of cells to a giant multinational corporation.

No stranger to cutting-edge thinking, 25 year ago Capra wrote The Tao Of Physics in which he illustrated how modern physics was discovering what ancient mystics had known for millennia – the unity of all life.

With his complex new work The Hidden Connections (HarperCollins, £12.99), he moves out of the laboratory into the ‘living system’ of the world. Humanity’s challenge, according to Capra, is to reconcile the two conflicting trends of global consumerism and the ecological push for a sustainable way of life. Instead of just taking, we need to recycle and focus on contributing to the network.

He already sees the rise of feminism and ecology as shifting us from ‘seeking happiness in material possessions to finding it in nurturing relationships’ - with ourselves, our friends and family and our planet.

Spirituality must also have a significant effect on this changing perspective, vividly identifying our responsibilities. For Capra, ‘a spiritual experience is an experience of aliveness of mind and body as a unity – giving a sense of oneness with all, a sense of belonging to the universe as a whole.’

Such moments of heightened awareness are well-documented in the literature of the world’s religions.

In his attempt to explain abstract, cosmic concepts Capra, the scientist, is not afraid to use the simple language of the poet: “The breath of life seems to be the perfect metaphor for the network that defines all living systems. Spirit – the breath of life – is what we have in common with all living beings. It nourishes and keeps us alive.”

And because of this sharing, Capra believes, despite the constant barrage of doom and gloom, that there is hope for us and our planet

Mark Winter