Islam, Aikido, and Environmental Sustainability
By: Michael D. McDonald, Dr.P.H.
In reading Dr. Farooq Hassan’s Presidential Address on “Islam: Environmental Protection,” I am inspired to suggest an ambitious project to change the course of human history toward environmental sustainability. We have before us a unique opportunity to embrace our larger humanity and its movement toward a more sustainable future. It is very encouraging to have such an eminent scholar discussing the truths of the Qur’an as they apply to humanity living in harmony with our environment.
Within the traditions of Islam, Aikido, and the way of the western pilgrim are the seeds for developing a common understanding of a positive, peaceful, and sustainable future. Aikido teaches that maintaining one’s own balance in the world, whether in self-defense or in life, is the key to harmony. Western philosophy, going back to ancient Greece, teaches that balance and moderation are key to living in harmony with the world. Although oft honored in the breech, biblical teachings in both Judaism and Christianity speak of living in harmony with nature, and of humankind’s responsibilities as steward of the environment.
Aikido teaches that in order to maintain balance, one must first have a strong base by finding one’s own sustainable center before addressing threats and the complexities of the world at large. In Judaism, the Kabbalah teaches that one must have a solid foundation before venturing into the unknown. Similar concepts in Sufism, Christianity, shamanism, and other religious and cultural traditions prepare the individual to live in balance with nature.
After-all, not living in accord with nature before the industrial age, usually had fairly short-term dire consequences. This was especially true for the 5.5 million years of human evolution prior to the agricultural age, which didn’t build strong roots until only 10,000 years ago. There is no question that humans can live sustainably within their ecosystems. We would have already gone the way of the dinosaurs if this were not the case. The question of our time is, “Can 6 billion to 8 billion humans live on the planet sustainably, in an post-fossil fuel dominated global economy?
The integrity of our environment is the foundation upon which all of us depend. We also now know that our current hydrocarbon economy is creating devastating consequences for our global ecosystems. When we address our environment with insensitivity and imbalance, we do ourselves and others damage. In contrast, when we collectively live in balance with the world we inhabit, it provides for us. The problem is, of course, not just oil, its effects on climate change, and the avaricious regimes it inspires. The problem is how humans behave when we are encouraged to think that the consequences of our actions on the environment, other cultures, and each other are irrelevant. In short, a major problem is that we are exhorted to exploit the easy energy in sequestered carbon, without regard to consequences of over stressing the carrying capacities of our ecosystem.
Today, and in future generations, our ecosystem is ultimately the source of our daily bread, our health, happiness, and source of life. There is no question that Americans have been living far beyond our ecological footprint. However, we now have a unique opportunity as we stand at a fateful tipping point. If we can learn to move thoughtfully and expeditiously in balance with our own humanity, our global ecological footprint, and the sustainable needs of our most immediate environment, we can forge a common ground. From this common ground diverse cultures can reach across the chasms of distrust and self interest to collaborate with one another to protect our global, regional, and local environments. As we de-escalate our relatively unintelligent and abusive exploitation of sequestered carbon, we have to keep in mind that we can maintain and improve health and human prosperity under such conditions by increasing social capital and knowledge sharing exponentially.
Many have not yet recognized that our global economy is currently moving from a low knowledge sharing, highly concentrated, nonrenewable energy dominated economy to a more intelligent, high knowledge sharing, less concentrated, more equitable, renewable energy economy. These forces are easily visible in the massive, rapid, global expansion of the World Wide Web. However, the transition will not be immediate, and will not necessarily unfold without very painful discontinuities. Time, energy, and significant capital will be essential for conversion, if a smooth landing is desired.
Given population trends, coupled with peak oil issues, increasing rates of extinctions, climate change, and other forms of environmental degradation, we are rapidly running out of time. How rapidly can we reverse our current destructive disintegrative patterns? The good news is that within a greater democracy we can collectively choose paths starting from our origins within our own traditions and engage in movements toward a common, sustainable, stewardship of the environment by participating in collaborative action to secure resilient, sustainable communities. Resilience starts with community dialogue metaphorically similar to the way the Amish raise barns for members of their community.
It is now time for us all to embrace the challenge of our current transition. We must work to understand how to build the social capital we need to become a part of a sustainable community living within its ecological footprint. Whether we are Muslim, Christian, Jew, Buddhist, Taoist, Animist, Hindu, scientist, or a follower of some other religious or secular tradition, it is in our power to collectively seize this unique moment in history to change the disintegrative course we are on toward a more sustainable future. Dr. Hassan speaks about a future compatible with Islamic laws. The good news is that his vision and the ecological principles he espouses are not only compatible with Islam but with the sustainable traditions in the West, the Far East, and other diverse cultures from all corners of the earth.
We no longer have the luxury of non-renewable resources to waste on an unsustainable path perpetuated by ignorance, fear, self interest, and avarice. A sustainable future is ours to forge together. Please take this time to actively share your own steps toward shaping a sustainable future of collective humanity in balance with our environment. Even if your words feel too humble or experimental in your own eyes, they may be the steps someone else behind you can grasp as a handhold or foothold to move forward in a world craving for sustainable alternatives. If you find no sustainable solutions today, articulate the problems you see, the need that you perceive, and present a question about how your knowledge of the problems and needs might be translated into a solution.
Millions are now engaging in evermore sustainable solutions. Many of your questions may be able to be answered through better knowledge sharing of existing solutions in other communities. In other cases, new solutions to still unsolved dilemmas can be expedited through the act of articulating the problem and need more effectively, so new collaborations can be more clearly focused on resolving mission critical gaps.
Our history demonstrates that a greater democracy rooted in sustainable and ecological principles is feasible. The security of our future requires that we engage more with others within our own communities and across cultures to protect our shared environment. This is our time to shape our markets, our political leadership, and our sustaining cultures based upon our values. It is now in our capacities to effectively develop and share our knowledge of sustainable solutions. It is time for us to start living the emerging solutions collaboratively.
Please add your words and actions to this endeavor.
Sincerely,
Mike
Michael D. McDonald, Dr.P.H.
President
Global Health Initiatives, Inc.
Coordinator
National Disaster Risk Communication Initiative
Principal Investigator
Disaster Knowledge Management System
Resilience Networks
See also:
1: Aikido and the War on Terrorism - by M. McDonald
2: The author’s comments on Farooq Hassan’s essay “Islam: Environmental Protection,”
permalink | Jock Gill | Community, Culture, Economy, Empowerment, Intelligence
When people talk about aikido in relation to policy they use it the way they used to use judo or jujitsu, as an analogy of using an opponent’s power against himself or the idea of balance. I would suggest that such a use only scratches the surface.
A couple of years ago, I was asked to do a workshop on aikido for a Soko Gakkai youth group and spent some time thinking about the core concepts of aikido that I could teach in a half hour.
I decided it came down to
Breath
Center
Posture
Extension
Awareness
Integrity
Balance
I asked people to concentrate on their breathing and then locate where the breathing was coming from. Then I directed them to try to lower their breath to their center of balance, the hara or tanden, located about three fingers below the navel. Breathing from the center, I asked them to consider their posture and pointed out that the main benefit of any martial art on the street is in changing posture. After a couple of months, any martial art will teach you to stand up straighter and claim your space. When you stand up straight, you no longer present as an easy victim and become much less liable to street violence.
Once you are breathing from the center and maintaining a strong posture, your extension can come into play. When you extend, you claim and increase the space around you. Pay attention to that space and your awareness will fill it. This can be called zanshin. Now you can move with integrity, using everything all at once - the breath, the center, your posture and extension, your awareness. Only here is where balance comes in. You maintain contact with your own balance but, as Uyeshiba Osensei taught, an attacker has already lost his balance by attacking. Your job is to maintain your own balance and increase the imbalance of the attacker so that you can control him and neutralize his violence. Sometimes, this can be done by moving only an inch or two.
The three basic moves of aikido are entering (irimi), pivoting (tenkon), and stepping back (tenshin) and can be applied to policy as well but that’s another, more complicated story.
I participate on the site Dailykos (http://www.dailykos.com) and there has been some discussion there of aikido as it may relate to politics and policy. I’ve posted a number of diaries on my martial arts notes there. You can read them at http://gmoke.dailykos.com