The word nature conjures up all sorts of images; dense green forests, intricately colored flowers, a myriad of unusual wildlife, swiftly flowing rivers, vast oceans and secret places untouched by humans. At its core, nature is a highly intelligent consciousness responsible for the order and organization of the entire universe. All the various systems we rely upon for our well being such as photosynthesis, the growth of plants we use for food, the ability of trees to purify the air, our own miraculous physiology and the orbit of the planets are designed and maintained by the intelligence called nature.
In her book, “Co-creative Science” Machaelle Small Wright asks nature to define itself. Using her ability to communicate with this intelligence she writes:
“Nature is the consciousness that is intimately linked with form. Nature is the consciousness that comprises all form on all levels and dimensions. It is form’s order, organization and life vitality. Nature is first and foremost a consciousness of equal importance with all other consciousness in the largest scheme of reality. It expresses and functions uniquely in that it comprises all form on all levels and dimensions and is responsible for and creates all of form’s order, organization and life vitality.”
From this profound quote, we understand that nature is the consciousness responsible for the organization of all the phenomenal creation we see around us. Nature is not only capable of tremendous creativity and adaptability, but is also constantly striving to keep balance. It is this intelligence that without human interference keeps our world functioning smoothly and efficiently.
If the age of planet earth were squeezed into one year of our time, mankind shows up fifteen minutes before midnight at the end of that year. All of man’s recorded history would speed by in sixty seconds. The dynamic biodiversity of plants, animals and microbes that fill the oceans, forests, prairies and sky would have been evolving since March of our compressed year, an astounding 3.8 billion years since the first bacteria.[i]
Nature has been orchestrating life effortlessly for eons of time with human beings mere newcomers. It has evolved systems that are intricate in their design and comprehensive in their scope. So unfathomable are her ways that the human mind is unable to grasp the intelligence that creates it all. Instead we liken nature to a machine, a collection of parts accidentally working things out. We think we are the top of the evolutionary heap and can therefore subdue and dominate nature. That notion is changing into one that includes humankind as an integral part of the complex web of life.
We see vast intelligence all around us, and in fact we don’t have to look too far, our own physiology displays a universe unto itself, full of wonder and profoundly efficient systems. This machine we call our body will never be duplicated by human invention. It is a product of natural laws that are deeper than our current mechanistic technology can explore or explain completely. Our mighty forests when left alone carry out a myriad of complex chemical and biological processes with efficiency and order. Even the diminutive ant colony shows tremendous intelligence and adaptability.
Nature has perfected the complicated science of capturing the sun’s power and turning it into usable energy, has built materials stronger than steel, learned to fly with speed and precision, and designed a weather system that keeps life’s systems afloat. Even though nature follows laws that are immutable and eternal, it is ever evolving within itself. This government of nature has managed to orchestrate life without fouling the air, soil and water and mortgaging our future.[i]
It is high time that we head back into the classroom of life and take our lessons and cues from the wild things. We are part of a living system and cannot take ourselves out of that equation and expect to survive as a species. Nature has a way of adjusting excess in order to keep a balance. We are pushing the envelope and exceeding our place. By working within the parameters laid out for us, everyone will have plenty and nature will reward us with bounty.
This is not to say that we have to do with less, or that the rich have to give away to the poor. It’s about living in accord with the laws of nature, to be part of the system and not the dominator trying to subdue nature and extract what we can in order to make a profit at all costs. We must partner ourselves with the intelligence and the marvelous order in nature.
In order to abide by nature’s constitution, we first must uncover the template that makes up that blueprint. From the ancient seers steeped in all-knowing consciousness, to the new biologists, down to the modern-day ecologists trampling through forest and meadow, many inquisitive minds have uncovered the laws and principles that show up again and again.
These principles, ever apparent throughout nature, are the guides for our lives, our designs, and systems. If we check our plans with this blueprint, we can orchestrate our world in a way that creates progress and evolution for all, instead of disharmony and destruction.
Some of these principles are:
Nature exhibits extreme intelligence in all her systems, working out the mechanics of creation effortlessly with an unfathomable intricacy of design. All the pieces work together while the whole creates more than the sum of the parts.
Nature’s systems are orderly; there is great order in the seeming chaos of nature. Spring always follows winter, the planets orbit around the sun in a repetitive cycle, the leaves fall off the trees every autumn and reappear every spring, and the tides ebb and flow.
Nature is efficient, always recycling and reusing. Nature runs on sunlight, uses only the energy it needs, and never wastes it. Nature fits form to function.
Nature is economical, administering the whole universe through nature’s principle of least action, with maximum efficiency and without exertion, problems or mistakes.
Nature is nourishing and renewing. There are cycles everywhere that are in a constant flux of creating, maintaining, destroying and rebuilding. Nature is eternally evolving from within itself.
Nature is invincible and law-abiding, never defeated or thwarted in its operation and functioning according to its own unvarying laws.
Nature governs itself automatically; the laws are built into the system.
Nature is bountiful and diverse, creating the rich abundance of flora and fauna, ever renewing and perpetuating itself. Nature banks upon this very diversity to maintain stability within its systems.
These principles are being rediscovered and adapted to the complexity of human endeavors with phenomenal success by the “bioneers” and the “biomimics”. They are utilizing the laws of nature to redesign our systems, clean up our messes and change the way we go about our business. They are growing food like a prairie, creating dense highly productive forest gardens, using mushrooms to clean up toxic waste and “living machines” to turn sewage into drinkable water. They are discovering how to capture energy from space, the magic contained in wild rivers, how businesses are adapting “The Natural Steps” to align themselves with nature, and how “good” bugs eliminate the need for pesticides. They are educating our children to unleash the genius inside of every child. They are using the laws of physics to create world peace. They are becoming partners with nature, instead of adversaries attempting to tame or control nature.
This is our next great journey, a journey that will take humankind into the inner realms of spirit where life is not about the acquisition of stuff, but about the acquisition of knowledge at the deepest levels.
I hope you enjoy this journey and that you will incorporate its lessons into your own life. It is inspiring that so many great minds and hearts are at work in our world today rediscovering the ways to bring harmony back to a beleaguered world.
[i] Benyus, Janine, Biomimcry, Wm Morrow & Co., 1997, pg.2