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Language of ecospirituality shapes our worldview

by Anita Beskar, FSPA

Language has power. It carries meaning. It embodies worldview. And it has baggage: cultural, educational, spiritual and emotional. Risking new patterns of expression invites us to examine our assumptions and enter into the process of conversion.

When our committee chose the name "Ecospirituality" we did so by examining the assumptions that the new language held for us. Eco is a Greek prefix that connotes "home." In this context we choose to experience the earth and the cosmos as our home, a place of relationship in which the reign of God is the experience of "kinship" rather than "kingship" and where we are in mutual relationship with all of creation.

We pray this daily as we proclaim "the Source of all Being" who calls us into mutuality and relationship. In multiple psalm prayers we reiterate that "the whole universe pulsates with the rhythm of your (God's) life" and that God is the "creator and sustainer of the universe." Ecospirituality draws us into new consciousness of the relationship of the human to the cosmos and invites us to pray familiar phrases with new insight and meaning.

Ecospirituality also invites us to examine our relationships. According to Thomas Berry the ordering principles of the universe are mutuality (everything is connected), diversity (everything is new and different) and interiority (everything has its unique interior reality with a power to create). This is the reality of our earth, our home. When we enter into the mystery of mutuality, diversity and interiority in our lives, we are really entering into the very essence of the nature of our universe and the God-mystery that sustains it. Each conscious choice that reflects this kinship is a sign of the reign of God and contributes to the healing of our broken world.

Ecospirituality may be new language. But does it not simply give us another lens to integrate the commitment of our Direction Statement "to nurture cosmic awareness, develop rightrelationships with all of creation, and promote the sustainability of Mother Earth" into our lives?

Lights done right: Quandry of when to shut off lights answered

Editor's note: Information for this article is reprinted from the November issue of Wisconsin Energy Cooperative News, with permission.

Many people wonder whether it saves energy to turn lights off every time they leave a room. The answer depends on two things: the type of bulb in your fixtures, and how long you'll leave it off.

If you are still using incandescent bulbs, then you should shut them off whenever you'll be out of the room for at least five minutes. But experts from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory advise that fluorescent bulbs are different. Experts suggest turning fluorescent bulbs off only when you won't need them for 15 to 20 minutes. The recommendations for these two types of bulbs are different because the lifespan of incandescent bulbs isn't affected by the number of times they are switched on and off, while the lifespan of fluorescent lamps is slightly shortened every time they start up.

These recommendations are based on an average electricity cost of five cents per kilowatt-hour (kwh). If you pay considerably more than that, then it may be economical to shut off your incandescent lamps if you'll be gone for three or four minutes, and to shut off fluorescent lamps if you'll be gone for 10 to 15 minutes.

These recommendations also account for the varying lifespan of fluorescent bulbs, depending upon the number of hours they are used per start. For example, if you use a fluorescent bulb for three hours per start, it will last for about 20,000 hours; if you use it for six hours per start, you'll get an increased bulb life of about 24,000 hours.

You also may have heard that switching off a fluorescent bulb doesn't save much energy because the savings are erased by a surge in current when turning on the light. This isn't really true-there is indeed a start-up surge, but it lasts only a fraction of a second and the energy consumption during this small time interval is negligible.

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