Sir, - I found Michael Viney's review of Tom Hayden's book The Lost Gospel of the Earth (December 21st), disappointing and somewhat misleading but then, maybe he was being deliberately provocative. In particular, he says: "Hayden's own gospel, while radical enough to upset the Christian fundamentalists, is mild enough by the standards of activists such as Earth Trust! or the deep ecologists' who would reduce the human population to a more seemly balance."
Deep ecologists would be more likely to point out that Viney's "more seemly balance" is an inevitable outcome of a process by which humans continue to pillage the earth to the detriment of their own and all other species. When one part of a system continues to replicate itself in a way that is out of control and damaging to the whole, ultimately the system self destructs. Think of cancer cells.
The notion of deep ecology has an important contribution to make to the way we resolve environmental, and other, conflicts. Essentially, its message is that we will not resolve the roots of environmental pollution until we learn again to become aware of the intrinsic way we are part and parcel of the ecology of the planet - and indeed of the universe. When we pay attention to developing this awareness, the depth of our dependence on the earth, not only for life but also for meaning, becomes clearer.
Without the awe inspired by the beauty of a sunset, or the peace imbued by water lapping on the lakeshore, experiences fundamental to our ability to nourish and sustain our souls are lost. Eco psychology - one aspect of deep - ecology - reminds us how essential it is for survival in every sense, to learn to recover a sense of the sacred in everyday life. Until we remember that every space - whether technological, home, office or mountainside - is sacred space, we won't, in the depth of ourselves, care enough to reverse the process and heal both the earth and ourselves.
Such awareness is to reminds us of the need for replenishment: The need to replenish the earth's resources, hence renewable energy. programmes and reforestation programmes and the need to replenish human resources - literally to resource ourselves - if energy, creativity, health and motivation is not to dry up.
Such thinking has also produced the notion of deep democracy (Arnold Mindell: Sitting in the Fire, Lao Tsu Press.) which suggests that real peace can only be established in areas of conflict when safe enough spaces are created to allow conflicting parties to talk out their grievances, rage and hurts - in depth. Continuing until a genuine, deep and reconciling peace can ensue.
Such aspirations are anything but reductionist. They are the kind of visions we need at the beginning of a New Year and, hopefully, are precursors of the kind of wisdom which will be much more common in a new millennium. - Yours, etc.,
Psychotherapist and deep management consultant,
Stillorgan Wood,
Stillorgan,
Co Dublin.