BRAHMA KUMARIS WORLD SPIRITUAL UNIVERSITY

Earth Care - A Revolution in Thinking
Statement for the64TH ANNUAL UN DPI/NGO CONFERENCE
Sustainable Societies; Responsive Citizens
Bonn, Germany, 3rd -5th September 2011

In his address on sustainability, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told leaders at Davos that weneed a ‘revolution’ in thinking and action and to “recover that sense of living harmoniously for oureconomies and our societies”.
Developing cleaner, leaner technologies is of course essential, but even more important is thewill for citizens of the world, and particularly in affluent nations, to reduce consumption and to feelan attraction for simpler lives motivated by kindness and compassion for the Earth. And for thatbenevolence to somehow extend beyond our own backyards to new levels of concern about
the hardships of others we may never meet or lands we may never visit.
Put simply, if we want to save the world, we all need to think, feel and behave with everincreasing kindness and generosity, rather than ever increasing levels of consumption.
And just as many organisations are now working hard to develop greener technologies, there is
now a pressing need for organisations with relevant expertise to work together to develop ways tonaturally and gently change our hearts towards greater kindness and compassion for the Earth.
For some this change of heart will be brought about by simply being exposed to compellingarguments for sustainable lifestyles – brought to them through social media, films, TV and other art
forms. For others it may require a little more help. But there are techniques from both traditional
wisdom and the modern positive psychology movement that can gently take us from selfcentredness and pessimism to greater optimism, hope and compassion for others. Increasing
bodies of evidence tell us, that these changes lead to upward spirals of mental and physical wellbeing, as well greater resilience and better relationships. Which in turn lead to more satisfying lives
with less emphasis on materialism and consumerism.
If we can bring together a broad range of organisations and practitioners to work together, wecan surely develop a range of techniques that can be used alongside conventional
environmental policies. Techniques that are simple to deliver and enjoyable to use, that help
compassion and empathy to grow in ways that can move us towards greater care for the Earth.
Organisations that are driven by the energy and passion of volunteers understand the compellinginfluence of community activists. They are often driven by the desire to contribute to a betterworld, and it is the authenticity of their values that inspire others, making their reach and influence
considerable. If responsive, influential citizens are involved in developing and delivering these
programmes, and experience genuine benefit for themselves, they quickly convince others, andin this way change can ripple very quickly though societies.

The shift to more compassionate societies is as much within our grasp as harnessing energy fromthe sun, wind and other elements. And it is something that nearly everyone can contribute to.
Epiphanies don’t just happen to religious or spiritual practitioners, they can happen at ordinary
moments, in ordinary lives: at times of crises, after quiet reflection, long walks, or late nightconversations. We have all experienced shifts in our lives, as though we step up to a higher levelof clarity, deeper understanding of other people or a calling to help those in need. Sometimes it’s

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a fleeting moment that is quickly forgotten, at other times, we feel we will never see things quite
the same again and our life changes for the better.
By sharing our experiences we can contribute to a knowledge base that can provide ways for allof us to move towards greater compassion and kindness for the environment. By making any
promising techniques widely available to be used, tested and evaluated by the global
community perhaps we can help awaken greater love for our mother Earth and for our family ofhumanity that is natural to all of us.

Open-source Transformational Workshops (http://earthcare.posterous.com)
For this reason Brahma Kumaris has launched an initiative to promote reflection: we are trialling agentle workshop process that can be used in organisations, aimed at shifting our feelings ofcompassion towards the Earth to a deeper level. We would like to hear from any practitioner ororganisation who has developed simple methods with a similar aim who are willing to share thosemethods in an open source way to be changed and evaluated by users in any organisation
across the world. Materials available at http://earthcare.posterous.com
As a practical step to help build up a bank of experiences we invite you to visit
http://earthcare.posterous.com to describe what has helped you to change any aspect of yourlifestyle to be more environmentally kind. Or to see what inspired others to change.

Sustainability and Climate Change
The people of the world are the most powerful renewable energy resources. We are all sources ofenergy and influence our world: people, nature and environment. As is the quality of our thoughts,
so is the quality of our actions. We can leave negative, wasteful, neutral or positive mind prints
and footprints on this world. What we give, we will receive. We are free to choose what to thinkand do, but not free from the effect of that. Community involvement is very important inenvironmentally friendly policy making, whether in urban or rural settings; however anunderstanding of the effect of our choices leads to greater responsibility. Choice, care and cooperation are a strong foundation for policy making.
The following position papers can be viewed at www.bkun.org
2010 Consciousness and Climate Change: The Confluence of Two Living Systems II
Statement for the 16th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP-16) to the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) November 29 to December 20, 2010,Cancun, Mexico.
2009 Consciousness and Climate Change: The Confluence of Two Living Systems
Statement for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP-15), December 7-18, 2009,
Copenhagen, Denmark.
Solar Energy Projects:
Visit www.india-one.net to find out about our 3.5 MW solar thermal power plant project inRajasthan, India.

Brahma Kumaris at the UN, affiliations:−−−−−

DPI/NGO (1980) – ECOSOC (1983)
Peace Messenger Award (1986)
General consultative status with ECOSOC (1997)
Consultative status with UNICEF (1997)
Accredited observer organisation to UNFCCC (2009).

Contact us:
Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University: www.bkwsu.org
Office for the United Nations, New York, USA: www.bkun.org
International Coordinating Office, London, UK: london@bkwsu.org
National Coordinating Office, Frankfurt, Germany: frankfurt@de.bkwsu.org

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