Editorial

We live on a blue planet. The name is misleading, we call it Earth, yet over 70% of its surface is covered by the ocean. It is the Blue Marble as in the beautiful image taken by astronauts in 1972.

Sometimes we forget how essential the ocean is for the water we drink, the air we breathe, the food we eat, for life. The ocean is the biggest ecosystem on the planet, holding 99% of all habitable space in the world, it contains 94% of the world’s wildlife and 97% of all the water. It is responsible for at least 50% of the oxygen on Earth. The ocean is a major factor in the water cycle that affects climate and weather. It controls rainfall and droughts. Without this process, most of our planet would be an icy desert. The ocean is our biggest ally in the fight against climate change. It is responsible for absorbing 25-50% of the carbon dioxide humans have released into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels. Scientists have determined that the ocean absorbs more than 90% of the excess heat, which is attributed to greenhouse gas emissions.

In some traditions, poetically and affectionately, we refer to the ocean as she/her.  It is often thought that the ocean feels love, pain, anger, and peace; that she breathes, chokes, hurts and heals. She is alive and she is sick now - because of us; we have been pushing the boundaries of the ocean’s sustainability year after year.

The ocean is facing unprecedented threats, such as overfishing; marine pollution; dead zones, and climate change leading to unparalleled cascading effects, including ice-melting, sea-level rise, marine heatwaves, ocean acidification, and loss of marine biodiversity. Nearly 80% of the world’s wastewater is discharged without treatment.

The ocean, being unlimited, remains a very incognito server in creating and sustaining life on Earth.

This time we would like to honour the ocean and her water. We invite you to spend a few moments exploring the subtle relationship we have with the water and also to be reminded of the things we can do physically to help the water heal itself.

Professor John Ndiritu introduces us to the idea of technologies of consciousness for human-centered water resources management. We all have this technology and we can use it intentionally to restore harmony with water. This talk was given during the United Nations Ocean Conference in Lisbon in June 2022, where the Brahma Kumaris team was present to discover the greatness of the blue ocean and share the wonder of the Ocean of Peace. Other panelists at the BK side event represented interfaith and scientific communities and they contributed very interesting and inspiring ideas that are shared in this newsletter.

To enhance our learning, we present some good practices on how to conserve water in our daily life and an article about the ongoing water management project at the Brahma Kumaris.

Enjoy exploring the blue ocean and diving deep into the Ocean of Love, collecting the unlimited treasures of peace and joy and then sharing them further with all creatures and elements of nature.

Aneta Loj, Director of Brahma Kumaris in Poland.

Representative of BK Delegation to the UNFCCC, UNCCD, UNCBD, UNOC.

Water Conservation and Recycling at the BK Campuses in Rajasthan

The headquarters of the Brahma Kumaris in Mount Abu, Rajasthan, welcomes around 300,000 visitors every year to its 3 campuses, the largest of which is Shantivan situated in Abu Road.  Thirty two thousand people can be accommodated at any one time and they often stay for 3 to 4 days in order to attend spiritual retreats, conferences and workshops, including ones to raise environmental awareness.  The water requirements are therefore massive and include providing cold water for drinking and cooking, water for bathing, water for the Hospital and water for gardening. Read more here.

Assessing the Effect of Psychoenergetic Energy on Water Using Seedling Development, Crop Yield and Nutrition Content

Photo credit: Rony Michaud

Many scientifically rigorous studies have shown that human consciousness influences living and nonliving physical reality. In particular, water has been found to respond considerably to directed thought.  This study aimed at finding out if concentrated thought directed to water, seeds and crops can enhance seedling development, crop yield and nutrition content. Four seedling development and one crop yield experiment were conducted.

Concentrated thought energy was applied using a simple meditation technique that recognizes consciousness as a subtle point source of light energy that can be precisely  directed to any target. For one seedling development experiment, the energy was provided by 3 individuals who were new to the tech-nique and spent 3 days getting acquainted with the method. For three other seedling development and the crop yield experiment, the energy was provided by an experienced meditator with 23 years of consistent practice.

Read more here

Flooding gardens to combat drought and biodiversity loss

As drought is still affecting many countries at the moment, this article from the Guardian in the UK provides an interesting solution.

This year has seen one of the driest summers on record, with most of the country still officially in drought. Millions of people in England are under hosepipe bans because of water shortages, and reservoir and river levels remain low.

The solution to this? People should flood their gardens and create bogs in order to stop the effects of drought and reverse biodiversity loss, according to the head of Natural England.

Tony Juniper, who leads the government quango, said that concreted-over front gardens, and backyards which do not hold much water, could contribute to sewage spills into waterways as surface water runs off the hard or dry surfaces.

Read more here

Technologies of Consciousness in Scaling up ocean actions

In June, the UN Ocean Conference was held in Lisbon, Portugal.  One focus for the Conference was the role of the scientific community to enable the transformation of humankind’s relationship with the ocean, with scientists calling for more support. Brahma Kumaris partnered with the Jewish initiative: Repair the Oceans to offer a virtual side event.  The aim was to show the practical role of human consciousness in both degrading and rebuilding ocean life and in achieving sustainable development goals. 

The event was chaired by Dr Tamsin Ramsey and can be watched here.   You can listen to Rabbi Ed Rosenthal talking about the ‘Repair the Sea’ Initiative at 7 mins 12 sec, then Professor James Mair speaking on Integrating Human Consciousness into Science and Research of Restoring Marine Habitats at 19 mins 39 sec, next is Professor John Ndiritu on Water Resources Management for Scaling up Ocean Actions at 34 mins 41 sec and finally Valeriane Bernard speaking on The Deep Connection between People, their Cultures and Spirituality, their Lands and the Effect on the Oceans at 50 mins 23 sec.

The Wonder of the Ocean Meditation

Image by Kordi Vale

This experiential meditation spoken by Aneta Loj was prepared on the occasion of the 2022 UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, to honour and celebrate the wonder of the Ocean.

Enjoy the meditation here.