Category: Mike Bell

The term Anthropocene (meaning “man-made”) is the new term scientists are using to describe a new era. It is replacing the former Cenozoic Era that has existed since the death of the dinosaurs, sixty-five million years ago. The dominant characteristic of the Anthropocene is climate change. When I first heard the term “Anthropocene” I said to myself, “That’s nice. Something we humans can be proud of.” But my attitude changed when I saw the impact of climate change: the increased number of hurricanes, forest fires, monsoons, rising oceans and flooding, long lines of refugees grasping their children’s hands and leaving behind their dried up farms, carrying little more than the clothing on their backs.

This past spring my wife Arlene and I decided to downsize and find a better place to live. There were a number of reasons for this decision but a major one came from our efforts to help some elderly friends. Most of them needed walkers to get around. We are elders ourselves. Our former house with its stairs was not “walker friendly” so it was time to make the move.

In past chronicles I have discussed the economic, political and legal systems. In this chronicle I’ll discuss another system—religion. It will contrast spirituality with church structure. Spirituality is an internal consciousness that gives a sense of identity, meaning and a purpose to life. It manifests itself in actions. Structure refers to the organizational structure—the hierarchy.

In my last few chronicles I discussed the new vision of Brian Swimme and Thomas Berry, the Ecozoic Era. It foretells a time when humans create and enjoy a mutually enhancing relationship between our species and Earth. Then, in the last chronicle I talked about the need for a transition from Sustainability—trying to improve the current systems that are damaging the Earth—to Regeneration, the need to create new systems that can live within a living Earth.