Le Ciel Foundation is a UK-registered charity, working globally.
Le Ciel (which translates as “the heavens’” or “sky” from French) is an interface between ancestral wisdom and modern society. By acting as a trusted conduit for wisdom traditions, we aim to protect their existence and primordial knowledge. By doing so, we hope to help create a global paradigm shift beneficial to all life, a world in peace and harmony with itself. This means not only humans and animals but also all of the vegetal and mineral life forms on Mother Earth and even beyond.
In the first of a 12-month, monthly series in collaboration between The Alchemist’s Kitchen and Le Ciel Foundation, we explore the theme of Mother Nature through the lens of Floriza da Cruz Pinto. Floriza is the founder and president of the Yanomami Women’s Association in the Brazilian Amazon. She holds the quality, and is an exemplar, of motherhood and nurturing. She also has a seat at the Council of Twelve and Above, a gathering of twelve indigenous Elders that took place at the United Nations in New York on 27th November 2017. We will be sharing some of each of the twelve’s wisdom in this series, by theme, along with some recommendations on what we can do ourselves for the benefit of all.
We were hugely inspired by what we learned from the twelve indigenous Elders of the Council of Twelve and Above. Le Ciel had spent a year traveling the world, following the synchronicities, to find ourselves in front of these remarkable people. Six women, six men, six from the Southern hemisphere, six from the North, from the steppes of Eastern Siberia to the Kalahari Desert, from the mountains of Alaska to the Amazonian forest. Having agreed to join the Council, they powerfully and humbly delivered their messages and transmissions to camera, focusing on the principles and values which humanity needs to adopt in order to restore balance to the world. The result of these gifts is the film, The Twelve, which can be viewed at https://lecielfoundation.com/download-the-twelve/
Why do these Elders refer to our planet as Mother Earth? A mother births life; a mother nurtures, a mother teaches, foremost, by example; and, of course, she offers unconditional love.
Of Mother Earth, Nature itself, Floriza tells us in The Twelve, “She gives everything to us for free, without asking for anything, without asking for money.” “This privilege to be here together with Nature every day, every hour, we fall asleep and wake up seeing this beauty that is Nature, it’s a blessing. There are a lot of things we get from Nature, so so so much abundance.” If we think about it, everything we receive is from Mother Earth.
We may not all have perfect relationships with our mothers. Sometimes we take them for granted and neglect them. This is not always a conscious exercise; it usually isn’t. So how can we improve our relationship with our planetary mother, the one we all have in common? What does she need from us in order to provide for us?
Nature is based on reciprocity, the notion of balance, giving, and receiving. This means only taking what we need.
Floriza shares, “When we want something from Nature, we take it, but we don’t drop it. We leave it as it is for the future, for the next year and later. The hunter kills and eats only what he needs. He is not going to destroy everything, the forest or the river. We remove only what is necessary for us to eat and survive. The Yanomami respect Nature.”
It also means we must give back, at the very least, in equal measure to what we take. Floriza’s advice on just how to do that may surprise some.
We can give back by setting good intentions, through positive action and, most importantly, through honouring her, by giving gratitude to her for all she does for us. Saying “thank you,” consciously, goes a long way in building good relationships!
For the Indigenous peoples across the world, gratitude has always been at the centre of life. When people give thanks, or don’t give thanks, there are material and spiritual consequences. It is a universal law. You receive what you give. Some call it the Law of Cause and Effect, some call it the Law of Karma. It is here to maintain balance in all aspects of life. And this also applies to our relationship with Mother Earth.
How do we put this knowledge into practice? Literally, by giving thanks. Every day.
To the trees and plants that provide us with oxygen, fruit, and flowers.
To the soil which grounds us and yields vegetables and grains.
To the beauty itself that Mother Earth offers everywhere we look.
To the beauty of the seasons, the outrageous diversity of colours and smells she provides to delight us.
Even to the technology which supports our modern life – it is all born of Mother Earth.
Essentially, gratitude is the energy of love, and giving love is the most powerful force in Nature. This is a very real way we can support Mother Earth, with our love. In every action we take, we can ask ourselves, “Is it good for me, is it good for others and is it good for the Earth?”
What are the repercussions of our every action and also those of our ancestors?
How can we make different choices that will not harm the planet, ourselves and others?
None of these choices go hidden in the universe. We are all Nature and the way we treat Mother Earth is a reflection of how we treat ourselves and others. To do so with love only makes sense.
Of course, love and gratitude for the planet we share are not enough. Humans have been wreaking havoc on our ecosystems since we arrived on the planet, even thousands of years before the agricultural revolution, as depicted in Yuval Noah Harari’s book, Sapiens, A Brief History of Humankind. Humans are the only species on the planet who indulge is such destructive and selfish behaviour with little thought to the consequences of our behaviour. Again, a seeming ignorance of the Law of Cause and Effect. Our almost suicidal behaviours towards our home need to be transformed. It is important to understand that we are a part of Nature, not separate from her.
The good news is that there are many documented ways to do that, at the individual and collective levels, from reducing meat consumption to moving away from fossil fuels. Solutions include what designer Bruce Mau refers to as Life-centred design vs our historic Human-centred design. But by consciously bringing a sense of daily gratitude into our awareness can lead us towards making more conscious choices. It’s really quite difficult to drop trash on the ground while giving thanks to Mother Nature, for instance.
One of the striking aspects of watching The Twelve is how similar and interwoven the Elders’ messages are, even though their cultures evolved completely separately in terms of geography. They all agree with Floriza regarding the necessity of love, nurturing and giving thanks to Mother Earth. Perhaps it is now time we all put these principles into action, for the benefit of ourselves, our families and communities, and the planet.
Floriza Da Cruz Pinto is one of the twelve Elders from the film, The Twelve. Le Ciel Foundation invites you to stream or download it in 10 different languages at www.lecielfoundation.com/watch-the-twelve Though the film is available for free, all donations are gratefully received and go towards carbon offsetting the delivery of the film and to funding our projects. https://lecielfoundation.com/donate/
You can learn more at https://lecielfoundation.com/
To celebrate Le Ciel Foundation’s monthly collaboration with The Alchemist Kitchen, and to help connect better to Mother Earth, Le Ciel Foundation is delighted to offer a complimentary 20-minute Mind Dive to the TAK community. Click HERE to listen!
