The Spiritual Eco-Practice Group at Inspiration House provides an opportunity to deepen one’s own eco-practice, stay current with eco-news and find support with others who are endeavoring to live more lightly and lovingly on the Earth.

This winter/spring we’ll pick one seven-day practice each month, explore it individually on our own timetable, and check in with each other via conference calls to share and appreciate one another’s insights and good works!

Past Eco-Practices have included:

• Soul work – “Developing a New Sense of Ourselves”
• Reconnecting with the natural world – “Lightening Up”
• Rethinking Trash – “Discovering There is NO Away!”
• “For the love of water”

This third season for the Eco-Practice begins in February 2012 and includes four conference calls – a launch call in early February and then one later in February, at the end of March, and end of April to debrief after each month’s practice. Group determines convenient conference call day/times.

Fee: $35.

Contact Us to register.

Facilitated by Carol Hohle. Carol is the Founder & Executive Director of Inspiration House. She is an educator, environmentalist & spiritual activist. She speaks, lead workshops & retreats on spiritual practices and eco-spirituality.

Another book on my list is from the National Council of Churches, God’s Earth is Sacred – Essays on Eco-Justice. It includes 13 essays by leading eco-theologians and an open letter to church and society in the U.S. from the Council.  God’s Earth is Sacred calls us to deep reflection on “our responsibilities as those who live within the USA - the part of the human family that represents five percent of the worlds population and consumes 25 percent of the Earth’s riches.”  It insists that our new understanding needs to be integrated “into our core beliefs and practices surrounding what it means to be ‘church,’ to be ‘human,’ to be ‘children of God.”  At its conclusion, we are urged to coherent and consistent action within the church community’s life and in the broader world “in restoring God’s Earth-the greatest healing work and moral assignment of our time.”

What eco books are on your reading list for 2012?  Please share them in “leave a reply” below and let’s grow the list begun here.

Check out the Simplify the Holiday Challenge!

Below is a list of fun and creative actions you can take to simplify the holiday season. Pledge to 5 actions (or more!) that you will adopt this holiday season. Then, ask your friends and family to sponsor you in support of your efforts, perhaps even in lieu of a material gift.

Schor advocates a time-rich, ecologically light, small-scale & high-satisfaction economy.  The Plenitude fundamentals she describes include four principles:

1. A new allocation of time  (work less)
2. “Self-provision” (make, grow, or do things for oneself)
3. “True materialism” (being aware of the impact on the environment of what we consume)
4. Restore investments in one another and our communities

Or, in more simpler terms “Work and spend less.  Create and connect more.”

The “create and connect more” part was something I had been putting to the side, focusing a lot on the “spend less” part of life.  Just thinking about creating more brought joy back front and center!!!

Have a look at this video where you’ll get an overview of the ideas Schor’s puts forward in her book:

The global actions to save our planet last Saturday, 9/24/2011, was moving. I was able to take part in a rally in Chicago calling attention to an old coal plant in the Pilsen neighborhood that is too polluting, too close to people, too old and needs to be shut down. Have a look at the photo gallery from events held around the world – it’s so inspiring to see this global movement!

The Spiritual Eco-Practice Group at Inspiration House provides an opportunity to deepen one’s own eco-practice, stay current with eco-news and find support with others who are endeavoring to live more lightly and lovingly on the Earth.

This autumn we’ll pick one seven-day practice each month, explore it individually on our own timetable, and check in with each other via conference calls to share and appreciate one another’s insights and good works!

Seven-Day Practices to “get in the groove” include:

• Soul work – “Developing a New Sense of Ourselves”
• Reconnecting with the natural world – “Lightening Up”
• Rethinking Trash – “Discovering There is NO Away!”

The second season for the Eco-Practice begins later this month, September 2011, and includes four conference calls.  Group determines convenient conference call day/times.

Fee:  $35.

Contact Us to register.

Facilitated by Carol Hohle.  Carol is the Founder & Executive Director of Inspiration House.  She is an educator, environmentalist & spiritual activist.  She speaks, lead workshops & retreats on spiritual practices and eco-spirituality.

Anyone, anywhere can celebrate Peace Day. It can be as simple as lighting a candle at noon, or just sitting in silent meditation. Or it can involve getting your co-workers, organization, community or government engaged in a large event. The impact if millions of people in all parts of the world, coming together for one day of peace, is immense.

International Day of Peace is also a Day of Ceasefire – personal or political. Take this opportunity to make peace in your own relationships as well as impact the larger conflicts of our time. Imagine what a whole Day of Ceasefire would mean to humankind.

To join with others this Peace Day, CLICK HERE to find an event near you.

To learn about your own footprint, this quiz is a helpful tool. It will measure your consumption and offer suggestions to lighten your impact.

The average American generates about 100 pounds of plastic waste a year. So did Beth Terry, until she read an article about plastic pollution in the oceans and saw a photograph of a dead albatross chick carcass filled with plastic products. Making the connection that her actions were harming a creature she never knew existed, she resolved to live a plastic free life. From January to November 2010, she generated less than 2 pounds of plastic waste.

Listen to Betty’s TEDx talk:

Learn more about living without plastic:

• Beth’s blog
• 7 Misconceptions about Plastic & Plastic Recycling
• A Life Without Plastics website