Open letter to all practitioners

The Corona crisis is still here and seems to be increasing globally.

There is great unrest and concern about the disease, the deaths, and the economic and social consequences. Much suffering. Much understandable anxiety.

Several have asked if one could spiritually point to a possible larger perspective on the crisis. And whether that could be helpful and make it easier to work with the heavier and more serious aspects of the situation. Grief. Pain. Catastrophe anxiety.

One could perhaps cautiously – and investigatively – think about a single theme in the larger context: The development of humanity over the last few thousand years has been characterized by – what one could call – a focused, acting male principle: kings, wars and patriarchy. Conquest of land and nature. Ideas about mastering and exploiting and managing nature and the planet's raw materials and resources. Capitalism. Materialism. Industrialism.

Initiatives that have brought humanity – or parts of humanity – great progress, great prosperity, great technological benefits. But what must also be said to have led us to an extreme: We invent, produce, consume, travel, drive, fly and move around the globe and around the internet incessantly. The faster the better. And use fossil fuels at a pace like never before.

Now the corona crisis seems to have provoked and perhaps necessitated a global state of attenuation and slowing down of travel, movement, industry. A kind of involuntary stoppage. From doing to being. From the male principle to the female principle. A slower, more natural pace. Cohesion, care, closeness, sense and respect for everything that grows and flourishes.

For a long time, climate and energy crises have pointed in the direction of the feminine: Compassion for all living things. Expressed as insight into, and formulations of, what humans and the planet need: ecology, sustainability, locality, global co-responsibility, consideration. Spiritually, both the understanding and the need to explore the feminine paths are growing instead of the old male-dominated methods and principles.

While the climate crisis has not really managed to curb overproduction and consumption, for a time the coronavirus from bats and other wild animals seems to have halted the world's course towards the abyss of self-destruction.

Perhaps a possible positive insight from this serious crisis could be to start listening to the natural in a more feminine way.

To respect and take care of the outer nature, the planet, its resources and its wonderful and fragile biosphere.

To listen to the solidarity of compassion with fellow human beings.

To tune in to one's inner nature, to listen to and feel the body.

Remembering your breath and where the oxygen comes from: from plants, trees, plankton and flowers.

To feel the warmth: gratitude, tenderness, compassion and love.

To listen into wakefulness meditatively, inquisitively and quietly.

To discover the hidden inner nature of the human heart and of all living things. Relaxed non-doing. From doing towards natural being.

To feel the balance between the masculine principle and the feminine principle within oneself: To rest relaxed and naturally in the source of that feeling.

A brotherhood of men…
living life in peace…

You may say that I'm a dreamer,
but I'm not the only one.

–John Lennon, Imagine

With kind regards,
from the middle of a 3 month retreat

Jes Bertelsen

PS. If you know someone who you feel or think could benefit from this, please share it and use it freely.

The letter is reproduced on Kontemplation with permission from Vækstcenteret and Jes Bertelsen. On Vækstcenteret's website you will find the letter in pdf format that can be downloaded. (ed.)

Jes Bertelsen
Dr. phil. from Aarhus University 1974.
Founder and director of the Growth Center since 1982.
Author of a large number of books on depth psychology, consciousness training and spiritual practice.
Teacher at Vækstcenteret and at the retreat site by the Limfjord.