Responding to the Call: Extinction Rebellion Actions in April

It is now undeniable that urgent action to reverse global warming is essential to the well-being of humans and so many other forms of life on Earth.

Addressing the Climate Crisis is a fundamental duty for those who wish to abide in ubuntu and agaya.

Novasutras and Extinction Rebellion

While the Novasutras movement is equally dedicated to the outcomes desired by Extinction Rebellion (XR), some may find the confrontational language and approach favored by XR does not reflect our much deeper dedication to growing a world abiding in agaya and ubuntu. As Caroline Casey has suggested, we may never move beyond war unless we stop using war metaphors to describe our interactions and intentions.

How, then, shall we respond to the call for mass action in April? How can we help, while maintaining our focus on the co-creation of better cultural forms to replace the existing systems of exploitation, inequality and disharmony?

Reflections on #RISEforClimate

Some of us joined the RISE for Climate actions in September 2018. The approach was not as confrontational as that of XR, but it provides some insights about how to join in larger mobilizations.

Much as during RISE, a large part of our response for XR mobilizations could merely be our presence. When mass actions occur, we can be there to support, to heal, to open sacred space for this most sacred work. We endeavor to be “agents of cool in a hot, reactive world” (Caroline Casey).

April Alternatives for Aiding Agaya

We can also support XRs actions for the week leading up to Earth Day (April 15-22) by taking actions that harmonize with our intentions. Whether or not you can join a mobilization, you can lend your support through meditation during key times (e.g. around the start of a planned action).

You can make the week especially sacred and resonant in other ways, as well. Perhaps you could:

• Take a Fossil Fuel Fasting pledge. Whether it be for an afternoon, every evening for an hour, or throughout the entire week, plan to set aside some time where you use no power that comes from petroleum oil, coal, kerosene, propane, paraffin, fracked natural gas, or the like. Light your home with soy wax candles, prepare meals outside over a fire made from sustainably harvested wood, entertain your family or community by singing, playing games or telling stories – things that are less immediately dependent on potentially fossil-derived power and massive data centers.
• Commit to Eating More Sustainably. Are you ready to try going vegan for a week? Maybe just a day? Maybe all you can commit to right now is eliminating beef and pork you would otherwise be eating at a few of your meals? The more you shift toward a plant-based diet, the easier it is on the climate.
• Change your Commute. Can you make this a personal bike-to-work week (or better yet, have some colleagues or neighbors join you in a commitment to bike to work)? What about carpools or mass transit?
• More Meditation. Commit to more frequent and/or longer meditations during the week, and set an intention for your meditation practice this week to support earth-care through agaya and ubuntu.
• Communicate to extend ubuntu. Let people know what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. Share your plans and actions with friends you talk to, and on social media (use #agaya and/or #Novasutras) to help us find and grow our global community in ubuntu.

How will you show up? What else will you do?