What do Gloria Steinem and Archbishop Desmond Tutu have in
common? They’re both listening to an urgent message from Mother
Earth, as are a host of others (listed below) who are singing the
praises of Jean Shinoda Bolen’s latest book, Urgent Message
from Mother: Gather the Women, Save the World. Bolen is a
Jungian psychologist best known for her works Goddesses in
Everywoman and The Tao of Psychology. In Urgent
Message, she cites a broad array of sources, including Jungian
archetypes and recent brain science, to makes the case that women
are uniquely suited to healing the world. Here’s a brief
introduction to a few of her ideas.
These people think this book rocks!
Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Isabel Allende
Terry Tempest Williams
The Right Reverend William E. Swing
Gerald G. Jampolsky
Riane Eisler
Sue Monk Kidd
Marilyn Fowler
Robert Muller
Gloria Feldt
Alice Walker
Patricia Smith Melton
Marianne Williamson
Woman have a biological advantage . . .
Bolen gathers years of scientific research in support of her
point. Two examples: One UCLA study found that instead of coping
with stress via the ‘fight or flight’ response, women turn to a
‘tend and befriend’ approach, seeking contact and support. Other
studies suggest that the corpus callosum, a structure responsible
for communication between the left and right hemispheres of the
brain, which is said to improve verbal skills, is significantly
larger in women’s brains than men’s.
Social epidemics create change . . .
Citing Malcolm Gladwell, Bolen points out that rapid change
frequently takes us by surprise when an idea reaches its ‘tipping
point.’ She draws on Rupert Sheldrake’s morphic field theory to
suggest that women’s circles could fuel the tipping point.
What do we need?
Bolen: ‘Help Wanted: Everywoman [and Everyman!]
Home keepers for Earth. Must keep premises safe for all. Have
concern for children’s needs and development, ability to manage
resources, resolveconflicts, work collaboratively, ask questions,
listen, learn from the experience of others, be empathic, and act
with compassion for thebenefit of all, including generations to
come.’
Why do we need it?Budget for the Human Family
‘The purse strings of the planet are held by men,’ Bolen writes.
If feminine sensibilities dictated the agenda, that budget would
shift significantly. The Stockholm International Peace Research
Institute, the World Policy Forum, and the World Game Institute
have developed a budget for ‘human’ versus military needs. Their
findings:
provide shelter: $21 billion
eliminate starvation and malnutrition: $19 billion
provide clean, safe water: $10 billion
eliminate nuclear weapons: $7 billion
eliminate land mines: $4 billion
eliminate illiteracy: $5 billion
provide refugee relief: $5 billion
stabilize population: $10.5 billion
prevent soil erosion: $24 billion
The estimated annual total budget for human needs $105.5 billion
vs. actual global military spending $900 billion
The planet is alive . . .
Bolen borrows James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis’ ‘Gaia
Hypothesis’: the entire planet Earth is a living organism. The
picture of Earth taken on the Apollo 11 mission in 1969 initiated a
shift in human consciousness.