Dear Dream Tending Community,
Earth Day has always held special meaning for me. I am remembering those last hours of a five-day summit at the Hague, in the Netherlands where I spoke in the Peace Place during a United Nations Environmental summit. At the closing, I was the last to offer my reflections. When I began sharing, what came through was: “It is not a matter of asking what we can do to save the planet.” Rather, we must reverse the question and ask, “What is the planet asking of us?”
The planet is not asking for us to cut down more forests.
The planet is not asking for more offshore oil drilling, not “drill baby drill.”
The planet is not asking for the elimination of regulations on nature preserves.
These ideas are not sustainable, not Earth based. Rather they are motivated by greed, power, and domination.
What the creatures, landscapes and ecosystems are asking for is conscious stewardship that allows for recovery, generativity, and co-creation.
How do we hear this plea?
How do we listen to the guidance offered in the intelligence of the natural world?
We do so through listening to the voices of the others we share the planet with. The oceans, mountains, forests, and deserts speak through the images of our dreams. Their voices along with those of the animals and the air we breathe offer their knowledge, their innate intelligence, and their plea in the dreamtime. When we make time to listen, we hear and feel their presence, their guidance.
Imagine listening first to the landscape before designing a bridge over a neighborhood creek. Imagine listening first to the trees before setting a policy of forest preservation.
Let’s join, in community, on this EARTH DAY 2025 and share our dreams with one another. Let’s listen to nature-based settings, figures, and emotions. Then, we can support one another in hearing the songs of trees, the poetry of the oceans, the innate wisdom of the animals. May we listen into what the planet is asking of us.
Going forward, Tending Tuesdays will be shared monthly.
Warmly,
Dr. Steve Aizenstat
Inside The Curious Mind
A quote that resonated with me this week…
“Let the beauty we love be what we do”
~ Rumi
Learn the Power, Purpose and Intelligence of Dreams
Unleash your creativity and innate genius
Stephen Aizenstat
Stephen Aizenstat, Ph.D., is founder of Pacifica Graduate Institute, Dream Tending, and the Academy of Imagination. For more than 35 years, he has explored the power of dreams through depth psychology. He has collaborated with Joseph Campbell, Marion Woodman, Robert Johnson, James Hillman, and Native elders worldwide. He is the author of Dream Tending and conducts dreamwork and imagination seminars throughout the US, Europe, and Asia.
