Bridging the Gulf: Embracing Nature's Rights through a Journey of Relational Being

Perhaps of late, in the midst of the challenges, troubles, and bleak news swirling about, you also are feeling encouraged by seeing the rights of nature making headlines. Whether it is Ireland working to incorporate them into their constitution, or New Zealand (Aotearoa) and other countries giving legal protections and a form of personhood that provide representation and protection for non-human beings, it all can provide us with some sense of hope and optimism. The recent Guardian article: Could 2024 be the year nature rights enter the political mainstream? was certainly helpful in introducing this concept to a broader audience. MOTH, the More Than Human Life Project is a wonderful organization working towards this as well. Also of course, it has been immensely encouraging to see in this past year the exciting developments around Nature on the Board that Faith In Nature has helped to bring into the public's attention as well.

For most of us though, this all can still be rather abstract and not necessarily grounding you into a sense of belonging along with the ecology you are a part of. In most regards the majority of us humans are still far from navigating our journey in relational ways with the rest of nature. The question of what does it look like for Nature to have rights is not one many of us can easily explain or perhaps even make sense of. Nature becoming a board member of an organization is likely still hard for most of us to understand. And it might not be very relevant to your personal processes or feel as though it is meaningful for you, your family, friends, or community. You might not know any humans who are board members in the first place, or what exactly they are doing anyways. 

And when we speak of Nature on a board, or the rights of Nature, do we include and see ourselves as a part of Nature? Because it feels important that in this greater process, and in our day to day lives, we humans become better able to appreciate the context of being in relationship with the rest of Nature. Seeing an Oak Tree and its aliveness and agency in relation to your breath. Raven for its role and patrol in your neighborhood. And how these two beings, the mycorrhizal network below them, the Rain above, and all beings between, are at all times dancing together through so many layers and levels of relationships. 

This entanglement of our existence is always happening. Never do we dance alone without countless partners. 

Nature, in all its greater context and manifestations of being, is always including us in these unfolding cyclical processes (here on this planet and beyond). You better believe Raven and Oak Tree, the fungi beneath your feet, and Rocks, Rivers, and any and all creatures of this world are aware of your presence and participation (whether you acknowledge them or not). That declaration is not an invitation to debate or get philosophical about consciousness or the animacy of beings beyond the human realm (though let's totally go there from time to time), this is about sensing into the objective aliveness of this world. 

There are ways of communicating that do not involve written or spoken human language. Sensorial, intuitive, psychic, emotional, spiritual methods for conveying, and receiving messages are happening all the time. And while some might feel compelled to deny any one of these communications methods are possible with beings of the non-human variety, it seems quite unimaginable to declare with any sort of confidence that how we humans engage with the rest of the world doesn’t elicit some quite tangible responses from whomever in particular we are in direct relations with. 

This nevertheless does not negate the great value of all of these developments with the Rights of Nature and Nature on the Board, by no means is this the case. It does however reveal there is a great gulf between these commendable actions, and our mundane, daily practices, processes, and perspectives of living and navigating our way through a living world.

This is what the Institute of Relational Being is looking to be of service to. Living with and through these inquiries.

On a foundational level, that is to say on the soil, seed and sprouts level, we at IRB wish to be of service in offering accessible pathways sensorially, and through your memory, back into seeing, and sensing that you are a being who is a part of nature. And we also wish to remind you that we are on this journey of remembrance with together with you, too. 

To be a human being, and a relational being, who co-collaborates, co-creates, and co-becomes with the rest of nature is a process and quest we’ll be on together for a long time to come. 

Moving collectively towards a future where humans find themselves as a part of the rights of nature, in holistic terms needs to be one of the goals on this quest. Where we arrive at a threshold that is crossed when we see we are entangled together in an emergent flow that embraces the complexities of reality. Living together in relationships that are rooted in an ecology of care. Seeing themselves, fellow humans and all animals, along with Rivers, Birds, Insects, Soil, Fungi, and all beings, as interwoven pieces of bioregional communities that collectively thread together with the greater fabric and tapestry that can be seen as this living world. Moving from the abstract identities that leave space for ambiguous othering and ways to not personally identify with nature, or as nature, towards baseline behaviors, practices, and an awareness that lead to day to day practical processes of living in these relational ways, together.

Our journey will begin, again and again, with a shift in perspective. 

This perspective is easy to forget in our fast-paced, technology-driven lives. We can so easily find ourselves detached from the very world that sustains us, but it doesn’t have to be this way.

(picture source: Cosmos)

IRB is here in part to provide a regularly programmed friendly reminder: that we are nature, too.

One of the ways IRB is doing this is through developing the ReBe App. This is a ‘provotype’ to support this process by attempting to meet the current popular cultural context we find ourselves in. A situation and circumstance in which most humans have access to a super computer/phone and engage with this technology daily. In many cases, this relationship with technology has been a part of the ‘problem’ but we see that it can also be an incredible tool for integrating us back into nature's embrace.

ReBe, will ideally be of service to helping us see how we are in relationship with a living world. Providing frequent, accessible, gentle nudges towards this perspective. The goal is not to be a preachy teacher but to rather be something of a prompt, a tool, and a guide on this transformative journey. With ReBe, you are encouraged to immerse yourself in the sounds, scents, and sensations of nature, ideally while feeling and sensing that you are a part of it (and a contributing member) too. It is kind of like a mindfulness companion that encourages you to reconnect with the living world that's always been around you, and within you as well.

Eventually it can promote and encourage deeper sensorial and embodied experiences while importantly untangling our attention from the technology itself as we experience guided meditation and practice analogue journaling and reflections. In this way, ReBe will be but one way that IRB intends to help nurture an embodied sense of interconnectedness with the rest of this living world. 

If this succeeds on an individual and collective level, ReBe and IRB will have successfully built itself into redundancy. But we have a long way to go before we arrive at that present moment. 

Shifting perspectives is only the beginning breaths of the path and bridge that connects us back to seeing ourselves as interwoven aspects of nature. Cultural transformation through instituting relational practices and processes is also key for this greater project to succeed.

IRB wihses to help cultivate and be of service to paradigm shifts which allow for all of nature, with us included to be honored, respected, and cared for. These are ‘rights’ but it is more like fundamental transformations away from the prevailing human-centric narratives that treats nature as an ‘other’ and as a resource to be exploited. Instead, we have an opportunity to celebrate and give thanks for the shared ecological communities we are a part of, to see ourselves as nature, and for nature to be more than just a backdrop to our human lives.

We wish to celebrate our interconnectedness, dancing with this living world as our partner.

But it is most certainly not all about celebrating and bringing forth the joy of this interconnectedness. Finding the joy and fun in this process is very important, but there is also a lot of grief, trauma, pain, and suffering that is woven into this journey as well. 

As part of multispecies ecological communities, we have a responsibility, an obligation to confront the consequences of our previous and present actions, while we work towards living with more humility, reverence, playfulness, and care. To move forward with forgiveness in our hearts as we find our way back to giving all beings from the rest of this living world the respect they deserve. 

This all is no small task, but IRB sees that it is through small, frequent actions, and interactions, that we can arrive at this mutually caring, relational space.

the Māori recognizing whales as legal persons (source: Atmos)

ReBe is being developed in part to reinforce these ideas, through prioritizing our relationships with the more-than-human beings who are all around us. Encouraging us to collaborate with the living world and the rest of nature, fostering a sense of feeling like we are actually in relationships with all living beings. Providing regular practices and shifts in our perspective to help us remember that we are never alone on this journey, that we are part of something much grander than ourselves. 

Remembering that all of our actions matter, and they ripple through the interconnected fabric of life.

This shared journey we’re embarking on together, between you, me, and IRB is one that welcomes a future where we all arrive at an eco-cosmic, holistic, relational way of living and being, so that ideally one day this becomes the dominant narrative and mythology. A reality where humans don't just recognize but also embody and uphold the rights of nature. This shift will naturally (pun intended) extend beyond personal perspectives, influencing politics, economics, and social/relational structures.

IRB is here to help create a cultural shift where ecological wisdom guides decision-making. 

In a human-centric world beset by a cornucopia of crises, the Institute of Relational Being and the ReBe App offer a different holistic path for us to confront this all from. This journey we are embarking on together is not so much about saving the planet, it’s more about being of service to all of us humans who’ve in some respects, lost our way, so that we may find our way back to caring, kind, loving relationships with the rest of nature and this living world beyond. Rediscovering our place as a part of it all. It's about embracing relational being, recognizing nature's rights, having nature on the board, and also collectively working towards a collaborative and regenerative future with our multispecies communities. And big thanks to all the entities, humans, and organizations working in this direction. We would love to collaborate with all of you.

As we venture forth, may we remember that we are not separate from this living world but an inseparable part of it.