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This year’s Annual National Bioneers Conference was, as always, moving and inspirational, with an abundance of compelling conversations and calls to action to meet the challenges of our time.
Sharing a common vision for restoring nature and communities and of humanity’s potential to be a healing presence, The Pachamama Alliance and Bioneers have been close allies and friends for some time, with Lynne Twist serving on its board.
Entering its 25th year, the National Bioneers Conference gathers a community of conscious, concerned people in San Rafael, CA- with satellite locations across the U.S.- to participate in rich and diverse programming highlighting innovators and solutions.
Women as Profound Reminders of Our Connection to the Earth
One of the resounding messages this year was that it’s time to recognize the Earth as our Mother and that women can serve as reminders to all of this profound relationship we have and need to nurture. Echoed by many of those who spoke, women can connect us to our deepest humanity, and the time for women’s leadership is now. Nina Simons, Co-founder of Bioneers, shared with the audience that “women will lead the movement of movements that will bring us all together.”
In a panel entitled, “Women as Democracy Builders: Reclaiming Our Commons from Corporate Power,” both Leila Salazar-López of Amazon Watch and The Pachamama Alliance’s Lynne Twist shared deeply moving stories of women’s power to resist and heal to serve their communities and the planet.
Leila shared the inspiring story of indigenous women in Ecuador who had just marched almost 200 miles over 5 days, with children in tow, to Quito to deliver a message to the government in protest of oil extraction in their territories in the Amazon.
In a narrative filled with both profound sadness and joy, Lynne spoke of women in Liberia who brought peace to their country after years of civil war by convincing their men to lay down arms. In an ultimate testament to the power of mothering, the women did this by bathing, holding, feeding and nurturing the men, beginning with the youngest ones first and inviting group after group of men into their care.
A Story for Our Time – Empowering Women So the Planet Can Heal
Lynne also shared a Native American prophecy with the teary-eyed attendees that tells of the bird of humanity who has been flying with only one wing outstretched and moving powerfully (representing men) and the other wing bent and flapping laboriously (representing women). According to the prophecy, this has caused humanity to tire, spinning itself clumsily in circles, moving at less than its full expression.
When women step into their power and take a leadership role, that second wing will fully outstretch and humanity will soar gracefully and arrive at its fullest and most beautiful expression.
This message was woven throughout many of the conference’s keynote speeches as well. Janine Benyus, known as the ‘Godmother of Biomimicry,’ reminded us that we are a young species, so we need mothering, and we can learn from our ultimate mother, the Earth, the natural world. Reverence for this mother will lead to right behavior, which is what’s needed to curtail the current ecological unraveling. In her words, it’s “time to learn our way home.”
Listening to the Feminine Principle in Ourselves; Connecting to the Sacredness of Mother Earth
This requires a human relationship to the sacredness of Mother Earth, pointed to by Tom Goldtooth of the Indigenous Environmental Network. He called for a shift in our focus to the creative feminine principle and energy of the Earth, which will entail a turning away from current paradigms of production, consumption and commodification.
And, in perhaps one of the most transparent, heartfelt talks of the weekend, Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, CEO of Green For All, exemplified what it is to be a mother and to lead from that perspective. She gave a convincing plea for a truly human dimension to come forth to save the planet, inviting us to see that we desperately need to build real, authentic relationships with each other as well as with the Earth.
Bioneers encourages us not only to develop a vision but to also take action. It seems the first call to action might be, ‘Listen.’ Listen to the Earth. Listen to the voiceless. Listen to the feminine principle with yourself. And, echoing Atossa Soltani of Amazon Watch, “If you’re a woman, rise up and lead us to a better future!”
