The Integration of Spirituality into Sustainability
Fundamental to every activity carried out by the ZIHT/PTF towards healing the planet.
<span>undamental to every activity carried out by the ZIHT/PTF, towards healing the planet and sustainable development, is the recognition that there are material and non-material (spiritual) factors at play. The ZIHT/PTF does not conceive its mission as simply a material one, be it in the design of programs, training, leadership formation, or any other activity. Sustainable development is not just a material phenomenon — it is also a collection of values, a bundle of rights, a style of life, and a state of consciousness. This is why the spiritual dimensions of sustainability play a fundamental role.
The Concept of Planet Earth: A Live Entity
The Approach to Healing
The most common approach to healing the planet is ecological reconstruction: planting trees, decontaminating air and water, reducing consumption. The ZIHT/PTF goes beyond that, moving to a consciousness paradigm, where the healing process is enhanced by the interconnectedness between human consciousness and nature’s consciousness, using meditation, prayer, yoga and contemplation.
The Economic Paradigm
Economics as practiced today — neo-liberal economy — is a main cause of environmental destruction, underpricing natural resources and the services of the environment. The ZIHT/PTF will embrace a circular economy, a sustainable system, with an empowered citizenship, giving special emphasis to the trade-offs between natural capital and social capital.
The Essence of Governance
There is a huge governance gap that needs to be filled if we are to heal the planet and attain global peace, within countries as well as globally. ZIHT/PTF will pay specific attention to governance, with special attention to the active engagement of civil society, and to the empowerment of governance coming from the human factor.
The Instruments
ZIHT/PTF will use a battery of instruments, some traditional (planting trees, conservation of natural forests) and some different in character (inner and outer empowerment of people, spiritual practices), applied with a holistic approach: material and non-material, individual and collective, private and public, local and global.
Integration with the Social & Political Agenda
The need for healing the planet must become central to the social, corporate and political agenda of countries and international organizations — those who hold the power and material resources, and must exercise leadership and commitment to heal the planet.
The Role of Indigenous Wisdom
Indigenous peoples’ wisdom will be essential to the healing of the planet. Their cosmovision provides a solid foundation to create instruments and processes to heal the five elements of life: earth, space, wind, water and fire — a term that includes not only knowledge from indigenous tribes but very ancient traditions such as Buddhism.
The Great Attention to the Vulnerable
The healing of the planet is not just an ecological phenomenon — it is as human, as sentient being, as any other process. The destruction of the planet has created many vulnerable beings: human, animal, plant. The uniqueness of the ZIHT/PTF is its attention to the vulnerable, locally and globally.
Holding as a Summit / Apex Foundation
As the ZIHT/PTF develops and gains experience, it will offer its organizational platform in service to smaller foundations that, for reasons of material and human resources, cannot expand the impacts of their missions — without being hierarchical or taking away the leadership of other organizations.
Who the Foundation will seek to partner with
ith foundations already established that would embrace the approach of the ZIHT/PTF. With civil society, to expand and replicate the programs within different hubs or in the field. With governments interested in human transformation within the scope of sustainable development. With organizations involved in forming leaders and leadership in general, to learn from ZIHT/PTF’s approaches, courses and programs. With parliaments and their organizations, particularly on human rights and responsibility legislation. With corporations, so that the ZIHT/PTF can offer its skills in the design and development of community-level actions, minimizing social and environmental impacts. With individual world leaders who would be instrumental as ambassadors of these programs. With philanthropists and angel investors, to multiply the impact of their financial resources.
The PTF is different, not indifferent!
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