Environmental Stewardship and Reincarnation
By Keith Zang

Throughout the history of this planet there have been many people that have taken care of the earth and created environmentally sustainable societies. Others have been destructive in their philosophies and practices. Presently the more destructive and selfish societal ideals causing widespread damage are the predominant viewpoint. Part of this perspective originates in the spiritual beliefs of the populations. Throughout the westernized world the main principle is of living one earthbound life followed by some heavenly reward or punishment. If reincarnation was the predominant viewpoint in industrialized nations, and the people truly took that belief to heart, the manner in which the environment and the planet as a whole was cared for would be completely different.

Imagine not only passing on our environmental problems to our children, which is often heard by political pundits and environmental advocates, but to ourselves. If reincarnation were truly understood and is the reality that we all face, whatever we do today, we will have to live with tomorrow. We live in a world of finite natural resources. Many of the more traditional forms of energy are quickly being depleted by the use of gas guzzling SUV’s, night skies lit up by millions of unnecessary advertisements for unsustainable goods and services and production of low nutritional, highly fatty foods. Our watersheds are quickly becoming polluted or depleted. We are plagued by ever increasing environmental problems every day. The circumstances surrounding these issues would be viewed differently if we knew that we would be facing greater shortages in the 20 to 50 years when we returned. The time spent in our physical bodies on Earth would be more in preparation for our lives to come, than using all the resources in one big bang lifetime’s splurge. Instead of worrying if we are passing on oil shortages to our children and grandchildren, we would be doing all we could to develop alternative fuels and sustainable energy infrastructures so that when we returned, we would have a life that was more plentiful. We would not know where we were to be reborn so all areas would be cared for, not just those that belong to the richest countries. We would replant logged areas and have sustainable forest practices for healthy forest ecosystems to enjoy through our lifetimes to come. We would plant trees knowing that when we came back, those trees would be healthy forests to enjoy. Areas such as Haiti with only 1% forested lands would become a priority for replanting.

The economies in which we base our societies now would be structured in a more humane way. Instead of the richest countries supporting themselves on the backs of sweatshop labor, all workers would be treated fairly and given a living wage with benefits. We would all share in the creation of products in a more sustainable way. This would ensure that each person was able to afford those items needed for a good quality of life without having to deforest areas for fuel or sift through vast mounds of garbage for food. Owners of businesses would treat their workers fairly under the knowledge that karmic law would bring them back to be reborn in similar circumstances in which they treated their workers. All products would be priced in terms of their full costs of production including environmental sustainability. Gasoline and natural gas would be more expensive than it is currently due to true costs including cleanup of degraded areas and spills. The use of oil, gas and coal would quickly give way to other forms of energy such as wind, solar, and biogas. Nuclear energy would be abandoned due to the long term life of its waste products as well as it usability as weapons materials. Any nuclear waste products currently being buried and stored would be re-evaluated. No longer would the materials be kept in leaky or substandard containers. Nuclear waste products would be handled in ways that would ensure its safety for the lifetime of its ability to contaminate the environment. We would all know that we would have to deal with it again in the next or subsequent lifetimes.

Water would be treated differently. No longer would we be dumping vast amounts of waste into the oceans, disrupting the ecosystems and polluting our food sources. We would know that those waste products would still be there when we returned. We would find a more environmentally friendly way of disposal. Our aquifers would be protected. No longer would refuse be indiscriminately buried to pollute ground water sources. Much time and effort would be taken to ensure the protection of all sources of water for generations to come. Overuse of water causing the depletion of aquifers would instead be viewed as a source to be used over a long period of time, not just one lifetime. Any practices that would have detrimental effects to water sources would be socially unacceptable with large penalties going towards those individuals or companies not complying.

Our governments would also be much more accountable in their passing of laws and guidelines. Special interest groups and large environmentally unfriendly corporations would not have the strangle hold nor the power they now have in westernized societies. They would in fact, be very limited in their scope or even ability to survive. Instead, leaders would look towards the long-term future, not just the next election cycle. There would be more multi partisan efforts to come together to consensus over practices that effect each other globally, not just political boundaries. Different ideologies would certainly exist, but no matter what type of government was chosen, the leaders would be conscious of the needs of their citizens, as once again, karma would eventually balance out any wrongs that leader did to its country’s people. Wars would be scarce or non-existent and the methods of war would be greatly changed. Nuclear weapons would not be tolerated, and spent uranium used in bullets and bombs not an option. The long term environmental effects of the people would be recognized, and each person using such weapons would know they could be potentially born into an area that was littered with the debris of their own making. Terrorism would become something many less people would be willing to undertake. The karmic implications of taking innocent lives for selfish narrow causes would make even the most militant person take pause for contemplating such acts. As it is now, most terrorists believe in a heavenly reward for doing such deeds, thus the proliferate use of suicide bombs.

Population growth is something that would occur at a much slower rate. Each person born into the world would be potential competition for future resources. Instead of families having 5 or 10 children, many more would look to a moderate sized family of one or two. We would realize that more people on the planet would mean a world more degraded and less able to sustain our own lives when we returned. Those children that were born would be taught at an early age the societal goals of overall stewardship of the planet in which they had returned.

If all of us knew that we would return again and again to this planet, the wasteful, selfish societies and mindsets that now dominate the globe would not exist. True knowledge of reincarnation would cause each of us to live in a more responsible and environmentally sustainable manner. We would take good care of the air, water, and land in which we knew we would live in for generations to come. These generations would not include just our children and grandchildren, but ourselves. It is now a challenge for each of us that do truly believe in reincarnation to be examples of environmental responsibility. As light continues to flow to our world, more people will become aware of this connection to the planet and ourselves. In our next lives we will continue to face environmental challenges wrought by the beliefs and practices of today. But if we work hard at changing our own habits and help to enlighten others, the job will not be so large, and the tasks not so daunting.

Keith Zang is the author of “Touching The Light” Now available at all book stores. He owns and operates the Moonglow Enlightenment Center in Elma, WA. (www.moonglowonline.com). Keith is also a Reiki Master/Instructor, Registered Counselor with the State Of Washington and a Holistic Stress Reduction Specialist. He can be contacted at relax@moonglowonline.com. This article is copyrighted 2004 by Keith Zang. This article may be reprinted for personal use.