What is "GeoCosMysticism"?

Well, it's a word I came up with to describe my spiritual orientation. A meet a growing number of people who aren't comfortable with most of the labels floating about "new age", "green", etc. Some of us are even getting weary of the word "spiritual", which can mean anything from "I'm not religious, but I believe in stuff", to "I belong to an order of higher consciousness than thee", to "I'm getting in touch with my inner self" to "I watch Oprah". I've been a minister for almost 25 years, love the Bible and Jesus, but really don't like what's become of "church". So I've been on a quest to re-invent myself in my "post-church" incarnation. "GeoCosMysticism" is where I've landed lately.
"Geo-" is an ancient Greek prefix meaning "earth". Words like "geography", "geopolitical" and "geological" are formed from it. My attention has been turning more and more to this grand sphere, to it's natural integrity, diversity, richness and beauty. Wisdom from indigenous cultures, transmitted through creation myths from every tradition, attempt to convey that life, as we know it, is of the Earth, from the Earth, and OUR lives and our well being are inextricably woven together with Earth's life and well being. We are at a critical juncture in the Earth's history when we are being compelled to recognize again our dependency on "Mother Earth" or "Gaia", the living system, the "biosphere" within which we live and move and have our being. The GeoCosMystic begins with attention to, and especially reverence for the Living Earth.
"Cos-" is half of the word "cosmic", from "cosmos", that wonderful PBS series that made Carl Sagan's a household name. Actually, "cosmos" is also from Greek, and refers to the entire known universe. The scientific exploration of that "known" universe is called "cosmology". Cosmologists like Stephen Hawking and Brian Swimme today are opening doors and windows into this breathtaking realm of spacetime that are challenging to dogmatic or narrow religious minds. Satellite telescopes are showing us pictures of the exquisite and virtually infinite expanse of space and listening for sounds from other living planets. Quantum physics and superstring theories are calling into question many scientific assumptions we were made to memorize in our formative educational years. The GeoCosMystic welcomes scientific exploration and the unlocking of secrets about the universe we inhabit, is facinated by and ravenous for news from the scientific frontier, and delights in ideas that stretch her mind. There is no new or different information that a GeoCosMystic worries will undermine his faith or belief system. He trusts the universe is conspiring on his behalf, and holds lightly the human structures of meaning that he knows will be swept away like a house of cards before the wind.
"Mystics" have been among us forever, and prior to the 16th and 17th centuries, they were acknowledged as eccentric, and revered for their spiritual insights and appreciated for their contributions to culture. Many mystics were artists, poets, musicians and - perish the thought! - revolutionary thinkers! Since the Age of Reason, mysticism has been held in suspicion by the Church ("Two things can be said of mysticism: it starts in a mist, and ends in schism!"), and viewed as antithetical to orthodox scientists for whom the "scientific method" was the very antidote to mystical "whimsy". Lately, and largely as the result of science, we know that insight does not only derive from formulae, equations and logical sequences of thought. Intuition, sensory awareness, body-centered consciousness - all these are genuine modes of knowing. The living creatures with whom we share life - and Life itself - is interacting with us, communicating with us. The Bible reports that Moses (a geocosmystic?) heard God speaking from a burning bush, and today's mystics are learning to listen for messages from animals, trees, the air and water, as well as from the fire. It is not only the human mind that "thinks" or "knows" - there is thought and knowledge to be attended to within the entire rich texture of this place we call home, the Earth, the universe, our bodies and all creatures great and small.
Ok ... so this is a first go at giving expression to what it means to be a GeoCosMystic. I trust you will have your own contribution to make to this blog. Onward!