Step Two

Step
Two

Get to know
Earth.

What do you really know about this planet?, enough to realize it’s more than just a passive backdrop?, or to recognize it in Nature? Even though you’ve been here your whole life, a proper introduction will help. This step gives you that introduction with an executive summary of Earth’s most basic parts.

Is it necessary?

Yes, an introduction lays down a basic conceptual framework that helps the brain organize follow-up learning. Without a framework our minds struggle to relate experience and information to a larger coherent picture of the world. That’s the situation most of us find ourselves in when it comes to Earth: we don’t integrate our understanding of the planet with our lived experiences on it.

What kind of framework do you have in place?

Tell me more

How To
Do It

Discover
the realms.

Enter a parallel universe where Earth is divided into nine realms. Each one is a globe engraved with an epic origin story that’s brief yet profound. Taken together, they give you an overview of our planet and a foundation for moving forward. Your mission is to learn the backstories well enough they penetrate your subconscious.

The path forward

If you doubt the need for a good introduction, you won’t be grounded in the idea of realms, able to build upon them, or proceed along the path.

If you buy into the realms and start thinking of Earth in terms of them, you’ll soon realize your planet is more amazing than any fantasy world. And, that Earth—this planet you’ve committed to love—has a mind-blowing past and present you really ought to know about. After all, isn’t love strongest when it’s supported by understanding?

Find
Help

Gear up for
this step.

Learn about the realms and their lore with an item from the selection below. Each one offers the same content, but in a different context. Choose what works best for you and start getting to know Earth.

Directions

Choose an item you can put somewhere you’ll see a lot. When a realm catches your eye, take a minute to read its story. Go slow and visualize it unfolding in your mind’s eye, even try to recite some of it.

Do this again and again to internalize the realms’ stories over time. Seeing them in a mystical light, feeling some awe, and grasping their profound qualities will help you retain these realms and their backstories to build upon.

Realms for Your Smartphone

$9.00
Earth’s Realms Yoga Mat

$42.00
Earth’s Realms Lamp

$32.00
Earth’s Realms Shower Curtain

$39.00
Earth’s Realms Art Poster

Price range: $13.00 through $26.00
Earth’s Realms 20″ Square Pillow

$26.00
Earth’s Realms Stickers

$20.00

Take It
Outside

Use what
you learn.

Now that you’ve been introduced to the realms, you’ve got a foundation for getting to know Earth outdoors. Use this set of realms to categorize what you encounter in Nature for instant insight into its backstory in big, broad strokes. Each time you practice this, you’ll be building your relationship with this planet.

Make Progress

When you’re outside and feel like you don’t know where to start, try visualizing a realm appearing in the background. Then focus on what’s near it that’s related to the realm. In time you’ll see realms lighting up around you in Nature wherever you go. As you do this, the foundation for learning more will grow stronger, so turn it into a habit that stays with you.

Step three

Photo Art on this website includes adaptations from “A Long Dead Star” from ESA, Hubble, and NASA, by Y Chu; “The Blue Marble from NASA; “Twin Blue Marbles” from NASA; and Earth photo by Reid Wiseman from the International Space Station, Expedition 40.

Building on a commitment to love with an understanding of Earth’s most basic parts creates a strong foundation for connectedness. First, a sidebar to recognize how strange it is living our lives on Earth without a good idea of what it’s all about. But, the world has been too big for us to perceive, and cultures, customs, and economic practices have come from a time when we didn’t grasp Earth in its totality.

Now we know so much more about what our planet is and does, but we’ve delegated that knowledge to scientists. As inhabitants of Earth, each one of us should be entitled to a basic working understanding of this planet. After all, shows about other worlds provide an overview, and they make those imaginary places seem a lot more intriguing than this real planet.

In spite of our sophistication in many things like legend, fantasy, and visuals, as a society we’re naive about the gift that is this Earth. Capitalizing on our strengths to shore up our weaknesses, this overview dresses up science and facts by giving them the same treatment as fantasy. It also asks of us to suspend disbelief and rebuild our ideas about Earth from the ground up.

With the foundation in place, the rest of learning can begin. The plotlines fit snugly onto the foundation of love and realms to form a framework. These aren’t detailed explanations, but general truths established by science. They can be used like a Rosetta Stone for the natural world, providing enough of Earth’s key narratives to shed some light on nearly everything in Nature we humans will encounter.

In their absence, we are left with human-centric plotlines to make sense of our outdoor experiences, plotlines like the battle between good and evil, overcoming hardship to reach success, and man conquering Nature. But these describe so little of what’s happening outdoors that our minds struggle to retain, or even notice the majority of it.

Using a different set of deliberately crafted narratives could catapult our experience of the natural world to a higher level. Plotlines based on science marry credible, reliable information with the ancient appeal of story. Presenting them as tales—with Earth as the protagonist—doubles down on this appeal, while expanding the concept of realms makes it easier to grapple with the new ideas. And at this point on the path, including examples from the real world turns our attention back to it.

This first step addresses the very core of connection: unconditional love for our planet. Without it, connectedness is an uphill battle, because it must compete with everything else for our attention, time, and commitment. The competition uses every psychological lever to win, so that’s where the path to connection must also start.

Choosing to love Earth requires willingness and awareness. To make these easier, the step points out negative societal influences that can block progress, influences that range from society shaping how we spend our time and attention to the things we learn and attitudes we hold. It establishes Earth as a relatable and awesome being to love, and it asks for commitment, thus bringing our identity and integrity to bear.

In contrast to what you might expect, this approach doesn’t start by venturing into the wilderness with the hope that love will eventually blossom. Instead, it ventures into our consciousness, arguing that love for our planet is the prerequisite. The strategy is to start with the biggest battle and clear the landmines right from the start, psychological approaches that are fair game when the stakes are so high.

Is it necessary?

The path forward

Directions

Realms for Your Smartphone

Earth’s Realms Yoga Mat

Earth’s Realms Lamp

Earth’s Realms Shower Curtain

Earth’s Realms Art Poster

Earth’s Realms 20″ Square Pillow

Earth’s Realms Stickers

Make Progress