The Truth About Stories: An Autoethnography Towards Earth Consciousness A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Education In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Education University of Prince Edward Island We accept this thesis as conforming To the required standards Dr. Fiona Walton Dr. Suzanne Thomas John Darrell DesRoches Miscouche, PE September 14, 2010 Copyright © 2010 John Darrell DesRoches i Permission to Use Postgraduate Thesis Title of Thesis: The Truth About Stories: An Autoethnography Towards Earth Consciousness Name of Author: John Darrell DesRoches Degree: Master of Education 2010 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment for a postgraduate degree from the University of Prince Edward Island, I agree that the libraries of this University may make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the Professors who supervised my thesis work, or, in their absence, by the Dean of the Faculty of Education. It is understood that any copying or publication or use of this thesis or parts thereof for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the University of Prince Edward Island in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in my thesis. Signature______________________ Address_______________________ _____________________________ _____________________________ Date__________________________ ii Abstract The present ecological crisis reflects a crisis in human consciousness, especially in the western world, where our relationship with the earth and cosmos has been largely shaped and influenced by the stories we have been told in our culture. The old stories, as manifested in the myths and world views of our western cultural, philosophical and religious belief systems, emphasized humanity‟s dominion over nature and the benefits of economic, scientific and technological progress that regard the earth as having value in meeting our own ends. A series of autoethnographic narratives and reflections suggest that technological progress alone will not curb the current ecological destruction of the earth. There is a need for new stories; for a re-storying about the earth that includes our interconnectedness with the planet. Earth consciousness is described as a relational and embodied understanding of ourselves vis-à-vis the earth. Earth consciousness fosters an understanding that humanity is part of the earth, part of the universe, not a separate entity. Respect, relationship and reciprocity are suggested as our best hope for the future, lying in our capacity for an attitude of reverence, wonder and awe at the creative, life-sustaining power of the universe. iii Acknowledgements Writing this thesis has not been easy on my family as, for many evenings and weekends, my nose has been in books and studies or else I have been tuned out of the fray of ordinary family life. I wish to thank my wife and life-long partner Cathy for putting up with my nights of restless sleep, bursts of excited blabbering and periods of quiet contemplation. To my girls, Amy, Sarah and Bethany, and my son, Alex; I wish to thank you for understanding that my absences, in body or in spirit, were necessary to finish this project. I wish to acknowledge all my Professors in the Master of Education program at the University of Prince Edward Island. Together they helped me become more aware of the need for critical thinking and that good pedagogy starts with an examination of self. Special thanks go out to Professors Fiona Walton and Suzanne Thomas whose encouragements, kind smiles and wise counsel helped me to find the courage and confidence I needed and for whom unorthodoxy did not intimidate. Our early morning meetings, sometimes with a view of the beautiful North Shore and with coffee and scones, will be surely missed by me. I wish to extend my sincere appreciation to Drs. Graham Pike and Basil Favaro for their careful and insightful reading of my final draft. Their affirmations of my ideas and positive responses to my writings mean a great deal to me. I wish to acknowledge all those voices from my past, human and non-human, who have contributed to whom I have become. Life is a road and I wish to extend my appreciation to all who have been signs, bridges, highways, guardrails, corners and potholes for my journey so far. And finally I wish to acknowledge the profound influence Rev. Thomas Berry O.P. has had on my writings. Thomas Berry‟s vision for a new story for humanity has been both inspiring and challenging for me. Sadly, Thomas Berry died on June 1, 2009 while I was writing this thesis. He was 94. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence; Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. Robert Frost from The Road Not Taken iv Table of Contents Permission to Use Postgraduate Thesis ......................................................................... i Abstract ......................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ......................................................................................................... iv Chapter One: Prologue ................................................................................................. 1 The Road Less Traveled ........................................................................................... 1 The Old Dirt Road .................................................................................................... 3 The Bridge ................................................................................................................ 6 Letting Go ............................................................................................................... 15 Life as Narrative ..................................................................................................... 18 Chapter Two: A Planet in Peril .................................................................................. 20 Crisis: Humanity as a Geophysical Force ............................................................... 20 The Emperor‟s New Clothes ................................................................................... 23 A Contortioned Circus of Geese ............................................................................. 24 On Death and Dying ............................................................................................... 28 Winnie the Pooh and Galleon‟s Lap ....................................................................... 30 The Stories We Tell ................................................................................................ 33 Dropping the Philosopher‟s Stone .......................................................................... 35 Postmodernism‟s Promise ....................................................................................... 37 Constructed Selves .................................................................................................. 38 The Lenses and Filters of Culture ........................................................................... 39 The Stories I‟ve Heard ............................................................................................ 40 Narrative and the Representation of Experience .................................................... 41 Myths and Meaning-Making................................................................................... 42 Gentle Giants of the Sea ......................................................................................... 44 You Shall Have Dominion ...................................................................................... 53 Myth ~ Anthropocentrism .................................................................................. 55 Myth ~ Scientific and Technological Progress .................................................. 58 Myth ~ Self-help and the Primacy of the Individual ......................................... 61 Myth ~ Mind over Matter .................................................................................. 62 Myth ~ The Real Original Sin ........................................................................... 65 Myth ~ In the Name of the Father ..................................................................... 69 Chapter Three: Wonder, Awe and the Earth as Sacred Reality ................................. 73 A Lesson from Ants ................................................................................................ 73 We Are Stardust ...................................................................................................... 75 Earth as Home ......................................................................................................... 85 The Shadow Side of Awe ....................................................................................... 90 Our Sacred Home .................................................................................................... 91 My Sacred Place ..................................................................................................... 94 Aboriginal Wisdom and Sacred Earth .................................................................