Sublime Vision Petition

(10 min. read)

We, the undersigned, heartily petition all leaders and members of human society to implement the Sublime Vision as the new human life paradigm. The Sublime Vision provides what is urgently required for a rapid transition to a regenerative Earth stewardship: a sublime transition in human consciousness uniting humanity in the higher purpose of Inner Growth.

Sublime Vision:

“We need a Sublime World nourishing Inner Growth because we are sublime beings beyond the biological body.”

The above logo of the Sublime Vision consists of the joined logos of Inner Growth and the Ecolibrium. It visualizes the Sublime Vision of the Sublime World:

Inner Growth: Inner Growth means developing inner values such as sublime character, empathy, compassion and spiritual growth. Stilling our inner thirst minimizes consumerism and gives lasting happiness. The logo shows the “i” of Inner Growth within a compassionate heart.

Ecolibrium: Ecolibrium means equilibrium with our ecosphere in all fields of life through regenerative life systems that are sustainable, self-repairing and nourishing Inner Growth. The logo shows a balance and the sun giving energy to fresh leaves.

The need of the hour is to reverse ecocide by achieving the Ecolibrium – the equilibrium with our ecosphere. 966 jurisdictions covering 212 million citizens in 18 countries have declared a climate emergency. We are in the midst of global eco collapse due to skyrocketing species extinction rates (175 are going extinct every day, 95% due to humans! 15% of all total species are lost every 10 years!), ecosystem loss (82% of wild animals by mass and 50% of live corals are already lost) and climate change. Eco collapse gives evidence that infinite growth in a finite world is self-destructive. Yet nobody wants to stop growing. Growth is integral to life. So what’s the solution?

We facilitate the transition to regenerative post-growth societies by redirecting the impetus of infinite growth to Inner Growth, which is truly infinite, harmless and giving lasting satisfaction. Many experts across various disciplines agree that if we want to avoid human extinction, infinite growth-driven economies must be replaced with a regenerative paradigm – but they haven’t found it yet. The Sublime Vision offers this new paradigm for a regenerative, Sublime World.

As pointed out in an article by Dr. Will Marshall, ecosystem loss is much worse than climate change. We need to talk mainly about eco collapse, of which ecosystem loss is a major factor and climate change is a minor factor, as shown in below graphic.

There are two main climate scenarios that scientists either choose to agree on – (1) the “little chance scenario” and (2) the “overshoot scenario”*.

[*Note: There is no third scenario in which the climate will stabilize again by itself. Climate change deniers spread pseudo-science funded by big industry with an almost $1 billion/year budget, although their myths have long been debunked. Unlike public opinion, the scientific consensus on man-made global warming is 99.99%, as pointed out by this paper.]

1. The Little Chance Scenario
   Most scientists endorse this scenario. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), along with leading climate activists like Extinction Rebellion and Fridays For Future believe that we can still avoid catastrophic climate collapse. We have a very small chance of only five percent of reversing abrupt climate change by keeping global warming below 2°C. However, many climate collapse specialists like Dr. Rupert Read have voiced that 2 degrees is too high. The IPCC has released a report summarized here that says 1.5°C is a huge difference to 2°C and much more preferrable. The latest report of the European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) states: “An increase of 1.5 degrees is the maximum the planet can tolerate; should temperatures increase further beyond 2030, we will face even more droughts, floods, extreme heat and poverty for hundreds of millions of people; the likely demise of the most vulnerable populations – and at worst, the extinction of humankind altogether.” If we want to avoid climate catastrophy we must somehow confine warming to 1.5°C in the short time of six years up to 2025.
2. The Overshoot Scenario
   A smaller yet growing number of scientists like Prof. Jem Bendell hold that it is already too late to prevent catastrophic climate collapse because we have overshot tipping points of no return – catastrophic heating of 3 to 10 degrees is already locked in. David Wallace-Wells’ article The Uninhabitable Earth became the most read article of the New York Magazine. In the overshoot scenario, unless there is divine intervention, within 10-20 years, most societies will collapse due to heat waves, droughts and fires causing crop failures leading to famine, uncontrollable epidemics, mass migrations, civil unrest, looting and breakdown of vital systems like food and water supply, electricity, health care and government. Due to extreme weather damage and electricity cuts there will be cooling failures leading to meltdown of potentially 450 nuclear reactors worldwide, creating vast radiation contamination. Within 30 to max. 100 years, humanity is very likely to go extinct due to heat waves, famines and epidemics. Crop failures due to climate change are already on the rise in most countries, even in the UK, where many farmers are switching profession. The danger with the overshoot scenario is that it can facilitate climate despair – one of the biggest climate action obstacles. To avoid climate despair and inaction, those who accept the overshoot scenario have to start acting on the fact that we are left with divine intervention. In a world with 6.5 billion people of faith (85% of 7.7 billion), it would be reckless to neglect divine intervention. Of course, that also must not be misused as an excuse for climate inaction. People of faith should attract divine intervention by united prayer and by increasing efforts of climate action to prove their sincerity. Thus, the overshoot scenario is not a “too late scenario” and its climate actions are the same as for the “little chance scenario”, at least for the 85% people of faith.

For both the scenarios, the actions are the same: Massive global climate actions and united prayer to attract divine intervention (which is also crucial in the very little chance scenario of limiting heating to 1.5°C). The urgently needed drastic carbon budget reductions require great sacrifices on many levels. Many experts have pointed out that such sacrifices require something we lack so far: a massive shift in consciousness. The Sublime Vision now fills this gap by providing a paradigm shift in consciousness and core identity.

Another important point of consideration is that our lack of willpower to timely implement the many available green solutions indicates that the problem lies much deeper. External pollution is caused by internal pollution of our consciousness, as depicted in below artwork.

Simply by making the world sustainable we haven’t healed our internal pollution yet, and it will again create external peril. Our external problems are symptoms of our inner root crisis. Thus we can only solve them by healing the inner root crisis. This becomes evident when we consider that although all solutions to our eco crisis are available, we refuse to implement them timely, just like a depressed patient who refuses to take medicine, hoping for a deeper change. Global human ecocide is the expression of a depressed human collective whose heart is crying:

“I don’t want to sustain a depressing world that ignores our root crisis and neglects Inner Growth. Give me a Sublime World – then I shall happily sustain it!”

Millions of gadgets cannot make us happy, but a few sublime relationships can. No money can buy us character, empathy, compassion and love. Such priceless inner values require Inner Growth, which is lacking in our present systems of education. People invest everything into external growth because they believe in the Gross Vision that we are the biological body and that our fulfillment can thus be found in the external world.

However, evidence on our website from various academic disciplines shows that the Gross Vision is false. Once we understand that we are sublime beings beyond the biological body, it becomes clear that our root crisis is caused by the Gross Vision and that our collective depression and ecocide are only its symptoms. Our eco crisis really is an ego crisis. The Sublime Vision is the curing life vision that induces the required systemic change or paradigm shift from identifying with matter and exploitation to identifying with consciousness and Inner Growth. It’s the long awaited “software update” for humanity to be able to transition to a Sublime World. Albert Einstein said: “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”

As expressed by Prof. Gus Speth, U.S. Advisor on climate change: “I used to think that top global environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and climate change… but I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed, and apathy, and to deal with these we need a spiritual and cultural transformation. And we scientists don’t know how to do that.” A crucial necessity of our time is thus to find a profound transformation that reaches beyond ecology into culture, philosophy and spirituality. However, due to different belief systems, it is hard to find spiritual values that most people will agree upon. With the Sublime Vision self-concept we have identified the basic common value of all spiritual traditions that not only fosters eco-friendliness, but also curbs consumerism and is supported with evidence from various academic disciplines.

In today’s times of imminent eco collapse and societal collapse, two strategies become crucial: mitigation and adaptation. Mitigation tries to minimize and reverse collapse and adaptation tries to adapt to it. Efficient actions of mitigation are, for example:  ecosystem restoring (rewilding, protection, restoration and expansion of forests, mangroves, peat, grasslands, top soil, etc.), carbon sequestration solutions like biochar amendment and greenhouse gas emission reduction (transitioning to renewable energy, massive reduction in meat and data consumption, fast fashion, military footprint, etc.), global cooling through cloud seeding by afforestation & rewilding (harmless natural geo-engineering) and transforming our consumerist society into an Inner Growth society. Small scale actions like recycling are good but should not distract from more important large scale solutions.

Actions of adaptation include building greenhouses and water capture systems to assure food production during eco collapse, assessing locally adaptable heat-resistant and drought-resistant crops and making migration strategies for places prone to ecosystem collapse, coastal flooding and droughts.

In both strategies, a very strong consciousness is vital. It takes enormous amounts of energy not to fall into globally increasing climate depression or pre-traumatic stress disorder when faced with imminent eco collapse. This loss of the capacity to properly deal with the threat also includes apathy, depression, hoarding and looting. With weak consciousness, we will naturally ask ourselves: “Why should we even try to counteract collapse with so little chance?” Here, the Sublime Vision becomes a crucial mental support. By assuring that we exist as sublime beings beyond the biological body, we gain strong confidence to continue our efforts of transforming both our inner as well as our outer world.

The Gross Vision of identifying with a mortal body leads to a consumerist use-and-throw culture because the belief to become extinct when one’s biological body dies undermines the continuity of accountability and social responsibility. The Sublime Vision, on the other hand, inspires us to continue our transformation efforts ‘till our last breath because we realize that our personal life and responsibility continues after death and no effort with good intention is lost. The beauty of the butterfly is determined by the successful transformation of the caterpillar.

In the worst case we face human extinction in the present dimension and migrate to another dimension where we continue living in new forms. All the lessons we learn here will be carried forward there. With this vision, there is a greatly reduced chance of depression even in the worst case. Some say that such hope leads to inaction. But this is not the case here. Rather, the Sublime Vision fortifies our transformation efforts because the quality of the next dimension depends on our present efforts. In the best case we avoid complete collapse through mitigation, adaptation and divine intervention, and then all our efforts will bear fruits in this world. So in any case, the Sublime Vision minimizes depression and maximizes transition efforts.

Although eco collapse and societal collapse are strong negative incentives to transition to a Earth-friendly and zero carbon world, most people still hesitate because they can’t integrate the green transition positively into their lifestyle. We urgently need a positive lifestyle narrative for transition. This gap is also filled with the Sublime Vision. For example, with the Gross Vision, it is considered hip and socially appealing to spend tons of money on luxury holidays, thus bolstering the local economy and one’s own status quo. In today’s time of ecocide, however, it becomes clear that living luxuriously is an eco crime due to being a prime contributor to ecocide. Luxurious ways of travel, accommodation, fashion, jewelry, cuisine, etc. are topping the eco crime charts. But this negative incentive alone won’t do.

The Sublime Vision now grants us a game-changing positive narrative: the less energy we spend on working for external luxury, the more energy we have for the real luxury of Inner Growth. The less we are violent to Mother Nature and feed our false ego of toxic fanciness, the more we can nourish non-violence, humility and simplicity, which are beautiful gems of Inner Growth. For example, instead of buying the latest gadget, which would set off a chain reaction of eco crimes and social crimes, we are happy with what we already have or buy second hand items, because acting sublime is no more an austerity – it is part of our sublime lifestyle building our new Sublime World, in which sublime values like community building, compassion and empathy come first.

The Sublime Vision fosters a transition from artificial necessities and exploitation to inner fulfillment and symbiotic collaboration. It redirects as much energy as possible to Inner Growth and makes sure that material development maintains the Ecolibrium.

We have only been sophisticating our hardware – it’s high time to update our operating system.

A mature person is someone who has stopped growing at both ends and is now growing in the middle.

Human maturity begins now, with the Sublime Vision. We are excited.

Once this petition attains a considerable momentum we will submit it to all leaders from local leaders to national leaders to the United Nations. The permalink of this petition is sublimeunion.org/sv. This petition was initiated by the Sublime Union, an organisation dedicated to the implementation of the Sublime Vision.