Spirituality and Environmental Sustainability

297 Pages·2015·2.22 MB·English

by  Sandra Krempl

Curtin
 University
 Sustainability
 Policy
 (CUSP)
 Institute

Spirituality
 and
 Environmental
 Sustainability:

Developing
 community
 engagement
 concepts
 in
 Perth,
 Western
 Australia

Sandra
 Anne
 Krempl

This
 thesis
 is
 presented
 for
 the
 Degree
 of

Doctor
 of
 Philosophy

Of

Curtin
 University

September
 2014
DECLARATION

To
 the
 best
 of
 my
 knowledge
 and
 belief
 this
 thesis
 contains
 no
 material
 previously

published
 by
 any
 other
 person
 except
 where
 due
 acknowledgement
 has
 been
 made.

This
 thesis
 contains
 no
 material
 which
 has
 been
 accepted
 for
 the
 award
 of
 any

degree
 or
 diploma
 in
 any
 university.

Signature:
 ...........................................

Date:
 1st
 September
 2014

ii
ABSTRACT

Communities
 and
 organisations
 are
 rarely
 engaged
 in
 conversations
 encompassing

physical,
 relational
 and
 spiritual
 dimensions
 of
 life.
 Even
 fewer
 incorporate
 these

conversations
 into
 governance
 processes.
 This
 research
 is
 attempting
 to
 address

this
 gap.
 It
 trials
 three
 concepts
 developed
 by
 this
 researcher:
 The
 Connectivity

Matrix;
 Five
 Dimensions;
 and
 Combined
 View.
 Each
 provides
 a
 different
 lens
 and

entry
 point
 into
 the
 spirituality
 and
 environmental
 sustainability
 conversation.
 They

are
 used
 to
 engage
 communities
 in
 conversation
 about
 their
 corporeal
 and

metaphysical
 relationship
 with
 nature
 and
 spirituality:
 to
 ascertain
 the
 link
 between

these
 phenomena
 with
 decision
 making
 in
 life
 and
 work;
 and
 to
 analyse
 the

influence
 of
 these
 dynamic
 experiences,
 or
 the
 lack
 of
 them,
 on
 environmental

sustainability.

The
 views
 of
 31
 professional
 from
 diverse
 sectors
 and
 78
 participants
 in
 six

workshops
 from
 a
 variety
 of
 socio-­‐cultural
 backgrounds,
 all
 based
 in
 Perth,
 Western

Australia,
 inform
 this
 research.
 The
 inquiry
 builds
 on
 a
 range
 of
 theories
 from

contemporary
 spirituality,
 philosophy,
 environmental
 science,
 neuroscience,

psychology,
 economics,
 management,
 law,
 the
 arts,
 social
 science
 and
 sustainability

policy,
 which
 cover
 physical
 and
 metaphysical
 realms.

Factors
 that
 cause
 resistance
 to
 or
 enable
 connection
 with
 the
 dynamic
 dimensions

of
 life
 are
 identified.
 The
 findings
 contribute
 to
 new
 multidimensional
 definitions
 of

nature
 and
 spirituality.
 New
 concepts
 to
 illustrate
 and
 explain
 the
 different
 modes

of
 spirituality
 are
 developed
 by
 identifying
 the
 dichotomy
 as
 self
 and
 selfless
 and

spiritual
 modalities
 as
 doing,
 hoping
 and
 being.
 The
 tools
 and
 approach
 trialled
 in

this
 research
 provide
 a
 model
 and
 process
 for
 the
 dominant
 theoretical

engagement
 with
 environmental
 sustainability
 to
 consciously
 include
 the
 dynamics

of
 both
 tangible
 and
 intangible
 dimensions.

  iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I
 acknowledge
 the
 first
 people
 of
 this
 land,
 their
 ancient
 wisdom
 and
 their

contemporary
 journey.

My
 sincere
 thanks
 go
 to
 all
 members
 of
 my
 thesis
 committee.
 It
 was
 in
 a

conversation
 with
 Professor
 Dora
 Marinova
 that
 I
 took
 courage
 and
 decided
 to

begin
 this
 journey.
 I
 am
 very
 grateful
 that
 Dora
 agreed
 to
 be
 my
 thesis
 supervisor.

Professor
 Len
 Collard
 was
 my
 associate
 supervisor
 until
 his
 move
 to
 University
 of

Western
 Australia.
 Dr
 Shamim
 Samani
 and
 Dr
 Thor
 Kerr
 kindly
 stepped
 in
 and
 have

supported
 me
 as
 associate
 supervisors
 for
 the
 second
 half
 of
 this
 journey.
 Thank

you
 all
 for
 your
 advice,
 encouragement
 and
 for
 the
 countless
 hours
 you
 have
 spent

reviewing
 and
 providing
 feedback
 on
 my
 work.
 Thank
 you
 also
 to
 Professor
 Peter

Newman
 for
 his
 role
 as
 Chairperson
 of
 my
 thesis
 supervisory
 committee.

Many
 people
 have
 assisted
 me
 transition
 towards
 this
 PhD
 journey.
 I
 would
 like
 to

thank
 Alan
 Johnstone
 from
 Murdoch
 University
 for
 his
 support.
 Thanks
 also
 to
 my

friend
 and
 colleague
 Linda
 Blagg
 who
 began
 her
 PhD
 journey
 a
 year
 before
 I
 did
 and

provided
 much
 encouragement
 before
 and
 through
 the
 process.

To
 the
 Curtin
 University
 Sustainability
 Policy
 (CUSP)
 Institute
 staff,
 fellow
 students

and
 broader
 network
 –
 I
 thank
 you
 all
 for
 your
 support
 and
 wish
 you
 well
 in
 your

endeavours.

My
 friends
 at
 Curtin
 Bentley
 campus
 supported
 me
 in
 many
 ways
 –
 Marilyn
 Metta,

Joy
 Scott
 and
 Michelle
 Barrett
 –
 my
 heartfelt
 thanks
 to
 you
 all.

l
 owe
 special
 thanks
 to
 Julie
 Lunn
 for
 facilitating
 the
 Bentley
 campus
 connections

and
 humanizing
 the
 maze
 of
 processes.

There
 are
 over
 a
 hundred
 individuals
 who
 have
 participated
 in
 this
 research.
 Thank

you
 for
 your
 contributions
 and
 I
 hope
 I
 do
 them
 justice.

  iv
I
 acknowledge
 the
 financial
 assistance
 of
 the
 Australian
 Postgraduate
 Award
 and
 a

Curtin
 University
 Postgraduate
 Scholarship
 that
 enabled
 me
 to
 undertake
 this

research

Finally,
 to
 my
 sons
 Nicki
 and
 Luiz
 Pereira
 and
 families,
 my
 doctoral
 journey
 is

evidence
 that
 sometimes
 ideas
 from
 our
 youth
 take
 years
 to
 realise
 –
 but
 that
 we

should
 never
 stop
 believing
 in
 our
 dreams.

  v
CONTENTS

Abstract
  iii

Acknowledgements
  iv

Preface

  Background
 to
 the
 development
 of
 the
 First
 and
 Third
 Person

  1

 concept
 from
 which
 this
 research
 has
 grown

Chapter
 One:

  An
 introduction
 to
 this
 research:
 Searching
 for
 the
 deeper
 story
  9

1.1
  The
 complexities
 of
 spirituality
  10

1.2 Divergent
 views
 on
 environmental
 sustainability
  11

1.3 Questioning
 existing
 frameworks
  13

1.4 This
 thesis
  14

Chapter
 Two:

 Literature
 Review:
 The
 shifting
 global
 paradigm

  20

2.1
  Environmental
 sustainability
  22

2.2
  Nature
  31

2.3
  Corporate
 systems
  37

2.4
  Spirituality
  44

2.5
  Conclusions
  50

Chapter
 Three:
 Research
 design
  52

3.1
  Methodology
  52

3.2
  Research
 tools
  55

3.3
  Data
 collection
 methods
  63

3.4
  Analyses
 of
 Information
  69

3.5
  Conclusions

  71

Chapter
 Four:
  Nature
  73

4.1
  Defining
 nature
  74

4.2
  Being
 physically
 connected
 to
 nature
 through
 sensory
 engagement
  75

4.3
  Mindsets
 determining
 the
 level
 of
 engagement
 with
 earth’s
 biodiversity
  86

4.4
  Detachment
 from
 nature
 and
 ways
 to
 reconnect
  94

4.5
  Emergent
 themes
  102

4.6
  Conclusions
  117

Chapter
 Five:

 Spirituality
  120

5.1
  Defining
 Spirituality

  121

5.2
  Different
 positionings:
 Interpreting
 spirituality
 from
 within
 a
 likeminded
  127

  group
 or
 from
 an
 outsiders’
 point
 of
 view.

5.3
  The
 perceived
 foundation
 of
 spirituality

  140

5.4
  Spirituality
 and
 nature

  149

5.5
  Spirituality
 and
 sustainability
  151

5.6
  Emergent
 themes

  153

5.7
  Conclusions
  171

Chapter
 Six:

 Priorities
 within
 the
 five
 dimensions
  174

6.1

  The
 Five
 Dimensions
 concept
  174

6.2

  Favourite
 place
  175

  vi
6.3

  The
 three-­‐dimensional
 world
 (3D):
 the
 physical
 world
  176

6.4

  The
 fourth
 dimension
 (4D):
 the
 relational
 world
  178

6.5

  The
 fifth
 dimension
 (5D):
 the
 world
 of
 wonderment

  181

6.6

  Emergent
 Themes

  183

6.7
  Conclusions
  195

Chapter
 Seven:

 Governance
  197

7.1

  The
 percentages
 exercise:
 the
 amount
 of
 time
 that
 participants
 spend
 in
  197

  community,
 corporate
 systems,
 nature
 and
 spirituality

7.2

  The
 impact
 of
 governance
 on
 nature
 and
 spirituality
  205

7.3

  Governance
 systems
 that
 promote
 environmental
 sustainability
  222

7.4

  Emergent
 Themes
  230

7.5
  Conclusions
  239

Chapter
 Eight:

 Towards
 multidimensional
 sustainability

  242

8.1
  The
 steps
 taken
 so
 far
  242

8.2
  What
 the
 journey
 has
 unfolded
  245

8.3
  Current
 global
 frameworks
 seeming
 inability
 to
 transit
 to
 sustainability
  250

  without
 the
 dynamics
 of
 spirituality

8.4
  Concluding
 statements
 and
 visioning
 the
 next
 stage
 of
 the
 research
  252

References
  258

List
 of
 Appendices
  270

Appendices
  271

  vii
TABLES
 and
 FIGURES

Preface

Table
 P.1
  The
 First
 Person
 and
 Third
 Person
 System
  4

Table
 P.2
  Community
 Spirit
 and
 Strategic
 Planning
  6

Table
 P.3
  Nature
 in
 our
 community
 and
 corporate
 lives
  6

Table
 P.4
  Spirituality
 and
 Nature
 in
 our
 community
 and
 corporate
 lives
  7

Chapter
 Three

Table
 3.
 1
  Concept
 1:
 Connectivity
 Matrix:
 Spirituality
 and
 Nature
 in
 our
  57

community
 and
 corporate
 lives

Table
 3.2
  Concept
 2:
 The
 Five
 Dimensions
  61

Table
 3.3
  Concept
 3
 –
 The
 Combined
 View
  62

Table
 3.4
  Stages,
 tasks
 and
 processes
 for
 conducting
 the
 data
 analyses
  70

Chapter
 Five

Table
 5.1
  Concept
 4:
 The
 Three
 Modalities
 of
 Spirituality
  155

Chapter
 Six

Table
 6.1
  Viewing
 the
 commonalities
 between
 the
 categories
 of
 two
  185

psychology-­‐based
 theories
 on
 the
 dimensions
 and
 capabilities
 of
 the

mind

Table
 6.2
  Summary
 of
 the
 three
 highest
 ranked
 categories
 for
 favourite
 places,
  186

the
 three-­‐dimension
 object,
 fourth
 dimension
 relationship,
 and
 fifth

dimension
 activity.

Figure
 6.1
  Participants’
 favourite
 places
  176

Figure
 6.2
  Summary
 of
 responses
 to
 the
 most
 important
 three-­‐dimensional
  177

object
 in
 each
 participant’s
 life

Figure
 6.3
  Summary
 of
 participants’
 responses
 to
 the
 most
 important
 fourth
  179

dimension
 (4D)
 –
 relational
 aspects
 in
 their
 lives

Figure
 6.4
  Summary
 of
 participants’
 responses
 to
 the
 activity
 they
 spent
 the

most
 time
 in,
 within
 the
 fifth
 dimension
 (5D)
 or
 realm
 of
  182

wonderment

Chapter
 Seven

Table
 7.1
  Average
 time
 spent
 in
 each
 category
  201

Table
 7.2
  ‘Actual’
 time
 spent
 in
 ‘self’
 and
 ‘selfless’
 activities
  202

Table
 7.3
  ‘Actual’
 and
 ‘Ideal’
 time
 spent
 in
 each
 category
  203

Table
 7.4
  Group
 2
 ‘Self’
 (Community
 and
 Corporate
 combined),
 and
 ‘Selfless’
  204

(Nature
 and
 Spirituality
 combined)

Table
 7.5
  Llopiz’
 chart
 interpreting
 the
 positioning
 of
 spirituality
 and
  222

governance

Figure
 7.1
  Averages
 of
 percentage
 of
 time
 spent
 in
 each
 category
 [percentages]

  201

Figure
 7.2
  ‘Actual’
 time
 spent
 in
 ‘self’
 and
 ‘selfless’
 activities
 [percentages]
  202

Figure
 7.3
  Group
 2
 –
 ‘Actual’
 and
 ‘Ideal’
 time
 spent
 data
 [percentages]
  203

Figure
 7.4
  Group
 2
 ‘Self’
 (Community
 and
 Corporate
 combined),
 and
 ‘Selfless’
  204

(Nature
 and
 Spirituality
 combined)
 [percentages]

Chapter
 Eight

Table
 8.1
  Key
 findings
 from
 this
 research
  253

Table
 8.2
  Connectivity
 Matrix
 –
 the
 next
 stage:
 Multidimensional
 Sustainability
  256

  viii
PREFACE

Background
 to
 the
 development
 of
 the
 First
 and
 Third
 Person
 concept
 from
 which

this
 research
 has
 grown.

This
 preface
 serves
 to
 provide
 some
 background
 to
 the
 First
 Person
 and
 Third

Person
 Systems
 concept
 (Krempl
 2006).
 This
 concept
 is
 the
 foundation
 on
 which

this
 research
 has
 grown,
 and
 references
 are
 made
 to
 it
 at
 various
 points
 through
 the

study.

I
 developed
 the
 First
 Person
 and
 Third
 Person
 System
 (Krempl
 2006:10)
 as
 a
 process

for
 community
 engagement
 and
 planning
 in
 the
 1990s.
 The
 concept
 was
 conceived

through
 learning
 from
 life
 experiences
 informed
 by
 my
 complex
 heritage
 and

growing
 up
 in
 multicultural
 Singapore
 during
 its
 transition
 from
 colonial
 rule
 to

independence.
 It
 evolved
 over
 several
 decades
 of
 working
 in
 arts,
 culture
 and

broadcasting
 in
 developed,
 developing
 and
 underdeveloped
 countries.
 I
 developed

the
 concept
 to
 guide
 me
 in
 working
 through
 the
 biggest
 challenge
 I
 faced.
 This
 was

with
 bridging
 sensory
 learning
 experiences
 with
 professional
 systems,
 information

and
 knowledge
 required
 in
 the
 corporate
 world
 without
 devaluing
 either.
 I

observed
 that
 often
 those
 skilled
 in
 the
 processes
 of
 the
 professional
 or
 corporate

world
 tended
 to
 treat
 communities
 rich
 in
 oral
 traditions1
 as
 inferior.
 This
 appeared

to
 be
 because
 of
 a
 lack
 of
 appreciation
 and
 understanding
 of
 different
 ways
 of

learning
 and
 knowing.
 Recognising
 the
 intrinsic
 value
 of
 both
 oral
 tradition
 and

corporate
 approaches,
 I
 often
 found
 myself
 playing
 a
 facilitating
 role,
 fostering

awareness
 of
 the
 strengths
 of
 the
 oral
 tradition
 and
 professional
 communities,
 and

the
 role
 that
 both
 play
 in
 diverse
 situations.

1
 I
 define
 oral
 tradition
 as
 being
 a
 sensory
 process
 because
 it
 involves
 more
 than
 the
 spoken
 word.
 In

communicating
 orally
 the
 person
 speaking
 or
 listening
 engages
 several
 sensory
 skills
 at
 the
 same

time
 (Krempl
 2006:146).

  1
My
 heritage

My
 heritage
 stories
 provide
 some
 background
 and
 understanding
 of
 how
 and
 why

the
 First
 and
 Third
 Person
 Systems
 came
 to
 be.

The
 Dayak
 people
 —
 a
 South-­‐East
 Asian
 indigenous
 group
 —
 was
 my
 mother’s

dominant
 heritage
 line.
 My
 mother
 was
 brought
 up
 by
 the
 Dayaks.
 Her
 paternal

grandmother,
 a
 Dayak,
 became
 her
 guardian
 because
 my
 mother’s
 mother
 (who

was
 part
 Balinese
 and
 Danish)
 died
 soon
 after
 she
 was
 born.
 Adding
 to
 the

complexity,
 my
 mother’s
 paternal
 grandfather
 was
 Chinese.
 At
 around
 the
 age
 of

twelve,
 mother
 was
 taken
 from
 her
 grandmother
 and
 her
 Dayak
 home,
 to
 be

‘civilised’
 in
 a
 convent
 in
 Singapore.
 This
 was
 the
 beginning
 of
 her
 urban
 life
 and

mother
 used
 to
 tell
 many
 stories
 of
 traumatic
 transition
 times,
 her
 feisty
 resilience,

and
 her
 pride
 in
 being
 Dayak.

My
 father
 was
 Austro-­‐Hungarian
 from
 many
 generations
 of
 classical
 musicians.
 He

was
 a
 Hungarian
 citizen,
 living
 and
 performing
 in
 Budapest
 until
 1933.
 His
 parents

were
 Austrian.
 The
 bleak
 situation
 in
 Europe
 in
 the
 thirties
 resulted
 in
 my
 father

leaving
 Hungary
 with
 an
 orchestra
 for
 better
 work
 prospects
 overseas.
 During
 those

years
 Hungary
 underwent
 numerous
 upheavals.
 It
 became
 communist
 in
 the
 late

1940s
 whilst
 my
 father
 was
 performing
 with
 the
 orchestra
 in
 Singapore.
 He
 died

never
 seeing
 his
 homeland
 again.

I
 grew
 up
 in
 colonial
 Singapore
 with
 parents
 who
 had
 reconstructed
 their
 identities,

cultures
 and
 sense
 of
 belonging
 but
 they
 also
 held
 strongly
 to
 values,
 skills,

learnings
 and
 stories
 from
 their
 cultural
 upbringing.
 Apartheid
 laws
 were
 alive
 and

well
 in
 colonial
 Singapore
 as
 were
 racial
 tensions
 and
 unrest.
 I
 seemed
 to
 live

between
 different
 worlds:
 Asian
 and
 European,
 oral
 and
 written
 cultures.
 It
 could

be
 said
 that
 my
 positioning,
 because
 of
 my
 heritage,
 could
 give
 me
 the
 right
 to

speak
 on
 behalf
 of
 each
 side
 because
 I
 had
 a
 ‘legitimate’
 foot
 in
 each.
 However,
 this

was
 not
 the
 case.
 From
 a
 young
 age
 I
 learnt
 the
 importance
 of
 growing
 trust
 and

respect
 across
 diverse
 socio-­‐cultural
 contexts
 and
 the
 value
 of
 establishing
 common

ground.

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