Recent thought in ecopsychology has coined the terms “inner ecology” and “outer ecology,” which invests microcosm/macrocosm with relational awareness. The table below shows six basic principles of ecosystem ecology on the left, and equivalent principles of interior ecology on the right.
| Outer Ecology Macro-Principles |
Inner Ecology Micro-Principles |
1 |
Life is powered by flows of energy from the sun. |
Energy flows from Earth and Mind and Other. Art-making is powered by a flow of images from the conscious and the unconscious mind, by a flow of images from Earth,and by flows of energy between self and Other. Making art is partly learning to tap these flows. |
2 |
Life’s Materials Continuously Cycle and Recycle:
Life Lives in Circles |
The continual cycling of memories, including the archetypal memories of the collective unconscious, is the mind’s creative wellspring |
3 |
We all Belong to the Biosphere: All lives are interwoven and mutually dependent. |
Making art rounds the circle of self, integrates our riven parts and gives each the power of speech or symbol and unites the self with the Biosphere-- Creative process makes the circle of self congruent with the Earth’s large circle. |
4 |
All lives continuously transform: Being is becoming. |
Making art transforms us into Other, through empathy and play, in processes of inspiration, catharsis, identification and ritual. |
5 |
All lives seek Balance: Lives regulate themselves toward homeostasis. |
Making art balances, integrates and heals; Image flow from Earth and the unconscious into the aware mind is a balancing/healing process which gives us the images we need. |
6 |
All lives Interlive: Lives find ways to live with and within each other. Symbiotic cooperation is a basic pattern of life. |
Art-making is inevitably communal, a collaboration among artist, past artists, others, shared culture, and the shared unconscious. |
