Although clean water is essential for human life, statistics indicate that we’re facing a global water crisis. A quarter of the world’s population lacks access to clean drinking water, and over 800,000 people die every year from diseases directly related to unsafe water or inadequate sanitation. Moreover, the impacts of climate change are exacerbating water problems everywhere. The World Meteorological Organization reports a 134 percent increase in floods since 2000 and a 29 per cent increase in drought duration.

How can income reform provide room for spiritual development while at the same time involving all areas of our lives — physical, emotional, social, and what we might call the intuitive aspect of our life?

In 1918, Lucile Taylor Hansen was a college student, spending her summer vacation with the Chippewa Indian tribe in Michigan. Dark Thunder, the chief, shared much of the tribal knowledge with her and one day told her of a Holy Man who had visited the tribe in distant times. This man came to the Indians when their empire was united, and great cities stretched for miles. Wherever He went the miracles followed, and always He spoke of the Kingdom of His Father.

Rachel Carson would have compassion for young people who face daunting issues of pollution, disturbed climate, the rising threat of nuclear war, and shattered economies — they confront the same forces of greed that caused Carson to describe her century as “an era dominated by industry, in which the right to make a dollar at whatever cost is seldom challenged.”

A common definition of utopia is: ‘A place, state or condition that is ideally perfect in respect of politics, laws, customs, and social conditions.’ This does not mean all people are perfect (or ‘enlightened’), but that the system is; it sustains all life and creates the circumstances for people to grow spiritually, to expand their knowledge of the universe and the laws of life.

In 1918, Lucile Taylor Hansen was a college student, spending her summer vacation with the Chippewa Indian tribe in Michigan. Dark Thunder, the chief, shared much of the tribal knowledge with her and one day told her of a Holy Man who had visited the tribe in distant times. This man came to the Indians when their empire was united, and great cities stretched for miles. Wherever He went the miracles followed, and always He spoke of the Kingdom of His Father.

It is necessary to establish a system such as basic income that can distribute resources in a fairer way and contribute to a paradigm shift. We need a shift towards spirituality; to a paradigm that makes room for and stimulates human unity, compassion, which sees humanity holistically, as part of nature.