Environment policy
At Soul Medicine Academy believe and teach that all humans are here to contribute to and serve the evolution and safety of our Earth and her people. As such, we are committed to incorporating ethical and sustainable practices in our courses and processes.
To do the work of soul awakening, we cannot ignore the real racial, sexual, gender, disability trauma and environmental destruction from white supremacy, institutionalised oppression and capitalism. We cannot ignore that we as a humanity are on the brink of ecological collapse.
Soul Awakening is about showing up to this collective injustice in a way that honours and supports the sovereignty of all humans and intends to build a path forward for a compassionate, just, sustainable, regenerative and enriched future for us all.
It’s a travesty that some people still experience racism or discrimination because of who they are.
That 1 in 5 children in Australia, or 20%, go to school hungry or an indigenous Australian child is 7.5 times more likely to be the subject of child abuse and 70% of all youth in Australia prisons are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
It’s a devastation that we are the species that have caused the earth’s 6 major animal extinction with 40% of amphibians and mammals threatened with extinction.
That human-caused climate change is locking in increases in frequency and severity of mega-weather events and gravely putting Australia’s biodiversity under threat. Impacts from climate will affect the world’s most marginalised and vulnerable populations.
But the energy that got us here, the limitations and fears, profit-mongering and fear of the other, oppression, is not going to get us where we are called to go.
We have limitless possibility to create a future where our natural ecosystems thrive, where we live in harmony with all other species and the climate and we create richness, respect, equality and connection between all humans. We can create the space for the rise of individuals who have been kept down by outdated ideologies and systems such as white supremacy.
One of the things that keeps us from moving forward is that we haven’t been taught how to access the limitless energy in our fields and environments to shake up our norms and create new paradigms.
To create something new and beautiful, expansive and rich, you need to have excavated the depth of your power, the uniqueness of your truth and your willingness to stand up and make change with who you are.
To create a new future for the earth, we need to invoke a whole new era of soul potential.
On our political stance
We are political. We are not impartial. We will regularly and frequently speak on issues of social and environmental justice. Our founder, Melissa Sandon, is a proud Australian Green and is actively informed on mostly local to Australia political issues and is committed to speaking about these things often and much.
Melissa is a trained community and international development professional and has been working as an activist for the last 15 years before deep diving into her soul work, which to her is still an alignment of invoking the most sovereign places of power of who you are and tending to the issues of the world that beat most deeply in her heart.
On profit sharing
We will financially support the work of organisations who are actively working to educate on issues of social and environmental justice.
We will continue to support:
- Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Healing Foundation
- Environmental Defenders Office
- The Greens Party
- Climate Council of Australia
- Kittkat Care Animal Organization
- The Guardian
GETup
Responsible Earth spirituality education
Our spirituality is focused on the integration of our soul with the earth. Our education will be focused on supporting our students to embody their emotions (not project or deny), connecting with the earth, showing up for justice (social and environmental), speaking up for truth and acting for contribution.
On sustainable and ethical purchasing decisions
We will always purchase sustainable, low-plastic and local products where possible. We will support local artisans and those companies that are already working for the earth.
We will recycle and compost in our headquarters.
We are 100% carbon neutral, purchasing 100% GreenPower.
Acknowledgement of Country
The Soul Medicine Academy's headquarters are in Brisbane, Australia. The name given to this place by its Traditional Owners is Meanjin. This is the place we work, play, live, heal, and activate our soul work.
We acknowledge the Jagera and Turrbal People as the Traditional Owners of this land. We recognise that this land was never ceded and therefore we live on stolen land. We pay our respects to Elders, past and present, as the holders of the memories, the traditions, and the cultural and spiritual well-being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People across the land.
We acknowledge that before European colonisation of Meanjin, the land, the river, and its tributaries were the source and support of life in all its dimensions and we cannot do our soul work on this land without this recognition.
In the spirit of reconciliation, respect, and partnership, the Soul Medicine Academy will invest in learning and being guided by the wisdom of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.