Reconnecting to the Earth

[ecosophia]

I field a modest number of complimentary copies of books on various subjects from authors variously aspiring and successful. Some of them go unread to the local library's ongoing used book sale; some get read in whole or in part before heading for that same fate; a few find their way onto my bookshelves for a time; a very, very small number are things I end up recommending to my readers. This book belongs to that last category. 

Aaron Hoopes is a martial arts teacher in Vermont and a regular reader of mine, and like a great many thoughtful people these days he's deeply concerned about the way that our societies and lifestyles have embraced the pretense that we are somehow separate from nature. This book is a crisp, readable, and admirably concise guide to doing something about that, beginning at the place where real change always has to start -- our own bodies, minds, and choices. Reconnecting to the Earth sets out to do some of the same things I tried to do in Mystery Teachings from the Living Earth, but Hoopes' book has a focus on everyday practice and a simplicity of approach that's really admirable and gives it its own distinct value. I can recommend it to anybody who's interested in nature-centered spirituality or simply wants to live a less artificial existence. 

Interested?  You can order copies here. 

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

I have been contemplating my poor record of responding to health issues while organising an appointment to get a comprehensive once over from a naturopath and a plan moving forward. I noticed that I have generally tried to ignore warning signs and keep making demands of my body until more serious issues crop up. It struck me that the healing of my relationship with my body is one and the same enterprise as healing my relationship with the earth, in a very microcosmic/macrocosmic way. It works symbolically as well, with the element earth corresponding to the physical planet and the body. Time for some adjustments to the meta-spell that is my life to repair my relationship with these manifestations of earth on the physical plane!

Thank you for the recommendation.