Re-Visioning the Earth: A Guide to Opening the Healing Channels Between Mind and Nature - Softcover

Devereux, Paul

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0684800632 ISBN 13: 9780684800639

Publisher: Atria, 1996

Synopsis

Contrary to popular belief, it is not the earth that needs to be saved, it is humankind. The earth has geological ages to recover from us; it is our survival on the planet that demands attention. In this unique and groundbreaking book, Paul Devereux has written a practical guide to using the power and energy of nature to heal ourselves - emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Combining the most recent research on intelligence and perception with the wisdom and insight of ancient traditions, Devereux uses the techniques of modern science as well as traditional lifeways to create hands-on exercises that will reestablish our harmony with the natural world. Seamlessly blending science, philosophy, and psychology, Re-Visioning the Earth creates a new paradigm for living with, not just on, the earth.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

Devereux's focus, in his informative and instructional book, is on our minds rather than on nature, because he believes nature has more power to help us than we have to help it. He calls for an end to the dangerous estrangement we've imposed on the land and for a move toward seeing ourselves as a part of the Earth. Although not an archaist , he does believe in investigating the mindset of ancient peoples and their relationship with the Earth to see how this might usefully be translated to contemporary times. The goal in this brand of "ecopsychology" is to heighten our awareness of our sense of place and then utilize the resulting benefits. He says, "We are now conceptually placed at random in a model of the universe whose center we cannot see and whose periphery we do not know: we are indeed lost in space." We've lost our direct contact with nature and with ourselves in the process. We filter the natural landscape through our urbanized eyes and negate its meaning?its power to heal. Devereux explores the spiritual history of place through such things as maps, pilgrimages and sacred places. He provides experiments at the end of each chapter to help readers incorporate these new-old perceptions into their daily lives. Devereux, a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and member of the Society for Scientific Exploration, believes that we see the natural landscape as merely a spoke in the wheel we call Earth instead of as the wheel itself. Unless we see it as the wheel, Devereux says, it will be us, not the Earth, that stops turning.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Atria
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0684800632
• ISBN 13: 9780684800639
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304