Description
Participate in online discussion about the readings. Speak to what has heart and meaning to you. APA 7 MUST Citations and 2 QUOTES + page numbers.
This must be high quality, clear and flowing post. What inspired you, what was intriguing? What researcher amazed you? DO NOT base it on first pages, but about the CORE idea of the test.
During weeks 5, 6,& 7, Cultivating Our Relationship With Nature, wewill spend time with the land renewing our relationship with Earth andall of her inhabitants in a slow and meaningful way. We will more fullyopen our perceptions and explore how our inner life and the outer worldare related.
Post a paragraph of at least 300 words and respond to the posts of at least one of your classmates. (I will post later)
Reading, Articles, Videos:
Roszak, T., Gomes, M., & Kanner, A. (1995). Ecopsychology:Restoring the earth, healing the mind. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books.The following selections:
- Armstrong, L. Keepers of the Earth, pp, 316-324
- Sewall, L. The Skill of Ecological Perception, pp. 201-215
- Harper, D. The Way of the Wilderness, pp. 183 200
- Aisenstat, S. Jungian Psychology and the World Unconscious, pp. 92-100
Haugen, G.M. (2013). Imaging Earth. In L. Vaughan-Lee (Ed.), Spiritual Ecology: The cry of the earth (pp. 157-171).Point Reyes, CA: The Golden Sufi Center. www.spiritualecology.org (Links to an external site.).
Video
Ribbon of Sand: North Carolina’s Outer Banks
Grabowka, J. (Producer, Director). (2008). Ribbon of Sand [DVD]. Idaho Public Television:
Notes from class:
At the heart of ecopsychology is our longing to return to our placein the web of life. We have numbed our senses, our primary connection tothe natural world, and have alienated ourselves from nature. This hascontributed to the ecological crisis (Sewell, 1995). How did thishappen, not only in the dominant culture but also in our personal life?How can we begin to return to that place where we view ourselves as onewith the natural world, rather than separate from it? These are thequestions that will move in us this week.
Depth psychologist Steven Aizenstat (1995) in his essay Jungian Psychology and the World Unconscious,says dreaming a new reality may be the first step to ecologicalwholeness. Revisioning our connection to the natural world, might giverise to creating a new myth for our life and for the Earth. He invitesus to imagine a world in which carpenter knows beaver, lawyer knowseagle, philosopher knows the silence of the deep night. He believesthat with this connection between human consciousness and the naturalworld reestablished, people will feel compelled to make the journey backto the source in nature that inspires their work and teaches whatcontribution is asked in return.
These three weeks are devoted to cultivating a relationship with thenatural world and to remembering our ancestors and our original responseto the web of life, regardless of our cultural heritage. During theweeks, we hope that you stand in awe and in love again with Earthscreatures and celebrate life and all of its connectedness. We can learn alot from our native friends about the interconnectedness of life.
Okanangan native Jean Armstrong (1995), in her essay Keepers of the Earth, speaks about her tradition, a tradition that is very much rooted in the land and the language of the land. Infact, in Okanangan, the word for our language and the word for ourland is the very same word and is considered to be the language of theland (p. 323). She explains that the way her people have survived hasresulted from speaking the language that the land offered us in itsteachings. To know all the plants, animals, seasons, and geography is toconstruct language. She also reminds us that humans are the hands ofthe spirit because we are capable of transforming the earth. We arethe keepers of the Earth because we are Earth. We are old Earth (p.324).
Laura Sewell, author of a recommended book Sight and Sensibility (1999) and the essay The Skill of Ecological Perception (1995), David Abram in the Spell of the Sensuous (1996) and G.M Haugen in her article, Imagining Earth (2014) give us deeper insights into ways that we can, in fact, open more fully to our perceptions.
Most importantly, we begin to notice the language of the land byspending time in nature and cultivating a deeper relationship withEarth.
Bill Plotkins essay, Care of the Soul of the World (2014),provideshis understanding of human psycho-spiritual development woven withinthe context of the anima mundi (world soul).He offers a timely vision ofwhat is means to be an elder in todays world (regardless of our age).He writes, if we are to have a healthy human culture, we need toembrace the daunting work of caring for the world soul, and he offerspractical ways we can step into care for our human relations and theanima mundi.
James Endredy has studied shamanic practices throughout the world. His book, Ecoshamanism:Sacred practices of unity, power & Earth (2005)encourages a shift from a consumer orientation; inviting us to moveconsciously and deeply into a reciprocal relationship with Earth. Heoffers a philosophical and social context, as well as practical methodsto cultivate our awareness of the Sacredness of Earth and ourinterrelationship with the more than human world. His respect forcultures that integrate Shamanism is apparent in his writing, even as heassists us to create our own ways to cultivate our nature connection.This book resonates with a call to action to restore balance between thehuman community and the more than human world.
As you will note, we placed Earth on our reading list. We take thisvery seriously. While we are not exactly reading the Earth, which Abram(1996) reminds us can be a deadening process, we are learning to takein Earths wisdom and more deeply understand natures ways as does TerryTempest Williams in her (highly suggested) book Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place (Williams, 2000).
Terry Tempest Williams is one of our favorite authors. Her poeticnarratives have inspired many of us and show us how the natural worldand the human world are integrally connected. If you choose to to read her book, Refuge,we learn that Terrys mother is dying of cancer. At the same time, theGreat Salt Lake begins to rise to record heights and is threatening theBear River Migratory Bird Refuge with all of its beloved birds. Thisstory interweaves the narratives of dying, transformation, renewal,spiritual grace, and hope. It is inspiring, moving, and beautiful and atrue reflection of what it means to see the natural world within us andus within the natural world.
The video link provided, Ribbons on Sand: North Carolina’s Outer Banks, isa beautiful demonstration of bio-diversity within an ecosystem and alsodemonstrates one way we can bring nature indoors to those who may notbe able to be outside. It invites us to consider the profound wisdom ofRachel Carson and Earth’s many voices.
As you begin this unit, we invite you to set an intention for reallygetting to know nature in a renewed way, to cultivate a friendship withthe natural world, and to explore how Earths children are truly ourrelations.