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Gaian Rants | ||||
Review The Lost Language of Plants by Stephen Harrod Buhner (Chelsea Green Publishing, 2002) The kinds of healing that have been generated out of a universe- as-machine model are showing the same negative and long-lasting environmental impacts that are being found with other reductionistic technologies. . . . Modern scientists and medical practitioners . . . have initiated catastrophic changes throughout the living, holistic, life-form that is our planet. . . . Continuing scientific efforts to create substances that bacteria cannot develop resistance to are, perhaps, the most dangerous actions now occurring on Earth. . . . Just because medicine is intended to alleviate human suffering does not mean we are exempt from the environmental consequences of using it. . . . We need to explore the development of a system of healing that is based on the capacity of human beings to have empathy for all living things. . .. - Stephen Harrod Buhner As a lover and student of herbs, I was immediately drawn to this book, subtitled: The Ecological Importance of Plant Medicines to Life on Earth. And I was hooked by the very first sentence, “I was eight the first time I tasted wild water.” Immediately I was a child, hiking with my father. I have memories of many hikes and all of them involved water. Lucy Brook, the Swift River, small rivulets in spring. And I remember leaning over a clear pool, cupping my hands and drinking the cool, clear water. I remember the smell of the soil, the water like liquid crystal, how it enhanced the colors of the rocks. And, yes, I remember the sweet, musty taste. So I bought the book and cried my way through the first chapter; Buhner’s memories awakening my own. A kindred spirit had written this book. Like me, he mourns for the wildness we have lost -- and are losing. In the second chapter, “Two Wounds”, Buhner explores what he calls “the exterior and interior wounds that come from no longer sharing soul essence with the world around us”. The exterior wound is what we see: rainforest destruction, clearcutting and the loss of ancient trees, desecration of the water and air. Destruction, Buhner explains, that has been talked about so much it’s easy to forget that there is a feeling to it: “A feeling before words, before thinking. A simple, deep response from somewhere inside us recognizing damage to the fabric of life.” The interior wound occurs “in the landscape of the human psyche and heart”, a result of the energy that goes into repressing the feelings the destruction of Gaia naturally engender in each of us. But there is more to this book than eloquent mourning for a lost way of being. There are chapters on the devastating impacts on the environment of “technological medicine”, and chapters on the awesome powers of plants, not just as healers, but as living beings participating in the life of Earth, interacting with their environment. Buhner uses quotes and poems throughout, and also includes techniques for restoring our emotional connection to the Earth, what Edward O. Wilson calls “biophilia”. This is a book that engages both mind and heart, and touches the soul. Resources Spirit of Place - Sig Lonegren can be contacted through his web site: www.geomancy.org The Chalice Well: www.chalicewell.org.uk Earth Light: The Magazine of Spiritual Ecology - Quarterly magazine that “celebrates the sacred living Earth and the awe-inspiring 13-billion-year unfolding story of the Universe.” Excellent Gaian publication. Recent contributors have included Vandana Shiva, Starhawk, Jesse Wolf Hardin, Tom Atlee, and Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich. Covers “hard” topics like politics and economics from an Earth-based, deep-ecology perspective. $24/year; 111 Faimount Ave., Oakland, CA 94611; www.earthlight.org. Mother Jones - Not exactly an unknown magazine, Mother Jones is definitely worth reading for in-depth reports on important issues. Especially check out the Sept/Oct 200 issue for excellent coverage of Bush’s undoing of 30 years of environmental work. Generally available on the newstand, but if not: 731 Market St., Ste. 600, San Francisco, CA 94103; www.motherjones.com. Institute of Noetic Sciences - Organization that integrates science, consciousness, and spirit. Noetic comes from the Greek word nous, which means intuitive mind or ways of knowing. Leading edge research and excellent quarterly publication, Shift. I’ve been a member for over 20 years and can’t imagine letting my membership lapse. Shift is a gorgeous, well-researched, accessible quarterly publication. Membership: $35/year. Contact IONS at: 101 San Antonio Rd., Petaluma, CA 94952; www.noetic.org. | ||||
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