Ecomysticism

NATURE / SPIRITUALITY"This, I believe, is an important book, a systematic and fearless new look at spirituality in the language of both the humanities and biology. It is impressive in scholarship and style . . .… (More) NATURE / SPIRITUALITY"This, I believe, is an important book, a systematic and fearless new look at spirituality in the language of both the humanities and biology. It is impressive in scholarship and style . . . I believe it will stimulate new interest in the subject." --E. O. Wilson, professor at Harvard University and author of The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth and Consilience: The Unity of KnowledgeMany have been struck by a majestic moment in nature--a sole illuminated flower in a shady grove, an owl swooping silently across a wooded path, or an infinitely starry sky--and found themselves in a state of expanded awareness so profound they can feel the interconnectedness of all life. These trance-like moments of clarity, unity, and wonder often incite a call to protect and preserve the earth--to support Nature as she supports us. Termed "nature mysticism," such experiences have been described by people from all cultures. However, the ever-increasing urbanization of the world's population is threatening this ancient connection as well as the earth itself.In Ecomysticism, Carl von Essen explores nature mysticism through the recorded experiences of outdoor enthusiasts as well as scientific studies in biology, psychology, and neuroscience. Citing consciousness scholar William James and a variety of well-known nature lovers such as Ansel Adams, Henry David Thoreau, and Ralph Waldo Emerson, von Essen shows how the spiritual transcendence from an encounter in nature--like other mystical experiences--can heal the Nature Deficit Disorder of our psyches and bodies, leading to an expansion of our worldview and a clearer understanding of our self and the natural world. Offering a solid bridge between spiritual practice and environmental activism, von Essen's spiritual ecology reveals how only through a renewal of humanity's spiritual connection to nature can we effect true environmental healing.CARL VON ESSEN, M.D., studied medicine in California and Sweden. He has practiced and taught in the United States, India, and Switzerland and served with the World Health Organization in Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. The author of The Revenge of the Fishgod: Angling Adventures around the World and Memory Is a Dwelling Place, he lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Less)

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Sections

acKNoWlEDGmENts
iNtroDUctioN
1 tHE BEGiNNiNGs oF NatUrE aND sPirit
Chaos
Gaia
Eros
An Angler’s Trance
The Alert Man
3 tHE ExPlorEr
Himalayan Epiphany
Inner Exploration
Topophilia
The Despotic Eye and Goethe’s Phantasie
Solitude
War as a Mystical Experience
Transcendental Athletics
Mountains and the Ecstasy of Danger
Poetry and Nature
Sublimity and Delightful Horror
Wordsworth as a Nature Mystic
Henry David Thoreau
Ted Hughes
Paleolithic Legacy
Homage to the Rock
6 tHE HEalEr
A Universal Art of Nature
Encounter with a Traditional Healer
Wisdom and Healing
The Healer’s Trance
7 tHE mystic laDDEr
Climbing the Mountain
Ineffability
ineffability:
Noetic Quality
Transiency
Passivity
Modern Concepts
Einstein’s Ambivalence
Spiritual Experience in Childhood
Creativity
8 WiDEr tHaN tHE sKy the Psychobiology of mystical Experience
Mystical Models
Chemical or Spiritual?
Photism
Ohm’s Law Analogy
Neurotheology
Pathological States
Drugs and Mystical Experience
The Human Impact
Philosophic Reason
Nature’s Revenge
10 tHE FUtUrE rEsts WitH Us
Finding the Road
Urbanization: Blessing or Curse?
Bringing Nature Home
Needed: The Moral Equivalent of War
NotEs
notes
BiBlioGraPHy

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