A manual for opening the doors of perception and directly engaging the intelligence of the Natural World
• Provides exercises to directly perceive and interact with the complex, living, self-organizing being that is Gaia
• Reveals that every life form on Earth is highly intelligent and communicative
•
Examines the ecological function of invasive plants, bacterial
resistance to antibiotics, psychotropic plants and fungi, and the human
species
In
Plant Intelligence and the Imaginal Realm,
Stephen Harrod Buhner reveals that all life forms on Earth possess
intelligence, language, a sense of I and not I, and the capacity to
dream. He shows that by consciously opening the doors of perception, we
can reconnect with the living intelligences in Nature as kindred beings,
become again wild scientists, nondomesticated explorers of a Gaian
world just as Goethe, Barbara McClintock, James Lovelock, and others
have done. For as Einstein commented, “We cannot solve the problems
facing us by using the same kind of thinking that created them.”
Buhner
explains how to use analogical thinking and imaginal perception to
directly experience the inherent meanings that flow through the world,
that are expressed from each living form that surrounds us, and to
directly initiate communication in return. He delves deeply into the
ecological function of invasive plants, bacterial resistance to
antibiotics, psychotropic plants and fungi, and, most importantly, the
human species itself. He shows that human beings are not a plague on the
planet, they have a specific ecological function as important to Gaia
as that of plants and bacteria.
Buhner shows that the capacity
for depth connection and meaning-filled communication with the living
world is inherent in every human being. It is as natural as breathing,
as the beating of our own hearts, as our own desire for intimacy and
love. We can change how we think and in so doing begin to address the
difficulties of our times.
“This is a rare and splendid book that takes you right into the heart
and soul of the world. Read it and be transformed.” -Stephan Harding,
Ph.D., head of Holistic Science, Schumacher College, UK
