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The protagonists of Le Guin's work are no strangers to the Tao Te Ching: they struggle with the question of how to live properly in the world, how to work with others to create little countries without many people, working by not working to create ambiguous utopias, the only kind that have any chance at longevity. Many of her works are in fact commentaries on, and practice of, the Tao.
It is fitting, then, that she should publish her own rendition of the Tao Te Ching. Her version is poetic without obscuring meaning, uses everyday language without being dry, and emphasizes the humor that a more uptight translator might miss or be inclined to overlook: it wouldn't be the Way if there weren't jokes about it, as her translation says. I myself was introduced to the Tao Te Ching through Le Guin's works, and I am grateful for a chance to have her Tao all in one place at last. Her notes are also useful, especially in telling us the various strengths and weaknesses of the translations she consulted to create her own version.
Le Guin was not content with merely printing her rendition, however: she has recorded it on audiocassette as well. Her voice is beautiful in the manner that the Tao is beautiful: gentle and therefore strong, tranquil and calming, and therefore compelling, unpretentious and yet authoritative. It flows like water, and yet is deep, rich, and earthy at the same time. Ms. Le Guin could not have trained her voice to have these Tao characteristics: it is a gift, I suspect, that comes of long familiarity with the Tao, and one which she shares here with us. The book and tape are recommended for those who want to read an inviting version of the Tao, as well as those who are familiar with Le Guin's work and want to learn more about her sources.
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(20 of 22 readers found this comment helpful)
Lessons for all Westerners, believers and skeptics alike
There is a story that several philosophers once met to discuss the nature of reality: whether or not it existed as our senses told us it did, or if it was in fact completely subjective and perhaps even subject to our will in some way. At the end of the discussion, which took place on the top floor of a tall building, the participants all filed out the door, at which point one of the more conservative members of the meeting remarked, "I notice that no one is leaving by the window."
Carlos Castaneda has taught us that we can indeed, under the right circumstances, leave through the window. Castaneda, during his course of study with don Juan Matus, Yaqui man of knowledge, learned to move into nonordinary reality, and experience not only magical events, but also that the ways of knowledge and power are difficult and dangerous.
This alone would make him a controversial character, but there are other matters that have drawn fire. Some have criticized Castaneda for his use of drugs to obtain states of nonordinary reality: I myself contend that Western conceptions of reality have such a grip on our minds that it is sometimes necessary to use drugs to free ourselves of our preconceptions. Furthermore, cultures across the world have discovered many different ways to move out of ordinary reality into the spirit plane, and in some cultures, drugs are used. It is a mere matter of cultural evolution, according to environment.
And Castaneda was not, during his course of study, interested in converting anyone to the way of power or knowledge; rather, he was documenting the use of drugs as a means to access nonordinary reality, and showing us that reality is not what it seems. That he published at a time when drug use was coming into fashion was, for him, a happy coincidence, but in this work at least he doesn't advocate drug use in this cause or any other. His work here is merely to document his experience of the teachings of don Juan.
Castaneda has also been attacked by skeptics, who hold that his works are outright lies. Whether or not Castaneda's works are fiction or fact or some blend of the two is irrelevant, since one cannot see the realities he describes unless one already accepts the premise that reality is fluid and malleable by those with the proper training. For skeptics, the works are mere fiction, while for those who believe, there exists a continuum of possible interpretations, ranging from the idea that the works are allegories that illuminate the nature of reality, to being actual reports of reality shifts.
Certainly Castaneda has given ammunition to the skeptics, by stating during interviews that he would give false information about himself. This is perhaps merely a way for Castaneda to remind us that Western methodologies are not the only way to know, and that one must look beneath the words and facts to find the truth. In the foreword, Walter Goldschmidt declares that this book is both ethnography and allegory. The part of the allegory that interests me is the tension between Western science and other ways of knowing. Castaneda came to don Juan, prideful and arrogant, and learned from him a modicum of humility and respect.
These lessons are of value to most Westerners. For example, one of the lessons that Castaneda learns in this book is the difference between a "power" and an "ally." Most individuals can become sorcerers by using a power, but to gain an ally, which is much more potent, one must work with the forces of nature, and learn the ways of knowledge, following only the way of the heart. It is of prime importance for the planet that Westerners follow the way that has heart, turning toward the universe with respect. As it stands, most of us treat the earth as a natural resource only, to be exploited and discarded. Such actions and attitudes may give one temporary power, but at great expense to oneself and one's habitat.
Time and again, Don Juan's lessons remind us that we are not as powerful as we think that we are. His lessons lead Castaneda into situations in which the anthropologist acts like a fool: rolling around on the ground for hours; playing with a dog, even letting the creature urinate on him; clapping his thighs and assuming a "fighting form" for hours to regain his lost soul. I do not mean to be critical of others' customs; these actions are an integral part of Yaqui culture, but to Westerners they look foolish, especially when performed by a supposedly "enlightened" and "objective" student of anthropology. Castaneda, in his search for power, must become, at least for a while, a fool. Dignity is a small price to pay for don Juan's reminder that we are out of balance with the universe.
And that is a lesson that we can all learn. Castaneda, the uptight, ambitious, pretentious scholar, comes to learn from don Juan, and time and again performs actions which to most Westerners would appear to be those of a madman or idiot. I cannot say what was in don Juan's heart when he took on Castaneda as a student, but to my eyes he seems to be reminding the Westerner that the lessons taught by the West are incomplete.
This book falls flat as narrative, but given the source, an anthropological study of plant use in indigenous cultures, it is perhaps inevitable that it be a bit methodical and digressive. It is nonetheless recommended for those interested in counterculture movements of the 1960s to the present, mysticism, philosophical discussions of reality, drugs, and native American anthropology. In the larger sense, its lessons are of value for all Westerners: it is a subtle reminder of our temporary place in the universe, and of the costs of the way of power and knowledge.
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(3 of 4 readers found this comment helpful)
Life affirming scientific case studies of vegetable life
It is an axiom oft stated that the magic of one century becomes the science of the next. This overly hopeful idea of how perceptions of human knowledge change in time is not supported by this book. Ideas seen as magical are not inevitably accepted by mainstream scientists; instead, theories and practices proven by experiment are routinely denied admission into the halls of academe, because of they support a science of life rather than one of death, and envision a universe which is alive and fertile, a living organism in fact, rather than one which is dead and brittle, made up of pieces with which scientists can play as if they were Tinkertoys.
Tompkins and Bird present this thesis by means of a number of case studies of thinkers at the vanguard of botanical thought. Among these actors in this new study of plant life are Cleve Backster, who showed that plants can sense the emotions of humans; Luther Burbank, who demonstrated that plants will grow to please members of our race; and various researchers who proved that plants will respond to music, growing toward the music of Bach and fleeing that of Led Zeppelin. These experiments prove conclusively that the standard definition of plants as insensible is inaccurate.
These experiments are only the surface of this book, however, the intent of which is not only to do away with old thinking on this matter, but also to inform us or perhaps just to remind us that the entire planet is alive, and that it is for the good of the planet that we begin to feed ourselves in a simpler manner. The authors accordingly provide case studies of farmers, such as J. Rodale, who raise healthy crops without artificial fertilizers or pesticides. These crops have a far greater output than do those raised by conventional methods, because the earth responds to the simpler methods better than to the harsh materialistic approaches advocated by the government and by fertilizer manufacturers.
This book, then, will show those willing to see that plants not only can communicate with us, but that they also are willing to work with humanity to return us to Eden, or more prosaically, that through methods less harmful to the environment and less expensive than commercial fertilizers, farmers can raise crops which surpass the abundance of those raised by conventional methods. There are a few cases, such as those in the chapter on radionic pesticides, which were not supported by sufficient evidence to prove their points, but in general this book demonstrates that plants are indeed more alive than we suspected, and are our willing helpmates in all aspects of life, if we would but listen. Recommended for all who work with plants, and for those who already believe in the living universe, and who want to see scientific confirmation of that fact.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(12 of 16 readers found this comment helpful)
A Practical and Yet Mystical Introduction to Herbalism
This book has two faces, one masking the other. Huson presents his book as a practical herbal, explaining how to use herbs in cooking and perfumery, as aphrodisiacs and to increase longevity, to live healthily and look beautiful at the same time. It also features a chapter on where to buy herbs, brief descriptions of the basic plants, and how to start an herb garden. Huson also includes a brief but thorough history of herbalism through the ages. As he points out, the aim throughout the book was practicality.
Accordingly, my wife Fayaway and I have found something useful in each of these chapters. Perhaps the best thing to come out of this book was the inspiration to plant a garden, which has provided us with an eternally renewing source of herbs for our experiments in cooking, perfumery, and natural healing. Huson tells us, in clear but entertaining language, how to make practical use of these marvelous plants. Herbs carry an occult reputation before them, and Huson makes it easy to apply the power of these wonderful gifts from nature in one's daily life.
That he has written a practical herbal without losing sight of the mystical qualities of herbs and their importance to us in these days of ecological crisis is all the more amazing, and is one of the joys of this book. The mysticism which infuses these pages is the face behind the mask: Huson's reverence for the earth is apparent throughout, particularly in his evocation of the magical essence of herbs and how we feel once we become aware of their beauty, grace, and power. Without preaching, he shows us how herbs can help us live closer to the earth, in accord with its rhythms, and he reminds us that we are part of something larger than our species and the societies we build. By reading this book, and taking part in the activities here, Fayaway and I have renewed our connection with the organism which is the earth, and of which we are but a small part. In this, then, the book is merely disguised as a practical herbal: always behind, beneath, and within Huson's words is an awareness of the beauty and simple grandeur of the plant life on this planet, and our part in the globe's cosmic order. Huson walks a fine line between practical and mystical without losing his way. It is the sort of herbal that the utilitarian Benjamin Franklin and the reverent Ralph Waldo Emerson might have produced together.
It is fitting, then, that the practical and the mystical have become in some sense identical, in this day and age. We as a species have laid waste to the planet, and our circumstances are even more dire than they were when this book was first published. It is a matter of simple survival that we see how we are connected with the rest of the universe, and bring ourselves in line with the cosmos. Failure to do so will mean our certain extinction, as well as that of the ecosphere.
This book is a fine place to start learning again of our connection with the earth and to return to simpler ways. Reading it is also a pleasant way to pass the morning in the garden or a rainy afternoon, perhaps while drinking one the teas recommended herein. The Select Bibliography lists books which, though perhaps more comprehensive on any of the various facets of herbalism described here, do not present the information with the same wit, joviality, and reverence for the earth that Huson does. I also enjoy his drawings, inspired by medieval herbals. I'd take this book over any other herbal, any day of the week. It conjures up, as no other herbal I've encountered does, Marvell's lines "a green thought in a green shade". It is recommended for beginners in the study of herbalism in general, as well as those who are specializing in one area of the field, and who want to know more about the other uses of these wonderful plants.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(3 of 5 readers found this comment helpful)
Revolutionary implications for humanity and the sciences
Our globe reflects the order of the universe, and that pattern is comprehensible to the earth's children. Our ancestors knew this, and lived by that cosmic order. To study it was to honor nature and the earth, as our word "laboratory" demonstrates: the lab was once a place where one not only studied and labored, but also orated and prayed to the power who made all things, a place where Creator and Creation were honored and contemplated, at the same time.
Evidence for a cosmic order is seen in the old straight tracks which one finds all over the world, and which are marked, as Michell demonstrates, by "mounds, old stones, crosses and old crossroads, churches placed on pre-Christian sites, legendary trees, moats and holy wells" as well as other points of interest, depending upon the native culture. These tracks mark the currents of energy which course through the globe, and to which our predecessors were attuned. The cosmic order is also reflected in the correlation between the height of the Great Pyramid and the earth's measurements, and the coincidence of patterns in the sky and those visible on the earth. Folklore also records the power which flows through the earth, in the form of dragon legends which appear with uncanny regularity along such tracks, but it is best experienced at such places as Glastonbury and Teotihuacán, which are alive with an energy not yet detectable by modern science, but which is evident to those sensitive to such things.
Modern science has, alas, seen fit to ignore all this information. The fact that there is an energy coursing through the earth has revolutionary implications for the fields of physics, archeology, anthropology, agriculture, ecology, and politics. It also offers hope for a "human society which is ordered and regulated on cosmic principle, demonstrably reflecting the order of nature and the heavens." Michell is correct in stating that such a society "is the only one which will attract and deserve general acceptance." Our fall from grace has many faces, but all of them are but reflections of the fact that we have forgotten that the universe is ordered, and that nature provides for her children. Our ignorance of the grid of energy beneath our feet is but one example of our lapse.
Here, then, is a book which will demonstrate to skeptics the cosmic order laid out on the earth. For many of us, the otherwise inexplicable body of evidence gathered from folklore, astronomy, geology, archeology and history and placed together in this book, if considered separately, makes no sense: combined, they all reveal a pattern of power running through the globe, waiting until such a time as we are again in tune with the cosmos to make use of it. This book, then, is not only a scientific treatise, but a blueprint for the future and a prayer for balance and peace. It is especially recommended to those interested in earth mysteries, and to pagans of all kinds, as well as to those interested in finding a way out of the maze of thought which modern science has built up around us, and which prevents us from finding our way back to the garden.
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(5 of 7 readers found this comment helpful)
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Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu and Le Guin
Hermester Barrington, April 15, 2008
A simple, beautiful rendition of the Tao Te ChingThe protagonists of Le Guin's work are no strangers to the Tao Te Ching: they struggle with the question of how to live properly in the world, how to work with others to create little countries without many people, working by not working to create ambiguous utopias, the only kind that have any chance at longevity. Many of her works are in fact commentaries on, and practice of, the Tao.
It is fitting, then, that she should publish her own rendition of the Tao Te Ching. Her version is poetic without obscuring meaning, uses everyday language without being dry, and emphasizes the humor that a more uptight translator might miss or be inclined to overlook: it wouldn't be the Way if there weren't jokes about it, as her translation says. I myself was introduced to the Tao Te Ching through Le Guin's works, and I am grateful for a chance to have her Tao all in one place at last. Her notes are also useful, especially in telling us the various strengths and weaknesses of the translations she consulted to create her own version.
Le Guin was not content with merely printing her rendition, however: she has recorded it on audiocassette as well. Her voice is beautiful in the manner that the Tao is beautiful: gentle and therefore strong, tranquil and calming, and therefore compelling, unpretentious and yet authoritative. It flows like water, and yet is deep, rich, and earthy at the same time. Ms. Le Guin could not have trained her voice to have these Tao characteristics: it is a gift, I suspect, that comes of long familiarity with the Tao, and one which she shares here with us. The book and tape are recommended for those who want to read an inviting version of the Tao, as well as those who are familiar with Le Guin's work and want to learn more about her sources.
(20 of 22 readers found this comment helpful)
The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge by Carlos Castaneda
Hermester Barrington, February 13, 2008
Lessons for all Westerners, believers and skeptics alikeThere is a story that several philosophers once met to discuss the nature of reality: whether or not it existed as our senses told us it did, or if it was in fact completely subjective and perhaps even subject to our will in some way. At the end of the discussion, which took place on the top floor of a tall building, the participants all filed out the door, at which point one of the more conservative members of the meeting remarked, "I notice that no one is leaving by the window."
Carlos Castaneda has taught us that we can indeed, under the right circumstances, leave through the window. Castaneda, during his course of study with don Juan Matus, Yaqui man of knowledge, learned to move into nonordinary reality, and experience not only magical events, but also that the ways of knowledge and power are difficult and dangerous.
This alone would make him a controversial character, but there are other matters that have drawn fire. Some have criticized Castaneda for his use of drugs to obtain states of nonordinary reality: I myself contend that Western conceptions of reality have such a grip on our minds that it is sometimes necessary to use drugs to free ourselves of our preconceptions. Furthermore, cultures across the world have discovered many different ways to move out of ordinary reality into the spirit plane, and in some cultures, drugs are used. It is a mere matter of cultural evolution, according to environment.
And Castaneda was not, during his course of study, interested in converting anyone to the way of power or knowledge; rather, he was documenting the use of drugs as a means to access nonordinary reality, and showing us that reality is not what it seems. That he published at a time when drug use was coming into fashion was, for him, a happy coincidence, but in this work at least he doesn't advocate drug use in this cause or any other. His work here is merely to document his experience of the teachings of don Juan.
Castaneda has also been attacked by skeptics, who hold that his works are outright lies. Whether or not Castaneda's works are fiction or fact or some blend of the two is irrelevant, since one cannot see the realities he describes unless one already accepts the premise that reality is fluid and malleable by those with the proper training. For skeptics, the works are mere fiction, while for those who believe, there exists a continuum of possible interpretations, ranging from the idea that the works are allegories that illuminate the nature of reality, to being actual reports of reality shifts.
Certainly Castaneda has given ammunition to the skeptics, by stating during interviews that he would give false information about himself. This is perhaps merely a way for Castaneda to remind us that Western methodologies are not the only way to know, and that one must look beneath the words and facts to find the truth. In the foreword, Walter Goldschmidt declares that this book is both ethnography and allegory. The part of the allegory that interests me is the tension between Western science and other ways of knowing. Castaneda came to don Juan, prideful and arrogant, and learned from him a modicum of humility and respect.
These lessons are of value to most Westerners. For example, one of the lessons that Castaneda learns in this book is the difference between a "power" and an "ally." Most individuals can become sorcerers by using a power, but to gain an ally, which is much more potent, one must work with the forces of nature, and learn the ways of knowledge, following only the way of the heart. It is of prime importance for the planet that Westerners follow the way that has heart, turning toward the universe with respect. As it stands, most of us treat the earth as a natural resource only, to be exploited and discarded. Such actions and attitudes may give one temporary power, but at great expense to oneself and one's habitat.
Time and again, Don Juan's lessons remind us that we are not as powerful as we think that we are. His lessons lead Castaneda into situations in which the anthropologist acts like a fool: rolling around on the ground for hours; playing with a dog, even letting the creature urinate on him; clapping his thighs and assuming a "fighting form" for hours to regain his lost soul. I do not mean to be critical of others' customs; these actions are an integral part of Yaqui culture, but to Westerners they look foolish, especially when performed by a supposedly "enlightened" and "objective" student of anthropology. Castaneda, in his search for power, must become, at least for a while, a fool. Dignity is a small price to pay for don Juan's reminder that we are out of balance with the universe.
And that is a lesson that we can all learn. Castaneda, the uptight, ambitious, pretentious scholar, comes to learn from don Juan, and time and again performs actions which to most Westerners would appear to be those of a madman or idiot. I cannot say what was in don Juan's heart when he took on Castaneda as a student, but to my eyes he seems to be reminding the Westerner that the lessons taught by the West are incomplete.
This book falls flat as narrative, but given the source, an anthropological study of plant use in indigenous cultures, it is perhaps inevitable that it be a bit methodical and digressive. It is nonetheless recommended for those interested in counterculture movements of the 1960s to the present, mysticism, philosophical discussions of reality, drugs, and native American anthropology. In the larger sense, its lessons are of value for all Westerners: it is a subtle reminder of our temporary place in the universe, and of the costs of the way of power and knowledge.
(3 of 4 readers found this comment helpful)
The Secret Life of Plants by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird
Hermester Barrington, February 11, 2008
Life affirming scientific case studies of vegetable lifeIt is an axiom oft stated that the magic of one century becomes the science of the next. This overly hopeful idea of how perceptions of human knowledge change in time is not supported by this book. Ideas seen as magical are not inevitably accepted by mainstream scientists; instead, theories and practices proven by experiment are routinely denied admission into the halls of academe, because of they support a science of life rather than one of death, and envision a universe which is alive and fertile, a living organism in fact, rather than one which is dead and brittle, made up of pieces with which scientists can play as if they were Tinkertoys.
Tompkins and Bird present this thesis by means of a number of case studies of thinkers at the vanguard of botanical thought. Among these actors in this new study of plant life are Cleve Backster, who showed that plants can sense the emotions of humans; Luther Burbank, who demonstrated that plants will grow to please members of our race; and various researchers who proved that plants will respond to music, growing toward the music of Bach and fleeing that of Led Zeppelin. These experiments prove conclusively that the standard definition of plants as insensible is inaccurate.
These experiments are only the surface of this book, however, the intent of which is not only to do away with old thinking on this matter, but also to inform us or perhaps just to remind us that the entire planet is alive, and that it is for the good of the planet that we begin to feed ourselves in a simpler manner. The authors accordingly provide case studies of farmers, such as J. Rodale, who raise healthy crops without artificial fertilizers or pesticides. These crops have a far greater output than do those raised by conventional methods, because the earth responds to the simpler methods better than to the harsh materialistic approaches advocated by the government and by fertilizer manufacturers.
This book, then, will show those willing to see that plants not only can communicate with us, but that they also are willing to work with humanity to return us to Eden, or more prosaically, that through methods less harmful to the environment and less expensive than commercial fertilizers, farmers can raise crops which surpass the abundance of those raised by conventional methods. There are a few cases, such as those in the chapter on radionic pesticides, which were not supported by sufficient evidence to prove their points, but in general this book demonstrates that plants are indeed more alive than we suspected, and are our willing helpmates in all aspects of life, if we would but listen. Recommended for all who work with plants, and for those who already believe in the living universe, and who want to see scientific confirmation of that fact.
(12 of 16 readers found this comment helpful)
Mastering Herbalism: A Practical Guide by Paul Huson
Hermester Barrington, September 10, 2007
A Practical and Yet Mystical Introduction to HerbalismThis book has two faces, one masking the other. Huson presents his book as a practical herbal, explaining how to use herbs in cooking and perfumery, as aphrodisiacs and to increase longevity, to live healthily and look beautiful at the same time. It also features a chapter on where to buy herbs, brief descriptions of the basic plants, and how to start an herb garden. Huson also includes a brief but thorough history of herbalism through the ages. As he points out, the aim throughout the book was practicality.
Accordingly, my wife Fayaway and I have found something useful in each of these chapters. Perhaps the best thing to come out of this book was the inspiration to plant a garden, which has provided us with an eternally renewing source of herbs for our experiments in cooking, perfumery, and natural healing. Huson tells us, in clear but entertaining language, how to make practical use of these marvelous plants. Herbs carry an occult reputation before them, and Huson makes it easy to apply the power of these wonderful gifts from nature in one's daily life.
That he has written a practical herbal without losing sight of the mystical qualities of herbs and their importance to us in these days of ecological crisis is all the more amazing, and is one of the joys of this book. The mysticism which infuses these pages is the face behind the mask: Huson's reverence for the earth is apparent throughout, particularly in his evocation of the magical essence of herbs and how we feel once we become aware of their beauty, grace, and power. Without preaching, he shows us how herbs can help us live closer to the earth, in accord with its rhythms, and he reminds us that we are part of something larger than our species and the societies we build. By reading this book, and taking part in the activities here, Fayaway and I have renewed our connection with the organism which is the earth, and of which we are but a small part. In this, then, the book is merely disguised as a practical herbal: always behind, beneath, and within Huson's words is an awareness of the beauty and simple grandeur of the plant life on this planet, and our part in the globe's cosmic order. Huson walks a fine line between practical and mystical without losing his way. It is the sort of herbal that the utilitarian Benjamin Franklin and the reverent Ralph Waldo Emerson might have produced together.
It is fitting, then, that the practical and the mystical have become in some sense identical, in this day and age. We as a species have laid waste to the planet, and our circumstances are even more dire than they were when this book was first published. It is a matter of simple survival that we see how we are connected with the rest of the universe, and bring ourselves in line with the cosmos. Failure to do so will mean our certain extinction, as well as that of the ecosphere.
This book is a fine place to start learning again of our connection with the earth and to return to simpler ways. Reading it is also a pleasant way to pass the morning in the garden or a rainy afternoon, perhaps while drinking one the teas recommended herein. The Select Bibliography lists books which, though perhaps more comprehensive on any of the various facets of herbalism described here, do not present the information with the same wit, joviality, and reverence for the earth that Huson does. I also enjoy his drawings, inspired by medieval herbals. I'd take this book over any other herbal, any day of the week. It conjures up, as no other herbal I've encountered does, Marvell's lines "a green thought in a green shade". It is recommended for beginners in the study of herbalism in general, as well as those who are specializing in one area of the field, and who want to know more about the other uses of these wonderful plants.
(3 of 5 readers found this comment helpful)
The New View Over Atlantis by John F. Michell
Hermester Barrington, September 5, 2007
Revolutionary implications for humanity and the sciencesOur globe reflects the order of the universe, and that pattern is comprehensible to the earth's children. Our ancestors knew this, and lived by that cosmic order. To study it was to honor nature and the earth, as our word "laboratory" demonstrates: the lab was once a place where one not only studied and labored, but also orated and prayed to the power who made all things, a place where Creator and Creation were honored and contemplated, at the same time.
Evidence for a cosmic order is seen in the old straight tracks which one finds all over the world, and which are marked, as Michell demonstrates, by "mounds, old stones, crosses and old crossroads, churches placed on pre-Christian sites, legendary trees, moats and holy wells" as well as other points of interest, depending upon the native culture. These tracks mark the currents of energy which course through the globe, and to which our predecessors were attuned. The cosmic order is also reflected in the correlation between the height of the Great Pyramid and the earth's measurements, and the coincidence of patterns in the sky and those visible on the earth. Folklore also records the power which flows through the earth, in the form of dragon legends which appear with uncanny regularity along such tracks, but it is best experienced at such places as Glastonbury and Teotihuacán, which are alive with an energy not yet detectable by modern science, but which is evident to those sensitive to such things.
Modern science has, alas, seen fit to ignore all this information. The fact that there is an energy coursing through the earth has revolutionary implications for the fields of physics, archeology, anthropology, agriculture, ecology, and politics. It also offers hope for a "human society which is ordered and regulated on cosmic principle, demonstrably reflecting the order of nature and the heavens." Michell is correct in stating that such a society "is the only one which will attract and deserve general acceptance." Our fall from grace has many faces, but all of them are but reflections of the fact that we have forgotten that the universe is ordered, and that nature provides for her children. Our ignorance of the grid of energy beneath our feet is but one example of our lapse.
Here, then, is a book which will demonstrate to skeptics the cosmic order laid out on the earth. For many of us, the otherwise inexplicable body of evidence gathered from folklore, astronomy, geology, archeology and history and placed together in this book, if considered separately, makes no sense: combined, they all reveal a pattern of power running through the globe, waiting until such a time as we are again in tune with the cosmos to make use of it. This book, then, is not only a scientific treatise, but a blueprint for the future and a prayer for balance and peace. It is especially recommended to those interested in earth mysteries, and to pagans of all kinds, as well as to those interested in finding a way out of the maze of thought which modern science has built up around us, and which prevents us from finding our way back to the garden.
(5 of 7 readers found this comment helpful)
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