Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
One of the best things you can do to promote your own mental health is to find
a special place outside where you can go on a regular basis to connect with the
animate Earth. If you live in a city, this may be your own back garden or yard,
but if you live in the countryside you will almost certainly have access to a variety
of inspiring places in your immediate surroundings. Wherever you are, your task
is to search for a place where you can spend time exploring and deepening your
relationship to the great living being that is our planet.
Make sure that you allow yourself to be guided by your sensing, feeling and intu-
ition when you are looking for your special place—let your thinking take the back
seat. You'll know that you've found the right place if it provokes a profound sense
of pleasure in you (perhaps even a feeling of overwhelming beauty), if your senses
tingle with amazement at its sheer loveliness. Pay attention to how the place works
on your feelings. Choose a place that evokes an easy comfort in you, and notice
how the place speaks to your intuition—is there a numinous 'aura' that connects
you to the psyche of the place, to a sense of its animate presence? Lastly, let your
thinking mind consider the logistical viability of the place—is it too far for regular
visits, will it offer you enough privacy and quiet, what clothing and footwear and
other outdoor gear will you need to make your visits peaceful and comfortable?
Develop a rapport with your place by visiting it regularly—allow it to communic-
ate its subtle messages of colour, scent, taste, touch and sound. As you let yourself
be known by your place, learn to converse with it, gleaning its subtle meanings
much as you would enjoy a conversation with a close friend.
It might help to have several Gaia places, some less wild perhaps, closer to home,
and others further out in wilder country for extended visits and overnight commu-
nion under the sparkling light of the stars.
Sensing:
David Abram, Phenomenology,
and the San People of the Kalahari
Perhaps the most eloquent modern exponent of how Gaia can become present to us
through our senses is the philosopher David Abram. Abram's fascination with sensory
perception stemmed from his many years as a professional sleight-of-hand magician;
perception, he explains, is the primary medium of the magician's art. In his mid-twen-
