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Sacred Journey: Gift Of Earth And Spirit
by Robert C. Wild
144 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #07-1511; ISBN 1-4251-3799-7; US$16.52, C$19.00, EUR12.88, £8.54
We experience the Sacred as the fundamental Mystery in everything. As we deepen this experience, we learn how to connect creatively with Earth both for her healing and for our own.
About the Book
We are becoming increasingly aware that an ecological crisis threatens Earth and all life on Earth. Policies and programs are being developed to reverse this trend but, without a basic reconstruction of human attitudes to Earth, our best technological efforts will fail.
We have been trained to look upon Earth as open for unlimited exploration and exploitation so that humanity can secure vital resources for our existence. But it is now clear that Earth is not an object to be devoured by us. It is a living system that we must respect and listen to as our Teacher. We must learn to approach Earth as Sacred, as did our distant ancestors for countless generations. To foster this change, humans need to re-value their own spiritual nature and to understand that we can choose life as a journey to be made in response to the Presence of the Sacred in everything.
Each person can enter upon a "Sacred Journey" as the core reality of their life. This book explores our spiritual nature to understand the central characteristics of the journey and how it is integrated with the daily round of personal and social existence. To help illuminate our path, the experience of other people, past and present, is discussed. The central purpose of the book is to encourage a way of living that brings together the 'outside' and the 'inside' of life as a creative, responsible and joyful endeavour.
An earlier book by the same author, SACRED PRESENCE: in Search of the New Story, is also available from Trafford Publishing.
About the Author
Robert Wild was born and educated in Montreal, including McGill B.A. After three years in industry he studied theology and was ordained to ministry in the Anglican church. For 36 years he served in parish, diocean and university work. He did post-graduate studies at St. Andrew's College, Saskatoon, the Toronto School of Theology, and the Vancouver School of Theology, earning a Th.M. He has five children and nine grandchildren. From his youth he has enjoyed sports and outdoor recreation, and in retirement is also occupied in woodworking.
Excerpts
Reviews
Sacred Journey: Gift of Earth and Spirit, by Robert C. Wild.Trafford Publishing, 2007. Paper, $19.00, available at local book stores.
Reviewed by Pat Barclay.
Bob Wild's new book is a prime example of good things that come in small packages. Sacred Journey: Gift of Earth and Spirit is a "slim volume" of 131 pages with a stunning cover photo of a flower that enhances realism, making it a fitting complement to the gift ofspiritual encouragement that lies within.
Readers familiar with Wild's earlier book, Sacred Presence: In Search of the New Story, will welcome this helpful sequel, but Sacred Journey stands comfortably on its own. Stylistically speaking, the author hits his stride with this new book. Philosophical reflection blends easily with personal anecdotes and prayers, while apt quotations and practical instructions create an atmosphere of hope and possibility for the uncertain time of transition in which we live today.
The following excerpt from Wild's preface outlines both the book's purpose and his own credo:
"Traditional religions picture Heaven as our blessed destiny and Earth as our temporary home. But when we reflect on the new cosmology that is rooted in the discoveries of science, and bring this cosmology into dialogue with our religious inheritance, a new and different story of spiritual meaning and beauty emerges. We learn that Earth is our sacred home. We learn that this home is the gift of the Sacred Presence in whom Earth and all its creatures have an unknown destiny within the Mystery of the unfolding universe. And, for the present, we are content to discover a Sacred Journey given to us so that we may become who we are called to be, by both Earth and Spirit."However, in our time the accelerating problem of climate change brings a new urgency tothe task of spiritual exploration. "The roots of this theatening calamity are not environmental - they are spiritual and moral," writes Wild. Living responsibly with Earth and each other has often been beyond our capabilities for the past 6,000 years!
With the pressing need for a fresh start uppermost in Wild's mind, he brings together a multitude of resources for intentional travellers who seek the lost connection with Earth and soul. These include suggestions for daily practice, what to look for in a "soul friend", questions for discussion and a selection of nature poems. He also adapts some of the great Hebrew psalms to his purpose, explaining: "I cannot exaggerate the debt I owe to them in assisting my spiritual journey."
Wild's own stories which appear throughout the book are a testament to the truth and power of anecdotal evidence. By including them, he demonstates that the goal of becoming a "transformed person" is indeed achievable. However, nowhere in Sacred Journey does Bob Wild suggest that his own journey is other than a continuing work in progress.
Sacred Journey is available in Salt Spring book stores, and let us hope that Bob's readers will decide to follow his example. Because, if we can't get it right on Salt Spring, how much hope is there for anywhere else?
