Becoming Native or Finding Home
The current unprecedented ecological crisis of the Earth and the crisis of our consumer civilization clearly show us that we need to profoundly transform the way we relate to the Earth and to each other. The source of the current cultural pathology that is destroying our natural world is clearly our inability to live well. We have long been warned about the self-destructive nature of our civilization by indigenous peoples around the world, whom we have subjected to the immense oppression of colonization and whom we have considered an obstacle to our much-celebrated “progress”. However, in retrospect, we are beginning to discover that it is precisely the indigenous worldview, which understands us as an inherent part of nature, that offers us today a chance to restore balance to the life systems of our planet. The texts in this collection, from leading ecophilosophers and writers as well as indigenous elders and artists, introduce us to indigenous wisdom and values that can guide us towards a more viable shared future; to teach us what it means to live in a right relationship with the Earth, with people and with future generations.
Together, Untamed – Luděk Čertík
The Earth is not just a planet that carries life. The Earth is alive with life — through and through a living world. We experience the liveliness of the world at every step: here in the quiet song of a cricket, here in the whiff of petrichor, here in the delicious taste of a ripe melon. But also in the blue of the sky, when looking at rain clouds, a satellite sailing through a summer night. Life simply cannot help itself: at all costs it must create and transform, penetrate every crevice, every element and state, seek new and new ways of self-expression, new and new ways of being together untamed. The book Ludka Čertíka tries to capture something of this energy. In various texts, he encourages openness towards all living things, of which we are always not only a part, but also active co-creators.
The book was published by Seventh Generation.
Remember the wren – Radek Štěpánek
The epic poem Remember the Wren is a mythical initiation into a new story. An archetypal woman and man embark together on a journey of transformation that takes them far from people, far beyond the growing cities. They are gradually addressed by individual elements or their embodied representatives – earth (the turtle), fire (the thunder), water and wind (the wren) – and initiated into the awareness of the vitality and interconnectedness of all existence. The essential world of nature or the source of life itself sings the song of the circle to the woman and man – which is the song of the heart itself – so that they may remember their original unity with it.
Many Rivers – Luděk Čertík
We are surrounded by so many kinds of life and flow, but do we really take notice of them? What about the rivers that flow through our hearts?
The poetry collection Many Rivers is a response to the challenges of our time, especially our damaged relationship with the Earth and its countless non-human inhabitants. The poems contained therein strive to sharpen the senses and cultivate the tenderness that we all carry within us without distinction.
Everything around me lives, feels like me... / paths to a regenerative culture – Jiří Zemánek (ed.)
Leading contemporary thinkers in the field of ecophilosophy and sustainability culture – David Abram, Derrick Jensen, Freya Mathews, Andreas Weber and Hildegarda Kurt – consider how our current post-industrial civilization, which has brought us to the very threshold of environmental collapse, could be ecologically transformed. They ask themselves how to move from the dominant pattern of control and domination to a mode of reciprocity and synergy with the world. That is, how we as a human society could reintegrate into nature; in what ways could we unite our desires and wishes with the desires and needs of the biosphere in a way that supports its further possible regeneration and flourishing, rather than its destruction. They all agree that it is not just about “maintaining” the reality of the world as we understand it today. It is about its radical revitalization, a new understanding of what life is and what role we play in it. About rediscovering the subjectivity and poetics of the non-human world, in other words – about an animistic or panpsychistic turn in sustainability.
Living a Cosmic Life – Stephan Martin
How can we find our way in these turbulent and ever-changing times? What resources can we use when things are not going well? Where can we find true inspiration and true guidance for a whole and fulfilled life?
In this short but powerful book, astronomer Stephan Martin argues that incorporating a cosmic perspective into our daily lives can provide us with new resources and insights that help us navigate crisis, change, and transformation with grace and resilience. Drawing on insights from modern cosmology and an evolutionary perspective, the author shows us that we can discover sources of support, renewal, and guidance that can help us navigate the challenges we face on a personal, cultural, and global level during these critical times.
