Rooted – Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature, and Spirit

Rooted – Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature, and Spirit by Lyanda Lynn Haupt

 

Tenents of Rootedness

Kithship

  • “is intimacy with the landscape in which one dwells and is entangled. . . Where kin are relations of kind, kith is relationship based on knowledge of place”(26). The land is known through one’s heart.

Reciprocity

  • “as we partake, so we are called to nourish in return… Peaceful footsteps, study, attention, attunement, activism, gratitude, protection, prayer, writing, witness” (26).

Enchantment and Wonder

  • Moments of enchantment require “a cultivation of openness to their visitations” and it “arises from chant via the Old Northern cant – to sing the sacred and to be changed by the song we have heard”(27).
  • “wonder is an ‘unfailing antidote’ against boredom and disenchantment throughout life” (27).

Wolf Path –

    1. “who wants an everyday path – paved and void of danger- when we can have beasts and shadows and secret flowers and unexpected visits from the feral wolf of our imaginations”
    2. “Who among us has not heard it? The wolf of this beloved, damaged earth, beckoning us by name just outside our safe living room, demanding our own response?.
    3. Saint Francis of Assisi solved the old story of the wolf terrorizing the village by simply listening to the wolf, respecting its wildnness, holding presence, and calling her Sister. 
    4. Listen for the wild summons. 

Immerse 

    1. Walking barefoot is key to feel the beneficial healing energies of the Earth
    2. Shintoism – indigenous religion of Japan
      1. “A way of being on the earth. At Shinto’s center lies a radical animism, a knowledge that the things of the world surrounding us possess kami – their own form of aliveness, of consciousness, of inspiritedness. All things are aware, expressive, engaged with the world, each in its unique way”(84). 
      2. “All things have agency, the capacity to act -although some things, like trees, rocks, or mountains, clearly move much slower than other things, like bears or dragonflies” (84). 
      3. “All things have a spirit… ‘interflow’ – a reciprocity of life, of pulse, of natural wisdom” (85). 
    3. “Thoreau went to ask not ‘What can nature do for me? But How should I live?” (88). 

Solitude 

    1. Backpacking and solitude – explain how I learned to overcome this fear – I recognized that I am the fear – it is a part of me. This gave me power to take back control and decide if wanted to live in a place of fear or love. Doubt and worry can be the language of the mind, but if we let them pass without reacting to these thoughts, we can move on and create empowered healthier thoughts. Solitude frees us from social shackles of insecurity and fitting in. Our brain chemistry changes when we are alone, and our deepest feelings surface, beginning with memory recall. When distractions of everyday life are removed, our brain can work at full capacity on what previously had been buried deep below technology obsessions and social expectations. Talk yourself out of these negative feelings if you have to. 
    2. Let go of time as a linear concept, and embrace the cyclical sun changing with the rhythmic seasons.  

What we dont see 

    1. “Ninety percent of life unfolds in complete and eternal darkness – beneath the soil that cradles every footstep, and beneath the sea, where whole worlds exist absent the penetration of any light at all. Without absolute darkness, the seed will not germinate, the decomposers and fungi that live under earth will not toil, the transformation of death into new life will cease its spinning” (120).  
    2. Migratory birds have been killed off in large numbers due to development quickened by climate change. “A billion birds die every year as a result of collision with buildings, a majority of these deaths attributed to artificial light that disrupts circadian rhythms and dissembles visual migration markers” (121). Birds often mistake streetlights for the glow of the moon and stars 
    3. “Moths are not drawn to the light; they are, like birds, confused by it, their navigational systems scrambled… we are now beginning to understand the importance of moths in pollination; they carry pollen greater distances than bees do, helping to increase diversity and decrease botanical inbreeding” (122). 
    4. We are all desperately trying to have more connections with other forms of life because this is what we have evolved doing. “Recovery from species loneliness will mean walking with a courageous nwe tolerance for complexity and discomfort, an allowing of difference, a delight in sameness, an openness to wonder, being altern instead of being afraid” (142). 
    5. Connect to the animals by being kind, by giving out time and attention, a rare opportunity to let the animal reveal themselves. 

Naming

    1. Refrain from using ‘it’ to refer to a plant or animal, try using “a being of the living earth”. This enlivens the being back to the level of intrinsic value. 
    2. The earth speaks not through words, but through the silence we must dwell. A quiet internal offering of gratitude may be offered to be able to witness the being