The Essential Spiral

The Essential Spiral: Ecology and Consciousness After 9/11 — by Ian Prattis

This book was written as a text for my television course on Ecology and Culture, which re-considers how our modern culture relates to its environment. After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, I could no longer write this book in the way I had planned. The new environment that all cultures have to adapt to is one framed by fear, uncertainty, hatred and fanaticism. At no time in history has the lucidity of the peacemakers been more important. I propose a meditative base for activism and renewal as the re-creation of our world requires a radical change in direction which involves shifts in human consciousness. The Essential Spiral insists that Ecology and Consciousness are inseparable, akin to the double helix of DNA. To separate the double helix eliminates life. The same portent applies to Ecology and Consciousness.

The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 changed the world. Terror seizes the mind, our deepest fears amplify it. Wise teachings about the mind bring spiritual warriors to the fore, to champion peace, environmental care and non-violent reconciliation. The skills and methods of cooling anger, of dealing with the terrorist within, of putting the brakes on anger's translation into deadly harm, are found in meditation traditions with practical down to earth exercises. Psyhco-psychology, traditional ecological knowledge and globalization, are brought into a discussion of events that take the reader on a sweep of history towards the reconfiguration of our global order. This is the 21st century. New models and understandings must be cultivated through the art and science of mindfulness, to avert the collision course between fundamentalist Islam and western hegemony. Concrete proposals for a paradigm shift are provided. The illusory assumptions of the global order shattered after 9/11. This enables a radical rethink about leadership, ethics, and responsibility to usher in a Consciousness Revolution for the 21st century &ndash a new mind. We are at a major threshold for our civilization. Radical shifts in human consciousness are needed to transform the world and make it habitable for our species.

Professor Wautischer of Sonoma University has this to say:

"A gifted storyteller, Prattis opens the reader's mind and heart with touching narratives from his own life experience and from carefully selected literary masterpieces from various traditions. At the end of each chapter he guides the reader into a meditation. Fear transforms to courage, anger to compassion; doubt becomes joyful wisdom as the beauty of imagery guides meditation practice toward a realization of compassionate strength. Such vigor is certainly needed, since the complicity between corporate and political elites disregards the planet and its peoples. Against all odds, compassionate mindfulness is a contributing factor in the evolution of consciousness to empower incorruptible leadership that emerges from increasing populations on this planet who practice their wisdom.

The Essential Spiral combines facts from the sciences, politics, and spirituality to present a realistic road map for a gradual transformation of community-based capitalism and personal awareness. Prattis has done a commendable job of outlining a sustainable ecosystem and providing meditative exercises that will strengthen the compassionate resolve for the next generation of political leadership."

"The Essential Spiral: Ecology and Consciousness After 9/11" is out of print and very expensive for the remaining hard cover copies through Amazon, so I have refined and updated the manuscript into an e-book for a modest price.

It is available on Amazon Kindle. Once you have read it and if you are so moved, kindly leave a review on the Amazon Kindle site. It is most appreciated.

Key Words: Ecology; 9/11; Thich Nhat Hanh; Mindfulness; Deep Listening; Paradigm Shift; Sweep of History, Guidelines to Recreate Our World.

• Letter From The Author
• Preface
• Reviews
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