20 March 2008
Thomas Berry and the Earth Community
Posted by Aether under: Community News .
I began this website as a direct response to having discovered and read the works of Thomas Berry. I was moved by the experience more than anything else I had ever read. And for the first time in my life I felt like everything fell into place. Everything made sense. I had one of those I wanted to shout it from the rooftops moments, which is still unfolding through these pages.
The more that I poked around after I had discovered the profound gifts of this visionary author, the more I became increasingly incredulous that there wasn’t a greater familiarity with him, even in dedicated deep ecology circles. I was amazed that this could be so. That you could have an author who was so insightful, and so tuned in, and who was even recognized by some substantial environmental organizations and connected individuals as one of the most important contributors to the evolving dialog on humanity, and still be essentially unknown, let alone appreciated, in the wider circles of academia, spirituality, and ecology. “The Dream of the Earth” has been cited as possibly one of the ten most important books to be published in the last century, and published by The Sierra Club no less.
I am still continually astonished how few people are familiar with Thomas Berry, and especially so when in otherwise very connected and tuned in company. And so whenever I do discover another substantial effort to disseminate his gifts to our species, I feel almost compelled to do whatever I may in my humble sphere of influence to try and draw further attention to it. I made time today to finally explore this one, and was richly rewarded indeed.
The Thomas Berry and the Earth Community website was created by Caroline Webb, and it is full of amazing content. This is a veritable treasure trove of inspiration, ecologically, spiritually, and humanly. The audio clips alone are precious ~ to hear an author talk about their work in their own voice is always a treat, especially when there is such passion involved. The video clip I have highlighted before when I found it on YouTube, but the remainder… dive in and see! The links page is a tremendous resource, as is the .pdf library. But I especially appreciated her slide show. A great introduction to the life and work of this extraordinary individual that can be shared with anyone.
Peace,
Eric
