Stone Circle Press
  • Ancient Spirit Rising ►
  • ASR ► Contents
  • ASR ► Order
  • ASR ► Testimonials & Reviews
  • Pegi Eyers ► Published!
  • ASR ► Events
  • ASR ► Press
  • ASR ► Radio/Podcast
  • ASR ► Video
  • ASR ► For Book Clubs
  • ASR ► Join
  • ASR ► Quotes
  • Supplemental to the Book
  • Celtic Reconstruction
  • BLOG ► Ancient Spirit Rising
  • BLOG ► Rejecting Empire
  • Pegi Eyers ► Book Reviews
  • Pegi Eyers ► New Fiction
  • Pegi Eyers ► Ecopoetics
  • Stone Circle Press ► Services
  • About Author Pegi Eyers
  • Serenity Wetland Alliance

Earth-Emergent in the City

2/20/2018

0 Comments

 
PEGI EYERS
Picture
The Ancestral Arts are on the rise today, as we embody a more harmonious way to live, interconnected with nature, the other-than-human world and Earth Community. And yet depending on where we live, it may be impossible to fully re-create the vibrancy of an earth-wise culture.  In places of urban sprawl, the environment may be in an eroded condition, or we may find our access to wild nature denied.  The challenge then, for those living in the city either by choice or necessity, is to reclaim or enhance the aspects of a foundational bond to the land that gives rise to our spiritual ecology, and find our kindred spirits and community links in the process.

There are many ways to practice our ancestral wisdom and reclaim the wonders of nature in the city!  As we explore the green commons, public parks, planted spaces, borders, cemeteries, quiet corners, abandoned lands and (so-called) wastelands, we can revere urban space just as much as wild or semi-wild ecosystems.  Strolling around city neighbourhoods, or wayfaring and hiking through woods and parks (with or without an agenda) has obvious health benefits, and enhances the intimacy and detail of a more grounded, grassroots perspective. And as we get to know the landforms and ancient cultures that were there before urbanization, we find that the magic of the earth is ever-present in the older landscapes beneath the surface of the city.  As they always have, the genius loci - the ancestors, spirits of place, primordial forces and beings of myth and mystery - are willing to communicate with us, if we are open to their messages.

Picture

All land is sacred, but places that embody "genius loci" can be said to be more highly charged with spiritual energy or healing power from natural formations such as ley lines, songlines, wellsprings or forest groves. Known as “numina” to the ancient Romans, these special places are home to the numen - ancient earth spirits, intelligent entities, orbs or deities - or are sites that still resonate with culturally-significant historical events.

In today's world, places that evoke "genius loci" can be sites of human architecture imbedded in the land, that hold deep meaning to our personal mythology and cultural history. Consciously or not, the effects of natural locations play a role in our psychogeography, which are the emotions, memories, behaviors and epiphanies we hold in response to special places. Even sites in the city that are often overlooked or neglected can be approached with an attitude of reverence and reciprocity,  which helps to re-enchant these green zones and contribute to the remediation of marginalized spaces.

Paying attention to the tree people, stones or birds in the city, and bringing elements and natural objects from the wild into our urban interiors, are all ways to stay connected to the land. Marking the seasons and cycles of the moon, celebrating the quarters and solstices, and coming together with like-minded community in ceremony and ritual are ancient practices that express our earth-rooted beliefs in urban spaces. Rewilding, re-greening the commons, urban herbcraft, natural medicine and community farming  are all ways  to create deep connections to the actual and spiritual gifts of the soil.
 

Picture

Earthing is another wonderful practice available to us in the city. Walking barefoot on the grass or at the beach, sitting or reclining on the ground in parks, gardens or private yards accesses the healing and energizing properties of the earth, which has been identified by science as the transfer of electrons (the earth’s natural, subtle energy) into our bodies. "Earthing" gives us strength from the healing frequencies of the land, and promotes the vitality of the mental, physical, emotional and spiritual  aspects of our being.  The most amazing thing about the soothing, grounding and cleansing practice of "Earthing" is the simplicity and access, and it certainly gives new meaning to the term "earth-connected!"

Without a doubt, it is our immersion in green spaces and our bodily contact with the Earth that promotes tranquility, reflection and restoration for the human spirit.  Even in the city, the movement of waters and stars, or the growth of plants and animals, imply the presence of indwelling spirits. Stones, trees and other aspects of the natural world are self-aware, autonomous and willful beings who possess their own traits and dispositions.  A spiritual force pervades all of nature, and the other-than-human world embraces a host of endlessly expressive and individualistic living entities.  The Earth is aware, and even in the city,  green zones hold elemental forces inhabited by sentient beings and creatures. As we reconnect deeply with these wonders and our eco-selves in the city, our re-landing will sustain the sacred ground of our collective being, for generations yet to come.


Picture
photograph © Milissa Mulligan

Picture
Pegi Eyers is the author of  Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community, an award-winning book that explores strategies for social justice,  uncolonization, ethnocultural identity, building land-emergent community & resilience in times of massive change.
PURCHASE LINKS
Amazon.com 
www.stonecirclepress.com
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    ~ BLOG ~
    Ancient
    Spirit
    ​Rising

    Pegi Eyers

    Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community


    ஜ
    The recovery of our ancestral roots, and the promotion of social justice & environmental activism as interwoven with our spiritual life. Engaging with the interface between Turtle Island First Nations and the Settler Society, rejecting Empire and embodying the paradigm shift to ecocentric society.





    Ancient Spirit Rising
    is the recipient of a
    2017 Next Generation Indie Book Award
    in the Current Events/ Social Change category!
     

    Picture

    ARCHIVES

    Between Worlds
    ​

    ​Holders of Staff and Bone

    ​Passage to Dartmoor

    ​Oceans Divide Us

    ​Ancestral Motherline ~ Guided Meditation

    ​The Life Force: Restoring Sacred Myth
    ​

    Eco-Soul

    Shifting Borderlands of Tame and Wild

    ​Ancient Spirit Rising is Recommended Reading-!
    ​

    ​Earth First 

    The World of Small

    Resilience, Renewal and Love

    European Roots ~ A Call for Leadership

    Settler Re-landing: Reclaiming Patterns of Connection

    Waeccan Means to "Wake Up"

    Initiation Now: Rethinking the World as Alive

    Dangerous Women

    Ancient Covenant

    "Earthing" in the Garden

    The Promise of Ecopsychology

    Kinomagewapkong ~ The Teaching Rocks

    The Ecomystic Experience

    Controversies in the Ancestral Arts

    The Sacred Balance

    Uncolonizing the “Bounty of the Land” Narratives

    We Live in a Death Culture

    Customary Law

    Earth Love


    The Green Burial Movement: In Conversation With Emma Restall Orr

    Letters to the Earth

    I Walked and Walked

    Sacred Tears

    Taking Issue With "We Are All One"

    Dear Greenmantle ~ Review Rebuttal

    Finding Our Long-Lost Ancestral Traditions

    Ancestor Quilt

    Our Struggles Are Not the Same

    Ally Mistakes - Oops ~!

    Love from the Earth

    The Problem with Far-Away Ecotherapy and Nature Connection Retreats

    Earth-Emergent in the City

    Voices of Earth ~ Archaic Whispers

    Good Allies 
     

    Song of the Ancestors

    Decolonization ~ Meaning What Exactly?

    Animism Unbound

    More Settler-Colonialism: Boomers and the Rez (True Story)

    What is Cultural Appropriation?

    The Story Behind the Story

    Cultural Appropriation in Goddess Spirituality and Matriarchal Studies

    Climate Disaster & Massive Change 

    We Are the Ancestors of the Future

    Earth Mother Magic

    True Reconciliation Requires Restitution 

    Are White People Indigenous?

    Full Disclosure/My Positionality on New Age!

    Allyship and Solidarity with First Nations

    First Nations on Ancestral Connection

    Pagan Values - "Know Thyself" 

    Welcome to Stone Circle Press!

    Picture

      Join our e-mail list for updates and newsletters from "Ancient Spirit Rising" ~

    Subscribe