A New Covenant with Nature – Notes on the End of Civilization and the Renewal of Culture
- Has modern civilization really improved human lives?
- Is money evil?
- Is government necessary?
- What can we each do to renew our connection with all that is wild, and generative, and free?
In this radical and thought-provoking book, ecophilosopher Richard Heinberg explores these questions with wit, perception, and refreshing insight. Each culture, Heinberg shows, makes a covenant or agreement with nature. Our culture’s agreement is obviously crumbling. If we are to create a new covenant, we must begin by rethinking the givens of society from the ground up – or even, quietly desert the existing social system and help birth a better one.
From Part III – ‘The Great Purification’ (p. 163):
” To speak of wilderness is to speak of wholeness. Human beings came out of that wholeness, and to consider the possibility of reactivating membership in the Assembly of All Beings is in no way regressive. “ – Gary Snyder.
Celebrate the Solstice – Honoring the Earth’s Seasonal Rhythms through Festival and Ceremony
By Richard Heinberg, Foreword by Dolores LaChapelle.
199 Pages | A Quest Original 1993 | Softcover | Quest Books, U.S.A. | ISBN: 0835606937.
Rejoice in the Seasonal Festivals of the Earth . . .
Seasonal festivals are not cultural relics. They are joyous, fun, mischievous, profound, life-affirming events that connect us deeply with the Earth, the heavens, and the wellspring of being within us. This engaging book tells the history and meaning of the Solstices, encourages the practice of full-bodied, ecstatic rituals of seasonal renewal, and gives practical suggestions for how to celebrate them in contemporary times.
- Discover the ancient roots of Christmas-tide customs.
- Honor the Goddess in all of her Names by celebrating the June Solstice as a Festival of the Divine Feminine.
- Learn how cultures around the world honored their connectedness with the Earth rhythms.
- Create life-affirming celebrations of the Solstices – alone, with friends or family, in the wilderness, or in the city.
From Chapter 3 – ‘The First Solstice Festivals’ (p.27):
” Each year, for about a week before and after the winter solstice, light from the rising Sun passes through a boxed slot above the doorway of Newgrange and shine the entire length of the corridor to the far wall of the central chamber (a distance of over eighty feet), illuminating a stone basin positioned below a series of intricate carvings of interlocked spirals, eye shapes, and rayed solar discs. For about seventeen minutes the inner sanctuaryis softly lit; then the finger of sunlight slowly creeps back across the stone floor, and darkness returns. The effect is stunning, and the effort spent to obtain it must have been enormous. “
Cloning the Buddha – The Moral Impact of Biotechnology
265 Pages | First Quest Edition 1999 | Hardcover | Quest Books, U.S.A. | ISBN: 0835607720.
Is Cloning a wonderful opportunity for the human race or a dangerous attempt to play God?
With penetrating common sense, eco-philosopher and journalist Richard Heinberg tackles some of the thorniest ethical questions we face. Fascinating examples from plant and animal research; interviews with scientific, political, and religious leaders; and a clear overview of the helpful and harmful effects of biotech on our food supply, reproductive choices, and environment give thinking readers ample evidence for making up their minds.
From Chapter 8 – ‘Cloning the Buddha’ (p. 230):
” Ultimately, if we as society wish to employ some form of genetic technology for truly beneficial purposes we must begin, not with the technology itself, but with an ethical reappraisal and reform of our collective institutions and priorities. “
More Details Are humans playing God when they manipulate natural processes to achieve the results they want? Now that scientists can manipulate genetic materials, won’t someone eventually use such technology to create a “perfect race”? Would it be desirable to “clone the Buddha,” to use biotechnology to create compassionate people? Heinberg (A New Covenant with Nature) examines these and other questions in his survey of morality and biotechnology. He argues that science and morality often have little to do with each other simply because scientists very often lack a spiritual perspective. “The intuition, perception, or belief that other beings have a self and interior experience comparable to one’s own is the basis for ethics,” the author writes. Heinberg asserts that this inner self is purposeful and an end in itself, and he compares this definition of the inner self to the core experience of the sacred. Moreover, he contends, this inner self is caught in a web of life with other selves whose lives and well-being are dependent on one another. Such interdependence, he says, regards “nature as the ultimate model of economy, cooperation, simplicity, beauty, and purpose.” Given such a view of nature, biotechnology is not an avenue for producing a society filled with cooperative and compassionate people. Rather, he says, we can create such a society by “working diligently on our own personal moral refinement, collectively confronting power and its abuses, and creating a nurturing context for our children and grandchildren.” For the most part, Heinberg doesn’t stray far from ground already covered in conversations about science, morality and religion.
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