Gary Snyder’s works in his book A Place in Space all relate to the environment and how we can become reacquainted with the natural world we sometimes forget to keep in touch with. His work “A Village Council of All Beings” in particular discusses the connection between spirituality and nature. Snyder mentions a few religions that acknowledge nature but ultimately decides that none of them adequately embrace it. In fact, he argues that “the last two hundred years of scientific and social materialism, with some exceptions, have declared our universe to be without soul and without value except as given value by human activities” (Snyder 77). Snyder proposes that we find our religion in the nature around us, instead of becoming distracted by the insignificant details of our every day lives.
In one of my other classes this quarter, Psych and Religion, we are learning about the horizontal and vertical planes. The horizontal is our everyday life, our careers, our relationships, our daily activities, etc. On the other hand, the vertical plane consists of our spiritual experiences, and the alternative states of mind that open us up to see the knowledge that is only available outside our usual realm of occurrences. Some of the ways we can reach the vertical plane is through solitude and our encounters with nature, and by opening our minds to the unknown. The combination of these two very powerful forces—religion and nature—can provide someone with unlimited spirituality. I think that Snyder would agree with all these insights as ways of connecting spirituality and the outdoors, and finding one’s religion in the natural world.
3 comments:
Allison,
Having taken psych and religion I agree to you that the ideas learned in that class relate in many ways to Gary Snyder's writing. I remember Prof. Ralph Quinn stating in the class that we all need five spiritual practices. I think that one of Snyders would be walking as discussed today in class by Rob Wilson who said "When you walk you kinda get into the texture of a place." When you practice your spiritual practices you forget about the horizontal and begin to touch the vertical plane, to really connect with everything around you and this is what all three of these people are referring to. Thank you for facilitating this connection.
Allison,
I really enjoyed reading your post and I found it to be exceptionally informative.
In particular I liked your explanation of the horizontal and vertical planes. It is always interesting to learn how humanities existence can interact. It makes a lot of sense that we have two separate planes that occasionally overlap to explain such things as our beliefs and religion.
Thank you for this post!
Dear Allison,
The ideas from your other class are really interesting. Are they derived from a particular religion? They remind me a little of Buddhism. I'm sure Snyder would agree with the solitary and nature parts as keys to a spiritual understanding of life. I'm interesed in the extent of spiritual knowlegde available in respective religions, and how this relates to San Francisco. I wonder what the most-practiced religion is in the city, if nature is required for spiritual serenity within that religion, and if Golden Gate Park suffices!
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