The Spiritual and Medicinal Powers of Nature

    I wanted to expand my discussion on the spiritual importance of nature. I have continued exploring Linda Hogan’s (McKibben Pg. 809-814) art relating to her spiritual connection to nature through her Indigenous and American roots. Additionally, I have expanded my reflection on David Abram’s (McKibben Pg. 815-834) study of the interconnectedness of tribal medicine, ecology, nature, and the environment (“The Ecology of Magic”). Together they both speak of the idea that nature is more than just a resource. It holds spiritual importance, is sacred to many cultures, and holds many healing powers.

    Both authors’ work piqued my interest for different reasons. Linda Hogan’s work speaks to my personal journey of finding a spiritual connection in nature rather than in the traditional sense of organized religion. On the other hand, my interest in ecological balance and sustainable community relationships with the environment is fed by David Abram’s story. Therefore, the following post will be a collection of my thoughts on their work and some of the research I have found on the authors, their work, or related topics.

Figure 1: Photo of poet, storyteller, and activist Linda Hogan

To begin, I will provide a refresher on authors and their excerpts from Bill McKibben’s American Earth: Environmental Writing Since Thoreau. Linda Hogan is a member of the Chickasaw Nation and is a highly awarded poet and storyteller. She is also known as an environmental activist, often speaking on environmental protection in addition to her poetry. Hogan’s writing style is described in this poetry magazine as, “the intersection of environmental matters and the historical and ongoing treatment of American Indians, thus linking environmental justice and social justice issues.” Her expert in American Earth, titled “Dwellings” illustrates that all parts of nature are connected and that each individual part holds importance as well as a responsibility. Each and every aspect of nature provides support for another creating this vulnerable and delicate web of reliance. She shares a story that illustrates this concept beautifully, “I found a soft, round nest. It had fallen from one of the bare branches. […] Holding it in my hand in the rosy twilight, I notice that a blue threat was entwined with the other gatherings there. I pulled at the thread a little, and then I recognized it. It was a thread from one of my skirts. […] I liked it, that a threat of my life was in an abandoned nest, one that had held eggs and new life” (pg. 813). She goes on to also find a piece of her daughter’s hair tangled in the bird nest as well.

Another one of my main takeaways from her reading is that we are meant to be in a close give-and-take relationship with the environment around us. We deserve to carve out our own personal dwellings in nature. We all need a place of shelter and safety. It is okay to make a dent. However, while this work by Hogan does not touch on her views on environmental destruction, I believe she would advise a warning against creating too big of a dent. She advocated for a modest gentle living kind of dent, not the crater that modern capitalistic living leaves on the environment.

Figure 2: Poetry book by Linda Hogan that was nominated for a Pulitzer.

This winter I plan to work my way through some of her poetry books including the one above. If you are also interested in reading more of her works you can find a list of her collections on her website.

My other highlighted excerpt from American Earth is David Abram’s “Ecology of Magic.” David Abram is described as a cultural ecologist, geophilosopher, artist, and amateur magician. His work is cited to be “daring” and “revolutionary”. Much like Linda Hogan, his work explores multiple intersections. He has spent many years researching and writing about how ecology, the environment, human activity and culture, the animal world, and psychology interact with one another. Through his examination, he coined the term “the more-than-human world” to describe these interactions and intersections urging readers to consider more than just humans and our impact but also other aspects of the environment and its impact on us as well. While his overall concepts and ideas can sometimes be convoluted, they are nothing but profound (I mean he is a Harvard lecturer what do you expect).

In this video, David helps us understand who he is, what he studies, and what he believes.

In “The Ecology of Magic” Abram narrates his story of conducting research in tribal communities in southeast Asia and the Americas. Funded by research grants to study the practices of shamans, magicians, and sorcerers, he observed how closely related their work is to that of an ecologist or a resource management officer. In this reading, he explains that the outside world assumes that the unseen practices of the village shaman are related to dark magic but in reality, it is more often than not related to upholding the balance between the village and the surrounding environment which provides the precious resources they so greatly depend on. He writes, “the medicine person’s primary allegiance, then, is not to the human community, but to the earthly web of relations in which that community is embedded—it is from this that his or her power to alleviate human illness derives” (Pg. 820). Similar to some of Linda Hagen’s work, he explains that many tribal communities see wildlife as a connection to the divine. They hold animals at great importance observing many of them as spiritual guides and a signal of communication with humans and the rest of the natural world.

His writings are truly thought-provoking. He attempts to open the eyes of the capitalistic, chemical-dependent, resource-careless, technology-crazed Western world. He shares that there are other ways, other options, and better mindsets. To read more about David Abram’s fascinating travels and ideas visit his website to see a list of his works.

This is a TEDx Talk given by an Indigenous man from the Yawanawa tribe in the Amazon Rainforest. It really ties together the two authors’ writings. He touches on tribal shamans’ practices, the effects of deforestation, finding spirits in nature, climate change, and connection through nature.

Discussion question

1.      What does your connection to nature look like? What do you spiritually or mentally gain from it?

My connection with nature is one that I cherish deeply. I immediately resonated with Linda Hagen’s work because in McKibben’s introduction of her chapter, he shared the following quote, “I was one day able to say to the Sunday school teacher, who believed we were in the house of the Lord, that I felt God when I sat under a tree” (pg. 809). I relate greatly to this because when I still identified as a Christian the only part that truly resonated with me was the frequent correlation with nature. The only time I felt a connection with God was when I was in nature. Now, nature is a healing and calming presence in life. Fresh air and big trees around me even in the most difficult times. I am thankful to live in a place with relatively easy access to such beautiful and powerful natural outlets.

Here’s an interesting NPR opinion piece about how a study found that people who live near beautiful natural landmarks are less likely to be religious because they meet their spiritual needs through being in nature.