All Our Relations: GreenSpirit Connections With the More-Than-Human World

The first ebook in this GreenSpirit series, 'What is Green Spirituality?' described a form of spirituality towards which more and more people are turning these days: one that is grounded in a deep love of—and reverence for—the Earth and of all Nature and which sees the emergence of higher levels of human consciousness as the growing tip of the ongoing evolutionary process.

It is a spiritual attitude that is perfectly compatible with all the world's major religions and it goes hand in hand with people's increasing desire to halt the destruction of habitat, the loss of species and the over-use of the planet's resources and to live a satisfyingly 'green' and sustainable lifestyle.

To this end, each subsequent book in this series looks at how the principles of green spirituality may be applied to one particular aspect of our daily lives. As its title suggests, All Our Relations' celebrates and honours human beings' relationships with all those other life forms who share our planetary home. How we treat these 'fellow-travellers,' how we perceive them and interact with them—and the extent to which we love and respect them—is a measure of our humanity and our spiritual evolution. The greater our appreciation for other creatures, the more they give to us, the more they teach us and the more joy and inspiration they bring into our lives.

For we, too, are animals. And along with the other members of the animal and plant kingdoms, we make up the delicate web of life that makes this place liveable and beautiful. Whatever damage we do to that web, we do to ourselves, to each other, to our children and grandchildren and to all our relations of every size and kind. If they fail to thrive and survive, so do we.

Contributors to the book include scientists, researchers, poets, authors, health practitioners and others. Here you will find discussions ranging from the merits of vegetarianism to the problem of linguistic 'speciesism.' You will read about dogs who know when their humans are coming home and be encouraged to rediscover your own inherent, animal 'knowing.' Above all, you will almost certainly delight in the first-person accounts of life-changing interactions with members of other species, from snakes to horses, from dogs to oak trees and from huge whales to baby frogs.