The Green Soul

'One of the most inspiring, persuasive, and urgent arguments I have ever come across for the consciousness of nonhuman life. Beautiful, wise, comforting, life-altering.' – Barbara Gowdy, Bestselling author of The White Bone 'One of the most inspiring, persuasive, and urgent arguments I have ever come across for the consciousness of nonhuman life. Beautiful, wise, comforting, life-altering.' – Barbara Gowdy, Bestselling author of The White Bone An unforgettable field guild to the superabundance of the wild, and an invitation to reclaim our place in it. Our hurried modern lives have estranged us from the grand gifts of the natural world: sanctuary, peace and belonging. It's time to mend this fracture and recover our wholeness of being with the wild – not only to learn about nature but to participate in it. Modern mystic and pilgrimage guide Lucinda M. Vardey shows us how to do just that. Writing from her centuries-old farmhouse in Tuscany, on the ancient land that St Francis of Assisi once walked, Lucinda names our spiritual exile from the earth and offers a map back to a collective consciousness, wherever we might live. She calls what we hunger for the ‘Green Soul’ – our active participation with the larger living being of all creation and draws equally upon ecological research, awe evoking narratives of sacred encounter in nature, the teachings of renowned spiritual leaders and the simple view from our window. With an infectious joy and a quiet wonder, Lucinda calls us to renew our partnership with nature, experience true embodiment and contribute to our planet's healing. "This hugely important book should be read by anyone who cares about the life of the Spirit and the future of the planet." – Jennifer Kavanagh, author of Heart of Oneness “Beautifully written and essentially hopeful, a loving trust in God, in Life, in humanity pours out of its pages. […] An environmental and spiritual guide, an invitation exquisitely expressed, this is a book that deserves to be read and acted upon.” – Rev. Prof. Stephen G. Wright, MBE, director of Sacred Space Foundation and author of Fugue: Climate, Collapse and Contemplation