Reconnecting to the Earth

By Aaron Hoopes

In this book I intend to take you on a journey of self-discovery. It is not always an easy path, but we have reached a point where action is required if we as a species are going to continue to live on this planet. I have no intention of talking about what’s going to happen if you don’t follow these practices or rehash the same old “fear porn” about how everyone’s going to die if the whole world doesn’t rally together. There is plenty of that out there already. The direction this book takes is toward something much more positive. This journey will take some discipline and integrity. There may be some difficulty and struggle along the way. However, as you reconnect with the Earth, you will feel the changes taking place within you . . . and that can change the world.

This book is separated into four sections. The first chapter is basically a wake-up call discussing the difficulties we are facing. It is a realistic assessment of our current situation and a vital first step on the path to reconnecting with the Earth. The second chapter provides a deeper understanding as to how we got into this predicament and the underlying framework of our society that has led us to this point. The third chapter is about changing the narrative we live in so that we can begin to shift our physical, mental, and spiritual beings toward a sustainable relationship with the Earth. The final chapter provides seven sets of seven fundamental guidelines for creating your own personal practice for reconnecting with nature, the Earth, and yourself.

If you are just beginning to become aware that there is something fundamentally wrong with what is happening to the planet, I recommend starting from the beginning to get the full picture. It may not be what you want to hear, but it is important to understand where we are starting from. If you have picked up this book because you are already aware of the huge problems we face as a society and civilization, I would recommend skimming the first two chapters and heading for the second half of the book. While the discussion of how bad things are cannot be left out, the exercises and practices for dealing with it are much more important to the process of reconnecting ourselves to the Earth.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ozark Mountain Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 3, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005455972

Aaron Hoopes

Aaron Hoopes has studied karate, kung fu, tai chi, qigong and yoga for over thirty-five years. A native of Vermont, he spent many years in Japan and Australia studying with a number of exceptional teachers. He is the founder of Zen Yoga and the author of numerous books including Zen Yoga: A Path to Enlightenment through Breathing, Movement and Meditation, Perfecting Ourselves: Coordinating Body, Mind and Spirit, Breathe Smart: The Secret to Happiness, Health and Long Life. and The Zen Anti-Diet. His best-selling Zen Yoga Daily Warm-Up DVD has helped thousands of people integrate breathing and gentle movement into their lives. He is a Zen Shiatsu massage therapist and a long-time student of permaculture and plant spirit medicine. He runs the Dragon Mountain Kung Fu School and teaches yoga and qigong classes at the Zen Mountain Healing Center in Vermont.

Book preview

Reconnecting to the Earth

Reclaiming Our Relationship

to Nature and Ourselves

Aaron Hoopes

Table of Contents

Reconnecting to the Earth

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Author’s Note

Introduction

Chapter 1 ~ Wakeup Calling

Chapter 2 ~ Deeper Understanding

Chapter 3 ~ Rebalancing and Reconnecting

Chapter 4 ~ The Sevens: Creating a Sustainable Practice

Conclusion

Recommended Reading

About the Author

© 2019 by Aaron Hoopes

All rights reserved. No part of this book, in part or in whole, may be reproduced, transmitted or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic, photographic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from Ozark Mountain Publishing, Inc. except for brief quotations embodied in literary articles and reviews.

For permission, serialization, condensation, adaptions, or for our catalog of other publications, write to Ozark Mountain Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 754, Huntsville, AR 72740, ATTN: Permissions Department.

The material in this book is intended for educational purposes only. No expressed or implied guarantee as to the effects of the use of the recommendations can be given nor liability taken. The publisher advises such activities as deep breathing, gentle movement, and meditation not be attempted or practiced without appropriate guidance and support.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hoopes, Aaron – 1963 -

Reconnecting to the Earth by Aaron Hoopes

Reconnecting to the Earth is a wake up call for anyone who is feeling that there is something not quite right with our world.

1. Spiritual 2. Earth 3. Reconnecting 4. Metaphysical

Title Page Image: DonkeyHotey/Flickr

Cover Art and Layout: Victoria Cooper Art

Book Design: Tab Pillar

Published by:

PO Box 754, Huntsville, AR 72740

800-935-0045 or 479-738-2348; fax [phone]

WWW.OZARKMT.COM

Dedication

This book is respectfully dedicated to my dear friends Helen and Gregory Wilson, without whose inspiration it would never have existed.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to my teachers Shanti Gowans, Chien King Lam, Takayuki Mikami, and Masatoshi Nakayama for their instruction and guidance on my path. Thanks to my parents, David and Kathleen, who encouraged me to follow this path and who spent many hours editing my books. Thanks to my Dragon Mountain Kung Fu students, who give me hope for the future. Thanks to Michael Denmeade, my brother on the journey. And a special thanks to Suzanne Lacey for her loving and caring support.

Author’s Note

In this book I intend to take you on a journey of self-discovery. It is not always an easy path, but we have reached a point where action is required if we as a species are going to continue to live on this planet. I have no intention of talking about what’s going to happen if you don’t follow these practices or rehash the same old fear porn about how everyone’s going to die if the whole world doesn’t rally together. There is plenty of that out there already. The direction this book takes is toward something much more positive. This journey will take some discipline and integrity. There may be some difficulty and struggle along the way. However, as you reconnect with the Earth, you will feel the changes taking place within you . . . and that can change the world.

This book is separated into four sections. The first chapter is basically a wake-up call discussing the difficulties we are facing. It is a realistic assessment of our current situation and a vital first step on the path to reconnecting with the Earth. The second chapter provides a deeper understanding as to how we got into this predicament and the underlying framework of our society that has led us to this point. The third chapter is about changing the narrative we live in so that we can begin to shift our physical, mental, and spiritual beings toward a sustainable relationship with the Earth. The final chapter provides seven sets of seven fundamental guidelines for creating your own personal practice for reconnecting with nature, the Earth, and yourself.

If you are just beginning to become aware that there is something fundamentally wrong with what is happening to the planet, I recommend starting from the beginning to get the full picture. It may not be what you want to hear, but it is important to understand where we are starting from. If you have picked up this book because you are already aware of the huge problems we face as a society and civilization, I would recommend skimming the first two chapters and heading for the second half of the book. While the discussion of how bad things are cannot be left out, the exercises and practices for dealing with it are much more important to the process of reconnecting ourselves to the Earth.

~Aaron Hoopes 2019

Introduction

The first peace, which is most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness with the universe and all its power, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells the Great Spirit and that this center is really everywhere it is within each of us.

—Black Elk

We stand on the threshold of a profound shift in our world. Our all-consuming industrial civilization has led us down a destructive path that has compromised our soil, food, water, and atmosphere. The drive for perpetual growth and profit has fractured the idea of community and instilled values of selfishness and personal gain in the people. It is now becoming apparent that our way of living has reached the point where going forward in the same manner is no longer feasible. The time has come to either do something different or face a bleak future of turmoil, war, and the breakdown of our way of life.

Fortunately, it appears that a growing sector of the population is finally starting to realize the degradation of the Earth can only be halted when the majority of people feel deeply that the Earth is sacred and that all living beings should be revered and cherished. The Earth has never been ours to ruin and destroy. As more and more people start to wake up to the understanding that what is happening to the Earth will affect us all, the need for a fundamental shift becomes imperative. An environmentally focused spiritual transformation is underway all over the planet. Reconnecting to the Earth is part of this process. It is now necessary that reverence for the Earth becomes a sacred calling for each of us. It is vital not only for the planet, but for the well-being of all beings living on it.

This book is for individuals who have begun to comprehend the extent to which we have damaged the Earth and have started to recognize the consequences for ourselves, for our society, and for all of life as we know it. It provides a framework for changing our way of relating to the natural world and enables us to reconnect with not only the Earth, but ourselves as well. It is a path that leads away from the darkness of the economic, social, moral, and environmental crises that is upon us and leads toward something deeply spiritual and fulfilling. It is vital that we quickly make a transition from exploitation and destruction to reverence and respect for the planet. This will not be easy. In fact, it is already too late for many species as it will soon be for a population that continues to insist on living unsustainably. However, as human beings, it behooves us to attempt to reclaim our souls and reconnect with the whole. Any other path only hastens our destruction.

Most humans are alienated from their vital individuality—their souls—and humanity as a whole is largely alienated from the natural world that evolved us and sustains us. Soul has been demoted to a new-age spiritual fantasy or a missionary’s booty, and nature has been treated, at best, as a postcard or a vacation backdrop or, more commonly, as a hardware store or refuse heap. Too many of us lack intimacy with the natural world and with our souls, and consequently we are doing untold damage to both.

—Bill Plotkin

The simple truth is that we are no longer living in harmony with the natural environment. We have become disconnected, spiritually adrift in a dark and lonely world. Over time we have strayed from our path and gotten lost. The further we have strayed, the more distorted the path has become. And now we find ourselves hurrying to evolve spiritually before we plunge over the edge of a great chasm,