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Rediscovering Ancient Pathways
it has a trans-human structure…not strictly confned to man’s mode of being…’ This is because, he
says, ‘in living, religious [i.e. spiritual] man is never alone, part of the world lives in him’ as ‘cosmic
symbolism adds a new value to an object or action, without affecting their peculiar and immediate
values’. Eliade concludes that
Openness to the world enables religious [spiritual] man to know himself in the world.” This means that
“the whole of life is capable of being sanctifed …thus life is lived on a two-fold plane; it takes its course
as human existence and, at the same time, shares in a trans-human life, that of the cosmos or the gods.
Eliade (1961: 166–167)
Such an ‘organic’ mindset allowed people the capacity to listen to, feel strongly and empathically
with, and identify the organic world around them, in all its manifestations. A crucial aspect of
this was a sensitivity to ‘subtle energies’ (such as those emanating from fowing water or cosmic
energy fows). In time, and in certain cultures, a very sophisticated series of practices – if you like a
‘science’ – was built up around detecting, concentrating and using these energies to good effect for
human health, harmonious living and agricultural performance.
Is it any wonder, therefore, that while an extraordinary regenerative agriculture revolution unfolds
across our nation and other countries and landscapes, such farmers and others who empathically
reconnect to Mother Earth are now discovering, developing or unexpectedly encountering elements
of the old organic mind? For this is what is surely occurring. I see it as part of the transformative
shift to a third mind for this new era of human existence on Earth: the Emergent Mind. This mind
combines elements of the old ‘organic’ (through an indivisible ‘oneness’ with the Earth and nature
and a capacity to rediscover intuition, Earth-empathy and a mental freedom to be open to other outside and non-rational or spiritual infuences) with the best of the modern ‘mechanical’ mind (such
as research about our bio-geochemical world, ecological systems, and complex adaptive systems
thinking and so on). The result is this new mind, the ‘emergent’, equipped with the best of the old
and the new. It is thus capable of forging a new agriculture and a new urban–rural connection that
regenerates, and doesn’t destroy, the Earth.
In order to understand the potential of a new regeneration of agriculture, we need to at least open
up and discuss some of the things that are emerging as modern regenerative farmers take steps
that end up – intentionally or otherwise – connecting them to some long-lost or neglected ancient
pathway.
HARNESSING SUBTLE ENERGY THROUGH GEOMANCY
In tracing the emergence of a regenerative agriculture and of the innovative farmers behind it, we
see that the management approaches leading to ecological regeneration stem from a regeneration
of degraded landscape functions. Such regeneration hinges on solar energy and the solar cycle and
then fows into the soil-mineral, water and other cycles, and into that of dynamic ecosystem communities. Intersecting with, and indivisible from, these landscape functions is the human-social
landscape element. But without solar energy, we humans would be immediately exterminated.
Nevertheless, there is another and complementary energy source that impacts the Earth and its
organisms (including humans). Forgotten, over-looked or even repressed, this consists of the wider
cosmic energy forces from further out in the solar system (including planetary and lunar infuences)
and beyond – from the broader galaxy. 3 There are also energies generated from within the Earth,
from processes relating to deep geological fault-lines to radioactivity. Though seemingly not as
powerful nor obvious as solar energy, ancient people with an organic mindset recognised these
additional energies and used them to maintain harmony with Earth’s living patterns, for living and
healing in general, particularly for agriculture, as well as for spiritual purposes.
3 Much academic literature exists on cosmic rays and cosmic energies. See, for example, Dorman and Dorman, 2014.
Rediscovering Ancient Pathways
it has a trans-human structure…not strictly confned to man’s mode of being…’ This is because, he
says, ‘in living, religious [i.e. spiritual] man is never alone, part of the world lives in him’ as ‘cosmic
symbolism adds a new value to an object or action, without affecting their peculiar and immediate
values’. Eliade concludes that
Openness to the world enables religious [spiritual] man to know himself in the world.” This means that
“the whole of life is capable of being sanctifed …thus life is lived on a two-fold plane; it takes its course
as human existence and, at the same time, shares in a trans-human life, that of the cosmos or the gods.
Eliade (1961: 166–167)
Such an ‘organic’ mindset allowed people the capacity to listen to, feel strongly and empathically
with, and identify the organic world around them, in all its manifestations. A crucial aspect of
this was a sensitivity to ‘subtle energies’ (such as those emanating from fowing water or cosmic
energy fows). In time, and in certain cultures, a very sophisticated series of practices – if you like a
‘science’ – was built up around detecting, concentrating and using these energies to good effect for
human health, harmonious living and agricultural performance.
Is it any wonder, therefore, that while an extraordinary regenerative agriculture revolution unfolds
across our nation and other countries and landscapes, such farmers and others who empathically
reconnect to Mother Earth are now discovering, developing or unexpectedly encountering elements
of the old organic mind? For this is what is surely occurring. I see it as part of the transformative
shift to a third mind for this new era of human existence on Earth: the Emergent Mind. This mind
combines elements of the old ‘organic’ (through an indivisible ‘oneness’ with the Earth and nature
and a capacity to rediscover intuition, Earth-empathy and a mental freedom to be open to other outside and non-rational or spiritual infuences) with the best of the modern ‘mechanical’ mind (such
as research about our bio-geochemical world, ecological systems, and complex adaptive systems
thinking and so on). The result is this new mind, the ‘emergent’, equipped with the best of the old
and the new. It is thus capable of forging a new agriculture and a new urban–rural connection that
regenerates, and doesn’t destroy, the Earth.
In order to understand the potential of a new regeneration of agriculture, we need to at least open
up and discuss some of the things that are emerging as modern regenerative farmers take steps
that end up – intentionally or otherwise – connecting them to some long-lost or neglected ancient
pathway.
HARNESSING SUBTLE ENERGY THROUGH GEOMANCY
In tracing the emergence of a regenerative agriculture and of the innovative farmers behind it, we
see that the management approaches leading to ecological regeneration stem from a regeneration
of degraded landscape functions. Such regeneration hinges on solar energy and the solar cycle and
then fows into the soil-mineral, water and other cycles, and into that of dynamic ecosystem communities. Intersecting with, and indivisible from, these landscape functions is the human-social
landscape element. But without solar energy, we humans would be immediately exterminated.
Nevertheless, there is another and complementary energy source that impacts the Earth and its
organisms (including humans). Forgotten, over-looked or even repressed, this consists of the wider
cosmic energy forces from further out in the solar system (including planetary and lunar infuences)
and beyond – from the broader galaxy. 3 There are also energies generated from within the Earth,
from processes relating to deep geological fault-lines to radioactivity. Though seemingly not as
powerful nor obvious as solar energy, ancient people with an organic mindset recognised these
additional energies and used them to maintain harmony with Earth’s living patterns, for living and
healing in general, particularly for agriculture, as well as for spiritual purposes.
3 Much academic literature exists on cosmic rays and cosmic energies. See, for example, Dorman and Dorman, 2014.