xxxvii
Introduction to the Book
form of geomancy or dowsing, the use of field towers and broadcasters and indigenous totems
and nature spirits. The final chapter in this section, and in the book, Chapter 28 (Roads), offers
thoughtful anecdotes on experiencing the metaphysics of agriculture. The author explains how
he learned many of the deeper insights of Nature whilst farming in Tasmania, based on his
understanding that all space and matter is energy, all energy is information, and this energy is
consciousness. The chapter describes some of the author’s metaphysical experiences as a dairy
farmer in Tasmania, and then a beef producer, after which he went on to become an organic
farming consultant. He explains how the farmer is the very matrix of the land being farmed
and that every thought and emotion stirs the holistic energy of the farm, affecting everything
from the micro-organic life in the soil, every plant that grows and all the livestock, with farmers therefore having the greatest responsibility of anyone.
WHAT NEXT? OUTSTANDING SUBJECT AREAS FOR RESEARCH
This collection of works provides some intense coverage of a relatively small number of thematic
areas, whereas the scope of the hidden half of nature is, to all intents, limitless. Nevertheless,
five salient subject areas are highlighted here, that arose as patterns through the chapters and that
require more attention than was possible in this book. These subject areas are as follows:
• a more in-depth understanding of the identified subtle agroecological practices, including
their impacts,
• perspectives and writings on subtle practices from indigenous authors,
• the theoretical and conceptual underpinnings and mechanics of Subtle Agroecologies,
• an exploration of Rudolf Steiner’s cosmological framework in relation to both indigenous
epistemologies and quantum science, and finally,
• the potential impact of practising Subtle Agroecologies on the human practitioner.
First and foremost – given that Subtle Agroecologies is grounded in the practice of farming – each
of the subtle techniques suggested in Chapter 1 requires exploring in more detail. Almost all of
these techniques have been touched upon in this book and are provided in Table 0.1 along with the
chapter numbers in brackets.
The use of feng shui and of plant psychoactives are included in this list but are not mentioned in
the book. The 4,000-year-old practice of feng shui seeks to establish harmony between people and
nature, and as an umbrella term it involves several of the other techniques listed, including sacred
geometry, dowsing and astrology (Teather and Chow, 2000). The use of plant psychoactives is also
included here as a technique to facilitate communication with the other-than-human. It was, and
still is, widely used in indigenous cultures (Armijos et al., 2014) and is going through a revival in
modernist ones (Apud, 2017).
These subtle techniques can and should be explored from the practical perspective of their
physical-material effects on, and interactions with, food and farming systems, as demonstrated by
the contributions in Section 2. They can also help to deepen our understanding of phenomena that
we cannot see. Chapter 24, for example, refers to research exploring how the flowers of a plant use
sound vibrations to detect and respond to pollinator bees in their vicinity, and in Chapter 12 we
learn how electrons influence the direction of plant growth as well as influencing plant geometry.
Some negative impacts of industrial agriculture also show up at subtle levels. In Chapter 16, for
example, copper chloride crystallisation images reveal that heavy doses of synthetic fertilisers prevent the crop from fully developing into the mature adult stage which results in it becoming more
susceptible to disease and more limited in the extent to which it forms the nutrients and aromas that
affect our taste perception. Both Chapters 23 and 24 allude to the disruptive impacts of electromagnetic wave pollution on living organisms, with Chapter 23 linking this to disorganisational forces in
the etheric realm, an area that has been scarcely recognised, let alone researched.
Introduction to the Book
form of geomancy or dowsing, the use of field towers and broadcasters and indigenous totems
and nature spirits. The final chapter in this section, and in the book, Chapter 28 (Roads), offers
thoughtful anecdotes on experiencing the metaphysics of agriculture. The author explains how
he learned many of the deeper insights of Nature whilst farming in Tasmania, based on his
understanding that all space and matter is energy, all energy is information, and this energy is
consciousness. The chapter describes some of the author’s metaphysical experiences as a dairy
farmer in Tasmania, and then a beef producer, after which he went on to become an organic
farming consultant. He explains how the farmer is the very matrix of the land being farmed
and that every thought and emotion stirs the holistic energy of the farm, affecting everything
from the micro-organic life in the soil, every plant that grows and all the livestock, with farmers therefore having the greatest responsibility of anyone.
WHAT NEXT? OUTSTANDING SUBJECT AREAS FOR RESEARCH
This collection of works provides some intense coverage of a relatively small number of thematic
areas, whereas the scope of the hidden half of nature is, to all intents, limitless. Nevertheless,
five salient subject areas are highlighted here, that arose as patterns through the chapters and that
require more attention than was possible in this book. These subject areas are as follows:
• a more in-depth understanding of the identified subtle agroecological practices, including
their impacts,
• perspectives and writings on subtle practices from indigenous authors,
• the theoretical and conceptual underpinnings and mechanics of Subtle Agroecologies,
• an exploration of Rudolf Steiner’s cosmological framework in relation to both indigenous
epistemologies and quantum science, and finally,
• the potential impact of practising Subtle Agroecologies on the human practitioner.
First and foremost – given that Subtle Agroecologies is grounded in the practice of farming – each
of the subtle techniques suggested in Chapter 1 requires exploring in more detail. Almost all of
these techniques have been touched upon in this book and are provided in Table 0.1 along with the
chapter numbers in brackets.
The use of feng shui and of plant psychoactives are included in this list but are not mentioned in
the book. The 4,000-year-old practice of feng shui seeks to establish harmony between people and
nature, and as an umbrella term it involves several of the other techniques listed, including sacred
geometry, dowsing and astrology (Teather and Chow, 2000). The use of plant psychoactives is also
included here as a technique to facilitate communication with the other-than-human. It was, and
still is, widely used in indigenous cultures (Armijos et al., 2014) and is going through a revival in
modernist ones (Apud, 2017).
These subtle techniques can and should be explored from the practical perspective of their
physical-material effects on, and interactions with, food and farming systems, as demonstrated by
the contributions in Section 2. They can also help to deepen our understanding of phenomena that
we cannot see. Chapter 24, for example, refers to research exploring how the flowers of a plant use
sound vibrations to detect and respond to pollinator bees in their vicinity, and in Chapter 12 we
learn how electrons influence the direction of plant growth as well as influencing plant geometry.
Some negative impacts of industrial agriculture also show up at subtle levels. In Chapter 16, for
example, copper chloride crystallisation images reveal that heavy doses of synthetic fertilisers prevent the crop from fully developing into the mature adult stage which results in it becoming more
susceptible to disease and more limited in the extent to which it forms the nutrients and aromas that
affect our taste perception. Both Chapters 23 and 24 allude to the disruptive impacts of electromagnetic wave pollution on living organisms, with Chapter 23 linking this to disorganisational forces in
the etheric realm, an area that has been scarcely recognised, let alone researched.