The Fruitful Darkness: Reconnecting With the Body of the Earth [Paperback]

Joan Halifax (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1994

Notes on the extraordinary life of anthropologist, ecologist, educator, and author Joan Halifax--"a woman who speaks from her heart, a traveler embarked upon a spiritual journey, a healer devoted to her work."-- "Common Boundary"

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Halifax, an ecologist and anthropologist, encounters Tibetan Buddhist meditators, Mexican shamans and Native American elders in this highly personal odyssey, a lyrical farrago of field notes, reflections and reminiscence marred by New Age ecobabble. Author of Shaman: The Wounded Healer , Halifax believes that deep ecology (which attempts to fuse environmental awareness with spiritual values) ranks with Buddhism and shamanism as a way to understand the interconnectedness of all creation and to regain a view of life as sacred. In rapt prose she recounts her explorations--geographic and mental--from Japanese Zen meditation to hallucinogenic plants, from the Dogon people of Mali to the Mayan rain forest. The terrain she covers may be familiar to spiritual seekers, but it is too fuzzy to be of value to environmentalists.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Halifax, a Zen Buddhist, anthropologist, and author ( Shamanic Voices , Viking, 1991), writes of her experience of psychomental crisis and of her need to reconnect with the earth. She recounts how she found transformation through the virtues of silence, story, and nonduality, among others, with a reverence for ecology, Buddhism, and shamanism playing the largest roles in her transformation. She discovers that generosity is the root "perfection" out of which grow wholesomeness, patience, energy, natural concentration, and wisdom. Recommended for academic and large public libraries.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Harper San Francisco (May 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062503138
• ISBN-13: 978-0062503138
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 4.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,000,725 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, January 22, 2006

By 

J. W. Briede "Nature Reader" (Yorktown, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fruitful Darkness: Reconnecting With the Body of the Earth (Paperback)

It is amazing that this book has never been reviewed (2006). I bought the hardback in 1993 and I still consider it one of my most favorite books ever. It is thoughtful and very well written. It gave me a very good introduction to deep ecology and shamanism. I consider it a must read for those interested in the subject.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Fruitful Darkness, March 25, 2010

By 

Ger Agrey-thatcher - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Fruitful Darkness: Reconnecting With the Body of the Earth (Hardcover)

Joan Halifax is an amazing creature. The official bio reads something like ex-wife of LSD psychotherapist Stanislaf Grof, anthropologist and research assistant to Joseph Campbell, deep ecologist and present roshi of Upaya Zen Center. The real Joan Halifax is a true cosmic dancer, bruja / medicine woman who has mastered the art of weaving whatever physical or etheric garments are necessary for the next grand spiritual adventure (beyond shapeshifting) and omnilinguist fluent in the languages of animals and angels. The Fruitful Darkness is one of the most beautiful, sad and ecstatic travelogues you will ever read.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars be careful, November 11, 2010

By 

Alie - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Fruitful Darkness: Reconnecting With the Body of the Earth (Paperback)

if you are looking at this book and "The Fruitful Darkness: A Journey Through Buddhist Practice and Tribal Wisdom"...they are the same book with different covers. I ordered both thinking they were separate books and they ae NOT. I am quite irritated.