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Gaia Eros: Reconnecting to the Magic and Spirit of Nature

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Gaia Eros: Reconnecting to the Magic of Spirit and Nature by Amelia Raymond July 28, 2004

As a child, perhaps you felt that every tree was a living being, and that the wind brushed against your skin like a living wing. You might have been sure that fairies lived beneath a certain rock, or caused the flowers to open in the morning so they could arise from their bed of petals. You may have grown up to lament the destruction of forests, or of your favorite romps as developers transformed windswept oceans of grass into walled off tracts of exclusive homes. As you matured and your days were spent trying to make a living you began to accept these things as necessary. As the separation between you and the natural world deepened, you may have even have come to regard environmentalism as a youthful indulgence, abandoned now that you're out in the "real world." Or, perhaps you wondered whether you were the only person on the planet who knew that the Earth was a living being. Maybe the only way you could relieve that incredible loneliness was by going out to be alone with the Earth, far from highway noise and the chatter of those who seemed to not notice the miracle of madrone trees climbing the canyon cliffs above emerald-green waters. Perhaps you live in a city and your last truly spiritual experience was to honor the brave dandelion that found its way to bloom through a crack in the seemingly endless concrete.

If so, you're not alone. Jesse Wolf Hardin's latest work, Gaia Eros: Reconnecting to the Magic of Spirit and Nature is all about reconnecting. As emissary of the enchanted, ambassador of Gaia, the living Earth, Wolf brings us back to the essential truth we knew as children: that we are but one of myriad life forms that comprise this vital and fragile organism we call Earth. Reminiscent of Kahlil Gibran's sage classic The Prophet, the 210-page collection of beautiful and devotional essays is a Song of Solomon for the Earth. Written with unyielding commitment to the truth, these essays tell us that to fully experience this love, one must emerge from the illusion that we are somehow excused from attending life as a creature of the Earth.

Topics include eco-activism, the nature and essence of art, and the definition of being rich. Chapter 26, "Gaia River", is the story of the Sweet Medicine River, named after the indigenous people who last inhabited the land that is now home to Wolf, Loba and other entities that chirp, swoop, howl and prowl the canyon country. The author acquaints the reader with the realities of taking care of the beloved Earth by documenting the damage done by
"more than a century of overgrazing by immigrant Texas cattle. Elder cottonwoods
lost to the occasional flood were no longer being replaced, as the sprouts of alamo and
willow alike were gobbled up by the voracious cows. The river no longer channelized,
but wandered from one side of the canyon to the other, as if trying to avoid its tormentors.
...We were literally the first protectors in a thousand years, fencing off parts of the
river, replanting and restoring its banks until at least one section of the canyon was
a riparian forest again."

As the title suggests, the erotic principle is addressed, not as commercial culture's idea of eroticism but as the true meaning of Eros, the Life Force: that which connects us to one another, to our deepest selves, and to the interlaced network of all living things. Eros is touching one's lover with every sense awakened. In Chapter 9, "Gaia Eros: Sacred Sexuality, Sacred Earth," the Eros is revealed as the cooing of doves, as "giant cottonwood trees rub together their pollen-laden branches", and "the mating of canyon moon and purple mountain spires." We are urged to adopt the attitude of our forebears, that the "Earth is a Spirit-embodied being, sexually charged and reproductive." It is interaction on this level that we reinhabit our true sentient natures. We infuse our human sexuality with the Eros of the Earth, and become whole. For the entire nature of Jesse Wolf Hardin's relationship to the land is one of eroticism. He explains his contract with his canyon home as

"a marriage contract, bound by love rather than law. I've stood before these orange
and purple cliffs many times and repeated my vows. That I'll do everything I can to
restore her and make her all she can be, to never bend her to my will, to always serve her,
touch her, stroke her hair of grass. To revel in the sensation of my bare feet on her naked
Earthen body."

Jesse Wolf Hardin is more than a storyteller. To experience the procession of images that flow through Gaia Eros' pages is to see the life of Gaia pass before your eyes. The storyteller's craft is evidenced by the power he has to awaken the reader's personal acceptance of the natural, wild self. Throughout this book, his devotion to the earth resonates like the heartbeat of a lover or the rhythm of a sacred song. The mind opens to nature. As I was preparing to write this review, a flock of cliff swallows whooshed over my house as if casting a blessing for the work I was about to begin.

Jesse Wolf Hardin and Loba own and operate a 'wilderness retreat' called "The Earthen Spirituality Project and Sweet Medicine Women's Center' in New Mexico. This center forms the basis for this book, in their connection with their land, their very strong feelings for the earth and earth based spirituality, the sacredness of all things and the sacredness of self.

What connects all pagans is their love and respect for the earth. Mr. Hardin can be considered a very 'extreme' pagan in his dedication to the protection of the environment and his teachings of respect for all things.

This book outlines the retreats they hold at their New Mexico center, and combines their practices with their teachings and presents us with a path that is as inviting as it is intriguing.

This is not just about the land. Respect is for all things. The retreats focus on self in relation to your inner being, your connection with all things natural and taking the time to stop and smell the sage. Exercises in self indulgence, respecting and appreciating your food, proper and natural diet, and pursuit of your own personal spirituality are the focus of these retreats. Each step is a magical journey in reconnecting yourself to the land.

Mr. Hardin includes questions to explore your own personal beliefs and life style, discusses his ideas and teachings regarding personal growth, sexuality, and of course, our responsibility to the earth and his ideas of maintaining Gaia.

Mr. Hardin has a way with words, and it enables us to experience not only the taste of his center, but also his ideas, his teachings and his personal path. He is very eloquent in his descriptions of his concepts, from his ideas on sexuality to the smell of fresh baked bread. The book is very well written. Like his excellent pen and ink drawings which grace some of the pages, verbal details awaken the senses as you read through the material.

Mr. Hardin includes many diverse topics for discussion, from his own personal ideas on sexuality to war and its effects on the planet and ourselves. Some of this can be disturbing, we may not agree with all the thoughts presented by Mr. Hardin, and some will seem extreme. These are his teachings, and are meant to provoke thought on the topics.

But do not let that stop you from savoring the ideas and rolling them around in your mind. Extremes can be a wake up call. Do we respect ourselves, our own personal piece of the earth, or our own spirituality? Can we adjust our daily lives a little at a time so we can enhance our own personal experience? And do we respect Gaia enough that when we refer to ourselves as 'pagan' we mean it?

Though provoking, intelligent, subtle and sexual, this book covers all that Mr. Hardin and Lobo consider 'Gaia Eros' and their form of natural magic and spirituality. boudica

As I began to read this book, I was puzzled by the title. Gaia Eros? What does that mean? I looked at the chapter titles, and discovered that each of them stands alone very nicely; there's no need to read doggedly from front to back. This is not a textbook, where each chapter builds on the instructions from the one before. Then it hit me, after I began to reread Wolf's words. This is no mere compilation of essays.

Perhaps this volume could best be described as a collection of love letters; some serious, some whimsical, some practical, some esoteric, but always spiritual. To the Great Mystery that is Mother Earth, the author passionately, eloquently, and tirelessly conveys his love, commitment, and reverence. As Wolf invites us to develop our sense of belonging to Gaia, to honor and care for the earth, he explains in inspired and picturesque language the how and why of New Nature Spirituality.

Calling upon his two decades of experience care taking and "rewilding" a stretch of river canyon in New Mexico, Wolf gives us lessons from Nature through the eyes of the bobcats and the roots of the red willows. He builds an indelible image upon the mind's eye of his Sweet Medicine Sanctuary. In "Lessons of the Furry Buddhas" he writes:

"To be wild is to be "willed:" true to our authentic needs and nature. Never pretend to be anything but what you are."

In "The Sacred Ground," Wolf writes of our "holy Gaian beings." He elaborates on the substance that forms us, feeds us, shelters and then ultimately reclaims us, then gently chides us for our foolish obsession with washing off any evidence of its existence.

Gaia Eros calls each of us to new levels of awareness and activism, to become teachers and healers. To recognize and honor the eternal Earth Mother for her gifts and blessings, and to seek to reverse the harm that mankind has wrought.

This book belongs on every bookshelf, not just those of us Pagans and Earth-centered Spirituality types. It is for everyone who is aware of, or wants to be, --or even is just willing to entertain the possibility of-the ultimate sacred interconnectedness of all things on the living goddess planet we call Gaia. It should be read over and over, until we get it.

This book is not an easy read. I would have found a dictionary close by to be a big help. Wolf uses words like loci, indigenous, inspirited, sentience. Nor is this some "fluffy bunny" New Age eco-philosophy guide. (reviewed by Windweaver)

This book is a heartwarming mix of the magical and the practical. The section "Lessons from the Furry Buddhas" was really great. Highly recommended.

I found it to be a beautifully written book that was also very educational. I would recommend it highly to other people interested in nature/the natural world/sustainability.

If you are already familiar with Nature-based spirituality, this book isn't going to tell you anything you don't already know. Mr. Hardin fills up the pages of his book with flowery words, elaborates on every minute detail, and gives no practical down-to-earth advice for living close to the Earth.
I think this book was written for entertainment purposes only. If you expect to learn anything from it, forget it.