Trees : Guardians of the Earth: Views from the Inner World of Nature

Books about the nature of trees and their vital role in our world's ecology are plentiful. What makes this book stand out is that Don presents a fuller picture of the role and importance of trees than do most other volumes on the same topic. The reason is that he sees trees as both physical and spiritual entities. They are participants in and contributors to both the physical ecology in which they are rooted and a "subtle" energy ecology that surrounds and connects everything in the world. The existence of this subtle ecology sounds strange to modern ears, but only because in the midst of our technology, we have lost an awareness of the larger dimensions of life that surround us. The non-physical environment is not a ghostly place of phantoms and fantasies. It is a domain of life. It is an ecology of subtle connections that act like the bloodstream of the planet, circulating vital energies that contribute to the health and well-being of nature in its entirety, including ourselves. When these currents are obstructed or broken, problems arise the same as when the flow of blood is blocked in our bodies. In this case, the problems are energetic, but they can manifest in physical and psychological ways that affect us all. As Don points out, remove the trees and there is an emptiness, not only physically, but energetically as well. Sources of inner support have vanished, and people's lives are diminished in the process.-David Spangler, author of Subtle Worlds: An Explorer's Field Notes, Everyday Miracles: The Inner Art of Manifestation, The Call, Facing The Future and many others.