I Touch the Earth, the Earth Touches Me

by Hugh Prather

Poetic reflections on the asymptotic nature of intellectual growth

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Philosophy, Self Help, Memoir, Psychology

164 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1972

About the author

Hugh Prather, Jr. was a writer, minister, and counselor, most famous for his first book, Notes to Myself. , which was first published in 1970 by Real People Press. It has sold over 5 million copies, and has been translated into ten languages.
Together with his second wife, Gayle Prather, whom he married in 1965, he wrote other books, including The Little Book of Letting Go; "I Touch the Earth, The Earth Touches Me"; How to Live in the World and Still Be Happy; I Will Never Leave You: How Couples Can Achieve The Power Of Lasting Love; Spiritual Notes to Myself: Essential Wisdom for the 21st Century; Shining Through: Switch on Your Life and Ground Yourself in Happiness; Spiritual Parenting: A Guide to Understanding and Nurturing the Heart of Your Child; Standing on My Head: Life Lessons in Contradictions; A Book of Games: A Course in Spiritual Play; Love and Courage; Notes to Each Other; A Book for Couples; The Quiet Answer; and There is a Place Where You Are Not Alone.
Born in Dallas, the younger Hugh Prather earned a bachelor's degree at Southern Methodist University in 1966 after study at Principia College and Columbia University. He studied at the University of Texas at the graduate level without taking a degree. While he could be categorized as a New Age writer, he drew on Christian language and themes and seemed comfortable conceiving of God in personal terms. His work underscored the importance of gentleness, forgiveness, and loyalty; declined to endorse dramatic claims about the power of the individual mind to effect unilateral transformations of external material circumstances; and stressed the need for the mind to let go of destructive cognitions in a manner not unlike that encouraged by the cognitive-behavioral therapy of Aaron T. Beck and the rational emotive behavior therapy commended by Albert Ellis.

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very nice early 70's vibe (the 60's are over, what did we learn) - nice 'sitting in the park' book. I really like books that take you back to a time and place, I think it helps put lager issues into perspective. Hugh Prather is what I term an 'honest' poet; a poet who will tell you honestly where he is coming from. Inspiring read!

[Longfellow · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best 30 cents' investment I've ever made (thanks, fifty-percent-off-books-at-thrift-store-day). Read it today, read it tomorrow, read it until it becomes part of your heart instead of your head.

p.s. Well, I had a lot of momentum at the beginning. Probably best kept in the bathroom or by the bedside for brief, contemplative readings, like a bunch of little proverbs.

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

i loved this book. It felt personal and it affected me and the person I became. A tender and enlightening read when I was 17 and searching.

[Abbegale · Rating 5 out of 5]

The pages each have little blips of what seem to read like the authors journal- you can open to any page and be moved by the honesty of his experiences on the journey towards self realization and actualization.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful autobiographical prose.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I great gift I got from a cool friend of mine, lots of wonderful insights to everyday life, really makes you think, a good book for thoughtful reflection

[Nancy Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is part Marcus Aurelius's Meditations, part Chris LaTray's One Sentence Journal, part Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey.

[Kaylee Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Went to a book store today, found this old poetry book, read it, and my life has changed.

[Tristen M · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovingly and longing journey through introspection.

[shayda :) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love a book like this that I can just pickup and put down whenever I’d like. It was on the shelf at my cat sit for the week and thought I’d take a stab at it

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is not your typical journal-style book, which is why I like it. It feels more personal than what most people would publish. I used to read small pieces and reflect on them for a while, and then I realized his writing wasn't quite as profound as I initially thought it was. In a sense, it is the thoughts of a very generic guy, but he is contemplative, gentle, honest, funny, and deep in a way that only 70's era literature can be!

[Scott Kirkland · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading thoughts and ideas that reinforce the common human experiences, and touches epiphanies I've encountered in my short life so far.

[Lucy Isaula · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I am a huge fan of almost all poetry books, I will keep my reviews honest. And that’s to say, I wasn’t a fan of this poetry collection. I think the title of the book misled me greatly into believing this book would be poems about nature and self-awareness within nature, but truthfully a lot of the poems were mostly one-lined thoughts that the poet happened to write down in a journal. And I mean each to his own. But these thoughts, these poems, it’s something that anyone can write if they had the dedication and time to pick up a pen and write down their existential awareness. I didn’t learn anything new. I wasn’t grabbed. I wasn’t taken anywhere new. And that is what I want in a poetry book. I want the poet to come at me full force and to give me life. I want them to give me something that no one has ever said and I want to feel their need that boils in their chest, that they just can’t contain and spills onto the page, I want to feel THAT. I don’t want to read the same thing that many people have written over and over again but just wrote differently by rearranging the words differently.

[wulvz · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s no way to describe how deeply Prather resonates with me, even when I disagree with him or his thoughts, I find them deeply relatable. I like Prather because he never feels pontificatory, every page a question as much as it is a revelation, an answer (often times the answers being there is no answer).

For anyone in mental health loops, I’ll recommend him forever, his words feel like a hug while equally being 100x easier to read the self help, and 100x more memorable/helpful than self help. Prather preaches growth as much as he preaches grace during the lesser, more stagnant moments of life.

I feel like out of all his works, this has been my least favorite, but it still is deserving of a 5. Some of his books feel profound start to finish, some of this book felt a little more like rambling and thought spirals than a cohesive message.

Regardless, love the man, wish he was still alive so I could ask him a million questions.

[Coles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this book sitting on the shelves of an old book store while living in Wisconsin. Never heard of Prather before but glad it caught my attention. It's simple, insightful, and feels deeply personal. Read it fast or read it slow, in the park or on the commode. It is versatile in that way. I would be interested in reading more from this author if I serendipitously came across some of his other work.

[clove💗🤍🧡 · Rating 5 out of 5]

a very enlightening read with personal experiences of a person weaving a way through life that some may see as empty sailing. makes you think about how we overcomplicate so much in daily life and allows you to see the silly little things we do that we all think amount to much when they really don’t (well at least don’t affect the world so strongly as we all may think it does)

[tuesday ! · Rating 2 out of 5]

A fine book with some decent insights about experience and consciousness. Definitely written from the perspective of a an upper-middle class white man in the 70s, which turned me off a bit, but even though i felt annoyed reading it because of his positionality, i find myself thinking of some insights from this book even months later.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this in a used bookshop and knew I had to take it home with me. Type of book you can turn to any page and contemplate whatever you land upon. Parts made me smile and think differently, parts seemed a bit pretentious and trying too hard to be insightful. Overall, enjoyed the small nuggets of thoughts to ponder.

[❂ Ann ❂ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book in college after someone bought it for me as gift in the mid-90s. And rather astutely they guessed--poetry is one of my favorite genres. It really helped me through some tough times. Sadly, it might be out of print.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this book when I was 10 years old, in 1979. I have read it several more times through the years and always find some new takeaway depending on my own stage of life and how the world is changing around me. Will appeal to people trying to reconnect with the world around them and live mindfully.

[Alicia Zuto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing. As soon as I open this book, my mind is on fire with inspirational writing of my own. I love how it's written in such a short kind of style like half of the page is blank which leaves plenty of room to talk back to the book as I do. It also makes it a smoother read for some reason.

[Sara Cerv · Rating 3 out of 5]

“I am left with this belief: that there are no answers, there are only alternatives, and the best I can do is trust my present experience and follow where it leads me.” • “In your struggle to be real, to be centered, to be you, have you left a place for me?”

[R.K. Cowles · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 3/4 stars

[Erin Sharp · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book doubled in size as I read it, from all of the places I have marked to reread again. A billion times, again. I needed this book.

[Hope · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love love love this book. It speaks to me in so any ways

[kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slayed like the last one..... few "man thoughts" so that was relieving.!

[Muskeen · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting as a glimpse into the thoughts of a particular person in a particular time, but not really useful as a tool of insight for the young adults of today

[G Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting insights to a human.

[Anne Kearns · Rating 3 out of 5]

meh, it was okay
one part was a little pretentious?) almost
the rest pretty good. idk just felt like reading random excerpts from someone’s journal

[Mary Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the quotes have stuck with me since I read it in 1986.