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Earthdream: The Marriage of Reason and Intuition
The scientific and intuitive worldviews have been perceived as incompatible. Matter has been the concern of science, and spirit that of religion. Here lie roots of our current predicament: we live in a world of spiritual impoverishment and material waste. However a new cosmology is breaking through. A growing number of scientists are coming to realise the connectedness of reason and intuition; and religious leaders are becoming increasingly involved with matters of the earth. In Earthdream, the author presents a clear and penetrating analysis of the situation in which we are trapped. The way out of our impasse is through the marriage of reason and intuition: we must bridge the gap between head and heart, between thought and feeling. For only when we realise that reason complements intuition, and that we need them both, will we be able to heal the wounds of our ailing planet.
- GenresPhilosophy
247 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 10, 2011
Finally!!!! A scholar who presents the meeting of spirituality and science with a clear, mature, rational, educated approach. This book has been long overdue and is a breath of fresh air for me in my research and career as a progressive pastor. So many times I get wrongly pigeon-holed with the right wing evangelical wing-nuts due to my broad label as "clergy". I am expected to shun anything that is scientific in nature and to light my torch and raise my pitchfork in solidarity with the "chosen ones"...no, the other chosen ones (wink). Obviously, I am allergic to kool-aide and closed minded hypocrisy, praise the maker or makers!!
Earthdream is a brilliant book that offers many clarifications and solutions for the art of bridging the gaps that exist between reason and spiritual intuition. We have yet one Earth that we are called to be her stewards...let's not fail anymore.
A personal note to my brother from another, Bob Hamilton -- Thank you for the gift of your writing skills, research, perspective, and of course the copy of Earthdream. Your generosity is valued greatly.
Earthdream is a brilliant book that offers many clarifications and solutions for the art of bridging the gaps that exist between reason and spiritual intuition. We have yet one Earth that we are called to be her stewards...let's not fail anymore.
A personal note to my brother from another, Bob Hamilton -- Thank you for the gift of your writing skills, research, perspective, and of course the copy of Earthdream. Your generosity is valued greatly.
March 21, 2011
“It is only through mystery and madness that the soul is revealed.” –Thomas Moore
I chose this quote to prelude my review because it suites this work, almost as if Thomas Moore had been writing about Robert Hamilton’s book “Earthdream” himself. Or maybe Robert Hamilton was writing this book based on Thomas Moore’s theory.
In his book Earthdream, Robert Hamilton, in his own words, “questions and challenges the legitimacy of the division the world requires of perception as well as interrogating some of our most deeply engrained and cherished preconceptions of reality.” This book is not for the quaint of mind. Robert inflicts a shift of focus to the perception that I can only describe as like waking from a dream. Just as dreams bridge the psychological and physiological aspects of life allegorically as well as divinatorily, this book transpires for the reader a “totality of continuously transforming possibility” between logic and intuition.
“When we are dreaming alone it is only a dream. When we are dreaming with others, it is the beginning of reality.” –Dom Helder Camara
According to Webster’s Dictionary, dreams are a visionary creation of the imagination. Earthdream invoked in me the deepest of emotions while at the same time allowing me to perceive the limits of my own perceptions. With understanding comes a responsibility to ourselves to stop living on the surface of life. A great example of this is from Lewis Carroll’s Alice and Wonderland.
“Alice came to a fork in the road “Which road do I take?” she asked. “Where do you want to go?” responded the Cheshire cat. “I don’t know,” Alice answered. “Then,” said the cat, “it doesn’t matter.”
Just as in the quote above, most of us don’t know where we want to go. We know we want to go somewhere, we are just not sure of the path, mostly because we have never stopped to ask ourselves the very simplest of questions. “Where do you want to go?” Earthdream, just like the Cheshire cat in the above passage poses this very question to the reader. An answer is limited to the question that is asked of it. Earthdream leads the reader to the path after that it is up to the reader to lose their way and find their journey.
“Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Seek what they sought.” –Matsuo Basho
This quote in itself is the very essence of Earthdream. If you are looking for easy answers you will not find it in this book, but if you are looking for a way to develop a suiting philosophy for your life then I highly recommend this book.
The writer has a very loquacious vocabulary which I found refreshing in a world of slang and jargon. I think one aspect that impresses me the most is that it was written 20 years ago. 20 years ago Robert Hamilton had enough insight into his very being to blow his own preconceived notions of the water and open up his mind to possibility. The subject of his discussions are still very real and taxing on our society today, maybe even more so than they were 20 years ago. With ideas such as “A fundamental pattern is as inseparable from this sea of virtual energy as a whirlpool is from its sea of water,” Bob paints a beautiful canvas of script for the reader by a very marvelously brilliant use of metaphorical prose.
By reinforcing the idea of playing life for the purpose of continuous play, cited from what I would guess to be, one of the most influential benefactors of his work “Finite and Infinite Games” by James Carse; Robert Hamilton negotiates ideas such as repression of feeling, reflections of perception, the magic of life, and an order of needs throughout ones fundamental nature of being.
I am giving this book 5 stars!
I chose this quote to prelude my review because it suites this work, almost as if Thomas Moore had been writing about Robert Hamilton’s book “Earthdream” himself. Or maybe Robert Hamilton was writing this book based on Thomas Moore’s theory.
In his book Earthdream, Robert Hamilton, in his own words, “questions and challenges the legitimacy of the division the world requires of perception as well as interrogating some of our most deeply engrained and cherished preconceptions of reality.” This book is not for the quaint of mind. Robert inflicts a shift of focus to the perception that I can only describe as like waking from a dream. Just as dreams bridge the psychological and physiological aspects of life allegorically as well as divinatorily, this book transpires for the reader a “totality of continuously transforming possibility” between logic and intuition.
“When we are dreaming alone it is only a dream. When we are dreaming with others, it is the beginning of reality.” –Dom Helder Camara
According to Webster’s Dictionary, dreams are a visionary creation of the imagination. Earthdream invoked in me the deepest of emotions while at the same time allowing me to perceive the limits of my own perceptions. With understanding comes a responsibility to ourselves to stop living on the surface of life. A great example of this is from Lewis Carroll’s Alice and Wonderland.
“Alice came to a fork in the road “Which road do I take?” she asked. “Where do you want to go?” responded the Cheshire cat. “I don’t know,” Alice answered. “Then,” said the cat, “it doesn’t matter.”
Just as in the quote above, most of us don’t know where we want to go. We know we want to go somewhere, we are just not sure of the path, mostly because we have never stopped to ask ourselves the very simplest of questions. “Where do you want to go?” Earthdream, just like the Cheshire cat in the above passage poses this very question to the reader. An answer is limited to the question that is asked of it. Earthdream leads the reader to the path after that it is up to the reader to lose their way and find their journey.
“Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Seek what they sought.” –Matsuo Basho
This quote in itself is the very essence of Earthdream. If you are looking for easy answers you will not find it in this book, but if you are looking for a way to develop a suiting philosophy for your life then I highly recommend this book.
The writer has a very loquacious vocabulary which I found refreshing in a world of slang and jargon. I think one aspect that impresses me the most is that it was written 20 years ago. 20 years ago Robert Hamilton had enough insight into his very being to blow his own preconceived notions of the water and open up his mind to possibility. The subject of his discussions are still very real and taxing on our society today, maybe even more so than they were 20 years ago. With ideas such as “A fundamental pattern is as inseparable from this sea of virtual energy as a whirlpool is from its sea of water,” Bob paints a beautiful canvas of script for the reader by a very marvelously brilliant use of metaphorical prose.
By reinforcing the idea of playing life for the purpose of continuous play, cited from what I would guess to be, one of the most influential benefactors of his work “Finite and Infinite Games” by James Carse; Robert Hamilton negotiates ideas such as repression of feeling, reflections of perception, the magic of life, and an order of needs throughout ones fundamental nature of being.
I am giving this book 5 stars!
March 15, 2011
I'm not convinced that it's appropriate to review my own book and give it a rating. Even a gap of 20 years doesn't provide the necessary objectivity, but perhaps I can be forgiven for posting this anonymous review which is in the public domain. A good few years ago I left several copies of my book around at airports and train stations with a 'Bookcrossings' label attached. I was really taken with this wonderful concept (click here to visit the site) and hoped I'd be able to trace Earthdream on its travels around the world. That never quite happened unfortunately, more copies sadly ending up on ebay than being left for others to find, but I did get some journal entries, and one copy attracted two comments which were rated 10/10 and 9/10, so I think that equates to five stars here! The second of these anonymous readers said:
A very interesting book. I haven't followed everything from just one read through but it articulates many ideas I have emotionally felt to be important [and 'true' for me]. I have bought a secondhand copy for further re-readings! The key message of the work [in my opinion] is summed up in four sentences on page 230:
"Only by living the value of superrationality can we expect our fellow players of the game of life to live it also. The more superrational we become, the more we can expect our fellow players to be. We can only encourage people to infinite play with our own infinite play. We can only promote sanity with our own sane behaviour"
Certainly a great challenge to us living in the materialistic, individualistic 21st century, but one not to be avoided.
The full journal for this copy can be seen here.
A very interesting book. I haven't followed everything from just one read through but it articulates many ideas I have emotionally felt to be important [and 'true' for me]. I have bought a secondhand copy for further re-readings! The key message of the work [in my opinion] is summed up in four sentences on page 230:
"Only by living the value of superrationality can we expect our fellow players of the game of life to live it also. The more superrational we become, the more we can expect our fellow players to be. We can only encourage people to infinite play with our own infinite play. We can only promote sanity with our own sane behaviour"
Certainly a great challenge to us living in the materialistic, individualistic 21st century, but one not to be avoided.
The full journal for this copy can be seen here.
May 14, 2011
I read this book over a period of time as it can be wieldly as a casual read. Hamilton puts into words a view I've personally held for years - all that IS is connected - with science and age-held wisdom. Someone new to this philosophy might want to try an easier read at first before jumping into this book as I feel Earthdream is for those who comprehend the idea of nature, humans, and science being dynamically intertwined and are better able to appreciate Hamilton's journey.
May 31, 2024
A nice idea, but the title promised more than the book gives. Hamilton is confused between Science and Capitalism, and blames the effects of capitalism on Science and "excessive rationality". He simultaneously criticises Science (as an institution) for "thinking" it knows everything, and also criticises Science for not being able to answer every question.
He thinks of Science as a homogeneous institution rather than a methodology. And he does come off rather smug.
He thinks of Science as a homogeneous institution rather than a methodology. And he does come off rather smug.
March 24, 2011
This is a very intense book, I found I had to read it in spurts, then move on to something lighter. It is very insightful though. A interesting read for discussion with others!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews