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Unseen Beings: How We Forgot the World Is More Than Human
A revolutionary perspective on the climate crisis which delves into history, philosophy, science and religion to explore how and why we became a human-centric world and what this means for the environment. Drawing on Buddhist wisdom, Erik offers a treatment to our ecological disease that will make us rethink our very existence on this precious planet.
You’ve heard the hard-hitting data on climate change and you’ve seen the documentaries. But what will it truly take for humanity to change? We will not tackle the climate crisis with data alone. We need new stories and nature must take centre stage.
Unseen Beings is an exploration of humanity’s relationship with the vitality of the natural world. Looking at the climate crisis through the framework of a disease, Erik Jampa Andersson explores its diagnosis, the root causes, the development and crucially the much-needed treatment. He uncovers the powerful magic and beauty of our environment to reveal how we can save it by honouring animism and recognizing that everything in nature is a sentient being.
This rich, engaging book
· how and why we developed a human-centric worldview
· discoveries around the hidden intelligence of the natural world
· how Buddhism has dealt with the question of animate nature
· how to create a more integral and inclusive worldview
Unseen Beings is a call to action -a proposal for a new way of living in the world. By embracing this call, we can open up to a far more vibrant sense of embodiment and change the world for the better.
You’ve heard the hard-hitting data on climate change and you’ve seen the documentaries. But what will it truly take for humanity to change? We will not tackle the climate crisis with data alone. We need new stories and nature must take centre stage.
Unseen Beings is an exploration of humanity’s relationship with the vitality of the natural world. Looking at the climate crisis through the framework of a disease, Erik Jampa Andersson explores its diagnosis, the root causes, the development and crucially the much-needed treatment. He uncovers the powerful magic and beauty of our environment to reveal how we can save it by honouring animism and recognizing that everything in nature is a sentient being.
This rich, engaging book
· how and why we developed a human-centric worldview
· discoveries around the hidden intelligence of the natural world
· how Buddhism has dealt with the question of animate nature
· how to create a more integral and inclusive worldview
Unseen Beings is a call to action -a proposal for a new way of living in the world. By embracing this call, we can open up to a far more vibrant sense of embodiment and change the world for the better.
320 pages, Paperback
Published May 30, 2023
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167 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 30, 2025
"Unseen Beings: How We Forgot the World Is More Than Human" di Erik Jampa Andersson è un libro che esplora la relazione tra gli esseri umani e il mondo naturale e sostiene che la nostra società moderna e industrializzata ha portato a dimenticare l'interconnessione di tutte le cose.
Secondo Andersson, molte culture tradizionali in tutto il mondo hanno riconosciuto la presenza di esseri invisibili, come spiriti, divinità o antenati, che abitano il mondo naturale e hanno un'influenza diretta sulle vicende umane. Questi esseri sono spesso visti come coesistenti con gli esseri umani in una relazione reciprocamente dipendente e sono rispettati e venerati come entità importanti e potenti.
Tuttavia, nella moderna società occidentale, questo riconoscimento di esseri invisibili è stato in gran parte dimenticato o liquidato come superstizione. Invece, tendiamo a vedere il mondo naturale come una risorsa passiva da sfruttare per i nostri fini, senza riguardo per le complesse relazioni ecologiche che sostengono la vita sulla Terra.
Andersson sostiene che questa dimenticanza della presenza di esseri invisibili ha avuto profonde conseguenze per il nostro rapporto con il mondo naturale e ha portato a devastazione ecologica, disuguaglianza sociale e un senso generale di disconnessione e alienazione dal mondo che ci circonda.
Per affrontare questi problemi, Andersson suggerisce che dobbiamo risvegliare la nostra consapevolezza della presenza di esseri invisibili e dell'interconnessione di tutte le cose. Questo può essere fatto attraverso pratiche come la consapevolezza, la meditazione e l'impegno con culture tradizionali e pratiche spirituali che riconoscono l'importanza del mondo naturale.
"Unseen Beings" è un libro stimolante e penetrante che ci sfida a ripensare il nostro rapporto con il mondo naturale e a riconoscere l'importanza degli esseri invisibili che lo abitano.
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"Unseen Beings: How We Forgot the World Is More Than Human" by Erik Jampa Andersson is a book that explores the relationship between human beings and the natural world, and argues that our modern, industrialized society has led to a forgetting of the interconnectedness of all things.
According to Andersson, many traditional cultures around the world have recognized the presence of unseen beings, such as spirits, gods, or ancestors, that inhabit the natural world and have a direct influence on human affairs. These beings are often seen as coexisting with human beings in a mutually dependent relationship, and are respected and revered as important and powerful entities.
However, in modern Western society, this recognition of unseen beings has been largely forgotten or dismissed as superstition. Instead, we tend to view the natural world as a passive resource to be exploited for our own ends, without regard for the complex ecological relationships that sustain life on Earth.
Andersson argues that this forgetting of the presence of unseen beings has had profound consequences for our relationship with the natural world, and has led to ecological devastation, social inequality, and a general sense of disconnection and alienation from the world around us.
In order to address these problems, Andersson suggests that we need to reawaken our awareness of the presence of unseen beings and the interconnectedness of all things. This can be done through practices such as mindfulness, meditation, and engagement with traditional cultures and spiritual practices that recognize the importance of the natural world.
"Unseen Beings" is a thought-provoking and insightful book that challenges us to rethink our relationship with the natural world and to recognize the importance of the unseen beings that inhabit it.
Secondo Andersson, molte culture tradizionali in tutto il mondo hanno riconosciuto la presenza di esseri invisibili, come spiriti, divinità o antenati, che abitano il mondo naturale e hanno un'influenza diretta sulle vicende umane. Questi esseri sono spesso visti come coesistenti con gli esseri umani in una relazione reciprocamente dipendente e sono rispettati e venerati come entità importanti e potenti.
Tuttavia, nella moderna società occidentale, questo riconoscimento di esseri invisibili è stato in gran parte dimenticato o liquidato come superstizione. Invece, tendiamo a vedere il mondo naturale come una risorsa passiva da sfruttare per i nostri fini, senza riguardo per le complesse relazioni ecologiche che sostengono la vita sulla Terra.
Andersson sostiene che questa dimenticanza della presenza di esseri invisibili ha avuto profonde conseguenze per il nostro rapporto con il mondo naturale e ha portato a devastazione ecologica, disuguaglianza sociale e un senso generale di disconnessione e alienazione dal mondo che ci circonda.
Per affrontare questi problemi, Andersson suggerisce che dobbiamo risvegliare la nostra consapevolezza della presenza di esseri invisibili e dell'interconnessione di tutte le cose. Questo può essere fatto attraverso pratiche come la consapevolezza, la meditazione e l'impegno con culture tradizionali e pratiche spirituali che riconoscono l'importanza del mondo naturale.
"Unseen Beings" è un libro stimolante e penetrante che ci sfida a ripensare il nostro rapporto con il mondo naturale e a riconoscere l'importanza degli esseri invisibili che lo abitano.
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"Unseen Beings: How We Forgot the World Is More Than Human" by Erik Jampa Andersson is a book that explores the relationship between human beings and the natural world, and argues that our modern, industrialized society has led to a forgetting of the interconnectedness of all things.
According to Andersson, many traditional cultures around the world have recognized the presence of unseen beings, such as spirits, gods, or ancestors, that inhabit the natural world and have a direct influence on human affairs. These beings are often seen as coexisting with human beings in a mutually dependent relationship, and are respected and revered as important and powerful entities.
However, in modern Western society, this recognition of unseen beings has been largely forgotten or dismissed as superstition. Instead, we tend to view the natural world as a passive resource to be exploited for our own ends, without regard for the complex ecological relationships that sustain life on Earth.
Andersson argues that this forgetting of the presence of unseen beings has had profound consequences for our relationship with the natural world, and has led to ecological devastation, social inequality, and a general sense of disconnection and alienation from the world around us.
In order to address these problems, Andersson suggests that we need to reawaken our awareness of the presence of unseen beings and the interconnectedness of all things. This can be done through practices such as mindfulness, meditation, and engagement with traditional cultures and spiritual practices that recognize the importance of the natural world.
"Unseen Beings" is a thought-provoking and insightful book that challenges us to rethink our relationship with the natural world and to recognize the importance of the unseen beings that inhabit it.
July 26, 2024
Let's be clear: any reading about the Anthropocene is a bummer. I had to make myself finish this book instead of staring at Instagram again because, let's face it, the world we've tried to master has turned into a trash fire, and it's humanity's fault. Andersson takes an interesting approach, treating anthropocentrism as a sickness that requires treatment. I appreciate he lays out some treatment plans as well: the good old dharma, personifying non-human entities (right down to addressing trees or other plants as "he/she/them" instead of "it"), and other doable things. It's a bold approach and one that is sorely needed. However...try as I might...it's hard for me to take seriously anyone who quotes Terence McKenna. It was difficult for me to get past that eyerolling section but it was worth it despite knowing just how much of a massive actual and philosophical task we victims/perpetrators of the Anthropocene have before us.
November 3, 2023
This one is tough to review. The first half is really good, going into detail about how we have become so anthropocentric that we can't recognize ourselves as a part of nature. The second half suggests ideas out of Eastern religion and philosophy, and then uses JRR Tolkien as a way to reconnect us to a modern mythology where humans are not the center of it all, and it's hard. It's really really hard. I still recommend the book but be ready to set aside a lot of our hardwired science, logic, and reason.
March 5, 2024
probably essential reading
This book carries a simple message - 'Humans need to reconnect with the rest of non-human life forms' (my words - better to read the author's).
This will be necessary (but not sufficient) for addressing the climatic and ecological cataclysm humans have unwittingly wrought upon ourselves and earthbound life.
My only negative criticism is that for me the book ends surprisingly abruptly given that much of it goes into great depth about the past which does not seem to me to add a lot in support of its thrust.
This book carries a simple message - 'Humans need to reconnect with the rest of non-human life forms' (my words - better to read the author's).
This will be necessary (but not sufficient) for addressing the climatic and ecological cataclysm humans have unwittingly wrought upon ourselves and earthbound life.
My only negative criticism is that for me the book ends surprisingly abruptly given that much of it goes into great depth about the past which does not seem to me to add a lot in support of its thrust.
April 22, 2024
Me reading this was very much the choir being preached to, but enjoyed it nonetheless. Particularly liked the use of the Noble Eightfold Path as a heuristic device for solutions to the climate crisis.
November 20, 2025
This was a very well thought-out and researched book. I think I would have liked the earlier chapters on Archaeological history (e.g. Neanderthals) and plant sciences to have carried more into the later chapters.
June 18, 2024
Brilliantly written, so direct and clear. Exactly what we need if we are to have a chance at saving our more-than-human world. Can't recommend it enough.
January 16, 2025
Excellent book well written and argued with a very important message. Great way to start the reading new year!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews