I am currently reading two books, both very different yet culturally necessary, and each written by someone I would consider a brave man.
The first, The World As it Is: Dispatches on the Myth of Human Progress is written by Chris Hedges. He is uncompromising in his indictment of our current economic and political system in the West, which he considers morally and ethically bankrupt. Hedges points out that we are living in times where we have lost our cultural memory, and as a result, we are ever more vulnerable to the forces of totalitarianism. In addition, he laments the violence and greed which characterize American society, and the ease with which war and militarism have seeped into the psyche of the nation, serving as a reflex response to any threat to its interests.
The second, Of Water and the Spirit: Ritual, Magic and Initiation in the Life of an African Shaman is written by Malidoma Somé. In this autobiography, Somé shares his painful journey of transversing the colonial intervention into his culture, and finding his way back to a spiritually rich and precious heritage. Through his story, he reveals the depth at the heart of the shamanic traditions of his people, while trying to build a bridge of understanding to the Western mind - a mind that has lost touch with the ground of its being.
Both men are deeply troubled by the violence and alienation which are so prevalent in the world today, and both call for a remembrance of core human values, and the absolute necessity to honour these values in times where environmental, ethical and political decay are seeping into the collective at an alarming rate. In addition, while each man comes out of a different religious and spiritual tradition, both are loudly beckoning for a re-sacralization of what is best in us as human beings.
Chris Hedges and Malidoma Somé help to redefine our notion of the Warrior, and reclaim it as beings who honour the integrity and beauty of life.
The first, The World As it Is: Dispatches on the Myth of Human Progress is written by Chris Hedges. He is uncompromising in his indictment of our current economic and political system in the West, which he considers morally and ethically bankrupt. Hedges points out that we are living in times where we have lost our cultural memory, and as a result, we are ever more vulnerable to the forces of totalitarianism. In addition, he laments the violence and greed which characterize American society, and the ease with which war and militarism have seeped into the psyche of the nation, serving as a reflex response to any threat to its interests.
The second, Of Water and the Spirit: Ritual, Magic and Initiation in the Life of an African Shaman is written by Malidoma Somé. In this autobiography, Somé shares his painful journey of transversing the colonial intervention into his culture, and finding his way back to a spiritually rich and precious heritage. Through his story, he reveals the depth at the heart of the shamanic traditions of his people, while trying to build a bridge of understanding to the Western mind - a mind that has lost touch with the ground of its being.
Both men are deeply troubled by the violence and alienation which are so prevalent in the world today, and both call for a remembrance of core human values, and the absolute necessity to honour these values in times where environmental, ethical and political decay are seeping into the collective at an alarming rate. In addition, while each man comes out of a different religious and spiritual tradition, both are loudly beckoning for a re-sacralization of what is best in us as human beings.
Chris Hedges and Malidoma Somé help to redefine our notion of the Warrior, and reclaim it as beings who honour the integrity and beauty of life.
