When the Trees Say Nothing: Writings on Nature

Book Description

Millions know Thomas Merton as the author of The Seven Storey Mountain, the autobiography that became an international bestseller and a modern spiritual classic. Merton, a prolific spiritual writer and social activist, inspired a generation from the silence and solitude of a Trappist monastery. Decades after his death, he remains a modern spiritual master, a source of wisdom on peace, racial harmony, poverty, alienation, and the engagement of Eastern and Western spiritual traditions.

Now Merton is also revealed as a man whose spirituality is rooted in nature, an environmentalist ahead of his time. His writings on nature serve as a primer on eco-spirituality. He approaches ecology as a spiritual issue, one that exposes the degree of human alienation from the sacredness of the planet.

When The Trees Say Nothing gathers for the first time over 300 of Merton's nature writings, grouping them thematically into sections on the seasons, elements, creatures and other topics. Edited by Merton scholar Kathleen Deignan, the collection is cohesive and accessible, drawing from both Merton's public writings and his recently published private journals. The lyrical writings are enhanced with Deignan's own informative Introduction, along with a Foreword by Thomas Berry, renowned spiritual mentor for the environmental movement.

Unique and powerful on its own, When the Trees Say Nothing is enhanced with the art of John B. Giuliani, known for his stunning iconography. Giuliani's drawings harmonize exquisitely with Merton's meditations on nature, making When the Trees Say Nothing a spiritual and aesthetic prize.

Customer Reviews:

When the Trees Say Nothing: Writings on Nature.......2007-01-18

Very good read, with a 5 star being his The Seven Storey Mountain. This is a great collection for anyone looking to group Merton's works in to topics, seasons, or just short chapters. This is a definite "must get" for anyone into Merton or nature, even if they are not looking to use it for prayer and meditation. This is the book you sit and read as Merton walks you through the woods of beautiful landscape and little creatures, taking you away from the kids, city life and traffic.

Become One With the Creative Mystery.......2004-03-01

Kathleen Deignan, a professor of religious studies at Iona College in New Rochelle, New York, really outdid herself here in compiling and editing some THREE HUNDRED works by Thomas Merton in this text. It's not a particularly long book, surprisingly, with only 190 some odd pages in it. With that being said, not much is left out here, either. It's by all means complete. There are chapters on the four seasons - on the mountains and the forests. Nature herself.

Merton even likens a mountain to sainthood, seeing God`s creative beauty and wonder all throughout nature. If you have ever been to the Abbey of Gethsemani, you may understand why that is, too. The monastery is surrounded by absolutely stunning and expanding landscape, the perfect spot for the kind of reflection and introspection Merton apparently did in this work. He urges us to be engaged with nature. That probably means for us modernists to get out there off of our sometimes lazy butts and take a walk; go ride our bike. Whatever it is feel your connection to nature in a very raw sense. It opens up the sunshine that is already within. Merton's helpful finger pointing us the way in this work on how wonderful nature really is, serves as truly a great inspiration to do just that.

say nothing is everything that matters.......2003-10-17

Kathleen Deignan's When the Trees Say Nothing
is a fresh rendition of Thomas Merton's writings evoked from creation. In times when chatter is normative and being alone is mistaken for loneliness we have a wonderful lectio book of quotes and context of 'seeing' from the inside.

This book will live beyond the writer but not without chanigng many readers into the vast beauty of 'silence'.

Spiritually rewarding for readers of all faiths.......2003-04-07

Compiled and edited by Kathleen Deignan ( Sister of the Congregation of Notre Dame), enhanced with drawings by John Giuliani (Founder and Overseer of The Benedictine Grang, a spiritual center in West Redding, Connecticut), and featuring an informative foreword by Thomas Berry, When The Trees Say Nothing: Writings On Nature is an impressively thoughtful and thought-provoking collection of commentaries by the late Thomas Merton (1915-1968), an influential Catholic monk, poet, spiritual writer, and social activist. The commentaries, observations, and writings are superbly organized into eight chapters: Seasons; Elements; Firmament; Creatures; Festivals; Presences; and Sanctuary. These, along with the postscript "Sophia," a section of notes, a list of abbreviations, and a bibliography, combine in a movingly written, enthusiastically recommended volume of readings that are appropriate and spiritually rewarding for readers of all faiths who seek to experience the sacred and the sacramental in God's handiworks.

Book Description

Ever since George Washington planted false information in British pouches, American generals, scholars, diplomats, politicians, secretaries, and clerks have contrived to deny, cheat, blackmail, seduce, and betray each other. This guide leads you to the places in Washington, Virginia, and Maryland where they did it!

Book Description

How does the environment shape the ways an animal processes information and makes decisions? How do constraints imposed on nervous systems affect an animal's activities? To help answer these questions, Cognitive Ecology integrates evolutionary ecology and cognitive science, demonstrating how studies of perception, memory, and learning can deepen our understanding of animal behavior and ecology.

Individual chapters consider such issues as the evolution of learning and its influence on behavior; the effects of cognitive mechanisms on the evolution of signaling behavior; how neurobiological and evolutionary processes have shaped navigational activities; functional and mechanical explanations for altered behaviors in response to changing environments; how foragers make decisions and how these decisions are influenced by the risks of predation; and how cognitive mechanisms affect partner choice.

Cognitive Ecology will encourage biologists to consider how animal cognition affects behavior, and will also interest comparative psychologists and cognitive scientists.

Cognitive Ecology: The Evolutionary Ecology of Information Processing and Decision Making

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Cognitive Ecology: The Evolutionary Ecology of Information Processing and Decision Making
Reuven Dukas
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OP39E0

Customer Reviews:

A beautiful epic, with an English Romantic spin.......2003-04-01

It is interesting that Wordsworth should never have published his most impressive poem. Norton calls it the "most original long poem since Milton's Paradise Lost," and it certainly deserves to be ranked alongside the master of the English epic. This poem was not published until after Wordsworth's death in 1850, and there are several versions of it (which are included in this book). The 1798-1799 version is very short, but the 1805 is expanded and includes many epic devices which Wordsworth borrowed from Milton and others. The 1850 version is basically a revised 1805 edition. It is not necessary that you read all three versions of the poem to understand its power, but it is useful to have them all at hand like this.

The Prelude is an autobiography about Wordsworth's early life. It is full of sublime images of the world through the eyes of a Romantic, and includes some of the most beautiful imagery ever set to verse in English (I believe). Wordsworth's reflections about the evils of ambition and self-absortion, among other things, are also very powerful.

This poem has been widely quoted by such Christian authors as CS Lewis, and has been admired by many great English poets. It is truly a masterpiece, an epic poem done in the tradition of English Romanticism. You can get this poem in many compilations, but usually in abridged form. This edition features the poem in its entirety, and in three version. This poem is essential to any study of English Romanticism.

five stars.......2001-06-09

This book articulates a vision of the world and of the emotions it inspires in a cerebral, yet densely imaged poem. Wordsworth did not want the poem published for fears that it was too self-absorbed; adressing earlier reviews that have made this complaint, it is true that the poem is self absorbed in that it presents the vision of the world from an individual perspective...as all poems do. I find Eliot's use of quotations and footnotes drawing on his banks of memory and reading to be far more self-absorbed than this: a poem intended to communicated clearly. It is true that it is personal in that it was written to a friend with devotion and love, but this does not detract from the power of the language, the power of the vision, and the impact of the poem upon the age(s). As for comparing Wordsworth to a modernist, that comparison is difficult to make as the modernists rejected the romantic's formal language and optimism (both present in the prelude, despite moments of recognition of a bleak 'wasted' world).

Wordsworth: Poet of Anxiety.......2000-04-28

I entirely disagree with the prevailing reviews on The Prelude. We have no other secular poem about the futile search for meaning in a meaningless world so fine as the Prelude: it is the Paradise Lost of those who search or long for a fleeting significance. What is significant about the poem is not that we believe what Wordsworth claims about the power of nature and the mind, but that he tried so hard to search out some sense of meaning and order- Wordsworth is the first Modernist writer before there was a name for his anxiety. This edition is wonderful in the way that it presents the 1805 and 1850 versions on opposite pages- it also contains the 1799 version- a real tour de force. Read The Prelude, read it carefully and take it too heart- there is no Song of Myself without Wordsworth's humane yet Promethean quest for significance.

self obsessed and dull.......1999-07-20

I used to like the Romantics - but this revealed to me the extent to which they were all immersed in their own selves so much they couldn't see beyond the individual. Wordsworth is long-winded and dull in linguistic terms, but admittedly some of the imagery (boat-stealing episode) is inspired. It is, fundamentally, all about himself though, and traces his own poetic growth which is interesting as a topic, but not the way Wordsworth does it. He throws in a few token pictures of the poor, who he was so concerned about, but these tend to be superficial compared to his own self. Dull, dull, dull, a complete waste of time. If you have to read it for a course, get the york notes or only read the 1799 version

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That's Using The Ol' Goycup!

Excellent Transaction

A Fascinating Spiritual Journey

A spiritual journey for any religion

Growing up Catholic

Turbulent Souls:: A Catholic Son's Return To His Jewish Family
Stephen J. Dubner
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Not Me: A Novel

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Choosing a Jewish Life: A Handbook for People Converting to Judaism and for Their Family and Friends

Rashi's Daughters, Book II: Miriam

ASIN: 038072930X
Release Date: 1999-10-05

Amazon.com

"Choosing My Religion," Stephen Dubner's 1996 cover story for The New York Times Magazine, described his conversion from Catholicism to Judaism. The drama and complexity of Dubner's conversion were intensified by the author's unusual religious history: before Dubner was born, his parents had made an equal and opposite conversion from Judaism to Catholicism. Dubner's memoir, Turbulent Souls, expands the story he first told in the Times essay. In the book's prelude, Dubner explains that he began his wandering toward conversion in the 1980s when he moved to New York City, "the most Jewish city outside of Israel."

There a certain disquietude began to take root inside me. I could not name this force, but neither could I make it leave me. And so I followed the noise inside my soul, and before long it led me back to my parents. I became consumed with a desire to know how a pair of young Jews named Florence Greenglass and Sol Dubner had become my Catholic parents.

Turbulent Souls is full of loving, witty anecdotes about his childhood in rural New York state (he refers to Mrs. Ferry, a catechism teacher who gave him Doublemint gum, as "Blessed Angel of the Sugar Deprived") and his efforts in adulthood to reconstruct both his and his parents' pasts. The best reason to read this book is Dubner's well-balanced thirst for explanation and reverence for mystery; it's a model of the equilibrium every one of us has to attain if we want to make peace with our families, our home towns, and our selves. --Michael Joseph Gross

Book Description

Turbulent Souls is a luminous memoir, crafted with the eye of a journalist and the art of a novelist by New York Times Magazine writer and editor Stephen J. Dubner. By turns comic and heartbreaking, it tells the story of a family torn apart by religion, sustained by faith, and reunited by truth.

Customer Reviews:

That's Using The Ol' Goycup!.......2005-10-19

Dubner's highly interesting family history frames the tale of his own decision to "return home" to his Jewish roots, after his parents, both raised as traditional Jews, converted to Roman Catholicism in their unmarried days. His parents bring up Stephen Dubner and his siblings as deeply-devout Catholics, and all-but turn their backs on their own heritage after the time of their conversion. Dubner tells of about his life growing up attending Mass and living in suburbia in the 1960's and '70's, and about how he gradually took notice of the deep pull within him that directed him to reunite with the Jewish faith after his return to New York City following his college years in the south and elsewhere. He stresses that his return to Judaism was not a conversion, it was a restoration of who he truly always was. A uniquely interesting tale, told with honesty.

Excellent Transaction.......2005-09-08

Fine price, treasure of a hard cover book in new condition. I could not be more pleased!

A Fascinating Spiritual Journey.......2003-10-15

Turbulent Souls gives a fine account of the many journeys that took place within the Dubner Family Tree. Stephen Dubner traces his family roots which amazingly were rooted in Judaism. Its quite interesting how both of Stephen's parents became Catholics. In the case of Stephen's father, Sol(later Paul)it seemed as if he was rebelling against his overbearing father. Paul's story shows you that you cannot force feed religion into a young soul trying to emerge.

As for Stephen's mother, Florence(later Veronica) the religious influence was fairly weak at home. Not to mention any sort of guidance as Veronica recalls rarely spending time at home during her teen years. Therefore, Veronica became a willing convert.

Very compelling is the effects this dual conversion had upon this future couples family. In Judaism very often a period of mourning takes place and surely Paul became lost to his original family. Amazingly Paul and Veronica seemd to become perfect Catholics to the point of almost totally denying any past affiliation with their Jewish roots.

Stephen's life goes through many turbulent periods. His exposure to the Catholic religion is a lot at first. Whereas he does not reject these teachings, over time Stephen develops other interests most notably the desire to become a musician. Like his parents, he encounters people who encourage him to explore his roots. When he finally does, Stephen becomes enamored with his family history and researches his roots to the point of exploring towns which were touched by the Holocaust.

In spite of the difference of opinion with his mother's own spiritual path, Stephen is able to keep this relationship positive. Furthermore, he creates strong bonds with other family members both Catholic and Jewish. Whereas Stephen's articles meet with feedback both good and bad, at least our hero can say he was able to evolve spiritually while touching others along the way.

I highly recommend this biography which interweaves the spiritual journey of a family over the course of this past century.

A spiritual journey for any religion.......2003-05-08

I was raised Catholic and really not happy with the Church so I was a little wary of the book when it came time to read it for my book club. I could not have been more wrong about how this book would affect me! It was absolutely wonderful. The author was able to write with detail without being long-winded. The feelings that he had about his religions/cultures, both Catholic and Jewish I could relate to by the way he wrote. With each step in his spiritual journey I felt like I was cheering him on to find out what his truth was and where he felt he belonged in his religious life. It gave me many things to ponder both from what he wrote and what he quoted from others, Jewish and Catholic. I highly reccomend this book to anyone who is unsure of their faith. It will not answer your questions, but it will help you answer them on your own. It is also a wonderful book for anyone with a strong faith of their own.

Growing up Catholic.......2003-02-24

I have to say the main reason I bought this book was because I too am from the little town The Dubner's lived in and I remember Stephen since he was my youngest brother's age and the thing everyone knew about his family was that they were probably the most devout catholic's in our area so it was very interesting to learn of his families true roots. I had no clue of his lineage since as Steve describes our town was not very diverse for the most part it was an all white community in the middle of nowhere anyone new was noticed right away and everyone knew what everyone else was up to there is the Our Lady of Fatima church and 3 other presbyterian and episcopalian churches in the area but no temples. I had no clue until reading this book that he had such an interesting lineage and I applaud the fact that he chose to find out about and return to his heritage it took alot of courage to defy his mother on this subject!!!! I only hope that now he has found the answers he was looking for and lives a long and happy life!!!!!!

TURBULENT SOULS A CATHOLIC SON'S RETURN TO HIS JEWISH FAMILY

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TURBULENT SOULS A CATHOLIC SON'S RETURN TO HIS JEWISH FAMILY

Manufacturer: William Morrow
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HZTLZS

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Turbulent Souls a Catholic Son's Return to His Jewish Family
Stephen j. DuBner
Manufacturer: Avon Bks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000LCVMEA

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TURBULENT SOULS A CATHOLIC SON'S RETURN TO HIS JEWISH FAMILY
J. Stephen Dubner
Manufacturer: William Morrow
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OY1YYS

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GOLDEN WINGS, A PICTORIAL HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY AND MARINE CORPS IN THE AIR
Martin Caidin
Manufacturer: Arno Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000J4XJ5U

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Golden wings: A Pictorial History of the United States Navy and Marine Corps in the Air
Martin Caidin
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Military Engineering | Special Topics | Engineering | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0007DWSFK

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GOLDEN WINGS: A Pictorial History of the United States Navy and Marine Corps in the Air.
Martin Caidin.
Manufacturer: NY: Bramhall House edition. 232p, numerous illus. Oversize.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MC984K

Book Description

"Because of the importance of Averroes (as a Muslim he is significant for both Platonic and Islamic thought), it is good to have Lerner's new and thoughtful interpretation, with lucid introduction, three helpful appendixes, glossary, and index."--Library Journal

"This is a fine translation of a very difficult and important text, lost in its Arabic original but preserved in the awkward fourteenth-century Hebrew translation of Judah ben Samuel. Even in this summary form, the Republic is one of the exceedingly few works of the Platonic corpus to surface in Islamic philosophy, and this paraphrase is an excellent example of Averroes' technique of doing philosophy in commentary form."--Journal of Near Eastern Studies

"It is interesting to note that Plato's tenets were considered profitable also by Averroes, whose world was defined and governed by the Koran."--The Classical Outlook

An indispensable primary source in medieval political philosophy is presented here in a fully annotated translation of Averroes' discussion of the Republic. Averroes' book played a major role in both the transmission and the adaptation of the Platonic tradition in the West. In a closely argued critical introduction, Ralph Lerner addresses several of the most important problems raised by the work.

Customer Reviews:

Averroes Politics and Will.......2002-03-24

I'll just make two quotations to stress the link on will and politics, one from Averroes and one from L.Wittgenstein:

"We say: This science, known as practical science, differs
essencially from the theoretical sciences. Now this is clear
inasmuch as its subject differs from the subject of each and every one of the theoretical sciences and its priciples differ from their principles. This is because the subject of this science is volitional things, the doings of which is within our power, and the principle of these things is WILL and choice;"
Averroes on Plato's Republic
trans. Ralph Lerner, Cornel University Press 1975.,p.3.
(Capital letters in WILL are mine.)

To understand the political aims and thoughts of Muslims which I observe that getting quite important for the US and her Allies nowadays, one has to master the use of the "UMMAT,MELLAT,DEEN,QAWM" as they are established in the Quran.

L.Wittgenstein said: "If you understand the workings of WILL in a

language, then you understand the language."

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Averoes' Commentary on Plato's 'Republic' (University of Cambridge Oriental Publications)
Averroes
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 052106130X

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Averroes' Commentary on Plato's 'Republic.'
ed. Averroes]. E. I. J. Rosenthal
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press,
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000WW8TGS

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Averroes' Commentary on Plato's Republic
ed. E.I.J. Rosenthal
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NL71TY

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AVERROES ON PLATO'S REPUBLIC

Manufacturer: Cornell University Press Ithaca, NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000IA47Y2

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Averroes on Plato's Republic. Trans. by Ralph Lerner.
Averroes
Manufacturer: Cornell University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N3JNZC

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Averroes' Commentary on Plato's Republic
EIJ (editor) Rosenthal
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GKRI7C

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Averroes' commentary on Plato's Republic (University of Cambridge. Oriental publications)
Averroës
Manufacturer: Univ. Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0007J67BK

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Averroes' Commentary on Plato's Republic.
Ibn Rushd Averroes
Manufacturer: see notes for publisher info
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000M4MKXO

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Philosophy, ethics, and virtuous rule: A study of Averroes' Commentary on Plato's "Republic" (Cairo papers in social science)
Charles E Butterworth
Manufacturer: American University in Cairo Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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ASIN: 9774241398

Book Description

A group of distinguished environmentalists analyze and advocate for community-based natural resource management (CBNRM). They offer an overview of this transnational movement and its links between environmental management and social justice agendas. This book will be valuable to instructors, practitioners, and activists in environmental anthropology, justice, and policy, in cultural geography, political ecology, indigenous rights, conservation biology, and community-based cultural resource management.

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