Trees Me

Talking to Trees

In Talking to Trees: A Journey into Soul, Brian E Pearson chronicles his exploration of the soulful terrain on the far side of conventional religion. Written with candour and humour, this intimate memoir begins within the church, where, as an Anglican priest, the author suspects that, beyond the creeds and rituals, there looms a larger life. His curiosity eventually leads him out the church doors and into a world filled with wonder, where talking to trees, communing with the dead, and getting to know one’s spirit guide becomes the new normal. From wilderness vision quests, to conversations with Wiccans, to the inner battle to redefine what faith means to him, the author offers a captivating record of his journey of discovery. Talking to Trees: A Journey into Soul reflects the search for a new spirituality for our times. It’s a gentle yet compelling invitation to “faithful seekers” to examine their beliefs, push past the boundaries of tradition, and embrace a more personal, Soul-centred spirituality.

People Trees

People Trees is about religious conceptions of trees within the cultural world of tree worship at the tree shrines of northern India. Sacred trees have been worshiped for millennia in India, and today tree worship continues there in abundance among all segments of society. In the past, tree worship was regarded by many Western anthropologists and scholars of religion as a prime example of childish animism or primitive religion. More recently, this aspect of world religious cultures is almost completely ignored in the theoretical concerns of the day. Incorporating ethnographic fieldwork and texts never before translated into English, David Haberman reevaluates concepts such as animism, anthropomorphism, and personhood in the context of the worship of the pipal, a tree of mighty and ambiguous power; the neem, an embodied form of a goddess whose presence is enhanced with colorful ornamentation and a facemask appended to its trunk; and the banyan, a tree noted for its association with longevity and immortality. Along with detailed descriptions of a wide range of tree worship rituals, here is a spirited exploration of the practical consequences, perceptual possibilities, and implicit environmental ethics suggested by Indian notions about sacred trees.

The Trees Told Me So