Dancing with Dandelions: Awe, Wonder and a 'Wild' Mystical Naturalism

Religion is born out of the sense of wonder and awe of the majesty and fearsomeness of the universe itself. Thomas Berry

Dancing with Dandelions suggests that all religious traditions need to appreciate that the primary sacred community is the universe itself. This is in contrast to traditional understanding of Christianity which is based on supernatural rather than natural sources for our understanding of the purpose of life and the nature of society and church.

In this series of essays, the author invites us to think deeply about nature and our place as human beings in nature, no matter what our personal religious or secular outlooks might be in this time of global climate change, rampant species endangerment, and looming ecological crisis. Inspired by American theologian Bernard Meland's 1930s work called 'mystical naturalism', Hunt advocates that the sacred is not a separate 'supernatural' sphere of life, driven by blinding-light revelations, but that which evokes the depths of wonder and awe and courage. Nature is the thread that completes the tapestry of life.

He is critical of religion that fosters a sense of strangeness toward the natural world. When we lose our sense of awe, wonder and beauty, we objectivise the Earth as a mere commodity that can be used and abused at our consumeristic whim.