Dreaming a New Earth: Raimon Panikkar and Indigenous Spiritualities

Description: Dreaming a New Earth concerns itself with ultimate questions: the survival of humanity and planet earth. instead of proposing theoretical or political solutions, the book anticipates the birth of a new culture and civilisation through the path of dialogue with indigenous traditions. accordingly, this work highlights the wisdom of Indigenous Australian and Asian-Pacific peoples. In so doing, the western approach to reality, dominated by reason and theoretical analysis, is confronted with a more holistic vision in which the voice of the Spirit inspires dreams and sacred stories. Humanity is invited to re-experience the sacredness of nature and the mystery of existence. In short, we are called (in aboriginal parlance) to a "new Dreaming" or (according to the religious traditions) a radical conversion (metanoia) of mind, heart and soul. if there is to be genuine spiritual re-birth and cultural transformation in our paradoxically globalised and fractured world, we can no longer afford to ignore the ancient wisdom of primal cultures and indigenous traditions. Dialogue with earth-centred spiritualities and oral traditions is shown to be not only possible but, indeed, also crucial for our survival. Dreaming a New Earth also presents in a fresh way the mature insight of raimon Panikkar (1918-2010) whose original and creative contribution to religious and cultural dialogue is well recognised. his understanding of the dynamic interrelatedness of body (cosmic dimension), mind (consciousness dimension) and spirit (depth dimension) - what he calls the "cosmotheandric vision" - is shown to be clearly at play in the cultures of indigenous australians and other asian-Pacific peoples. In other language, Indigenous traditions teach us an often-forgotten lesson: the whole cosmos is sacred.