permaculture

[Lee Flier <leeflier@comcast.net>]

fdnokes@hotmail.com wrote:
> Conversations with plants. I'd rather steer clear of any courses than lose 
> such a precious connection.   Not that they need by mutually exclusive, 
> however.
No, and that's the point.  The point is not that we shouldn't have 
spiritual dimensions, it's that no one's particular religious or 
spiritual leanings should be forced on students (or teachers) at a PDC.  
Someone else may have a different leaning and it might be offensive to 
them at best.  At worst, it can be dangerous to base one's actions and 
decisions on superstition.  As far as I can tell, talking to plants 
never hurt anybody - I do it too. :)  But some things people do aren't 
so innocuous.

I think permaculture is inherently spiritual as it is, given that it 
stresses the interconnectedness between all things, and the aliveness 
and abundance of all things.  But it's also inherently practical, in 
that it focuses on the here and now, and the beauty of what we can 
observe right in front of us.