A Talk by Susan Griffin: "Sustainabilty and the Soul"

Since climate change threatens the survival of life on earth, as we know it, why have we been so slow to respond? Addressing this complex question, writer and visionary Susan Griffin explores the false divisions our culture makes between body and soul, masculine and feminine, self and other that allow us to hide from our own knowledge. Invoking other traditions within both European and indigenous cultures that do not make the same divisions, she describes an alternate world view. This way of seeing is implicit in ecology and even within the physical structures of the human brain: the recognition that like a tree or a body of water, the soul does not exist in isolation. No matter how unique each of us may be, we are all born and sustained within natural and social eco-systems, and we all live, body and soul, in a network of relationships. Our efforts to avert even worse effects of climate change will be far more effective when we gain a deeper understanding of the reciprocity and interdependence that define and sustain every aspect of existence.

Susan Griffin is an internationally celebrated writer whose books have been translated into 17 languages and widely anthologized. Among her 20 books, Woman and Nature is considered a classic of the environmental movement and A Chorus of Stones: the Private Life of War was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.  She was also among the founding members of Code Pink and has spoken at countless demonstrations and protests.

"Susan Griffin is a national treasure, a genius whose work is broad enough to encompass ecology, philosophy, feminism, spirituality, history, and sociology. And yet her writing is as accessible as a personal story, as powerful as a prayer from the depths of the soul. Don't miss the chance to hear her you will be changed."—Rev. Marilyn Sewell

Griffin's talk, "Sustainabilty and the Soul" was recorded last month, April 9, at the First Unitarian Church Sanctuary in SW Portland.