Rivers of Green Wisdom: Exploring Christian and Yogic Earth Centred Spirituality: 4 (GreenSpirit Book Series) Paperback – 12 Aug. 2016

Very touching sharing of Santoshan's life experience coupled with his broaden knowledge of scriptures make this book very inspiring and reinforce the importance of our responsibility towards Earth.

This ebook takes the reader on a journey through yoga traditions, aspects of Christian traditions, looking at their similarities and bringing them together through the lens of an Earth Centred Spirituality.What I like about this ebook is that the author - Santoshan - is so widely read. The many ideas in the ebook are backed up with references and quotes. After reading the ebook, I feel as though I have more of a panoramic view of the spiritual landscape of an Earth based outlook.There are lots of gems in this ebook. One I was particularly drawn to was the discussion of the Cosmic Christ. I did not realise that the concept was so widely considered by many spiritual seekers and this encourages me to connect with the universalist side of the Christian tradition. This is in contrast to much of the Christian church which can be more parochial in its views.Another was the need for new outlooks and stories as we live in rapidly changing times. And also a desire to draw from the riches of past spiritual traditions. The author advises a middle path between the two extremes of the old and the new - which feels both good and balanced.And I feel that the author really 'gets' spirituality in his understanding of the need to ground the ideas to make them real. One of my favourite quotes from the ebook is this: "Authentic spiritual work is only truly effective when it walks hand-in-hand with exterior compassionate work".The most touching part of the ebook was the author's description of his spiritual experiences, particularly whilst growing up. This bought life and immediacy to the narrative and made the rest of the ebook read as having important ideas that need to be grasped, rather than vague concepts that exist somewhere up in the clouds.Finally, the ecological crisis of our time is discussed and the need for a spiritual outlook (or maybe spiritual outlooks - each from its own tradition) which helps to bridge gaps between people so that the ecological crisis is faced as one human race. Essential if any real progress is to be made.Overall, this is a heart-warming ebook where I learnt a good deal about Earth based spirituality through the lens of different traditions. I felt that my spirituality is not some made-up modern quirk but something that is deeply rooted in, and belongs to, the ongoing spiritual evolution of our collective human journey.

Great read! Finished in one sitting!