Ecological Medicine: Healing the Earth, Healing Ourselves

As far as I can tell this book is the first morphing of ecology and medicine in the same fashion that ecopsychology emerged as a new discipline. This book is integral in scope and praxis attempting the merge public health issues with ecological sensibilities. Like ecopsychology and ecophilosophy - or what has been formally referred to as Deep Ecology, or Transpersonal Ecology - this new breed of holistic healers is taking medicine and public health to the next evolutionary level of engagement. Like the ecopyschology and ecophilosophy models, these contributors are on the cutting edge of the next advancement in human consciousness. Besides the public health dynamic, the book advocates for personal activism toward another paradigm of collective empowerment. The final section of the book was fascinating as it attempted to introduce spiritual themes grounded in the transpersonal realm of consciousness. Given the continued diminishment of the Earth community of beings by collective forces in the political domain along with the hegemony of corporate forces, this book demonstrates what can happen through action at the local level to inspire people to rethink - and hopefully engage - the forces arrayed against them by enfranchised elites. Timely book!