The Mind of Plants - by John C Ryan & Patrícia Vieira & Monica Gagliano (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Explorations of plant consciousness and human interactions with the natural world.

From apples to ayahuasca, coffee to kurrajong, passionflower to peyote, plants are conscious beings. How they interact with each other, with humanity and with the world at large has long been studied by researchers, scientists and spiritual teachers and seekers. The Mind of Plants: Narratives of Vegetal Intelligence brings together works from all these disciplines and more in a collection of essays that highlights what we know and what we intuit about botanical life.

The Mind of Plants, featuring a foreword by Dennis McKenna, is a collection of short essays, narratives and poetry on plants and their interaction with humans. Contributors include Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of the New York Times' best seller Braiding Sweetgrass, Jeremy Narby, John Kinsella, Luis Eduardo Luna, Megan Kaminski and dozens more. The book's editors, John C. Ryan, Patríiacute;cia Vieira and Monica Gagliano - each of whom also contributed works to the collection - weave together essays, personal reflections and poems paired with intricate illustrations by Joséeacute; María Pout.

Recent scientific research in the field of plant cognition highlights the capacity of botanical life to discern between options and learn from prior experiences or, in other words, to think. The Mind of Plants includes texts that interpret this concept broadly. As Mckenna writes in his foreword, "What the reader will find here, expressed in poetry and prose, are stories that are infused with cherished memories and inspired celebrations of unique relationships with a group of organisms that are alien and unlike us in every way, yet touch human lives in myriad ways."

Review Quotes

"This is the book I have been waiting for! For far too long a deep ignorance has prevailed that plants are just inanimate objects. Now for the benefit of the whole of humanity The Mind of Plants dispels the darkness of that ignorance. The book is a bouquet of beautiful essays which delighted me with the knowledge that the plants are living organisms and we need to celebrate their sublime qualities with awe and gratitude.

It is an enlightening book! The Mind of Plants integrates the science of ecology and biology with the pleasure of poetry and literature. It should become an essential part of the curriculum of all schools and universities. And of course it should be read by all those who wish to learn about the intricate mystery of plant life." - Satish Kumar, Founder of Schumacher College, Editor Emeritus, Resurgence & Ecologist

"This marvellous and hugely important book brings us a vitally important gift: the gift of melting - of melting our human consciousness into the varied and multifarious intelligences that live and thrive in the world of plants. Speaking to us through their human interlocutors, the plants in this book urge us to heal the disastrous split between ourselves and the world of nature so tragically instigated by Descartes and his many followers and successors. May the rich teachings from our plant kith and kin in this splendid book reawaken us to the wondrous sentience of our living planet, now brought so close to disaster by the greed and blindness of the modern world." -- Dr. Stephan Harding, Deep Ecology Research Fellow and Senior Lecturer in Holistic Science, Schumacher College. Author of Animate Earth and Gaia Alchemy

"For millennia, we have taken the vegetable world for granted, deeming it inferior and devoid of inner purpose or complexity. This beautifully-curated volume combines research, cross-cultural narratives and personal experiences to unveil a profoundly different plant world, inviting us to rethink what we mean by intelligence and to reevaluate our place in Nature with open minds and renewed humility." -- Marcelo Gleiser, 2019 Templeton Prize Laureate, author of The Simple Beauty of the Unexpected

"I hope this important, wide-ranging, and easy-to-read book enjoys a broad audience including researchers and people who simply love being in the presence of all types of florae. I'm sure that the more we study plants the more we'll see that the real question at hand is not if they have their own sorts of minds, but rather why plant minds have evolved and how they're used. "Animal-centric" views about "minds" need to be broadened to include all living beings on our magnificent planet. Science has already shown that merely visiting plants can alter herbivory, including seed production and competition--the Herbivory Uncertainty Principle--so let's keep the door open about the inner lives of the diverse florae that bless Earth. As someone who has studied nonhuman animal minds for decades, I've seen many changes in the narrow and dismissive views that once questioned whether nonhumans really had minds, and I'm sure that we'll see a similar broadening of attitudes about plant minds as relevant studies are performed and people shelve the idea that the notion of plant minds is absurd and anti-scientific." -- Marc Bekoff, University of Colorado, author of The Emotional Lives of Animals and A Dog's World: Imaging the Lives of Dogs in a World without Humans

"This eclectic 21st century Herbal will take you on a joyous ride of discovery of connection between plants and