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Tuesday, May 21, 2013

1 of 3 - EcoSex @ U Conn - Margulis and Sagan's Symbiotic Planet - Student Responses: Alexandra's Take

Dear Earthlings:

The EcoSex course at U Conn is in process. It's a great experience. We are reading amazing books. Thinking out of the box and across disciplines. Students are sending their responses in, with discussion questions. In class, we connect the dots: a holograph of what we've read together, the "required readings." Multiple perspectives and good synergy. Here, we offer a glimpse. Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan's Symbiotic Planet was one of two theory-of-science books. We got three responses: from Alexandra, John, and Adam.

Here's Alexandra's take:

Response to Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan's Symbiotic Planet: A New Look at Evolution

As an English major, I am not too fond of science. I did briefly go through a phase in which I was a marine biology enthusiast, grasping at any information on oceans and the creatures that inhabit them, but after that brief explosion of passion, I retired science for pencil and paper and books-lots and lots of books. I have tried since to ignite a spark for biology once more, and have failed, and failed, and failed. Symbiotic Planet, however, strikes my fancy.

Now, I am not saying that science will once more possess me due to this book. I am only pointing out the fact that Symbiotic Planet appeals to people who aren’t science based through its use of poetic language and beautiful facts, as well as it’s mix of hard science and personal experience.

The author, Lynn Margulis, places stunning excerpts at the start of each chapter. Whilst reading through the book, my mind attempts to connect these whimsical words with the theme of each chapter. This search for connection makes reading the more monotonous (at least in my eyes) scientific facts interesting. I have not yet found many feasible links, but I am intrigued.

Furthermore, I find Lynn Margulis’ emphasis on the interconnectedness of all life forms to be beautiful. Awe-stricken by the perfect dependence of the earth’s species on each other, I can’t help but to inhale the author’s words. The idea that symbiosis has such a profound effect on evolution, on the now, and the future, is almost spiritual. Despite the endless wars, the disgusting ways in which we slaughter animals, and the general cruelty of a variety of species, including the homo sapiens, the children of the earth-the fish, the bugs, the lions, humans- must depend on each other to further evolution and therefore to enhance the planet.

This idea intertwined with the theory titled Gaia, forms an elaborate web of beauty. Looking at the earth as a living organism, further connects every being on this planet, for in Gaian theory, every species is part of earth, and is thus part of the same organism. By viewing all species as one, humans strengthen their link with nature. This thought is a powerful one, for it has the power to spur a movement of care. If we believe that humans share something innate with the earth, will we not cease to destroy it and her creatures? I believe that a dearth of emphasis on individuality, specifically the idea that humans are higher or better or just different than the rest of Mother Earth’s creatures, will decrease our craving for money and other superfluous things. My belief stems from the idea that when we link ourselves with the grandeurs of nature, we will realize how insignificant we, as humans, are. This feeling of insignificance however is not painful or detrimental. It instead is beautiful, for it gives perspective. It places shifts our focus from greed and ambition to the things that really matter, such as the well being of others, kindness, and happiness.

To digress from the above rant, I will now write of a statement I found especially intriguing. Lynn Margulis speaks of how a “modern woman must be almost octopoid in her attention if she is to survive. Holding the infant in one arm... she stirs the pot with the other, while she watches the toddler”(18). This statement leads me to the following questions:

Do you agree with this claim?
What does this mean for women, working or not, of today?

Why do women feel the need to balance everything?

Why is not acceptable for women to focus only on one thing?

Alexandra Mayer
Published with permission

WGSS 3998 - Ecosexuality and the Ecology of Love

Prof. Serena Anderlini-D'Onofrio

U Conn, Storrs, Spring 2013

Course Announcement and Description

Dear Earthlings:

Let "nature" be your teacher in the arts of love. Education is the heart of democracy, education to love. Come back for more wonders: Students Responses to appear every Tuesday. Book Reports scheduled every other Thursday. Check out our summer offerings: Ecosexuality in Portland, OR, July 17-21. Info and Registration here!

Namaste,

Serena Anderlini-D'Onofrio, PhD

Gilf Gaia Extraordinaire

Author of Gaia, Eros, and many other books about love
Professor of Humanities

University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez

Poly Planet GAIA Blog:
http://polyplanet.blogspot.com/

Website: www.serenagaia.com

Be Appraised of Ecosex Community Project PostaHouse
Become a Fan: www.facebook.com/GaiaBlessings

Author's Page/Lists all books:

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JS1VKA

YouTube Uploaded Videos: http://www.youtube.com/SerenaAnderlini

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

4 of 4 - EcoSex @ U Conn - Anapol's The 7 Natual Laws of Love - Student Responses: John's Take

Dear Earthlings:

The EcoSex course at U Conn is in process. It's a great experience. We are reading amazing books. Thinking out of the box and across disciplines. Students are sending their responses in, with discussion questions. In class, we connect the dots: a holograph of what we've read together, the "required readings." Multiple perspectives and good synergy. Here, we offer a glimpse. Deborah Anapol's The Seven Natural Laws of Love, was one of two introductory books. We got four responses: from Alissa, Rhiann, Adam, and John.

Here's John's take:

Response to Deborah Anapol's The Seven Natural Laws of Love

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Contrary to others’ expectations, I liked this book and not just because it had footnotes and all. (The difference being that Dr. Anapol is talking about esoteric topics here. You can talk about esoteric things all you want without citing statistics or sources but it certainly helps; Weiss was declaring numbers and scientific experiments without actually saying where she got her information from before making alarmist claims). I really like the idea of applying spirituality to solving material problems. Thich Nhat Hanh, His Holiness Dalai Lama XIV, and Aang Sun Suu Kyi are all on board with this idea, all of them subscribing to Engaged Buddhism.

I really have no criticisms of this book. I think it’s an interesting philosophy. It’s one that she not arrives logically and experientially, but also provides Exercises to put her Laws into practice (something a lot of philosophers fail to do).

That said, it was something of an emotional read. Dr. Anapol writes on pg. 20,

… sometimes people have the experience of hearing the words ‘I love you’ but inwardly feeling the words are a lie. Instead of trusting the gut feeling, they believe they should feel loved. They may judge themselves for not being open to the love or decide that they are damaged and unable to tolerate being loved. If they later learn their intuition was accurate, they may go on to become mistrustful of others and doubt that the words and the love could ever be congruent.

I’ve experienced this in different forms. My mother, for example, was so sensitive to the tiny phrase “I love you” that she wouldn’t even allow the word “hate” in the house (in any context) saying that it would invite us to hate each other. She once accused me of loving our dog more than her, which made it difficult to respond, “I love you.” Accusing is typically not a loving action.

The same thing happened with my relationship a year ago. The woman I was in love with encouraged me to say those words as if they held a certain magical power. Apparently the only power they held was to unravel the relationship. As soon as we said them to each other, our relationship fell apart. My friends remember that time saying I was “less than a month away from alcohol poisoning.” I’m still trying to work through the exact definition of “love” and this book helped me move past that incident just a little bit.

Obviously, I found a lot of stuff in this book that directly applied to my own experiences. My most recent relationship ended just before reading this book. We hadn’t spoken in days precisely because we didn’t know how to talk to each other any more. Our conversations always became offensive or taken in the wrong context. We slowly retreated from each other because we were always walking on pins and needles. Finally, when we finally decided that we needed to address our communication issue, we became completely honest with each other, explained our hurts and attempts at communication and why we were so unresponsive, there was a strong connection that suddenly developed and breaking up seemed like a horrible idea, but a necessary one. Then this line on page 78 hit home,

Have you ever noticed that whenever someone honestly expresses whatever they are feeling – with no blame, defensiveness, self-deception or hidden agenda – you feel a surge of love? Even if what’s been said is not what you wanted to hear, the very act of vulnerable self-disclosure draws love like a magnet.

This is the perfect description of what happened between us. It’s something that I’m not sure I would have been able to fully understand without experiencing it first hand, and I’m very happy I did.

I really enjoyed reading this book and feel like I need to go through it a second time to digest fully the experiences Dr. Anapol had with these spiritual masters.

Questions for Discussion:

1. Did you find any quotes that you might not have understood without experiencing them first?

2. Are there “types” of love? For example, is there an inherent difference between the parent/child love and what one would experience during an intimate sexual relationship?

John Nitowski
Published with permission

WGSS 3998 - Ecosexuality and the Ecology of Love

Prof. Serena Anderlini-D'Onofrio

U Conn, Storrs, Spring 2013

Course Announcement and Description

Dear Earthlings:

Namaste,

Serena Anderlini-D'Onofrio, PhD

Gilf Gaia Extraordinaire

Author of Gaia, Eros, and many other books about love
Professor of Humanities

University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez

Poly Planet GAIA Blog:
http://polyplanet.blogspot.com/

Website: www.serenagaia.com

Be Appraised of Ecosex Community Project PostaHouse
Become a Fan: www.facebook.com/GaiaBlessings

Author's Page/Lists all books:

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JS1VKA

YouTube Uploaded Videos: http://www.youtube.com/SerenaAnderlini

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

3 of 4 - EcoSex @ U Conn - Anapol's The 7 Natural Laws of Love - Student Responses: Adam's Take

Dear Earthlings:

The EcoSex course at U Conn is in process. It's a great experience. We are reading amazing books. Thinking out of the box and across disciplines. Students are sending their responses in, with discussion questions. In class, we connect the dots: a holograph of what we've read together, the "required readings." Multiple perspectives and good synergy. Here, we offer a glimpse. Deborah Anapol's The Seven Natural Laws of Love, was one of two introductory books. We got four responses: from Alissa, Rhiann, Adam, and John.

Here's Adam's take:

Response to Deborah Anapol's The Seven Natural Laws of Love

I found “The Seven Natural Laws of Love”, by Deborah Anapol, to be a pleasant surprise. I am an emotional person, but I prefer to put up a stoic front and regard talk of love from a distance. Needless to say, I started this book with trepidation, but that dissipated almost immediately. Anapol writes in a warm, relaxing manner about topics which make many people, myself included, uncomfortable, and she succeeds at getting the reader to let down their guard.

One thing I found truly pleasant about the book was that each chapter, in addition to articulately, if not somewhat fancifully, exploring the seven laws of love, had exercises for the reader to undertake. I performed some of them over the course of the week, and found them to be eye-opening. This interactive quality made the book more entertaining and animated.

I will say though that I did not really feel a deep connection to Anapol’s book. I felt rather unrepresented; the target audience being young, heterosexual women, I felt overlooked by Anapol’s study and research – as if it did not truly apply to me, being a non-heterosexual male. My view of love also differs from Anapol’s. I do not disagree with much of what she says and believes; in fact, I completely agree with many of her main points, some of which being that the true source of love is one’s self and that truth and forgiveness are essential for a loving relationship. However, I got the sense that Anapol views love as a deeply spiritual, ethereal enigma. I view love, more or less, as a flood of hormones, some of which being dopamine and serotonin, and various psychological attachments. I am not a very spiritual person – I do not believe that Anapol’s view of love is wrong and mine is right, and I am not trying to undermine the importance of love. I am merely saying that her phrasing of love and her experiences seemed, in a way, foreign to me.

All that said, I am glad that I read The Seven Natural Laws of Love. It was enjoyable, and I walk away with some very practical, true, useful advice and knowledge.

Adam Kocurek
Published with permission

WGSS 3998 - Ecosexuality and the Ecology of Love

Prof. Serena Anderlini-D'Onofrio

U Conn, Storrs, Spring 2013

Course Announcement and Description

Dear Earthlings: