Syllabus: The Power of Nature - The science, folklore & practices of evoking the Divine

Course Description

How does Nature reveal the divine, the miraculous, and mystical, and what are the similarities between cultures that give us profound insight into its power?

This 4-week survey course will review paramount movements through the ages to discover how nature has enabled humans to connect with the deeper consciousness of all living things. Students will explore how the people of the world share a reverence for nature, considering it to be divine, sacred, or populated by spiritual beings, and how ancient beliefs and present-day movements are influencing attempts to use the powerful forces of Nature to conjure the extraordinary and the unimaginable.

As we critically examine a multitude of nature-based practices, such as the belief in supernatural beings and supernatural forces, we will introduce concepts used in ancient and modern movements such as animism, alchemy, astrology, biodynamics, bioenergetics, druidry, hermeticism, geomagnetism, green magic, qigong, natural healing, nature spirituality, mythology, polytheism, shamanism, Shintoism, tribal nature-based religions, wiccan, etc. This journey will enable students to gain an introduction and deeper appreciation of our connection to nature and how it governs our own psychic and conscious development, nurturing our connection to nature's more ethereal realms.

Course Outline

Week 1: The Foundation

  • Nature as Divine, Laws of Nature, Gaia
  • Cosmic forces, electromagnetic and subtle energies
  • Etheric and living forces forming our world
  • Human aura and energy fields

Week 2: Nature Based Folklore and World Practices

  • Nature and Psi through the Ages: Aboriginal practices, Egyptians and Sumerians, Mycenaens and Minoans, Socrates and Plato, Shamanism, Alchemy, Paracelsus, Hermetic traditions, Voodoo, Druidry, Wicca, Green Magic, Feng Shui, Shintoism, Tenrikyo, Pantheism, Hebraic, Hinduism, indigenous practices, biodynamics, dowsing, etc./li>

Week 3: Nature's Superbeings & Supernatural Forces

  • Elemental beings, the hierarchical order of entities and how to meet and speak to them
  • Plants as mystical portals, power of crystals, and sacred places
  • Communication with the mineral, plant, animal and fungi kingdoms
  • The role of mythical beings such as mermaids, gargoyles, unicorns, dragons, chimeras, etc

Week 4: Nature as Human Spiritual Activities

  • Phenomena of expanded consciousness, our bodies as carriers of our inner experience and as divination instruments and integrating natural sciences with Spirit.
  • The role of connecting and actively interacting with Nature for a better understanding of the Science of Psi.

Course Materials

Suggested Readings and Resources

  • Top five:
    • Hidden Nature by Alick Bartholomew,
    • The Green Fuse by Hilary Miflin,
    • The Loom of Creation by Dennis Milner and Edward Smart,
    • Beyond Supernature by Lyall Watson,
    • Primary Perception by Steve Backster
  • Additional Optional Readings:
    • Spiritual Hierarchies and the Physical World by Rudolf Steiner,
    • Divine Nature by Michael Cremo and Mukunda Goswami,
    • The Spirit in the Realm of Plants by Rudolf Steiner,
    • The Divine Code of Life by Kazuo Murakami,
    • The Faery Faith by Serena Roney-Dougal,
    • Biogeometry Signatures by Ibrahim Karim,
    • Goethe's Science of Living Form: the Artistic Stages by Nigel Hoffman,
    • The Wholeness of Nature by Henri Bortoft,
    • Shamanism and the Mystery Lines by Paul Devereux,
    • Energetic Anatomy by Mark Rich
  • Additional recommendations for further study will be available in the courseroom

Course Activities

Students will be expected to view the class broadcasts or the recordings of the classes each week and participate in any live discussions during class. Students will be expected to participate in weekly written discussion forums and activities. Each student will be expected to provide an original posting each week and to respond to at least one other student in the discussion forums.

Complete a final project as defined in the courseroom. A paper discussing your studies of a topic related to nature and psi.

Evaluation and Grading

Students who are taking the course for a grade will be assessed using a letter grade based on the standard letter grade format.

  • A – 90 – 100
  • B – 80 – 89
  • C – 70 – 79
  • D – 60 – 69
  • F – Below 60

Participation in the forums is a large component of the grading, and substantive postings are necessary to get full credit for each discussion topic.

The following activities will be considered to contribute to the courses as follows:

Discussion Participation 40%
Final Project 60%