The Smell Of Rain On Dust - Grief and Praise, by Martín Prechtel.

"If there is ever to be any real peace on earth, all people need to relearn and reestablish the now diminished and hidden arts of Grief and Praise, for one without the other is not possible."

"Life change rituals should accompany every stage of life and anticipate people's full expression of grief. For this reason natural culture doesn't need to address life changes with therapy because they anticipate these changes and have a place for the grief. These rituals of life changes are the major parts of their tribal everyday spiritual existence.

In this way grief is not left hanging and is converted into ritual beauty and culture-supporting continuity, which is not only experienced by the people in a massive communal way, but in a massive communal way these rituals also have the people giving back to the Divine that gives them and their world life."

This potent book is a vital tonic, not only for those currently experiencing an intensely felt grief, but all those who sense the tendency of modern cultures to diminish beauty. In recent years 'grief' has been a topic (or at least a word) with a high-profile. Yet seldom is it treated as part of a regenerative process explicitly connected to praise, and beauty.

Unwilling or unable to go there, many modern cultures might scoff at a perceived glossing over, or wishing away the pain. Without praise and beauty, Prechtel contends, grief cannot be fully assimilated or expressed. In this sense, part of the grief is that many cultures cannot properly grieve at all. There is no communal witness to personal grief that welcomes it as a vital and beautiful spiritual asset to the wider collective.

Martín Prechtel's website - Teachings Of The Flowering Mountain

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Andrew Phillips is a Visual Artist, Psychotherapist, and Creative Mentor.

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