Books by Joanna Macy

In Praise of Mortality

by Anita Barrows, Joanna Macy

A new translation of two key works by the renowned twentieth-century poet includes Sonnets to Orpheus, a reflection of the writer's deep reverence for nature; and Duino Elegies, a meditation on human impermanence and its link to all life and times. 15,000 first printing.

In Praise of Mortality

by Anita Barrows, Joanna Macy

A new translation of two key works by the renowned twentieth-century poet includes Sonnets to Orpheus, a reflection of the writer's deep reverence for nature, and Duino Elegies, a meditation on human impermanence and its link to all life and times. Reprint.

A Year with Rilke: Daily Readings from the Best of Rainer Maria Rilke

by Anita Barrows, Joanna Macy

One of the most beloved poets of the twentieth century, Rainer Maria Rilke is widely celebrated for his depth of insight and timeless relevance. He has influenced generations of writers with his classic Letters to a Young Poet, and his reflections on the divine and our place in the world are disarmingly profound. A Year with Rilke provides the first ever reading from Rilke for every day of the year, including selections from his luminous poetry, his piercing prose, and his intimate letters and journals. Rilke is a trusted guide amid the bustle of our daily experience, reflecting on such themes as impermanence, the beauty of creation, the voice of God, and the importance of solitude. With new translations from the editors, whose acclaimed translation of Rilke's The Book of Hours won an ardent readership, this collection reveals the depth and breadth of Rilke's acclaimed work.

Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We're in without Going Crazy

by Joanna Macy, Chris Johnstone

The challenges we face can be difficult even to think about. Climate change, the depletion of oil, economic upheaval, and mass extinction together create a planetary emergency of overwhelming proportions. Active Hope shows us how to strengthen our capacity to face this crisis so that we can respond with unexpected resilience and creative power. Drawing on decades of teaching an empowerment approach known as the Work That Reconnects, the authors guide us through a transformational process informed by mythic journeys, modern psychology, spirituality, and holistic science. This process equips us with tools to face the mess we’re in and play our role in the collective transition, or Great Turning, to a life-sustaining society.

World as Lover, World as Self: Courage for Global Justice and Ecological Renewal

by Joanna Macy

A new beginning for the environment must start with a new spiritual outlook. In this book, author Joanna Macy offers concrete suggestions for just that, showing how each of us can change the attitudes that continue to threaten our environment. Using the Buddha's teachings on Paticca Samuppada, which stresses the interconnectedness of all things in the world and suggests that any one action affects all things, Macy describes how decades of ignoring this principle has resulted in a self-centeredness that has devastated the environment. Humans, Macy implores, must acknowledge and understand their connectedness to their world and begin to move toward a more focused effort to save it.

In Praise of Mortality Selections from Rainer Maria Rilke's Duino Elegies and Sonnets to Orpheus

by Anita Barrows, Joanna Macy

Rainer Maria Rilke's poetry offers a rare combination of insight, beauty, and accessibility that has delighted readers for generations. Beloved for its unique lyrical style and musical language, his work stands as some of the most remarkable poetry of the past one hundred years.

In Praise of Mortality is an artfully curated selection of poems from Sonnets to Orpheus and Duino Elegies that investigate the emotional and psychological impact of the industrial revolution, and meditate on themes of impermanence and the steady passage of time. Barrows, an award-winning poet herself, and Macy, a well-known spiritual teacher, bring to their translations a striking sensitivity to the subtle currents of the work, approaching the poems with a fresh perspective that highlights the delicacy of their craft and beauty.

With a deep reverence for nature and a singular ability to embody the tenuous connection between the spiritual and material, Rilke's sonnets and elegies are a thoughtful antidote to the distractions, noise, and ever-increasing pace of the modern world.

Spiritual Ecology The Cry of the Earth (2nd Edition)

by Thich Nhat Hanh, Winona LaDuke, Brian Swimme, Joanna Macy, Wendell Berry, Mary Evelyn Tucker, Vandana Shiva, Satish Kumar, Thomas Berry, Bill Plotkin, John Stanley, Sandra Ingerman, Chief Oren Lyons, Chief Tamale Bwoya, David Robert Loy, Sr. Miriam MacGillis, Susan Murphy Roshi, Geneen Marie Haugen, Eleanor O'Hanlon, Jules Cashford, Pir Zia Inayat-Khan, Fr. Richard Rohr, Shephali Patel, Lyla June Johnston

The Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh was asked what we need to do to save our world. "What we most need to do," he replied, "is to hear within us the sound of the earth crying.”

Our present ecological crisis is the greatest man-made disaster this planet has ever faced—its accelerating climate change, species depletion, pollution and acidification of the oceans. A central but rarely addressed aspect of this crisis is our forgetfulness of the sacred nature of creation, and how this affects our relationship to the environment. There is a pressing need to articulate a spiritual response to this ecological crisis. This is vital and necessary if we are to help bring the world as a living whole back into balance.

The first edition of this book (published in 2013) fostered the emergence of the "Spiritual Ecology Movement," which recognizes the need for a spiritual response to our present ecological crisis. It drew an overwhelmingly positive response from readers, many of whom are asking the simple question, "What can I do?"

The 2016 expanded edition offers new chapters, including two from younger authors who are putting the principles of spiritual ecology into action, working with their hands as well as their hearts. It also includes a new preface and revised chapter by Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, that reference two major recent events: the publication of Pope Francis's encyclical, "On Care for Our Common Home," which brought into the mainstream the idea that "the ecological crisis is essentially a spiritual problem"; and the 2015 Paris Climate Change Conference, which saw representatives from nearly 200 countries come together to address global warming, including faith leaders from many traditions.

And, in Autumn 2021, we have issued a new edition, with a new updated preface from editor Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, who has also rewritten his chapter, “The Call of the Earth.”

Bringing together voices from Buddhism, Sufism, Christianity, and Native American traditions, as well as from physics, deep psychology, and other environmental disciplines, this book calls on us to reassess our underlying attitudes and beliefs about the Earth and wake up to our spiritual as well as physical responsibilities toward the planet.

"It's hard to imagine finding a wiser group of humans than the authors represented here, all of them both thinkers and do-ers in the greatest battle humans have ever faced. AN EPIC COLLECTION!" —BILL MCKIBBEN, founder 350.org

Spiritual Ecology is a superb collection of thoughtful pieces by people who have gone deep to understand our relations with the Earth. It comes at a crucial time for humanity." —BARRY LOPEZ, landscape photographer and author Arctic Dreams (winner National Book Award), Of Wolves and Men, Crossing Open Ground, About This Life

"THIS BOOK PROVIDES FRESH THINKING about the spiritual approaches of consciously and consistently making the right choices, each of us within our respective sphere of influence. As the world works towards a new global climate agreement in 2015, it is in our interest and in the interest of future generations to reflect on how we can individually and collectively contribute to addressing climate change by making our economies and lifestyles more sustainable, because solving climate change can help solve many of the issues the earth currently faces. Climate change is therefore both a challenge and an opportunity. I hope this book inspires and energizes many readers eager to rise to the greatest challenge ever to face humanity by realizing the transformative opportunities we have in front of us." —CHRISTIANA FIGUERES, Former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

World as Lover, World as Self: 30th Anniversary Edition Courage for Global Justice and Planetary Renewal

by Joanna Macy

“Joanna Macy unveils an ancient set of roots for our work to transform the future.”—adrienne maree brown, author of Emergent Strategy

An enduring classic of the ecology movement by the founder of the Work That Reconnects, now more timely than ever
 
Humanity is in an existential crisis. Facing the magnitude of our global situation as individuals leaves us feeling alone, disempowered, and despairing. Who better to listen to for wisdom and solace than Joanna Macy, one of the originators of modern environmentalism, whose life's work has been to hear and heal our pain for the planet?
 
World as Lover, World as Self draws on a lifetime of wisdom to offer a re-focus on the natural world, where readers can find the strength and spiritual nourishment to envision a new future for humanity built on a sustainable relationship with the earth. Rooted in the Buddha's teachings of paticca samuppada or "interdependent co-arising," Macy's reflections are especially relevant for activists who want to address the underlying mindsets of fear, greed, and selfishness that give rise to overconsumption and the ultimate destruction of our world. Both heartbreaking and uplifting, this definitive edition of World as Lover, World as Self will give a new generation of readers the tools and understanding with which to meet today's challenges and crises.

Active Hope How to Face the Mess We're in with Unexpected Resilience and Creative Power

by Joanna Macy, Chris Johnstone

The challenges we face can be difficult even to think about. Climate change, war, political polarization, economic upheaval, and the dying back of nature together create a planetary emergency of overwhelming proportions. This revised, tenth anniversary edition of Active Hope shows us how to strengthen our capacity to face these crises so that we can respond with unexpected resilience and creative power. Drawing on decades of teaching an empowerment approach known as the Work That Reconnects, the authors guide us through a transformational process informed by mythic journeys, modern psychology, spirituality, and holistic science. This process equips us with tools to face the mess we’re in and play our role in the collective transition, or Great Turning, to a life-sustaining society.