Rainbow of Mysteries

Book excerpt: Have you ever wondered how you can connect with the sacred in nature, or whether there is anything sacred in nature? Has the Christian tradition obscured the sacredness of nature? Is the Bible alive to the wonder of creation? How can we sustain a sense of mystery and an appreciation of the sacred in nature? In the biblical Flood narrative, the rainbow was the sign of God's covenant promise to never again to destroy the Earth with flood waters. The rainbow served to remind God of God's own bond with Earth. "My rainbow," says Habel, "represents my covenant promise to explore my bonds with Earth, my spiritual connections with creation." Each colour represents an often-overlooked aspect of creation and inspires the reader to consider our place in nature. Using poetry and prose, Norman Habel journeys deep into his personal experiences of the sacred in nature, from his initial sense of alienation from Earth to his eventual "homecoming." Along the way, he investigates seven wonders of nature and their spiritual dimensions or mysteries. He explores biblical texts that praise or suppress creation and examines each mystery through the lens of ecology and his own experiences. Ultimately his goal is to discern how to sustain each mystery and its spiritual dimension. The book includes a suggested workshop outline, and seven rites to explore mystery in nature.