Emergence Magazine Podcast

Becoming Earth: An Experimental Theology – Robin Wall Kimmerer

9 snips
Jul 1, 2025
In this engaging conversation, Robin Wall Kimmerer, a Potawatomi botanist and author, explores the profound connections between ecology, culture, and spirituality. She reflects on the afterlife of cedar trees, suggesting that death is merely a transition in nature's cycles. Kimmerer invites listeners to consider how these insights can reshape our understanding of our own afterlife, intertwining vivid imagery of decay and renewal with philosophical reflections. This journey emphasizes the sacred interconnectedness of all living beings and our relationship with the Earth.
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ANECDOTE

Heaven and Transformation

  • Robin Wall Kimmerer visits a gospel church and imagines a conversation about heaven and transformation. - The pastor explains that upon rising to heaven, we are transformed, and our recognized identity remains.
INSIGHT

Death as Transition in Forest

  • In the forest, death blurs as fallen cedars decompose and nourish the ecosystem. - Nothing truly perishes; matter rearranges and cycles continually through life and death.
INSIGHT

Trees Store Environmental Memories

  • Trees store memories of environmental events through rings and cells. - The breath and carbon of animals and humans integrate into tree cells, illustrating deep ecological reciprocity.
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