Canyon Breezes: Exploring Magical Places in Nature, by Joseph Colwell
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Canyon Breezes: Exploring Magical Places in Nature, by Joseph Colwell
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In this book of essays on his explorations and observations in nature, Joseph Colwell shares his insights, reflections and personal understanding about the natural world. Drawn to the West at an early age, he spent his summers working in state and national parks while earning a degree in wildlife management. His careers as Forest Service Manager and Fire Information Officer on wildland fires took him to every state in the West, while his curiosity kept him seeking answers about this mysterious and magical world. Influenced by John Muir, Sigurd Olson, Aldo Leopold, Loren Eiseley and others, Colwell's 45 years of observing wildlife and listening to the secrets held within our landscapes-coastal bluff, mountain, rock formation, or desert - is an inspired adventure.
Canyon Breezes: Exploring Magical Places in Nature, by Joseph Colwell - Amazon Sales Rank: #4057550 in Books
- Published on: 2015-06-01
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.02" h x .36" w x 5.98" l, .52 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 170 pages
Canyon Breezes: Exploring Magical Places in Nature, by Joseph Colwell
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. 40 years of experiencing the metaphysical By Bob Conger This book will never be a best seller, although from a metaphysical point of view it should be. Metaphysics has the reputation of being something almost unfathomable when in truth the term can be relatively easy to understand if you bother to think in terms of letters instead of numbers…more on that later.At first even the definition of metaphysics seems difficult indeed; “the branch of philosophy that deals with 1st principles & seeks to explain the nature of being or reality (ontology) & the origin, nature & structure of the universe (cosmology). It is also closely associated with the study of the nature of knowledge (epistemology)”. So in essence metaphysics is broken down into 2 parts, and is closely related to a 3rd. The first part is ontology and is concerned with the study of what it means “to be”. Why are we here? Why did we become what we are? Is there meaning to life, and if so, what could it be? Scientific human reality can only be accessed through our 5 senses of touch, taste, vision, hearing, and smell. Yet we all know there are many more and different scientific realities all around us. Look at any animal other than ourselves. A bat, with its acute sonar capabilities, enjoys a much different reality than humans, one we can never come close to appreciating. Or what about the butterfly, with eyes that are constructed in such a way as to enable vision in all directions at once and have the capacity to see many, many more colors than human eyes? And, of course, these scientific realities, including our own “five senses-limited” reality, are only part of the picture. What about ultimate reality, that reality that is not only composed of scientific reality but that which lies beyond science. The word metaphysics literally means “beyond science”. Ultimate reality is, then, scientific reality (of which we humans can only experience that very small part available to us by our five senses), plus the reality that lies beyond science. Many scientists choose not to attempt to comprehend this second branch of reality, and oppose the validity of its very existence. In their view, if you cannot measure it, if you cannot hold it to the inquiry of the scientific method and reproduce the results of said inquiry, then it cannot exist. Such is the view of scientists like Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and, yes, even the inimitable Stephen Hawking, who famously (and quite embarrassingly for himself) has recently said creation occurred for no reason at all, something just came from nothing and for no reason…magic, if you will. He made this amazing statement because he is incapable of believing in anything beyond science. Since science now “proves” creation did occur (the Big Bang) and since scientists admit that science itself breaks down and literally has no meaning at that quantum event, Hawking reasoned thusly: for something to have caused creation, that something itself would have had to exist before creation, and since there was no such thing as time before creation, this something could not have existed before the Big Bang, because there was no such thing as “before” the Big Bang. What Hawking missed, of course, is that while science does indeed teach us that creation literally created everything, including time, the correct conclusion to reach is that whatever caused this creation must therefore lie outside of time…and therefore outside of science. This other aspect of reality to which I refer goes by names such as religion, the numinous, the spiritual, the metaphysical.The word magisterium denotes a domain of teaching authority. Non-overlapping magisterial (NOMA) is the view advocated by Stephen Jay Gould that science and religion (physics and metaphysics) each represent different areas of inquiry - fact vs. values - so that there is a difference between the "nets" over which they have "a legitimate magisterium, or domain of teaching authority," and these two domains do not overlap. Whether you choose to believe in any “God” or not, there is something else besides science. More and more scientists are being forced to accept this concept due to the discoveries inherent in quantum physics. There is more to our existence than mere science. I predict that within a century the science-limited views of Dawkins, Harris, Dennett, Hawking, et. al. will be relegated to the scrap heap of theories that include the theories of the geocentric universe and the flat earth.The 2nd part of metaphysics concerns cosmology. The Big Bang theory is now universally accepted, and we now know there indeed was a creation. With the advent of quantum physics we know a great deal about how the universe came to be, how and why it took close to 14 billion years to get where it is today, and how all the planets and chemical elements constituting the universe were created. They were literally created from star dust. Science is a wonderful thing…but has its limits. Science describes all the “hows” of the happening of creation. This is, after all, the scientific domain. The other domain, the domain of metaphysics, seeks to explain all of the “whys” of creation. Kepler’s Laws of science describe how the planets orbit the sun. This is the domain of science, of physics. These laws do not explain “why” the planets orbit the sun, or even why the sun and planets exist in the first place. These explanations would lie in the domain of the metaphysical.The two parts of metaphysics, ontology and cosmology, are closely related to epistemology, the nature of knowing. How do we “know” something? What does it mean “to know” vs. “to have a belief”, “to have an opinion or conviction”? Since quantum physics has shown us that absolutely nothing can be 100% proven, what does it mean “to know” anything. Regardless of what some scientists will tell you, it is interesting to note that none of what we say “we know” about science contradicts anything that we say “we know” about that other sphere of influence, that other magisterium predicated by what we refer to as the metaphysical.Mr. Colwell’s book is deeply metaphysical. Some may pick up this book and take it as a travel log of sorts, but it is so much more to those relatively few people that are characterized as having what Plato referred to as the life worth living; so few of us choose to live the examined life. We are either too busy, not busy enough, too bored or too stressed, too tired or too caught up in our hedonistic lifestyle…too caught up in all the mundane reasons we use to muddle through our sometimes dreary yet sometimes exciting science oriented lives. Mr. Colwell has not fallen prey to relegating himself to this level of merely science centered living. He has worked hard over decades for the United States Forestry Service, and has learned the lessons of nature, that great and ultimate announcer of the other part of reality, the numinous. He has understood the difference between the merely beautiful and that which is sublime. He does not appear to be overtly religious in the common sense, with what is popularly referred to as “organized religion”, but he effectively conveys his knowledge of an expanded reality far removed from that of mere science, for he has lived and has allowed himself to experience the wonder and the centeredness of that other non-scientific facet of reality. He is religious at a fundamental level. And now he shares what he has learned over four decades with the readers of his book. If you believe this book is an easy read, you are wrong. For those of you that have been fortunate enough to have visited some of the places Mr. Colwell refers too, as you read these passages you will recognize immediately some of the grandeur, the holiness, the completeness of his words. For those who have not been so fortunate, there is no better elemental guide to metaphysics than this work of Mr. Colwell. You will not read metaphysical terms or definitions…but you will experience the essence of what it means to be in contact with the metaphysical.Oliver Wendell Holmes; the father, the noted poet, conversationalist, and professor of anatomy at Harvard Medical School…not the son, the famous juror and Supreme Court Justice, once wrote, “… one of the many ways of classifying minds is under the heads of arithmetical and algebraical intellects. All economical and practical wisdom is an extension or variation of the following arithmetical formula: 2+2=4. Every philosophical proposition has the more general character of the expression a+b=c. We are mere operatives, empirics, and egotists, until we learn to think in letters instead of figures.” You are no doubt familiar with the thinking of many of the “mere operatives, empirics, and egotists” characterized by the scientists and “new atheists” so popular in our culture today. I invite you to take a moment and listen to a man who thinks along the lines of Thoreau and Emerson, a man who thinks in letters. Canyon Breezes, a relatively small and inexpensive book, so pertinent and alive with the magisterium of non-science, of metaphysics, a book so rich in that which ultimately matters, is now available and a must read for those who are able to open their eyes…for those who dare to expand their horizons and think in terms of letters. Do yourself a favor. Grab a cup of coffee, a copy of Canyon Breezes, and find a quiet, comfortable corner. Read Mr. Colwell’s book slowly, thoughtfully, and… most importantly…listen to what he is really saying.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. A great read for anyone who wants to find the spiritual ... By J. D. MCCAY Colwell has the uncanny ability to see well beyond the world at face value. Canyon breezes searches for the meaning of life in the canyon walls, spring monsoons, and the rock formations. A great read for anyone who wants to find the spiritual value in the world around you.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Vivid and engaging By Ray Bard Joe Colwell knows the West — its mountains, valleys, and canyons. He knows the creatures that live there. He has spent his adult life working in and exploring the land west of the Mississippi. More than 45 years with the Forest Service and as a forest fire reporter.In Canyon Breezes he shares his personal journeys and observations in 36 pieces and 158 pages. It’s the kind of book you can read one essay and reflect on his storytelling or you can read several in one sitting. You can sample a random piece to discover a message that speaks to you. And, you may pause, reminded of one of your own experiences.The vivid and engaging writing style will make you appreciate the wonders of the West even more — and inspire you to get outdoors and do your own exploring.It’s an enjoyable and rewarding read.
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