Muck and Mind : Encountering Biodynamic Agriculture: An Alchemical Journey

Examines how the biodynamic approach to agriculture can transform consciousness.

Technology, in the form of ''genetic engineering,'' now extends intothe realm of life.But life is not mechanical.To begin to comprehend life, a fundamental shift in our approachis required; one that seeks to comprehend the qualities of the livingorganism as a whole, and in relation to its whole environment, whichextends, ultimately and logically, to the outer limits of the cosmos.This fundamental shift of approach lies at the heart of biodynamicagriculture, which stands as the qualitative opposite of the geneticallymanipulative approach to agriculture in nearly every way. The majordifference between these two approaches, however, lies not in theirmethodology, but in the modes of consciousness that underlie them.By offering us a glimpse into his own wrestling with the thinking behindboth biodynamics and genetic engineering, Jonathan Code, teacher,gardener, alchemist, points the way toward a "deeper understandingfor how our work with the land, with plants and animals, may be acatalyst not only for the transformation of compost and soil, but alsofor a transformation of consciousness."