A new addition to the cerealogical library – ‘CROP CIRCLE WISDOM: SIMPLE TEACHINGS FROM THE CIRCLEMAKERS’, by Denni Clarke - puts aside the usual arguments and explores instead the profound spiritual insights many have received from the phenomenon, as CAROL PEDERSEN discovers…
There are many approaches to the crop formations that have been appearing around the world. In this small inspirational volume, Crop Circle Wisdom, the reader is invited to take a journey into the author’s personal experiences with the circles. On this journey she learned the significance of various qualities of life which are translated into the “Simple Teachings” in this book. The CircleMakers, which are described as the source of this mysterious phenomenon, but never definitively identified, are considered benevolent. Because they cause the appearance of the circles which so enriched her life, the book is both a gift from the CircleMakers and to them.
There are 21 qualities which are arranged in alphabetical order, starting with ‘Acceptance’ and ending with ‘Wisdom’. Each quality is simply defined by describing how the circles demonstrate it, why this quality is important and how its value can enhance our daily lives. For instance, ‘Beauty’ is an undeniable feature of many circles because the artistic geometry of the shapes are pleasant to the eye. By recognizing this we begin to see loveliness in other aspects of the world. As a result we can become more beautiful ourselves and share this piece of our positive self with others instead of some of the more negative aspects of our human nature which abound.
Opposite each page of prose is a bright and clear exquisite gold or green full-colour photograph of a crop circle, the image of which corresponds with the quality described. On some pages there is an additional short quote by a ‘famous person’, also descriptive of the quality, but these do not capture the heart of the reader as completely as the author’s own verse does.
Simplicity is the thread which runs through the book, from the words on the vellum pages, to the photographs, to the layout. The text is all on the right side and the photograph is on the left side of the opened volume. The description of each quality is short and there are many pages with quite a bit of blank white space. This shows the author’s real commitment to simplicity and the understanding that it is not necessary to fill up each page with excess words… an example in itself to the reader of the quality, ‘Respect’.
Each reader will come away from this book having personalized a little bit of the wisdom offered here. Besides ‘Beauty’, I especially liked the quality of ‘Joy’, because to me the crop circles have always held a comic aspect. Many times in a circle I have felt accompanied by some invisible force which seemed to be enjoying playing a trick on me, but what this trick is I have no idea.
Dr Levengood of Michigan is credited with providing the evidence that real biological changes occur within the crops of circle formations. I have always been a serious field researcher who does not have time to meditate and dream in the circles I investigate, yet I can understand the author when she says “Maybe we don’t need to figure them out; maybe we just need to embrace their wonder, and enjoy them as part of the Great Mystery.”
Whether we approach the circles from the point of view of biological science, mathematics, geography, metaphysics, curiosity or any of the other paths, we all gain a reservoir of personal experience from our involvement with them. Denni Clarke has shared her experiences in a delightfully inspirational book to hold and behold. It strikes a melodic chord and leads us on to perceiving this mystery with grace.
CROP CIRCLE WISDOM: SIMPLE TEACHINGS FROM THE CIRCLEMAKERS, published by Spirit Passage Publishing & Communications 2001 (50 Agua Viviendo Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505), ISBN 1-929341-05-9. Price: $18.95, 107 Pages. Size: 5 ¼” x 7 ¼”