Becomings: A Unique Experience of Our Earth

When we were children, many of us had an every-day acquaintance with frogs, butterflies, and lightning bugs. Since then, with adult responsibilities and our busy daily lives, often we've drifted further and further from a close experience of earth and nature. And yet, in quiet moments, if we allow ourselves to sense and feel, we find a deep, quiet, inner longing for that lost, remembered closeness, whether beside the ocean, by a stream, or on a quiet walk through autumn leaves or soft spring air.

As children playing, we could become many things; whatever we imagined ourselves to be. This collection of becomings calls to that innate childhood ability. Each is an invitation to become, to explore, and to experience being; to reawaken and affirm our sense of knowing, wonder, and participation in oneness with the earth.

My hope is that you will experience, enjoy, and remember... And remember... And remember... I have been happy and overwhelmed with responses and notes from people whose lives "Becomings" has touched. Some have used it for relaxing and quieting themselves, for slowing down and being in the present moment, and for preparation for sleep. A woman who took it on vacation told of her family all sitting out on the cabin porch, taking turns reading the imageries to each other. "It was lovely!" One woman gave it to her granddaughter who just got into the National Honor Society. "Your book says you can become anything you want to be, and she needs to know that." One teacher used it with children who don't like to read, and another teacher used "Becomings" with a 6th grade creative writing class. A man told me that "Becomings" is the only book his wife with Alzheimer's reads.

One woman read "Becomings" to her sister who was recovering from a very serious auto accident. Her sister found "becoming a rock" very relaxing and special. In another instance, a woman was visited by a friend who had just been diagnosed with a recurrence of cancer. The woman and her friend read "becoming a fern." The friend found it soothing and relaxing, and took the book home with her.

A retired teacher shared, "Wish I'd had this years ago when I was teaching nursery school. Would have been wonderful to read to the children at quiet time." Another woman expressed appreciation for the bibliographies, and a Minister found "Becomings" very spiritual, taking it to her spirituality course at Seminary to show how we may be spiritual in different ways. Others have used "Becomings" to cope with their despair about the environment, and to rekindle their closeness with nature.

"An enchanting collection of imageries, revealing Ellie King's deep connection with nature and the rich mystery of our remarkable universe. Soaking in her exquisitely-tuned perceptions of wind and water, plant and animal life, will bring you a fresh appreciation for the pulsing, intelligent life around you." Belleruth Naparstek, author of Your Sixth Sense; Staying Well with Guided Imagery; and creator of the Health Journeys guided imagery series. "Becomings is a wonderful way to bring oneself close to our relations in the Great Circle of Life." Brooke Medicine Eagle, American native Earthkeeper, ceremonial leader, sacred ecologist, and author of Buffalo Woman Comes Singing.

"Symbolic thinking is a very useful tool in stimulating creativity and making peace with the unconscious. It is also a way to bring about harmony with nature, linking the primal images of the psyche with similar symbols in the world around us and stimulating dynamic harmonies. Becomings is a book that builds such bridges of harmony between the mind and nature. May reading it bring you some nice surprises." James A. Swan, Ph.D., author of Dialogues With The Living Earth; Nature As Teacher And Healer; The Power of Place; and Sacred Places.

"In Becomings, Ellie King invites us once again into an intimate relationship with the earth, through identification with its elements and its creatures. She gives us a way to hear Earth's call and to find our place in the work of cherishing and protecting the life of our planet at this time." Anne Yeomans, psychosynthesis therapist for 25 years, and coordinator and core faculty of a year-long Women's Spirituality Program at Interface, in the Boston area.