Mother Earth

I am honoured to write the forward for this book as without the teachings of the author my own spiritual path would not have developed the way it has. Martin H. taught me how to meditate in the chapel of HMP Liverpool. At that time he was the prison Buddhist chaplain. I have been teaching prisoners there for 15 years. He recognised that, as well as prisoners, prison staff needed a time for spiritual practice - to sit in noble silence, meditating.

Higher Mother is a call for action and is subversive in its questioning of fixed views placed upon us by society. The book offers practical and achievable life lessons; shifts we can make in the rudiments of our daily lives to bring us in touch with our Higher Mother – the Earth. Martin H. draws upon a range of practices which aim to reclaim our lost relationship with the Earth, from ancient Pagan rituals and Shamanic rites of initiation to simple organic cooking recipes.

I once visited Martin and mentioned that I had pain down the left side of my back. „Try dancing, he said. Higher Mother offers men insights into the mystique of the feminine and offers women awareness of how „bigger boys can develop into men. xiv MOTHER EARTH

Martin H. asks us to consider that even though men and women are both very different, they (to borrow a phrase from Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh) „inter-are. By honouring females, men honour the feminine in themselves and by honouring men, women honour the masculine within themselves.

In Higher Mother the author manages to weave a personal style around somewhat difficult themes which enables the reader to connect with the voice of Martin H and appreciate how much is at stake here. The content is sometimes controversial and yet the author remains grounded. Martin H.s voice is a global voice. It is the voice of our higher self and thus this book is very important. I remember expressing a question to Martin about paths I might take in the Buddhist tradition, and he suggested I go along to a Zen group. I procrastinated. Martins reaction was forceful: „What are you waiting for?! He was cutting through to the heart of what was needed in that moment - being unapologetically to the point. This is the tone which runs throughout Higher Mother.

In an important sense this book is about being free. Free from the shackles which society tells us we need to make us feel safe, to make us complete human beings. Martin H. rejects the conditioning which is forced upon us by the media, which can lead to spiritual malady and subsequent addictive behaviour. xv

Higher Mother uses the 12 Step programme as a framework of recovery from addictions which trap us, ranging from alcohol, drugs, work, sex and food. Martin H offers his own experience of working through the 12 Step programme as a method of recovering a connection to a higher power.

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