Hey Insiders! Welcome to the Well.
The Secret Life of Plants, published in 1973, is one of my favorite books. It shares experiments indicating that plants may be sentient – even though they lack a nervous system – and uses this information to suggest progressive farming techniques. The scientists featured in the book are Jagdish Chandra Bose, Corentin Louis Kervran and George Washington Carver.
I’m sharing this because I couldn’t put this book down while reading it. It inspired a deeper understanding of the significance of my quality of being on the world around me. This book isn’t just for plant lovers; it’s for anyone interested in exploring their relationship to the world around them. I realized that I not only disturb myself when I am feeling consumed with negativity, but plants (and potentially everything – Panpsychism proposes that matter or physical energy is intrinsically sentient or experiential) can also detect my emotional state and be affected by it.
The claims made because of the experiments were refuted but, in this case, it’s not important to me. If an idea can inspire more thoughtfulness, awareness and awe, then it is valuable. It seems obvious, even without experimentation, that everything is interconnected and influential – whether it wants to be or not. I guess that’s another important thought this book provoked- that whether or not I want to impact the world around me, I do so simply by existing.
If you like watching full length documentaries on YouTube, here’s a documentary based on The Secret Life of Plants.
Have you read The Secret Life of Plants? How did you feel about it? I’d love to read about it in the comments. Thanks for stopping by the Well!
Insider Well 