What is “Terrallectualism”?

ter-ra-lec-tual-ism
[noun]

A way of thinking and being derived from the noun terrallectual. Intellect grounded through intuition and contained within the wisdom to be found by being in sensitive and deep contact with the earth. This contact includes not only all human wisdom gleaned by nature based cultures throughout history, but also the ancient inherent intelligence that is not reliant on human culture, and is pervasive throughout existence on terra-firma. Examples include seasonal cycles and weather, all life forms including plants, animals, insects, microbes etc., the quiet consciousness contained within the elements such as stones, fire, rivers, and the shared experience of inter-personal relationships between all beings, human and non.

ORIGIN

“I am a terrallectual” is a thought I had while drifting off to sleep one afternoon in 2005. It was in reference to my style of writing which, regardless of intention, always contained the element of deeper personal understanding through relatedness with the natural world. Often the story is about “going out” and making contact with wilderness, but even more common is the experience of making contact with my own wild heart and finding that there is not much distinction between outer, and inner, landscapes.

Terrallectual is a word that arose from my intuition to describe my deepest sense of self. It attempts to describe the indescribable, and at its simplest could be defined as wisdom mind connected with wisdom heart. It also basically defines my sense of ecopsychology, which is what I practice as an MFT intern. Other terms that come into play are animism, shamanism, mindfulness, witchiness, treehuggeryness…

I am a terrallectual, and this is terrallectualism. Welcome.