In his book, The Rebirth of Nature: The Greening of Science and God, Rupert Sheldrake proposes some ideas about nature, the planet earth and the universe which at first look, sound interesting, but upon closer examination may seem somewhat far fetched. Many of his ideas are rooted in spiritual concepts, yet he also discusses science, its characteristics and its history. Sheldrake attempts to link scientific concepts to his ideas, while at the same time showing disdain for the scientific way of thinking, which he terms "close minded." His ideas of "morphic fields" and "formative causation" are presented without convincing evidence. At best he offers anecdotes to support his claims, which include: the idea that animals can communicate telepathically across time and space, and that crystals influence each other through "morphic resonance." Reasonable people who have some knowledge of science will likely see there are less magical explanations for the phenomenon he discusses. At the same time Sheldrake scolds the reader as "mystery intolerant" if unwilling to accept the author's assertions. Sheldrake has purposely tried to blend science, which works through well thought out experiments to lead to the development of theories, and mysticism, which allows for leaps of faith to reach beliefs. Some may find this combination refreshing, while others might view the juxtaposition of these two methods of understanding, as intrinsically incompatible. Sheldrake's end goal seems to be to convince the reader of the great value of planet earth, and the importance of living in harmony with our environment. Indeed, this concept is crucial to the future of humanity and all life. Yet many will not need Sheldrake's extraordinary theories to lead to the recognition of this great truth.

As a neuropsychologist I found this book challenging. The theory of memory as morphic fields begins to explain phenomena such as the "100 monkeys rule" and the description of thought as a non-local event. Strongly recommend this book to any inquisitive mind.

As expected, nothing is out of bounds in this book and these three exciting minds careen into all sorts of spaces. Thankfully, they don't pull their punches and this sets up a very discernible edginess to their "trialogue" that helped dispel how much a marketing gimmick this book might be. It's not. They all take turns in the spotlight though and the responses are often so thoughtful that, if they did not rehearse answers, then you realize these guys are truly gifted thinkers.

McKenna fans will see some sides of the man that don't typically come out in his monologues or books. They only added to my appreciation of him.

I found the book difficult at times, sometimes because of the far-out topics and sometimes because I did not have the mathematics / physics / anthropology / psychedelics / morphogenetics / art / philosophical / etc. (you name it) grounding to keep up.

Going back and reading just one chapter gives me new insights over intial readings, almost guaranteed. An ASC (P. cubensis?) reading would quite probably also prove beneficial.