I love to read books. I’ve read thousands of books in my life thus far and I hardly ever read the same book twice. There is however, an exception. I have read this particular series at least ten times in their entirety and certain of the books even more times. I am talking about the Ringing Cedars of Russia series.
The Ringing Cedars is written by a Russian businessman, Vladimir Megre who was on a boat engaged in trade going up a river in a remote part of Russia. On one of their stops, he is approached by two old villagers who wants him to cut down an ancient cedar tree about to die (it is actually a Siberian pine tree) to distribute to people so that its special qualities would be of benefit to people. Vladimir has to research whether there are actually benefits to these pine trees and what kind of money he could make from it. He returns two years later to make a deal. Instead of the old men, he is met with their granddaughter Anastasia who invites him to her home deep in the taiga and promises to tell him all about the pine trees.
What follows is a tale some call fantastic, and others call inspirational. Anastasia, it turns out, is what we might call a wise woman though she is in her mid-twenties at the time. She demonstrates abilities that seem supernatural but insists that they are all inherent in everyone, but our lifestyle over generations has caused us to forget how to use these abilities. She then goes on to recommend ways of living that will help people to reclaim their connection to nature and awaken these abilities naturally.
One of the main themes of the ten books that make up this fascinating series is the idea of the Kin’s Domain. Anastasia proposes that each person find a piece of land 2.5 acres in size and build a home on it. This domain would have a water feature (either a lake, stream, or spring), part of it would be wild, and part cultivated according to a person’s preferences. There would be a family tree planted to represent the family as a whole and a tree planted for each member of the family, even for those whose spirits you wish to remember. The main thing about the domain is that it is passed down through the family line into perpetuity.
Imagine building your home knowing your child or grandchild will inherit it. How differently we would treat our land if we knew we would be held responsible for it seven generations from now! We’re not talking about the mansion of a wealthy person, but the humble abode of someone who wants to create a space of love for their kin, their family. Hence the name kin’s domain.
A bunch of people can get together and build their domains next to each other. These are called kin’s domain communities or some called them Ringing Cedars communities. There are over 300 of these in existence in Russia today.
I am barely scratching the surface of the information in these books. All I can say is I truly believe they contain a practical alternative to the technocratic destructive path we seem to be on. There is no suggestion of returning to caveman times, but simply to find better ways (usually organic based ways) of doing what we want to do. I will be writing much more on these topics, but for now if you’re interested in these ideas, just go read the books for yourself. They may change your whole way of thinking just as they have changed mine.
The English language books are out of print, rare and in huge demand, but you can get .pdfs here from the author’s website.
** I am not affiliated with the author in any way or any organization having to do with these ideas. I am just a person who likes these books and am providing my own point of view on them.
