Cosmosophia by Theodore Richards

Cosmosophia: Cosmology, Mysticism, and the Birth of a New Myth
Theodore Richards
314 pages, 8.5 x 5.5 Paperback
$17.95

Praise for Cosmosophia

“Richards writes skill­fully and soul­fully about the most pressing issues of our times, and the deeper crisis out of which they have emerged. Drawing from a vast trove of knowl­edge about the world’s reli­gious, mys­tical, and philo­soph­ical tra­di­tions, he extracts the most valu­able gems, pol­ishes them with the rev­o­lu­tionary insights of modern sci­ence, and forges a radiant, new cos­mos­ophy — a uni­versal wisdom that honors the wisdom of the uni­verse. The beauty of this mythos is that it, like the cosmos, is not static but dynamic, inviting our active par­tic­i­pa­tion and imag­i­na­tive engage­ment.

“This book suc­ceeds in instilling rev­er­ence for a living uni­verse and hope for a dying planet. May Cosmosophia blossom and flourish in the hearts of all beings!”
—Darrin Drda, author of The Four Global Truths

“Theodore Richards’ poetic book, Cosmosophia: Cosmology, Mysticism, and the Birth of a New Myth, calls us and chal­lenges us to never cease making meaning of life. Richards rec­og­nizes that we are on the verge of awak­ening to a new myth, a new story of human and cosmic sig­nif­i­cance that honors our deep past, embraces the totality of com­mu­nity, and yearns for full­ness of life for gen­er­a­tions to come.  Richards insight­fully explores the roots of the cur­rent crisis of meaning and, using the womb and birthing as pri­mary metaphors, mid­wifes us into a pro­found sense of the cosmos as womb.  Cosmosophia truly gives birth to a vision of the Universe that is healing, hopeful, and com­pas­sionate.”
—Linda Gibler, PhD., author of From Beginning to Baptism: Scientific and Sacred Stories of Water, Oil, and Fire

Theodore Richards . . . takes us on an epic journey . . . It is his journey and it is our journey.  It is humanity’s journey and though it nec­es­sarily includes the misery of cru­elty and oppres­sion, there is wisdom at work as well . . . Things could be so dif­ferent.  We wan­dered away from our African ori­gins so many mil­lennia ago, and though we have become lost and con­fused, the uni­verse leaves clues every­where.  A new begin­ning is pos­sible, a new feeling of the inter­con­nect­ed­ness of all things is before us.  Richards takes us on a journey into the edge of the uni­verse which is the edge of the human being which is the edge of God.
—Brian Swimme, author of The Universe Story, on Handprints on the Womb

“Theodore Richards is a unique and gifted social activist, one with a well nour­ished brain as well as a con­science. His com­mit­ment to inner city youth wounded as so many are by a cul­ture that prefers con­sump­tion to com­pas­sion and preaches couch­pota­toitism over cre­ativity, he has spent years bringing alive the poten­tial of young people in finding their in-​​depth selves and their place in our amazing uni­verse. In a pre­vious gen­er­a­tion someone of Theodore’s depth and integrity might have worked out his voca­tion in a monastery. In our time, he finds his way in the urban world of struggle and promise, despair and hope. He is a philosopher-​​activist who lis­tens deeply and walks his talk.  What he is learning is worth our all lis­tening to.”
—Matthew Fox, Author of Original Blessing and The Hidden Spirituality of Men