Dr. Ruth L. Miller interprets a few essential essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson that tell us how the world always responds to our thoughts, words, and actions, and what we can do to ensure that our life is truly joy-filled in all aspects. In clear, simple language, she gives us a direct sense of what Emerson felt, saw, and struggled to share with his fellow human beings.
Emerson transcended the limitations of his day. Using common sense, a love of nature, and his own particular genius, he expressed a higher truth about who we are and how the world gives us exactly what we demand from it.
Yet, perhaps because he was so popular, and because so much of what was popularized focused on the need to transcend materialism and reconnect with Nature, some of his core ideas were lost to later generations. They were there, buried in the long sentences and extended paragraphs of his often-overlooked essays—but were discovered only by the few who were willing to take the time and seek them out. These few became great teachers in their own right, the founders and leaders of institutions and movements that have changed history.
Natural Abundance makes the hidden treasures of Emerson’s wisdom accessible to 21st century readers. Through it, this great man’s alignment of his heart’s knowing and his intellect’s understanding can lead all of us to a more abundantly fulfilling life, today.
Ruth L. Miller was ordained in the New Thought tradition and became the pastor of the Lifeways Center in Portland, Oregon, then interim assistant at Unity of Beaverton. She is currently serving New Thought and Unitarian-Universalist churches in Oregon, Washington, and California. She earned a doctorate in systems science from Portland State University integrating intuition and analysis in impact assessment and decision-making. Her MS in cybernetic systems from San Jose State University was earned with a thesis integrating intuitive methods in systems planning. Her certificate in environmental studies is from Long Beach State University and a BA in anthropology with a minor in American Literature was earned at the University of New Mexico. For more information, please visit RuthLMillerPhD.com.
Ralph Waldo Emerson was the leading proponent of the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-nineteenth century. He was ordained as a Unitarian minister at Harvard Divinity School but served for only three years before developing his own spiritual philosophy based on individualism and intuition. His essay Nature is arguably his best-known work and was both groundbreaking and highly controversial when it was first published. Emerson also wrote poetry and lectured widely across the US.
ISBN: 9781582702858
Format: Hardback
Pages: 240
Publisher: Atria Books/Beyond Words
Published: March 29, 2011
“Once again, Ruth Miller powerfully illuminates the writing of a great mystic from the past, bringing Emerson’s rich teachings into the language of our time.”
—Susan Wiley, CEO of Intuitive Naturally“Natural Abundance is a true work of art. Marked by the simplicity that is always found with great, classic, eternal ideas, Ruth Miller’s writing stays authentically attuned to Emerson’s far-reaching mind and soul.”
—Penney Peirce, intuition expert and author of Frequency and The Intuitive Way“With integrity and understanding, Ruth Miller has lived inside the great works of Emerson and translated his gems of insight into a language that speaks to life in the modern world.”
—Duane Elgin, author of Voluntary Simplicity and The Living Universe
“Over the years, Dr. Ruth L. Miller has repeatedly found ways to uncover and make clear the 'issues behind the issues’ in whatever she is writing about. Her treatment of Emerson’s essays shows that she has now become a master of this art.”
—Oliver Markley, PhD “Emerson’s body of work is respected as a treasure, but one in which the jewels are often buried in excessive language. What Dr. Ruth Miller has done, as a work of love, is to find the major gems of that treasure and present them to us in their most vivid, effective phrasing, and she gives us practical exercises to experience the timeless wisdom behind the words.”
—Robert Bruce Newman, author of Calm Birth and coauthor of Calm Healing