Peter Owen Jones | Disconnection from nature is our greatest mistake

For £2.27 ($3) a month you get:Exclusive access to premium contentAccess to great value on all Jarvah Biltong Products (UK only)All funds go to the Orthodox Church in St Leonard's, Hastings to continue it's transformational workSunny Banana (Sunny Banana + Jarvah Biltong)Peter Owen-Jones invites us to rediscover our profound connection to the natural world in this thought-provoking conversation about spirituality, silence, and our place in the cosmic order. The vicar, author, and documentary filmmaker challenges conventional thinking about human separation from nature, offering a revolutionary perspective: we are not isolated beings but collections of organisms intimately connected with all life on Earth."I have to take care of the planet because for me it is a relationship of love," Owen-Jones explains, calling us to see Earth as a garden requiring our tender attention. His perspective emerges not from environmental obligation but from deep reverence for the miraculous nature of existence.In our hyper-connected digital age, Owen-Jones advocates for the transformative power of silence – just five minutes each day to ground ourselves in reality rather than virtual experience. This practice of stillness becomes increasingly countercultural yet essential for developing wisdom and perspective.The conversation takes us to the Egyptian desert where Owen-Jones once lived as a hermit for 21 days, confronting his core fears and discovering the value of stepping outside conventional existence. Through this experience and his encounters with diverse faith traditions while filming "Around the World in 80 Faiths," he developed an expansive view of human connection that transcends national boundaries and cultural differences."I don't believe anyone is foreign," he states simply, offering a vision of human interaction based on our common humanity rather than our differences. This perspective has profound implications for how we relate to refugees, political opponents, and those of different faiths.Take five minutes today to sit in silence, turn away from your screens, and reconnect with the miracle of being alive on this extraordinary planet.Drop us a lineSupport the show