interpret all natural phenomena by a process of deduction. The
effect has been a separation of thinking from experience, of head
from heart. Because of the dominance of scientific determinism in
our culture, the more intuitive way of knowledge is considered as
suspect, but there is a new awakening taking place at all levels of
society of people wanting to get in touch with their intuition, who
feel that rationalism is in fact the Great Delusion.
We have experiences every day that fall outside the accepted
conventions of reality; like little synchronicities, intuiting events,
the sensing of different qualities of 'atmosphere' as emanations
from people, situations or places, the power of thought over action,
communication with a household pet. If we share these with like-
minded friends we feel like conspirators discussing something
taboo that the thought police might catch. At best these phenomena
might be labelled woolly, like 'psychic' experiences. We are lost
because there is no system or structure to 'make sense' of an impor-
tant part of our lives. They are not part of conventional wisdom.
Viktor Schauberger was one of the first to put in a scientifically
verifiable framework a study of natural processes set free from the
constraints of rationalism. He has widened our understanding of our
place in the world by describing a worldview of a natural science that
includes these experiences without recourse to scientific, religious or
philosophical dogma. By understanding how Nature works, we can
begin to relate our experiences to a much wider and more exciting
worldview. Rachel Carson, who is credited with having initiated the
environmental movement with her book Silent Spring, was a brave
woman for taking on the multinational corporations. Schauberger is
all the braver for taking on our conventional worldview.
There must be a fundamental change in the way we see the world
(including our environmental policies), before change is possible.
Have Viktor's warnings been vindicated? It is over 45 years since his
untimely death, and much of what he prophesied has come to pass
even earlier than he foresaw. There was some hope before Septem-
ber 11,2001, that environmental awareness was gaining ground, if
slowly. Recognition of the critical imbalances we have created in our
atmosphere and of the urgent need to change our priorities from
consumption to conservation was starting to spread. Now we seem
to have backtracked a generation and we can't even agree to imple-
ment the kind of cuts in carbon dioxide emissions that are essential
to avoid catastrophic climate change.
INTRODUCTION