This is a book for seekers of personal development and planetary healing. Imagine a vertical axis running through the center of your being, from your deepest roots up to your highest aspirations. This is the Tree, which anchors and centers you. Now imagine this Tree encircled by concentric rings of family, friends, all of humanity, and the encompassing beauty of nature. This is the Hoop of relationship. This simple yet life-changing volume fully explains for the first time the power of these two ubiquitous symbols to bring us a whole new understanding of ourselves and our place in the world. Through explorations of their deep meaning in psychology, Native American and other spiritual traditions, myth and fairy tale, author Chris Hoffman shows how we can use the Hoop and the Tree to be happier in our relationships, increase our connection with nature, create a more functional society, and live lives of balance and fulfillment. This twentieth anniversary edition, revised and expanded, offers additional insights into practical applications, describes the initiations needed for a fully lived life, and gives simple exercises for visualizing and integrating one’s own deep structure of wholeness.

"Groundbreaking…Highly recommended." —The Midwest Book Review
 

"A persuasive view of balance, focus, and personal and global wholeness." —NAPRA ReView

"Therapeutic, enlightening, and a joy to read." —The Bloomsbury Review

"Gives us tools to heal our psyches and bring us closer to experiencing the deep inter-connectedness of all life." —AHP Perspective (Association for Humanistic Psychology)

"All those interested in ecopsychology, as well as anyone concerned with therapy, mythology, spirituality or personal growth, will find rich and rewarding material here.  I recommend it highly."  —Elizabeth J. Roberts, Ed.D,  co-editor of Prayers for a Thousand Years, Earth Prayers, and Life Prayers

"I loved it. An integrative, life-sustaining, eco-spiritual point of view and practice. This book helps us to widen the boundaries of our compassion." —Ralph Metzner, Ph.D., author of Green Psychology
 

"Compelling, grounded, full of hope… can be easily followed in our daily activities." —Marc Bekoff, author of Strolling With Our Kin, Minding Animals, and The Ten Trusts (with Jane Goodall)
 

“I admire the gentle simplicity of this book, the way it endeavors to connect us back—through the power of story and the healing strength of nature—to the rootedness that so much of the modern world has lost. In our Native traditions we speak of seven generations, how our deeds will affect those who come long after us. A deep understanding of that responsibility is at the heart of The Hoop and The Tree.” —Joseph Bruchac, Nulhegan Abenaki Nation, Author of Our Stories Remember and the bestselling Keepers of the Earth series
 

Chris Hoffman has facilitated human and organization development in a variety of clinical and organizational settings, including for Naropa University, several community mental health programs, and a Fortune 500 energy company.  He now devotes most of his time to volunteer climate protection work and writing. A widely published poet and retired licensed professional counselor, he holds a BA from Yale University, a Masters degree from Northeastern University, and an MBA from University of Colorado. He lives in Colorado. See more at his website, www.hoopandtree.org.