Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Above and Beyond the 5 Senses

Home
About

Home
New Visions
The Screaming Silence of John Planet-Walker:Nautilus Awards Spotlight: (VLOG)

The Screaming Silence of John Planet-Walker:Nautilus Awards Spotlight: (VLOG)

Last updated on: January 16, 2017 at 11:29 pm by kathleenokeefe

The Screaming Silence of John Planet-Walker:Nautilus Awards Spotlight: (VLOG) 2017-01-16T23:29:38-07:00 kathleenokeefe

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

When the struggle to save oil-soaked birds and restore blackened beaches left him feeling frustrated and helpless, John (Planet-Walker) Francis decided to take a fundamental and personal stand—he stopped using all forms of motorized transportation and embarked on a walking quest that spanned two decades and two continents while under a 17 year vow of silence. John’s story is an example of how God works in mysterious ways while the Universe always watches for leaders.

What began as a silent environmental protest in the early 70’s by a young African-American man became a coming-of-age pilgrimage that won the 2014 prestigious Nautilus Book Awards.

In this Internet TV Interview John shares writing tips, techniques, how self-published books can be an advantage and discusses why his emotional and physical journey expanded into a silent walk across the country that screamed a vital message to the world and shared a spiritual idea that went beyond the environment.

His message expanded beyond concern about pollution and loss of habitat to include how we humans treat each other and how we can better communicate and work together to benefit the earth.

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” goes beyond the people next door, to include all inhabitants of the planet, no matter how big or small, rich or poor.

As an affirmation of his responsibility to our planet, John chose to stop using motorized vehicles and began walking wherever he went.

His decision was greeted with surprise, disbelief, and even mockery – but it was only the start of a much deeper transformation. Several months later, on his 27th birthday, fed up with all the arguments his decision had created with friends, John took a vow of silence that lasted for 17 years.

Through silent walking, he learned to listen and prosper.

During his silence, he founded Planetwalk a non-profit environmental awareness organization, received a B.S. degree from Southern Oregon State College, a Master’s degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana-Missoula, and a PhD in Land Resources from the Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His thesis focused on human beings as an integral part of the environment; how we treat each other and ourselves directly and indirectly effect the physical environment.

John did more in silent thought than most people do with voiced opinion.

His silence ended when he served as project manager for the United States Coast Guard Oil Pollution Act Staff of 1990, in Washington, DC, where he assisted in writing oil spill regulations.

A year later John was appointed the United Nations Environment Program’s Goodwill Ambassador to the World’s Grassroots Communities for his work in raising environmental consciousness. He joined six fellow Ambassadors who use their time, talents and energy to raise awareness of central environmental issues and work of UNEP, as well as developing their own projects in areas of environmental education.

Over the years, John PlanerWalker Francis has walked across the US, walked and sailed through the Caribbean, Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile. He recently began a walk studying organic agriculture and sustainable development in Cuba, and is developing Planetlines, an environmental education curriculum based on the walking pilgrimage for high school, college and civic organizations.

In 2005, he published Planetwalker: How to Change Your World One Step at a Time. The National Geographic Society republished Planetwalker, April 2008.

Winner of the 2014 Silver Nautilus Book Award.

On Earth Day 2005, John began another walk retracing his route across the United States. He looked for differences in the landscape and the conversations. His goal was to:

redefine the environmental problems we face
change them into inclusive concepts
form partnerships among Native and non-Native people, cultures, businesses and organizations that might feel they do not share the objectives and values of environment and conservation.

In February 2008, John spoke at the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Conference. Past speakers and performers include Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Paul Simon, Richard Branson, Frank Gehry, Philippe Starck, James Watson, Billy Graham, Jane Goodall, Al Gore and Bono. The conference embraces science, media, architecture, business, performance arts, music and comedy. Its success is based on the extraordinary effect of bringing together 1000 of the world’s most remarkable people. The result is unexpected connections, extraordinary insights and powerful inspiration.

Today, Dr. Francis is a visiting associate professor at the Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, at University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he teaches both graduate and undergraduate seminars in environmental studies. He is also the first education fellow at the National Geographic Society where he has published two books, Planetwalker: 17 Years of Silence, 22 Years of Walking, which won the prestigious Nautilus Book Award, and The Ragged Edge of Silence: Finding Peace in a Noisy World. They are partners in developing the Planetlines curriculum based on John’s walking experience that lasted over two decades.

CLICK LINK TO WATCH INTERVIEW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0C3TVbnfYU&feature=share

Photo credit: all photos and/or posters are used with permission of the guest, Nautilus, and author.

Kathleen (Kat) O’Keefe-Kanavos-three time cancer survivor whose dreams diagnosed her illness as seen on NBC News & Dr. Oz, TV/Radio Host/Producer of Wicked Housewives On Cape Cod™ , Kat KanavosShow , Patheos, Quora, Medium, Internationally Syndicated Columnist, Nautilus Award-winning Author/Lecturer who promotes patient advocacy and inner guidance. Contributing author to Chicken Soup for the Soul. www.KathleenOkeefeKanavos.com

Uncategorized

Above & Beyond the 5 Senses Patheos Blog

Dr. John Francis on the Kat Kanavos Show

Dream Expert Kathleen O'Keefe-Kanavos

John Francis on Nautilus Books Award Spotlight

John Planet-Walker Francis

Nautilus Book Awards Spotlight on the Kat Kanavos Show

Patheos VLOG Kat Kanavos Show

relationships

Spirituality

The Screaming Silence of John Planet-Walker

Previous Post

January 16, 2017

Angry Death Dreams from India: Please Help!

Next Post

January 30, 2017 Faith: Your Key to Overcoming Crisis (VLOG)

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Dreams Uncategorized

Select a Month August 2023 November 2022 September 2022 August 2022 February 2022 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 January 2021 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 November 2019 October 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 November 2017 October 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 January 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz