Be/ing Grace/d. A phenomenological exploration of spiritual encounters with the more-than-human natural world in-crisis

Global crises such as climate change and Covid-19 evoke spiritual and existential challenges regarding the finitude of the living Earth and the more-than-human natural world of which humans are one part. Calls from the literature reveal the need for a spiritual response. This research explored lived experiences of spirituality, nature and the climate crisis as they intersect. ‘He Awa Whiria’ (Macfarlane et al., 2024) a braided rivers approach and Existential Hermeneutic Phenomenology (EHP) methodology were applied to weave between diverse knowledge streams. Van Manen’s (2014) existentials and Gabriel Marcel’s (1948/1965b) philosophies of ‘being-for-another’ and ‘nascent grace stirring at the heart of nature’ enriched the depth of phenomenological exploration. Twenty-one semi-structured interviews were conducted online or in-person with eight Indigenous knowledge holders, eight spiritual/faith Leaders, and five ecologists/Earth elders. A cultural advisor and the adoption of ‘Two-Eyed Seeing’ (Bartlett et al., 2012) guided the research methods. Immersion in two significant Māori spiritual spaces in Aotearoa: Te Rerenga Wairua, (Cape Rēinga) and Tāne Mahuta (Waipoua Forest), influenced engagement with metaphor and visual expression from mātauranga Māori and Māori cosmovisions. Two ‘encounters’ with individuals’ data took place, ‘First Encounters’ and ‘Existential Encounters’ revealing multiple phenomena and essences. Findings revealed being seen, known, and valued by the more-than-human natural world and an ‘Existential Tree’ of embodied existential essences. Prominent features included a sacred/transcendent maternal presence inviting relationship, with roots in reciprocity, respecting the feminine and decolonisation, and materiality as separation from the sacred. A third engagement via a metaphorical waka journey explored Marcel’s philosophies, discovering grace. Engaging with Indigenous metaphysics and aspects of Karen Barad’s (2007) Agential Realism a metaphysics of grace is explored via ‘entanglement’, ‘intra-action’ and ‘mattering’. The discussion follows a dis/jointed journey in/out troubling classical dualities of spiritual/material, life/death, subject/object, person/other and masculine/feminine concluding with a final invitation to/for ‘be/ing grace/d’.

Name thesis:degree_name

PhD

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Education

Grantor dc:publisher

ResearchSpace@Auckland

Year dc:date.issued

2026

Author dc:creator

• Green, Alexandra Carol

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Fouche, Christa
• Rodgers, Brian

• Nature
• More-than-human
• Spirituality
• Climate Crisis
• Existential Hermeneutic Phenomenology
• He Awa Whiria
• Two-Eyed-Seeing
• Agential Realism
• Indigenous Metaphysics
• Gabriel Marcel
• 'being-for-another'
• grace
• I-Thou
• Compassion
• Lived Existentials
• Cultural Advisor
• Te Rerenga Wairua
• Tāne Mahuta
• Waka Journey
• Indigenous Knowledge Holders
• Spiritual/Faith Leaders
• Ecologists/Earth Elders
• Qualitative
• International
• Feminine
• Mother Earth
• Personhood
• Materiality

Statement dc:rights

• Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2292/75445

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:researchspace.auckland.ac.nz:2292/75445