Sam Harrelson

Sam Harrelson is a PhD student in Ecology, Spirituality, and Religion at the California Institute of Integral Studies. His research focuses on process philosophy, relational consciousness, and spiritual ecology, drawing connections between phenomenology, Alfred North Whitehead’s metaphysics as expressed in John B. Cobb Jr’s concept of ecological civilization, and Indigenous ecological wisdom. With a background in teaching high school environmental science and physics, Sam explores how ecological perspectives rooted in local traditions, particularly Gullah culture in South Carolina, offer frameworks for sustainability and ethical relationships between human and non-human consciousness. He brings his experience as an educator, scholar, and ordained minister to interdisciplinary discussions on consciousness, culture, and environmental ethics in both academic and community settings.