Partnering with Nature: The Wild Path to Reconnecting with the Earth

by Catriona MacGregor and Catriona MacGregor

Book Overview

In today's world, it's often too easy to forget about the world outside the window. People struggle daily with stressful jobs, trapped under fluorescent lighting, staring at glowing screens, or... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1582702195
• ISBN13: 9781582702193
• Release Date: April 2010
• Publisher: Atria Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Learning from "Nature Girl"

Not being a theoretical sort, Catriona MacGregor's personal stories and the book's lovely illustrations are what make this book stand out for me--by the end of it, you will no longer feel guilty for taking the time to go on a long, slow stroll in the woods--in fact, she makes a strong case for the absolute necessity of activities like this in our current disconnected-from-nature lives. This is a book to savor, especially now that it's spring. Read a chapter a day, give yourself and, if you are a parent, your children some time outside. It will change your life.

Effective and Eloquently Written

I began to glance over Partnering with Nature with the intent to see what I would be reading the next few weeks. Before I knew it, I was turning the 70th page! The book is effective and is eloquently written. In this age of technology, stress, and commotion, Partnering with Nature makes you pause, take a deep breath, and transports you back to your roots. Catriona's personal accounts are written in such a manner that she leads you on a powerful journey. It is as if the reader is standing right next to MacGregor, experiencing the same sights, thoughts, and emotions. There is a great deal of uncertainly in these times, predominantly about our children's future. Catriona re-awakens the youthful imagination, and imparts a much-needed optimistic outlook for the future. Partnering with Nature offers invaluable avenues of healing; opportunities to restore ourselves and Planet Earth.

Partnering with Nature: The Wild Path to Reconnecting with the Earth by Catriona MacGregor

A beautiful and poignant expose about how we as individuals are not only connected with one another but with every aspect and breath in this universe. Catriona MacGregor connects scientific evidence of this relationship in parallel with the spiritual realm of our being and living on this planet. With griping stories and powerful illustrations, the message of this book resonates as undeniably true and real; something we need to awaken to, recognize and and pay attention to in order to save the precious world in which we live. Catriona MacGregor creates a compelling and heartfelt storyline that is impactful and important for everyone to read and absorb.

Magnificent nature prose -- a delight to read

I am giving this book five stars for the excellent writing and wonderful nature stories -- even though the author and I are worlds apart on theology. Like many neo-pagan writers nowadays, she has a tendency to mis-blame human disconnectedness with other living beings on "monotheism." (In her case, mostly her childhood Catholicism. She says very little about Judaism. I am more inclined to blame the disconnect on the 17th-century French philosopher Rene Descartes, who thought of animals as nothing but unfeeling machines -- but that's a whole other blog.) She takes a polytheistic approach to the natural world that I, as a Jew, cannot embrace as such, athough I do share her deep love of animals and nature. But in a different way. So I need to be very clear that I am NOT recommending that my fellow Jews should worship fertility goddesses, pray to animal spirits, or set up pagan altars in their living rooms. Having said that, this book is still an excellent read if you approach it as a cross-cultural experience. Plus, there are many activities in the book -- such as map making, quiet meditation, dream journals, collages, etc. -- that are universal enough for anyone to try. What impressed me the most about this book is Catriona MacGregor's amazing descriptions of nature. These passages read like pure poetry. She begins with her childhood when, at age four, she climbed to the top of a tree to put a baby bird back in the nest -- unable to understand why her mother and godmother were so panicked below. (She got down safely). From there she describes some incredible mystical experiences with trees and animals, including a vision of the "soul" of a huge old tree on the day before it was cut down. She writes: "The tree, knowing of its impending demise, shone forth its inner light, sharing its everlasting soul with the rest of the world." (For my Jewish readers, lest you scoff, I refer you to this passage by Elie Wiesel in Souls on Fire: Portraits and Legends of Hasidic Masters, page 145: "Once upon a time Hasidism had meant emphasis on inner truth and fervor; a return to nature, to genuine beauty, to identification. A Hasid would see a tree and become that tree; he would hear the song of a shepherd and become that song and shepherd -- that was his way of coming closer to the essence of man." The two stories are not so far apart. Modern Hasidim, however, are urbanized and have lost this connection. They have the stories but not the experience.) MacGregor is now an environmental activist who also leads vision quests, which she calls "nature quests," a name I find most appropriate nowadays, when nature itself become something we must actively seek out. Although she bases these activities on Native American practices, they are not dogmatically ritualized and there is plenty of room for personalization. (In other words, you can do this without worshipping pagan gods or idols.) The basic idea is to set up a circle somewhere in the wilderness

A beautifully wrought synthesis, highlighting the essential connection of human to nature

Catriona MacGregor's poignant "Partnering With Nature: The Wild Path to Reconnecting With the Earth" is a beautifully wrought synthesis of poetic spirituality and well-grounded practical fact. Catriona creates an intriguing tapestry of thoughts and images, weaving together history, geology, scientific research, and her own profound spiritual connection with the natural world. She cites examples from an impressive panoply of resources, and adds a human touch by including many of her own experiences, both expansively global and heartbreakingly personal. Each statement is supported by factual data and breathed into life by Catriona's own quest to share her relationship with nature with those around her. The place to start is your own back yard, suggests the author, though there is no doubt that she considers the entire planet and every plant, animal, and person upon it to be worthy of care and connection. She combines an intimate knowledge of the invisible world of energy and spirit with concrete statistics to show our "fall from grace" and the dangerous downward spiral that we have created through our alienation with the natural world. She argues eloquently that we need nature as much as nature needs us. She speaks convincingly of Earth as teacher, habitat, and salvation, asserting that our connection with the natural environment provides both a portal to the divine and the tools that we will need to preserve our planet as a habitat for humankind. The author entices the reader into reconsidering his or her own relationship with nature. She includes simple, accessible practices that will enable us to improve the quality of our daily lives, to be more in touch with our habitat, to reduce our footprint on the earth and ultimately to save our planet and ourselves by connecting more with our natural world. She concludes by gathering together the many threads of wisdom offered up by her book and leads us gently but inexorably to her conclusion.: We as a race will not thrive, evolve or even survive, unless we return to partnership with our earth. She urges us to reclaim the strength of our connection with nature on both a personal and a planetary level. "You are a different person if you are filled with the warm rays of the sun, the clarity of the blue sky, the soaring hawk." Says Catriona in her final paragraphs. You will also be a different person after you have read this book. The images of Catriona's vision will flow through your mind and dance through your heart long after you have finished reading "Partnering With Nature: The Wild Path to Reconnecting With the Earth" -Amy Racina Author "Angels in the Wilderness"