21 Rituals To Connect With Nature

Following on from the success of Theresa Cheung's previous 21 Ritual series comes a nature-based daily practice book. It contains 21 simple, easy daily rituals to help you tune into the natural world around you helping you to feel more grounded and connected to yourself and others. It is well known that spending time in nature increases our health, vitality, and sense of wellbeing. Some researchers have linked obesity, ADHD, and other health conditions to a disconnection from nature (what Richard Louv calls ‘nature-deficit disorder’). The problem is that our society has never been as far removed from nature or our natural affinities with the nonhuman world as we are today. Spending more time in nature is an obvious solution to feelings of disconnection. Drawing on what science and psychology teach us about the benefits of connecting more to the living power of nature and how to strengthen it using the life changing power of ritual this book offers 21 powerful rituals that don’t necessarily require a wilderness trek or trip to the countryside. Readers will be encouraged to perform 21 ‘connecting with nature’ rituals every day over a three-week period as research shows that it takes around three weeks to ensure a daily ritual becomes entrenched at neural level. Some of the rituals will need to be performed outdoors in easy to find locations but others can be performed in your home or office. The first week will focus on connecting with nature indoors, the second in the fresh air and the third at a specific location so the progression to ‘wild’ nature is accessible. The rituals are very easy to understand and incorporate into everyday life; some in a matter of moments and others a little while longer.

Discover the fascinating folklore behind more than 40 of nature’s most intriguing plants and learn how you can benefit from their timeless wisdom in everyday life. Why do buttercups glow when held beneath your chin? Which blooms are sometimes called fairy phones? Why are foxgloves sometimes ominously referred to as ‘Deadman’s Bellows’? And what is the true meaning of a rose? Humans have given meanings and stories to plants and flowers for thousands of years, whether they’re myths about Ancient Greek Gods who pecked out the eyes of anyone who dared move the sacred but thorny Peony plant, or 19th-century superstitions of how flowers could foreshadow love, life or death. After reading this book, you’ll never look at a bunch of flowers the same way again! With details on the origins of the folklore behind each plant, and a beautiful ritual to help you better connect with the teaching each plant has to offer, this is the perfect gift for foragers, gardeners, and budding horticulturists looking to develop their knowledge of plants beyond the exterior. From the old wives' tale that sage thrives in the garden of a woman who rules her household (and husband!) firmly, to poppies growing in places where blood has been shed, learn the meanings and stories behind: Bay Mint Basil Lotus Tulips Orchids Sunflowers Lily of the Valley Nightshade Mulberry Hyacinth Valerian Parsley Daffodil Rose …and more! Including common plants found all over the world, and traditional herbs and flowers used in medicines for thousands of years, this is a truly unique and fascinating exploration of our floral folklore heritage.

Aristotle said 'you are what you repeatedly do'. Most of us have no idea that what we repeatedly do creates our lives, we think our future is shaped by big events, the decisions we make, the thoughts we have but, this book will show you that it is your daily actions that are the key. Over the last few decades neuroscientists and psychologists have discovered that there is more power in 'I do' than 'I think'. However, if an action is repeated enough times it becomes habit but habits lack thought, consideration and presence. To effect long-lasting meaningful change our actions need to be filled with a sense of personal meaning and power – they need to be ritualized. Creating personal ritual in our lives allows us to bring the presence of the sacred into the everyday. The rituals in this book have been designed as symbolic acts providing a framework for anyone to use to create positive change in their lives. The 7 morning rituals are designed to help you 'wake with determination', the 7 afternoon rituals focus on 'living on purpose', and the 7 evening rituals are about 'retiring with satisfaction'.

The Art of Connecting With Nature emerged from Mark’s desire to have others experience the “living presence” of the natural world. Within these pages you’ll discover 22 co-authors who have established a relationship with nature that reclaims what indigenous people worldwide express as kinship, centeredness, and the ability to make decisions through the eyes of future generations. The book is divided into four experiential themes: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. We invite you to open to whatever chapter calls to you, since each stands on its own. At the end of each section we’ve provided tools, rituals, and practices to help you develop, or enhance, your own relationship with nature. These are activities that have helped us; but in the end, we each have our own journey that cannot be defined by another’s. Visit our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/TheArtofConnectingWithNature, to share your experiences, ask questions, or interact with the artists, professors, musicians, authors, ministers, and others who’ve contributed to this collection.

21 simple and easy daily rituals to help you tune into your inner wisdom so that you can start making better, more inspired decisions in your life Like optimism, intuition can be cultivated. Research has shown that contrary to popular opinion intuition isn't something we are born with and it doesn't come naturally to everyone. Intuition is a skill that we can learn and we can get better at it the more we practise. Drawing on science, psychology and Theresa's techniques this book offers 21 simple and proven daily rituals to help you tune into your inner wisdom and start making better decisions in your life today. Following on from the success of 21 Rituals to Change your Life readers will be encouraged to follow a daily ritual plan for a period of at least 21 days. Research shows that it takes around three weeks to ensure a daily ritual becomes entrenched at a neural level and is therefore powerful enough to change your life for the better. Each of the intuition-boosting rituals are simple and easy to understand and can be incorporated into everyday life in a matter of moments. Most importantly they are enjoyable and rewarding, with, external benefits or internal insights becoming obvious within days. Combining science, esoteric arts, the power of ritual and the accessibility of popular psychology, this easy-to-read guide will engage, motivate and inspire.

In Nature's Honor explores the eight solar holidays that mark the turning of the Wheel of the Year. Each chapter begins with a history of the holiday--the ways in which it has been celebrated from ancient to modern times, its relationship to other religious and secular celebrations and its cultural and mythological foundations. This history is followed by recommendations for specific activities to celebrate the season that individuals, families or small groups can enjoy. The chapters conclude with formal rituals suitable for use in larger faith communities. These include scripted narration, songs, dramatic enactments, litanies of seasonal blessings, readings from poetry and mythology and suggestions for ceremonial food. In Nature's Honor reconnects the modern spiritual seeker with the earth-centered practices of our ancestors. This work explores the seasonal rituals that celebrate the earth and our connection to it--which is not just physical but profoundly spiritual. FROM THE AUTHOR From the Authorz In writing this book, I discovered the most important theme running through the history of rituals related to the earth's seasons is renewal. The wheel turns and the old season gives way to the new, the old year to the new, the old life to the new. Each planting of seeds promises new possibilities. Each harvest brings sustenance for yet another year. Each fallow time regenerates the life of the soil. The sun deities retreat and return. The grain goddesses are lost and restored. The vegetation gods die and rise again. The cycle of life goes on and on, birth after death after birth. Perhaps what all the rituals celebrate is this ongoing-ness of life: the miraculous natural world that makes it possible and our abiding connection to it. For the ancients, the interdependence was clear. When the people fasted on the eve of a new season's beginning, they purified not just their own bodies, but the land itself. The fires that encouraged the fecundity of the land also made its people fertile. For us moderns distanced from the earth by technology, the interdependence is not as clear. And we are paying the price: in polluted air and water, in soil erosion, in deforestation, in global warming. How different the condition of the planet might be if we allowed ourselves to be renewed at each turning of the wheel of the year, if we took the time periodically to celebrate the beauty and bounty of nature.

Bioregionalism and Civil Society addresses the urgent need for sustainability in industrialized societies. The book explores the bioregional movement in the US, Canada, and Mexico, examining its vision, values, strategies, and tools for building sustainable societies. Bioregionalism is a philosophy with values and practices that attempt to meld issues of social and econmic justice and sustainability with cultural, ecolgoical, and spiritual concerns. Further, bioregional efforts of democratic social and cultural change take place primarily in the sphere of civil society. Practically, Carr agrues for bioregionalism as a place-specific, community movement that can stand in diverse opposition to the homogenizing trends of corporate globalization. Theoretically, the author seeks lessons for civil society-based social theory and strategy. Conventional civil society theory from Europe proposes a dual strategy of developing strong horizontal communicative action among civic associations and networks as the basis for strategic vertical campaigns to democratize both state and market sectors. However, this theory offers no ecological or cultural critique of consumerism. By contrast, Carr integrates both social and natural ecologies in a civil society theory that incorporates lessons about consumption and cultural transformation from bioregional practice. Carr’s argument that bioregional values and community-building tools support a diverse, democratic, socially just civil society that respects and cares for the natural world makes a significant contribution to the field of green political science, social change theory, and environmental thought.

If you want a deeper connection with nature, this book is for you.It will help you form a relationship with nature that can improve happiness, well-being and health. At the same time, it will foster in you a desire to take care of the natural environment.