Soul Of Wilderness

"Linda and I are fortunate to live near the western mountains of British Columbia, which contain some of the last wilderness areas in North America outside of the arctic. This is an area that supports grizzly bears and wolverines, where salmon run wild and the wolves and mountain goats roam through areas that have not changed since the arrival of Europeans to North America. This book is a look at those wilderness areas: their beauty, their essence, their soul." --John Baldwin In this modern world, where it is estimated that three quarters of the earth's ice-free land mass has been altered by humans, how many people have ever been somewhere they could truly experience pristine wilderness? Few mountain ranges in the world are as wild or beautiful as BC and Alaska's Coast Mountains. From remote fjords to soaring summits, North America's westernmost mountains offer innumerable challenges and sublime delights. And yet they remain relatively unexplored. Partners, co-authors and photographers John Baldwin and Linda Bily have ventured into the magical landscapes of the Coast Mountains. Travelling by foot and ski, their goal was simply to experience and document as much of these remote places as possible--to wander across the high meadows, ski from mountain tops and revel in the artful patterns of new-fallen snow. This stunning coffee-table book is sure to inspire readers to discover and connect with the intense beauty of this mountain wilderness.

This powerful book draws on the tradition of the prophet emerging from the wasteland to help waken the mystic within each of us, guide our modern spiritual journey into our own inner desert, and there to have a direct experience of God.

Winner of the 2022 Rachel Carson Environment Book Award * Winner of the 2022 Science in Society Journalism Award (Books) * Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize “Thoughtful, insightful, and wise, Wild Souls is a landmark work.”--Ed Yong, author of An Immense World "Fascinating . . . hands-on philosophy, put to test in the real world . . . Marris believes that our idea of wildness--our obsession with purity--is misguided. No animal remains untouched by human hands . . . the science isn't the hard part. The real challenge is the ethics, the act of imagining our appropriate place in that world." --Outside Magazine From an acclaimed environmental writer, a groundbreaking and provocative new vision for our relationships with--and responsibilities toward--the planet's wild animals. Protecting wild animals and preserving the environment are two ideals so seemingly compatible as to be almost inseparable. But in fact, between animal welfare and conservation science there exists a space of underexamined and unresolved tension: wildness itself. When is it right to capture or feed wild animals for the good of their species? How do we balance the rights of introduced species with those already established within an ecosystem? Can hunting be ecological? Are any animals truly wild on a planet that humans have so thoroughly changed? No clear guidelines yet exist to help us resolve such questions. Transporting readers into the field with scientists tackling these profound challenges, Emma Marris tells the affecting and inspiring stories of animals around the globe--from Peruvian monkeys to Australian bilbies, rare Hawai'ian birds to majestic Oregon wolves. And she offers a companionable tour of the philosophical ideas that may steer our search for sustainability and justice in the non-human world. Revealing just how intertwined animal life and human life really are, Wild Souls will change the way we think about nature-and our place within it.

We live in times of quiet desperation. As our culture removes itself from the natural world, we have lost the truth of who we are. Could Wilderness be our only hope? Come along on a spiritual journey, away from a chaotic world of details, obligations, smartphones and noisy machines, to a place that is unspoiled, untamed, and free. Mostly solo, Stillman guides us into the heart of American Wilderness where we uncover timeless wisdom, ancient magic, and a Gateway to the Soul. Could our truth be hidden deep in the cracks and fissures of the Earth? You'll adore this love letter to Mother Earth because it captures the essence of what wilderness and solitude can offer to the human soul. It's hard to put down. Get it now.

Soul initiation is an essential spiritual adventure that most of the world has forgotten — or not yet discovered. Here, visionary ecopsychologist Bill Plotkin maps this journey, one that has not been previously illuminated in the contemporary Western world and yet is vital for the future of our species and our planet. Based on the experiences of thousands of people, this book provides phase-by-phase guidance for the descent to soul — the dissolution of current identity; the encounter with the mythopoetic mysteries of soul; and the metamorphosis of the ego into a cocreator of life-enhancing culture. Plotkin illustrates each phase of this riveting and sometimes hazardous odyssey with fascinating stories from many people, including those he has guided. Throughout he weaves an in-depth exploration of Carl Jung's Red Book — and an innovative framework for understanding it.

Since 1980, depth psychologist Bill Plotkin has been guiding women and men into the wilderness — the redrock canyons and snow-crested mountains of the American West — but also into the wilds of the soul. He calls this work soulcraft. There’s a great longing in all people to uncover the secrets and mysteries of our individual lives, to find the unique gift we were born to bring to our communities, and to experience our full membership in the more-than-human world. This journey to soul is a descent into layers of the self much deeper than personality, a journey meant for each one of us, not just for the heroes and heroines of mythology. A modern handbook for the journey, Soulcraft is not an imitation of indigenous ways, but a contemporary nature-based approach born from wilderness experience, the traditions of Western culture, and the cross-cultural heritage of all humanity. Filled with stories, poems, and guidelines, Soulcraft introduces over 40 practices that facilitate the descent to soul, including dreamwork, wilderness vision fasts, talking across the species boundaries, council, self-designed ceremony, nature-based shadow work, and the arts of romance, being lost, and storytelling.

• The author is a distinguished member of the Explorers Club • The author is an unexpected adventurer, disarmingly positive and companionable • Lively stories of remote treks around the world Way Out There is an account of J. Robert Harris’s extraordinary exploits while backpacking in some of the world’s most tantalizing places―largely alone and unsupported. And after almost fifty years of wilderness travel, “J. R.,” as he’s known, has plenty of tales to tell! His stories are by turns funny, tragic, and uplifting, and are all told in his down‐to‐earth, friendly style. For J. R., it all began in 1966 when, as a young New Yorker, he impulsively drives his VW Beetle across the country to the very end of the northernmost road in Alaska, searching for an answer to a simple question: What is it like to be way out there? How this happened, whom he met, and what he encountered along the way became the foundation for a lifelong attraction to trekking and adventure travel. Subsequent chapters chronologically explore some of his many journeys, revealing an enduring wanderlust honed by his emerging maturity and outdoor skills. Stories of J. R.’s solo treks point to stark contrasts between his urban upbringing and his wilderness wanderings, while tales of adventure with small but diverse groups of friends are enriched by their collective experiences and varying viewpoints about exploration. Way Out There is a lively yet introspective book by a restless soul that will attract countless readers who love to travel, as well as armchair adventurers and communities looking for outdoor role models. The foreword is by the late Dr. Roscoe C. Brown, Jr., one of the famed Tuskegee Airmen fighter pilots during World War I

"In the pages of Reclaiming the Wild Soul, the forests and mountains, the deserts and the oceans, the rivers and the grasslands find their voice. Once heard, we can never forget what they have to say. Nor do we want to. May we all follow the summons and embark on such a journey. Thompson's field guide illuminates the way." --Clare Dakin, Founder, TreeSisters "Woven with enchanting stories and wise counsel, Reclaiming the Wild Soul lavishly supports us, at this time of global crisis/opportunity, to return, emboldened, to Earth and to our own human wildness." --Bill Plotkin, author of Wild Mind: A Field Guide to the Human Psyche and Soulcraft: Crossing into the Mysteries of Nature and Psyche Beyond the chaos and stresses of our modern age, there lies a forgotten yet primal terrain rich in wisdom, healing, and wholeness. In Reclaiming the Wild Soul, Mary Reynolds Thompson takes us on a journey into Earth's five great landscapes as aspects of our deeper, wilder selves. There, where the inner and outer worlds meet, we discover within our souls: the silence and simplicity of deserts the mystery of forests the flow of oceans and rivers the inspiration of mountains the regenerative spirit of grasslands Once awakened, these "soulscapes" reveal the beauty and magnificence of our own true nature--and a path of personal transformation aligned with the healing of the wild Earth. Reclaiming the Wild Soul is simultaneously self-help and a courageous call to action for our times.