Partnering with Nature

by Catriona MacGregor

Partnering with Nature is a simple book with a powerful message: our connections to the natural environment— and ultimately, to ourselves—are crucial in today’s fragmented world. As each successive generation moves farther away from nature, the growing disconnect is expressed through physical as well as mental stress, from depression and fatigue in adults to attention disorders and obesity in children. The way we relate to nature helps define our place within it, and by awakening this natural, yet dormant connection to the environment around us, we can move beyond solitary stewardship and into partnership.

In Partnering with Nature, Catriona MacGregor weaves together scientific and historical wisdom, spiritual insights, and inspiring stories that illuminate the energies that link humans, animals, and the natural world. Through observation and conscious practice, we can open up to the power of nature to transform our lives, uplift our spirits, and even to direct our bodies to a healthier potential. For everyone who has a sense of something missing, who wishes to make a difference in their world, who yearns to reclaim their sense of wonder and awe, or who struggles with their health or emotional balance—nature speaks to all who will listen.

Genres: Nature, Environment, Spirituality, Paganism, Nonfiction

306 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 8, 2009

Reviews

[Elise Blair · Rating 1 out of 5]

She lost me when she said she saw Jesus.

[Nandie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was excited to start this book about connecting with nature. There was a lot of history, stories and a bit of science which i didn’t really care for. She lost me when she was talking about the bobcat and said she saw Jesus. I couldn’t take the book seriously after that and overall it just wasn’t for me. I skimmed through the last half of the book. 2 stars.

[Catriona MacGregor · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.”

-Amy Racina
Author “Angels in the Wilderness”

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

While some of this book is a bit above my level of spirituality (I need more XP to level up, clearly, haha), the concepts in it really got me thinking about how I could connect more with the world around me. Some really good ideas for meditating and focusing one’s intentions, as well as wonderful stories and poems. My only criticism is that it felt a bit disjointed; some of the sections just didn’t flow very well. It may have been intentional, to give readers a spot to put the book down and think about what they’d read, but I’d rather be able to read a whole chapter at once and then let it sink in.

[Jeannie Kilburn · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book was interesting.