Mindfulness and the Natural World: Bringing our Awareness Back to Nature

Tiempo de Mirar

by Claire Thompson

Mindfulness & the Natural World explores what it means to connect with nature and how we can learn from nature to be more mindful in everyday life. Claire Thompson takes us on an engaging journey into the natural world and encourages us to experience its beauty and intrinsic value through the art of mindfulness. Through personal anecdotes and proven insights, she reveals how a deeper awareness of the natural world is key to inspiring us to care about and protect nature, and developing a more sustainable world.

Genres: Nature, Self Help, Spirituality, Buddhism, Nonfiction, Environment

146 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Shawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book; I recommend it. However, it is not a story; it's a book for your bedside, to pick up and read when your novel is not at hand. I believe this author's observances about Nature, that not only are we IN it when we look out the window...we ARE Nature. Our breath is the same as the wind, and when we die, our molecules are going into the ocean and into a tree leaf. I find that a wonderful idea!

[Kylie Mason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book! Really makes you stop and look around once in a while. "The practice of mindfulness of the natural world changes our relationship with ourselves and with the rest of life, moving toward one of harmony and connection."

[Sherri Anderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Parts of the book were very good but there was so much redundancy that it took away from the good parts. I did like the people he quoted from.

[Bri Lu · Rating 3 out of 5]

"𝕃𝕒 𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕒 è 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕟𝕠 𝕒 𝕟𝕠𝕚 𝕖 𝕕𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕣𝕠 𝕕𝕚 𝕟𝕠𝕚, 𝕠𝕧𝕦𝕟𝕢𝕦𝕖 𝕤𝕚𝕒𝕞𝕠 𝕖 𝕢𝕦𝕒𝕝𝕦𝕟𝕢𝕦𝕖 𝕔𝕠𝕤𝕒 𝕔𝕚 𝕒𝕔𝕔𝕒𝕕𝕒"

[Kayla Alexandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

monotonous and, boring?

as someone who already has these beliefs, the author added nothing new or interesting to my own prior knowledge.

good bedside book for someone new to these topics

[Jas (Jaswoahreads) · Rating 2 out of 5]

"when I'm anxious I simply go outside and look at a tree and I'm cured 😌" x 140 pages

[MystikMila · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book came into my life at the perfect time. I was feeling disconnected due to moving back to the US after spending about a decade in my home country, Chile, and falling in love with having a diverse abundance of nature all around me at all times, even in the city. Having mountains to my right and the beach to my left felt like a big hug that I still miss every day. It made moving to Dallas incredibly difficult as I struggled to perceive nature. I longed to feel at home again.

It was a beautiful surprise to read that the author also fell in love with Chile, and includes vibrant descriptions of her encounters with nature there and in other parts of the world as well, all of these encounters being what inspired this book.

If you’re already experienced in mindfulness and meditation and are looking for advanced explanations of the science behind the benefits to these practices, this might not be the right book for you but it does have practical mindfulness exercises that are perfect to do while outdoors. One is the well known “body scan”, either to start your mindfulness journey or to go back to basics and strengthen your foundation by adding an increased connection to nature. Another is the cultivation of “loving-kindness” or Metta, a Buddhist concept that directs love towards all beings, starting from ourselves and even extending to people we may have a hard time with. I know this type of compassion or benevolence is present in all systems of belief in some way, but the explicit expression of these feelings through this Buddhist meditation was beautiful and in my opinion, is suitable for anyone to try. She also speaks about the value of learning lessons on abilities and principles such as acceptance, patience, interconnectedness and impermanence from nature’s wisdom as opposed to only learning about nature as a subject.

I’ve taken this book to the park, the arboretum, the lake, the pool and on my walks through the neighborhood and in each place I have enjoyed the insights it offers. My favorite practice in the book has been the idea of “gifting” one’s full attention to nature, guiding you through with the example of a single flower. It seems strange in the beginning, even for a person like me who has unironically hugged trees before. But after a few times, I often found myself enjoying spontaneous little moments of connection like this with nature.

I believe this book has helped me adjust to change and to learn to love nature in all its expressions (especially when it’s not as apparent or just hiding between buildings and concrete). On today’s walk, reading the last mindfulness practice, I noticed how much I’ve been enjoying my new neighborhood. I feel motivated to go out to spot some bright yellow flowers on cacti, following chubby doves and squirrels, stopping to greet random cats soaking in the sunlight next to a mural, smelling the fresh cut grass from some well manicured lawns and walking past others full of fuzzy dandelions overflowing onto the sidewalk.

It truly doesn’t take much. Full days immersed in nature are amazing but small moments of connection are just as great as is stated in this book. These small steps have brought me a lot of peace and happiness, even some great nature pics following the photography tips in the book. I highly recommend reading this: to anyone who has felt sudden disconnection from nature perhaps due to moving as was my case, and to people who may have grown up feeling separate from nature and want to start developing their awareness of it, and also to anyone with a general interest in mindfulness.

[Jay Yanzo · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is very basic and I find repeats itself in the writers anecdotes to get the same point across that nature is beautiful and all that really matters, below are some points it touched on that I liked however at the 3/4 mark I had to put the book down as the repetition was making the book stale, I went on to read the Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle which goes into much more detail around mindfulness.

My favourite points from this book:
We are connected to nature through the air we breathe, the purpose of life is to exist, nature teaches us nothing else really matters

Mindfulness explained as the ocean waves being our mind (thoughts and emotions), the waves can push our life in the direction of our thoughts, the surfboard being mindfulness, teaches us we can observe the thoughts and emotions without letting them dictate our behaviour, watching the waves go by. 🌊

Our mind is programmed for survival, however the world we live in has changed and it is no longer our primary concern, we have turned the search for Happiness into our main problem, in search for a constant state of feeling good with things such as having more money, a house, a career, having a good body. However the search for constant pleasure ultimately leads to depression, anxiety, self doubt and unhappiness.

Our mind is connected to our body, appreciative positive thoughts tend to make us feel physically more relaxed.

The disconnnection of nature has led to “nature deficit dissorder”, resulting in anxiety, depression, obesity, etc

Nature does not belong to us we are part of it, we cut down rain forests, destroy natural habitats and overfish the sea and this is leading to collapse of all life on earth… we need to remind ourselves we are killing ourselves when we destroy nature.

[Áine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es un libro precioso con grandes enseñanzas, tiene muy buenas reflexiones.
Sin embargo discrepo con la filosofía barata de que el dinero no trae la facilidad, te lo dice una autora que ha vivido parte de las experiencias que la han inspirado viajando a diversos lugares maravillosos del planeta. Nosotros como resto de mundanos no tenemos siempre esas posibilidades. No obstante si pienso que podemos disfrutar de la naturaleza que nos rodea y hacer que mejore nuestra sensación anímica y percepción de la vida.

[Tim Turnbull · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful book that reminds the reader how to focus on the environment around us - and use mindfulness techniques to enhance our relationship with the natural environment.

I loved the many delightful quotes in the book. One of my favourites was: "I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery - air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, 'This is what it is to be happy. " from The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath

[Mr Antony J Mizen · Rating 4 out of 5]

One omission?

A lovely book but there seemed to be one important thing missing in the discussion about kindness and compassion towards animals. The author never explicitly suggested that we refrain from killing them for food or exploiting them for commercial products. Maybe it was too obvious to mention...

[Arthur Navarro · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is more of a relax/ learn to relax type. Cute and paints you some pretty pictures, but can be repetitive at times. I do recommend to anyone who is curious about mindfulness and how to practice it.

[Merceditas · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pongo una estrella porque no puedo poner menos. Un libro hueco, la nada misma. Mejor leer a Stefano Mancuso,.si interesa conocer y entender la naturaleza y nuestro lugar en ella. Lástima haber gastado tanto dinero. Caí en la trampa al ver que editaba Siruela, que tenía en alta estima.

[Mary · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reading this book was like being stuck in a never-ending yoga class where the instructor won’t stop talking about how beautiful trees are. The book attempts to merge mindfulness with the appreciation of nature, but it delivers neither enlightenment nor inspiration. It is insipid.

[Eleonor · Rating 1 out of 5]

The tone sometimes borders on preachy, and the lack of scientific or philosophical depth makes it feel more like a stream-of-consciousness blog post than a thoughtfully constructed book. The writing feels repetitive and overly sentimental.

[Nat · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read about half the book but found it rather vacuous, especially in comparison to other mindfulness books I've enjoyed. The cover is beautiful, though.

[Logan Norton · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a simple read but it made me think of the world around me and what I’m doing with my time with was something i genuinely needed to do.

[Ni · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely book to handle; its faux retro woodcut illustrations and Trust grey binding speak of the love and understanding that Claire has for the natural world. It's the kind of how-to book I like which I have to put down at regular intervals in order to go outside and learn about nature around me. I hope it has the same effect on other readers.
Claire is at her best in describing her inspiring encounters with nature and she clearly knows her science and avoids the all-too-prevalent overstatement of the benefits of nature study. Her meditations are valuable and reminiscent of Ferrucci's dis-identifying [[ASIN:0874772621 What We May Be: Techniques for Psychological and Spiritual Growth]] and Shakti Gawain's Creative Visualization [[ASIN:1577312295 Creative Visualization]]
I'm witholding one star because the audience for the book is not clear to me. Claire's frequent use of the pronoun "we" set me wondering. Who is she addressing? I'm already a convert. Novelists rarely use 'we' because it presumes to summarise the views and feelings of many people at once. Its use carries the risk of overlooking diversity and spreading banality.
A reliance on intuition and a call to a return to nature is familiar from the Romantic writers of the 18th and 19th century, Byron and Shelley, for instance, whose achievements and faults have been well documented by writers such as Daisy Hay [[ASIN:1408809729 Young Romantics: The Shelleys, Byron and Other Tangled Lives]]. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein can be seen a warning of the dangers of the romantic pursuit of curiosity. Henry David Thoreau, ascetic hermit, comes in for much praise for recognising the power of being in nature.
So overall, read it, lend it out but don't fall for the e-book!

[Eba · Rating 2 out of 5]

Un libro bastante mediocre, con un concepto muy vago, prosa infantil y a menudo cursi.
Me quedo con las recomendaciones que hace de otros artistas (Debussy, Thoreau...) y con la conclusión ecológica final:
La gente no protege a lo que no ama ni conoce anteriormente. Por eso, para promover el espíritu ecologista, un buen plan de ataque sería acercar y reconectar a la población con la naturaleza. La divulgación de estudios y datos sería más útil como paso siguiente, para apoyar acciones concretas, una vez inculcada esta conciencia de unión natural.

[Tor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book spoke to me deeply. Every word written resonated with my own passion for, and connection to, nature and the natural world.

It also includes this great quote from The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath: "I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery - air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, 'This is what it is to be happy.'"

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book should be a mandatory read for all human beings alive on this earth. We need to realize that we humans are not the only living beings in the world. We are not superior to plants or animals just because we have more advanced brains and the capacity to design and innovate. We are one with nature and always will be. Beautiful, inspiring book.

[Nay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this read but think it’s more suited to those only just starting out on their relationship with nature. The book contains some nice mindfulness exercises but Thompson repeats herself a lot and at points the whole thing feels a little twee. I’d recommend it as a good starting point for those new to the subject.

[Hannah Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delight to read; I thoroughly enjoyed this book. What a lovely guide to reconnecting with the wondrous powers of our natural world through mindful awareness. A book I am sure to return to periodically - whenever life becomes overwhelming, or I simply find myself a little detached from the boundless joys of Earth's flora, fauna, and mesmerising land-forms.

[Cloay · Rating 3 out of 5]

- available in SG NLB 616.891425 (Bt Merah)