The Nature Embedded Mind: How the Way We Think Can Heal Our Planet and Ourselves

by Julie Brams

The Nature Embedded Mind explores some of the most vital questions our culture is facing, regarding the broken relationship between humans and nature. Our persistent and shared delusion that we are different from the rest of nature is at the heart of why we behave in ways that destroy our own habitat. Focusing on our personal and collective beliefs, The Nature Embedded Mind shows how we can begin healing the most important relationship we have, our relationship with Earth. These pages combine the latest scientific research, personal stories, and writing prompts that will allow you to expand your own thinking. Challenging Western psychology, this book aims to prioritize its offered repair as the new foundation for mental health and social wellness.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature

176 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2025

Reviews

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a helpful reminder of how crucial it is to return to a way of thinking that puts us in relationship with everything around us. The intention and passion behind this is clearly felt through the book. I think it would be a helpful guide for people who are new to these concepts.

3.5 stars rounded up

[Celine Colbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed reading about the importance of a natural connection from the perspective of a therapist. It was a refreshing change from those approaching it from the natural and scientific background.

That being said, I feel like it reads a little like an infomercial for one specific brand of forest therapy accreditation in an emerging field where their are a lot of great paths to helping people gain a place in nature.

[Julia de’Caneva · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a conversation starter, in that, you'll want to talk to everyone you know about it. It explores how the rift between humans and the rest of Nature is causing us and our planet enormous suffering. But rather than doom and gloom, the book offers a path forward for deep transformation and healing. It challenges us to consider how shifting one simple thought (the delusion of separation) could change everything. I appreciate how the author offers reflections at the end of of each chapter because it takes the book from purely conceptual into how you can actually start to shift your relationship to Nature.

Even, and maybe especially if, you've been feeling overwhelmed by the state of the world, I recommend you read this as a fresh take on moving forward. And then maybe give all of your friends a copy so we can start to make some real change, together.

[Hugh Asher · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Nature Embedded Mind boldly tackles one of the most pressing cultural dilemmas of our time: the psychological and ecological cost of viewing humans as separate from the natural world. In this thoughtful and accessible work, psychotherapist Julie Brams invites readers on a reflective journey that challenges deeply embedded assumptions in Western thought — namely, that human minds and societies exist above or apart from the rest of Earth.

Brams argues that this illusion of human exceptionalism isn’t just philosophical — it shapes our behaviour in ways that contribute to environmental degradation and psychological disconnection. By unpacking how personal and collective belief systems have drifted from an ecocentric worldview, she offers a bridge back to a way of seeing ourselves as part of nature, not separate from it.

What distinguishes this book from many other environmental and psychological texts is the way in which Brams interweaves scientific research, vivid personal stories, and reflective writing prompts that encourage readers to engage with their own patterns of thought. These elements make the book not just an intellectual argument, but a practical invitation to inner transformation.

The writing is both earnest and accessible, balancing ecological urgency with a gentle emphasis on personal growth and healing. Throughout the book, Brams challenges the reader to entertain not just what we think about nature, but how we think about nature — and how shifting this can alter not only individual wellbeing, but collective action toward planetary care.

In essence, The Nature Embedded Mind is both a psychological guide and an ecological manifesto: a call to re-root the human mind in nature in order to heal both the self and the world that we inhabit.

[Roxanne Darling · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a deeply sourced book about living with and learning from nature. There's a reason this topic is front and center right now, and Julie reveals how her experiences have enlivened her life as well as those of many others. It is partially addressed to psychotherapists, but just put on your self-help hat in those parts to gain a deeper understanding of what's at work when connecting to nature as a peer, not as separate. As a fellow forest bathing guide, I appreciated her sharing of those experiences and hope more of you will find time to go do some forest therapy! 💚

Thank you for the review copy. As a fellow forest therapy guide, I am grateful to have more of this nature wisdom out in the world for all to experience.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Nature Embedded Mind offers a thoughtful and timely exploration of how our thinking shapes our relationship with the Earth. Julie Brams challenges the deep-seated belief that humans are separate from nature and shows how this perceived divide has contributed to both ecological destruction and psychospiritual disconnection. Combining scientific insights, personal narrative, and reflective prompts grounded in the practice of forest therapy, the book invites readers to rethink their relationship with the natural world—not as distant observers, but as beings inherently embedded within it. I highly recommend this inspirational read—so needed for our times!

[Katelyn Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many good insights that really made me think differently about how I experience nature and the ways in which I naturally participate in some of the concepts mentioned. As an avid birder and hiker I never really thought about how experiencing nature is different when doing it without a specific goal in mind. Almost every time I go outside I feel I have a goal (mostly to identify birds). I was called back to my college days when I would follow my curiosity around the campus woodlot and explore whatever peaked my interest. I remember feeling so calm and connected to nature at that time.

I highlighted several passages in this book that I felt really connected to.

“It’s quite possible that what we know of ourselves now is solely how we behave within the limits of a social structure founded on that false premise.”

This one really made me think. After reading it I immediately told several people close to me about this concept. I feel very motivated now to go out and see what I might heal within myself and the current relationship I have with nature just by sitting, observing, and letting it call to me.

[Scott Horsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Julie Brams offers us profound invitations to rethink the way we relate to the Earth and ourselves. The book beautifully illustrates how wounds caused by competition and domination have distanced us from a true connection with the Land. Bram offers insights and reflects on her Forest practices, how deep and lasting change comes from cultivating full-bodied, heart centred connection with the world around us. I found the book to be reflective and actionable, offering guidance for personal growth, mental wellness and regeneration with our ecosystem. I highly recommend to anyone seeking a new foundation for inner balance, awareness and engagement with the bigger community.

[Chris Schweitzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Nature Embedded ind did a good job explaining forest therapy without trying to sell it, and recognizing that people needed to have their own journey to explore connections to nature. The author also nicely differentiated between forest therapy and meditation in nature and mindfulness meditation, I’d recommend this book as an enjoyable exploration of forest therapy. It helped me learn about this new practice and consider looking into it further.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful and compelling exploration of a nature-centric mindset. I recommend to anyone eager to unlearn separation and participate with the non-human world.

- Maia Kiley, psychotherapist & ecotherapist in NYC

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a wonderful book all about how we can reshape our relationship with nature as an equal, as opposed to feeling superior to. I like that I fit the audience as both a human and also a therapist that works with humans! Definitely recommend if you're interested in how to re-establish your relationship to our earth!


Thank you to Book Publicity Services Inc. & the author for an honest review in exchange for an e-copy of this book !

[Meryl Arnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book - it was such a beautiful exploration of rediscovering nature as self. I loved learning about the author's journey to becoming a certified nature therapist (a path I've considered myself). It gave me lots to think about and explore in my own practice.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 🌟
I found this difficult to get through at times, but I can’t stop thinking about it since finishing it.
It is written primarily for mental health professionals, specifically those interested in nature guiding - since I wasn’t the intended core audience, certain sections were a bit too detailed or “in the weeds” for me.
What I loved was hearing about the importance of mending our broken relationship with the earth and other beings, and the introduction of the concept of nature therapy.

[Jess Rodriguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

A personal account of Julie Brams’ experience undergoing the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy certification and training. This book summarizes the work of Amos Clifford and Ben Page in regards to ANFT, while adding on Julie’s personal journey of reconnecting to nature. She outlines her own push and pull through her journey and ultimately advocates for the integration of nature based healing into all of our work, especially licensed clinicians. A quick read and look into a forest bathing trainee and guide’s mind.

[Christopher Hurtado · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brams’s thesis is revolutionary. While it might seem obvious, it has been obscured by reason. Yet, reason affirms it: humans are not separate from nature, but are part of it. This truth, obscured by Western thought from the Ancient Greeks through the Industrial Revolution, is now reaffirmed by reason.

Greek philosophy elevated human rationality above nature, the Judeo-Christian tradition reinforced dominion over the earth, and the Scientific Revolution, Enlightenment, and Industrial Revolution further deepened the divide through mechanistic and exploitative views of nature.

Drawing from her own rediscovery, Brams invites us to remember what we once knew as children: we are part of nature. She urges us to reimagine a world where we live by this truth and thrive together with the rest of nature.

[Paul Fehringer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although this book brought out the necessity to understand that we are part of nature and we need to reconnect with the natural world, I felt the way it was presented did not connect with me. Throughout the book I felt like I was attending a clinical psychology lecture. The parts of the book that were presented for the layman, I felt like I was reading an advertisement for the ANFT, a company that charges close to $4k to "certify" you so that they can pay their Chief Operations Officer over $400k annually.

I have done forest bathing and forest therapy successfully without paying a guide or doing it in a group. There are many ways to do forest therapy and ANFT is not necessarily the best.

I guess I would have been more satisfied with the book if it was written less for clinicians and had more methods to change how we think about our connection with the natural world.

If you are a clinician or someone who wants to learn "corporate forest Bathing" then this book is probably a good fit for you. If you are just a nature lover looking to learn more about how to connect with nature more or how nature can heal us, then I would look elsewhere.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Nature Embedded Mind is a thoughtful and timely exploration of one of the most urgent challenges of our time: our perceived separation from nature. While I’ve read works by founders and scientists in the field of forest therapy, this book feels more like a personal and humbling journey — an invitation to pause, reflect, and reconnect with something primal within us.

The author, Julie, weaves together research, story, and reflection in a way that gently challenges Western psychology’s framework and instead proposes that true mental health and social wellness begin with repairing our relationship to Earth. As a forest therapy guide, I deeply resonated with the call to examine not just our professional path, but our inner beliefs about who we are in relation to the natural world.

This book feels less like instruction and more like remembrance — a reminder that we are not separate from nature, but embedded within it. It left me inspired, reflective, and creatively stirred.

[Sekar Writes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full review and summary.

A thoughtful and grounding exploration of our relationship with the natural world. The author introduces some terms, one of them is reEarthing, a way of seeing ourselves as part of nature rather than apart from it through stories, forest therapy insights, and reflection invitations. It’s both informative and deeply reflective, perfect for readers interested in mindfulness, ecology, or reconnecting with nature on a personal level. It beautifully explores what it means to reconnect with the Earth and remember that we belong to it, not above it. I especially loved the reflection invitations where they turn reading into a mindful practice. A reminder that healing ourselves and healing the planet often begin in the same place.

[Kirsten Rudestam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this to be a really thoughtful and accessible exploration of how our perceived separation from nature shapes both personal and planetary harm. What I found most touching was her humility—she invites readers into an ongoing and genuine process of inquiry rather than positioning herself as an authority by tracing her own growth and personal process. I also appreciated her commitment to decenter the human, as she grapples with her own conditioned anthropocentrism. I loved her invitation to interrogate our language -- I personally resolve to refrain from describing myself as connecting to the natural world and instead adopt the phrase "myself and the rest of the nature." So beautiful! This book ultimately feels less like a prescription (what a relief!) and more like a companion in reorienting toward a more relational and embedded way of being.

[Jenna La Bollita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you, Book Publicity Services, for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a review!

I enjoyed reading this book, though it did feel like an amalgamation of ideas I’ve already come across in other places. That said, I think it works really well as a starting point for anyone new to thinking about the connection between mind, body, and environment. The writing is clear and accessible, and I appreciated the thoughtful, reflective tone throughout. It just didn’t feel especially groundbreaking for me personally - but more so a great reminder, validation of my place within everything, and absolutely still a solid, worthwhile read.

[Jerome · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a forest therapy guide, I loved to read about Julie's experience learning how to "just be" and learn the way of the guide. I appreciated her perspectives on interbeing and has helped me clarify the way I view my relationship with the more-than-human-world. The journal prompts sprinkled throughout the book were good to ponder and just let sit in my consciousness. I've enjoyed reading the book thus far and look forward to seeing how her experience as a guide and nature advocate evolves.

[Sami Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Nature Embedded Mind follows one woman’s journey to a deep, deep nature connection. It was delightful reading as she drew us into her first major time camping during her Forest Therapy certification program! This journey- to a nature embodied way of being- is one that I wish so many more people would follow. The Nature Embedded Mind points the way.

[Charlotte Fay - the starlight pages · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really interesting book. A first hand account of Julie Banes’ experience in becoming a nature therapy guide. I really enjoyed the quotes at the beginning of each section. I had hoped there would be some more science based factual evidence. But on the whole it was an interesting read that really focuses on our need to reconnect with nature if we want to protect our planet.

[Alexandra Brinzac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book that supports you in connecting more deeply with the Earth and nurturing our Earth-body💚 As a forest therapy practitioner myself, I highly recommend it for anyone that feels curious about the practice or wants to find companionship & inspiration ✨

[Lisa Rychlik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, interesting theory of our relationship with nature. Honestly gave me so much to think about, planning on rereading it. Recommended read for sure!

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a good reminder that we humans are not separate from nature, but rather a part of it, and by remembering this, we can begin to build and heal the relationship we have with Earth/nature. One thing I appreciated about this book were the invitations to reflect while reading. Highly recommend for anyone who feels discouraged by the current news cycle/state of our planet and is seeking a way to feel reconnected with the planet.