Connecting with Naturescapes
Section Overview

The power of ecopsychological practice is found in the connections we make and the action we take from the mirrors, messages, dreams and visions received from the natural environment. These messages can be life-changing, mind-expanding, and heart-warming. Stories in this section Connecting with Naturescapes, describe the link between the personal and the spiritual where the inner journey of transformation matches the outer journey in nature.

Entering into the rainforest, there’s a sense of awe mixed with the damp musky atmosphere, the luscious green surroundings, the chatter of birds, and the gigantic trees. In Connecting with Tropical Nature, Joanna Gilligan steps into the northern Queensland rainforest and discovers a power she takes home with her. But sustaining this feeling back in the city is a hard task.

There are still patches of old growth forest in Australia but most are the site of tough environmental action. But the potential for healing through connection with the forest is ignored by those who see the forest in narrow economic terms, Nick Alsop shows us another way through Spirit/Nature/Self Connections.

Picking up rubbish on the beach and being confronted by piles of plastic washed up along the shore, Rosemary Baillie realises that the anger she feels at humanity’s short-sightedness can be washed away by the power of the waves. It is her Sacred Ecology Of Service With The Sea.

In Forest Nature Connecting Jenny Fancis explores her changing relationship with forestscape - from one of experiencing the shadow to one of reverence and feeling at home.

One of the core activities in the Social and Sacred course was to spend a night in the forest, connecting with self, the local terrain and the locals. Mark Boulet explores his experiences of being in the forest and brings back to the city a lesson in humility in his story, A Night in the Forest.

Landscapes of the Heart is a collaboration containing some of the finest nature writing and reflection. The book touched reviewer Sylvie Shaw deeply.