Taming our ancestors
When friends wax lyrical about their family trees, I have always kept quiet, very quiet. My ancestors, sadly, were not a nice bunch of people. So I felt slightly anxious …
Holotropic breathwork – making the psyche whole
I’m lying on a padded mattress, surrounded by cushions and I’m breathing fast. The music is loud, deep, rhythmic, insistent. My body starts to curl and I have the strangest …
Wild Swimming
I’m not one of life’s natural swimmers – you won’t find me ploughing up and down the local swimming pool – but I can’t resist a spot of wild swimming. …
Stargazing – finding perspective
I’m truly blessed to live on Exmoor. It’s been designated the first International ‘Dark Sky Reserve’ in Europe and, come nightfall, the universe puts on a spectacular display. There really …
Beltane – the wild and wonderful festival of May
The lessons of May are about freedom, about energy and about determination. It’s a dynamic time – not just of growth but of destruction too. As Shan, pagan priestess and …
Sometimes a Wild God
Sometimes you’re just browsing through Twitter, through the timeline of a friend. Just browsing, killing time, not really looking for anything much at all. Just watching the moments as the …
Who were you as a child?
Who were you as a child? Who were you before you learned to behave in ways that your family, your teachers, your peers, society deemed ‘correct’? What were your passions …
The Hedgerow Handbook by Adele Nozedar
Adele Nozedar is a bit of a legend. I first met her in London, way back when I was working on the Evening Standard, pretending to be a music journalist while she …
Dream healing – a Greek pilgrimage
Several years back I went to The Spirit of Life Centre, based on the Peloponnese in mainland Greece. They do a ton of yoga retreats and walking holidays, and ‘just …
The Natural Year: the energy of spring
There were primroses along the banks as I walked up into the woods this morning. The wild garlic was shooting up and a haze of green was shimmering over the …
Eco-literature for teens? Can books help save the planet?
I wrote my teen novel, Walker, several years ago. It’s the story of a boy who dies and who comes back to life as a shaman, a walker between worlds. It’s aimed …
On Blackden – Alan Garner, myth & magic
There are places that touch the soul so deeply it hurts. It’s like standing at the front of a ferry breathing into the wind, loving the exhilaration yet gasping …