The best books on nature spirits

Why am I passionate about this?

Following a herbal and homeopathic pathway for 20 years has taken me on many insightful and inspiring tangents. One of those being the passion to commune with nature spirits and learn directly from herbs.  This practice has led me on many a fine adventure (one of which Wild Flower Walker contains) and continues to be a rich source of teachings and growth. I have been teaching these practices for the last 11 years and offer courses in Shamanic Herbalism; Herbal Alchemy; & Plant Spirit Communication. These books have been treasures and catalysts for me and I hope they will open your heart further to the rich world of nature spirits.


I wrote...

Wild Flower Walker: A Pilgrimage to Nature on the Bibbulmun Track

By Heidi Wedd,

Book cover of Wild Flower Walker: A Pilgrimage to Nature on the Bibbulmun Track

What is my book about?

It sounded like heaven! A 967km walking track traversing nature reserves in Western Australia. To wander alone through a beauty-filled, wildflower-abundant, and varied landscape of forest, plains, and ocean. Imagine the bliss of walking for weeks on end, deepening into the silence, communing with the nature spirits - a pilgrimage into the heart of nature.  

But dreams are never quite like reality.  Yet even with endurance challenges, freezing conditions, food shortages, plenty of snakes, and a few pairs of walking boots, the indescribable beauty and magic of the heart’s path shines through. Sprinkled with communications with the nature spirits, this is the story of a gentle reweaving and reconnection of a woman within the tapestry of Nature itself.

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Findhorn Garden: Pioneering a New Vision of Man and Nature in Cooperation

Heidi Wedd Why did I love this book?

Any reading on nature spirits has to include a book or two from the Findhorn community or Dorothy Maclean - one of its founders and plant spirit communicator. I recommend this one as it contains not only insights from many plant devas and landscape devas, but a broad overview of the formation of the Findhorn Community itself - which occurred in direct communication and cocreation with the plant devas themselves. A fascinating and eye-opening read. 

By The Findhorn Community,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Findhorn Garden as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Members of the Scottish agricultural community present the history and philosophy of their extraordinary gardens


Book cover of Plant Spirit Medicine: A Journey Into the Healing Wisdom of Plants

Heidi Wedd Why did I love this book?

I read this book back in the late '90s when I was just beginning to study herbalism (with a teacher very aligned with plant spirit wisdom). It was a highly significant book in expanding my version of what herbalism can be when practiced in union and cocreation with plants. When I flick back through it now, I see so many aspects of my current shamanic herbalism practice reflected back at me and realise how formative it was to my learning. Highly recommended.  

By Eliot Cowan,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Plant Spirit Medicine as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Whether you live in a mountain cabin or a city loft, plant spirits present themselves to us everywhere. Since its first printing in 1995, Plant Spirit Medicine has passed hand-to-hand among countless readers drawn to indigenous spirituality and all things alive and green. In this updated edition, Eliot Cowan invites us to discover the healing power of plants-not merely their physical medicinal properties, but the deeper wisdom and gifts that they offer.
Enriched by many new insights, this guide unfolds as a series of chapters on how plant spirit medicine helped Cowan resolve specific challenges in his own healing journey…


Book cover of Encounters with Pan and the Elemental Kingdom

Heidi Wedd Why did I love this book?

A true-life fairy tale in the 1960s of a man whose childhood dream of meeting the fairies was finally realised in his 60's. It is an engaging read as well as packed with information gleaned through Roc's experiences meeting Pan, the spirit of Nature.  A must-read for anyone willing to learn more from the nature spirits themselves. 

By R. Ogilvie Crombie,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Encounters with Pan and the Elemental Kingdom as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In the "Scientist and the Faun" the reader follows Robert Ogilvie Crombie's (ROC's) experiences and encounters with Pan and the elemental kingdom in the Botanic Garden in Edinburgh and the path that led him from there to the Findhorn Community where he encountered more elementals and fauns. In one conversation with Pan at the Botanic Garden ROC talks about other people being jealous of his abilities and asks why he is able to see Pan and the elemental kingdom and receives this reply from Pan: Communicating with my subjects is not a garden game for the odd half hour when…


Book cover of The Secret Life of Plants: A Fascinating Account of the Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Relations Between Plants and Man

Heidi Wedd Why did I love this book?

For those that need proof that plants are sentient beings and have intelligent spirits, this book contains many different scientific experiments with plants that will leave you in no doubt. 

By Peter Tompkins, Christopher Bird,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Secret Life of Plants as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Explore the inner world of plants and its fascinating relation to mankind, as uncovered by the latest discoveries of science. A perennial bestseller.

In this truly revolutionary and beloved work, drawn from remarkable research, Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird cast light on the rich psychic universe of plants. Now available in a new edition, The Secret Life of Plants explores plants' response to human care and nurturing, their ability to communicate with man, plants' surprising reaction to music, their lie-detection abilities, their creative powers, and much more. Tompkins and Bird's classic book affirms the depth of humanity's relationship with nature…


Book cover of Anastasia (The Ringing Cedars, Book 1)

Heidi Wedd Why did I love this book?

A fascinating series with many insights and inspirations for how to live more deeply aligned and in co-creation with nature. While the writing doesn't flow particularly well, the content and magic that is carried within have a palpable effect. It is worth the journey and will leave you inspired to connect in broader and deeper ways. 

By Vladimir Megre,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Anastasia (The Ringing Cedars, Book 1) as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Anastasia", the first book of the Ringing Cedars Series, tells the story of entrepreneur Vladimir Megre's trade trip to the Siberian taiga in 1995, where he witnessed incredible spiritual phenomena connected with sacred 'ringing cedar' trees. He spent three days with a woman named Anastasia who shared with him her unique outlook on subjects as diverse as gardening, child-rearing, healing, Nature, sexuality, religion and more. This wilderness experience transformed Vladimir so deeply that he abandoned his commercial plans and, penniless, went to Moscow to fulfil Anastasia's request and write a book about the spiritual insights she so generously shared with…


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Mindleap: A Fresh View of Education Empowered by Neuroscience and Systems Thinking

By Jim Brown,

Book cover of Mindleap: A Fresh View of Education Empowered by Neuroscience and Systems Thinking

Jim Brown Author Of Mindleap: A Fresh View of Education Empowered by Neuroscience and Systems Thinking

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I have spent my entire professional life quietly patrolling the frontiers of understanding human consciousness. I was an early adopter in the burgeoning field of biofeedback, then neurofeedback and neuroscience, plus theory and practices of humanistic and transpersonal psychology, plus steeping myself in systems theory as a context for all these other fields of focus. I hold a MS in psychology from San Francisco State University and a PhD from Saybrook Institute. I live in Mount Shasta CA with Molly, my life partner for over 60 years. We have two sons and two grandchildren.

Jim's book list on brain, mind, and consciousness

What is my book about?

In this thoroughly researched and exquisitely crafted treatise, Jim Brown synthesizes the newest understandings in neuroscience, developmental psychology, and dynamical systems theory for educators and others committed to nurturing human development.

He explains complex concepts in down-to-earth terms, suggesting how these understandings can transform education to engender optimal learning and intelligence. He explores the nature of consciousness, intelligence, and mind.

Brown then offers a model of optimal human learning through lifelong brain development within a supportive culture--drawing on the work of Piaget, Erickson, Maslow, Kohlberg, and Steiner--and how that work is being vastly expanded by neuroscience and dynamical systems thinking.

Mindleap: A Fresh View of Education Empowered by Neuroscience and Systems Thinking

By Jim Brown,

What is this book about?

In this thoroughly-researched and exquisitely crafted treatise, Jim Brown synthesizes the newest understandings in neuroscience, developmental psychology, and dynamical systems theory for educators and others committed to nurturing human development. He explains complex concepts in down-to-earth terms, suggesting how these understandings can transform education to truly engender optimal learning and intelligence. He explores the nature of consciousness, intelligence, and mind. Brown then offers a model of optimal human learning through life-long brain development within a supportive culture--drawing on the work of Piaget, Erickson, Maslow, Kohlberg, and Steiner--and how that work is being vastly expanded by neuroscience and dynamical systems thinking.


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