In this uplifting book, Louise Heydt weaves together a one-year cycle of nature in a small valley in the Tecolote Mountains east of Pecos, New Mexico, and an inspirational spiritual journey as taught by nature. The land and the spiritual path are interconnected; the outer landscape of nature is the guide for the journey through the inner landscape. The reader is shown how to find sacred places in the land, and how these places are a gateway or threshold for quiet observation and meditation. The realm of mystical experiences can be explored while in the embrace of nature. The book also shows that it is a contemporary delusion that humans and nature are separate, and how in the process of immersing oneself into experiences in nature one nourishes his or her inner nature. In the process of this nurturing, a spiritual awakening begins in which one also learns the power of prayer, thus bringing to light one's intimate relationship with the Divine. Louise Heydt has lived in northern New Mexico for many years. She is a self-taught naturalist with a love for all things wild since childhood. With a Masters Degree in Eastern Studies from St. John's College in Santa Fe, New Mexico, she brings her academic knowledge of Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, and the literary classics of China, India and Japan into her writing. She has studied under Joan Halifax Roshi for eight years at Upaya in Santa Fe. An artist and poet, she has traveled extensively in Asia.
