True Nature

by Barbara Bash

Book Overview

In the tradition of Anne Morrow Lindbergh's "Gift from the Sea ," writer-illustrator Barbara Bash brings a spiritual awareness to her surroundings as she caringly records encounters with animals and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1590301641
• ISBN13: 9781590301647
• Release Date: October 2004
• Publisher: Shambhala
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 8.0" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

True Nature

This is one of the most beautiful books ever. For those into beauty, self-actualization, and nature, this book is for you. Buy it, reflect, read, and you will always keep it near you.

Truly a gift to nature enthusiasts...

I was browsing the bargain section of my local bookstore when this book caught my eye. I flipped through the pages and was blown away by the beautiful illustrations and calligraphy. I snatched up a copy and was very pleased with my purchase. I'm a self-proclaimed nature enthusiast, who wishes she could do what Barbara Bush has done in this book. She journals her experiences while staying in a remote cabin near the Catskills all by herself. Her journal entries are raw and honest, depicting her deepest fears and self-expectations. I was drawn into her story as I explored the accompaning illustrations, which are done beautifully in watercolor. They depict the magnificence of everything the outside world has to offer, from leaves to weather. The only complaint I have with this book is that I wish it was longer, simply because I enjoyed it so much. I also felt incredibly frustrated with the fact that I have no artistic talent because the book made me want to grab a brush and start painting my own outdoor world. BOTTOM LINE: If you're interested in the beauty of the natural world and/or the connection between humans and nature, this is a wonderful book! The illustrations alone make it well worth the low price! I think most nature enthusiasts would only need to flip through the pages to see this book's promise to be a rewarding read.

Like relaxation therapy for your mind

I bought this book as I loved the peaceful painting and drawings. Sat down to look at it and was amazed at how much it relaxed me. Each time I need a few minutes to de stress, I just pull out her book. Thought provoking to read as well. Makes me re analyze how I spend my waking hours sometimes to spend more time doing "nothing". I will be buying more copies to give as gifts.

Slow Down While At Home

What a perfect title for Barbara Bash's beautiful book. True Nature is what she got in touch with on her solitary retreats--her own true nature and nature which included birds, animals, fish, plants, trees, and weather conditions around her. Reading the book offered me a retreat of slowing down while still at home. Bash went to a cabin in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York for a week during each of the four seasons. She practised sitting meditation and nature journaling as she finds both practices to be contemplative, "developing awareness and attentiveness to the world." She began practising Buddhist meditation in the 1970s with Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche who she credits with calling her out of hiding and showing her how to live. Her book is a "record of that ancient process of coming to rest where we are." Simplicity was part of Bash's days on retreat, away from the demands of home. While on her own, though, crucial inner themes were allowed to appear and did so throughout the seasons: "...uncertainty and self-doubt, a lost feeling and the relief of finding my way, a sadness that enveloped me, a fear of the dark, and a gentleness and ease with myself and the world." "Calligraphy is a picture of the mind," a Zen saying advises, and Bash took a look with brush and ink. The book is in her handwriting with artwork created from the sketchbooks she filled while on retreat. Some of the images were scanned directly into the book; others she redrew in the same spirit so as to fit the design of the pages. The art was created with pencils and watercolours on Arches and Strathmore papers. Among her daily observations were afternoon bird calls, which she illustrated with sound shapes and colors. As I read, I felt calmed by the simplicity of Bash's days. I could relate, as many women will, to the inner voice chastising her for laziness. As Bash realized, the very act of drawing slows her down--"opens me up each time I touch the paper." She could see the cottonwood tree, hear her pencil on the paper, the wind and a squirrel near by and noticed a spiderweb glistening. As is so often the case when we slow down, Bash felt worn out. She felt she couldn't produce anything good. "I am wearing something down, wearing something out--the expectation of who I think I should be." During her winter sojourn, the weather got wild. "The energy would quiet down, regroup and gather again." So often Bash's descriptions of nature are revelations of her own life, and ours too. The night darkness was a challenge to Bash who writes, "The darkness within. The darkness without. I will keep touching it." The illustration of spring woods on the outer cover of the book is on paper that looks like watercolour paper--as if the paint might still be wet. The hardcover book the paper cover protects looks like a private journal with a charming watercolour of a bird pasted on it. We're very fortunate Bash's solitary musings and discoveries were made public. So many books are

So Worth The Price...a Lovingly Crafted Book

This book is beautiful in the deepest possible way. It would be a good loving gift. Bash's words and art are elegant and evocative. If you like nature, you will feel the echo of peak nature experiences in this work.