The Wild Within: Adventures in Nature and Animal Teachings - Softcover

Rezendes, Paul

3.9

135 ratings by Goodreads

9780425171578: The Wild Within: Adventures in Nature and Animal Teachings

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0425171574 ISBN 13: 9780425171578

Publisher: Berkley Trade, 1999

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The former motorcycle gang leader who now preaches compassion and connection with nature reveals how he changed his life, discovering the true relationship between life and death, observing nature closely, and finding his own path in the world. Reprint.

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Review:

The story of Paul Rezendes's spiritual journey began when he was leader of a motorcycle gang (i.e., a Devil's Disciple). His dangerous life of narcotics and guns eventually caught up with him and he and his wife found themselves in trouble with the law. His legal hassles gave him the perfect excuse to back out of the gang; thus he reneged on his lifelong commitment. (Apparently, motorcycle gangs are a lot like the Mafia; he muses, "You better have a damn good reason to leave.") From then on Rezendes began a furtive spiritual quest that led him into the woods, following the paw and hoof prints of wild animals.

Like Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Rezendes teaches the art of animal tracking and stalking, all the while making the link to the clean, observant Zen mind. "Stalking meditation demands that we pay full attention to every footfall, every breath, every sound we make, each nuance of landscape, wind, humidity," he writes. "Stalking gives us the opportunity to move away from the tiny perspective of thought and self into all-encompassing awareness." Rezendes, a renowned teacher of seminars and workshops, uses personal tracking stories to emphasize the importance of focused observation. But more importantly, his storytelling challenges readers to be spiritually accountable in the wild as well as everyday life.--Gail Hudson

About the Author:

Paul Rezendes, regularly commissioned as a wildlife consultant by state and federal conservation organizations, is also the author of Tracking and the Art of Seeing. His nature photographs have appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Sierra, New Age Journal, and other publications.

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