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"This book is a page-turner—endlessly fascinating, totally compelling, and incredibly informative. I could not put it down. And that's the truth! It is really wonderful. The book is fantastic!”
—Rory Freedman, Co-Author of New York Times Best seller Skinny Bitch
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From Publisher’s Weekly (Awarded a rare star of approval)
Nature’s Secret Messages: Hidden in Plain Sight
Elaine Wilkes. Hay House, (288p) ISBN 9781401925468
With a dash of tongue-in-cheek cheer, actress and PhD-carrying naturopath Wilkes offers a thorough, clear-cut and well-illustrated introduction to holistic medicine, natural eating and the benefits of mindfulness. Part I deals with the physical similarities between people and food, emphasizing the ease with which we can sense, literally, the health benefits of different foods: English walnuts, which contain brain-supporting omega-3 fats, physically resemble the brain with “two equal sides,” a “hard protective shell,” and “furrows,” as well as a similar fat content (68 percent). Part II deals with emotional and mental well-being, starting with water’s lessons for curbing stress, from taking baths (“its healing properties… [are] endless”) to assuming the “waterfall pose” (back flat on the floor, legs up against the wall) for 15 minutes twice a day. The third part deals with spirituality and mathematical complexity in nature (the Fibonacci sequence in plant structure, the hexagonal shape of bee hives, etc.). Part IV deals with food, drugs and deception, and an appendix provides ample resources for the budding naturalist. B&W illustrations.
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“This wise, brave, magically simple and inspiring book will help us all reconnect with the soul of nature, and work together to preserve the environment and the human adventure.”
—New York Times best selling author, Andrew Harvey
Author of The Hope a Guide to Sacred Activism
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 From Common Ground Magazine
It was Albert Einstein who said, “Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” With this guiding principle, Wilkes introduces many easy ways to connect with and draw guidance from the natural world around us.
By giving thoughtful consideration to the soil we stand on, the foods that sustain us, the rhythms around us, and the sensations within us, Wilkes helps the reader develop a richer relationship with Mother Nature, giving us eyes to see what we never saw before.
Laced with humor and wit, the book teaches readers to recognize the life-giving benefits of various plants. For example, English walnuts, rich in brain-supporting omega-3 fats, bear an uncanny resemblance to the brain itself. Nature is full of correlations like this, and Nature’s Secret Messages brings them quickly into focus.
By addressing several dimensions of the human experience (our physical needs, emotional and mental well being, spiritual development and more), the book integrates many layers of nature-based wisdom.
Well researched and easy to read, Nature’s Secret Messages is brimming with facts, resources, and “awe-ha” moments. Without a doubt, this book will change the way you see the world around you, the choices you make at the grocery store, and your relationship to the forces that sustain you.
Are you ready to take Eco-awareness to a whole new level?
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“A wonderful book with pearls of wisdom on every page.”
—Stephen Harrod Buhner, Deep ecologist
Author of the multiple-award winning book Lost Language of Plants
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Elaine,
I got your book yesterday and haven't been able to put it down! I just finished! :)
WOW!!!! There is so much information I want to read it again and again! I loved your personal stories in there, about your dad esp- that is how i like to live my life too :)
I feel so grateful that at 22 years old I am aware of the knowledge and wisdom all around me! :)
Each morning at sunrise I go to the hill overlooking the mountains and valley...and do my yoga. Today was different though. When I got up there, I really connected with nature...and time stood still. It was a very different experience than the other times, of course I appreciate the view and being in nature, otherwise I would do my yoga inside, but its more than just appreciating, its connecting. I like to believe that we are all one as humanity. But now I'm going further, thanks to your insights, we as earthlings- nature, humans, animals are all ONE.
Love
Becca
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“Fascinating book! Thank you Elaine for bringing Nature's secrets back to life and re-uniting mankind with the earth.”
—Laurentine ten Bosch, Co-Producer Food Matters
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“We've all heard about the wonders of nature; how our mother, the earth loves and sustains us. But never has anyone taken us by the hand and walked us down the garden path that is nature and shown us her miracles in as simple, comprehensive, friendly and approachable way as Elaine, from teaching us to observe to understanding nature's healing powers to shopping at a farm market and treating your body like the gift it is, ‘Nature's Secret Messages’ whispers in your ear, revealing all the gentle truths of nature. After reading this gem of a book, it made me smile even broader to think that the only blackberries in my life are the rich, juicy, sweet ones.”
—Christina Pirello, Emmy Award winning TV Host of Christina Cooks and author of Glow
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“Nature’s Secret Messages delivers a wealth of information about our true relationship with food, providing readers a beautiful journey to pure health.”
—Kim Barnouin Co-Author of New York Times best seller Skinny Bitch
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“Elaine Wilkes has composed an innovative manual for readers seeking a closer relationship with nature. She identifies the messages we receive from the natural world, and traces their significance to our own lives through scientifically supported studies. Woven throughout the book are facts, quizzes, quotations, and fascinating observations of the world around us.An appendix with additional resources and online links is included."
—Taste For Life magazine
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 Review: Nature's Secret Messages by Elaine Wilkes
Receive Wise Guidance from Your Mom—Mother Nature
My favorite quotes from the book were:
Nature generally doesn't multitask; she maintains a determined, sharp resolve.
Just like Nature, our lives contain many hidden symbols and patterns that, if we discover and examine them, can help us grow and flourish. Recognizing this is vital to positive change.
This was genuinely interesting and informative. The discussion on the Fibonacci sequence was particularly intriguing. The Test Your Nature IQ quizzes sprinkled throughout were a fun review and reinforcement of the material. Part IV was my favorite section, where I particularly enjoyed the Stepford Chives portion. The section is mostly geared towards city and suburban dwellers who have no clue about where their food comes from but is still informative for those who already know. This would make a lovely gift for an eco-friendly friend or one you are trying to convince to become more responsible towards the Earth.
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Review from New Age Retailer Magazine:
User reviews:
"What a joy it was to read this book filled with insights and information about the world around us that we just don't see and yet it is all around us. For anyone who loves the environment, excellent health and is open to new ideas, you will not be able to put down this book. -- Should be in everyone's library."
"I've really enjoyed what I've read so far. It has a lot of interesting information and is easy to read. It makes you look at some everyday things with a different view. -- Thought provoking."
Review from goodreads.com
by Lisa (GoodReads user published 2010-06-14 ) 
I haven't found a book in ages that truely gets how I understand the world. It tries to show us that the path to a better life is understanding nature. How that we have become detached from the earth and that by finding that again we can feel better, be more stress free, and healthy.
Review from goodreads.com
Jamie's review
bookshelves: medical, reference, spiritual
status: Read from April 27 to May 05, 2010
This is the third Hay House ebook I've read through NetGalley, and I'd say I actually enjoyed this one. There's a lot of useful information, and it's much more applicable than a lot of the more rambley, having little information to back their theories type of books I'm used to seeing from Hay House. This gives me some hope in regards to that publishing house, as I was beginning to think about giving up on reading anything from them anymore. So much of it is just junk.
Now, for those who get irked by anything New Age, you should avoid Hay House in general. But you may be able to stomach this book. There are several chapters early on that do get into some more spiritual stuff that doesn't really have any scientific basis, but after that, it starts getting more into hard evidence and proven studies. Actually, I think the book would have been better without the New Age stuff. Is it really necessary to bring up chakras? And then not even give really any description of what chakras are or the significance of them? (And if it's outside someone's spiritual beliefs, what does it even matter?) Some parts early on came off as being slightly biased as well.
The beginning is useful though. It gives simply methods for helping remember the purposes of several useful things in nature and ties it in with cultural beliefs from modern and historic times. But the section I found the most interesting was the part of the book on food and supermarkets, and how much food is wasted and tampered with. It makes me want to stop by the local fruit stand instead of Wal-mart. There's also some things on conservation as well, and natural cures versus "modern" cures is vaguely touched upon here and there. The last section contains some useful types on how to live a healthier and more environmentally conscious lifestyle, including some very useful links for more information. I think I may need to get a physical copy of this for reference. I hope to see more books like this from Hay House in the future.
Review from goodreads.com
by Jon (GoodReads user published 2010-04-30 )
The book made some very profound points about how some seeds, fruits and leaves corespond to our health.
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