Maria Rodale is an explorer in search of the mysteries of the universe. She is the author of Love Nature Magic, Shamanic Journeys into the Heart of My Garden, Organic Manifesto and Scratch. She is also the recovering CEO and Chairman of Rodale Inc, and also published the magazines Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Prevention, Runner’s World, Bicycling and Organic Gardening, among others. Maria is a mother, grandmother, artist, and crazy gardener who lives in Pennsylvania, right near where she was born.
Maria was born into her family’s global media business. After the death of her father, Maria helped her mother manage the business and later became CEO of the entire company. During this dynamic and stressful time, gardening and landscaping were Maria’s solace and refuge.
In her new book, LOVE NATURE MAGIC, she talks about her experience with shamanic journeying. She says “…shamanic journeying is a tool for speaking directly with my garden and all of nature.” To embark on a shamanic journey, Maria meditates on a rhythmic sound like a drum or a rattle.
From these journeys, she talks about a major awakening that happened in her garden. As she explains, it all started with Mugwort: “One day after a particularly frustrating bout trying to ‘control’ an ‘invasion’ of mugwort, I decided to see if I could do a shamanic journey to understand what, if anything, this plant was trying to communicate to me.”
Ultimately, shamanic journeying has given Maria a much deeper understanding into the soul of these plants and animals.
Later in the episode, Maria says that life is not really about survival of the fittest, but rather survival of the happiest. In fact, she’s found that when her plants are really happy, they grow and thrive like nothing she’s ever seen before. Let’s dive in and get started!
You can learn more about Maria right here: https://www.mariarodale.com/
You can also find her latest book LOVE, NATURE, MAGIC here: https://www.chelseagreen.com/product/love-nature-magic/
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