"What is life without the exchange of soul essence between the human and the wildness of the world?" Stephen Harrod Buhner
Our deep connection with Nature is just as essential to the well-being of our world as our very breath is to our own lives. Nature is a part of who we are. When we lose that connection to Nature, we cut ourselves off from a vast intelligence, a deeper understanding of life, unlimited creativity, storehouses of energy and least of all, unbounded Love. Some ancient cultures and many present day indigenous tribes live in tune with Nature and all the intelligence found within her. By moving away from linear "mind only", mechanical, reductionist thinking and moving toward a more heart-centered holistic perception, we restore this connection and not only are our individual lives enriched beyond what we could imagine, but the solutions to the myriad environmental and socials problems are available to us, we only need to ask.
“It is time for us as a culture to walk in the forest again. Once we see nature as a mentor, our relationship with the living world changes. Gratitude tempers greed, and as plant biologist Wes Jackson says, “the notion of resources becomes obscene.” We realize that the only way to keep learning from nature is to safeguard naturalness, the wellspring of good ideas. This time, we come not to learn about nature so that we might circumvent or control her, but to learn from nature, so that we might fit in, at last and for good, on the Earth from which we sprang.”
LANDSCApe design
I work intuitively with the intelligence of Nature to create places that connect you with your own silence, peace, magic and deep connection with Nature. Whether grand in scale or small and simple, these sacred places are perfect for meditation, contemplation, celebration, gatherings and they are, of course, a feast for the senses.
My father was renowned landscape architect Robert Herrick Carter. He was one of the first landscape architects to be licensed by the American Institute of Landscape Architects - #10 to be exact. His eternally beautiful designs can be seen throughout Los Angeles and many Cal State campuses, including Los Angeles International Airport, Century Plaza Hotel, Union Oil Plaza, LA Zoo and many, many others. He had an insatiable curiosity and great passion for everything green and growing. His designs sprang out of the belief that we are deeply connected to Nature and that Nature should be a part of our homes and our places of endeavor. He was also the father of the interior plantscaping industry. Van Herrick’s Environmental Planting was the largest company of its kind in the country for many years - bringing Nature indoors to over 1,000 offices, shopping malls and indoor plazas throughout Los Angeles and Orange Counties.
That passion was contagious and I try to follow in his very large foot steps. My landscape designs come out of the same love of Nature and passion for all things growing. The land whispers to me and shows me the possibilities of beautiful and lush landscapes. Whether you are starting from a blank canvas, nursing a burned-out garden back to health or renovating an existing garden, I can take you on the journey of discovering the beauty that awaits.
WORKSHOPS
"By establishing one's mind in the heart - Universal Consciousness - the whole world of perception appears as one's own Nature." Shiva Sutras
We only perceive a small fraction of the world around us. Our gateways of perception allow a small percentage of information available to us to flow into our senses. And we have never been trained how to use our heart has an organ of perception. Once our heart is trained and expanded, the world around us seems to wake up and become fuller, lighter, sweeter and more lovely.
Henry David Thoreau once wrote about this experience:
“In the midst of a gentle rain…I was suddenly sensible of such a sweet and beneficent society in Nature, in the very patterning of the drops, and in every sound and sight around my house, an infinite and unaccountable friendliness all at once like an atmosphere sustaining me…Every little pine needle expanded and swelled with sympathy and befriended me. I was so distinctly made aware of the presence of something kindred to me, even in scenes which we are accustomed to call wild and dreary, and also that the nearest of blood to me and humanest was not a person or village, that I thought no place could every be strange to me again.”
I hold workshops all over the country to teach you how to restore this connection with Nature. Through a series of lectures followed by exercises, workshop participants begin to re-establish their connection with Nature. These workshops start the beginning of a life-long endeavor to experience and communicate with the great intelligence and love found in Nature.