Here's a Gift for You

An uplifting short film I co-directed with Michael "Pom" Preston of the Winnemem Wintu tribe of Mt. Shasta.

It's based on one question:

What's one word from your ancestral language that changed your life and that you can offer to the next generation to heal our relationship with the world?

Appropriate for all ages.  (20 mins.)  

My lineage and perspective

I’m a daughter of the Caribbean, the rainforest, and the tepuyes – adopted by the Pacific redwoods.
I'm a mother, a documentary filmmaker, and the creator of the Nature Practice method. Also, a future ancestor.

In 2016, I realized that if we continued on this trajectory, deep-feeling nature lovers would be swallowed by the pain — by the unbearable heartbreak of what we are doing to the Earth, and to each other.

At the same time, in a moment of profound awe under a rainstorm in Havana, a spontaneous promise came out of me. I promised to devote nine years of my life to (what I came to understand as ) helping Earth lovers shift:

• From escaping to nature... to consciously collaborating with her.

• From visiting nature as a temple... to staying present for the ceremony of life as it unfolds in the everyday.

• From experiencing peace only when the stars align... to allowing natural peace to re-emerge as a default state.

This became the Nature Practice Method.

It draws from my own experience with nature, and from three beloved streams of my lineage:

• Himalayan Traditions — from twenty years of studying with the Dalai Lama, and nature-based retreats with Thich Nhat Hanh.

• Indigenous Wisdom — a lifetime of learning from elders and wisdom keepers throughout the Americas, starting as a child in Venezuela.

• Creative Expression — from my work as a documentary film director exploring presence, reciprocity, and our relationship with the Earth.

Over the last decade, I've had the great pleasure of guiding hundreds of Earth lovers in retreats, workshops, an online community and even a class at Stanford University.

Inspired by the transformations I witnessed in their lives, I decided to share this curriculum with the world through the Nature Practice podcast.

Here's to your natural peace, and to our collective healing.

natasha deganello giraudie

Who's Rosa Guayaba?

I can't possibly take credit alone for the nature practice method.  It's a result of many generous whispers from the Earth.  
Rosa Guayaba is my name for this collaboration.

Rosa Guayaba is the particular color of a ripe guava fruit. You say "dusty pink". I say "rosa guayaba." Saying those words connects me not only to a favorite color and a treasured taste of my beloved Venezuela. Rosa Guayaba is gratitude for the immeasurable gifts that nature offers us each day. Rosa Guayaba is the scent carried by the breeze, reminding us of who we are and what we are here for. Rosa Guayaba is reverence for the land, the water, the air, the fire and for all that is sacred.  

This is what I look forward to helping you stay close to.

DISCLAIMER

This is likely obvious, but just in case, the nature practice programs and mentoring are intended to educate and inspire you on your personal journey toward wellbeing and happiness. They are not intended to replace care best provided by qualified professionals and they are not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.