To Walk with Lions [Paperback]

Growing up in Africa, Gareth Patterson was always attracted to lions. When he came to school in England he still felt drawn to them and as soon as possible he got in touch with veteran lion people George and Joy Adamson. He wound up as George Adamson's assistant, and after Adamson's murder he went on to live with lions and is now considered Adamson's heir. Patterson works tirelessly to help preserve lions and their natural habitat from the even more predatory beast--man.

Patterson has written seven books about his life with lions. In this volume he explores "lion spirituality". He shows how the lions' beauty and mysterious link with nature can help people rediscover their own spiritual wholeness. Nature lovers of all kinds will enjoy his stories about lions and his remarkable life with them. Anyone horrified by humanity's continued rape of the natural world will sympathise with Patterson's passionate appeal for harmony between humanity and nature. However, those who are looking for genuine spirituality will not find much to build on in Patterson's book. There are some good ideas on how to relax and envision a better self, and his "seven vital lion precepts" are good reminders of some common sense principles; but the spiritual content is pretty thin. Lions are fantastic creatures, but deep breathing and thinking about the goodness of lions doesn't take you too far on the spiritual path. --Dwight Longenecker

Take a journey towards rediscovering the connection between man, nature and God. By describing certain profound moments which he has had while living with lions, Gareth Patterson shows it is vital we realize the mystical link between us and all creatures if we are to free ourselves from the lonliness of spirit and sense of no purpose. The author details seven precepts of the lion: self-reliance; loyalty; fellowship; willingness to care; unconditional love; courage; and determination. By taking on these lessons of the lions we can learn to live with a greater sense of pride, community and meaning.

The book reveals the seven spiritual principles of the lion
The image of a person living in harmony, and in peace with lions in the wilds, evokes and awakens something deep within the hearts of many. It is an image which perhaps stirs within one a distant ancestral memory of a 'Golden Age', an age when man was not seperate from nature and the earth, an age I believe we miss terribly today. I have realised this in part through receiving hundreds of letters from literally all over the world from readers of my previous books. People are drawn to my relationship with the lions and it is something that touches them deeply. A great many people have contacted me wanting to know whether they could join me and assist me in the work with the lions. Many people, it was clear to me, wished 'to walk with lions'. This 'walk' is, I believe, a spiritual quest, not a physical one (and I must add, I do not want anyone to attempt to physically walk with lions!) and to the greater part, this is why I wrote this book. 'To Walk with Lions', I hope, can be a bridge upon which people can walk to spiritually inspire and imbue themselves with the seven heightened principles of the lion and in turn vitally feel a part of all of life, and to live knowing that God exists in all things.

Introduction

I have lived as a man among lions and I have lived as a 'lion man' among modern people. Living in these tow worlds, I have seen 'wholeness' I lions and I have seen 'disconnected-ness' in people.

From this experience I have sensed that many in the modern world yearn for a meaning in their lives. Consciously or unconsciously, openly or secretly, there is a yearning for wholeness - a wholeness that has become eroded in Western structured society. Separated from nature, we have become separated from what we yearn for. We have become separated for our very essence.

To Walk with Lions takes you on a mystical journey towards the rediscovery of the nature of God and the rediscovery of the essential reverence of that nature. Man, nature and God have become separated in the modern era, leaving us spiritually and environmentally impoverished. There is though, just enough time to begin to repair the damage done to nature and ourselves. When we see ourselves as a part of the natural world, destruction of the natural world can be recognised only as self-destruction. By acknowledging this fact, we can begin to heal ourselves and the natural world. There is an enormous need for us to understand that in nature 'her ultimate message is the friendship of God. Secure in that friendship we cannot be afraid'.

To Walk With Lions is also about releasing oneself from the prison of loneliness of spirit, to feel a part of all around one (and to feel the nature within). With this we can begin to heal nature around us and within us.