The Mindful Hiker

Thanks for visiting and having interest in The Mindful Hiker. Here you will find, in addition to information about my award-winning book of the same name, such features as The Mindful Life on living a spiritual and heartfelt life and offering a new essay each month (plus a new feature, Sonoma/Marin County Bests), Inspiring Places that will appeal to travelers, Events, and environmental Earth Alerts that have grabbed my attention and warrant citizen action. You can also find a gallery of nature images and an essay on the digital revolution and the demise of film photography. And in these times of financial turmoil, environmental crisis, and religious fanaticism, take a break from such news with The Peace of Parks . If you'd like to receive my free monthly newsletter, please contact me with your email address. I will not share it with anyone else. My more freqent blog can be found at The Mindful Hiker Blog . For those interested in golf and its relationship to life, please go to The Mindful Golfer .

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     If you spend time in natural places and those places have meaning for you, not only will you care for them, but you will also care for all of nature, including human beings who are part of the fabric. Of course, just as important as the outer landscape is your inner landscape and finding peace of mind and compassion for yourself. The two, relationship to the outer and relationship to the inner, must develop together.

      That way, we can rejuvenate this world, and ourselves, finding a sense of power to counteract insensitive actions that denigrate this lovely blue and green and vital Earth.

      This is what inspires my own spiritual practice.

In this uncertain and, at times, contentious world, the one place we can all retreat to, regardless of affiliation or belief, is nature. That’s what this site is all about—a kind of retreat where you can find solace, enjoyment, information, empowerment, and perhaps a bit of wisdom—a place in cyberspace where the sole meets the soul.

I will be adding material, at times on a daily basis, so I hope you include The Mindful Hiker in your favorites and visit often.

Stephen Altschuler

Stephen is a writer, teacher, and mental health counselor, who has lived in and traipsed across the Bay Area since 1982, coming from New England, and originally, Philadelphia. In the early 1990s, his first book appeared, Hidden Walks in the Bay Area: Pathways, Essays, and Yesterdays (Western Tanager Press, 1990), followed by More Hidden Walks in the Bay Area (Western Tanager, 1991), and then Sacred Paths and Muddy Places: Rediscovering Spirit in Nature (Stillpoint Publishing, 1993), a book which chronicled a time when he lived alone for four years in a cabin in the New Hampshire woods. A revision and compilation of his first two books was published in 2001 as Hidden Walks in the East Bay and Marin (Great West Books, 2001). He has also written articles and essays for many national and regional publications including Yankee, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Common Ground, Yoga Journal, Natural Health, Walking Magazine, Gorp.com, Beliefnet.com, Spiritualsisters.com, HeartofNewEngland.com, Providence Journal, Boston Globe, and Maine Times.

His most recent book, The Mindful Hiker: On the Trail to Find the Path (DeVorss, 2004), a memoir of his experiences and insights on a wilderness trail in Point Reyes National Seashore in northern California, was awarded Best Biography/Self-Help and Book of the Year by the Coalition of Visionary Resources (COVR) at their national convention in Denver in June 2005. The book has also been selected as a finalist in the 2005 Banff Book Festival awards, in Banff, Canada, in the mountain literature category.

He has practiced Buddhism and Taoism for 25 years, studying with Ajahn Sumedho and Joshu Sasaki Roshi, and has led meditation retreats and guided walks based on his books. He has taught creative writing at a number of Bay Area venues, including Point Reyes Field Seminars, the Dance Palace in Point Reyes, Oakland Adult Schools, Bookpassage University, and Sebastopol Center for the Arts. In addition, Stephen has a masters degree in counseling, working as a Disabilities Specialist at Santa Rosa Junior College in Santa Rosa, California. He teaches Tai Chi there as well through the Physical Education Department.

Stephen lives with his wife, Ruth, in northern California.

"Stephen discovered his own spiritual path through an insightful relationship with nature. Stephen's goal is to remind us of an old adage-what you love, you will care for. If you spend time in natural places and those places have meaning for you, not only will you care for them, but also you will care for all of nature."

--Shirley MacLaine, introducing Stephen before interviewing him on her IE radio program

The Mindful Hiker: On the Trail to Find the Path (DeVorss and Co., 2004). Available at booksellers and online .

All text and photographs in this monthly newsletter are protected by copyright and the even more powerful law of Karma. If you wish to use any material, please contact Stephen. Thank you.

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