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Katrina Dreamer Interivews Eileen Pardini
When you meet Eileen, the first thing you notice is her gentle, compassionate presence. She brings this presence into her work, which she calls Earthkeeping, a practice that includes compassionate communication, mindfulness, gratitude, sustainability, whole earth thinking, ancestral reverence, and wild creativity. I am proud to count her as one of my colleagues and friends.
1. What is the importance of nature?
Nature is what allows us to be here and enjoy the human experience. Without air to breathe, water to nourish our bodies, the plants and animals, soil to provide us with food, the glorious trees and flowers, and finally,sunlight and fire, we could not survive. This is an important point to acknowledge! I believe that humans, for the most part, show a profound lack of reverence and gratitude toward the Earth for the gift of life, and the consequence of this is playing out right now with respect to climate change,disappearing ecosystems, species, indigenous peoples and their languages, and polluted oceans, rivers, soil, and air. Aside from the fact that it sustains our physical existence, there are also the spiritual and aesthetic gifts that are just as nourishing and important.
2. How do you connect with nature?
My favorite way to connect with nature is to walk, hike, or sit in silence outdoors. I also love picnics,cycling, gardening, moon gazing, kite flying, beach combing, kayaking, and birdwatching. I have also taken to talking and singing to her in the past year,which I do not share with many.
3. How does your work invite others to reconnect with or interact with nature?
My work, which I call Earthkeeping,supports others in developing a more intimate relationship with the Earth through heart-centered, dialogical, self-reflection, ceremonial, observation,and reciprocal practices. Earthkeeping is about incorporating the virtues of gratitude, reverence and reciprocity into ones daily interaction with the Earth. This indirectly benefits our human relationships, which is a big bonus!
4. What wisdom can you share that can help people establish a relationship with nature?
Just like humans, the Earth wants tobe acknowledged, tended to, praised, seen, heard, loved. A beautiful and enduring relationship will blossom, simply by communicating with her regularly,from the heart.
5. Anything else you’d like to add?
Visit my website at and sign up for my events calendar, or check out my chapter titled,”Earthkeeping: Dialogical Practices of Reverence for An Intimate, Sustainable Earth,” in the new anthology, Rebearths: Conversations with a World Ensouled.
Eileen holds a Master of Arts degree in Consciousness Studies from John F. Kennedy University, and is a Certified Mediator serving the East Bay since 1996 in accordance with the California Dispute Resolution Act. Dedicated to social transformation and connection, Eileen’s mission is to inspire the cultivation of a more intimate, quality relationship with the Earth and others, which she believes is key to the planet’s healing and the creation of a sustainable, just society. Compassionate communication, mindfulness, gratitude, sustainability,whole earth thinking, ancestral reverence, and wild creativity all play a part in her work. In addition to offering private mediation services, Eileen is an adjunct faculty member at John F.Kennedy University, and facilitates year-round workshops and retreats in Earth intimacy practices, interpersonal communication skills, and Soul Collage®.
