PDFs of Zen Mountain Journal Books

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The Tao Te Ching Journal: A Path to Inner Quiet

The Tao Te Ching Journal is a contemplative refuge of Taoist wisdom, art, and quiet. It offers a journaling practice, inspired by the ancient words of Laozi, for those who seek to create a life and work in harmony with their vision of a quality life. That quality is related, in part, to the questions we are willing to explore.

The quiet center of a human life needs to be nurtured. This journal is for those who manifest an inner life in some creative work or project that contributes to the lives of others. It is for those who choose a quiet, contemplative life in nature. It is for those who march to a different drummer, who live a set of values outside of those of the dominant culture.

  • Complete description here.

  • PDF here.

  • To order the hardcover layflat wire-o print edition of this book, visit here.

Nurturing The Song Within explores the inner work out of which creative work and a unique human life evolve. It contains key insights from hundreds of interviews Heron Dance founder Roderick MacIver has conducted over the last thirty years of people who choose their own path in life, and persist through the challenges and setbacks to make their dreams real.

Those interviewed include artists, adventurers, activists, and people who devote their lives to serving others. The book explores the murky waters of deep imagination, friendship with one’s inner world, and how those inspire creativity. In the interviews, and through reflections on both those interviews and his own life, the author seeks to understand the hidden wellsprings that guide and provide the clarity and courage required to create a unique life. This is a book by someone who has done it –- who has been a fulltime working artist for thirty years. Over ninety of the author’s full color paintings accompany the reflections and interview excerpts in each volume of the two-book set.

A human life is an expression of ideas, of dreams, of courage and of discipline. Or the lack thereof. A life fully lived, a unique life, grows out of something deep – the essence of a human being. It evolves out of that which is sacred inside each of us. Its exact source is difficult to explain; it can however be sensed and understood.

There are still a few copies of the first edition of Nurturing the Song Within available. This is a premium art book with a Smyth-sewn lay flat binding printed on high quality art paper. Each two-page spread includes a painting and journal notes on living a creative, meaningful life.

  • Hardcover first edition with dust jacket. $87. Order here.

  • PDF $9.99 including tax. Order here.

  • More information here.

The Heron Dance Book of Love and Gratitude

Entire text here.

PDF here.

Print edition sold out.

Meditations on Gratitude, Beauty and Mystery

Gratitude as a philosophy of life and spiritual practice.

Our lives are a brief spark between two eternities. We are surrounded by natural beauty. The nature of the gift we've been given -- life -- is elusive and mysterious. This book celebrates that gift. What we express gratitude for gains power in our lives.

This work evolved out of The Heron Dance Book of Love and Gratitude, (see above) the book published twenty years ago that remains the most popular book Heron Dance has ever published.

This new edition is 11 x 8.5 inches, oblong, with a lay flat double wire-o binding.

  • 156 pages.

  • Softcover (lay flat, wire-o binding) 11 x 8.5 inches horizontal.

Order the PDF ($9.99) for immediate download here.

A watercolor illustration of a dragonfly with orange and black wings perched on a vertical brown stem, set against a background of abstract blue and multicolored watercolor washes.
A page with a poem titled "The Idea Of Balance Is To Be Found In Herons and Loons" on the left side, featuring a blue-toned illustration of Jim Harrison's face in the upper right corner. The right side of the image contains a watercolor painting of two herons flying over a body of water, with a dark, moody sky in the background.
Watercolor painting of two small birds perched on a wire with a quote by Doris Day about gratitude and complaint, and a journal note about faith and gratitude.
Watercolor painting of a person walking through a lush forest with green foliage and sunlight filtering through the trees.
Cover page of a poetry diary titled 'Pausing For Beauty' by Heron Dance, featuring a watercolor painting of a hummingbird near a yellow flower

The Pausing For Beauty Poetry Diary

This beautiful undated diary contains dozens of poems selected to inspire thought about the nature and meaning of life and our connection to the natural world. The poems are accompanied by dozens of Roderick MacIver watercolors, some in full color, some watercolor sketches and delicate washes.

The Poetry Diary contains plenty of room for your journal notes and own poetry.

114 pages in total.

  • Print version sold out.

  • $9.99 PDF. Order here.

A watercolor painting of a heron or crane on the right side of a page featuring a Tao Te Ching quote about water, with lines for writing on the left.
A painting of a blue butterfly with black background and white streaks, accompanied by a Taoist meditation poem.
A watercolor painting of a wolf among trees on the left side of the page. To the right, there is a poem about nature and animals, with lined spaces for writing.
Watercolor illustration of a wolf's face at the top of a page with handwritten poem on a lined journal page.

Nurturing The Song Within Diary Planner

PDF here.

The print edition of this book is sold out.