Tristan Gooley - The Nature Instinct: Relearning Our Sixth Sense for the Inner Workings of the Natural World

Tristan Gooley is the New York Timesbestselling author of How to Read Water, How to Read Nature, The Lost Art of Reading Natures Signs, and The Natural Navigator. He is a leading expert on natural navigation, and his passion for the subject stems from his hands-on experience. He has led expeditions in five continents; climbed mountains in Europe, Africa, and Asia; sailed boats across oceans; and piloted small aircrafts to Africa and the Arctic. He is the only living person to have both flown solo and sailed single-handedly across the Atlantic, and he is a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation and the Royal Geographical Society. He is currently vice-chairman of Trailfinders, and he runs the worlds only school of natural navigation. Visit his website: naturalnavigator.com.

My subconscious being was not prepared to take this risk and jungle sensitiveness came to my assistance and guided me away from the potential danger.

These are the words of the legendary hunter-turned-conservationist and author Jim Corbett. He was describing how he had felt the need to take an unusual route through the jungle, one that kept him at a safe distance from a tiger that he was not yet aware of.

At times writing this book has felt like the opposite experience. An unconscious urge drove me toward a subject that lurked in the bushes and then stared back at me like a cornered tiger. It was a subject that did not like me drawing too near and put up quite a wrestle. It is likely that the tiger would have got the better of me, were it not for the support of many kind people. The book is dedicated to them.

I would like to thank all the indigenous people, anthropologists, hunters, semioticians, ecologists, and others across the world who have kept the flame of our old wisdom alight and accessible. I dont know the names of many of those I am most indebted to, but of the few I do, I am particularly grateful for the work of Tim Caro, William Cooper, Daniel Blumstein, Leslie Main Johnson, Eugene Hunn, Timo Maran, and Jakob von Uexkll.

I would also like to thank those who have offered their time, advice, gems, or encouragement, either in the field of the mind or the field of the field: Kate Jeffery, Zita Patai, Hugo Spiers, Rich Jones, Steve Hughes, Tracey Younghusband, Rob Thurlow, Mark Wardle, John Rhyder, Adam Shereston, John Pahl, and Richard Nissen. Thanks also to the many others who have come on courses or got in touch to share observations or experiences.

Thank you, Neil Gower, for your brilliant illustrations and cover, as always.

My sister, Siobhan Machin, offered sage advice at a critical stage and I will be in trouble if she has not been thanked over a decent lunch by the time of publication, and with a sincere thank you here.

A big thank you to Hazel Orme, Cameron Myers, Rebecca Mundy, Caitriona Horne, and Ben Summers and all at Sceptre for all your hard work. Any errors are mine alone.

I would like to thank my agent Sophie Hicks and editor Rupert Lancaster, whose enthusiasm and encouragement made embarking on this book possible and whose patience and assistance made completion much more enjoyable.

Finally, Id like to thank my family and friends for their support, not least when Im tired from tiger-wrestling.

THE NATURE INSTINCT: Learn to Find Direction, Sense Danger, and Even Guess Natures Next Move Faster Than Thought
Copyright 2018 by Tristan Gooley Illustrations copyright 2018 by Neil Gower
Originally published in the UK as Wild Signs and Star Paths by Sceptre in 2018. First published in North America by The Experiment, LLC, in 2018.

All rights reserved. Except for brief passages quoted in newspaper, magazine, radio, television, or online reviews, no portion of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or information storage or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Gooley, Tristan, author. | Gower, Neil, illustrator.
Title: The nature instinct : relearning our lost intuition for the inner workings of the natural world / Tristan Gooley ; illustrations by Neil Gower.
Other titles: Wild signs and star paths
Description: New York, NY : The Experiment, LLC, [2018] | Published in England as: Wild signs and star paths. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018024890 (print) | LCCN 2019000045 (ebook) | ISBN 9781615195169 (ebook) | ISBN 9781615194797 | ISBN 9781615194797(cloth) | ISBN 9781615195169(ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Outdoor recreation. | Outdoor life. | Navigation. Classification: LCC GV191.6 (ebook) | LCC GV191.6 .G66 2018 (print) | DDC
790.06/8--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018024890

ISBN 978-1-61519-591-6
Ebook ISBN 978-1-61519-516-9

Cover and text design by Beth Bugler Author photograph by Ben Queenborough
Manufactured in the United States of America

First paperback printing August 2019
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To the kindest animals; you know who you are.

Index

A

air

animals

See also individual species

birds

B

badgers

bark

the brain

See also thinking

. See also wind

See also individual species

body language

clouds

color

bubbles

C

D

danger, defense from. See defense

dawn and dusk

death

deer

compasses

constellations

See also individual constellations

direction

See also navigation

dogs

defense

See also predators and prey

experience

expressions

eyes

F

drumlins

dusk. See dawn and dusk

E

ears

See also sound

emotions

. See also tracking

forests. See trees; woodland and forests

fish

See also individual species

flocks

flowers

H

. See also rabbits

. See also sound

hedges

fungi

G

grass

See also predators and prey

I

ice

images

indigenous peoples

herds. See flocks

hiking. See walking

hills

hunting

K

keys

insects

See also individual species

intuition

as

See also wisdom

J

L

landscapes

learning

light

See also signs

knowledge

See also wisdom

monkeys

See also the sun

M

maps

O

. See also folklore

P

motion

N

nature

navigation

using

See also direction

pigeons

plants

paths. See tracks and paths

pattern recognition

perception