Creative Ageing Blogs
Sunak’s Natural Happiness Manifesto
Prompted by months of low ratings, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced a radical change of routes with a new manifesto based on the organic growth principles of Alan Heeks’ new book, Natural Happiness. Posing with his lectern beside a tree in St James’ Park,...
Creation Spirituality: what, why, how
Align your own creative power within the divine The essence of creation spirituality is this idea: that the creation of our world was not a one-off event billions of years ago: it is a process continuing in every moment, and each of us can contribute. As Neil...
Down the Garden Path with Joanne Shaw | Listen Now
Alan Heeks joins Joanne Shaw on her podcast, Down the Garden Path. Episode title: Natural Happiness: Use Organic Gardening Skills to Cultivate Yourself with Alan Heeks Podcast now available to listen to or download direct from the Down the Garden Path website. Down...
Nourishing body and soul
Nourishing body and soul: Reinventing spiritual community We live in a time of impending crisis, when I hear many people urging the need for sanctuary, hospicing, and a deeper sense of community. Implicit in such words, but rarely discussed, is the huge...
Garden hamlets: a sane response to crazy times
Improving food security and affordable housing supply There's a widespread view that strengthening local communities will be crucial in the years ahead, to help us all to adapt to increasing levels of disruption, including food supplies, utilities, weather...
The Roots and All Podcast by Sarah Wilson | Listen now
Alan Heeks joins Sarah Wilson on The Roots and All Podcast. Podcast now available to listen below. Sarah Wilson's description of the show This episode my guest is Alan Heeks, former corporate world inhabitant, organic farmer, coach and author of the book ‘Natural...
The Great Awakening Show, UK Health Radio podcast | Listen now
Alan Heeks joins Joanne-Divine Life Yogini on her UK Health Radio programme, The Great Awakening Show. Episode title: Connecting with Nature Podcast now available to listen to or download direct from the UK Health Radio website. UK Health Radio's description of the...
Green prescribing and Natural Happiness
Growing wellbeing from the roots I see green prescribing as one of the more hopeful innovations by the NHS in recent years. This blog explains briefly what it is, and shows how my Natural Happiness methods can contribute to it. NHS England’s website has a whole...
What others say about Natural Happiness
Feedback on the book, workshops and coaching Endorsements for the book Natural Happiness is inspiring and practical. Based on decades of hands-on experience, Alan Heeks entwines gardening strategies with mindful exercises that are proven to improve your...
RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival 2024 | July 3
Alan Heeks will discuss the approach set out in his new book, Natural Happiness: Use Organic Gardening Skills to Cultivate Yourself. Facilitator: Alan Heeks Alan Heeks is a wellbeing expert and keen gardener with many years’ experience helping people to cultivate...
The Roots of Wellbeing: Online Workshop | June 4
This is an opportunity to learn about the self-help approach developed by Alan Heeks and set out in his new book, Natural Happiness: use organic gardening skills to cultivate yourself. Alan will introduce the concept, offer a guided visualisation exercise, and also...
Happiness in Gardening: Hay Festival | May 31
Growing plants, whether inside or outside, can foster feelings of happiness and bring people together. Community gardener and designer Tayshan Hayden-Smith and writer Alan Heeks discuss the importance of greenery of all kinds. Hayden-Smith’s Small Space...
Secrets of Natural Happiness: Mind Body Spirit Festival | May 26
Deepen your roots and blossom through the storms of midlife and beyond: cultivate your human nature with the skills that organic gardeners use. For example, organic systems compost waste to give energy for growth: learn how to compost negative feelings and stress as a...
Men’s Elderhood Retreat | May 10-12
A men's peer group This weekend offers a shared space to explore as a peer group how we harvest the fruits, enjoy the blessings and adjust to the downsides of getting older: a chance to look afresh and consider the future we'd like to help create. How can we serve as...
Natural Happiness: Use Gardening Skills to Cultivate Yourself | April 19-21
April 19-21, 2024 at Hawkwood Centre for Future Thinking, Stroud In these uncertain times, this workshop will help you deepen your roots and grow your resilience. With sessions in Hawkwood's gardens, you'll experience how organic skills like composting,...
Natural Happiness book signing at North Books, Hay-on-Wye | March 22
Alan's new book, Natural Happiness: Use Organic Gardening Skills to Cultivate Yourself will be published on 29 March. Get your copy of the book ahead of the launch at this event, where Alan will be sharing the stories behind Natural Happiness, reading short excerpts,...
Natural Happiness: Online Event | March 20
Deepening the Roots of Resilience This event is hosted by the Association of Sustainability Practitioners (ASP) Alan Heeks shares some powerful insights from his new book, Natural Happiness, and from his research on raising community resilience. Compost your troubles!...
Natural Happiness: Online Event | March 7
Use Organic Gardening Skills to Cultivate Yourself This is a unique chance to hear Alan share the stories behind his new book, Natural Happiness: use organic gardening skills to cultivate yourself. He will describe how these methods have helped him and many others....
‘Deepening Your Roots’ Walk | September 8
Guided Walk around Talgarth, Brecon with special guest author Alan Heeks talking about 'Natural Happiness' An inner and outer exploration on foot from Talgarth, including magical woods and waterfalls, and Black Mountain College’s pioneering organic farm. Alan Heeks...
From Composting to Co-creation | October 18-20 2024
GreenSpirit Annual Gathering We live in a world of beauty and joy, yet also face challenges and suffering. Green spirituality teaches us that creation and transformation are part of our journey, inviting us to co-create with nature. During this weekend event, featured...
Faith, Hope, Resilience | Saturday November 9
A reflective day With Alan Heeks and Simon Lockett How can we find our steady centre in these uncertain times? Where do we place our faith and our hope? What would spiritual resilience look like, for us and our communities? This day of exploration and support will...
Men’s Elderhood Retreat | November 15-17
A men's peer group Llanthony Valley, Black Mountains, Wales This weekend offers a shared space to explore as a peer group how we harvest the fruits and adjust to the losses of getting older: a chance to look afresh at our past and present, and consider the future...
UK Health Radio podcast | Listen now
Alan Heeks joins Danielle Sax on her UK Health Radio show From Stress To Authentic Success. Episode title: How to work with natural processes to create your happiness and health Podcast now available to listen to or download direct from the UK Health Radio...
The Spiritual Forum | Watch now
Alan Heeks in interview with the Rev. Carol Saunders from The Spiritual Forum. Episode details Alan Heeks left his successful business career to start an organic farm from scratch. This bold transition led him to profound insights about cultivating human nature.🌱 In...
The Exploding Human podcast | Listen now
Alan joins Bob Nickman in this episode from The Exploding Human: Natural Happiness and the Nature of Nature. Episode details ALAN HEEKS is an inspiring guide to helping people cultivate their wellbeing through parallels with Nature. After a Harvard MBA and successful...
Spiritual Unity Today podcast | Listen now
Alan Heeks in conversation with Larry Bloomfield on US radio show Spiritual Unity Today on KXCR. Click here to listen to the podcast. KXCR's description of the show Join Larry Bloomfield, host of Spiritual Unity Today, to hear stories of hope, spiritual...
Seven Seeds Overview
How can you stay happy when there’s too much change and uncertainty? Are there ways to bounce back and thrive if life is getting you down? Natural Happiness uses skills from organic gardening and farming to help you cultivate your own wellbeing. The Seven Seeds...
Natural Happiness Seed 1: Nourish Your Roots
This is the first in a series of blogs presenting the Seven Seeds of Natural Happiness, a unique way to help people grow their own happiness using parallels with organic gardening and farming, created by Alan Heeks. For an overview of all seven seeds, click here. In...
Natural Happiness Seed 2: Natural Energy Sources
Do you find it’s getting harder to find the energy to get through the day? You’re not alone! Life and work really are getting more complex and demanding for most of us, so it’s no wonder if your energy feels depleted more often. One reason why this topic is so...
Natural Happiness Seed 3: Compost Your Troubles
Imagine that you can tap into a major new source of energy and insight, that’s already within you: it’s free, abundant, and just needs a bit of effort to process it. What’s more, you’ll be creating benefits out of problems that drain energy and pollute your inner...
Alan Heeks
Alan was born in 1948, went to a grammar school in Reading, and studied English Language and Literature at Oxford University 1966-69. He comments “Those three years were an intense awakening after a pretty lousy adolescence. The music and politics of the time are still for me deeply entwined with the beauty of the city and with my love for poetry and literature, from the Anglo-Saxons through Shakespeare to George Elliot.”