The Land Here that Nourishes Me

There is a beautiful place up north of where I live.  It is a national wildlife refuge.  I go there often and visit such plants as lomatium nudicale, wild onion, yarrow, St. Joan’s Wort and many others.  

Yesterday, I took two of my herbal teachers there as well as other herbalists to say “Hi” to the lomatium.  I felt vulnerable in sharing my place that I go to connect with the plants.  And I feel honored to share such a wonderful place. 

One of my most important things to share about shamanic herbalism and the plants is how to connect close in.  To find a deep connection in nature right where you are is life changing.  

At the NW Herb Symposium this weekend, Susun Weed shared a story at her “Wild Plants Matter” class about having a fall in Costa Rica and a traditional healer coming to bring plants from the land to heal her.  She shared how it brought everyone closer to the land where they were staying.   

I am grateful to be home after a wonderful weekend with many herbalists and plant loving people.  And I am grateful for the land here that nourish me.  

May it be in Beauty.  

A Life of Listening

It’s been a hot, dry summer. 

I have been enjoying our little plot of earth here on Whidbey Island.  

We don’t have a problem here with the heat and the dryness.  This is because I have learned to go with the flow.  Instead of lamenting over what could have been if it had rained, I instead have enjoyed seeing what grows well in a hot, dry summer and what would enjoy plenty of rain.  

The little Vervain plant is very happily still blooming.  The rosa gallica officianalis is vibrant.  The burdock under the Douglas fir trees has it made in the shade, continuing with its first year/second year growth.  The comfrey is a bit wilted but still remains steadfast.  The nettle is seeding very well, and in the goat pasture, there is vibrant green end of summer nettle emerging.  

The tomatoes didn’t really grow much but produced a few tomatoes.  I let them be, first I watered them but it became clear that because they were in our new hugel bed that I would have to water a lot.  I chose not to do that, to use a lot of water from our well.  Instead I have been purchasing my neighbors tomatoes.  

I want to share some wisdom here and don’t want to be too preachy.  

I really wanted to have more of a cultivated garden this year.  The wisdom though is that it will take more time for the hugel beds to be effective, especially since it is so dry.  And so I must continue to the patient.  This seems to be what the garden is teaching me.  Patience and persistence.  

The persistent part is that I continue to listen and follow the guidance given about what to do in the garden.  

I think I could become preachy is I tell you to follow your intuition no matter what, like I am an expert at it.  But that is not what is going on.  I am only a beginner at following my intuition.  And yet, I have started it.   I sometimes still feel quite vulnerable, especially when others look at my garden and what they see isn’t what they expected to see.  

There are many things that have helped me to begin a life of listening and following intuition.  One of the most important things is self love.  When they mind chatter voice wants to tell me I should just give it up, I know this is not the true me.  My love for myself is my love of life.  

May it be in Beauty.  

The Old Way is the New Way

A few weeks ago I wrote that the plants are not really medicinal.  Since then I have been thinking and thinking about medicine and what it really is.  What is happening with the plants is very much beyond the most common definition of medicine…”science and art of diagnosing and treating disease.”  There is another definition though…medicine can be “a ritual practice or shamanic practice.” Both these definitions were in the dictionary.  I want to take this concept outside of these definitions.  

In my study in shamanic herbalism and wise woman ways, I have learned that medicine is something that transforms us.  It is something we have, an innate sense of wisdom. Medicine is also that wisdom that is beyond us, that moves through all things and guides us forward.  

This goes hand in hand with why I say “the plants are not really medicinal.”  The plants are compassionate wisdom teachers.  They offer themselves to guide us.  We can receive this “medicine” energetically and we can take them in to further receive their power.  

When you know this about the plants, it creates an intimacy with them, a deep respect and reverence.  

One of the things that we do here at our farm is communicate with the plants.  We create relationships with them.  Before we ever harvest dandelion root for vinegars and tinctures, we listen to what the dandelion has for us.  So, when we partake of the dandelion root vinegar, we not only have a physical experience of the plant’s effect on us, we also receive more of that wisdom the dandelion spoke to us that is personal to our relationship with it.  

To say a plant is medicinal in the way that is most common to define medicine, is only scratching the surface of what each plant can do for us.  

It is a collaboration.  It is a weaving together of who we are and who the plant is.  

Here is an experiment for you:

• Go outside to a plant you know is edible, a vegetable, a weed, an herb etc.  
• Notice your breath and breathe a few breaths naturally. 
• Now breathe seven breaths as if you are breathing in the oxygen of this plant you wish to eat. And breathe out and give it your breath.  
• Ask the plant, “What have you for me?”  
• Listen.  
• Say thank you.  
• Now ask the plant if you may harvest some to eat.  Wait for a “yes”.  Say thank you and harvest.  
• See what happens.  

The old way is to be connected with all of life, to pay attention and be clear about our intentions.  

The old way is to be grateful for everything.  

The old way is now the new way.  

May it be in Beauty. 

Gathering In and Releasing Into

I am continuing my blog posts to inspire me to write more and eventually by next year produce a book about Shamanic Herbalism.  Today we gathered in circle to explore lifestyle medicine.  I offered a shamanic listening exercise to connect with the energy of receiving nourishment from the earth.

This exercise seemed so simple really.   And we all had deep results from participating in it.

I am sharing the shamanic listening exercise here so that you can explore this way of nourishment from the earth for yourself.

Gathering In and Releasing Into ~ Shamanic Listening Exercise:
Go out on the earth.  Take some time to walk and be present with your surrounding.  Do this for a short while.  Pay attention to your breath. As you breathe in, imagine that what you require is coming up into you from the earth.  And when you breathe out, imagine that you are releasing everything so longer required back to the earth.  This exercise will allow you to tune into the rhythm of the earth.  When you are complete, offer gratitude.  

What I have discovered from offering my students and apprentices these exercises over the years is that it is one thing to read this and another to do it.  

I invite you to participate in this exercise and I welcome your feedback in the comments on this blog.  

May it be in Beauty.  

Shadow and Light

This last weekend I was at the Viridis Genii Symposium in Oregon.  I was inspired by the speakers, by the community and by the plants.  Under my feet was self heal, violet, plantain.  And towering over my head was old growth Douglas Fir.

I love to celebrate the earth holidays.  We are just on the heels of Lammas.  This is the celebration of the first harvest and proclaims the end of summer.  Although very hot when I left Whidbey Island to attend this conference, I returned to cooler temperatures and I thought I could feel a tinge of fall on the wind.

I remember reading once that in days of old, the people would celebrate the harvest and there was another feeling too....one of fear.  Will the harvest be enough?  Will the food I gathered last until the first harvests of spring?

Although most people these days don't grow there own food (many of the people I know do).  There is still a fear looming around at this time.  This is the shadow.   What I have discovered by working with the earth and plant teaching is wisdom to carry forth through fear and doubt, and to actually lessen those feelings in favor of more possibility.

I wrote an eBook a few years ago about shadow and light.  I am pasting it here.  It includes a poem and then a shamanic exercise to work with the energy of the shadows that come forth during this time of the first harvest.

Shadow and Light

I have noticed
A holy presence
Here on the land
And in the garden
The hard work;
The planting, the watering,
The weeding, the tending,
The listening, the trusting
Is all coming
To fruition.
It is time now
To stand back
And witness
And begin the harvest.
In the old days, I heard

This time of year
Brought inspiration
...and fear
The peoples
Of the land
Held gratitude
For gifts of the green
And there was another energy;
A fear it would not
Be enough.
That energy; the Shadow
Is created
By the great light of the Sun.
Within its holy presence
Is a mystery.

Shadow is rest,
Quietness on the surface.
Dig deeper now
And find treasures.
Within it are places
Still needing nourishment.
Places we ignored or forgot
When we were cultivating.
We can look for those places
See what work is ahead of us
As we prepare to
Return to the earth,
Venture within and explore
Our vast inner landscape

Here is a shamanic exercise to explore the Shadow and turn your fears into inspiration:

Go out in your yard, to a local park or venture into the forest. 

Find a great tree that casts a large shadow on the ground. 

Stand in the tree's shadow. Notice your breath, and breathe in the oxygen from this tree and breathe out as an offering in exchange. 

Ask three questions and after each one listen, observe and notice what see, hear, smell, taste and feel as you stand in that shadow listening. What part of me have I forgotten?... What nourishment is needed?... Who are my helpers? 

When this is complete, step out into the light, the sun again and look at the great shadow. Feel the sun's warmth and strong rays on you.  Acknowledge both energies and welcome them...both are needed. 

Give thanks to the tree, the sun, the shadow cast and treasures you are discovering.

May it be in Beauty.

Soon It Will Be Time For The Cutting of the Trees to Stop

"I did return. I left my mom's house in my car alone, drove out of town and toward Lake Quinault. I found a dirt road around the wild side of the lake and started on it. I came to a very large, old Douglas Fir tree that wa growing near the road. I got out of my car and immediately began to sob. I told the tree how sorry I was for all the clear cutting that the humans were doing. I circled around the tree and cried and cried. Then I asked the tree what I could do. "Soon it will be time for the cutting of the trees to stop." It told me. "The ones that are cutting the trees will not be the ones to stop it." I knew what the tree meant. It meant that the trees would stop the clear cutting. I did not understand this but knew that this was so."

From Verdant Gnosis, Cultivating the Green Path
My essay is "The Wisdom of the Trees"