Using Herbs Simply & Safely
Review by Jan Calloway Baxter
mentor at the Wise Woman University

Using Herbs Simply and Safely - 2 CD Set
Susun Weed.  HerbFest 2000
 
In her talk on Using Herbs Simply and Safely,
give at Herb Fest 2000, Susun Weed gives us a clear vision to help us
determine when the revolution is upon us. “I’m glad to see doctors using herbs,” she says. “But when I see
four-year-olds using herbs, THAT’s a revolution! I couldn’t help but
visualize Susun’s Granddaughter Monica-Jean when reading this
statement—even though she’s only three.
I’m sure many of you, like me, have followed the
growth of this remarkable girl on Susun’s You Tube videos and in the
photos in this newsletter. Monica-Jean chops comfrey and picks
dandelions like she was born to it. And she was! The revolution has
arrived.
And one of the most important boundaries we must
navigate during this revolution, as we go forth following Monica-Jean’s
lead, is the distinction between the wholesome and the unwholesome uses
of herbs.
This talk clearly delineates this difference by
looking at examples, discussing methods of preparation, examining the
consequences of the growing herbal marketplace, and many other issues.
Every time I listen to one of Susun’s CDs, I come away with a feeling of
additional understanding. This one is no different.
Susun names herself a Simpler—one who uses herbs
simply, one at a time. Her famous analogy demonstrating vividly how
using one herb at a time is like going to bed with only one person at a
time has stuck in my mind since the first time I heard it!
She also explains the admirable basis on which
she builds her herbal tradition—she wants to empower us, teach us to use
the herbs ourselves, to make our own identifications, our own
tinctures, and our own infusions. By making our own medicines, we are
in harmony with the Earth, we are not leaning on the marketplace—where
someone might want to sell you their special secret combination to heal
you. We can heal ourselves and each other and gain in knowledge and in
power.
Of course this does not mean that she uses only
one herb a day. To explain this, she talks about her four divisions of
herbs—although a surprise fifth division comes up before the class is
over, lending support to the idea that nature abhors organization. The
four main divisions are nourishing, tonifying, stimulating/sedating, and
potentially poisonous. She might eat an apple (nourishing), a salad
with motherwort vinegar (tonifying), lay her head on a lavender dream
pillow to relax (sedating). Potentially poisonous herbs, like poke,
might also be used if an emergency occurred on that same day.
Another very important message Susun gets across
in this talk is the danger of powdered herbs served in capsules, “the
least effective, most cost-prohibitive way to use herbs.” And, like
special mixes, where you can’t tell which herb is helping you, a
consequences of what Susun calls the herbal marketplace.
Much more information is available in this basic 2
CD set such as the liver protecting benefits of milk thistle, the
fallacy of “cleansing” and fasting one’s body, and why your tongue
pushes food up against the soft palate when you swallow.
So far I’ve really only covered one of the two
stories Susun tells in this talk to help explain how we use herbs. She
also goes into great detail about the differences between allopathic
medicine and homeopathic medicine. You may be surprised to find out
which side of that dichotomy you come down on. You can also find out
why she believes flower essences are like email sex.
This informative CD set is very appropriate for
someone just beginning to use herbs for health. It also has new ways of
viewing the use of herbs that would enlighten even an experienced hand.
I was delighted to discover that on this CD, I could clearly here
every question asked by the audience. And if you get bothered at the
beginning of the CD by what sounds like a wind noise, don’t despair. It
goes away quickly.
So hang on Monica-Jean. Keep stuffing those
dandelions in the jar, and pouring that olive oil over the comfrey.
You’ll be four, soon, and we’ll be right behind you.


© 2010  Jan Calloway Baxter
See my Crone doll at herbalmedicinehealing.com.
Connecting with Nature through your Chakras
—Part One, Root Chakra
by Catherine Bastedo

author of Bird Vibes
Spiritual Insight Through Birds

photo by Diane Schreiner 

Root Chakra

The
root chakra is the chakra where you sense the strength of your
connection to your family, your tribe, your networks, and the earth
itself.  Your roots may be deep and far reaching, entwined around
family and friends, or they may be shallow, just lying on the surface. 
You may even feel completely unrooted and not part of this earth.

Sometimes
holidays like Thanksgiving or Christmas or Chinese New Year, confirm a
wonderful sense of belonging and rootedness.  We may be very grateful
for present and past relatives.  Or again these gatherings may point
out how disconnected we are; we may wish to be elsewhere and want to run
away from it all. 

All
this and more resides in your root chakra.  To get a sense of the
vitality of your own root, take a few relaxing breaths and ask yourself
these questions:

• Do you take pleasure in your family and your groups of friends?


• Do you enjoy the companionship of your colleagues?


• Do you feel a close connection to the earth?


• Do you have a sense of belonging?


• What about practical day-to-day living – is it easy or would you rather live in the realm of ideas, dreams, and myths?


• Do you feel safe?


• Are your basic needs (food, shelter, clothing) met?  Or, on the contrary, are you overwhelmed by having too many possessions?

If you feel that your root chakra could use a tune up, here are 10 suggestions to help.  Try a few:

• Take
  a walk outside, truly paying attention –to the temperature, the wind,
  the sky, and particularly the ground.  You may see snow or grass, hill
  or plain, city street or pine forest, but wherever you are, observe
  your surroundings.  Notice the smell; listen to the sounds under your
  feet—the crisp crunch of snow, the squelch of wet earth, or the tinkle
  of sea shells as the waves recede from the shore; feel the air on your
  face.  And look for something in your natural environment that you have
  not really seen before.


• Touch
  the floor of the room where you are with your hands.  Imagine you are
  touching the type of ground you like best—sand, new grass, moss, or
  sun-warmed rock.  Picture the warmth that comes to you from that touch
  and let that sensation work its way up from your hands and feet through
  your arms and legs into your lower body.  Welcome this grounding heat.


• Buy a
  plant, or look after one you have now.  Loosen the earth; give it
  water; admire the leaves in all their beauty.  Let this plant
  represent all growing things, all of nature’s bounty.  Be grateful for
  this plant.


• Find
  a rock or crystal that you enjoy holding.  How does it feel?  Describe
  it, draw it, and include it in your journal.  Is it rough or smooth,
  dull or shiny?   Note its colour.  Does it have a smell?  Do you notice
  a vibration?  Let this rock or crystal represent Mother Earth and her
  beauty.


• Make sounds that come from your root chakra—deep full-bodied noises – ooh…ooh…


• Jump
  up and down lightly, if you are able to do so, and notice the soles of
  your feet connecting to the earth.  Feel that connection reverberate
  through your feet, ankles, legs, knees, and spinal column.


• Dance,
  moving your body to your own rhythm, noticing how your root chakra
  anchors your movements and allows the flow to move throughout your
  body.


• Eat something fabulous and healthy.


• Imagine
  that you are lying outside in your favourite place, feeling Mother
  Earth beneath you, holding you close, loving you, protecting you from
  harm.


• Visit
  with someone older than you – a relative, a neighbour, a friend. 
  Chose that person because she or he gives you a sense of your roots and
  where you belong.  Think about what makes the two of you different,
  and what you have in common.

Notice
the changes in your root chakra after one or more of these exercises. 
Continue to practice, and as you do, you will strengthen your root and
increase its energy.

Further information, exercises and meditations are included in my class, Chakra Basics. This
class will help you learn the location of your seven major chakras and
their attributes, as well as the state of health of your own chakras
and how they affect your emotional and physical health.  You will learn
how to sense your chakras, connect with them and clear them, through
quick exercises and fun and interesting assignments.

Please join me for the next edition of Chakra Basics, starting March 12, 2011.
2011 © Catherine Bastedo
Vision Reiki www.visionreiki.com
Catherine Bastedo is the author of Bird Vibes,
a meditation deck to provide insight into current life situations by
connecting with nature and the universal energy in us and around us and
the book, Les oiseaux, nos guides spirituels. She
offers Holographic-Usui Reiki sessions and classes, and holds Inner
Guidance Nature Workshops and Retreats in Ottawa, Toronto, Muskoka,
and other locations. She teaches Chakra Basics at Wise Woman University.

 
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Shamanic Weed Walk – Review by Jan Baxter
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Herbal Medicine As A Subversive Act - Review by Jan Baxter
The Visionary Art of Martina Hoffman - Review by Jan Baxter
Optimum Nutrition - Review by Jan Calloway-Baxter
Herbal Healing for Women - Review by Jan Calloway-Baxter
Magical Plants - Review by Jan Calloway-Baxter
Elements of Herbalism: Harvesting - Review by Jan Calloway-Baxter
The Visionary Art of Martina Hoffmann - Review by Jan Calloway-Baxter