Reflections on Organic Horticulture, Kitchen Alchemy, Herbalism, Art, and Spirituality.
Wild (adj): (1)untamed, undomesticated, living freely in a natural habitat; (2)enthusiastic or eager; (3)lively and showing a disregard for rules; (4)unconventional; (5) visionary; (6)extraordinary; (7)excellent
from a recent trip to Blackwater Falls Nat'l Park:
"I am a frayed and nibbled survivor in a fallen world, and I am getting along. I am aging and eaten and have done my share of eating too.
I am not washed and beautiful, in control of a shining world in which everything fits, but instead am wandering awed about on a splintered wreck I’ve come to care for, whose gnawed trees breathe a delicate air, whose bloodied and scarred creatures are my dearest companions, and whose beauty beats and shines not in its imperfections but overwhelmingly in spite of them, under the wind-rent clouds, upstream and down.”
and as I swatted at the fly it was as if sliced through spacetime breaking it into a kaleidoscope of many I usually do not like to kill things but this death brought more and the more was good.
And so our story begins
I closed my eyes it was as though illuminated from within darkness did not fall as usual with the falling of my lids but rather light and the more I looked I began to see my own eye looking back at me and it blinked and looked around seeing me from within seeing everything at all.
A myriad of bug bites had appeared overnight itching up a storm like mystical pinpoints of union with the divine infecting me with an awakened fury recalling a time, that as a child I had that fever and that fleeting glimpse
The song, it played for me, and I for it.
Oh the muse from whence does she go to where does she come
All of our knowing is built on a foundation of indigeneity - no matter how far we have strayed
it’s there at the root our core churning out the truth ineffable though it is it calls to us on the wind…
When I was dealing with Corona in my lungs a couple months ago, I utilized Mullein in my formula. I had some already harvested and dried at that time, but decided that I should also harvest some more to have on hand with this respiratory virus going around. Mullein is heavy this year, as plants seem often want to do when they are needed, showing their perfect timing and immersion in the flow.
While harvesting I began to sing to Mullein about what was going on and why I was harvesting her leaves and then to sing to the virus that was meshing with my body.
I'm not singer, but I am a long-time student of breath as a mindfulness practice, and the virus had made me short of breath, just doing simple activities like picking Mullein. This shortness of breath for no real reason* (I wasn't running up a hill - nor did I have a knee on my neck) was a new experience for me (having never had asthma or pneumonia or anything like it) and I felt it important that I try to deep breathe and stay in touch with my lungs. I think this is why the singing happened, this undeniable connection to breath. I felt compelled and I obliged.
The vibrations from singing with what little breath I could take felt healing for my body, just as I feel the cat's healing medicine when they lean against my chest and purr. I am thankful for the ~sound.~ I sang to the virus as yet another way to connect to this other part of life that was finding its terrain in my body - lyrics of a willingness to hear its song too. A mutual expression of meeting, of life, of relationship, of learning. And here, this weekend, Mullein comes to me again in the most majestic form. Truly a crowning. <3
Corona is teaching us to look at what we are giving birth to; various things are coming to term that have long been in the works, but we still have choices to make as to have they are received and what we do with what is born unto us.
Also, I wanted to share my formulary for those who know the herbs well enough by sight. I do not want to simply share a list of the herbs I utilized to get through the acute stages as they may not be the right ones for you. There is not a one size fits all answer in Herbalism as the body that a pathogen engages plays a role in how the pathogen manifests - and even if it manifests at all. This means that herbs are utilized for the specific body that has symptoms and what those symptoms are; Herbalism is not a 'take this for that' modality. So my formula for Corona may not be your formula for Corona and you do not want to make yourself worse; so please consult with a qualified practitioner if you are wanting to utilize herbs for Corona. But for those who know the herbs and understand differential diagnosis, I will share pictures for you to see what I utilized, and feel free to talk to me privately.
Mullein, Raspberry Leaf, and Boneset were infused with the decoction below.
Many of you will recognize fresh sliced Ginger root and dried Citrus peel; these support digestion among other things. This is the formula I used at the peak of acuity with Corona when I felt I was going toward cytokine storm territory. Severe lung pain that had began at the bottom and worked its way up to feel it was encompassing them, wracking "bone" pain, could hardly take a breath, headache, strange heartbeat, severe fatigue, runny nose, sore throat, neck pain. I noticed immediate results from the formula. I had been on a different formula leading up to this point, and after peaking and feeling "better" I moved to formulas more nourishing and recovery oriented.
I am still doing this now, but seem to have been left with a strange, but not severe, "achiness" in my whole body and strange pains I am not used to along with hands or fingers going to sleep for no reason. I am working to alleviate this, focusing on Blood. I no longer have the list of symptoms I had before, all that is cleared up except I still have fatigue, though it's nowhere near what it was.
words. seeming inviolable. and at once perturbed. a mist receding. the darkness conjures and the light reflects. but where did they go. the tail spins off and I am lost again. a myriad of destinations. leading nowhere. and straight home to me.
Welp, it has been forever since I posted; can you tell I am building a house? Lots of the things I used to do, and plan to get back to, have fallen to the wayside in order to focus on this massive project. It's an interesting phase in life, a all-encompassing hiatus, sorta like getting a degree or having a newborn.
Nonetheless, I just had a much-needed vacation and went to Georgia for the American Herbalist Guild Symposium and also got to explore some of the surrounding mountains of the Chattahochee National Forest. It's gorgeous down there! The vibrant, yet gentle, light and color of the changing leaves soothed my soul. I want to share a few of the highlights here; may they soothe you too.
First, a minute-long video for you to pause and take a deep breath and center yourself.
This was taken near a large waterfall which you will hear. Just breathe as you watch; that is all you need to do. Let the water wash away your tensions, your cares fall away with the leaves.
"Tension is who you think you should be.
Relaxation is who you are."
- Chinese Proverb
“You drown not by falling into a river,
but by staying submerged in it.”
- Paulo Coelho
"I planted my self in the middle of a great many Glasses full of Dew, tied fast about me, upon which the Sun so violently darted his Rays, that the Heat, which attracted them, as it does the thickest Clouds, carried me up so high, that at length I found my self above the middle Region of the Air." - Cyrano de Bergerac
Once upon a time, when women were birds, there was the simple understanding
that to sing at dawn and to sing at dusk was to heal the world through joy.
The birds still remember what we have forgotten, that the world is meant to be celebrated.”
- Terry Tempest Williams
"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes,
but in having new eyes."
- Marcel Proust
“A Woman in harmony with her spirit
is like a river flowing.
She goes where she will without pretense
and arrives at her destination
prepared to be herself
and only herself ” - Maya Angelou
“The most common form of despair is not being who you are.”
the ancient law of life.” -Hermann Hesse, 'Wandering'
“Poetry is what happens when nothing else can.” ― Charles Bukowski
“Whether you try too hard to fit in
or you try too hard to stand out,
it is of equal consequence:
you exhaust your significance.”
― Criss Jami
“your life is your life don’t let it be clubbed into dank submission. be on the watch. there are ways out. there is a light somewhere. it may not be much light but it beats the darkness. be on the watch. the gods will offer you chances. know them. take them. you can’t beat death but you can beat death in life, sometimes. and the more often you learn to do it, the more light there will be. your life is your life. know it while you have it. you are marvelous the gods wait to delight in you.” ― Charles Bukowski, "The Laughing Heart." from 'Betting on the Muse'
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