Brown Bear Herbs Herbalism & Tactics for Thriving Together

This week we will be meditating on an unknown herb of Chinese Classical Medicine. The reveal date on your pouch should match the date on the post--9/19 (a Thursday!).  Meditate and share your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual observations in the comments.  A summary will appear here when I reveal the herb. If you would like to join in, we'd love to have you. Check it out here.  Some areas of observation during your meditation and the day/days thereafter: -bodily changes (physical) -energetic shifts -mood/attitude changes -thoughts that arise that aren’t things you normally would think about (like you might normally be thinking about cooking dinner (so skip sharing that), but after taking the plant, you are also thinking about an old relationship and felt remorse, or forgiveness, or new awareness—share that) -images that come to mind -songs that come to mind -messages and/or phrases and their meaning to you if not the same for everyone

This week we meditated on Agrimony, Agrimonia eupatoria, an herb of traditional Western herbalism.  Pre-Meditation Mildly astringent. A little sweet, mild green taste. Meditation 1 My daughter: I saw a bat was flying. He started out by our house and then flew over the church. An owl murdered him. She stuck her claws through his chest, all the way through the other side.  Me: I kept being brought to my left shoulder (former arthritis) and how easy it was to heal. The thinking was to remember how easy it was to heal that shoulder and think of my current problems like that. Then I thought of law suits. How I get into a lot of them. Often astrology will be expressed whether you want it to our not. For example, at one point I said to myself 'I am sick of the law, I never want to deal with a law suit again. I'll avoid them at all costs." Shortly after that I was dealing with three suits against me, three entire fraudulent law suits, all beyond my control to "avoid them". At that point I decided my thought was not the right one! It is better to recognize that the archetype will be at play and to engage with it in the way that works best for you. I just had a law suit conclude positively and am looking two more potential suits. I have been thinking about how I tend to let people walk all over me, and how I can change that. Maybe this strategy will feel more appropriate. Meditation 2 My daughter: My hands are shaking.  Me: My energy is in my lung heart area for a time. I feel pain in the center of my chest. I see bright yellow (neon? it is like the flowers) come up from my abdomen to my mouth. It says yellow is for speech too (something like that!). The talk is about something I did which created a big change. I did this by using my voice. Then the energy rolls down to my abdomen. I feel movement down the center of my intestines (stomach and kidney channel area) then rolling down my left spleen channel area (to the left). It goes back and forth in those areas a few times. Not fast, just doing some energy work and switching.  Summary/Traditional Use Our experiences (including Alyssa's) touch on many of the uses of Agrimony: pain, activating voice, ending suspension (bat relating to the hanged man in tarot), use in relation to legal matters, nervousness, chest pain, intestinal health, and work. The magical and intense nature of this herb came to me more than it ever has. I felt like it has a cutting and dark nature--maybe it was the feeling of the owl grabbing the heart of the bat. This is not a negative at all--agrimony releases people from pain and situations that seem like they have no happy ending in sight. I will go through our list: Pain: Agrimonia is excellent for pain wherein the sufferer holds in their emotions and often their breath, puts on a happy face, and is stoic. Often those around the sufferer do not know the person has a problem. This herb helps people speak about their problems and breath through the pain. This can unwind the pain, and the social dynamics that are not being as supportive as they could be.  Activating voice: This herb has some interesting ways of freeing voice. It is useful for job interviews. I used it many times for jobs I wasn't passionate about but needed. In the job interviews they would ask me about my (not-closely related) passions and love my enthusiasm. We would barely discuss the position andmy feelings about it. Hired every time! I had a tea shop with agrimony growing around one of the seating areas. I repeatedly saw people walk into the area and share things with strangers they wouldn't normally open up about, and make good (often work related) connections. I used this herb for years (more on that in intestines) and it helped me open up and tell people how I was feeling. I once had migraines (almost every day for years) hardly anyone knew. I was definitely an agrimony type person.  Legal matters/Work: it is recommended to use agrimony on legal papers. This herb has a long reputation for working magic in law and work--any area where you feel you are stuck between a rock and a hard place. It has a way of opening up paths that are beyond your reality tunnel. In terms of work, it is important to play too. I like the Zoo song Alyssa posted in the comments. It is another form of venting to just stop the work mind and let loose, entering the animal world. I also like the "Make our dreams come true" lyric. Agrimony is for unstucking us--often that happens by helping us out of our limiting views. Our limits may be unnecessarily keeping doors closed. Prowl around and find out what's on the other side.  Nerves/Intestines: This herb is helpful for emotional reactions that often involve the intestines. I used this herb for some years to resolve IBS (variable) that had a lot to do with big emotions impacting my digestion. One key is to vent. Agrimony has this tea kettle without a vent feeling. It's great for everyone else, but up to your eyeballs with pressure for the one holding it all in. It helps you vent, breath, speak...other ways to release besides letting your poop-maker take the brunt of things.  Lungs/chest pain: This herb is used for asthma and problems were the breath is stuck. This could be emotional and/or something you catch. One way to describe flower essences (agrimony is a traditional fes) is that if you treat the emotions you are experiencing while in dis-ease, then the dis-ease can resolve quite quickly. There is not as heavy of a burden to move. I have internalized this way of thinking and always look at the emotional and spiritual side of things. This can help in the moment, but it can also teach us long terms lessons and prevent illnesses from taking such a deep hold in the future.  There are other uses for agrimony. This aerial parts are typically used as a tea or tincture. The flower essence too! Got a problem you can't seem to get out of? Try agrimony. Tell us your experiences with this herb below. It is in our Humanity tea:

This week we meditated on Bái Sháo, white peony root, scientific name Paeoniae Radix, an herb of Chinese Classical Medicine. Pre-Meditation I found this tea to have a very light flavor. I later read that some recommend steeping it for 20 minutes. I felt uplifted, that it was good I was drinking it, and it brought my energy up. My daughter describes the flavor as like leaves on a vegetable, a vegetable where you are not supposed to eat them. It tastes a little “forbidden”. Meditation 1 Me: Peony looks at my body, up and down from the inside. She says I had an accident and I made a life, a way of living, where my locus of grounding is my sexual body, this is to offset all the stuff I have going on upstairs. It is a center of gravity for for now (meaning where I can find balance). She seems to appreciate this.* Her presence moves up to my head. I see curling energies in my frontal lobe, coming out the front about an inch or two. The energy looks like clear flower petals curving out and up, but it also reminds me of the energy coming out of bodies in Princess Mononoke (we just saw the movie). She says there is a lot going on (in my brain) that needs support. The emotions come in from further back in my brain, and they are big. They come in and they are strong. It looks like a red line coming in from the back, right, middle area of my brain to the left frontal lobe. I feel supported by her and seen, it is hard to tell what is going on, but she can see and because of that she seems up for the job. My daughter: I saw flowers blooming out of my va-jay-jay. They were blooming out around my inner thighs and lower belly area. They were not specific flowers, just flowers. It made me feel kind of warm in that area. The flavor stayed on my tongue for a while.  Meditation 2 Me: I feel other activity and movement on my frontal lobe: I see ladders leaning on my forehead--like scaffolding, it's something for workers to climb. There is energy moving back and forth, mostly very front/forehead. The patterns of movment are new. It feels smooth and supportive. My daughter: I see the deer god from Princess Mononoke. In the movie when his hoof hits the land, it grows a bunch of flowers then they die. He is the god of life and death in the forest. In my vision, he was going across the pond. Every time he took a step, instead of them growing and dying, they grew, and grew more and spread around him. The feeling was peaceful and uplifting.  Summary and Traditional Use: After meditating with this tea we (all with female bodies) felt uplifted and supported. I noticed both my daughter and I had far less tension. This was an interesting experience because I had a little knowledge of this herb ahead of time but not much. Through my study of Western herbalism I had known of the use of peony root for neurological issues (such as seizures). I did not know its primary application in Chinese medicine is female reproductive health. I was surprised when both my daughter and I had experiences related to our reproductive organs. This is one more reason why I am so in love with plant meditation as a way to learn directly from herbs.  *Since she refers to a lifestyle where the focus is the sexual center (chakra 2), I think this may be referring to my study of Chinese medicine and Daoism where the meditation focus is usually the second chakra (compare to my usual meditation of the last 28 years, which focuses on the 3rd eye). SImilarly, when I have my period and am getting stressed, if I keep my energy in my pelvis I feel grounded and comfortable. If I try to keep my energy mental, I am more likely to get irritable or frustrated. The energy dynamic that came out of this accident feels similar and grounding. Overall my recovery is great and I think most people would not notice I was different. Staying grounded is an ongoing strategy to smooth things out and feel more peaceful. The sexual center (as Peony refers to it) is not just about sex. It also has a lot to do with creative expression (making a baby is only one way to be creative, lol). I have been diving into my art. See it here.  This herb has long been used to promote smooth liver qi. Liver qi stagnation is very common in our culture. Associated feelings are frustration, anger, depression, and resentment. What I witnessed in my daughter and myself felt like liver qi harmonizing. We both have a tendency to get frustrated, and we both felt noticeably peaceful. (Ah, the beauty of peony!) The liver is important for regulating and balancing hormones. When the liver if having trouble, it causes hormonal imbalance. In Chinese medicine the liver is often considered the organ to treat when there is a neurological problem, such as a head injury. By this connection these two parts of the body are not so disparate.  They can be healed in similar ways. This herb tonifies the blood, treating irregular, excessive, and delayed menses. It helps retain yin (which means it is valued during menopause when yin deficiency can cause hot flashes). Here is a brain health smoothie recipe and article that talks a little about the of peony to improve intelligence and clarity of thought. I will post a little more about Western use of this herb when I am back with my books! Check the comments.  Invitation This was such a sweet experience. Have you worked with peony root? If so please share your experiences and/or observations in the comments below. If you haven't tried plant meditation yet, I hope you try it out. Here is a video I made on what different plant meditation experiences can be like. 

This week we meditated with the gem essence of rhodochrosite. Meditation 1 Me: I saw pink moving in different areas of my body as my energy shifted. Root chakra and heart in particular.  My daughter: I kind of looked at a weirdly sunny valley a couple times, and that's it. Then I fell asleep. As I started to dream I saw random men in suits pole dancing.  Meditation 2 Me: I felt some intense energy (especially around my root chakra) and themes are round love and relationship arose. Overall I felt more peace in my heart and still in my heart area.  My daughter: I fell asleep. I don't like to fall asleep like that (not when I want to) but it was peaceful. Reflection: I would like to work with this essence more. It pointed out that I had taken some other essences not too long beforehand. I plan to work with this further and will add more comments about it. I have had remarkable experiences with this gemstone in the past, so much so that it is a favorite. I would like to better understand its mechanisms. I do look forward to sleeping tonight, hopefully the peaceful vibe will continue and I will sleep well. My daughter decided her plans for the evening were off the table and she headed to bed. yay! Traditional use: Supports the healing of deep and significant trauma that can prevent relationships. Opens the heart. Supports gentleness. Grounding, supports simplifying, supports directing your will (3rd chakra). It can help with sleep and nightmares. 

This week we meditated on Gégēn, Kudzu root, or Chinese arrowroot, scientific name Pueraria lobata, which is an herb of classical Chinese medicine. This herb is often used as a food. This herb is highly invasive in the United States, so enjoy it from healthy land (not sprayed or otherwise contaminated). Pre-mediation/taste Me: dry, a pungent smell, a little sweet and moist in the end in back of mouth, after the first taste finishes, My daughter: tastes like weird mushroom water, it has a taste that lingers in the back of my tongue, kind of sweet Overall: Pungent with sweet, nutritious, starchy substance to it. Meditation 1 Me: It felt like someone trying to get my attention. They want to help. They want to fix things. The things that are wrong feel far too big to fix. They are depressing. They are problems of oppression that are being acted out by the community and the law. The problems keep happening (to many people) because we all are collaborating/perpetuating the problem because many people refuse to see the problem and many who see it refuse to fight. It is so much easier to oppress victims. The helper wants to fix the problem, they have a simple solution. It is simple to them, but I am unwilling to compromise my heart to solve the problem. I don't even know if it is possible. But, I will not ever sell a piece of myself for freedom. I don't know how to do it, and I don't want to learn. Then the energy went to my frontal lob. Like a cuddle on my frontal lobe. It felt like white light holding the front of my brain above my eyes and up to my forehead. My daughter: I barely saw anything, but the second I closed my eyes my stomach hurt. It hurt through the entire meditation but it doesn't hurt anymore. General pain in my lower abdomen, more on the left side. It felt hot and a little vomit inducing. I had a lot of trouble focusing the entire time. Meditation 2 Me: I see myself drawing myself. This is in a way that I draw what my body feels, not how things look. Although, sometimes what I feel comes out as how something looks. I see lines coming down from my shoulders. Pencil lines. They come down from my shoulder girdle, down my torso. I will draw later. I feel the fixer again, wanting to change things. I want things to change too, but I don't think it is possible. We might look back on the things I have faced (and many others) as similar to atrocities like slavery in America, or the near extermination of our Indigenous population (if we can even recognize this as what it is), or the Holocaust. Then again, we may not see it. I don't know what to say to the fixer. At this point the only medicine may be a great embrace. A balm of two hearts holding each other by seeing and being seen, and the holding of bodies too. Then again, sometimes change comes like a flash of lighting. My daughter: I didn't really have an experience for like 9 minutes. Then I felt like I should be having one, and I did: There was an old Russian lady who pulled an entire turnip the size of her body out of the ground. She was actually a tiny cartoon Russian lady, so it wasn't the same as being the size of a regular body. The turnip was still huge, just not 5' 7". Maybe it was 4' 10"--it was a giant turnip and she was a small Russian. She pointed to something I couldn't see, she said, "Be gone, foul pest!" in heavily accented English. The foul pest was a baby elephant. I saw the baby elephant growing into an adult elephant (before my eyes). The growth process was really sped up. The elephant morphed into a teenage girl who was walking down the street with heavy head phones on. She was hunched over and looked really depressed. I felt like her heavy headphones represented the ears of an elephant. She was walking down the street and that was it. The turnip reminded me of a Stories Podcast story, The Ginormous Turnip, where they were trying to get a giant turnip out of the ground. They were all Russian. They were successful in the end. Summary/Traditional Use This plant is native to Asia and Australia, but now grows in North and South America, Africa, and Europe too. This is highly invasive in North America. It has a big root! According to the Iowa DNR "Kudzu roots are fleshy, with massive tap roots 7 inches or more in diameter, 6 feet or more in length, and weighing as much as 400 pounds. As many as thirty vines may grow from a single root crown." It is used extensively as a food (it is most common as a soup ingredient), and is considered more versatile than a turnip! It would certainly be impressive for anyone to pull this root out of the ground. Even a team of people! All parts of the plant are used medicinally. This plant works primarily with the earth element, related to the spleen and stomach. This is no surprise considering the masses this herb creates under the surface of the land. This herb is used for treating heat in the body and vomiting (Wilms, The Divine Farmer's Materia Medica). It is also being researched for use in ulcerative colitis, the findings are positive (example study). As previously mentioned this is a valuable plant for food, and certainly abundant. Many modern scientific studies validate the traditional use of Gégēn in treating diabetes and obesity. This herb supports the fluids.  This herb was traditionally used in Chinese medicine to relieve tension in the neck and shoulders (in the drawing experience it brought down the energy from my shoulders). This herb has long been used to expel pathogens (ex: flu) and promote eruptions (ie measles) to detoxify the body. This relates to the psychological issues the plant brought up in meditation. The experiences we had point to its ability to unearth large problems (the elephant in the room) impacting the emotional (and physical) of the person. Alcohol abuse is an example (as is overeating) of an emotional avoidance strategy. This herb is used to treat alcoholism, both to treat cravings and hangover (sources here). In Chinese medicine the spleen is related to the grandparents. I think of the spleen as having the wisdom of ages--often carrying defense strategies from previous lifetimes to protect out body. The spleen is also persistent, worrying over problems. Spleen 21, Dàbāo, or "the great embrace", is an excellent point for bringing huge insults to the surface to be honored and released, and thereby improving health dramatically. Sometimes this happens as fast as lightening, which cracks the dark sky and brings the energy down to the earth. I started as a dreamworker and found herbs to be a quicker way to bring people to an Aha! moment. When an herb radically changes an aspect of our health we thought was fixed (as is so often the belief in Western medicine) we start to question what else in life is mutable. Here more about the relationship between herbalism and lucid living in my interview for Awaken, the conference, recording available here. This herb feels like a great one to affect this type of change. As this is a highly invasive species, wildcrafting this herb (harvesting from safe spaces that have not been sprayed nor have problematic soil) to use for medicinal properties, food (find innumerable Japanese, Chinese, and Southern US recipes), or many crafts is a wonderful use of an overabundant resource. Please do not plant Gégēn in North America, it will overtake the land. Invitation Have you cooked with, gotten crafty, meditated with, or medicinally used Gégēn? Please share! I have used arrowroot for many recipes, but after reading up on this amazing invasive species I am excited to explore more. Basketweaving anyone?

This week we meditated with parsley, Petroselinum crispum or sativum, an herb of traditional Western herbalism.  Taste and pre-Meditation impressions:  My daughter and I had different takes on this herb, lol. She says, it smells "Dank, like a weird bookstore that hasn’t been cleaned in like two years (the bookstore is by the coast, so it’s damp). Me: It has a smell that reminds me of kidney supporting herbs: nutrient rich, a little like the bottom of a lake (this is the kidney part, but not as much as blackberry leaf or nettles), a little salty, the feeling is warm and refreshing, nourishing, and satisfying. Meditation 1 My daughter: I started out in the same hippie bookstore by the coast as the other experience. But as I walked up to the attic, instead of LIzzo opening the door it was this kind of horror-movie-adjacent animated sketch (in black ink) of a thin woman with flowy hair. Behind her was this churning mass of inky black animated swirls. The woman pulled me in and I was falling through this abyss. When I landed I was looking down with a bird’s eye view of this teen laying in their room listening to “Where Is My Mind” by the Pixies, at full volume in headphones. Me: It is tough for me to get into this at first. I have been working closely with indigo for days and at first all I could see inside me was blue, blue, blue, blue, blue.  I do feel comfortable and more clear-headed because I am more secure/centered. Meditation 2  My daughter: My eyes would not shut the entire time!!! (ie no visions) Me: Still feeling saturated with blue. Nourished. Felt the gallbladder meridians on the side of my head (a little above my temples and extending back). I felt good, eventually moved to center of my forehead. I feel very nourished. Summary This herb is nutrient rich and has many uses. First off, for my daughter and anyone else who can't close their eyes during meditation: this is high in vitamin A, great for eye health, night blindness, protects eyes from UV damage, and prevents age-related vision issues. Parsley has a long history of supporting the adrenals, kidneys, and urinary tract. It contains Apiol, an essential oil that reduces the likelihood of urinary tract infections, helps pass kidney stones, and supports smooth flowing of bile duct passageways.    This plant is high in iron and helps prevent or recover from anemia. Parsley is good for bones, promoting growth, and it may offer a treatment for osteoporosis. The herb is also high in copper and various other minerals, overall it has positive impacts on skin and hair. This herb is an excellent food herb that is supportive during all phases of life for women, including pregnancy and nursing. Always work with an experienced herbalist or healthcare provider when making decisions for. yourself and especially during pregnancy and nursing. This herb is stimulating to the uterus and can promote menstruation if it is delayed or absent. Women often face a higher demand for nutrients, because of menstruation, pregnancy, and nursing. This herb is an nutrition-packed ally. Consider parsley a useful addition to anyone's healthcare diet. "Not your garnish!" Invitation Have you experimented with parsley or used it in your practice? Please share below :) Interested in joining the Plant Meditation Club? Subscribe here and get four mystery earth medicines sent to you each month.     

Not sure if you are having an experience with plants? This video highlights different types of experiences you may have with a plant. Taste, physical changes, energy shifts, and emotions...all are relevant and important. We can learn from your interactions with plants. Curious about Plant Meditation Club? Sign up here.  

This week we meditated with Bǎi Hé, 百合, Lily bulb, the bulb of Lilium brownii, an long used herb of Chinese Classical Medicine. Pre Meditation, Flavor, etc Mild, slightly bitter, mildly, weirdly sweet. Dry. "Reminds me of mildew." Meditation 1: Me: I feel pressure moving up from my mouth. I saw the white pieces, together as a point (like a bulb) in my head/face. It feels sinus related, firm pressure, not uncomfortable. This progresses slowly. Then the energy moves to my reproductive organs. I see the white, bulb-like shape there too. Then energy is there for quite a while. I ask it how it works. It asked me why I was no longer interested in just observing the plant heal me, and instead wanted to have an explanation. I said I wanted to be able to teach about the herbs. It said, "and you want people to have their own experiences." Then it explained "Imagine if you had a rain chain." The rain chain looking thing went down through the chakras to my second chakra and was made of white light. The chains were large. The plant explained it moved the cold water down. It works by the kidneys. The water needs to move down and not stagnate. When it stagnates there are problems.  My daughter: It was black. Then there was a white splash that landed on the ground. I could tell it was this weird, moldy stuff. Flies kept landing on it. The flies would walk around from where the splash was to other places, but there was always this trail of mold following after them.  Meditation 2: Lily: I felt pressure in my left cheek for a long time. I again think sinus pressure. Then I felt pain and constriction in my lungs. It reminded me of when I used to have lung issues, like asthma and bronchitis (every Winter, all Winter). Overall my experience of all the energy presenations was slow. I thought maybe it was good for slowness in the body. At that point the energy shifted and I had a very peaceful, relaxed, and fulfilling meditation.  My daughter: There was this dad, classic 52 yo with New Balances and kids. He has some mold growing on the floor of his house. He was going to show his kids and his wife that he had a miracle solution. He had one of those spray bottle from the store, that he filled with this tea in the bottle, and sprayed it at the mold because he thought it would make it go away. The mold started spreading after he sprayed it! It spread all over the house and then the house turned into a giant mushroom. He said, "Oh, sh#@!," in slow-mo, and he looked at his house and smiled at the camera. My daughter says, I think this tea is mold, or there is something wrong with tea, like it is moldy.  Summary/Traditional Use:  The bulb of Lilium brownii has many traditional uses in Chinese medicine. It is used for clearing heat conditions, supporting yin deficiency, and reducing inflammation. It is a diurhetic, helping the water descend. It is used for a variety of respiratory conditions in humans and dogs (and perhaps other animals). Commonly used for cough (including whooping cough), asthma, bronchitis, upper respiratory tract infections (like sinus infections), and irritation from chronic drug therapy. This is related to Easter lily, Lilium longiflorum, and looks very similar with different colored pollen. You can watch my video about it here. I used it for my dad's COPD, and it is commonly used for PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome). It is considered cooling and the white color I saw with my visions did feel lightly cooling. I was feeling hot and irritable today, so the cool and slow vibes were supportive. Bǎi Hé, 百合, has some neuro-protective properties, including for helping with Alzheimer's. This may offer some insight for Alyssa's vision of Donald Trump having the mic muted. The plant may be able to see what is going on since it can help treat the problem. I wonder if Trump's speach and thinking are so disorganized (more so than last time he ran) that the conservative cameras will not focus on him. The intent may be to protect him, but ultimately, it would share that he does not have a good image to present. Indeed this plant is cooling and for treating yin deficiency. It is contraindicated when there is yin deficiency with dampness (like diarrhea). So adding this herb to a damp situation (like a moldy floor) would not help. It may turn the whole body into a mushroom. Dang!  Invitation: Have you used Lily bulb, Bai he, or Easter lily? Please share your experiences below and specify which lily, how you used it, and your observations.  

Trans is Beautiful is a gem and flower essence made to support anyone who has experienced trauma or been misidentified. I discuss the essence in general and in particular talk about calla lily and false solomon's seal, aka "special", as well as the properties of the gemstones in this blend. I also introduce my art remedy paintings! See more here.   

This week we meditated with pink alstroemeria flower essence.  Information from the essence: My daughter: "I kept seeing a plant that was dying over and over again and regrowing on top of itself. The Home Shopping Network guy says, 'If you are sick of deaths in the family, you should try this." Me; This essence had a soft feeling to it and I felt a lot of pink energy (the color of the flower) in my whole chest/radiating with the heart. I was processing a lot of heart stuff around a relationship. I feel held back and want to speak out about my feelings. I understand the situation better after this essence. A clear message was that it takes time to heal injuries to our heart (image of a pin being stuck into my heart, like a voodoo doll) and it takes time for words to come up from someone's heart, or at least the person whose heart I would like to hear speak! I feel so much softer, and also clearer about both emotional intentions that might seem bad from a cultural perspective (but seem a-okay from a broader multi-lifetime perspective and that of consciousness) and those that feel like "let's go" without waiting a little more for the other person to breathe in their intentions (with grounded voice).  Summary from ours and other experiential sources: There is not a lot of information on alstroemeria yet. I appreciate this flower because it came to me in a dream during the worst moments of my life. It came to me when I was being scapegoated and abused on a huge level. So much so that I was seriously considering believing I was the problem--lots of gaslighting. Because I was tempted to internalize the extreme blaming the victim narrative, I thought this essence was for something totally different that what it is for. Indeed it is for getting through the toughest of times. It is to know that through focused effort anything is possible. Though it has very strong heart medicine it is connected to the heart (through healing pain and dealing with grief, no doubt including deaths) and earth (understanding that relationships, and all of life, is often about enduring with love, loving through the hardtimes, and the beauty of getting through these hard times together. It is process, not outcomes.  Years later, I looked into this essence again and realized how much it had given me. Such strength.  Such a simple flower, but such strong medicine. It certainly deserves more research. Do you have any insights to share?  

This week we meditated with Mài mén dōng, 麦门冬, Japanese hyacinth, scientific name Ophiopogon japonicus.    Mài mén dōng, areas for further investigation include: use for restoring yin, emotional validation and resurrection, therapeutic elegance, the male end of the spectrum emotional experience with this herb, use of this plant as a flower essence.  Pre Meditation:  Sweet aftertaste. My mouth feels more moist, but I feel a sense of dryness inside. I feel my left more than my right. This reminds me of another herb. A comforting taste and feeling, perhaps like a nurturing, motherly embrace. Meditation 1: Me: I feel elegant circulating energy in and in front of my nose up to the crown of my head (bai hui? bi way or the high way). It feels soothing in its elegance. I can let go of some drama that had been on my mind. I see faint purple lines running up to baihui, the center point at the top of my head. It looks like a flower bud/closed petals. My tooth roots came to mind, they do look similar to the tuber. My Daughter: It was a QVC infomercial, this herb was being sold in a flask, as an essence of the herb. The sales pitch: "Well, let's take this broken down plane for example." They applied some of the herb's essence to a leaf, and then they smeared it across where there was smoke coming out of a plane. Then the plane was fine. The people on the infomercial said that it was more rare than Chanel, so "You should buy it immediately. It is really expensive and really rare, you should buy it immediately because it does the trick." Meditation 2:  Me: I feel pleasant energy move from my mouth, to nose, forehead, and baihui. I find the energy moves to my shoulders. The movements are all elegant and symmetrical. At my shoulders the energy moves in an infinity loop from edge to edge. I sit up straighter and the energy moves smoothly to my heart level. Now the energy is pale pink and diffuse, gently illuminaing my torso. Then energy had been pale purple and felt more physical (like petals). The pink is energetic and is soft and peaceful. My daughter: I didn't experience much, but my butthole kept getting unnaturally warm. I saw the butthole had a fire in it and it was spreading through the tuby things inside my body, it wrapped around my heart, and then went out through my mouth. The heat wasn't uncomfortable it was just warm. Now I feel peaceful and relaxed.  Summary and Traditional Use: The above images shows the herb in flower. It has tiny flowers and it is not known for them. It matches my head experience and color. This herb gave varied experiences. It is considered cooling, sweet, and neutral. This herb is known for use for a variety of dry conditions associated with the stomach, heart, and lung channels. Some examples: periodontal disease (supportive when dry mouth is a factor), some evidence of support for oral cancer; a dry cough, with thick mucous that is difficult to expel, or coughing up blood, and constipation due to internal dryness with emotional irritability (Bensky, Materia Medica, 1986, p 520). This herb is known to pacify the heart, decreasing feelings of restlessness. This short summary reflects some of our experiences including images and feelings of warmth and dryness (airplane and heat in the digestive tract), and images of teeth. Generally speaking this herb moistens and supports yin. Yin is associated with the water element and emotions. Both Alyssa's experience of witnessing emotions that she doesn't normally like to dwell on and my pink heart energy experience related to emotions (in Western concept). Honoring emotions (even if the cultural demand is to be mature and productively power through) is supportive to yin. The herb is said to bring happiness with long term use, and even turn white hairs dark again. Is this the power of being able to sit with emotions til they clear? I was so intrigued by the elegant quality of the energy flows of this herb. It has grace about it, like a dancer. It reminds me of the body as an art form. I feel there is so much more to understand about this herb. I look forward to working with it more. Stay tuned for whether my white hairs change. I have had this happen before and I find joy in seeing dark roots on white hair. In the past I couldn't decide if it was divine intervention or juicing. This time I will have a better idea. 

Shepherd's purse is a wonderful herb used for the reproductive health women and nonbinary folx. Historically it has been particularly helpful for uterine fibroids, uterine prolapse due to muscle weakness, and trauma. Menstrual blood that is dark and has clots can be an indicator this herb will be supportive. Learn more by reading our plant meditation club experiences here.  

This week we meditate with Angelica archangelica, commonly known as angelica. This herb is related to a previous, Chinese herb we meditated with: Dú Huó, 獨活, Angelica pubescens radix. For my in person group we did two 10 minute meditations with Angelica archangelica and one 10 minute meditation with Angelica pubescens for comparison. Why? These herbs are used in practice differently. How do they overlap? This was fun :)   Areas for further experimentation and research: Angelica archangelica for rashes.  Angelica archangelica and pubescens for promoting health romantic relationships.  This is our herb:  Angelica archangelica Pre Meditation/Taste, etc A mildly nutty flavor, spicy, rooty, mushroomy but sweet. All votes say it was significantly sweeter for the second meditation, this was the same cup, that had been sitting around and had cooled. Meditation 1  Me: during the majority of this meditation consisted on my energy going to my right side. I have been over on my left (maybe due to a car accident), this involved my body leaning quite far to the right and the energy shifting too. Linda: I was feeling agitated during meditation. I felt it in a wave from the middle of my head (occiput), through my whole body, to my feet. This wave happened a few times and it felt like agitated, like anger. My daughter: There was a guy, he was in a rose garden, but it was all roses, (no stems, thorns, or leaves,) and the sky. The roses were super, vividly pink and beautiful. He seemed like he was on a run (based on his outfit). He was a little muscular. Roses started to bloom out of his body--no stems, but roses blooming out of his skin. Then they disappeared into red, bruisy rashes. He started chugging water that was infused with this herb out of a water bottle. Then music started playing. It was "Cradles" by Sub Urban. The part where it says  "Fire's spreading all around my room My world's so bright It's hard to breathe, but that's alright Hush!" Followed by music.  Then the bruises start disappearing. He started breakdancing...like a person in a commercial, acting happy). Roses remain around him. Cut to a new scene: Still in the rose garden, a victorian couple is waltzing. They are a generically straight couple, the man is a little taller. They start having bruises appear on them, and then they disappear, because of this herb. They are waltzing the whole time.  A man turns off the tv, and the screen closes on this scene (black coming from the top and the bottom). A family is with him, there are three children and it seems like his wife is there too, but not visible. The man says, "See kids , that's what you do when you get a bruise."  The kids rush off, they ran down the halls, then they became the people in the rose garden. It was a sort of fever dream.  My father enjoyed a very peaceful, quiet, clear meditation.  Meditation 2  Linda: My mind was busy, it was a chaotic meditation. It was hard to concentrate.  My daughter: There was a ring of fire under someone's skin. We were in a basement room. The ceiling was caucasian flesh colored. It was like being inside someone's body, under their skin. The ring of fire goes about half way to the ceiling. It looks like a witch's sacrificing fire. On the Cradles song, mentioned above, there is a man pushing a baby buggy that is filled with fire. In my vision he pours the cradline into the fire, making it bigger. Then, channeling angelica: a wave of water washes over it, only eliminating a little bit of the fire. I think about being a pisces. Angelica is so pisces, which is cooling. Then the flames were poking the skin upwards, but not setting it on fire like normal flames. A bunch of fire formed into a pool on the inside of the ring of fire, the fire was keeping it contained. A symbol appeared, a pisces symbol. Then everything disappeared.  Me: I feel subtle energy shifts with my health. I asked the plant some different questions but it is working on what is in my heart, which is some family issues and personal relationship stuff. I asked it how it liked to work best. Somehow I ended up hearing/seeing how I would be best to work in the world. The way it showed it how I work with myself and only a few people (because it is not normative, I guess). I see past lives and how unresolved reactions and impacts from these lives are causing current health troubles. I also talk to organs and the inside of the body to understand what problems are contributing to imbalances. This is a way to address the root of the problems which is very effective if the person on the receiving is adapts. In this way I have overcome numerous chronic health conditions and have been able to release fears and anxieties that seemed out of proportion in this life. Talking to organs of myself and clients has also been quickly effective. This is a conversation which ends in instructions either for the organ systems involved or the person.  My father is enjoying very still, silent meditations. He didn't want to stop meditation even when it was time, so he did note that it was less quiet when we were talking, lol. Angelica pubescens Pre Meditation/taste, etc The taste is sour and bitter, "a three year old would spit it out", puckery, perfumey/incense smell. *Notably this was a stronger steep than the last herb, that was indicated to be a factor by the herb(s). The herb(s) indicated that the stronger doses make it easier to red and share experiences with people.  Meditation 3  Me: This plant showed me an aspect of an art quilt I am working on. It was the decorative floral top-stitching between hateful statements. The quilt is about rape culture. I felt the plant was saying that it aligns with the flowers between the terrible things that come up in life. I also took it to be saying that it was not just the healing (like myself) that I was to do it the world, but also my art. I am optimistic about being in the world. I feel my crown open and see a snake inside nosing the top of my forehead. The herb asked me to check into my father and where his energy is. It feels like it is high, high up. Just at the crown for the most part. He is at the end of his life and the energy often ascends like this, moving out of the body and up through the head.  Linda's energy comes forward to me clearly. She mentions the Mayo clinic, she says she was my grandmother's mother. My grandmother's mother went to the Mayo clinic when my grandmother was 12. She went because of cancer I believe, and my grandmother became the large family's caretaker. Her mother did not return. She indicated/reminded me that both sides of my family went back to the same place in Europe in the Alsace-Lorraine region and to the same family name. The people in the family have gone back and forth to both sides of the family to work through the issues of the family coming a part and moving back together over hundreds of years. She is staying here because she is proving she can stay when there is a health problem. On reflection she is showing that a family member can be cared for in the home. I see how beautiful it is that marriage can bring you the feeling of someone loving and caring for you until death do you part. I know that mariage can also bring great pain, so it is healing to see their relationship. It takes two people loving each other generously and diligently to acheive this--they both give to each other deeply. This cannot be created by one out of the two people.  My daughter: A guy in the back room of a bar. He is white and moderately attractive, but that is not what it's about. He has a cigarette in his hand with this herb in it. There is a lot of smoke around him (it feels exagerated). Velouria from the Pixies comes over the top of the bar music and we no longer hear the bar music. Velouria is his inner song. He goes out into the bar, with the cigarette in hand. He meets up with a femme fatale vibe woman in a slinky, risqué, but high end dress, with pale skin, and black hair. Her inner song is Subbacultcha by the Pixies. They make out and their songs meld. He gives her some of his cigarette. After that her song changed to his, their songs are melded. They slow dance in the club, while everyone else dances like it is a club. This is an advertisement for Brown Bear Herbs' new cigarette, simply called "Love"...the ink color is pink like the roses in the earlier visions. The colors are black and white and muted, with a pop of rose pink.  Linda: I felt like I was wrapped up in a very soft, warm blanket, it was very soothing. It quieted my mind, and I was actually able to meditate. My dad enjoyed another quiet meditation. Summary and Traditional Use:  Angelica archangelica is my favorite bruise remedy. When properly prepared tincture is applied to a fresh bruise (less than 15 minuted old) you can watch the bloom recede. After seeing (through my daughter's eyes) the bruises (blunt trauma, direct insults) and rashes (heat welling up from within?) presenting on the lovers and being healed with this herb, I think it may be good for emotional wounds too that can surface and be dealt with in an emotionally supportive relationship. I think of Angelica as being helpful for people who look outside, at drugs and people, for help witha. sense of emptiness within. This herb helps end addictive tendencies and find spiritual source within, helping draw energy up in meditation. It is considered an important meditation herb. It is used specifically in tobacco cessation. The seeds are typically chewed as a tobacco alternative. I had not thought of using it in a smoke because I typically don't like hard herbs in smoking blends. I am working on a seasonal smoke, which I was going to call Cosmic Love. However I really like the idea, emotions, and imagery around using this herb for a Love cigarette. I will experiment with it. I love the idea of a Love cigarette that takes people out of dependency on Love.  It feels like it can be like an addiction to love and relationships for some people, and a feeling incompleteness without one. It sounds like this smoke would offer the medicine to have two healthy people come together and meld songs.  Angelica archangelica is also used as a carminative, to stimulate digestion, helping with regurgitation related to cold and food stagnation. It does have a history of use for skin irritation, rashes, preventing skin issues, and evening out skin tone. While Angelica is typically used for cold and depressive tissue states, in heat/flames were pushing up the skin from within. It is possible to have cold in the gut and heat in other places. There is more to understand for this less-common use of Angelica.  Angelica pubescens, (third meditation for those with me this week, but this is also a past PMC subject) the Chinese herb, Dú Huó or 獨活, means 'self-reliant existence'. I feel this overlaps with Angelica archangelica, both helping me see how I can live true to my identity, most authentically. These herbs seemed to have a lot of overlap. Read more about it at the post for reveal date 5/30. I look forward to studying this herb and Angelica sinensis, dong quai to learn their commonalities and where their applications differ. Invitation: Have you worked with Angelica archangelica or Angelica pubescens before? Please share your experiences and associations.  

This week we tasted and meditated with Job's tears, or coixseed, yì yǐ rén 薏苡仁, scientific name: Coix lacryma-jobi. Alyssa, my daughter, and I were in attendance. We had a zoom Plant Meditation Club gathering :)   Areas for further investigation: Jobs tears, yì yǐ rén, as a means to increase wood energy. Yì yǐ rén to facilitate sacred, spiritual sex. Use of this herb as a food for hypothyroidism. Pre Meditation: Taste, etc The seed looks small popped popcorn (see photograph). The tea of the crushed seeds had the color of light straw and is mild in taste. The tea was fairly mild and neutral. Later on in the steeping the flavor became more sweet--light sweetness of a grain, like corn or wheat. Initially I felt the tea’s energy more in the back of my mouth and nose. Alyssa felt energy in her forehead and eyes in the beginning. Meditation 1: Alyssa: forehead pressure, around eyes, sinuses cleared, alert and content, no specific thoughts or visions My daughter: The Soul Glo commercial song from Coming to America is playing. It is a disco scene with colors flashing everywhere. There is a Black person with a large afro. The voice over is “Soul glow, get your inner colors on.” Cut to a comedy news show: Old white guy says “More like, ‘get your colored on.’” and other racist stuff. Next scene: A Black woman with a rainbow behind her (is this lesbian?) twerking to the song “Get Your Freak On”. My daughter seems bright and excited, laughing a lot. She was fired up, talking about racism before the meditation and this herb seems to have increased her passion. Me: My mouth is happy, feels fleshy (I think this is a spleen herb, which is associted with the mouth), aware of teeth, forehead, mild third eye headache. I feel grounded but I noticed I am scattered mentally. I have become more conscious of that lately, not just this meditation. I feel my nose. I tried to talk to it, but it is not a chatty herb. It motioned energetically that it does what it does in the reproductive area and also the mouth and other herbs have done this too for me but it doesn’t feel the need to say anything about it. Generally uplifted, grounded but light. I feel a lot of sexual energy in my yoni area.  Meditation 2:  Alyssa: Uplifted, mood uplifted, a little cooling (on a hot day), still energy around the nose. Calm and stable. My daughter: A Black, curvy, woman is on the TV, shaking her hips to “Hips Don’t Lie” by Shakira. Colorful fireworks are going off hehind her. The same douchebag white guy is sitting in his LazyBoy. When he points his remote at the TV the fireworks behind her changed to fireworks that spelled out the word “Colored” in brown. The white guy turned out to be the president. Then, there is a movie banner for the movie “The Color Purple”. The main actor is giving a speech. She says the Black community would not be what it is without Tupac and Ian McKaye.  Me: I feel my reproductive organs highlighted. I feel lots of sexual energy. Energy moves from chakra 1 to 2, then 1 to 4, then 1 to my face. I am feeling my heart chakra rotate in a big way. I feel a lot of sexual energy. The herb is quiet and I am scattered but I feel like I should be able to get a little more direct information from the herb. I try out different strategies and land on, “How should your medicine be used?” Response summary: Energy moves down to my genitals. “A lot of people want to have sex with the genitals.” This appears to be a relatively shallow type of physical pleasure. The herb can be used to have sex with the liver (the framework is Chinese medical conception of the liver). The herb elevates the energy from the genitals to the liver. The plant indicates the liver's ability to push up through earth (wood element). Once the liver is involved, the liver can bring energy up as desired to make it a spiritual act. It seemed like the energy created from sensual/sexual interaction can move up through the hiatus of the diaphragm and ascended from there. I asked for other examples, because it seemed to be indicating the liver having a lot of possibilities. It seemed mostly focused on that, but did mention, with the air of irrelevance (because it is not applicable to me)--making babies. The wood energy and other qualities of the liver remind me of the kundalini energy. Rather than affirming that idea. It seems more like the plant shared that the liver has the ability to give energy to spiritual activity (and a lot of other things, rather than being the source). At any rate the plant was indicating it has the ability to elevate sex to the liver level and at that point hand off the goal of spiritualizing sex to the liver, which will help. The plant may also support the liver.  Summary and Traditional Use: This herb is mildly cooling. It is used to relieve dampness which typically impacts the lower limbs and pelvis first. So it can improve damp digestion (diarrhea) and damp reproductive health issues. This herb is traditionally thought of as supporting the stomach, spleen (both associated with the mouth), and lungs (nose). In our plant meditation, two of us experienced highlighted eyes, which are associated iwth the liver in Chinese medicine. I don't know of this herb being used for liver support. In the meditation it was giving me insight into the movement of the wood element through the earth and the connection between the two organs. I think that alleviating damp can improve brightness and, in this case, perhaps free up liver energy. All three of us for brighter and more excited after taking this herb, though in a stable way. This herb did not seem chatty by nature, but seemed to support insight and growth. The cultural references that came out around racism and Black community culture, were complex and while mostly in my daughter's awareness, were presented in new light. The musicians and songs referenced connected Black culture to several other cultures and to history. There is a lot to dive into with all those videos and cultural references! Enjoy.  This grain herb is used as a food. This gluten free grain may be helpful as a gluten free grain option for hypothyroidism. With Hashimoto's thyroiditis gluten often is a contributing factor to the body's reaction to the thyroid. Job's tears seems to increase enthusiasm when it is present, so it may help with apathy, which is a common low thyroid symptom regardless of etiology.  This seed is also used in traditional jewelry making. It may share some of its medicine when used for craft too.    Invitation: Do you have knowledge or experience of this herb as medicine, food, or for crafting? Please share in the comments below. :) If you are interested in getting to know plants in general and new things about plants through meditation and shared experience, sign up here. 

This week we meditated with jade, a gem essence. Meditation 1: My daughter: This meditation was hard. I did see a summer scene with people on a blanket, in the grass. They are drinking lime mojitos with lavender and cherry. I hear the following poem: "Mojitos under the sun. When it rains it pours, Soon the divorce will have begun." Me (Lily): A hand offers me a light green stone (the color of aventurine, which is also a jade color). They say, "When I give you this...". I see women, this takes them deep into their hearts. So deep they cannot feel it so much when things happen with more peripheral layers of their body. I think of women in China, the wives were sex slaves too. This is a solution. A friend of mine was a concubine for lifetimes. She learned to dissociate then. There are ways to deal with this that are not positive: to dissociate or make up a love story, like Stockholm syndrome. Three ways to manage these situations more positively: this, women's kirtan kriya, and 8 (8th chakra, ascension/awareness). This gem takes you in, in, in, so far inside your heart--in a tiny space there. This also seems related to not being able to speak. It is a silent, safer space.    "There are two ways to get inside." This means inside a woman's body. I think they are vagina and heart, but the stone is very quiet about most things.  Meditation 2:  My daughter: I see 80's girls. Then I hear another rhyme: "Lime mojitos under the summer sun, 'Run, run, run' he said, and so I ran, and it was never the same again."    Me: I asked what it was best for. It said in many ways it is easier to be depressed than to be 8. When you are depressed there is a really easy way out (suicide). When you are 8 you have to think about things from a broad perspective.    Traditional Use: Heart--dealing with shock, good for calm in the midst of a storm--perhaps being in the eye of the storm in a small space inside your heart. Pathological normalcy--this makes sense with traditional, and perhaps contemporary Chinese culture, where there was a need to follow the leader under extreme, controlling leadership. Love--new love, inspiring fidelity, especially love in later years.  Protection from sexual or financial manipulation. This seems related to the feelings and dangers around wives and concubines in China, and the idea of it being "a solution". Kidney: support (heart plus kidney: shaoyin support).  Dreams: calms the mind and brings insightful dreams (this is associated with heart in Chinese medicine) Relationships: improves dysfunctional relationships, supportive for people who have been bullied and belittled.  Invitation: Have you worked or meditated with jade? Please share your experiences in the comments below.

This week we meditated with mùxiāng, 木香, costus root, whose scientific name is Aucklandia lappa.    Mù xiāng for promoting emotional connection and devotion to the human race warrants more investigtion. Mouth/Taste:  Smells like fake cheese, or faintly of goat milk. The flavor is tangy, mushroomy, a little sweet (especially on the second steep). The feeling is dry. Energy comes to my nose (which is associated with the lungs in Chinese medicine).  Meditation 1: My daughter: At the start of the meditation we were at a pizza shop and there was pepperoncini on the pizza. You said (meaning me, Lily), "Oh god, I really want it, but I can't have it." Then a cup of this tea appeared.  I asked the plant "Tell me what the big thing is that you are good for."  I saw a scorched Earth with a giant bomb that was exploding.  I heard (like a song) "Think of the human race."  Then I see a giant pepperoncini in the sky.    Me (Lily): I feel my nose, then my base (first chakra area). Two thin (about 1" wide) yellow energy lines go up my abdomen and torso (this is along the stomach meridians). Gradually the yellow lines get wider. Then there is more yellow on the left and it spreads out to fill my left lower quadrant. It talked to me about my digestion slowing down, suggesting maybe I need to get a thyroid test. I felt increased peace and grounding.  I decided I did not want to go to my school because it is so oppressive of my voice, which is bad for my thyroid (my hashimoto's is in remission and if I continue to comply with the wishes of the school I do feel it will become an active problem again, I would not be surprised if it is already moving in that direction). This does not mean I will stop attending, but the herb is making me honest with myself, and I will need to find a solution that works for my health if and when I continue my doctoral program in acupuncture and Chinese medicine.  My daughter gets giggly. Meditation 2:  Me: I am ruminating about my conflicted feelings about the people at the school who are giving me trouble and the school in general, my heart hurts a little. My daughter: I see nothing for seven minutes. Then I see a pepperoncini with a mouth and two eyes. It says: "I will be very important to your life, but mostly your mom's life. Very important!" Summary and Traditional Use: This herb showed up for improving digestion, most likely for digestion of fats, like cheese*, thyroid health, and having more humanity/the cost of bombs.  *Pepperoncini peppers have a capsaicin level of 193 parts per million (ppm). Capsaicin is known to help digest fats. Pickles contain vinegar, which debatably helps digest fats and/or calm inflammation when the gut is irritated by certain foods. For easier fat digestion (with cheesy pizza) this herb offers a formula: a cup of mù xiāng root tea, and pepperoncinis as one of your pizza toppings. Gut bombs and bombs. Use of this herb for promoting more emotional connection and devotion to the human race warrants more investigtion. This traditional Chinese herb is known for activating the gallbladder, large intestine, spleen, stomach, and triple burner. The gallbladder helps break down fats into food which eases digestion (spleen, stomach and large intestine in this case). This herb is used for eliminating food stagnation and diarrhea. (Bensky, Materia Medica, ed 3). This herb can help strengthening the will, and over time reducing waking from nightmares (Divine Farmer's Classic of Materia Medica, trans: Wilms). To me this indicates it moderates heat, which can be involved in nightmares and diarrhea (excess heat), and prolonged excess heat (eg autoimmune attack and inflammation of the thyroid) can lead to hypothyroidism and slowed digestion. Thyroid: this herb is used in ayurvedic medicine for thyroid support. In the Ayurvedic strategy for supporting hypothyroidism it is important to reduce ama by moving food along at the appropriate pace, clearing the body of toxins and/or undigested metabolic waste. This herb has been historically relied upon to  Invitation:  Do you have experience with costus root, mùxiāng, 木香 or Aucklandia lappa? Please share in the comments below, we would love to hear.     

Here is the report on Dú Huó, or Angelica pubescens, from Plant Meditation Club. This plant meditation had a very sex positive/empowered woman vibe. The herb can be used for self-suffiency, lower back issues, and meditation. The herb shared a vision about how plant meditation works. Read our Plant Meditation Club post about Dú Huó.

This week we meditated on Black Cohosh, or Actaea racemosa.   Black cohosh is well established as a support for women experiencing intense emotions and intense relationships. This herb did bring up depression in men, and I wonder if it has an application for them as well.   Mouth/Taste:  Sweet, pungent, deep flavor, warming. Back of throat to top of mouth to tip of top lip activated. Bitter/acrid aftertaste. Much more bitter and heavy in quality the second tasting.   Meditation 1:  Black energy at inner thighs (kidney channel in Chinese medicine) and energetic focus on the root chakra. When we are depressed or brooding we hold our pain and look at it. We can send it into the earth. We can learn to "tuck and roll". When life hits up we roll with the punches.  This plant has strong energy. Emphasizing the power and drive I exhibit. Emphasizing my strength and adaptability. This plant is grounded and able to respond to threats and fears (realistic ones and others) pragmatically.    Meditation 2:  This plant stressed the importance of assessing what people are doing on earth, on the ground level of life. The first chakra relates to the stability, security, and basic needs. Movement, nature, interconnection (family and loved ones), and healthy routines for keeping your body well are supportive. It is wounded by birth and very early childhood traumas, housing insecurity, physical illness or instability. When strong we feel supported and a bit fearless--we have faith we will make it through. If it is out of balance we may have trouble being centered in daily life, we might work busily rushing from task to task, have trouble focusing, and have trouble putting ideas into action (see partner plant: blackberry). The herb we are meditating with proceeded to analyze multiple people in my life to see how they were acting on the physical level, posing a question to me about who they could be to me. The plant also pointed out the sadness in men in my life in regards to their ability to command the material world (through possessions and money). The plant pointed out their sorrow and how they expressed behaviorally.  Summary and Traditional Use:  Black cohosh has many applications for women's health including menopausal symptoms (hot flashes, etc), uterine pain, pms (including cramps and back pain), said to help prepare for delivery (when used in very small doses the last month of pregnancy--always consult an experienced and knowlegable provider!).  Emotionally this herb is helpful for (to paraphrase) magnetic and brooding women with sexually and/or financially manipulative partners. This herb can help recovery after such intense relationships end. (Matthew Wood, Earthwise Herbal: New World).  This herb is good for front to back whiplash--which may be metaphorically how these manipulative relatioships feel. This herb is good for intense, brooding women, for depression. I think of this herb as a warrior herb for women. It does help you stay strong and navigate the sudden upheavals that can come from manipulative hurtful people, such as partners or exes--people who know you so well that they can hurt you the most, and want to. I feel this herb encouraged thinking objectively and critically. This plant is also known as black snake root. It is used for snake bites.   Invitation:  Do you have experience with black cohosh either personally or clinically? Please share them in the comments below. 

This week we meditated on Shǐ Chāngpú, 石菖蒲, Acorus gramineus, known in English as Sweet Flag (Acorus calamus). Possibly the weirdest plant meditation so far. But, in the end, an informative exchange with the plant.    The Shén Nóng Běncǎo Jīng (trans: Wilms) states this plant is non-toxic. This plant has a history of debatable safeness. The plant information came through that it was not good for some of us to consume it. Indigenous use in North America suggests only to use as a cold infusion. Further investigation of proper use and safety is warranted.                                                                                                  Taste/Mouth:  This herb had a dry, warm feeling. The steeped roots had a mild flavor, a bit like black pepper corns. Meditation 1: Me: -Energy to face and forehead.  -Smiling so big it felt like I had dental cheek retractors in. My cheeks started to hurt after a while. -Very happy. Some laughing. -Then I licked my teeth, relaxed my face and went into a regular silent meditation. My daughter's vision: People running across the beach. There is a sunset. I hear "Dentures can save lives. As a young park ranger once said: 'Jo Malone (a candle and perfume brand) was right about everything'." "Sponsored by Coach" The RITE-AID logo floats across the sky at the end.  Meditation 2:  Me:  Warmth in middle (above naval) abdomen.  My daughter's: The plant indicated it is not safe to take much. The plant said she should not drink more, nor should I. A guy in his 60's is talking. He is wearing a cowboy hat, he is a sheriff-type dude from the country. He says, "Billy Bob Thornton once said 'what's mine is yours and what's your's is mine.' I really like to take that into consideration for my life, and especially my marriage." Summary and Traditional Use:  The combination of our experiences makes this the strangest plant I have worked with. I have tried Acorus calamus before for laryngitis and head injuries. I did not respond to it. This time I felt very happy to the extent it made my daughter concerned. Based on the advice not to take it, and given it is not to be used with yin deficiency with heat signs, I have some concerns about dosing. Looking at traditional use can help. Traditional Chinese use includes "opening the orifices" which it did! My mouth was open--in a muscular way, not a joint way. lol. It is also used to restore the "bright yang of consciousness". I did feel the top half of my head lit up (not with light, a clear energy). It harmonizes the Earth element (possibly indicated by the gentle warmth in my mid upper abdomen). Acorus calamus (the western varietal) is used for "senility" along with head injuries, and lack of comprehension/dull mental state.  In both Chinese medicine and native use in North America this herb is used for laryngitis as a remedy for singers from overuse of the voice. (Wood, M., The Earthwise Herbal, New World, 2009) In Ayurvedic medicine it is to help nervous speak. It is said to connect heart to voice.  Teeth: We both had teeth related experiences and indeed this herb has a history of use for oral health. Bad breath (Wood, Earthwise Herbal: New World--tribal use); toothache, periodontal disease, periodontal regeneration (Research review, multiple sources were from tribal use--unfortunately I am not getting specific tribe names)  Toxicity concerns: Calamus is prohibited in food by the FDA because most species contain the cancer-causing chemical beta-asarone. Studies on this were in high doses. It is also believed that beta-asarone is anticancer.    Cold Infusions: Multiple sources from indigenous tribes (North America) suggested that this herb should be prepared by cold infusion, left to soak overnight. This is unusual--the herbal properties are different by cold infusion and it may be less of a risk when prepared this way. It would be interesting to see an analysis of the herb prepared by cold infusion vs hot tea or capsule/dry powder. This might be a good herb to use by cold infusion with white oak bark as a mouthwash for dental health. I often use white oak bark as a mouthwash to cleanse and remineralize my teeth. (tip from Matthew Wood is to do this for 7 days, then swish and swallow thereafter). I find that drinking whole cups of white oak bark can be too drying. It is a powerful herb. It sounds like shǐ chāngpú is too, and while it may not be good for me internally, I think it might be supportive as an oral rinse. I have been procrastinating a dental visit for a while now and I do not want to find out how great dentures are!  Invitation:  Have you had experiences with shǐ chāngpú, vacha, calamus, or sweet flag? I would love to hear your experiences. Please post them in comments.

Hashimoto's thyroiditis is an autoimmune disorder that impacts the thyroid gland (which is shaped like a butterfly). This condition is ten times more common in females/afab. The incidence can be up to 25% of women depending on socio-economic factors and where you live. Thyroid replacement is one of the most commonly prescribed medications. I put my Hashimoto's into remission and here are some of the key strategies I used, that I have seen help others: My favorite herb for the feeling of dullness and cleaning your blood: black walnut (this is a specific protocol), address anemia (women/AFAB: compare your blood levels to male lab standards), use naturopathy standards for healthy thyroid levels (not MD standards), eliminate gluten, acupuncture can be supportive, and custom flower and/or gem essences to support you getting the most joy and excitement out of your life!

This week we meditated with Shepherd's Purse, Capsella bursa-pastoris, flower essence.   Shepherd's purse for moving from shame to "it is what it is" & then embodiment. Meditation 1:  Me: The essence says, "Your shame is in your mouth, right?" And I say "No, not anymore". The plant slowly scans a body's energy field moving from head downwards. Throat, shoulders, heart. Below these full areas, is a line, or angled lines. It is energy being pulled in as much as possible below the heart. This is a reaction to trauma.    Question from plant about trauma: What does it matter if it is above or below? Answer: [either way] we pull our energy back in there.  Once we can shift from shame to "it is what it is" Then we can fill in "down there". I see the lower part of the body (which had been a line/lines) become filled with energy again.  Then the plant gives me some brain help. I see pink petals (like Uva ursi flowers) come around my head and wrap around my head closely.    My daughter: I see dirt (like normal ground) but it has crystals in it (stereotypical crystals). There are flowers growing from the earth, and a giant tree. I keep hearing    Very Ape, by Nirvana.  I am buried up to my neck inContradictionary liesI take pride as the kind of illiteratureI'm very ape and very nice If you ever need anything, please don'tHesitate to ask someone else firstI'm too busy acting like I'm not naiveI've seen it all, I was here first   Out of the groundInto the sky (x2) If you ever need anything, please don'tHesitate to ask someone else firstI'm too busy acting like I'm not naiveI've seen it all, I was here first   Out of the groundInto the sky (x3)   She thinks the plant is a medicine. It may be a supporting medicine, to take with something else. She doesn't like "don't hesitate to ask someone else first."    Meditation 2: Me: now I feel a gentle pulse of energy in the area of my mouth, then my nose.  The herb says it works gently. First it assesses, then move from shame to "it is what it is", then the energy fills back in, then gentle pulse. It says it works much more gently than other herbs (like thyme or goldenseal).  Summary/Traditional Use: Shepherd's purse is a tiny, weedy, plant, that is helpful for binding soil. It is said the average plant produces 3000 seeds, but large ones are estimated to produce 38,000 to 60,000 seeds! You can see from the picture above how the flowers go to seed moving upwards along the stem.    I use this medicine frequently for fibroids and prolapse due to muscle weakness. Clots during menstruation are one indication, as is a history of sexual abuse or intimate partner violence. It can be helpful for reducing clots and stopping or slowing thick, dark, oozy blood. The flower essence has strong messages around healing shame. Shame can be related to manipulation, lies, and gaslighting to protect the perpetrator. Shame may increase when people do not want to help, because they do not want to see the problem. It is hard to completely heal trauma, even emotionally stress-free traumas like a broken bone can cause us to pull our energy out of an area in shock. When there are many layers of emotional pain it is even harder to re-enter our body. I do think of myself as having healed the trauma around my mouth. After this experience I feel there is more work to do, and it is work that shepherd's purse can do gently.    I felt sorrow and comfort after this meditation. The sorrow comes from being grounded in the reality of what is. That groundedness gives us the ability to take steps to move forward into a new way of life.    Again and again I have heard this plant say "What fills you up, keep in your purse. The rest? Let it go, bleed it out." It is a reminder of the power menstruators have to release each month when they bleed. If you menstruate, take time to consider what you want to let go of, and enjoy the freedom you have to cultivate and enjoy that which you want to keep.   Invitation:  Have you worked with Shepherd's Purse as a tea, tincture or flower essence? Have you seen it in your neighborhood? it is so tiny that if you see it, I wonder if it is calling to you, with it's little heart shaped seed pods. Please share your experience in the comments below. 

Spiritually and emotionally the flower has associations with resurrection and purity. Those drawn to this energetic essence may feel torn between the extreme goals of pure living, ie chastity and Godliness that the flower represents, and feeling like any deviation is living like the devil. The archetypal polarity may be referred to as the nun/whore vision of feminine sexuality. The dynamic is too rigid and controlling to work in nature. Easter Lily can help us integrate our sexual expression and enable a more authentic presence in the world, while releasing strict, outdated gender roles. Flower essences are water that has been imbued with the energy of a flower and preserved (typically) in brandy. They work by transforming energy within the body and can be helpful for physical dis-ease. They reliably are emotionally supportive. Start experimenting with flower essences and see how they work for you.  

This week we meditated with Dú Huó, 獨活, Angelica pubescens radix, an herb from Chinese medicine.    Dú Huó, areas for further investigation: Plant Meditation Club comparison with Dong quai, Angelica sinensis, and Angelica archangelica. Mouth/Taste:  Me: Spicy, the steam smells like incense from a hippy resale shop (nag champa? patchouli?), the taste goes all the way to the back of my tongue.  Pre-meditation: I drink a few sips, and then my sides squeeze in (below my ribs), like they would to vomit. So, I stop drinking and prepare to meditate. My daughter: Honey-like aftertaste. Stays on my tongue. Pre-meditation: "This is improving the stomach ache I had. That could be the herb or the hot water. I never want to drink this again"...proceeds to drink the entire cup (lol, why??) Meditation 1:  Lily (me!): My third eye is very active. It looks like the three prongs of a triden are across my forehead and they are on fire, like a torch. This went on for a while. It is hot energy but not physically hot--I could see it being quite heating over time/multiple interactions. My stomach feels pretty hot, like pushing up energy. The herb pushing my energy up towards my crown. My mouth feels hot and dry. I feel the energy as a deep orange (low ember) color (this color/image reminds me of shaoyin). Energy moves from my mouth through my soft palate, to my nose (interior), and then up to my crown of my head. The herb spirit appears as a very strong female presence. She says, with respect, I like how much writing you do online from these lips (as she is looking at my labia). She has a very feminine and solid feel to her. She likes sex and enjoying the female body, but calls upon a retreat and pulling upwards when needed, for example to balance relationships. My daughter: Mr Rodger's song "Garden of Your Mind" is going through my head. The following outline drawing images tell a story. 1. Outline of a planter 2. A "V" appears on it (possibly vaginal) 3. Giant tree is coming out with swirly branches. It is a magical, mystical tree. 4. It reaches out to other smaller plants in pots. These plants are not fully formed yet. The smaller planters have keyholes on them. (More vaginal symbolism?) 5. When the plant is taken, as tea for example, this is the key, and it unlocks memories and/or thoughts and/or little potted plants waiting to join the mother.  6. One of the plants got unlocked & it was the hippie resale shop (the one with the incense smell) by the coast. 7. Also, I saw a female testifying in court using the plant. They had taken the plant beforehand. The plant helped them remember something that helped them.  Meditation 2:  Me: My third eye is strongly activated again. I am slumping. I sit up and there is an even stronger feeling of heat pushing up in my middle jiao (abdomen), as if to make me vomit from heat. I did eat a little before the meditation which may not be helping as the plant strongly pushes energy up. My daughter is laughing the entire 10 minutes of this meditation. I am feeling very light and happy too. I feel happier than I have in a long time. I think she does too. I ask her later, why she was laughing "Oh just because you are funny." I hear "what if you got a crown?" I see a white delicate crown made of light on my head. It looks a little like an ice crown, like a disney princess might wear. Sounds fun! My daughter: I was in the hippie resale shop. The people at the shop lead me to their loft, and Lizzo opens the door. What followed was her from Vogue's 73 Qs with Lizzo.   (Lizzo's into meditation too! -mom) Summary/Traditional Use:   The name of this herb means "self-reliant existence". The image of the woman in court being helped by the plant works with this message. At that same time plants are so intelligent that many plants help align you to the correct amount of what they know, such as moderating excessive self-reliance. I feel this plant has such good messages that allow for strength and self-determination while solidly engaging in joy and healthy connection. Angelica archangelica, which I am more familiar with also has strong feminine female energy as well, and also promotes self-sufficiency and meditation. I typically recommend it when there is a desire to "fill the void with people or substances". It is also very warming to the digestive tract and, when taking in excess can cause vomiting. On the other hand, when my daughter was an infant, she was vomiting frequently. I dreamed of angelica multiple times for her. I thought of as such a strong herb I wouldn't think of as for a child. (ALWAYS work with a very knowlegable and experienced herbalist during pregnancy, lactaction and early childhood!) I started her on a half drop (diluted). The angelica worked wonders stopping the vomiting. If you have a damp (slow, cold) gut, hers was also challenged by dairy received through my milk, angelica can warm & stimulate your gut so that food won't sit and get uncomfortable and come back up. If you have a warm gut you don't need it and it may make you vomit. This herb brought a lot of joy to me and my daughter. It came to mind that part of that could be memory of those early months. If you have too much Angelica (or, reputedly with Angelica archangelica, the fresh rather than dried root) it can cause vomiting. I loved the images of the "Mothership" plant connect with the small plants, consuming the plants, the garden of your mind, and this plant's playful yet strong personality. You can see that Dú Huó has a beautiful white crown that looks like a snow flake or ice crystal. How beautiful! Unlike many Chinese herbs, the root of this herb is cut, dried in the sun and used in it's unprocessed form.  In historical Chinese medicine this herb was used for eliminating damp, wind damp, and bolting piglet syndrome, or running piglet qi. Running piglet qi involve palpations moving up from the abdomen to chest, and may be considered a "panic attack". It is the feeling of energy moving in the abdomen and rushing upwards. It happens when the heart fire cannot contain the kidney water and the kidney water ascends. Imbalanced kidneys are associated with fear, and there is the sensation "one is about to die". This herb is for dispelling damp, so it can help dry out the excess kidney water. **This herb is contraindicated when there is heat in the body or yin deficiency. Invitation:  Have you worked with Dú Huó personally or in your practice? Please share your experiences below. Curious about plant meditation? We'd love to have you in our club!    

This week we meditated with thyme, thymus vulgaris, a common but powerful herb. Many participated in this by zoom :) I hope you will join us soon. Areas for further investigation:  Thyme for recovery from "the battlefield". Thyme for support for pregnancy. Taste/Mouth:  Savory, dense flavor, warming. Meditation 1:  Lily/me: I feel my feet very firmly on the ground, going into combat, into the battlefield. My body feels heavier. I am able to delegate and direct the other warriors. "I can do this." I feel a sense of nose to the ground, like blood hound. This reminds me of yarrow and being able to get what you want on the battlefield. This time it is not as strong. I think this is not the main intelligence this herb works with, but one of them. I see dark green, almost like a dark slimy algae, seeping down from the top left of my head to my left forehead/eye area to fix it. I remember when Chrysanthemum told me I would be to my left (frontal brain) for a while then to right (frontal brain) for a while then to the center again (third eye). As I remember, this herbs kind of readjusts/stutters and says, well we could do it that way (going back to the right to balance out, then to center) but this way is more efficient. It made me smile a little. I feel life/flesh feelings coming back to my lips and face. So many things happened to my face including a fall on my teeth in the last year. The herb says "That is what started the anger journey you are on." That is when I began expressing angry intolerance of people stepping on me. Historically I have disapproved of anger. But I am on an anger journey. It has yielded surprisingly positive results to be angry. I asked the herb if it helped with getting over the battles just as well as going into them and navigating them. It was very happy and gave me a strong affirmative, shaking my head yes, yes, yes.  I hear the song lyrics "Thyme [sic, lol] is on my side. Yes it is."  Alyssa: see comments   Theresa: I did not see a lot of visuals this time. I did see animals, rabbits, deer, it likes being near water (a stream). I asked it what it could help me with and it said it can help a little with acid reflux. It felt restful and generous. It said, "I want you to do what is right for you everytime."   Amanda: I felt movement through the body, especially areas of body pain--going straight through to pain. "Be playful and strong, be like me" Then I saw a bee. "Take care of the time, take care of me, take care of yourself. The song "Time is on my side".    My daughter: Before the meditation I see an image of grass and flowers growing inside of a pregnant belly with the moon facing backwards (as in the side of the moon we don't typically see**), all inside the belly. The moon is functional. During the meditation the pregnant belly was taken off the body and turned upside down. Cut off (not gorey, this looks like a line drawing) and hanging from the moon. There is still grass and flowers inside the pregnant belly. Meditation 2:  Me: Less activity this time. I feel calmer, smoothed out, warmth spreads over my belly, it is green in color, brighter green, more like a kelly green. It helped with my digestion (I had more pizza than I needed, as my convenience food that my body only wants so much of). It indicates my tattoo on my left forearm. It says "This is the kind of thing I help with too." I have past life memories of WW-II and being in the concentration camps. Eventually I got a number on my arm. I would remember the number a lot, so I got a tattoo of blackberry, hawthorn, wild rose, and ladies thumb (all plants that grow fabulously even through concrete, most with thorns and all super thorny). I don't think of the old tattoo much, I just see the response nature gives to oppression: vibrant, determined, medicine for the masses. I have used thyme many times for nightmares related to those memories. It has been such a strong ally for me. It doesn't make the nightmares go away, it makes them feel managable. Like that "I can do this." energy as we go into battle. The plant says "Sometimes life is pencils and chopping vegetables. Other times you can't get out of the way of yourself fast enough." Drawing and cooking are simple pleasures. Getting out of the way of "yourself fast enough" felt like abuse, being on the battlefield, and being in the concentration camps. In other lives I was the soldier that hurt others in the name of being on the "right" side. In these moments of pain, in some ways I face myself--I face the darkest parts of humanity, the murk we can blossom out of. I am inspired to work on my black quilt about gun violence. I am inspired to simplify it. I had added some comfort and medicine, but the violence (in this lifetime) occurred around concrete, there was no medicine, there was only violence--let it be what is was. The text on the quilt is the things I hear that make this kind of violence possible. Let them be written and seen, let it be done. Alyssa: see comments Theresa: The tea was harder to drink the second time. It gave me a little headache, and then it helped with relieving the headache (mid forehead). It helped with my sinuses. It can help with eyes in some way. It gave me the song "Yellow Submarine".   Amanda: I thought of gumdrops from my childhood that we had around Christmas. I wonder if it in the flavoring. It was playful. Then I got a message about boundaries. It went straight to my stomach again--it made circular movement. "Get rid of the things that no longer serve you." It says "Rest and boundaries" multiple times. It is asking me to recharge. All my pain is on the right side of my body. It pings each spot--neck, hip, abdomen. The hip and abdomen improve. The neck: maybe a little better, hard to tell. It gave me advice about separating flower essences for a client so they to choose, to empower them. The person is having high emotions, lots coming up as anger.  Summary and Traditional Use:  This herb was historically used to help warriors head into battle and to treat serious infections such as whooping cough, MRSA, and COVID-19. I also use it for nightmares. I think of it as having an affinity for supporting you in life or death situations. You can learn more about my take on this herb before this PMC group experience through this post. This meditation brought out some different sides of thyme. I loved the generally supportive messages. One person had expected experiences with the herb helping with cold symptoms. Others experienced its carminative effects with improving/promoting digestion activity. Multiple people experienced Thyme helping with pain and healing the head area, headaches and eyes specifically mentioned multiple times. I had not heard of thyme specifically for use during pregnancy, but apparently it is a fairly common herb for digestion during this time. It may be useful for other aspects of pregnancy. In general food herbs (herbs we commonly use for nourishment and condiments) are considered safe but some can have unexpected effects during pregnancy and nursing (for example a couple doses of sage and stop milk production during nursing), so it is good to get advice some a provider who is experienced with both herbs and pregnancy/nursing before using herbs. We laughed pretty hard about two of us hearing "Thyme is on my side" I felt like it came through as on "your" side, but i don't remember clearly. Regardless it really feels like thyme makes a great herbal ally for both going into the fray and recovering from it.  **The image of the back side of the moon reminds me of dark moon lilith (which I know from astrology). My favorite resource for lilith is Tom Jacobs, a feminist astrologer. The rest of the resources and myth interpretations I find are negative and demonizing of this archetype. Here is a video, he has many and a book on the subject.  I value this herb so much, I offer it in multiple forms. These include tincture, essential oil, Humanity tea (for lung health and engaging with your heart space), Nightmare Spell pillow, and Sweet Dreams tea (with other herbs to help with nightmares, stomach aches, colds and flus--for all ages).   Invitation: Have you experienced thyme? Please share your personal or clinical experiences below and add to our collective understanding of this often overlooked herb.