Why is meditation beneficial? I have been practicing silent meditation everyday for my adult life. It has given me a connection to spirit, improved my relationships, and helped me emotionally. Furthermore I have seen how much it helped my father, who has meditated daily my whole life. I share some of my experiences.
What is plant meditation? Plant meditation is a simple practice combining consuming plant medicine (subscribe and join our Plant Meditation Club) and meditating. During your meditation, observe you body, mind, emotions, etc, and then journal and share your experiences with others. In this way your learn from plants (gemstones, etc) from your internal experiences and those of others in the Plant Meditation Club.
We are sharing our plant meditation experiences here, on the Community blog, and in groups in person in Portland, OR and online.
Hawthorn is a favorite herb. I have used it a lot personally and in my herbalism practice. This was a heart warming plant meditation! I learned a new areas of help that hawthorn can offer physically, and was in tears at times with the gifts hawthorn gives emotionally. I am very grateful for the openness and vulnerablity of the group.
Process:
We drank the unknown infusion, meditated for ten minutes, and shared experiences. We the repeated the process. The plant was revealed to be hawthorn leaf and flower.
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Here is our group doing the first National University of Natural Medicine gathering for plant meditation.
Meditation from the group:
Tastes: light, twig taste, floral, dry. Felt the plant was grown in an arid area*.
Body sensation: bone layer**, teeth getting bleached***, head, heart. Visual and sensation of the heart pumping inside author's chest, first the bottom, then the top.
Thought themes: Recognizing patterns of worry. Realizing it was possible to let go of worry (seeing emotional pattern, holding, accepting, release). Memories of times that more was given than received in love efforts (seeing, acceptance, being held by the awareness). Creative process imperfections were seen as part of the harmonious flow of expressing (seeing the pattern of imperfection, seeing this as part of the process, warmth/holding in the awareness). The trees will be one person's nuisance, another's blessing. Heart being sent ducks (all different kinds--mallards, carvings, rubber, etc). Recollecting ancestor who carved ducks. Personally: "The heart is always moving, sending stuff out. But you have to keep filling it too." "You can't just keep burning things, you have to put in good stuff too." Heart being filled with seeds (all kinds--pomegranates in relation to the Plant Meditation Club) and sending them out. Seeing all the seeds the hawthorn produces, enough to fill a valley with trees.
My illustration of hawthorn, crataegus, based on my plant meditation experience with the group.
Reflection:
The heart is always half filling and half emptying. See yourself coming into full heart. You must be giving and receiving. Your heart energy is full, white light. Always in use, always circulating energy. Giving with love, receiving with gratitude. If a heart is always moving, always emptying out half of its contents, how to we stand it full heart? The energy of the heart space is strong, open. We can see and accept our emotional selves with our foibles. We see our outward expressions of feeling, whether creative, nurturing, or romantic, as beautiful in their imperfection. We understand we are process and the process does not have to be heavy, hard, worrisome. We can let that go. We stand with openness to receive. We can stay centered and be open to receiving.
Reality check, does our intuition match up?
Hawthorn is time-honored as the primary heart remedy (physically and emotionally). It is a safe, food herb, and can be taken long term.
*Hawthorn grows in the United States from Vermont to Texas. It prefers a moist climate but, once established is tolerant of many climates. It is possible the harvest we were drinking came from a drier climate, it came from Chile.
I was not aware of the use of Hawthorn in bone and dental health. Here are a few studies showing this is under investigation. Poor rodents!
**Study showing hawthorn's "obvious" ability to positively impact bone marrow in mice, during a 24hr period.
***Study showing that topical application of hawthorn on rat teeth reduced alveolar bone loss.
Traditional Use:
Early leaves are called bread-and-cheese and make a nice snack.
The leaves are a remedy for thorn pokes, including Hawthorn's own.
Make a syrup of the flowers.
Make a tincture of the berry. Take in the morning and before bed 10-20 drops for food allergies, inflammation, waking in the middle of the night and having difficulty getting back to sleep, heart ailments.
I love to harvest hawthorn berries for tincture every year on my birthday, the autumnal equinox. I also like to prepare hawthorn rose hip conserve.
Here are my favorite herbs for managing boundaries.
Wishing you pleasant holidays!
Are you generally feeling overwhelmed by others'?
Yarrow and St John's Wort (in my Back Support tincture) are really helpful for healing openings in your energy body which can make you more susceptible to other people's feelings and energy. Yarrow is found in my Blood and Boundaries bath) as well as Astral in Body herbal smoking blend. St John's Wort in my Back Support tincture. Taking either or both of these in small doses over time has been known to tonify the subtle body making it easier to be a perceptive person but to no longer feel inundated by others energies.
All three of these herbs are pretty common in the Pacific Northwest. Yarrow is pretty easy to identify and grow. St John's wort is considered an invasive species and discouraged from gardening because it spreads easily and can cause grazers (like cows) to develope sunburns. Check out my St John's Wort identification video on @brownbearherbs on Instagram.
Stronger support when needed: Devil's club
Try taking Devil's Club when you are going into a situation with a very tough personality. This herb is particularly helpful for having a tough skin around difficult family members, or anyone else who is typically emotionally overwhelming. This herb was historically used to give strong boundaries and a sense of protection. I recommend trying small doses first, about 5 drops is a good starting point. You can take more if needed. Sometimes taking too much can make people feel a little aggressive.
David Frierman, LAc, is an Adjunct Professor at National University of Natural Medicine, Department of Classical Chinese Medicine. Here he writes about the classical Chinese herbal formula, Guìzhī Tāng 桂枝汤, for reasserting boundaries after abuse.
I am always saddened when I hear of harm consciously being done to our co-inhabitants of Mother Earth. In addition to my community work, I am on the board of directors for Herbalists Without Borders, a global humanitarian organization with a mission is to support local humanitarian groups to help with food and health justice for all.
As I think of people living in war-torn, or high-violence areas, the first herb that comes to mind for resilience is thyme. Why Thyme?
The Trauma Informed Herbalist by Elizabeth Guthrie is an excellent introduction to how healers can be more considerate and aware of trauma. Trauma, in this book, refers to a personal reaction to a range of negative experiences such as ongoing microaggressions related to race, ableism, weight, etc. and PSTD from domestic violence and sexual abuse.
Guthrie, PhD in Natural Medicine, delves into various areas we can all be more sensitive and gives examples and insight from years of personal experience, professional experience, and research. She provides a comprehensive resource list of books covering areas where she lacks first-hand experience.
Instead of going into depth on herbs, she provides an overview of ways to support people and avoid triggering them. Guthrie looks at how and when to use essential oils, yoga, energy healing, environmental choices, thoughtful language, offers a substantial section on flower essences, and discusses some herbs.
I was hoping for more discussion of herbs given the title. I do appreciate the book and the pathway of discovery it opens up. I recommend this read for people working with others who would like to be more thoughtful about trauma in their practice and/or life. Check it out, and invite in the information for your development.
Herbs and natural remedies can help many things but, social problems like isolation, racism, misogyny, and safety concerns need other solutions too. Community building is for everyone. Here are some reasons why its important and some easy ways to get started. Improving and expanding your connections is fun and it's also important to our physical and emotional health.
Hey, it's Arati. I joined Herbalists Without Borders Board of Directors this January. I was super excited to discover the organization's work through Carolyn Jones and the Healing Project based in Queens. I too am passionate about improving accessibility to herbal wisdom in conjunction with the herbs themselves. If you have information without the actual herbs, you are kind of out of luck! Herbalists Without Borders is so empowering, offering herb lovers support for creating their dream projects and supplying herbs.
VanDyke starts off by looking at the history of African American herbalism, including prominent herbalists and midwives and the roots of their practices. Later on in the book she shares the work and wisdom of modern day, African American herbalists. This book includes how-to’s on medicine making, a materia medica including herbalism for physical wellness, warnings, and magical uses of the same herbs, and many of enticing recipes. It is a wonderful addition to my herbal knowledge and would be a great first herb book for any new herb enthusiast. The best part was hearing VanDyke’s way of expressing her connection with the plants themselves.
I recently did an interview with powerhouse, Anabel Velasquez, check out the podcast and her work improving legal outcomes from abuse victims at therundown.org Her main mission is to remove the stigma associated with being a victim of domestic and/or sexual abuse. We discussed healing with plant medicine while enduring and recovering from family and sexual abuse.
I discuss the use of damiana as an aphrodisiac as well as for sexual health.
I also talk about my visit to Baja Mandala the farm in Mexico where we source our organic Damiana and some other herbs.
Damiana is in Sexy Smokes one of our organic herbal smoking blends, and Warming Elixir.
I go over the following herbs and how they help with work:
Lobelia, Agrimony, Blue Vervein, and Hops.
I talk about our Take It Easy Herbal Smoking Blend vs Clear Mind for people who smoke a lot at work.
And...the magical Worker's Woes, for all sorts of work probs (product no longer available).
This video is about skullcap, or Skutellaria lateriflora. I find this herb to be wonderfully supportive for stress. It is a nervine that shines in cases of longterm stress of any kind. I will be discussing the following products I make that have skullcap in them to demonstrate how it can be used differently. It is found in our organic herbal teas: Mother's Little Helper, and Artist's Dream Tea, as well as
A bit of info on one of my favorite herbs: true solomon's seal. This herb is wonderful for joint injuries and loose or tight ligaments. This is a popular remedy for dogs. They have joint health issues galore and really love this medicine.
Bonus: premature ejaculation, high blood pressure and sugar stabilization.
Tina Price is the repair person for my cigarette making machine. In spite of being in the cigarette industry she has managed to be tobacco free for three years. That's strong will power! Tina is 5'2" with a smoker's voice. She has so many cool interests: crystals, mounted archery, and belly dance to name a few. The story below is my favorite Tina moment.
Corn silk has some really great benefits for bladder health including UTI's and bedwetting/urinary incontinence.
I also like it as a support for people with corn sensitivities. If you have anaphylaxis from corn, I do not recommend corn silk. If you have an allergy to corn silk the antidote is gentian.
For more info on these types of herbal remedies, and more personalized look at healing, check out our herbal consultations
Using traditional Western herbalism, and lifestyle adjustments, I will help you with your physical, emotional, and spiritual goals.
This video is about western Angelica, Angelica archangelica, found in our Angelica tincture.
This herb is favorite remedy for bruise first aid. It was historically used for addiction to tobacco and alcohol (and other substances). It is supportive to the liver, stimulates digestion, and is said to moderate blood pressure.
Angelica is an herb with female affinities. It is helpful for some menstrual irregularities and has beautiful spiritual energies.
Angelica is a strong herb. Use with care and moderation. Do not use during pregancy or nursing unless under the care of a very experienced herbalist who is very familiar with you and your child.
Read about the related species, Dú Huó, 独活, Angelica Pubescens Radix, used in Chinese medicine in our Plant Meditation Club blog post, here.
This exercise comes from the Yogi Bhajan lineage. It is said to be the best yoga meditation for women. In this exercise I define that as having female hormones (there is a gender neutral version with plenty of videos about it on youtube). I found this exercise to be hugely beneficial for recovery from PTSD. I recommend doing this exercise for 40 days consecutively.
Lady's Mantle, or Alchemilla vulgaris, is a wonderful herb that has been used throughout time primarily for women's health issues.
I will go over used that are universally applicable and then focus on its use in female reproductive health.
Find Lady's Mantle in our Menstrual Bliss tea, when available.
This video is about Lobelia inflata. This herb is good for tobacco cessation, asthma, acute respiratory illness, asymetrical whiplash and headaches associated with that condition.
Do not take during pregnancy. This herb may cause miscarriage but, is not a reliable herb for herbal abortion.
Find this in our Take it Easy, herbal smoking blend.
My top recommendation for your first aid kit: Yarrow!
Yarrow is amazing for deep cuts (first aid!!!), fevers, clots/bruises, joint injuries (small associated clots, as well as hematomas), and energetic field healing--for all you healers out there that are feeling real sensitive. Read more about this herb here through our Plant Meditation Club.
It is in our Astral in Body herbal smoking blend, which I talk about that towards the end--guess what? Did you know yarrow used to be a common beer ingredient and apparently it was a wild experience to drink??? The plant has mildly psychotropic properties.
