I started this summer in deep grief, mourning the loss of my brother. I spent large chunks of the day in bed. However, I have 2 sons that needed a mother, so they started pulling me out. Then, the Plants started asking me to make medicines, I turned them down, because I didn’t think I was in the right frame of mind. So Spirit and the Plants decided to speed things up and get my healing started. Because of them (and some dear friends), I feel like I have emerged from the darkness of my grief. I will always miss my brother and will forever love him, but there is work that needs to be done on this dynamic planet and I can’t waste any more time. So I will hold him in my Heart and take part in the wonders of life. Thank you to all who shared thoughts, kind words, and prayers with me. And thank you to my many clients who patiently waited, allowing me the space and time to heal. I greatly appreciate it. While I cut out most of the human world, I opened myself more fully to the Plants and Nature. I was able to spend time in the wilds of Banff National Park, Canada (I highly recommend it) and the Adirondacks of NY (a heart place of mine), as well as on Windy Hill Farm. I also went to several classes including the New England Women’s Herbal Conference (WHC). At the WHC this year, there seemed to be a repeating theme mentioned: our world is quickly changing and the Plants are willing to help facilitate this for us and help us return to our wild, native roots. One of the classes that I took was with Pam Montgomery. She told us that Plants have always evolved before their animal counterparts. She also mentions this in her book Plant Spirit Healing:
Going back to the beginning of plants and animals, we see that amphibian plants, which are seedless vascular plants like horsetail and ferns, moved to land first, then reptilian plants like angiosperms or ones that have internal development and protection of an embryo moved to land last. As plants moved to land their animal counterparts followed them so that mammals did not appear on land until angiosperms (flowering plants) were there to feed them (page 20).
Essentially, since all animals depend on Plants to live, their evolution allowed our evolution. So we have a very close connection to Plants. This thought can lead to much discussion. The point that I want to make is that we owe much to Plants. Yes, it is generally understood that they give us food, shelter, and oxygen. More and more people are returning to the knowledge of our ancestors and understanding that Plants have other roles in our lives through physical, emotional, and spiritual healing.
We know that we have a deep connection to Plants through our breathing. They give us oxygen which our bodies use and then we exhale carbon dioxide which they use. Pam said something else that made me think, “If we (humans) disappear from this earth, the plants will continue to thrive (there are other sources of carbon dioxide); however, if plants disappear from this earth, we will die in about 3 minutes (from lack of oxygen).” Now, I know that there are some scientists reading this who will try to comeback with another scenario, we have oxygen tanks, we can create oxygen from water, etc. I ask if these are your reactions to put them aside and just think of everything that Plants give us and even with these scientific processes, how long could we survive without plants. So while these Plant Beings are so generous, how do we repay them? We clearcut, we poison, we genetically modify. How is that for gratitude?
What I ask and what the Plants ask is that we change our ways. There are those who are already honoring the Plants and their numbers are growing. However, the Plants are insistent that we move faster, deeper and share their knowledge. If we, as individuals, can create strong connections with the Plant Beings and continue to grow these connections we will not only “save the planet” but we will really be saving ourselves. For once you have that strong connection, you cannot turn your back on the plants nor will you want to!
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Message from the Plants:
Turn off the television
Spend time in Nature (everyday! And yes, a backyard is nature)
Go Barefoot
Eat Wild Foods