Healing the Culture of Pain

I have spent a good portion of this year reflecting on pain and pain medication.  In one of my classes this summer, David Dalton shared his observations of working with people in pain.  He said that whenever a person tries to suppress the pain with pain medication, the level of pain will rise to surpass the medication.  For those of us, who know people with chronic pain, we can see the profound simplicity in this statement.  How many times does someone get a cortisone shot and feel really good for awhile and then the pain is greater, long before the shot is supposed to wear off?  Or how many people are constantly increasing their medications or switching to stronger ones because the medicine is just not doing the job anymore? Of course this is what happens.  Why?  Because the physical pain is a symptom of a larger issue.  So suppressing the symptom, does not heal the situation.  In fact, it exacerbates it.  Our subconscious will not let this continue and so it will increase the physical pain, until the underlying issue is healed.  Many allopathic doctors, as well as, our pharmaceutical industry, do not recognize that the pain is a symptom.  They simply try to eliminate it.  Which then starts the cycle of increasing pain, increasing medication.

And so where does this never-ending cycle lead us?  In my case, it has left me heart-broken and brother-less.  My brother had a very large, sensitive heart.  He felt everyone’s pain and internalized it as his own.  Early on in his life, he learned that he could self-medicate the pain through alcohol and drugs.  (In my opinion, addiction is based on the desire to escape pain, trauma, etc.)  This past year, my brother had an operation and another instance where there was considerable physical pain.  The doctors prescribed him oxycodone both times.  He quickly became “addicted” to oxycodone and fatally combined it with alcohol.  (I use the quotes, because his doctor told him that he was not really addicted.)

For those of you who don’t know what oxycodone (aka OxyContin) is, it is an opiate or narcotic that is prescribed for pain.  It is extremely addictive.  It has also been a presence in the news lately because of the amount of deaths among those who use it.  Yet the use of this drug has drastically increased, Americans consuming the majority of it.  Why?  Well, clearly we are a culture in pain.  As you can tell, I have a very personal reason for wanting to stop this cycle and I now feel its time to share my desire.

Why are we a culture of pain?  Well, I’m sure we can discuss this for ages and like everything there are many reasons.  Though I think one of the biggest is that we are not living the lives that we want.  I feel as a nation, we are disconnected from Nature and our true, Wild Selves.  We have gone too far from ourselves, yet there is still that shining Light in us that is trying to call us Home.

(I would like to digress for a minute.  I feel pulled to say that I recognize that pain can occur for a simple reason, we stubbed our toe or had a surgery, etc.  While part of me wants to acknowledge that, a bigger part of me is questioning if that is where the pain stops.  I admit the pain is created by the stubbed toe or the surgery, but is that the original source?  I know for myself, that when I have stubbed my toe before, I was not being mindful and paying attention to my surroundings.  So I’m not completely, ready to discount the acute pain as not having a deeper connection to our subconscious.  Though, in general I’m talking about chronic pain.)

So what can we do for pain?  I think the very first step is to acknowledge it and try to get to the root of the problem.  This often takes time and help from others.  A good place to start is by journalling and paying attention to our dreams (Ah, this is what this season is about?!).  Of course, working with a good therapist is wonderful also.  (I stress good, because the wrong therapist can be detrimental to our healing.  Trust your instincts.)  Spend plenty of time in nature.  Plants have a way of bringing us back into balance.  Plus, they help us remember our Wild Selves and guide us on our path.  Breathe, deep, full breaths.  Oxygen affects our pain threshold.  Nourish yourself (physically, emotionally, and spiritually).  I, of course, recommend seeing a Flower Essence practitioner.  Flower Essences can be a valuable tool at this time.  They can serve multiple purposes.  Depending on what is chosen, they can help to strengthen the person, help bring to the surface the underlying issue, help us see through the problem, help us clear the problem (particularly if it is trauma) from our system, help us to re-create ourselves, and more.  Many of us have seen David Dalton’s Teasel set be helpful for those in pain.  This is the basis of what I use for Lyme.  However, we are constantly finding more uses for it.  My intuition tells me that the Teasel is not suppressing the pain like medications do, but helps to release it from our system, often makes it easier for us to understand the underlying issue, helps us clear it from our bodies, and I think it also reminds our cells of health, helping them to return to their natural-state.

These suggestions do not mean that you will never experience pain.  Quite the opposite.  Pain is an inevitable part of life.  But just like joy, we need to really feel pain and acknowledge it for what it is or what it is showing us.  The pain of losing a brother (or other loved one) is incredible.  Yet, it shows the depth of Love that is there.  I would not trade the Love to avoid the anguish and so I will embrace it and honor it.  While I can no longer guide my brother through his pain, I sincerely hope that I can help others.

Experience the Dark: Quietly and Slowly

We are beginning our journey out of the dark and into the light as our days are getting longer.  This begins our time of rest and reflection.  Our dreaming selves are re-ignited.  Let’s listen to the cues from Nature and hibernate.  Our hibernation may look different, but it will serve the same purpose, to nurture ourselves and help us prepare for the year ahead.  We can move slow, sleep lots, eat deeply nourishing (physically, spiritually, and emotionally) foods, spend good quality time with our friends and families, keep our bodies warm and cozy, and really dream ourselves a new year and a new paradigm. This is the time of year that I work really hard to put the brakes on and not overdo it.  Though, often it feels like no matter how hard I pull on that brake, I am still skidding along.  I do find it helpful to remind myself (almost constantly), what this season would/could/should be without the commercialization.  I know that we can each have our own vision of this.  For me, it really is a sacred time.  It’s a time of quiet and reverence.  It is a magical, mystery ride.  Where we feel the darkness.  It is absorbed in our cells.  It is close to consuming us.  Yet, we know that the light is returning.  Soon.

While it can be overwhelming to be in this darkness, we know that we are only here for a short time.  If we didn’t experience this, the light would have little meaning to us.  It is through this dark, that our growth occurs.  Yes, like Plants, we need light to grow.  However, also like the seeds and the roots of Plants, our growth begins in the dark.

Quiet!

I have been thinking a lot about quiet lately (maybe that’s because I have 2 boys in my house).  Last year, I did a solitary retreat to Pendle Hill, a Quaker retreat center near Philadelphia.  While there, I was reminded that we each have a different opinion of what quiet is.  Most of the people there were from cities.  So to them it was a very quiet place.  To me, the traffic was so loud.  No matter where you live, we all need quiet, yet it is very hard to find.  We have planes that fly over head, tractors in neighboring fields, and what I consider to be the worst, the electrical humming of the machines in our house (refrigerator, heating system, etc.).  Recently I renewed a practice that I started when my kids were small of driving without the radio.  I started this again so that when I drive Liam to school in the morning, he has time to process his dreams and can start the day with his own song, not someone else’s electronic song.  (Don’t get me wrong, I love music, but we all know what it is like to have a song stuck in your head.)  Long after I would drop him off, I would discover that I did not turn on the radio.  I also realized that I too was able to process my dreams and thoughts better without the background noise.

We all need quiet so that we can hear our intuitions and dreams.  Yes, sometimes, when we ignore these voices, they will get louder, until we can hear them.  (As in the the person with Lyme whose intuition was trying to tell them to slow down, rest, not do so much.)  One of the recommendations for ear (and kidney) ailments is to observe silence.  Since this is the season of quiet, I suggest we all strive to find a quiet place.

Slow

I have been thinking lately about the speed in which we move.  The message that I am receiving over and over (I’m guessing many of you have also received, if not you are now!) is to slow down.

Again, this is the time of year where we turn inward.  So this is a great time to start slowing.

I know our time on this earth is relatively short and that our society tells us that we should do more and faster.  However, I think that we would be happier and healthier if we could slow down, move at our natural pace, digest our thoughts and environment, focus on what we are doing at the time, enjoy our friends and family.

Looking at our society, I realize how unhealthy we are.  (Books can and have been written about this.)  I simply want to look at our pace.  Let’s delve just a little.  I was taught that the assembly line is one of the greatest “inventions”.  Why, because it allowed us to make things faster!  What it also did was locked people inside, where they worked in a very small area, doing repetitive motion every day.  (That’s not even mentioning the abuse and deaths that occurred due to poor factory conditions.)

What really got me thinking about this is the speed in which we drive.  I know that I am a culprit of this myself.  I witnessed someone pass 2 cars and a tractor on a blind hill, presumably so he could get to where he was going faster.  Ironically, we were all behind him at the next light.  He didn’t get there any faster, though he did risk several lives.

That made me think, why do we have to get there faster?  What if we just got there when we got there?  Would our lives be any less meaningful?  Why do we rush to get from point A to point B, couldn’t we slow down and enjoy the journey between those two points?  Maybe if we slow down, magic will happen.  At least I find that’s what occurs.

The other part of the issue for me is multi-tasking.  Again, multi-tasking is not only accepted now, but expected.  When we drive, we talk on the phone (hopefully, not text).  When we talk to our friends, we cook dinner.  The point of multi-tasking is to do several things as quickly as possible.  What ends up happening is that we are not able to focus on any of them and they all become a chore for us (well, hopefully not talking to your friends!).

What I recommend is that we focus on doing one thing at a time.  Not only do one thing at a time, but focus.  I (like my 94 year old grandma) wash my floors on my knees with a rag.  While I’m there, not only am I concentrating on getting the floor clean, but I also find myself going to that slow, quiet place.  In other words, I find myself meditating and digesting my recent thoughts and experiences.  So when I walk away, I have a clean floor, new insights, and a feeling of peace.  When did we ever feel this as we barrel down the highway talking to our friends, dodging the other drivers who are on their cell phones?

Let’s enjoy the journey and take the time to notice the many gifts along the way.  Digest our experiences.  Move slowly.  Only do what we can in a given amount of time.  What doesn’t get done, we can do another day.  Or maybe not, maybe it doesn’t need to be done.  Prioritize.  For goodness sake, turn off the cellphones from time to time!  (Sorry, pet peeve of mine.)  Rest and breathe deeply. Slow.

Motherwort

Motherwort is an amazing Plant.  She is used for so many things.  I with her as an herb and as a Flower Essence.  In fact, she is one of the Essences that I use the most. One of my first herb teachers, Susan Hess from Farm at Coventry, taught me that Motherwort is for any time you want your mother’s arms around you.  She shared with us that it is also for when you want your arms around your child.  I love those images and they have stuck with me.

Motherwort has these beautiful, sweet little flowers; however, when her seeds develop she gets very prickly (or protective).  This physicality is a good description of how I work with her as a Flower Essence.  Motherwort Flower Essence is protective and strengthening.  She helps us with our boundaries.  So often, our boundaries are weak or two expansive.  So we say yes, when we really want to say no.  Or we allow people to treat us in ways that aren’t healthy.  Motherwort helps us to change this and to create healthy boundaries.

Why am I sharing this Essence with you now?  Well, for two reasons.  First, as I mentioned previously, I have a new garden this year.  Several Plants have become guardians of this garden (Ragweed was the most insistent and visual; however, that is a story for another time.)  This fall as I was working, I discovered that Motherwort was voluntarily growing all along the outer rim of my garden.  To me this was another example of Plants’ sense of humor and another reason for gratitude.  As I spent more time with her, it was evident that I needed to share her with you.

I also chose this time because we are heading into the holidays and big family celebrations.  I know that families are wonderful and tend to push our buttons (and our boundaries).  So I thought Motherwort may help you at those prickly times.

Thanksgiving, Gratitude, Abundance and Manifestation

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  I love gathering with my family, consuming large amounts of delicious food, and expressing my gratitude for the many gifts.  When I was young, we always celebrated at my grandmother’s (Mimi’s) house.  Our extended family would be there, generally with a few extras, whom Mimi was wrapping her wings around.  It was always amazing that our table could expand to fit everyone.  If you were on the far side and needed to get something, the only way was to crawl under the table.  The food was incredible.  I remember everyone sneaking into the kitchen trying to get a piece of turkey as my grandfather was carving it.  He was constantly squawking and smacking hands.

Our table has changed over the years.  We no longer need the large extenders as people have passed onto the other world or simply moved away.  This year, we will be celebrating at my house.  While we have changed (I am no longer the little girl acting out my part of the ballet recital!  This shows the incredible love and patience of my family to watch me stand and tap my foot for several minutes before I dance-ran across the floor and did a jump, completing my part of Tchaikovsky’s “The Waltz of the Flowers”), the focus has remained the same: Family, Food, and Gratitude.  Three of my favorite things!

Gratitude

This year I have really focused on gratitude.  I’ve discovered that the more grateful that I am for the many gifts, the more I have to be grateful (“great-full”) for.  It really has brought about so much change for me.

As I look around and go about my day, my eyes are constantly searching for gifts.  While I don’t do this in a way of expectation, I do this with reverence.  For instance, my son had an injury this spring.  I went to look for Plantain to help with the infection; however, the Plantain was very elusive.  I started seeing what I was walking through, it was a field of Red Clover.  As I greeted her, I realized that this was the medicine that Sy needed.  Red Clover is an excellent blood purifier.  While I harvested some, I was completely overwhelmed with gratitude for her.  This has happened to me many times (of course with other Plants).  Some may say that it is a matter of being more mindful.  I guess in a way it is.  However, Plants are very intelligent, when we recognize that they are gifts and receive them with respect and honor; they are more willing to help and be a bigger presence in our lives.

On a more personal note, shifting my focus onto gratitude helped me (well is continuing to help me) through my grief.  When my brother died, what hurt the most was that I would not see him or touch him again (not as I did when he was alive) and that he couldn’t physically be there for his son.  I was very angry at all the lost chances. Then, I started remembering the times that I did share with him and the abundance of gifts that he gave me.  I realized how lucky I am to have known him and shared my life with him.

Here are two techniques I feel help cultivate gratitude.  Of course, you can also simply look around you and give thanks for all the gifts that surround you.

Breath of Gratitude

Sit with a Plant.  If you like, you can imagine that you have roots that grow out of the bottom of your spine into the earth.  Imagine that your roots intertwine with the Plant’s roots.  When you breathe in, realize that your breath is a gift from the Plant.  Breathe in ki’s Love.  When you exhale, give your breath to the Plant.  Send it with Love.  Now breathe in again, this time breathe in the Love and gratitude from the Plant.  Breathe out Love and gratitude for the Plant.  Do this for as long as you like, preferably at least 5 minutes.

Remember we need Plants to survive.  We rely on their exhale, for our oxygen.  Recognize this as a gift of life.  The Plants can survive without us.  However, they do appreciate our exhale of carbon dioxide.  We are intimately connected through our breaths.

Heart Breathing

Take some time for yourself.  Sit in a quiet, peaceful place, outside is best.  Spend some time breathing in and out through your Heart.  You may find some resistance to this at first.  That’s okay, keep trying.  Our Heart is an amazing sensory organ, among other things.  When we learn to breathe through our Hearts, or really acknowledge our Heart in any way, we see connections that before were invisible to us.

While I find that it is easiest to start in a quiet, peaceful environment.  You can do this anywhere.  I think this is a great tool for when you find yourself in an uncomfortable situation.  When done within a group, I believe it helps to foster group connection or resonance.

While Heart breathing is a simple activity, it has profound effects.  As I mentioned, it helps us to recognize our many connections.  It allows us to tap into our natural intuitive being.  It also helps us feel the world instead of think (or often ignore) the world.  This is an important and necessary shift for our changing world.  In The Secret Teachings of Plants, Stephen Harrod Buhner discusses what he calls “Heart-Brain Entrainment”.  In essence, when we feel with our Heart, we change our physiology in a very positive manner.

Abundance

To me, abundance is directly connected to gratitude.  Once you start recognizing the many gifts that surround you, you start noticing the abundance of this earth.  We are trained that there is a limited amount of wealth (and really almost everything), which tends to put us in competition with one another.  However, if we give ourselves the ability to step back and look around, we see how fortunate we are.  There may be a finite amount of money (I really don’t know); however, money is only one way of measuring wealth.  The Earth by her very nature is generous.  She does not like to see any bare spots.  Gardeners can verify this by the amount of voluntary Plants (often called weeds) that appear.  My favorite example is the Plant, often Dandelion or Plantain, who pushes through the pavement.

(Note: just because Nature is abundant, does not mean that we should be wasteful or disrespectful such as clear-cutting or harvesting to extinction.  I think this is the role of gratitude.  If we are great-full for Nature’s gifts, we do not want to take more than we need.)

Do you know anyone who can never seem to get ahead or to whom the sky is always falling?  I often think that what they need most is a change of attitude.  They tend to focus on what is wrong and what they don’t have and not on what they do.  I know someone like this.  She’s always struggling with money, complaining about how she’s been treated bad by the men in her life, always in some form of a crisis.  (In case any of you think I’m talking about you, I’m not.)  What she doesn’t notice is how fortunate she is to have beautiful children, a family who loves and supports her, that she has always had food to eat, and always had a place to live.  If she would take the time to go outside, she would notice the gorgeous, breathtaking, and bizarre flowers that bloom, the trees that give us breath, the ever abundant source of energy (the Sun), the Moon who guides our dreams, and many of the million other gifts.  Maybe that’s the secret, maybe being with Nature, in Nature helps us cultivate our gratitude and recognize the abundance.

There it is again, that message to spend time in Nature.  That seems to be the answer to so much of what ails us.

Manifestation

I have been working with a new set of Essences from Delta Gardens that I feel helps me appreciate abundance, overcome my fears associated with it, and strengthen my manifesting skills.  Through my training with this set, David Dalton (of Delta Gardens) reiterated that we are surrounded by abundance which each of us deserves to and can experience.  However, we often send out mixed signals about what we want.  Along with our requests we may send out our fears (“If I achieve this, my family will disown me”), negative beliefs (“I’m not worthy”), our past “programming” (“Money is the root of all evil.”), or other impediments.  It is hard to manifest what we want when we send out these mixed signals.  The good news is that when we work on these (primarily second and third chakra) issues, we not only make significant strides in our healing journey, we also are more easily able to manifest what we want.  (I feel we also learn what we truly want.)  So the question is how do we heal or do this work?  Well, we can use many different modalities, yes, Flower Essences is one of them.  What we want to focus on is ending toxic relationships; changing destructive habits (including negative self-thoughts); develop a worthiness program; and clear neglect, abuse, trauma.  One of my favorite things that David taught us during this class (I took the class twice!) is developing a worthiness program.  For this, you plan one pleasure per day for yourself, plan one special pleasure per week, plan one extra-special pleasure per month, and plan one extravagant pleasure per year.  Sounds like fun (and very healing)!  So if you feel guilty when you take time out for yourself or treat yourself to something enjoyable, remember that it is beneficial to your health and overall well-being.

Update on Nanny

I’ve heard from some of you concerning my grandmother, so I thought that I would include an update.  She has been moved from a hospital to a local nursing home.  She is passing therapy with flying colors.  Currently, the plan is to discharge her to her own home next week!  She is very happy.

After I sent out my last newsletter, I realized that I didn’t share something I thought was very important.  I believe that Nanny’s shingles are a physical reaction to her grief.  Nanny is a very strong woman, she never really allowed herself to dissolve in her grief.  She always wanted to stay strong for the other members of our family and to make my Pop-Pop “proud” (her word).  To me, her shingles were a reminder that when we do not express and heal our pain and emotions, they will fester and get louder and louder until we must take notice, often with a serious illness.

What I Love and appreciate so much about Flower Essences is that when we work with them, we are looking for the underlying pain (I’m using this as a general term, you can substitute guilt, anger, self-loathing, etc.) and its cause(s) so that we can heal and clear it from us.  We recognize that the illness is a symptom, a clue to what lies beneath.  If we only focus on the symptom (which is so often done in our culture), we miss the opportunity for true healing.

Please know I am thankful for you.  I hope that this finds you well and I wish you a wonder-full Thanksgiving.  Please remember to take some time for yourself and spend some awe-inspiring time in nature.

The Beauty of the Healing Crisis

As I write this, Autumn is in the air.  The leaves are beginning to change color.  Just like Persephone, the plants are dying or beginning their return to the underworld. I have spent the last two weeks caring for my grandmother, whom it seemed was making her own way to the other world.  Today is her 94th birthday, she has surprised all of us, by deciding to live!  While, she still has much healing in her future, to me she is a symbol of strength and determination.  She also has re-enforced my belief that there is a reason for our healing crises.  I really could not find a reason for her suffering.  However, it was clear to me today.  When my grandfather died in January, my grandmother didn’t think there was any reason for her to live anymore.  No matter how many times we told her she was important to us, she never truly believed it.  Now, so many people have filled her with love and prayer.  Today was, I believe, the first time ever, she has really sat on her well-deserved throne as matriarch of the family.  I can see in her face that she is reveling in the love and attention and finally understands that she is important.

While I was not happy with the timing of her sickness, I appreciate the timing of her recovery.  It seems rather appropriate to me, since we are approaching the end of October.  For many cultures, the end of October/beginning of November is a time to honor our ancestors.  In Mexico the festival is known as “El Dia de los Muertos”, the Catholic Church calls it “All Souls Day”, in Sweden it is known as “Alla Helgons Day”, and many countries celebrate “Halloween”.

Most of us are most familiar with Halloween.  However, what seems like a mainstream money making holiday is actually based on a Gaelic sacred holiday to honor the ancestors and celebrate the new year called Samhain (pronounced SAH-win).  They believed (as do many Pagans today) that at this time of year, the veil between this world and the next is thin, which allowed the ancestors to come back and help or guide us or if they have not been respected, to haunt us.  People would set out turnips or beets with lights in them to guide the ancestors to their home, hence, today’s jack-o-lantern.  People would also give offerings of food to the ancestors, which has been replaced by trick or treating.

I have always felt that our culture disregards our elderly and ancestors.  I use this time of year to honor my ancestors through my favorite medium, food.  Generally, I eat and give offerings of their favorite foods.  I also have an offering plate for all of my ancestors and the ancestors of this land.  Up until this year, I mostly focused on my great-aunt Emma by eating a milky-way and my great-grandfather (“Great-Pa”) by eating or trying to eat a grapefruit (that is another story about the power of grief).  This year, of course, I will be adding my grandfather and brother.  As I see this as not only a time to honor them but also as part of my grieving process, I am sure that I will have a more elaborate celebration.

Plants as Healing Guides

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!

____

Message from the Plants:

Turn off the television

Spend time in Nature (everyday! And yes, a backyard is nature)

Go Barefoot

Eat Wild Foods

Lyme Personality

What I learned in my Flower Essence training that has had the most impact on my life is David Dalton’s theory on Lyme disease (as well as his treatment plan).  As you may know, when we are working with Flower Essences, we are looking at the personality and childhood trauma.  Certain traumas and personalities are prone to certain illnesses and diseases.  David discovered a Lyme personality profile.  A person with Lyme tends to be: Type A, Martyr/scapegoat, pleaser/peacemaker, oldest/only child, and/or perfectionist.  The overall energy pattern is too much energy going out, not enough coming in.  For instance: someone or something is always more important than oneself.  (Now, if you fit one of these categories, it does not mean that you have Lyme, but you may be prone to getting it.  Also, it is possible to have Lyme and not have these traits.)

I contracted Lyme years ago.  So, this profile was particularly interesting to me.  I am a pleaser/peacemaker, only child, and I can be a perfectionist.  I definitely put more energy out than I take in, after all I am a mother and a healer.  I will admit I was a Type A in High School and possibly in College, but have worked really hard at changing that and so I didn’t classify myself as one.

However, that changed when I had the flu in March.  Anyone who has studied Waldorf philosophy or Anthroposophical medicine will tell you that fevers are soul changing and growth inducing.  In my family, we try not to fight fevers because when you come out of one, you have a sense of clarity and see things in a new way.  (Often kids get a fever right before a big growth spurt.)  I awoke from my fever and looked around.  I had a stack of about 9 books next to me, which I was trying to read while I had a fever!  All of them were non-fiction.  Most of them were herb books, also had a parenting book (Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne, I highly recommend it), and a couple gardening books.  I figured that since I was stuck in bed, I should put my time to good use: learn more about herbs (they weren’t to help me with my illness) and plan a forest garden.  That was when I realized that I am a Type A!

Now that I know these things about myself and the connection to my Lyme disease, I understand how incredibly important it is that I take time for myself, relax, do something I enjoy, ask for help, etc.  Lyme is my teacher and will remind me when I continue to ignore my needs.  For anyone who matches the Lyme personality and has not developed Lyme disease, I recommend making changes for yourself now.  Lyme may be a great teacher, but there are much easier and more enjoyable ways of learning the lesson.

Be the Calm

"Make your heart be a lake with a calm, still surface and great depths of kindness"

~Lao Tzu

These are interesting and difficult times.  Between the responses to the elections, the violence against the Water Protectors at Standing Rock, and many numerous personal traumas/dramas my friends, clients, and family are facing, life can be overwhelming.  And I have heard this from many.

Fortunately, I know that when life is difficult, there is a learning opportunity near.  For me this lesson is to be calm and centered.  When we allow ourselves to get caught up in the drama, we lose sight of the bigger picture.  Suddenly, it becomes easier for us to lose our footing and we end up feeding the chaos.  However, if we can meet the challenges with calm, we allow ourselves to discover solutions that otherwise we would have missed.

Of course, it's okay if we get swept up, we always have the option of regaining our center.  I was reminded of this lesson recently.  I came home from Standing Rock on the 19th with a little cold.  On November 20th, I watched in horror for hours with tears streaming down my face as law enforcement shot water at my brothers and sisters in below freezing temperatures and shot clouds of tear gas among other atrocities.  The next day, my cold became something else, until the point that I collapsed and was loosing consciousness.  As I was recovering, I heard one of the Protectors speaking and he reminded people to "Be like a Rock" for a rock that is grounded does not get washed away by the water, it moves the water.  He said to "Be like a Mountain", for a Mountain does not get blown about by the air.  Here was my medicine.

I know that when I am centered and calm, I can accomplish great things.  One of my gifts from St. John's Wort this summer was realizing how much can be done by simply aligning myself with the Plants and concentrating on my Heart.

This is a simple task and yet it is challenging to remain calm when chaos is all around.  The good news is that when you remain calm, you bring calm to the situation.  So how does one do this?  The first task is to find your center.  My suggestion is to spend time in Nature, particularly with a Tree, a large Rock, a Mountain.  Tap into their energies.  When I need to center, I connect with these.  I also ground.  I send my roots to the center of Earth and my branches to the center of the Universe.  I feel my connection to all.  I focus on my Heart, for when we are in our Heart, we are naturally calmer and operate with a wide perspective.  And of course, breathe!

I think that it is also important to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.  We have known for a long time that the paradigms are shifting.  The anger, hate, and attacks that are coming forward are the vestiges of the white-supremacist, patriarchal system which is scared to lose power.  The United States was founded on this form of power and this is the basis for our culture.  Therefore, as the paradigm is shifting, our own shadows, particularly those connected with the old paradigm are coming to light.  In the great scheme, this is good, really good; though it may feel awful.  When you are confronted with the Shadow, whether your own or another's, I encourage compassion.

This is a great time to concentrate on personal healing, particularly releasing the old patterns and limiting beliefs, healing the Heart wounds, and preparing the physical body to receive greater amounts of energy.

The way I see it, we are being asked to Be our Highest Selves, NOW!  All the lessons, all the healings are being put to the test.  Can we meet the challenge?  Can we hold up a mirror of compassion and Love to the Shadow?  Can we remain calm and centered?  Do we dare to Be what we came here to Be?  Can we receive everyone with kindness and gentleness?  Can we Be Love?

I say YES!!

I hope you do too.  If we slip or stumble, remember we live in the Universe of Perpetual Second Chances.  This is all a learning opportunity.

Much Love and many blessings!

Photo credit: Catherine Huang