Nature as Healer

Life As A Weed

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:20:43 -0500

I’ve observed weeds my whole life. Weeds are masters of survival adapting to new surroundings, overcoming obstacles and thriving firmly rooted in place. Creative in their propagation, weeds tempt birds to devour tasty seeds then expel them along fencerows; produce feathery tuffs that catch the wind and disperse onto fertile soil; hitch a ride on animals fur and drop into field and forest; or wait patiently to burst with enthusiasm onto welcoming earth.
 A weed is merely a wayward plant growing where it is not welcome. I doubt if ancient people even had a word for “weed” as all plants were looked upon as potential allies. Our early ancestors use of plants is evidence of how well they understood their environment. Becoming aware of the weeds growing in your natural surroundings will help you better navigate the cycle of life’s changes and challenges. Identify them, notice how well they adapt to their environment, research their healing and nutritional qualities.

The weeds surrounding my house and barn are my remedies. I work with their life force to transform their energy into remedies for body, mind and spirit. Yellow Dock cleanses the liver. Burdock keeps blood and skin healthy. Black Walnut sharpens brain function. With Mugwort comes dreams.

The wild plants thriving in my yard are my food. I add Chickweed to salads, Lambs Quarters to soups, Violet Flowers to eggs, Nettles to stews. My body is hungry for the nutrition in weeds. My cells recognize and utilize every part of this wild food. Maximum nutrition is absorbed and vital energy is ignited. My body is nurtured and I have the power to live the life I love.

Modern humans have disconnected from the weed world. We eradicate them with poisons, battle them with diggers, and smother them with mulch. We have done the same with our own essence. We don’t listen to our bodies and we shut out our inner longings. Nature offers the cure and the weeds at your door have come to aid you in life’s journey. Weeds are the footprints of the helping spirits in nature. Learn to interpret the language of the weed before you destroy a potential plant ally. Those with an alert eye and a willing heart can follow the example of the weed to a life of effortless adaptation and deep-rooted prosperity.

Reprinted from my column Nature Wisdom in the Health Planet magazine.

The Quest

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 18:03:13 -0500

Throughout human history, we have always felt the need to set time apart from daily activities, sit alone in Nature and quest for a vision. There are many variations of the historical vision quest -- from the 72-hour Vision Fast, to a weekend Solitude Quest -- from the Night Quest, to a Walkabout. Whatever shape a quest takes, we embark on this Right of Passage to heal ourselves, pray for family, face fears, receive guidance, gain power or strengthen our relationship with the Wild.

Once you decide to quest, your preparation begins. Eating a cleansing diet, journaling dreams, and making prayer flags are ways to focus your intentions. Ask for support from loved ones and tell them where and when you will be questing.

Prepare your questing place with a circle of stones and prayer flags. Each rock and flag represents a prayer, person, spiritual ally, direction or element. This circle is the center of your quest. It is your sacred space. Protected within this circle you pray, listen and see your world.

Sit as quite as a deer and observe all that is around you. Coyote, rabbit, fox, hawk, or chipmunk may visit you. Feel the breezes, witness the changing colors of the sunset or watch the stars wheel across the night sky. Open all your senses to the Wild. It’s quite easy when you get away from the distractions of TV, computers, and cell phones.

There is no greater teacher or healer than Nature. Her elements can be portals to forgotten talents and hidden qualities. Let the wind bring inspiration. Feel the eternal spark of your spirit in the rising moon. Allow the water to wash away worry and fill your heart. Put your hands in the dirt. We are born of earth and our cells need to feel its touch.

Everything that occurs within your questing place is part of your vision... your thoughts, dreams and fears in the night... an insect’s buzzing, a snake’s meandering, the voice of a bird, shapes in the clouds, movement in the trees.... all are answers to your prayers. These messages are now yours to interpret and incorporate into your life.

Nature can show you the inner workings of your soul. Time alone sitting and being makes you reach down deep inside yourself to know what you are made of. It is a process I trust deeply.

Go to the Wild and remember who you are.

The Healthy Planet Natural Living Expo

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 06:57:03 -0600

If you are in the St. Louis area Sunday March 4, please stop by my booth at the Healthy Planet Expo. I’ll have my wild wreaths and native plant remedies for sale. I’d love to visit with you. Send me an email and I’ll provide you with complimentary tickets.

View my herbal goods with photos and descriptions at www.willowrainherbalgoods.com.

Brigid’s Day - Feast of the Flame

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 06:10:41 -0600

The First of February marks the celebration of the coming of spring. Hours of light and warmth increasing each day cause seeds to begin stirring beneath the hard winter ground. The life force of the green world may even show itself with brave early shoots of crocus pushing themselves through the snow.

This celebration of the beginnings of spring is known as the Feast of the Flame or St. Brigid’s Day. The goddess Brigid was such a strong deity of the native people that when Christianity came to Ireland she was transformed into Saint Brigid. An old saying goes “Brigid breathes life into the mouth of dead winter.” She tends the fire of illumination as she melts the coldness of winter. Candles are lit in profusion celebrating the return of longer days and warmth.

A bringer of warmth and life, the element that manifests most dramatically in Brigid is Fire. Her flaming power promotes health, inspiration and right livelihood. Her role as the firekeeper continues in households honoring her patronage over hospitality, cooking, crafting and the domestic arts, breathing new life into daily activities.

Aligned with the element of Fire to forge and mold, Brigid is the guardian of transformation, change and regeneration. She presides as midwife of the arts of poetry, healing, smithcraft. Feel her wise presence in moments of creativity and vision.

Brigid’s Cloak is made of heavenly sunbeams. Sunbeams have been honored in many cultures as indications of Divine Presence in our lives. The custom of blessing Brigid’s Cloak on the eve of February First has been observed for generations. Take a piece of white unwashed cloth. Hang it outside where it can absorb the light of the sun, moon and stars for the night and the day. Tear, do not cut, into strips. This is traditionally done by women and then stored in the thatch above the door of the cottage. I place my Brigid’s Cloth in a basket and hang it near the doorway.

Brigid’s Cloth can be used for healing, crafting, writing, or other works of inspiration. I’ve used them as prayer flags hanging from trees, placed under pillows, twisted around tools, as a collar on my dog Finn. I’ve wrapped Brigid’s Cloth around body parts needing healing, bringing Brigid’s light, warmth and transformation into the vulnerable area.

One of her powers is guardianship of the land. When I pray for the Earth, I tie a Cloth strip in a tree and envision Brigid’s Cloak cast over the entire land. I ask her to wrap her Cloak around the land and all beings upon it as a protective and healing circle.

The Feast of the Flame is a time to purify the physical, psychic and soulful strands of life to prepare for the coming year. Light your candles, hang your Cloth and make a prayer to Brigid, the ancient Celtic Fire Goddess. “Help me breathe life into whatever is dead around me. Let your radiance shine in my life so that my actions may sparkle with the heavenly light the Creator of the Elements showers upon us.”

A Winter of Robins

Mon, 2 Jan 2012 06:44:47 -0600

The robins have been visiting our bird bath this week. A dozen at a time can be seen fluttering from branch to bath. The cedars surrounding our home are now sheltering flocks of red breasted robins busy over-wintering on this year's abundance of juniper berries. The plump juicy blue berries adorn the tips of the cedar branches beckoning the drove to come feast and seek sanctuary.

The flutter of wings fills the sky as they swoop low over the cedar tree tops. I stop still and listen to the music of wing on wind. On daily walks I often hear a hundred in song as their clear carol fills the deep green trees. Robin chuckles grace the twilight as they flit from berry to branch. I close my eyes to open my ears to the poetry they chant to the trees.

At the beginning of this new year, their heart song fills my spirit with eternal hope and the reassurance that life continues on and on.