Alchemica Posted October 11, 2018 You can eat the kale, do the meditations, sip on the plant medicine but how healing is that really? I got disenchanted with 'plant medicine' as it was often turning into a bunch of band-aid experiences and pits of continuous self-medication. I saw lots of people embarking on the same loop, it seemed to be a pathway of less healing than expected. Anyone else found that? I think we've often lost some aspect of simply nurturing something that doesn't give back to us with food or medicine etc. A deeper connection to the Web of Life. I started growing some non-medicinals, things that weren't providing me with anything, and noticed something... From the butterfly attracting Milkweed to Milly's forget-me-nots to Acacias I'd never had any interest in... In the past, a plant's worth was dictated to me by what it could do for food or medicine, a very ego-centric view on the plant. There was nothing spiritual or worthwhile about a plant being simply a living entity, the essence of respect was often not there/not as deep - what did it do for us other than provide a bit of oxygen?!? It's "just a plant"... I was centred around always taking something from a plant, be it food, medicine, boosts in self etc. If we treat humans in such a way, constantly dictating their worth by what they can do "for me/us" and with limited respect for their unique worthwhile existence, that's a very unhealthy view that's all too prevalent in society - I believe our human relationships are often mirrored in the way we treat the Earth. If we flip that "for me/us" around into what we can do "for them" without expectation of something in return, that's the start of some healing. In that flip, you also seemingly make room for healthy natural reciprocity Today I see the worth of a plant beyond that narrow view. I'm starting to nurture something that I don't expect anything in return from. The essence of each plant has it's own gift, beyond a phytopharmacological or nutritional cocktail, and deserves respect - a more eco-centric and spirited view Looking forward to Trees for Life 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Inyan Posted October 12, 2018 7 hours ago, Alchemica said: You can eat the kale, do the meditations, sip on the plant medicine but how healing is that really? I got disenchanted with 'plant medicine' as it was often turning into a bunch of band-aid experiences and pits of continuous self-medication. I saw lots of people embarking on the same loop, it seemed to be a pathway of less healing than expected. Anyone else found that? I think we've often lost some aspect of simply nurturing something that doesn't give back to us with food or medicine etc. A deeper connection to the Web of Life. I started growing some non-medicinals, things that weren't providing me with anything, and noticed something... From the butterfly attracting Milkweed to Milly's forget-me-nots to Acacias I'd never had any interest in... In the past, a plant's worth was dictated to me by what it could do for food or medicine, a very ego-centric view on the plant. There was nothing spiritual or worthwhile about a plant being simply a living entity, the essence of respect was often not there/not as deep - what did it do for us other than provide a bit of oxygen?!? It's "just a plant"... I was centred around always taking something from a plant, be it food, medicine, boosts in self etc. If we treat humans in such a way, constantly dictating their worth by what they can do "for me/us" and with limited respect for their unique worthwhile existence, that's a very unhealthy view that's all too prevalent in society - I believe our human relationships are often mirrored in the way we treat the Earth. If we flip that "for me/us" around into what we can do "for them" without expectation of something in return, that's the start of some healing. In that flip, you also seemingly make room for healthy natural reciprocity Today I see the worth of a plant beyond that narrow view. I'm starting to nurture something that I don't expect anything in return from. The essence of each plant has it's own gift, beyond a phytopharmacological or nutritional cocktail, and deserves respect - a more eco-centric and spirited view Looking forward to Trees for Life I've been growing plants since I was could tie my shoes. I propagated African Violets by leaf before I learned my times tables. The bottom line is I love plants, nature, forests, etc. Watching butterflies hatch, hummingbirds swoop in... it all makes me feel at peace. When you hybridize, graft, grow from seed, etc... you often learn to take thing slow and find excitement in watching the simplest flower open for the first time. You become an active participant in nature, but I don't think that is limited to the plants we grow simply to grow. Nor are the plants we grow for medicines or food any less important. For me, it is the connection we make with nature and with plants in general and that relationship can be fostered just like any other relationship. Treat your plants with respect and realize that they have gifts to offer such as food, medicine, beauty, purifying the air, etc. But also realize we can bring gifts to our plants. Gifts of water, fertilizer, good soil, appreciation, respect, and yes even the air we breath out. We are connected. We are related. That is what it is all about. Fostering that feeling that we instinctively know is true, but also realizing that science validates that connection as we truly are all connected. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alchemica Posted October 12, 2018 (edited) Well said @Inyan Coming from only ever being interested in plants for medicinal aspects, to then finding the enjoyment of creating that nourishing connection to food, I always dismissed anything else as aesthetic gardening and pointless. Not saying food/medicine isn't important, I'm just surprised to find how the act of relationship with something that won't deliver a therapeutic brew or even food really breaks the addictive consumption mindset - something I was always struggling with Edited October 12, 2018 by Alchemica 4 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Humboldt Posted October 12, 2018 My take at present is seeing plants, animals, myself, everything earthly as expressions of something like the Gaian mind. Each a different window into a larger prism, latticework of mother earth. Some plants may help you to 'see into' but are no more a part of the grander matrix than any other. Each a different aspect, but in a way that words dont work to well to describe. For that reason i like to vibe off my plants. Practically speaking i hover my hands over different plants, feel that energy shift, the impression, then meld with it as best i can. Looking through that window for a bit, then the next. The consistent thing is each mini experience is vastly different from the last. I get the impression that it lifts the vibration of all parties involved. Honouring the mother for a bit, sensing simple impressions, being them with no descriptors. Getting joy from experiencing diffent expressions of life is something too many people have lost. Glad you havent. Peace 20 hours ago, Alchemica said: Looking forward to Trees for Life 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Inyan Posted October 12, 2018 15 hours ago, Alchemica said: Well said @Inyan Coming from only ever being interested in plants for medicinal aspects, to then finding the enjoyment of creating that nourishing connection to food, I always dismissed anything else as aesthetic gardening and pointless. Not saying food/medicine isn't important, I'm just surprised to find how the act of relationship with something that won't deliver a therapeutic brew or even food really breaks the addictive consumption mindset - something I was always struggling with Always have to take time to stop and smell the roses. Enjoying something as simple as minor differences in phenotype in Lophophora hybrids for instance is what attracts me to the fricii type hybrids. Those occasional brightly colored flowers if one can get one is great. The same thing for Brugmansia or Datura hybrids... watching those flowers open up for the first time gives you the unique experience of being the first to see that hybrid bloom for the first time. Perhaps it is not spectacular by anyone else's standards, but for me it is exciting even when the flower is plain white. I'm doing a happy dance if I get something more. @Humbolt Your perspective is reflected in how I was taught to view plants, animals, etc. All are beings/spirit/energy/vibration on the web of life. That web of the mind that mirrors the outside world and those connections we make internally about the connections we have externally to the same. It is a mirror in some respects then that the mind can reflect the connections or energy to one extent or another. The more in tune you are to a particular plant or animal the more that animal or plant resonates with you. At a certain point, generally after having had a particularly powerful connecting vision with a particular medicine/pejuta/plant/animal that energy/spirit becomes a part of you and that is reflected in the idea that you now have that particular connection in a stronger way than many to a particular medicine. You have that animal/plant/medicine as a part of you and you can draw on its strength. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ajnadurga Posted October 13, 2018 Unconditional Love Plant medicines surely can become a reciprocal cycle and process.... more often than not in my experience due to the self not getting the message or learning the lesson... Eat clean, do the meditations yes but ceremony is of utmost importance imo.... if your not clearly asking for healing and progression then you'll go around and around until you find your voice.... or meditate endlessly on an ideology or intention without it ever coming to fruition.... Healing from the plant teachers must be asked for, respected, revered and honored.... in my experience and bearing witness to the journeys of my fellow brothers and sisters .... if these are not taken into consideration it will potentially become a maddening loop of uncertainty... When the two eyes become one, you will say to the mountain move and it shall move. But it has to be seen and it has to be said Satnam. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
