What Matters?

We identify priorities, values.  We move toward and away as clarity comes into focus.  We form goals and aims.  The mechanism of how we operate (each of us has our own unique approach and retreat means) goes into play.  How we structure and feel into our wants and needs depends on our fuller intelligence.  Not just our mental/cognitive talent, but also our accessibility to our feeling life and our connection to our body.

Win or lose, fail or succeed is almost always in the forefront of our being as a weighty consideration to what matters.  But strangely, it’s doubtful to me that it matters the outcome (even though we may be conditioned to think otherwise).  What matters, is the effort we made, the striving and struggle toward that which is calling us.

Effort is energy.  It reads.  It reads to oneself and others.  It creates an influence to the outside and the inside.  The quality of effort matters.  Hard, forceful, determined, tense effort can be a ‘manhandling’ of one’s energy field (and others).  One can push a boulder up a mountain after all, and get the job done with enormous external effort.  Culturally, we understand effort by use of force.

In Chinese thought, all things contain yin and yang.  The dark/light, hard/soft, passive/active.  So it is in effort.  Attaining or meeting something is sometimes a mere thought, feeling or sensation.  Many bodywork principles are based on this.  (ie: Alexander Technique:  if I think upward and out the influence is felt in the rest of me and it happens.)  We are conditioned that effort is rolling that boulder up the mountain.  But effort also can be soft, sublime and a sensitized awareness that is cultivated and maintained.

Effort.  When I chronically turn away from what is distressing and difficult, when I drop into my denial of what IS, I turn away from what matters.  I lose my internal warrior.  If I somehow can allow that courageous effort of facing what Is, not turn away, that becomes a moment of triumph.  Even if I turn away again (which almost always is inevitable).  Even if “nothing comes of it”…. this time.

What matters?  What matters is I try even if it is assured I will fail.  I am conditioned it is bad to fail.  Facing that conditioning is an effort.  The attempt to know myself in the discomfort of the unknown, with little to no internal recourse, and a certainty I will most likely fail, is strengthening the power of effort.  

Failing this time, but maybe not the 100^th time.  The value becomes the Now and is no longer the outcome.  It is a Quixotic attitude.

When I’ve contemplated over decades the karma of things, despair has often visited, knowing we are almost certain to repeat the mistakes and failures, possibly into the next life (if that should be so).  The probability is slim we master that (seemingly) karmic challenge.  But now, my attitude is not so fixed on mastering the weakness or frailty.  What matters is I worked with it consistently; I met it over and over again and made efforts to know it.  That effort, it builds sustenance inside and strength outside.  It is an influence on all of the world and also me and possibly my karma.  Transformation and miracles are possible due to this.  This is the Water element in Chinese medicine.  The wearing away of the stone by a drop of water that falls, repeated a zillion times.  Light, methodical, patient, and repetitive.  Water conquers all, eventually.

Bone Deep

Many years ago, on a March day in a year when spring was visibly transforming the long winter, I dragged myself to my acupuncturist.  I was so fatigued, had no energy, was completely kaput.  I was despairing because part of me so wanted to enjoy the outer transformation underway and I couldn’t, I was feeling so bone weary.  I knew Babs would help me; she is not only a gifted and seasoned acupuncturist and Chinese herbalist, she’s a magnificent all-around healer.

Babs did her magic with her needles while telling me a story. She said, in Five Element Theory (classical Chinese Medicine), it’s believed that a cataclysmic summoning is required on Earth’s part to have Spring arrive.  Just think of it:  from small bulbs and meandering roots, trees and flowers require an extreme awakening and tremendous force to produce their transformative glory.  Where does this energy and force come from?  They get it from all the four and two-leggeds walking on top of the earth.  Hence, why it is a common occurrence that humans feel so wasted by the time Spring is underway.  We are food for Great Mother Nature.

So, it’s not only all those winter carbs we lean on or the post holiday overimbidements we are paying for necessarily.  How do we bolster our flagging selves, enrich our blood, our kidney qi in preparation for this auspicious time of year?

Babs prescription for me was bone broth.  This is something I start to make in January for comfort and continue on in February and March for my kidney qi, wellness and well being.  Bone Broth is a vital adjunct to any diet, especially those struggling with autoimmune disorders, leaky gut, joint and digestive problems.  This is an ancient remedy for what ails you.  The Chinese talked about it many millennia ago, Hippocrates associated it to gut healing, Jewish mothers everywhere have been passing down their chicken soup recipes for hundreds of years.

Benefits of Bone Broth

Many of our modern diseases are rooted in an unbalanced mix of microorganisms in our digestive system, mostly due to SAD (Standard American Diet) -- a diet that is too high in sugars and too low in healthful fats and beneficial bacteria.  Leaky gut is the root of many health problems, especially allergies, autoimmune disorders, and many neurological disorders. The collagen found in bone broth acts like a soothing balm to heal and seal your gut lining.

Bone broth is also a staple remedy for acute illnesses such as cold and flu. Recent studies on cartilage (the abundant base of homemade broth), show it supports the immune system in a variety of ways.  It's a potent normalizer, a biological response modifier, activates macrophages, Natural Killer cells and lymphocytes.  Bone broth contains a variety of valuable nutrients in a form your body can easily absorb. This includes:

Calcium, phosphorus, and other minerals	Components of collagen and cartilage
Silicon and other trace minerals	Components of bone and bone marrow
Glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate	The "conditionally essential" amino acids proline, glycine, and glutamine

Healing benefits of bone broth:

Reduces joint pain and inflammation, thanks to chondroitin sulfate, glucosamine, and other compounds extracted from the boiled down cartilage and collagen.

Inhibits infection caused by inflammation, bacteria and viruses.

Fights inflammation: Amino acids such as glycine, proline, and arginine all have anti-inflammatory effects. Glycine has calming effects, which may help you sleep better, Arginine is effective fighting septis.

Promotes strong, healthy bones: bone broth contains surprisingly low amounts of calcium, magnesium and other trace minerals, but it plays an important role in healthy bone formation because of its abundant collagen. Collagen fibrils provide the latticework for mineral deposition and are the keys to building strong and flexible bones.

Promotes healthy hair and nail growth, thanks to the gelatin in the broth. Feeding collagen fibrils homemade broth can even eliminate cellulite.

How to Make the Most Nourishing Broth

The more gelatinous the broth, the more nourishing it will tend to be. Indeed, the collagen that leaches out of the bones when slow-cooked is one of the key ingredients that make broth so healing. If the broth gets “jiggly” after being refrigerated, it's a sign that it's a well-made broth. To make it as gelatinous as possible, add chicken feet, pig's feet, and/or joint bones.  All of these contain high amounts of collagen and cartilage.

Shank or leg bones, on the other hand, will provide lots of bone marrow. Marrow also provides valuable health benefits.  So ideally, you'll want to use a mixture of bones. You can make bone broth using organic chicken, whole fish or fish bones (including the fish head), pork, or beef bones. If you're using chicken, enjoy the roasted flesh first then throw the carcass into a pot, covering with water. Add a small amount of vinegar to help leach the minerals out of the bones. To ensure the broth is really gelatinous, add some chicken feet when you use the carcass of a roasted chicken, as some of the collagen will have been leached out already during the roasting process. You can also add vegetables of your choice into the pot.

The most important aspect of the broth-making process is to make sure you're getting high-quality bones.  Ideally, you'll want to use organically raised animal bones. It's worth noting that chickens raised in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) tend to produce chicken stock that doesn't gel, so you'll be missing out on some of the most nourishing ingredients if you use non-organic chicken. People living in the Philadelphia region of Pennsylvania are truly fortunate to be surrounded by lots of conscientious farmers.  Finding connection with these folks ensures good agriculture sourcing.  Many of these small-operation farms raise their livestock according to organic principles even if their farm is not USDA certified organic (the certification is expensive). Talk to them.                                 Sample Beef Broth Recipe

Below is a classic beef stock recipe excerpted from Nourishing Broth, including lamb and venison variations. For more nourishing broth recipes, consider Hilary Boynton and Mary Brackett's new GAPS cookbook,



The Heal Your Gut Cookbook: Nutrient-Dense Recipes for Intestinal Health Using the GAPS Diet.                                                            

•   About 4 pounds organic beef marrow and knuckle bones

•   1 calf, beef, or pig foot

•   3 pounds meaty bones such as short ribs and beef shanks

•   1 small can or jar tomato paste (optional)

•   4 or more quarts cold filtered water

•   1/2 cup vinegar (leaches minerals out of the bones)

•   3 onions, ends removed  (skin may be left on)

•   3 carrots, peeled if not organic

•   3 celery sticks

•   1 bouquet garni made with parsley sprigs, thyme sprigs, and bay leaf, tied together

•   1 tablespoon black peppercorns, or green or white peppercorns, crushed

Directions

1.    Place the knuckle and marrow bones and optional calves foot in a very large pot (or ideally, a crock pot), toss with vinegar and cover with cold water. Let stand for 1/2 to 1 hour. Meanwhile, place the meaty bones in a stainless steel roasting pan. For a particularly aromatic stock, brush the bones with tomato paste. Brown at 350 degrees in the oven, about ½ hour. When well browned, add these bones to the pot. Pour the fat out of the roasting pan, add cold filtered water to the pan, set over a high flame and deglaze the pan. Add this liquid to the pot. Add additional water, if necessary. Bring to a simmer and carefully skim any scum that comes to the top. Afterwards, add the vegetables, bouquet garni, and peppercorns.

2.   Simmer stock for at least 12 and as long as 24 hours. (Again, if you do this in a slow cooker/crock pot, you’ll be able to leave it while you go about your other business).

3. Remove. Strain the stock into a large glass container. Let cool in the refrigerator and remove the congealed fat that rises to the top (use it instead of butter or oil in cooking). Transfer to smaller containers and to the freezer for long-term storage.

Note: The marrow may be removed from the marrow bones a couple of hours into the cooking, and spread on whole grain sourdough bread. If left in the pan for the entire cooking period, the marrow will melt into the broth, resulting in a broth that is cloudy but highly nutritious.

Variation: Lamb Stock

Use lamb bones, especially lamb neck bones and riblets. Ideally, use all the bones left after butchering the lamb. Be sure to add the feet if you have them. This makes a delicious stock.

Variation: Venison Stock

Use venison meat and bones. Be sure to use the feet of the deer and a section of antler if possible. Add 1 cup dried wild mushrooms if desired

much of the above info was gleaned from www.mercola.com, including broth recipe
for more info on the power of bone broth:  http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/10/05/bone-broth-recipe.aspx

Water: the Elixir of Life

If bread is the food of life, then water must be the elixir.  Water has a tremendous balancing and healing capacity, whether you are drinking, bathing, swimming in it, or merely looking at it. Is this because water is a terrific electric conductor and our dynamic electric selves responds naturally to it, is recharged on re-entry?  Or our 85% fluid selves matches and synchronizes with the substance?  We come home in a way, being in water.

Water is the most abundant resource on the planet, inside of our bodies and on the earth’s surface.  In and with water, one becomes in flow again.  Experiencing our fluidity is possible even if as land creatures we are rather dense, haltingly static. In water, we are reanimated. Water buoys the body, allows it to float. We re-become the sea creature we must of hearkened from long ago. Ankles, feet, wrists and hands become flippers again, the rib's moving respiration attempts to re-find our lost gills. Our mammal spine undulates and rediscovers the prana, the qi natural to it in an unencumbered environment. We are a-swim in our long ago ancestor gene pool.  A distant memory of what was then possible is awakened?

And so a similar internal experience occurs when we imbibe the substance.  A washing, cleansing occurrence puts the organism in flow once again.  We perspire constantly even in the mildest circumstance; a replenishment, a reinvigorating the cycle is required, a call to hydrate. Adequate hydration makes headaches disappear, renews our energy, decreases appetite, curbs cravings.  Our urine, usually a definitive color, pales and becomes neutral in tone (as it should be).  Our organs operate optimally; the liver's filter function aided by the wash of water flowing through, our kidneys grateful for the influx of like, a resonance of its life force.  Our very blood and lymph, its function so necessary to be in flow, is supported by the visit.

In Chinese Taoist thought, water is representative of intelligence and wisdom, flexibility, softness and pliancy.  It is considered the perfect yin substance, accommodating to every vessel it enters.  It’s internal and external constancy makes it both powerful and wise.  With this influence ever present inside and outside ourselves nature has given us yet another support to make us whole.

The Quan Yin of essential oils: Lavender

Quan Yin is a “saint” for both Taoists and Buddhists alike (how many entities do we know that cross the great religion divide?).  She is known for her deeply empathic declaration, refusing to become immortal until all suffering in the world was alleviated, but would live on showing mercy to all.  And she does.  In China she is evident in the softness of the mountains, and the very air and earth.  Quan Yin is the quintessential icon for care and mercy.  Likewise, True Lavender’s (angustifolia Lavandula) essential chemical properties and capacity reflects a type of medicinal mercy.

There are a few other essential oils (eo) I would give a quality label like “mercy” to: Frankincense, Neroli, Angelica Immortelle to name a few.  But True Lavender… well Lavender is a kind of standout.  She is such a diverse and hardworking eo, addressing so many maladies.  She is a wound healer, an infection stopper, a histamine blocker.  She refreshes spirit and fills those flagging neurotransmitters in the brain obliterating migraines and tendencies toward depression.  She promotes relaxation, rest and sleep for the weary.  And she is generous, willing to work in concert with western medicine’s opioids to decrease pain. 

True Lavender is a pretty ordinary species, easy to grow and a well known botanical oil in Europe and the Americas.  Despite her lack of exotic allure, it can be said she is trustworthy, accountable, gentle and sublime.  In my years of practicing clinical aromatherapy, and using Lavender on probably thousands of people, I have never seen an allergy to this eo (or heard of one in my studies).  It is easily my first go-to oil in myriads of situations, alone or in combination.  When used with other oils, she doesn’t fight or overstate her delicate power.  She is pure cooperation and a team player.

It would seem more natural to pair Quan Yin with an Asian eo like Ylang Ylang rather than the very western angustifolia Lavandula.  As lovely as Ylang Ylang is, its power is not gentle nor subtle.  True Lavender like Quan Yin is the essence of femininity, and although not an Asian botanical, somehow creates a harmonious relationship with her parallel entity which calls from half way around the world.  This is not surprising as both of their abilities and purpose is about extending themselves, hero(ine)ically.

Energetic Communication

It is astounding that the reality of energetic communication is largely ignored and down played in one’s daily life.  Although we all are naturally programmed with this incredible gift and sense ability,  we hands-down almost always give it little credence and choose instead to “listen” to words, gleaning information this limited way from our surrounding world.  Language and words are way over-rated in this respect.  It is the momentary impression taken in by our bodies from another’s energetic response/reaction that should inform us.

We have all been there over and over.  In a conversation, something is said and there is a vibrational response from another.  One might be looking at a passive face, but sensing the reaction of judgment, criticism, surprise or acceptance.  Upon meeting someone for the first time, it sometimes is very clear there is a whole history that has been garnered by the handshake that is given.  Possibly it is defended, or awestruck or some other pre-determined response coming through which indicates they have had an earful about you.  We choose to believe the passive face and dutiful handshake; we more often than not choose to minimize or not register the energetic communication around the experience.

We are constantly subjected to energetic communication.  From the obscure to the profound we are subject moment to moment by inanimate and animate energies.  From a tree, an animal, an environment, an object or the collective, we can glean information and impressions with considerable depth just by bringing into a wider more sensitized awareness the vibration coming at us.  A full-sized deer in the middle of the woods is walking toward you, only 20 paces away.  At first one is touched and in awe of the experience, but as the creature gets closer, fear instinctively takes you over.  The deer senses the shift in attitude and bolts.  In China, there are trees that are two to three thousand years old.  They are the remaining post-cultural revolution “wise ones” and are emanating their wisdom constantly.  It’s almost impossible to pass one of these trees and not pause, the magnetism is so strong.  You might not know what you are sensing right off, but you can’t help but feel the power of the tree’s energy.  In past posts, I’ve mentioned domestic animals and their knowing a human’s impulse several beats before the human’s action or the energy of inanimate objects which are not given attention.  All of this is real information.  A shift in how we take in impressions, information and how we communicate might be in order.

Masaru Emoto's ground breaking work studying water molecules in  The Hidden Messages in Water and The Miracle of Water   support this idea there is an energetic influence on our physiology dependent on how we approach living and communication.  Our words, thoughts and intentions impact our cell structure and DNA.  Dr. Emoto spent several years photographing crystals formed in frozen water which revealed changes when specific, concentrated thoughts were directed toward them. When he wrapped them in paper that contained positive messages, such as "Thank you," they formed balanced crystals. When negative messages were sent, photos revealed defective crystals. His theory includes the notion that human consciousness can affect water, and since our bodies are largely composed of water, this would impact our well being and health.

Similarly, there are QiGong energy exercises where two glasses of identical wine are poured and one is given some QiGong energy for a brief period with one’s hand.  The difference in taste is night and day; the untreated wine tastes sour, the QiGong’d wine, pretty good.

As a nurse, I am always impressed at the compounding effect on illness/wellness by the words people say about themselves or their maladies. Even the suppositional declarations made about what they (probably) have contracted and what the outcome will be (almost always negative) weighs on and impacts their physiology.  Expect the worse and you won’t be disappointed seems to be the operating reason.

So, we have all this data and experience about energy, subtle somatic impressions and ways to communicate.  How the body receives information and the power of the mind on our cell structure and health.  And yet, we spend very little time there, choosing to glean information from a much more obtuse and dense sensibility and facility, albeit, culturally acceptable form (words, partial reasoning). How can we cultivate a more astute approach to communication including these stunning facilities we have at our disposal?  How do we learn to respect and hopefully cultivate this in-depth gift?  A sensitization to our subtle-bodies and an acknowledgement of the highly tuned self that is available is needed.  Perhaps, an experience of this aspect of ourselves is necessary.  Is this somewhat invisible phenomenon compelling enough to investigate? How can I prime this awareness?

Paying for Health

A History Liberated

The health insurance industry purports that over 90% of insurance monies paid out every year go toward serving the 5% chronically ill in this country. For the 80% of us that rarely use insurance, who are well and healthy, we have poured money for decades into a system which we have benefited minimally from. We have done this basically because we fear getting caught in a catastrophic scenario.

We are conditioned to think others are responsible for our health.  Many people pay into an insurance policy, which then is supposed to (mostly) pay for visits to doctors and facilities. When this is the scenario, most people are resistant to seek care that won't be paid for by their insurance. Even holistic folks, people who believe in prevention, understand the roots of stress and its impact on health and that their insurance doesn't pay for prevention-- they often only want to go to practitioners that insurance will pay for.

This is a mindset we buy into.We have abdicated control and responsibility of our health to those who don't really care about us, don't have our best interest in mind and who take the stand that we are beholden to them.  It's a very dysfunctional relationship that dis-serves us.  In this position we aren't allowed to determine what is best for our health; the type of healing and direction we think is the most sound.  Our options are extremely limited under this umbrella'd corporate mentality.  What are other possibilities we could invest in?

It takes a lot to change a mindset.  One's healthcare values need to have a determined awakening.  Having excellent, consistent outcomes with the experience of Complimentary/Alternative Medicine (CAM) is probably essential. With hundreds of thousands of people turning to CAM for care rather than conventional medicine and at least that many people uninsured, as well as thousands of physicians disillusioned with the insurance industry relationship, mainstream healthcare folks are beginning to think outside the box and get creative.

Some physicians and psychiatrists have begun not accepting insurance, sidestepping the mire entirely. Others have created a "care" program where a patient pays a hefty ($2-2.5K) a year and are promised to be served unconditionally in the office and hospital during that time.  Progressive states like Oregon and Minnesota have healthcare providers creating their own "health co-ops" including a wide range of practitioners from massage therapists, acupuncturists to physicians Health Cooperatives Gain Backing as Alternative to Public Option.  One joins the co-op for a fee and is expected to take advantage of all of the practitioners during the year.  It is a health co-op; the understanding is one does prevention and doesn't wait for disease to show up to see a practitioner.  The attempt is to change the mindset of how we look at taking care of health and disease.

Making CAM affordable for all socio-economic backgrounds is imperative.  There are "community acupuncturists" that operate on reasonable sliding scales.Community Acupuncture Movement Goes Co-Op | AcuTake  They practice as they do in China, in community.  Meaning, several people at a time are treated in one room at the same time.  This is a pretty foreign concept in America's hyper-HIPPA age.  But the idea is, that a shared healing in the same space actually potentiates all the healing in that space. The sliding scale is $15-35 and you are encouraged to stay in the space (needles in) for as long as you feel is needed for the treatment. I've experienced acupuncturists in a private setting for $125 and have also have experienced this community acupuncture.  They are both effective and healing environments.

Many people who primarily utilize CAM for health decide to disengage themselves from the insurance system (at least partially).  They acquire a high deductible, low monthly fee catastrophic (hospital) insurance and then self insure themselves for maintenance visits  (gym fee, yoga classes, massages and CAM practitioners) by creating an interest earning savings account dedicated to health, which of course, they control and which they feed with a percentage of their income. They often can negotiate conventional care fees (doctors, dentists) because they pay cash for their visits and are not related to insurance reimbursements, which for the most part, is a big headache and time-consuming paperwork for the practitioner.

Our bodies are designed to self heal.  Obviously, awareness and providing  excellent nutrition is part of this.  Those hesitant to pay for organic or take the trouble to buy from local agricultural vendors because of the cost or inconvenience would be wise to reconsider.  Although organic has now become a trend and can be "brand"-manipulated by corporations taking advantage of the trendy buzz-word, it is food that is more nutritionally sound and less taxing on the body.  One has to have some knowledge and consciousness about it and realize Monsanto-owned (pesticide/GMO central) Whole Foods may not be the only place to get it.  Sometimes choosing local produce (not certified organic) is a better choice over big agricultural organic farms operated far afield or in another country.  Small, local farms often don't have the legal and fiscal stamina to jump through the certification process so don't, even though they don't use pesticides on their crops. A previously mentioned book (see Food Glorious Food), Omnivore's Dilemma, is a must read to understand the workings of American agriculture and the food industry.

Many people, even with the understanding of the benefit of decreased pesticide use and minimal mineral depletion in organic can't make the jump to paying more for it.  Same with hearty (not easily squeezed) breads which can cost up to three times more, but which are nutritionally superior to store brands.  Shocked at seeing your pre-pubescent daughter's nine year old friends sprout breasts and start to menstruate? (related to hormones in meat and dairy) Making choices, such as starting with organic dairy and working oneself (and one's family) to other food sources such as minimal amounts of organic meat and produce is a prudent approach. Looking at food (natural medicine per Socrates) as an investment in one's health is one approach for those with tight budgets.  Also, looking at quality grocery buying from the radical (for most) perspective that quality always trumps quantity; buy better food and eat less.  This surprisingly, is a shocking notion to many people I counsel, probably because we are so indoctrinated in this (obese-prone) culture to be consumers and food associations are hard-wired in us since birth.

Paying for health.  It is our being duty to sustain and maintain this vessel we travel through in this life.  It is our being duty to bring awareness, mindfulness to what we put in our mouths and how we choose to treat the organism when it is unwell.  It is our being duty to maintain a relationship with it; a right relationship so it thrives and is optimally sustained.  Relationship. Responsibility. Respect.  Making the necessary inner and outer payments to keep ourselves well is our first duty to ourselves.

Community Acupuncture Documentary Trailer - YouTube

Community Acupuncture Network

The Oldest Language

photo credit:  Jorge Trigerros

“We suffer from misperceiving the world. We believe ourselves separated from each other and from all others by words and by thoughts.”—Derrick Jensen

Because of cultural indoctrination, it’s difficult to embody the concept of Oneness.  This idea we are related to everything and everyone, that how I behave to others and the environment actually impacts me (they are not acts outside of me) is a concept our heads might get (superficially?) but the rest of us has not integrated.  Despite Oneness being in most traditional healing milieu (Homeopathy, Naturopathy, Ayurveda, Chinese medicine) and most religious doctrines, there is a fracture. Somehow, despite the idea of treating others as we would treat ourselves, embedded in the fabric of our social etiquette and laws, there is a maintained disconnect.

Two authors, Machaelle Small Wright and Derrik Jensen brilliantly illustrate in their different ways what it might mean to have a more whole relationship with the world at large.

Photo credit: Mie Sato

Jensen’s A Language Older Than Words, is erudite in his sometimes harrowing history of personal and world violence and the healing relationship of nature.  “There is a language older by far and deeper than words. It is the language of the earth, and it is the language of our bodies. It is the language of dreams, and of action.  It is the language of meaning, and of metaphor.….This language of symbol is the umbilical cord that binds us to the beginning, to whatever is the source of who we are, where we come from, and where we return.  To follow this language of metaphor is to trace words back to our bodies, back to the earth.”  I am reminded when reading his remarkable accounts of the relationship with chickens, wolves and stars how removed we are from nature, and respect for inter specie co-existence and rituals.  Through our bodies, in the experience of sacred dances for example, a deeper understanding of this relationship is possible. Practicing healing forms that respectfully include my own nature and all of nature is a large step in understanding this ancient language.

I found Machaelle Small Wright’s writings while on a childhood-dream-visit to the Findhorn Community (http://www.findhorn.org/) in Northern Scotland a few years ago. Wright’s Behaving as if the God in All Life Mattered is particularly interesting as she has straddled both an ordinary upbringing in a conventional family and the extraordinary bringing herself up with the guidance found in relationship to nature.  She went on to develop and evolve Perelandra, (Perelandra Garden Workbook: A Complete Guide to Gardening with Nature Intelligences).  In relation to gardening she says: “We do not attempt to repel insects.  Instead, we focus on creating a balanced environment – nature defines the makeup, patterns and rhythms of this balanced environment—that attracts and fully supports a complete and appropriate population of insects. In turn, the insect relate to the gardens plant life in light and nondestructive manner. Each year is different and builds on the foundation laid the previous years.”  

Photo credit:  Mie Sato

“From this work has developed a new method of gardening that I call “co-creative gardening.”  This is a method of gardening in partnership with nature intelligences that emphasizes balance and teamwork.  The balance is a result of concentrating on the laws of nature and form from nature’s perspective.  The teamwork is established between the individual and the intelligent levels inherent in nature.  Both of these point out the difference between co-creative agriculture and traditional organic gardening or agricultural methods.”

I consider these two writers prophets of the time, seers connecting us to this elusive Oneness. The possibility of healing is dependant on our relationship to this organism we inhabit and a relationship to the natural world at large.

“There is a language older by far and deeper than words.  It is the language e of bodies, of body on body, wind on snow, rain on trees, wave on stone. It is the language of dream, gesture, symbol, memory.  We have forgotten this language.  We do not even remember that it exists.”  -- Derrick Jensen