Combining Plant Medicine with Western Medicine

Jessie Salisbury, a correspondent for the New York news blog, Cabinet Press, describes his type of healing combining spiritual healing with plant spirit medicine healing. He maintains that he never diagnoses or prescribes cures but instead he promotes balance and inner harmony which will then lead to cures. Here is what he has to say.

Combining Plant Medicine with Western Medicine

Cowan, he said, was an acupuncturist within the Classical Five Element school of practice. “He started using what he knew of the five elements, but instead of using needles, he called on the plant spirits. In this way, he
reintroduced Plant Spirit Medicine to the western world.”
Griffin noted the calming effect of plants while walking in a garden, or in the woods.
“We can have a loving relationship with plants,” he said. “There is peace in a garden. We are in the world with (plants) and they have a lot of wisdom to share.”
About 10 years ago, Cowan and his students began looking for a place to build a center where this practice could be taught. That is now the Blue Deer Center in upstate New York. Cowan’s students are given a rigorous course of training and are then introduced as Lay Spiritual Healers with The Temple of Sacred Fire Healing, which is an officially chartered church.”
The practice was never intended to replace conventional medicine, he said.
“We don’t diagnose or treat diseases. It is to promote balance and inner harmony. It takes into account the whole person, including body, mind and spirit. Most indigenous peoples have a connection with the spirits of nature. In a sense, this is a tradition of traditions, taught in a traditional way.”
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It’s a very traditional way of healing brought back to life by people like Jessie. However, the traditions have come from the native and indigenous people of the world. It is time to learn as much as we can from these elders before they all pass over and leave us to figure out the plant connections all over again. If you wish to know more about his approach go to: http://www.plantspiritmedicine.org

Strange, Unexplained Sights in August 2012

Here’s another video that is controversial about crop circles and unknown lights in the sky. There have been endless comments to this video on YouTube. Do you have one to add? According to this video the crop circles and lights were a daily occurrence in August. Are we getting closer to communicating with them? What do they want us to do? No one is sure they even exist. Anyway, here’s the video; see what you think.

This is part 1. There is a part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYgTlW-4rCc
and a part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_D0RfEzB4qM&feature=youtu.be
They seem to be increasing in frequency and the crop circles are getting more complex; definitely a kind of live art. If you like this video please share it with a friend.

Burning Man Festival: The Ultimate Retreat

This festival has been going since 1986 in the United States and has grown amazingly each year. It’s now held in the northern Nevada desert called Black Rock Desert. It opens every year on the last Monday of August and goes till the first Monday in September, a holiday in the US (Labor Day). The name comes from a large 40 foot or 12 meter high wooden effigy of a man that is burned on Saturday night each year. Here is an article by Derek Beres writing for the Huffington Post (Religion Canada section) about this year’s celebration.

Burning Man Festival: The Ultimate Retreat

The annual ritual known as Burning Man probably had 60,900 meanings for everyone in Aattendance this year. But my second sojourn to the festival in the desert verified what I recalled from my first: This is the most widespread example that America has at consciously creating a modern mythology. Myths have always had conscious and unconscious elements -- the ritual is consciously constructed, but what happens within the container of the construction is anyone's guess. This is the empty space where magic happens.
To dive further into this idea, I'd like to use Joseph Campbell's four functions of a mythology to show how beyond a party and getting f'd up in the desert, Burning Man is a mythology in the making, creating a social order relevant to our time, right now, 2012 America.
The Mystical Function
Campbell's first requirement was that mythology must inspire awe in the universe. Modern America was built on biblical desert mythologies, even if most Americans would want to do anything but live in such an environment today. Standing in the middle of the Playa -- the art-driven center of the camp -- at 2 a.m., whipping yourself around to find a perfect circumference of lights, mutant vehicles and sound systems the size of midtown Manhattan clubs is, to say the least, awe-inspiring. All mythologies were created by humans; I hope we're evolved enough to understand that no god rushed down from wherever to "give" a human some special message. Therefore, what really matters is imagination. Burning Man is a safe space to fully explore and share your creative edge. Seeing what 60,000 humans can create in the span of a week, only to be destroyed (explained later), is more mystical to the human mind than reading stories of a man who might have done this or that thousands of years ago.
The Cosmological Function
Campbell's second function was that a mythology had to explain the shape of the universe. Obviously, we've had many different shapes offered to us. The shape of Burning Man is impermanence, a principle deeply entwined with Buddhism. While the entire gathering has been written off as wasteful -- it is not cheap to attend; I spent $1,200 for six days -- the festival is a living example of what art and life can be when we move beyond the bottom line. Think about this: In the span of two weeks (including build and breakdown), a city is constructed, celebrated and deconstructed. This is the exact representation of the triune deities of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva in Indian mythology. Creation, destruction and, yes, sustainability; the ritual occurs yearly as an annual reminder of the transience of life, much like the Mexican myths of the corn goddess or the eternal return of Osiris. Theology teaches us the importance of the afterlife, which often serves as a way of not taking responsibility for the life we are living now; think of the anti-global warming furor of the GOP, for one example. When the man burns on Saturday evening, we are reminded not only of very old fire mythologies, designed to represent the impermanence of nature, but that we are part of an extremely long process that did not begin nor end with us. Celebrating the process for what it is defines our cosmological outlook.
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He goes on to describe the other two functions of Campbell’s mythology, the sociological and pedagogical functions. A bit more about this festival to give you some idea of what is is all about. There is a city constructed with streets where people camp. There are different theme camps (now over 700 of them) and art displays, including “mutant vehicles”, the only cars allowed on the site. A mutant vehicle must be so altered as to mask entirely the original body. For example, a VW van that has doll heads and paint stuck to the sides is considered a decorated vehicle but not a mutant vehicle. There are now over 600 approved mutant vehicles. Bicycles are allowed, especially decorated ones and the Green Tortoise Bus Line provides transportation from nearby towns. There is a more complete description of this festival on Wikipedia. If you have ever been to this festival please leave a comment, OK?

Featured Retreats of the Week: Wild Earth Journeys

Are you ready for a truly awesome trip, a memorable one you will remember always? Are you adventurous but would like to use a guide as you know you will see more that way? Then this is the company for you. Wild Earth Journeys is owned and operated by Carroll Dunham, a Princeton University anthropologist, writer, herbalist and yoga instructor and her husband, Thomas Kelly, a former Peace Corps volunteer, Care Program officer, photographer and documentary film maker.

Featured Retreats of the Week: Wild Earth Journeys

Wild Earth Journeys--pilgrimages to wild and sacred places of the earth. Where story, myth, culture, adventure and spirit come together. We love horses, we love to walk in the mountains, we love medicinal plants and traditional medicine, spirit traditions, stories, and we love healing and working with local communities engaging in dialogue between discovery, science and healing. We love the questions, and we love the journey, knowing that without exploring the furthest reaches of the last great wild places on this earth and in the elements, we can never know for ourselves. Come explore with us and tap on thirty years exploring Asia from the heart--foolishly. Come with us and meet extraordinary and ordinary people who could change your mind. Let us help you plan your pilgrimage or journey if you are ready to leave the familiar trail for the unexpected--if you are ready to explore more than just the surface.
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The trips are to India, Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, Mongolia or design your own trip. While I myself have not had the pleasure of going on one of these trips, from some of the testimonials it seems that the participants are very enthusiastic about their experiences. The guides, Carroll and Thomas (yes, they do these trips themselves) are able to take people into remote place few foreigners have gone but in a safe and comfortable way. These are not trips for people who want heated pools or room service; it would require some roughing it. I personally am re-assured that there are still wild places left on this planet for Wild Earth Journeys to explore.

Merabhs: A New Spiritual Concept Explained

Adamus Saint-Germain, a European mystic and channel, has coined a new useful word, “merabh” which he says has an ancient history. Now he has recorded various merabhs that will be for sale as of September 1. 2012. Here is more information about them

Merabhs: A New Spiritual Concept Explained

Adamus Saint-Germain introduced “merabhs” at the Dream Walker Life School in Frankfurt in December 2011. He said that a merabh, based on an ancient Lemurian concept, is an opportunity for a graceful shift in consciousness. A merabh does not require force, exertion of energy, or mental effort. There is the underlying assumption that you are ready for the shift, and that by taking a few minutes in the state of acceptance the shift will begin.
In Frankfurt, Adamus asked Yoham, the musical group from Israel & Austria,to play background music during the merabh to help create the safe space for the shifts to take place. The combination of Adamus’ gentle guidance and Yoham’s intuitive music was brilliant, and the new Shaumbra merabhwas birthed. Adamus offered more merabhs with live Yoham music at the Dream Walker Life Schools in Amsterdam (April), Romania (May) and Colorado(July). In the post-conference surveys sent in by attendees, the merabhs were listed as one of their favorite parts of the Dream Walker Life experience.
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Some of the titles of these channeled and timely recordings are: Beyond Ancestral Biology, Past Lives, Death, Life, Enlightenment. They will be available through the Crimson Circle Store and perhaps on Amazon eventually. Click like below if you would like to have more articles about the coming shift or merabhs.

Using Tai Chi to Overcome Arthritis

If one is to judge by popularity and assume this means a successful process of healing, Dr. Paul Lam, an Australian family physician and Tai Chi expert certainly has a good method. Amazon features 135 DVDs and books by this man. He has won numerous awards and his DVDs are in 16 languages. One of his first programs was Tai Chi for Arthritis, and since he started in 1997, over 2 million people have learned his method. Here is some descriptions of the program and the Tai Chi for Health Institute from the website.

Arthritis Foundation of USA and Australia, Arthritis Care of UK, Diabetes Australia, Osteoporosis Australia and other similar organistaions, fitness associations, universities and hospitals around the world supported one or all of Dr Lam's Tai Chi for Health programs. His instructors' training workshops are well recognised around the world, and accredited by Arthritis Foundation of USA; Australian fitness industry; American Council of Exercise; American Tai Chi Assocation; Florida and many other physiotherapist associations, HK rehabilitation society and the Korean Rheumatology Health Professional's Society.
Dr Lam's instructional DVD (some are in six languages) and books have made learning the programs easy and enjoyable. Dr Lam's team have also produced other tai chi instructional DVDs for learners of intermediate and advanced levels. You can find more information online.
Many of Dr Lam's students excelled in promoting health improvement and international competitions. Dr Lam is fluent both in English and Chinese. He enjoys working to bridge the gap between East and West, traditional and modern Tai Chi stylists.
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The Tai Chi for Health Institute was started in 2010 and includes training for teachers as well as practice of Tai Chi. From the calendar of events it seems that most of the present workshops are in the US or Australia. Dr. Lam teaches many of these himself, but with the burgeoning number of teachers being trained, having a workshop from Dr. Lam himself might be ending soon. While I myself have not taken one of these workshops, I certainly would like to join one in the future. Meanwhile, I’m going to order Tai Chi for Arthritis and see if it helps.

Spiritual Retreat of the Week: Hawaii

The company, Sacred Voyages, takes groups of people to Hawaii and Mt. Shasta mainly as they feel both places were at one time part of the lost continent of Lemuria. In addition, they have linked the 7 Hawaiian Islands to the 7 chakras, stating that the same energy is manifest in each island. Here is part of their description of the Hawaii retreat.

Hawaii is one of the most powerful and active sacred places on the globe. Each Island has a special energy and flavor. Some state the Hawaiian Islands are the Chakra system of the planet, all of the seven main Islands representing and vibrating at a different chakra energy. Whether this is true or not is for the individual to decide. But one thing for sure is that the energy, geographic location and features of each Hawaiian Island is very unique and the spiritual power is very different on each Island. A commonality of all Hawaiian Islands is that whichever Island you visit; they vibrate at a 5^th dimensional frequency. The spirit world is more alive and palpable than almost anywhere in the world. Many have awareness that the Islands feel alive and have a consciousness that assists them as a guide and a mentor. So whether you are a master or beginner on your spiritual path, the Islands will meet you exactly where you are with the perfect teaching, quickening and/or transformational process. Everything is amplified and accelerated in Hawaii and there a sense of timelessness like no other place on earth.
Some of the specific sites in Hawaii hold the energy of:
- Creativity
- Death, change and transformation
- Pure unconditional love
- Healing, Forgiveness and Peace
- Birthing
- Perfect male/female balance (relationship)
- Instant manifestation
- Empowerment
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The retreat groups are 15-18 participants and work closely with the facilitator and teacher, Greg “Magick” Bernstein. The prices do not include airfare, and are not a bargain at $2995. However, this price does includes all meals, lodging and teaching. Contact them for the latest schedule.