Alright, I know it has been too long since I have written....I apologize, but I told myself that I would only write when I felt that I wasn't burning myself out by adding another thing to our already full schedule around here. I am sure you all can agree that nothing runs smoothly when Mom is running on empty right?!
I have recently added something new to my plate which has kept me from the blogging, but has begun to really solidified a dream I have had for years. I have finally made it a priority to take some herbalism courses with a fantastic local herbalist here in Minnesota. She is a Masters Level herbalist who has been teaching and studying for more years that I care to age her with :) I am taking an intensive course which covers local medicinal plants and their uses, as well as lots of other pertinent information. I am learning an immense amount and I am giddy about it. This is my thing folks. This is really exciting stuff for me. I have known for many years that I am meant to be a healer in this life. I think on many levels I have known somewhere inside of me since birth, but that is another post all together. That being said, one doesn't always know exactly what that is going to turn out like...what kind? what field? what expertise? what, what, what? Plus, we get married, we have kids, we clean, we cook, we exist, we rarely sleep.....so it all has to come in time right!? Well, NOW is the time. I am hoping to convince my teacher to continue lessons with me in an official apprenticeship role, although doing something like this is typically something she does with a group over a year long period (she is not currently beginning one). So, we will see what she has to say about it. Maybe I can convince her. Send out some good wishes for me would ya? If it turns out she does not want to do this (as she also has a practice), I have some other ideas up my sleeve. I will just take some other courses, hit a herbal conference and continue to read, learn and make medicines at home. There are many other herbalists practicing that I will contact if necessary. My goal is to be teaching and practicing. Yes, practicing. Herbs are medicine for our bodies. That is why they are growing all around our bodies on earth.
I don't know when, and I am not in any way going to push myself (too much ;) ), but this is the next step for me. I am already learning more than enough to start. I just need to keep going. The medicines are brewing in my basement, the foods are drying in my rafters.....I feel like the witchy woman you read about it the books and I LIKE it. And seriously, if you have some weird freak out because I said "witchy woman", get over it, really. The stigma there is absurd. That too is another post altogether, ha! The witchy women of the past were the natural healers Religions were too _____ (fill in the blank with your own label) to identify and cherish for the gifts they could give to humanity. It is all about intentions, those with the intention to help, teach and heal others.
I digress....
I have been busy making medicines like crazy when I can get my hands on the fresh herbs that I need for them. You would be amazed what you can find in your yards folks!!! *Class plug* I have been busy utilizing Nettle, Motherwort, Plantain, Dandelion and many others. Needless to say I have been eating and cooking with many more. Anders and I also took a mushrooming class where we learned to identify edible and medicinal mushrooms. We are adding this to our repertoire as well. It really has been so much fun delving into this new culture we love so much. Wild edibles are really where it is at! This stuff can do amazing things for your body and it is meant to, it is growing here for us to utilize it. It is about time we learn how.
With all of that said. I would like to share some of this awesome knowledge that I have learned with everyone. At first I really thought that I wanted to just blog about what I learned, do write-ups with beautiful photos and etc.. but with some soul searching, and my current distaste for being on the computer a lot, I have decided that I am going to offer classes where I teach in person. This really feels like the right thing for me to do. I realized after doing YEARS of reading, taking courses and dabbling that you just can not be sure what a plant is if you don't see it, touch it, smell it, and repeat this a dozen times. A teacher whom can actually show you the plant, is extremely helpful. I have learned identification so much quicker actually going out on identification walks than I did learning out of a book. Plants look so different at different stages. Plus, you can read why a herb is beneficial in a book over and over and it almost NEVER sticks until you get out and actually DO IT, learn it, see it, write down the information as you learn it. So, I am going to teach people how to identify these plants, why they are useful, and how to use them. And because, you know, people need to get off the computer and get out and interact with people and take classes. People need to connect. Okay, maybe I need to? Either way.
I have also told myself that I will not pressure myself to make this bigger than it begins. I will do what I feel I can comfortably fit into our life and just go with the flow. If people are really interested in learning more, then I will think about doing more. If not, then I have time to really get into doing more studying, medicine making, experimenting, treating, etc. I will just step off the edge and see where I fall. No stress. Just this. Yeah.
If you are interested in information about the courses I will teach feel free to click the "classes" page on the home page above. Don't feel like you have to be interested in being a herbalist to take them, this is just about learning something new and having fun.
Love and light,
M
I have recently added something new to my plate which has kept me from the blogging, but has begun to really solidified a dream I have had for years. I have finally made it a priority to take some herbalism courses with a fantastic local herbalist here in Minnesota. She is a Masters Level herbalist who has been teaching and studying for more years that I care to age her with :) I am taking an intensive course which covers local medicinal plants and their uses, as well as lots of other pertinent information. I am learning an immense amount and I am giddy about it. This is my thing folks. This is really exciting stuff for me. I have known for many years that I am meant to be a healer in this life. I think on many levels I have known somewhere inside of me since birth, but that is another post all together. That being said, one doesn't always know exactly what that is going to turn out like...what kind? what field? what expertise? what, what, what? Plus, we get married, we have kids, we clean, we cook, we exist, we rarely sleep.....so it all has to come in time right!? Well, NOW is the time. I am hoping to convince my teacher to continue lessons with me in an official apprenticeship role, although doing something like this is typically something she does with a group over a year long period (she is not currently beginning one). So, we will see what she has to say about it. Maybe I can convince her. Send out some good wishes for me would ya? If it turns out she does not want to do this (as she also has a practice), I have some other ideas up my sleeve. I will just take some other courses, hit a herbal conference and continue to read, learn and make medicines at home. There are many other herbalists practicing that I will contact if necessary. My goal is to be teaching and practicing. Yes, practicing. Herbs are medicine for our bodies. That is why they are growing all around our bodies on earth.
I don't know when, and I am not in any way going to push myself (too much ;) ), but this is the next step for me. I am already learning more than enough to start. I just need to keep going. The medicines are brewing in my basement, the foods are drying in my rafters.....I feel like the witchy woman you read about it the books and I LIKE it. And seriously, if you have some weird freak out because I said "witchy woman", get over it, really. The stigma there is absurd. That too is another post altogether, ha! The witchy women of the past were the natural healers Religions were too _____ (fill in the blank with your own label) to identify and cherish for the gifts they could give to humanity. It is all about intentions, those with the intention to help, teach and heal others.
I digress....
I have been busy making medicines like crazy when I can get my hands on the fresh herbs that I need for them. You would be amazed what you can find in your yards folks!!! *Class plug* I have been busy utilizing Nettle, Motherwort, Plantain, Dandelion and many others. Needless to say I have been eating and cooking with many more. Anders and I also took a mushrooming class where we learned to identify edible and medicinal mushrooms. We are adding this to our repertoire as well. It really has been so much fun delving into this new culture we love so much. Wild edibles are really where it is at! This stuff can do amazing things for your body and it is meant to, it is growing here for us to utilize it. It is about time we learn how.
With all of that said. I would like to share some of this awesome knowledge that I have learned with everyone. At first I really thought that I wanted to just blog about what I learned, do write-ups with beautiful photos and etc.. but with some soul searching, and my current distaste for being on the computer a lot, I have decided that I am going to offer classes where I teach in person. This really feels like the right thing for me to do. I realized after doing YEARS of reading, taking courses and dabbling that you just can not be sure what a plant is if you don't see it, touch it, smell it, and repeat this a dozen times. A teacher whom can actually show you the plant, is extremely helpful. I have learned identification so much quicker actually going out on identification walks than I did learning out of a book. Plants look so different at different stages. Plus, you can read why a herb is beneficial in a book over and over and it almost NEVER sticks until you get out and actually DO IT, learn it, see it, write down the information as you learn it. So, I am going to teach people how to identify these plants, why they are useful, and how to use them. And because, you know, people need to get off the computer and get out and interact with people and take classes. People need to connect. Okay, maybe I need to? Either way.
I have also told myself that I will not pressure myself to make this bigger than it begins. I will do what I feel I can comfortably fit into our life and just go with the flow. If people are really interested in learning more, then I will think about doing more. If not, then I have time to really get into doing more studying, medicine making, experimenting, treating, etc. I will just step off the edge and see where I fall. No stress. Just this. Yeah.
If you are interested in information about the courses I will teach feel free to click the "classes" page on the home page above. Don't feel like you have to be interested in being a herbalist to take them, this is just about learning something new and having fun.
Love and light,
M
