Earth Communication Continued

Back in July I posted an article from Kami Mcbride at livingawareness.com. I thought it was a lovely reminder of taking time to sit and had some great meditation ideas in it. This month I'm going to post the continuation of that article. I'm going to lean on Kami as my life is not allowing of me to write at the moment. Although I AM working on a few things that I am very very excited to share, soon! Earth Communication Continued

The last few months I have been sharing my experiences of how we can cultivate more earth awareness. Most of us have not lived in an area for very many generations. We do not have ancestral information passed on about how to best live in harmony with the particular piece of the earth that we currently find ourselves living on. Since we don’t have this inheritance, it is up to us to spend the time to learn about where we live.

Learning about herbal medicine is not just about plant constituents and dosage. The two questions that continually guide my herb school curriculum are: How do I inspire people to have a deeper relationship with their body and how do I help to inspire people to feel a deeper connection and relationship with the earth? We know we should be walking more softly on the earth but how do we learn how to do that? This inquiry keeps my classes alive as I am always being guided in how to answer the questing nature of these questions.

Here are some simple ways that we work with here at my school to enliven and nourish our relationship with the earth and her medicine, the plants

* Find a place in nature to visit on a regular basis. Cultivate your relationship with the place just like you would do with a friend. Sit together, listen to what the place has to say, tell it your thoughts and say thank you when you leave. Tell the place what you like or find beautiful about it. Ask if it has anything that it would like to share with you. Let your mind be still and see what comes to you as you sit there. Share with the place what it is that you are working on solving in your life. Nature has an amazing way of providing simple answers to life’s difficulties. Make an offering or find your way of saying thank you to this place. I often make a little alter of beautiful rocks, sticks or leaves that I find
* Sit with a plant. Either ask the plant a specific question or ask if it has any information for you at this time in your life. Sit for sometime with the plant and then allow yourself to write down anything that comes to mind with out editing your writing
* Sit with your back next to a tree. Keep your spine straight and touching the tree. This part of your body is full of nerve communication centers. Open to the healing energy of the tree and allow its information to come in through your spine
* Carry some dried herb with you in your pocket throughout your day. Leave it loose in your clothing, or bundle it up in some cloth. Notice how you feel with this herb on your body all day
* When you find a plant that you would like to get to know better, put it under your pillow at night and see how it affects you
* If there is an edible plant that you are interested in, take a bite of the fresh plant every day for several months. When I was learning about plantain, I ate the fresh leaf every day for more than three months
* Sleep outside or take a nap near the plants or trees you want to connect with
* If there is an herb that you are taking as medicine that grows near you, lay down on the ground with it and draw it in detail as a way to get to know it better
* Lie with your belly on the dirt, calm your mind and focus your attention on the energy that comes through the earth into your belly
* Listen to a drumming or chanting tape and visualize yourself traveling to the center of the earth on the pathway of root systems. Notice the roots and what this underground highway has to teach you
* Pick a few leaves from a plant, crush the leaf then rub it on your forehead and if you are sure it is an edible plant, eat a piece of it. Then lie down and meditate for a while. See what comes to mind
* Chant or sing to plants or trees and then just sit with them. I have had so many amazing experiences in receiving communication from the plants after I sing or chant. The singing stops the logical mind and opens up your ability to better perceive non physical information
* Place a leaf between the palms of your hands and sit quietly for some time. Allow the plants information to come into your body through the chakras in the palms of your hands

These are just a few suggestion of how to listen to what nature has to offer. When you take the time to just be in nature you will come up with your own ideas of how to enhance your communication and perception of the beautiful green world all around us.

Kami McBride has taught herbal medicine and women’s health since 1988. She is the director of Cultivating the Herbal Medicine Woman Within, an experiential herbal studies program where women are inspired to reclaim their heritage as herbalists and healers. Kami is the author of 105 Ways to Celebrate Menstruation that is available on amazon.com Kami teaches Women’s Wisdom workshops for women to experience optimum health in relation to their body cycles. For a schedule of upcoming classes or for an herbal consultation Kami can be reached at (707) 446-1290 or sign up for her free herbal enewsletter at: www.livingawareness.com