Wildcrafting with Sergei Boutenko

The key is on Sergei Boutenko's website

Also listen to Tera Warner's interview with Sergei HERE

School school school

So I'm considering taking classes with Integrative Nutrition to become a Health Coach.
I did some research and this morning spoke to one of the admissions advisers, Shannon, this morning.

Shannon was very sweet and knowledgeable. We discussed the reasons I am interested in the school, my background in studying natural living and holistic medicine on my own and how I will be continuing my studies in Herbalism along with wanting to become a Health Coach.
She explained that there are financing options for when I'm ready to enroll as well.

So why Integrative Nutrition over the other Health Coach schools and programs?
I looked into this school at first because of the many health experts they interview and have lecture for the classes including Andrew Weil, David "Avocado" Wolfe and Deepak Chopra.
As I read I was also impressed by the fact that Integravtive Nutrition not only takes a Holistic view of nutrition (looking not only at diet but also at spirituality, career and relationships) but also offers over 100 different dietary theories including raw foods, Ayurveda, South Beach Diet and other popular theories.
The kicker was when I was looking at graduates of the program. I had actually heard of some of them! I've seen their books, their faces, their products in my past few years of healthy living research! WOW!

Following is some information about the school that I particularly liked:

Here is a Webinar for interested students

Joshua Rosenthal, creator of the Integrative Nutrition program and school, offers his book Integrative Nutrition: Feed Your Hunger for Health & Happiness for FREE! I'm currently on chapter 3 and loving the information I'm learning with each page.

More information is available HERE

Be.You.Tea

I love getting e-mails from Tera Warner. She has such a great personality and I love her webinars, articles and blogs.
Today I read an e-mail from her about what she called her Best Health Decision this past year! What a hook for an e-mail from a woman who loves health, raw foods, juicing and green smoothies! She talks to so many health, nutrition and beauty experts for her to offer what she thinks is her Best Health Decision - well, I was intrigued.
Rather than telling you myself, I will simply post her e-mail to me and the rest of us on her mailing list:


Morning, Happy Chick!


I've got some exciting news to share and have been holding 
back until I could tell you, but it looks like it's all 
coming together now, so YAY! 


Secret's gonna be out. 


But first... 


I thought I'd share with you the *one thing* that has made 
the biggest difference for me in improving my health, 
well-being and getting rid of my unbearable late night 
cravings for food in the last year! 


It has a lot to do with my special announcement, so here it is: 


We all know we're supposed to stay hydrated and eat a 
nutrient-rich diet. 


We all know juicing is great, but WHAT a pain in the butt to 
clean that machine! (And then there's all the leftover 
fiber to feel guilty about!) Honestly, I love juicing and I 
love juice, but it's messy, expensive and time-consuming, 
so most days, sadly, it just doesn't happen for me. 


I've always been passionate about plant and herbs and wild 
flowers and last summer I really started to experiment with 
herbal infusions. We call them herbal "teas" but there's 
not really any "tea" in there. 


It's just aromatic and medicinal plants that we steep in hot 
water. Doing so draws out the minerals and nutrients and 
makes a very nourishing cocktail that is loaded in 
health-boosting properties, hydrates like a son of a gun and 
doesn't burden your digestive system. 


It's so easy to do and cost pennies!


You can literally go into your backyard, or your local park 
and pluck some pine needles to make a great beauty tea.  


You can pick rose petals, dandelions, daisies, sunflowers, 
nettles, oatstraw, dried fruits and berries and put in a 
pinch of licorice root to sweeten it up! 


It's the easiest thing you'll ever do:


Add water. 
Wait. 
Sip. 
Smile.


No expensive equipment.
No messy clean up.
No waste! (In fact, you're going to be able to just gather 
some of the things in your backyard for FREE and you'll 
feel fabulous for doing it!)


Since we can't all go forage in the forest and pluck pine 
needles in our spare time, I took the liberty of ordering a small 
truckload of my favorite organic and wild-crafted herbal and 
medicinal plants and have put them together in an amazing 
combination for beauty. 


It's called "be.you.tea" and we are getting it ready to 
ship out soon!  


Since the details are still being finalized, we're offering 
a pre-release discount on our new "be.you.tea"!  


We've packaged them in 250g bags (enough for about a pot a 
day for an entire month!) If you pre-order it will only cost 
$14.97. (That's about 50 cents a day for one of the 
healthiest things you could do for yourself!) 


http://www.bodyenlightenment.me/shop
(scroll down! It's the second item on the list!) 


You will be SO amazed after only one month with the 
difference you notice in your hair, skin, eyes, energy and 
elimination. 


If you want to save money and get on the healthy, herbal,
hydration bandwagon then click this link:


http://www.bodyenlightenment.me/shop


There are no fancy pages.


No pretty pictures.


No long explanations. When those are up, the price will be
up, too! 


If all goes as planned we should be able to ship out 
in the next two weeks!! 


You can pre-order your be.you.tea here:


http://www.bodyenlightenment.me/shop


And for the first 20 people who place their order, I'll hook you up 
with some of my secret herbal detox recipes for spring!  


Love at tea time and all the time,


Tera


p.s.
The secret to health isn't really a secret at all, 


The more I learn the more I realize how simple solutions really are.


Breathe.
Smile.
Laugh a lot.
Celebrate life.
Sit around and sip tea.


That's a health protocol I can handle.


http://www.bodyenlightenment.me/shop
1017 Point Road #8
White Lake, ON
K0A 3L0
Canada


That's right! Her best health decision was TEA or, correctly, Tisanes/Infusions. Wow!
This coming from a Raw Foodist Celebrity, and its Herbal Infusions! How exciting is that! I' know I'm thrilled to hear such news that not only does she love teas she's also loving it so much she's offering her favorites to her public. How cool!

Detox Your Home!

I know I talk a lot about Detoxing Your Body but I want to take a moment to talk about Detoxing Your Home.
This will be short and I encourage you to look into these tips yourself, run some searches and find out which ways really resonate with you for you to work with.
Also, they are in no particular order, just numbered for organization.

1. Get the Chemicals OUT
Just like Detoxing your body involves getting rid of chemicals in your body, detoxing your home will involve getting rid of chemicals.
What under your sinks have been there for years? Remove anything that is past expiration or, if it doesn't have an expiration, has been there over a year or two.
What under your sinks or cupboards or in your utility room can be replaced with something natural? Could you replace your kitchen and bathroom cleaners with lemon juice, spring water, baking soda, essential oils?

2. Circulate The AIR
Fresh air is NECESSARY for human habitation.
Open the windows during the warm weather months for as long as possible and in the cold weather open them ever so often even for just 5 minutes to get fresh air in.

Bring in an IONIZER to energize the air you breath - ions are the reason the air before a storm feels so great!

Bring in some plants! Plants have been studied and proven to filter air in the home and work place by NASA. Some plants are better than others so do your research but any plant will do.

Buy air filters for the home especially if you live in a high pollen, high smog, high polution area like mid-city.

3. Filter the WATER
We all know tap water is not good for drinking, but what about bathing?
Buy filters for sinks and showers in the home. Try finding ones that filter Chlorine and Flouride as well as the other chemicals in the water.

4. Consider hardwood floors rather than carpet.
Even better, bring in bamboo flooring - bamboo can be stained to look like other woods as well, even Walnut and Red Wood.
Carpet perpetuates allergies and releases gases that are bad for us.

There you go! That wasn't so hard was it? Some fresh air and a few pretty plants? Maybe a home renovation or two? Great ideas available for you home-fixer-uppers. ^_^

Ethical Eating?

So... I get e-mails from Mark Sisson of Mark's Daily Apple and his recent email was about the Ethics of Eating Meat. He states plainly, why should meat eaters have to defend a way of eating that's been going on for thousands of years.
I can't help but agree.

I did want to add something I've been thinking of for a while now as I read The Secret Life of Plants
I read in this amazing book PROOF that Plants Feel! They feel and not only that, but when you harm them they SCREAM! THey feel pain, fear, empathy - when one plant is near another being hurt it too cries out in pain. Just because we can't hear it doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

That being said and PROVEN by scientists - is it any better to hurt a plant than it is an animal? If the plant's plight tugs at your heart strings, will you stop eating all together? Become a breathairianist who lives in the highest mountain peeks, living off of sunshine and fresh, non-polluted air?

I understand that there are many vegetarians and vegans who follow that form of eating for other reasons than disdain for hurting animals such as health, a belief that raising animals hurts the planet, etc.
But for those of you who do this out of a belief that you shouldn't hurt an animal - is it right to hurt a plant?
Plus, 3 of the men most believed to be holy on the planet - Jesus Christ, Buddha, Dalai Llama - all ate meat at some point in their life/lives - just sayin'.

Alternative Medicines - Medicinal Mushrooms

BeeWellBuzz has a short webinar - less than 30 minutes on Medicinal Mushrooms which I found very interesting as I've been all about studying Chaga mushroom lately.

If you don't listen to the webinar or could care less please at least know that the webinar discusses Mitake mushrooms and that they can be taken DURING Chemotherapy to fight against secondary infections caused by chemo treatment's immune system destruction. PLEASE consider this if you do decide to take the allopathic route and use Mitake to help boost your health during chemo.

Another New Webinar

For those of you who did not see the webinar on Holy Basil, you can sign up to watch it again today! Kevin is lengthening the webinar so more people can watch ^_^

Also, Matt Monarch of The Raw Food World and David Rainoshek of Juice Feasting (and the fabulous B12 Webinar that I really love and you can sign up to watch it too!) is promoting another webinar - this one is on MicroAlgae, a superfood rich in chlorophyll.
Here's what Matt had to say about the webinar:

"MicroAlgae Superfoods and Healing ChronicFatigue Top Clinical Research on MicroAlgae Superfoods Which MicroAlgae has 30x as much Healing Chlorophyll as Wheatgrass The Superfood of Choice for Children Potent Anti-Radiat!on Secrets of MicroAlgaes MicroAlgaes: A Saving Grace for the Environment Three Most Potent Varieties of Micro Algae Superfoods
It is easy to make MicroAlgaes an integral part of your Nutritional Life Practices when you know how miraculous they are!"

Lots of learning going on ^_^

Cures for Cancer

Disclaimer: This post is for educational purposes only, please see medical professional about your health problems before carrying on with any method stated here...

I have family, friends, and the family of friends with cancer. Its an epidemic that is being treated incorrectly, in my opinion. Instead of getting the problem out of the body with DETOXIFICATION and boosting the immune system with NUTRITION, allopathic medicine today instead wants to put more and more and more toxins, radiation, and disease into the body! Chemotherapy, injection of viruses, radiation poisoning - only to be told you have a matter of days left and be sent home under hospice (if that) to get their affairs in order.
I'm disgusted and heart broken with every phone call, every e-mail about more and more of the people I love and care about being diagnosed with cancer and never being treated like human beings but rather like large lab rats.

I said this not so long ago to a family member and the response was, "But what can they do? There isn't a cure for cancer yet."
I was shocked. Not too long ago I wrote some articles about Rene Caisse's CURE FOR CANCER - Essiac.
The first article, The Essiac Cure for Cancer, explains how this Canadian nurse found a Native American cure for disease and cancer.
The second, The Ingredients for Essiac, states that the cure is made up for 4 simple ingredients - sheeps sorrel, turkey rhubarb, burdock root, and slippery elm. These ingredients grow in the wild in North America! They have DETOXING and NOURISHING abilities! Exactly what the body needs to allow it to fight disease. The article also explains how to decoct these herbs and use them.

I bring this all up again because I've learned about a second way to cure cancer that follows the same principles of detox and building nutrition and the immune system. The Gerson Therapy created by Dr. Max Gerson has been found to cure not only cancer but also diabetes and other "incurable" diseases.
Dr. Gerson came to America to flee the Holocaust that later killed his siblings. It is said that even Hitler wanted his hands on this amazing doctor because of his ability to treat and cure disease. In America, Gerson's treatment for disease and diabetes was tested on patients with cancer and found to work.

What is the therapy?
Juicing and Enemas. That's it! Now, it is recommended that you participate in the therapy with a qualified Gerson Home Trainer or Doctor (which are rare) but the gist of the treatment is Organic, Raw juices and Organic Coffee Enemas.
Why is this illegal? Its just juice and enemas! But it is illegal to offer this as a treatment for ANYTHING in USA hospitals.

Where can I learn more?
The Gerson Website offers links to buy the documentaries of the method (including donating just $5 to watch one online - thats less than what most people donate to one of the Cancer Awareness groups a month!
The site also offers FREE PDFs on Gerson recipes, treatments, guides to juicers, shopping lists, and lists of supplies and why you need them. SO SIMPLE!

With More than 1 PROVEN method, how can we continue to ignore this and simply Hope that someone will just wave a magic wand and an allopathic doctor tell his or her patient, yes there is a cure and we mad eit in a lab. Here is your magic pill. I'm sorry if I sound cynical but I feel like this is what is being said of adds for a Walk for Breast Cancer Awareness or Leukemia or whatever. We are AWARE! Cancer does exist! THERE IS A CURE!

For those of you with a disease or cancer, why not try it? Talk to your doctor about the Essiac ingredients - will they interact with the medication you are on? Talk to a doctor or naturopath about how to give yourself an enema properly, will the coffee interact with your medication?
Would it really hurt you to drink some organic fruit and vegetable juice or tea, especially when it could CURE you of your illness.

The Bible says: "The Lord hath created medicines out of the Earth, and he that is wise will not abhor them." Ecclesiasties 38:4

Chaga!

I've been looking at herbs I can wildcraft or grow easily in Alaska and I found a video on gathering or hunting CHAGA in Alaska! Chaga is a superfood mushroom that people like David Wolfe, Daniel Vitalis, etc all RAVE about and I now know where to find it, how to decoct it and how to make yummers out of it ^_^





To decoct chaga or make a chaga tea simply rinse it off, break it into nuggets or chunks, throw in a pot with some spring water or glacier water, bring to boil, let simmer 15-30 minutes, then pour off the yummy decoction or tea. Simple! This tea can be added to green smoothies, almond milk, or drunk straight.

Gianni's Stress Reducing Herb

Hey Readers,

So I just finished the free webinar that I promoted today in my previous post. You can still sign up for it, I think they're featuring another one tonight at 9pm and at other times the rest of this week.
Kevin and Annmarie have been talking about Holy Basil for a while now in their videos on The Renegade Health Show on Youtube and their blog so I thought it might be the herb featured.

The webinar was very informative abut adrenal health, how cortisol effects aging and health, and what adaptogens are.
The only fault I found in the webinar information might not be an issue but I did read on WebMD (I'm still looking for other information to deny or agree with this) that Holy Basil should not be used with medication that slow blood clotting (like aspirin) as it might increase this ability. However, WebMD did say " But there isn't enough information to know if this is a big concern."
Another issue that WebMD stated was that Holy Basil interacts with Pentobarbitol but again it said " But there isn't enough information to know if this is a big concern."
Lastly, it said that Holy Basil has not be tested for its effects on pregnant or nursing women. As Annmarie is pregnant, I plan on e-mailing the Gianni's about this, if she's using it, if her midwife has said anything about it, has she noticed anything, etc.

I'll keep you all informed on my research.

Also, if you are interested in buying Holy Basil extract, the webinar does have a %12 discount on 3 bags of the extract that also comes with a free recipe guide.
The add for it did make me a lil uncomfortable as it felt like the whole webinar might be to sell the extract BUT Kevin does believe in this product and I rationalized the advert in that he simply wants to get Holy Basil into the hands of the people and it's not free to him so its not free to us either...

More of my research:

I am looking to see if I can grow Holy Basil in Alaska as it does seem like an herb that would do well to be put into my diet. It can be grown out of doors in tropic to mild areas so if I do grow it, it will have to be indoors at a windowsill or under a grow-lamp.

New Webinar ^_^

Check out this Free Webinar on an Herb that not only REDUCES STRESS but INCREASES LONGEVITY! The Webinar is presented by Kevin Gianni of Renegade Health and author of one of my favorite books, High Raw - so I know its gonna be good.

PLUS! When you sign up for the webinar you have the chance to receive the FREE e-book, Smoothies for Optimal Health. I just downloaded my copy and so far I'm very impressed. This is not just a recipe book but a manual for how to incorporate smoothies into your life and INVIGORATE your health! (This could be my next Gianni book review for Suite...hmm)

I want to also congratulate Kevin and Annmarie on their pregnancy and upcoming addition to their family! If you haven't heard, they announced their pregnancy in this video...

Preparedness

With the shows on the tellie about preparedness or dooms-day-ers or whatever they are calling them now, I thought I would post some links on the subject of herbal or natural preparedness and survival.

Tansy at Fields of Tansy has several articles on how she and her family are preparing for the worst with herbal treatments. Her blog is the first I've seen that posts how she would treat dangerous viruses and dis-ease that people normally must go to a hospital or doctor for such as cholera and polio. These are issues that I've yet to see many preppers say they have solutions or treatments for and they could be a problem for those survivors of ... end of the world? Or whatever it is they are preparing for.

Herbal Healer Academy with my teacher Marijah McCain has a new correspondence course on survival. Now, this course won't give you the hands-on experience of going to one of the in-person courses that are popping up all over the country, but they could get you started. Right now, the school is offering the course (3 books, test and certificate) at 10% off!

I won't bother with posting my views on this topic as I don't want to turn this blog into a debate - but I will say that Hoping for the Best and Preparing for the Worst is not a bad idea.

Raw Alaska

Curious, since Alaska is known for its cold climate and winter of darkness, is there anyone up there on a raw food diet?
I did some research and here was my findings.

Kristen Dixon wrote about experimenting with raw recipes on Alaskan Dispatch

Raw Celebrity, Phillip McClusky went to Alaska to speak at the Conscious Living Festival (which I researched and didn't find any information on it after 2009 so I'm not sure if its still going on) and was enraptured by the water in Alaska!

I also came across Raw Alaska, a website and project owned by Chef Jesse Nunley who "is dedicated to making sure that Fairbanks, as well as the rest of Alaska, takes a step in the right direction towards radiant living. With gentle nudges, a little bit of work and a lot of love..." I do think its cool that he offers food subscriptions (and am interested in seeing how much that would cost). I did see that his focus is moving towards having a base in L.A. as well as Fairbanks but I can't help but wonder if that will draw attention away from Alaska...I sent him an e-mail asking about his services, I'll let you know when I learn more about it.

Through Raw Alaska I found information on some locations in Fairbanks such as Julia's Solstice Cafe which is said to have vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and raw options on the menu (but doesn't have a website sadly, the link above is to a review of sorts).
I was also linked to the Fairbanks Co-op and was disappointed to find that Anchorage does not have one but it does have an organic wholesale price club.

Lamber Jules did a 90 Raw Food and Green Smoothie Challenge and discusses how to travel to Alaska on Raw Foods.

Raw Food Repair lists 2 restaurants with raw vegan options on the menu in Anchorage and both offer juices - Juice Kaboose on E. Huffman Road and Organic Oasis on Spenard Road.

So not a lot on here and I'm sure there is more - I didn't link to the vegetarian, vegan, organic or raw meet-ups that group all over Alaska so that right there is like a whole other blog post.

Photomanip

Just playing around with some photo manipulation. Feel free to use any of these but please link back to my blog somehwere ^_^

Making Lists...

In my last blog post I said I was deviating from the path I was taking for a lil while but still heading in the same direction - Becoming an Herbalist.

Well here are some lists

Gail Faith Edwards' 10-Fold Path

1. Sense of Place
2. Observation
3. Humble Yourself
4. Connect with your Wild Nature
5. Herbal Ally
6. Study, study, study
7. Simplify your life
8. Cultivate your spirituality
9. Listen to your clients
10. Be your own refuge
11. Practice Learning

I guess that's really an 11-fold path...but I don't think she numbered that last one >.<

Tansy, who got me started on this, has a list of things she's done with her herbal ally, nettles:


Getting Started:
Having a Herbal Ally
Finding a Herbal Ally
Herbal Ally Tools

January Challenges:
Herbal Ally Challenge #1: Decorating your Journal Cover
Herbal Ally Challenge #2: Infusions
Herbal Ally Challenge #3: Research Part I
Herbal Ally Challenge #4: Impressions

February Challenges:
Herbal Ally Challenge #5: Vinegars Part I
Herbal Ally Challenge #6: Tinctures Part I
HerbalAlly Challenge #7: Oil Infusions Part I
Herbal Ally Challenge #8: Starting Seeds

March Challenges:

• Herbal Ally Challenge #9: Review and Vinegars Part II
• Herbal Ally Challenge #10: Herbal Ally Meditation

April Challenges:
Herbal Ally Challenge #11: Write A Story

May Challenges:

• Herbal Ally Challenge #12: Make A Salve

Extras:

• Quick and Easy Note Tabs
• Seed Starting Time
• Vinegar Note
• Herbal Ally Update and Survey

I'm posting this here so I can get some ideas later...

first things first though...

Step 1 of the 10-fold path, A Sense of Place - ALASKA!

A New Route

Talk about things falling into place!
I believe things happen for a reason. I also believe that if something is meant for me, if I am meant to take a path, and I accept this, then signals will be placed out for me to pick up or ignore.
I am picking up the signals!

As I've said before, I'm moving to Alaska - April 14 or 15th tentatively - and one of the reasons I am sooo excited about this move is the view Alaskans seem to have about herbalism, natural healing and organic or natural living. There are so many herbalists, naturopathic physicians, holistic healing centers, natural birthing centers, midwives, survivalists, wildcrafters, artists, etc just in the Anchorage and Fairbanks areas that I've seen online! My kind of people and places!

So I'm doing my research and thinking, how do I prepare myself for this? I wanna know everything about the local herbs, the gardens and farms, the local herb lore and the native way of healing.
Reading along, I feel like I'm beginning all over again.

I'm taking a break from Herbal Healer Academy lessons as I won't have an address for the school to send lessons to until we get moved, settled and get a P.O. Box. This gives me a break from that path a little bit and while I'm still going in the same direction, I'm deviating from the road onto a lil trail it seems. (I'm I using too many analogies and metaphors?)

While looking at all this information I ran into Tansy and her blog, Field of Tansy, and some blog posts she did called A Life's Journey to Become an Herbalist. Intrigued, I read on and found that the blog posts stemmed form an article by Gail Faith Edwards that discusses the 10-fold path to Master Herbalism.

I was INSPIRED!
This was exactly what I needed in my desire to learn about Alaska-based herbalism.
Taking a leaf out of Tansy's book...er...blog, I'm going to follow the steps outlined by her and Gail and do a year of re-acquainting myself with herbalism.

As I was thinking about this, I signed onto the blog and saw a post by Rosalee de la Foret on How to Choose an Herbal School! How fortuitous! I read it and simply felt I had hit another sign post saying "exit ramp ahead" "turn here" and follow this little dirt trail in your road to herbalism.

While I am taking this trail I do plan to merge back into the path I am taking now with the Herbal Healer Academy for my herbalism certification.
I don't think that this new step will at all be a disadvantage in my studies but a side self-taught course in life and herbs. I think it will be of benefit ^_^

My first step and more links will be available in my next post...

Best Exercise Ever

Truth Calkins discusses the best exercise and best herb especially for women at the Women's Wellness Conference.

You can buy Schisandra products at Mountain Rose Herbs and rebounders at The Raw Food World.

Sweet Seduction

David Wolfe discusses sweeteners from sugar to high fructose corn syrup to stevia to honey in this audio interview

I grew up around people using sugar, Sweet n Low and later Equate and Splenda. Today I do my best to stick with raw local honey and stevia. Once I learned that the artificial sweeteners were practically pure aspartame with stuff like chlorine and formaldehyde. Why in the world would I want that in my body.
My issue is I am addicted to sugar (something Wolfe discusses in the interview). I admit it, I am very addicted. I crave it and need it and without it I am grouchy, sad, depressed, and all I want is something sweet (this includes carbs and starches, which I learned that the body turns into sugar).
I have found that the less sugar I consume and the more honey and stevia I use I mellow out a lot more (after a mood swing from the switch).
This is still something I am dealing with...I'll let you know how it goes.

Big News!

Ok, so in case you don't already know...I have a really, Really big announcement!

(no I'm not preggers, lol)

We're moving to ALASKA! (from TN)
I know, big move, right?

Rather than make this big long post about why we're moving (for happiness, of course) and how this came about and all that jazz, which I'm sure you've either heard already or don't care all that much about...I'm gonna share some raw food, natural, health travel vids!!!







More information, videos and articles on healthy travel to come!

Busy Spring Day

Such a busy day. I'm making a bunch of stuff for the bathroom and burning up as we are trying to only use the air conditioning in the hottest part of the day and simply leave the windows open and fans on during the morning and afternoon. To refresh I've been drinking an infusion from one of the herbs in the garden!

Spearmint!

This stuff grows rampant in my husband's grandmother's garden and is trying to take over the space where her ferns are at. Normally she just has my hubs or his step-dad mow it down (they come in smelling like grass and mint and it smells great but they're not big fans of it) OR I come down and pick a ton of it and whatever I don't drink in the next day or so I can dehydrate it for later. This tea (below) was so refreshing! Just what I needed after being so hot today. My fingers smelled like mint for hours after I got done picking too, which was an added bonus ^_^

For the bathroom I've been making my witch hazel and tea tree oil combo that I use on everything from piercings to acne to bug bites. I love it and it makes a great toner as well when its diluted with fresh water or hydrosol. I've also been making my shampoo...I actually made enough for me and my darling friend Fen and a sampler for my friend Alysheba. Fun stuff!

Hungry For Change

Watch this amazing documentary about how our modern world is suffering of nutritional starvation!
Hungry for Change is FREE for the next 9 days! Please, give it a try! It could change how you see food

Libido Tonic and Weightloss Formula?

I know, I know, its not Valentines Day anymore but this tonic sounds amazing and I love David Wolf ^_^
Honestly, this video made me giggle lots. I love the take 2000 and e-mail me next month and the sastanch in your pants.
Tho I may not grab all of this stuff I do plan on getting some maca and maybe those capsules.

Let me know if you try this! Email me at aethelvyne at yahoo dot come! I wanna know what you think and I may post your email here on my blog.

Thanks and Love
Happy Chick

Homeopathy

I came across this article in Susun Weed's e-zine and wanted to share it with you all.

Homeopathy - A Powerful Ally 
by Ellen Lanham-Dart

By the time I became a teenager I already had a deep and loving connection with herbs as medicine and as friends. I also had a deep kinship with wildcrafted and organic foods and used my herbal and food allies with great love and joy through my teens and college years. As a young mother of daughters and the caretaker of many animals my vision of these being my only needed healing allies began to crumble.

Ancestral health issues and emergencies began to emerge and it was clear that something more was needed. Knowing all too well that our culture’s predominant medical system was not for me, I began searching for an additional medicine path that was non-toxic, truly curative, and that I could practice myself as the healer in the family.

I first met homeopathy in 1985 and began practicing and working with the remedies and philosophy in my own style. I saw it do what it said it would and rejoiced that I had found the path to take when something stronger and more was needed and when at the same time using supplements, stimulants, prescription drugs and the like rubbed against the very grain of my being.

Since those early days I have chosen to engage in six years of formal professional study and have found real meaning and purpose in helping others all around the world who are in a place of desiring to stay well or who live with profound symptoms of imbalance yet who chose not to dance with mainstream philosophies and substances.

As in the world of herbalists and herbs, homeopaths see homeopathy in many different ways. I embody it as a feminine, nourishing, more intuitive form of inspiring a being’s life energy and thus allowing one’s own natural vitality to nourish and to cure. My expression in using homeopathic remedies is one that embodies and complements the Wise Woman Tradition.
The knowledge of homeopathic principles and a sense of how to use homeopathically prepared substances can be a path that (in conjunction with good foods, herbal infusions, and other nourishing and creative practices) leads to empowerment, a deep sense of the interconnectedness of all life, deep transformation, and true nourishment.

Homeopathy is vast in its scope and can be used with many intentions. The remedies can be used to strengthen and inspire underlying vitality. Homeopathics are excellent first aid allies. They are also helpful as a powerful alternative to curing potentially terminal illnesses when it seems that it would otherwise be necessary to employ means outside the natural/holistic world.
Homeopathics are frequently used to safely satisfy the propensity towards chronic disease so that someone with, for example, a strong family history of cancer, can have yet another strong ally with which to alleviate via nourishment the inherited root situation that may cause cancer. I came to love homeopathy for these reasons and it certainly helps strengthen my affection that is also such an inexpensive and portable style of medicine.

Homeopathy first emerged on this planet in the 1800’s thanks to an English physician named Samuel Hahnemann. A popular doctor, he also had a strong conscience. He abhorred the methods being used in medicine and saw them as so harmful that he quit the practice of medicine. He began to make his living translating medical texts from German into English.
One day, puzzled by what he was trying to translate; Hahnemann decided to take some of the substance he was writing about to see if the experience of it would give him more information. He quickly realized through this experiment that a substance taken by a relatively healthy person will cause the exact same symptoms in that healthy person that it will cure in a person with those same symptoms, thus indicating a need for that substance. This is the first important thing to know about homeopathy and is the experience that “like cures like”, the foundation upon which homeopathy arises from.

Let’s imagine this via a meditative visualization. Go inward and know that you are feeling quite fine. It is one of those glorious days when your body just feels yummy, alive and comfortable. Now, you try an experiment and imagine that you have taken a dose of homeopathic arnica in a strong, 1M, potency.

Soon, your body aches. You feel as if you are bruised, sore, hurting all over. Perhaps you are now remembering how it felt the day you fell off that rock, or right after rearranging all the furniture. Ouch.

You are experiencing what Hahnemann experienced as he came to the realization of homeopathic action and the idea that “like cures like”. The arnica has caused the exact symptoms in you, a healthy person; that it would help to cure in someone who does feel sore, bruised, in pain. OK, time to stop the meditation and come back to your yummy comfortable feeling body!

Hahnemann’s next step was in recognition of the fact that that many of the substances being widely used in his day for healing (lead, mercury, arsenic, massive amounts herbs, etc.) were also poisoning people. He made a tincture in alcohol of whatever substance he was working with, took one drop of this tincture, mixed it with 99 drops of water, and potentized or vitalized it by holding it in one hand and hitting it on a firm surface 100 times. In doing this a homeopathic preparation was born. Repeating this process over and over leads to higher and stronger potencies.

Now we have the complement to the foundation of “like cures like” which is “a highly diluted substance, when potentized, contains all of the curative values of the substance and will not cause harm”. Now, as you experienced a few moments ago in the meditation on arnica, it may cause discomfort if improperly taken. But there are no lasting or harmful side effects (except possibly in the grossest of repeated misuses).

Homeopathic preparation is a way of accessing the life force, or chi, of any substance. Homeopathy works because it makes the information available, at the most transcendent level, to our life force and thus gives our inherently intelligent life force the needed reminder so that it becomes more awakened, or more vital, and allows the being to cure itself.

Along with proper nourishing herbs, foods, and lifestyle habits, it is my experience that we now have all we need to embody our basic vitality and to help others whom we might wish to help achieve that as well.

In my own life, except for a child’s fall from a tree that required surgery, the addition of homeopathic knowledge to my medicine bag has meant that every creature in my family has had all that is needed for true well-being, come what may. This includes the cure of deep ancestral chronic disease, cancer or heart disease should it occur (but with the addition of homeopathic preventatives I don’t expect it will), and so on. Humans, four leggeds, feathered, and buzzing friends have all been helped through even the most dire of circumstances with homeopathy in combination with nourishing herbs and foods.

Any and every thing in the universe can be made into a homeopathic remedy. All plants; all minerals and combinations of them; every element on the Periodic Table of the Elements; all animals and parts therein (feathers, milk, saliva, etc); what homeopathy calls imponderables such as color, sound, the rays of the moon, the Berlin Wall, and so on; and nosodes or disease tissue can all be useful medicines.

Ewww…. You may be feeling at this point. Disease tissue??!! Animals??!! I know the feeling. Consider this: One of the most time honored (based on experience, no money to be made in a scientific study of it so none done) methods of direct cancer prevention and treatment in the world utilizes cancer tissues homeopathically prepared.

Based on hospital statistics the killer flu in the early 1900’s most successful and lifesaving treatment was a homeopathic remedy using the tissue from a chicken with TB. The homeopathic remedy made from the saliva of a dog with rabies is an excellent, time tested cure for rabies.

Remember, you are not taking any of the substance when using a potency of 12c or higher. It is the transcendent information that is being taken. And for those animals who did give their lives for homeopathy, we offer gratitude, and recall that it only takes one animal one time to make enough of that homeopathic remedy for the rest of the world for all time.

As homeopathy touches such transcendent levels of our being, so it also is able to touch all symptoms of something that need to come to balance: mental, emotional, physical, spiritual. The symptoms are our beings best way of giving voice to what has gone awry. Here we come to the third pillar of wisdom in homeopathy: “all symptoms are an expression of a deeper imbalance, we honor and thank them for giving us information.”

In homeopathy as I use it, we are experienced as inherently healthy, good, intelligent beings and as such we do not suppress or shut symptoms up, we use them as guideposts for the return to our basic whole state.

The fourth piece of wisdom it is important to call upon when working with homeopathy as an ally is that “anything that goes on in the mind also goes on in the body, and anything that goes on in the body also is reflected in the mind.”

For example, emotional agitation and overwhelm is often expressed also in an agitated and overwhelmed digestive system, or a red, hot, angry blister may often be reflected by a red, hot, angry mood. This is helpful to remember when making a choice between remedies: am I hot or cold? Angry or sad? All of this is reflected even in a simple case of pimples.

I find it important to remind newcomers to homeopathy that, profound as the remedies are as medicine, they are also about truth. The process of working with homeopathic remedies is a process of becoming more connected to yourself, your voice, your own vision.

Homeopathy cannot make you become anything that you are not; it does not act as a drug that can force a state of consciousness upon you. As we become more ourselves and have less need for symptoms (messengers of imbalance) we also become more able to embody our inherent wisdom and more able to nourish ourselves.

Over the next months I will be offering articles which will be speaking of the many profound and simple ways you can call on homeopathic medicine as an ally. Building bone, emergency help, mineral depletion, flu and cold prevention, and grief are some of the conditions that can be easily addressed by even the wee beginner to homeopathy.

Teaching how to treat or prevent more life threatening and chronic diseases with homeopathy is outside the scope what can be transmitted in a newsletter, it may be best in the beginning to walk with a knowledgeable guide if you desire to use homeopathy as an ally in that quest.
When using homeopathic remedies put nothing in your mouth ten minutes before or after taking the remedy. Do your best to avoid strong camphor, mint and eucalyptus as it may antidote the remedy. Personally I enjoy drinking mint tea and hanging out with the occasional eucalyptus tree, I find this does not interfere. However, an essential oil or dosage of camphor filled cream for aching muscles certainly would.

New Herb/Organic Stickers

Mountain Rose Herbs has come out with 2 new vinyl stickers to add to their collection. I received an e-mail today about them and thought they were pretty darn cool and wanted to share them with you all.

"The new “I Dig Herbs” sticker measures 4” X 4”. A clever shovel-with-herbs graphic shows the double meaning of the statement."

 "The new “;Support Organic Agriculture” sticker is a fresh take on a slogan we already use on another sticker. This one is square-shaped, measures 2.75” x 2.87”, and features a powerful fist clutching a handful of herbs."

"Our stickers are waterproof and sturdy, and can be adhered to just about anything you can think of. Vehicles, bikes, water bottles, notebooks… and the list goes on! At $1 or less per sticker, it’s an easy and inexpensive way to show your organic and herbal pride. They also make great little gifts, so be sure to add a few to your next Mountain Rose order to share with friends!"


Be sure to check out their other stickers too ^_^
and
Thanks for the e-mail Jessie ^_^

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I hope today fills your life with the Luck o' the Irish!

Problems with Foraging

Susun Weed is an amazing woman and herbal healer. I wan'ted to share her words from her e-zine about Foraging. Spring is here and I know a few of you are seeing so many wild plants growing such as the dandelion, clover, plantain and more. Keep Susun's tips in mind before you do:

"Are you concerned about contamination of wild plants with lead, chemicals, and dog doo?

Avoid harvesting herbs from roadsides where lead concentration is high; plants growing by busy roads will accumulate more lead. The nearer the plant is to the road, the higher the level of lead concentration.

If you can't find a particular herb anywhere except by a road, pick at least eight feet from the road edge; lead levels drop sharply in the first few feet. In cities, pick from parks and other out-of-the-way places. Be wary of vacant lots which may be contaminated with lead paint.

Avoid picking under powerlines and along roads where the weeds are controlled by spraying instead of cutting. Suburban lawns that have been doused with weed killers rarely grow medicinal weeds, but if you support chemical warfare (distorted, mutated, sparse weeds are good clues), avoid that area.

Avoid gathering herbs where canines gather. Dogs can pass parasites to humans.

Allow yourself to be guided by your intuition, as well as your senses and your intelligence, and you will know which areas to avoid when picking wild plants. Given the amount of chemical contamination on commercial herbs (and fruits and vegetables, for that matter), I honestly feel safer taking risks in the wild.

Open your eyes and observe the green abundance. Open your heart and feel the green joy. Come with respect for green power. The devas of the plant kingdom welcome you."

by Susun Weed

Update

I've added a page bar at the top of the blog.

The first page is Home, here of course.

Second is called Recipes and right now there is a recipe for Thieves Oil from Mountain Rose Herbs available to use for cold and flu season. I'll be adding other healthy recipes to the mix as I find them.

Third is a link to my website EcoGoth.

Enjoy ^_^

I am now Affiliated

My company, EcoGoth, is now Affiliated with The Raw Food World and Mountain Rose Herbs!
I will be posting banners for both soon here on the blog.

Many of you have seen my many posts about both of these companies on this blog. I advocate both of them as they both sell products that I use.
Now, when you use the links above or the banners on this site to go to these businesses and make an order, I receive a percentage of your sub total. This percentage will go towards updating EcoGoth and helping get more products out to my customers.

Thank you everyone who uses or plans to use these affiliate links. ^_^

Pop vs Pot

I just had to share this...