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Plant Meditation Club
Connecting with plants through meditation and sharing experiences gives us insight into how herbs want to help. Receiving others' meditative experiences is a valuable gift! As a group we can contribute to the body of knowledge about plants. New and/or lost information will be discovered.
Ready to transform smoking? We are here for you whether you want to break up with tobacco, smoke socially with less risk, or just enjoy experimenting with smoking natural herbs.
What are you health, life, and emotional vibrancy goals? Explore our herbal teas, tinctures, oils, and flower & gem essences. Want to work one-on-one with our founder Lily Arati Michaud? With 15+ years of experience in herbalism and medicine, she here to support you on your wellness path.
This week we will be meditating on an unknown herb of Chinese Classical Medicine.
The reveal date on your pouch should match the date on the post--6/13 (a Thursday!). Meditate and share your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual observations in the comments.
A summary will appear here when I reveal the herb.
If you would like to join in, we'd love to have you. Check it out here.
Some areas of observation during your meditation and the day/days thereafter:
-bodily changes (physical)
-energetic shifts -mood/attitude changes -thoughts that arise that aren’t things you normally would think about (like you might normally be thinking about cooking dinner (so skip sharing that), but after taking the plant, you are also thinking about an old relationship and felt remorse, or forgiveness, or new awareness—share that) -images that come to mind -songs that come to mind -messages and/or phrases and their meaning to you if not the same for everyone
Hashimoto's thyroiditis is an autoimmune disorder that impacts the thyroid gland (which is shaped like a butterfly). This condition is ten times more common in females/afab. The incidence can be up to 25% of women depending on socio-economic factors and where you live. Thyroid replacement is one of the most commonly prescribed medications.
I put my Hashimoto's into remission and here are some of the key strategies I used, that I have seen help others: My favorite herb for the feeling of dullness and cleaning your blood: black walnut (this is a specific protocol), address anemia (women/AFAB: compare your blood levels to male lab standards), use naturopathy standards for healthy thyroid levels (not MD standards), eliminate gluten, acupuncture can be supportive, and custom flower and/or gem essences to support you getting the most joy and excitement out of your life!
This week we meditated with Shepherd's Purse, Capsella bursa-pastoris, flower essence.
Shepherd's purse for moving from shame to "it is what it is" & then embodiment.
Meditation 1:
Me: Plant says, "your shame is in your mouth, right?" And I say "no, not anymore". The plant slowly scans an energy field moving from head downwards. Throat, shoulders, heart. Below these full areas, is a line, or angled lines. It is energy being pulled in as much as possible below the heart. This is a reaction to trauma.
Question from plant: What does it matter if it is above or below?
Answers [either way] we pull our energy back in there.
Once we can shift from shame to "it is what it is" Then we can fill in "down there". I see the lower part of the body (which had been a line/lines) become filled with energy again.
Then the plant gives me some brain help. I see pink petals (like Uva ursi flowers) come around my head and wrap around my head closely.
My daughter: I see dirt (like normal ground) but it has crystals (stereotypical crystals) in it. There are flowers growing from the earth, and a giant tree. I keep hearing
Very Ape, by Nirvana.
I am buried up to my neck inContradictionary liesI take pride as the kind of illiteratureI'm very ape and very nice
If you ever need anything, please don'tHesitate to ask someone else firstI'm too busy acting like I'm not naiveI've seen it all, I was here first
Out of the groundInto the sky (x2)
If you ever need anything, please don'tHesitate to ask someone else firstI'm too busy acting like I'm not naiveI've seen it all, I was here first
Out of the groundInto the sky (x3)
She thinks the plant is a medicine. It may be a supporting medicine, to take with something else. She doesn't like "don't hesitate to ask someone else first."
Meditation 2:
Me: now I feel a gentle pulse of energy in the area of my mouth, then my nose.
The herb says it works gently. First it assesses, then move from shame to "it is what it is", then the energy fills back in, then gentle pulse. It says it works much more gently than other herbs (like thyme or goldenseal).
Summary/Traditional Use:
Shepherd's purse is a tiny, weedy, plant, that is helpful for binding soil. It is said the average plant produces 3000 seeds, but large ones are estimated to produce 38,000 to 60,000 seeds! You can see from the picture above how the flowers go to seed moving upwards along the stem.
I use this medicine frequently for fibroids and prolapse due to muscle weakness. Clots during menstruation are one indication, as is a history of sexual abuse or intimate partner violence. It can be helpful for reducing clots and stopping or slowing thick, dark, oozy blood. The flower essence has strong messages around healing shame. Shame can be related to manipulation, lies, and gaslighting to protect the perpetrator. Shame may increase when people do not want to help, because they do not want to see the problem. It is hard to completely heal trauma, even emotionally stress-free traumas like a broken bone can cause us to pull our energy out of an area in shock. When there are many layers of emotional pain it is even harder to re-enter our body. I do think of myself as having healed the trauma around my mouth. After this experience I feel there is more work to do, and it is work that shepherd's purse can do gently.
I felt sorrow and comfort after this meditation. The sorrow comes from being grounded in the reality of what is. That groundedness gives us the ability to take steps to move forward into a new way of life.
Again and again I have heard this plant say "What fills you up, keep in your purse. The rest? Let it go, bleed it out." It is a reminder of the power menstruators have to release each month when they bleed. If you menstruate, take time to consider what you want to let go of, and enjoy the freedom you have to cultivate and enjoy that which you want to keep.
Invitation:
Have you worked with Shepherd's Purse as a tea, tincture or flower essence? Have you seen it in your neighborhood? it is so tiny that if you see it, I wonder if it is calling to you, with it's little heart shaped seed pods. Please share your experience in the comments below.
The astrology during the month of May 2024 is full on for enjoying your body (Taurus is living in the moment, except for their background financial planning, lol). There will be four to five planets in Taurus this month: Sun (until 5/20), Moon 5/6-7, the new moon is on 5/7, Venus (through 5/23), Mercury (5/15 through 6/3), Jupiter (until 5/23), Uranus (begins its transit through gemini on 7/7/25). That's a lot of Taurus energy which is normally a bit conservative. However with Uranus, planet of new thought and freedom, in the mix and the eccentric energy of Pluto in Aquarius being highlighted as Mars in Aries sextiles it, the energy is there to invite new ways of being sensual into your sexual world. It's the May vibe.
Smoking Herbs to enjoy:
Sexy Smokes herbal smoking blend, with organic damiana, blackberry leaf, rose, hibiscus, and mullein is wonderful for tapping into the sensuality within and releasing negative ideas or experiences that are holding us back. With rose it keeps the heart engaged. Astral in Body herbal smoking blend, with organic yarrow, mugwort, blue vervain, and mullein, helps connect us to non human energies like the moon, fairies, and other worldly energies, all while keeping us in our body. It is a little eccentric! Calea came up in this discussion, it is an herb that is still considered experimental. It is a dream herb traditionally used to uncover the source or path to resolve for an illness or to locate a lost loved one. It can be used for other serious dream quests or to connect with the elements.
Our Clear Mind herbal smoking blend is super light. It is popular as a stage smoke. Brown Bear Herbs' Clear Mind was used in the movie Oppeheimer, among other films. This blend was formulated to help artists and writers who smoke while they work. Since the herbs in it are supportive for focus, this herbal cigarette is a favorite for easing ADHD and anxiety symptoms (per customer reviews). Clear Mind herbal cigarettes, or our Clear Mind roll your own smoking herbal smoking blend, is centering and clarifying for contemplative moments.
We use organic and/or wildcrafted and tested herbs in our products. The spearmint in Clear Mind makes it a lovely alternative for those trying to get off of menthol cigarettes.
Trying to smoke less, quit smoking tobacco, or smoke in a less risky way? Mullein is an herb that was traditionally used for lung herb, it was even smoked! Learn more about mullein in the video.