What's the Deal with St. John's wort?

St. John's wort is one of my very favorite herbs. A wonderful healing herb.
It is so much more than an anti-depressant.
Listen to the herbal experts explain the real value of St. John's wort; includes James Duke, David Hoffmann, David Winston and more.



Watch What's the Deal with St. John's Wort?

Kitchen Herbs for Health

Kitchen Herbs for Health
Herbalists Jackie Nikolaus and Vanessa Mardones take you on a tour of kitchen herbs and spices that also have medicinal uses. Learn about the medicinal uses of green tea, turmeric, thyme, oregano, dandelion, kale, parsley, garlic, rosemary, and more. Special guest on the show is Rosemary Gladstar, known to many as the Grandmother of Herbalism in America.

I am so honored to say that Rosemary Gladstar has been a teacher of mine. Rosemary is very inspirational and has so much to share. During my herbal apprenticeships with Shatoiya de la Tour, we were introduced to the healing aspects of herbs by many of the great herbalists in the U.S. I feel this is the best way to learn about these healing spirits of the plant kingdom.

What is Plant Spirit Medicine

If you are not ready to alter your way of life, you cannot be healed. Hippocrates


Plant Spirit Medicine combines the ancient wisdom of the Chinese Five Element system with the potency of native plants to bring us to the healthy balance of energy that is our birthright. When we are in attunement with the most heartfelt part of ourselves then we can heal on very deep levels and real change can take place in our lives. This ancient practice of Plant Spirit Medicine, long forgotten in the West, has now been remembered, revitalized and reintroduced by American Healer and my teacher Eliot Cowan, author of Plant Spirit Medicine.

Dandelions

Dandelions are one of my very favorite herbs. They are allowed to volunteer all over my property. I use them in several of my herbal formulas. I feed the leaves to my animals and they love them, as well as being great for them.




Enjoy learning about what dandelion offers.

Video: How to Make a Moisturizing Herbal Balm - Vegetable Gardener

This is a very easy recipe for beginners in making herbal salves or balms.

Video: How to Make a Moisturizing Herbal Balm - Vegetable Gardener

Posted using ShareThis

Herbal balms are a fun and inexpensive craft you can make using plants from your garden. You can use this recipe to make a moisturizer for your hands or your lips.

Here's what you'll need:

2 cups olive oil
1 cup dried herbs (For more on drying herbs, see the video, How to Dry Herbs.)
Essential oils
1 cup grated beeswax, packed
A double boiler
Containers for storing your balm

Bring water in a double boiler to simmer on your stovetop. Add the olive oil and dried herbs to the top of the double boiler. Keep on the heat for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently so the herbs release their oils.

Pour the mixture through a strainer to remove most of the herbs from the oil. Discard the leftover leaf material, rinse out the pot, and return it to the double boiler. Pour the oil, which has been infused with herbs, back into the top of the double boiler and heat it up again.

Add 20 drops of the essential oil to the infused olive oil and stir. Add the beeswax to your mixture and stir it until it melts.

After the beeswax has melted, you'll need to check the consistency of your balm. Remove your stirring spoon from the heated balm and let it cool slightly (you can stick it in the fridge for a minute to speed the process along). You'll be able to tell if your balm is thick enough because it should solidify slightly on the spoon into the consistency of a commercial lip balm. If it doesn't seem solid enough, add more grated beeswax until you're satisfied with the consistency.

Pour your balm into small jars. This recipe makes enough balm to fill two 4 oz canning jars. Let the balm cool completely, uncovered.

The Doctrine of Signatures

The Doctrine of Signatures Explained:
Herbalist Matthew Wood explains the concept of the Doctrine of Signatures through many herbal examples . He walks us into the herb world and shares his knowledge about some powerful herbs, their processes and what they offer.

Journey to Machu Picchu

This video documents a trip to the beautiful Inca historic site of Machu Picchu. The music is nice too, so turn on your speakers.

Pale Blue Dot

Wow! My words cannot do this justice.
Listen to Carl Sagan's words.




Pale Blue Dot
Source: www.youtube.com

This is taken from the book. Having him read to you is something else. Enough said. Take a listen and share this video. It is your moral duty.

Plant Spirit Healing

The Power of Plant Spirit Medicine derives from harmonizing and working with the Laws of Nature. Every person has a unique purpose of their soul to manifest in this lifetime and we all encounter obstacles to fulfilling this purpose. These obstacles may be in the form of physical illness, emotional addictions, financial stress, or lack of support from family and friends. Plant Spirits are attuned to their vision of perfection and purpose and can therefore help us to heal and support us in manifesting our soul's vision.

It is only with the heart that you can see, what is essential is invisible to the eye.
- Unknown

My Favorite Herbs

This is a favorite question of herbalists. And also a favorite topic to share with other herbalists.
Some of my favorites are:
dandelion
lavender
nettles
comfrey
vitex
chamomile
licorice root
elder
st. john's wort
skullcap
yarrow
Just to name a few off the top.


Watch My Favorite Herbs in Lifestyle  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

It is flu season once again!

Herbalist Paul Bergner addresses the flu season and the Swine Flu scare of 2009.




What You Can Do About Swine Flu
Herbalist Paul Bergner discusses a proactive approach to protect yourself during the coming flu season.

Watch What You Can Do About Swine Flu in Educational & How-To View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

In Honor of Michael Moore

We lost a rare and gifted herbalist the year. Michael was an explorer, leader, mentor, teacher and friend of the herbal community. It is hard to put words to the life of Michael Moore. Some herbalists are trying to give a verbal tribute to Michael.



Michael Moore Tribute
Howie Brounstein talks about his herbal mentor Michael Moore who passed away in February of 2009.

Watch Michael Moore Tribute in Faith & Lifestyle View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

More about life!

This quote beautifully states my feelings about life and the spirit. The realization that we are all one, has drawn me into the powerful journey of a healer.

There is life on earth - one life, which embraces every animal and plant on the planet. Time has divided it up into several million parts, but each is an integral part of the whole. A rose is a rose, but it is also a robin and a rabbit. We are all one flesh, drawn from the same crucible.
--Lyell Watson, Supernature 1973