September 28, 2011

Fall, Transition, and the life of your dreams.

Fall is upon us.  A time of great change and transition.  The energy is sinking, down, down, into the earth.  Our focus turns inward, and it's a time of internal housekeeping.  What's working in your life, and what isn't?  Let what isn't working fall away like the leaves fall from the trees when they're no longer needed.  Live the life of your dreams :)


When you find yourself in this time of transition, do you know where to look for support?  There are many allies in the plant and mineral kingdoms who are happy to help us.  Here are two:


Walnut flower essence is my best and favorite ally for transition.  Walnut helps us to move forward gracefully, free of the influence of what holds us back.  


Dandelion root is a great herbal ally for deep nourishment, and unsticking the emotional crap that can hang out in our Livers.  Did you know that when we hold onto things, our Livers are where they go?  When you start working with Dandelion, it's important to know that emotional stuff will be dredged up.  The trick is to feel the feeling, but let go of the story.  Just let it flow through.  Acknowledge it, and let it go.  It's harder than it sounds, but you can do it! You may want to give your loved ones a heads-up before you start working with Dandelion.  A bit of fair-warning :)


There are many helpers in the mineral kingdom, and for the most part, our allies will be different, depending on what we have going on personally.  Do you work with gems?  I would love to hear from you!


Green Blessings, 
Heather

September 23, 2011

Traditions in Western Herbalism 2011

Thank you ~ It's not enough, there aren't really words, to accurately express how I feel about all that Kiva Rose and Jesse Wolf Hardin are doing for our community.  It's so nice to feel that we have a community, when we are usually scattered to the winds.  To feel understood, accepted and heard when I usually wonder if any of my friends think of me as the healer that I am.  

I came to this year's conference thinking it would be my last year, as I am moving to Ohio soon.  I left realizing that I must always find a way to come back.  I intentionally did not pour over the schedule in advance of registration.  I didn't plan my experience, and yet everything I needed to coalesce the filaments of my longings, dreams, and desires into a cohesive goal was offered, and received.  Grassroots, edgy, and exactly what I needed to satiate my thirsty soul.  This Conference, this movement, they are like gravity.  The law of attraction is vividly at work here, answering the spoken and unspoken pleas of grassroots healers.  

It was a blessing to reconnect with those familiar to me, and meet new kindred spirits.  I am so grateful for life changing experiences such as this one.

Howie and Kristie taught me about teaching in tandem and keeping what could be a dry topic alive and interesting in their Adrenalin Stress class.  

Sean Donahue gave my exercise-induced asthma a new perspective when he said that "Breath is the thread that connects us to the world."

I learned a few tips and tricks from Juliet Blankespoor's class on Growing At-Risk Medicinal Plants.

Susan Leopold from United Plant Savers provided a new face to an organization I've been interested in joining for a long time, and is a goat farmer to boot!  I am looking forward to learning from and joining their Botanical Sanctuary Network.

Rising Appalachia gives a welcome flavor to the soundtrack of my life.  There is a nostalgia to their sound that speaks to my soul in ways I didn't know I was missing.

I shared my first office with Lisa Ganora, and am so pleased whenever I have an opportunity to learn new things from her.  She always has something to offer, new layers to add to what I already know.  The world needs more teachers who teach from a place of love instead of ego.

I thoroughly enjoyed Sean Donahue's Plants of the Underworld class.  Part of it was experiencing a teaching style that was comfortable, and knowing that I could do that, too.  Part of it was that you don't get topics like this at other conferences.  He took us on a journey, and shared it in a way that made the experience accessible, real, and inspiring.

Wolf's talk on the Wild Herbalist, Tips & Tools for a more intensely effective & satisfying life and practice is the hardest for me to turn into a pearl.  Wolf delivers his messages in a compelling and thought provoking way.  I dare not blink or cough, lest I miss a vital point of messages spoken directly to my Wild Soul.  We Herbal Outlaws, we are not alone.  

Lunar Fire kept me awake and moving long past when I would normally have hit the hay.  I stepped outside and marveled at the wondrous beauty of the heavens whilst feeling the deep, earthly connection of their percussive sound.  

Jim McDonald's Teaching Herbcraft was the lynchpin for melding together my desirous filaments.  Yes, I can do it, and here's how!  

The conference end was a bittersweet event.  I am one of many who found themselves moved to tears multiple times during this conference.  I am so very grateful to have time to spend in community, with others who hear a similar call, and speak similar languages.  Plant people, with dirt under their nails, stars in their hair, and roots growing out of their sacrums.  





September 6, 2011

What's in the works

This last year has been a time of great transition for me.  I've had a lot of challenges, and have had to pull up my roots more times than I care to.  

So, like many people in these times of change and challenge, I am reevaluating my life.  All of this transition has given me the opportunity to look at my life and decide what it is I really want.  Where do I want to be?  What does that look like?  How will I support myself in this new life, and what will I have to offer in service to the World?

I am answering the call to go home.  Not exactly home, but regionally home.  Northwest Ohio/Southeast Michigan is home for me.  There I will start my herb farm, build my clinical practice, and make an effort to be as sustainable as is practical.  I am especially interested in heirloom vegetables and heritage breeds.

Look for my Etsy store to be back up and running in the winter/early spring.  I will be available for herbal/nutritional consultations again soon, both in person and over the phone or video chat.  If there are herbs you would like me to grow, please send me an email.  I will start with what I use in my practice, and at risk herbs that grow well in my micro-climate.

Thanks for checking in, I'm excited for what's in store!

Green Blessings,
Heather Luttrell

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