Share the Talking Stick

Don't use Dryer Sheets for underwear!

I am 40 years old and self-diagnosed with Vulvar Lichen Sclerosis.  A friend who had it was told by her specialist Dr. to stop using dryer sheets for her underwear--other than that no treatment!!  It took a while, but she is asymptomatic now.  I stopped using dryer sheets for undies about 3 weeks ago and already it is going away!!  How many women are suffering from not knowing this?  It makes me want to call every gyno in the phone book to tell them about it.  I have found nothing online about this remedy.  Other than this problem I have no significant health issues, I am blessed.  Hope this helps someone!  Amy

White Owl Woman

White Owl Woman
In the firelight
Sends a message
With her drum.

Singing Moon song
Singing Earth song
Beating rhythm
With her drum.

To Creator
For all People
To the Universe
Goes her song.

Singing magic
Sending message
To Great Spirit
With her drum.

7/4/1997
Valerie Phipps
vphipps1@commspeed.net

childbearing year - plant/flower/herb

I am a doula, I work with women through out the childbearing year.  I am interested in finding a plant/flower/herb that represents the power of women in this time of life.  I am hoping to use it as a logo and so want it to also be beautiful, maybe purple.  Any suggestions?

Thank you so much

~Annie

Annie Halton Marshall CD(DONA)
TLC Child Birth Services
186 VanDorn Rd. N.
Ithaca, NY 14850
AnnieHalton@aol.com

Breast Pain first trimester

Is it norman to feel breast pain (on the upper part of both breasts) the first or second  month of a woman's first pregnancy??

Former Apprentice testimonial

October, 2007

Dear Susun,

I'm not sure if you remember me, but I apprenticed with you a couple years ago. I just wanted to write you a letter to tell you how much I have grown over the last couple years. I am months away from completing my Bachelor's in Natural Health Sciences and then I will be continuing on to my Natural Health Doctorate.

I have taken many herbal and all natural classes and I have to tell you that I think I learned more in your apprenticeship than anywhere else. All the lessons I learned with you have y stuck with me. You have a phenomenal teaching ability. Your wisdom has resonated within me from the moment I left.

As I gain years of knowledge, I realize that your power and "angry" moments stem from a much deeper knowledge and respect of our heritage than the anger that I have always been accustomed to. I wanted to tell you that I now realize that it is all for the power of the lesson learned, not to cause guilty or unworthy feelings. On that note, I would like to say that the reason I left was because of this misinterpretation. I have always been very sensitive and tend to shut down and not listen any more when I am being yelled at. You forced me to listen and to separate myself from my actions. That was an invaluable lesson to learn so early on in life.

I wanted to thank you for being part of my life, even if briefly. . . . Please accept this letter as my life teacher, the person I still to this day believe taught me more about the universe, plants, and the Goddess within than anyone else I've met so far. I would like to capture my Green Goddess and live as her always. May I resume my studies with you?

In thanks,

poke berries tincture

Hi, my name is Teresa. I have been an herbalist for the past decade. This year I was looking at my poke plant, and was she beautiful. I make tincture out of the root but thought why not out of the berries? I have an acupuncture practice also, and many of my patients are weiry of not biting the seeds of the berries. So I tinctured the berries. So far my patients report their arthritus is much better and there spirits have improved.

I am posting this so I can see if anyone else has tinctured the berries.

Thank you

Teresa Berger Dip. LAc. M.S.

My Raptor Dreams

I’ve had significant dreams about Raptors. About three years ago I dreamed about a Cooper’s Hawk up in an Oak tree. It appeared to be firmly grounded in the tree while stretching for the skies, which was a beautiful blue. It also appeared to be surrounded by a filmy white light.

On 1/7/06 I dreamed of a Red Fox in a den, a Lynx, and a Barn Owl. The Barn Owl looked a little roughed up. The day before this while I was driving on the by-pass going back toward the office (this is not a dream) I saw five Red Tail Hawks. I see a lot of Hawks during my drives.

Then, a couple of months ago I dreamed I was holding a Cooper’s Hawk on my left arm with a leather guard protecting my arm. A Bald Eagle was scrambling around on my right arm. I was concerned because I didn’t have an arm guard on, but I was not being hurt.

According to Ted Andrews, author of Animal-Speak: The Spiritual & Magical Powers of Creatures Great & Small, dreams of raptors, such as the Red Tail Hawk reveals much about a person. He says about this Hawk:
“The red tail is very symbolic. It has ties to the kundalini, the seat of the primal life force. In the human body it is associated with the base chakra, located at the base of the spine; the coccyx or tailbone. Those who have a Red Tail Hawk as a totem will be working with the kundalini. It can also reflect that this bird becomes a totem in your life only after the kundalini has been activated.” (My side note: I have recently started on my Menopausal Journey, the part called perimenopause). “It can also reflect that the childhood visions are becoming empowered and fulfilled. It may pop up as a totem at that point in your life where you begin to move toward you soul purpose more dynamically…The ability to soar and glide upon currents is part of what hawk can teach…It teaches how to fly to great heights while still keeping your feet on the ground…Hawks are occasionally harassed and attacked by smaller birds. This is very significant…It indicates that there are likely to be attacks by people who won’t understand you or the varied and different uses of your creative energy. They may attack your ability to soar.” (My side note…how very true!!!). “The Red Tail Hawk is usually a permanent resident in an area, although occasionally it may migrate. This permanency reflects that as a totem, this hawk will be with you permanently once it shows up…Because of the strong energy (the intensified life-force) activated by this totem, any individuals with it must be careful in how they express themselves. There will unfold within you the ability to tear off the heads of any snakes in your life, or anyone or anything seen as an enemy. Your comments and actions will be like the hawk’s beak and talons—strong and powerful, but with a capability to tear and/or kill…The sky is the realm of the hawk. Through its flight it communicates with humans and with the great creator spirit. It awakens our vision and inspires us to a creative life purpose.”
Animal-Speak. Copyright 1993 by Ted Andrews.

So what do you think?  Any insights for me?

Some Random Thoughts

September 4^th, 2006                                                                                         Labor Day

Today is such a beautiful day.  The sun is shining, except for the brief moments of hiding behind the gorgeous cumulus clouds in the bright blue sky.  I have been thinning my yard; since I don’t own a working lawnmower, I have to thin by hand.  I don’t mind; I like the look of my wild lawn and it’s less than an acre.  Earlier in the summer there was a beautiful Columbine flower.  She has since faded back but there are other beauties to admire.  Around the perimeter there are a few golden Goldenrods, many Rose of Sharon bushes (which are spreading like wildfire), Peonies and wild Black Raspberries.  Throughout my lawn are millions of Common Blue Violets.  In the back the Burdock was so out of control I had to thin them; a small herd of deer could have hid among them!  Silver Maples, Mulberries, a single Catalpa and Ash are the few trees around my property.  I also have many large Pokeweed bushes along the back side of my house and guarding it all is lots and lots of Poison Ivy.  I also have many rather large Spiders spinning their webs around my house and property, adding their protection to my little haven.  The Poke berries are big and ripe and I found myself harvesting them a little while ago.  I have them on a white sheet to start drying.  I was blessed to get quite a few berries and still leave some behind to reseed.  I put some of the seeds along the back of my property, where there are no plants shielding my property from the neighbors.  It is my goal to have a natural fence around my property, hiding me from the small town I live in. 

I feel the Wheel of the Year slowly turn to Autumn, my favorite season.  Feeling Summer slowly fading away always leaves me feeling nostalgic.  Life is winding down, as all push to get the final preparations done before Winter closes in.  I’ve seen many fat groundhogs attesting to this fact.  After the first frost I will probably harvest some Burdock root.  I firmly believe that the plants that grow around a person are growing there for a reason.  Namely, the plant has something to offer that the person needs.  And, since I have historically taxed my liver, I figure I need to get some in.

For the most part, Summer was uneventful.  I did notice a baby Nuthatcher trying to hide in the Japanese Yew earlier in the season.  The poor little thing had fallen out of its nest and could not make it back up the big Silver Maple, where its anxious parents were fretting about.  I coaxed the little bird onto my finger, cradled it to my chest, and put it as high up in the tree as I could.  With the help of its grateful parents it scampered up the tree to safety.  A couple of months later as I was working on the computer, a Nuthatcher landed on the screen in my window and looked at me briefly before flying away.  And about a week ago my shoulder acted as a ‘rest stop’ to a little butterfly.  Those moments I cherish. 

Quite often I feel that no one in my life understands me.  I am called ‘weird’ and ‘strange.’  No one understands why I love and admire Spiders, Snakes, and Poison Ivy.  They don’t understand the lessons they have to offer.  People just don’t understand that the Universe communicates with me through Nature.  About a year ago a Catholic Priest drenched me with Holy Water to “see if I would sizzle.”  No joke.  He was only a bit relieved when I didn’t; he was obviously still quite concerned for my soul.  Luckily that doesn’t happen too much but it really emphasizes how off the beaten path I am to society, at least where I live. 

Sometimes a person has to make painful decisions and sacrifices to live their authentic life.  It isn’t always easy being true to yourself.  But the alternative, living a lie to fit in with how society/family says you should be, will slowly erode at your soul, leaving you empty on the inside.  So I will continue standing up for all the underdogs of nature, regardless of all the strange comments I get from people.  And I will continue to live my life authentically because living a lie, living my life according to other people’s standards, is too great a sacrifice.   

So what do YOU think? 

Making Rooted Decisions

For anybody successfully through thier Astrological time of Saturn returning, you'll already know what this is about. It begins around the age of 27 and continues to flip flop itself ruthlessly through your chakras,  your life; your thoughts, and your core belief systems for about three years. All of the sudden things start happening, or they get stuck, or you start feeling deeply restless, but nonetheless it makes absolute havock.

I'll spare you my grueling three year saga, because really what I am trying to learn, and I think many women and men are too, is how to make decisions from my deepest, truest self. It's the darn hardest thing I've ever had to do. And I don't even think I've done it yet.

When I was in my early youth, decisions didn't even make me blink. I knew exactly what they were within a nanosecond. No mulling, no making lists or asking tarot, no crying at the river or depression for days - the decisions practically made themselves. Why is that? How is it that in our teens we are so divinely present, blissfully selfish, that making choices weather big or small seem effortless. We take risks and speak or mind, ready and invincible against naysayers and so full of willpower that we sound almost arrogant.

But now, in my early thirties, married 11 years and with two children, I'm faced with life changing, gargantuan sized decisions. And it's not just me anymore. My choices effect my whole family. They are not so easy. Thinking of outcomes with all thier great and not so great qualities, makes my head spin, my heart pound, my breath stuck, and I go absolutely haywire. So much so that I can't hear my own wants and needs. That voice, that was ever so loud and clear, just isn't there anymore. She's gone!

So, I wonder, how is it that we can get down to that strong voiced woman again and serve her well. Which physical reactions are the ones to avoid, and which ones do we follow? Which ones say 'I should do this because I'm afraid"

and which one sais "I want this - and I don't care if I'm afraid"

It's an answer that still evades me. I listen daily to my sensations, how I breath during certain thoughts. How my heart beats. What makes me happy to wake up in the morning and how will I find that more often.

And although I still have no rooted choices to make that I know whole heartedly are my true will, perhaps it's not learning how to choose at all that's the lesson, but how to listen again, is.

The Deep Ecology of Birth

by Kara Maia Spencer, www.MaiaHealingArts.com, www.BirthEcology.org

Birth is a sacred rite of passage for women, a life-altering experience that brings knowledge, experience, growth, and discovery. There is great power and potential inherent in pregnancy and birth. Labor is an altered state of consciousness that the woman journeys through in order to discover her birth power. The sacredness of mothers, babies, and birth must be honored first and foremost, for the survival of humanity and our earth. A wise birth saying is, “Peace on Earth Begins with Birth”.

The newborn’s emergence at birth imprints the baby with the first impressions of the world. The baby has an instinct to be born, the mother’s body ripens for birth but she must be patient to wait for the baby’s unique time. Physiologically, it is the baby who initiates labor, signaling the mother’s body to labor and birth. The baby is a conscious participant in the birth journey. When a mother listens to her body and her baby, and gives birth instinctively, that child is imprinted with the ability to respect and honor their body and being.

Conscious birthing is an ecstatic experience, and women who birth instinctively can even experience orgasm and spiritual awakening. Birth becomes a tantric experience between the mother and baby, as they communicate through deeper consciousness and without words. Birth is one aspect of the women’s cycle of fertility and sexuality, and all the rites of passage in women’s sexual cycles are ecologically vital and have ecstatic potential.

The women’s sexual life cycle includes many rites of passage: menarche, menstruation, childbirth, and menopause. These are known as the Blood Mysteries, and have been honored by traditional cultures around the world for thousands of years. The women’s mysteries are opportunities for sacred connection to nature, deepening self-understanding, gaining new wisdom, and creative potential.

Women’s cycles are a deep source of connection to nature. The menstrual cycle is guided by the moon; the lunar cycles influence the tides of the oceans and women’s wombs. We experience the cycles of nature physically every day, the cycle of the day and night, the moon cycle, the solar cycle of the seasons, and we experience natural cycles within our bodies, the lifecycle, the menstrual cycle, and the birth cycle. The gestation of pregnancy is actually ten lunar cycles, and many people call the postpartum time, the babymoon.

Throughout gestation, the mother and baby are biologically one unit. The baby is dependent upon the health, nourishment, and love of the mother. Humans live in the womb of Mother Earth, and we are all interdependent upon the health of the planet and our environment, which provides us with everything from atoms to atmosphere, to food, shelter, and medicine.

The Earth is our Mother. She gave birth to all of us; all the trees, mountains, herbs, flowers, animals, minerals, and humans are her children and family. The web of interconnectivity binds us all. There is an Earth-Body balance that is vital for health; a balance between ecological health, such as a sense of connection to place and environmental health, and somatic health, the physical, personal, and inner essence of body and spirit well-being.

Humanity must honor our interdependence with nature in order to heal our bodies, and our Earth. Western culture’s disrespect for the Earth is seen is the destruction of the environment, natural resources, ancient forests, atmosphere, and oceans. This is mirrored in the highly invasive treatment of women’s bodies in medicine, media, and childbirth practices. Western culture is no longer in sync with the rhythms and cycles of nature. We are cutting open our bodies and our planet. The farther we push ourselves from living ecologically, in balance with nature, the more we kill ourselves and our planet. How do we find a way to regain balance?

In our vision to create a safe world for children to live in, we must begin with making birth safe for children, so that they may be at home in their bodies. In order to heal birth, we must care for the whole health of mother, baby, family, and community. Healing art midwifery must address the body, mind, heart, and spirit of mother and planet. Each birth is a seed for humanity. The journey to healing begins with addressing the birth trauma that we carry, from our own births, and the births our ancestors. Each birth brings a new opportunity to preserve the garden.