How the Plant Spirits found me and changed my life

How the Plant Spirits found me and changed my life.

Have you ever felt guided by a force that seems beyond your ordinary thinking? It was 1997 and I was checking in with my pal and mentor, herbalist, Kate Gilday, a catch up conversation that drifted into our dreams for the future. I had just finished a course on the energetics of Western Herbs and, though I was pleased with the course and what I was learning, I felt that there was more. I was waxing on and on about how, as humans, we seem to have lost touch with the rhythms of nature and our intuitions.  I wanted to work with plants in a deeper way than just in their physical form.  Kate asked if I had heard of Eliot Cowan and his book Plant Spirit Medicine. She told me that he was going to be teaching in my area. She said she would send me his book.  And so the seed was planted. 

I am not one to be impulsive, I wring every drop of indecision out of an opportunity before I commit, but this seemed so right. It was a big leap of faith, but there I was sending in a deposit for this course before I had even read the book.  Once the book arrived, I was smitten.  I was excited to begin this course and to see where it would take me.

I have been a lover of plants since I was little. As a child, I chewed on birch twigs and slept on cattail pillows. Learning about plants has been a focus of my life.  Who are they?  What are their personalities? What is their medicine?  Where do I find them?  Do they want to work with me?  In college I took all the botany courses that I could. I trained and apprenticed with herbalists.  I acquired a library of plant and herbal books. I spent as much time as I could in nature getting to know the plants around me and what medicine they offered. Plant Spirit Medicine added a different element to my relationship with these miracles. Entering into the realm of Spirit was a new and exciting adventure for me as I learned to dream journey to plant spirits and ask permission to work with them and learn of their gifts.

There are many types of Plant Spirit Medicine, and this one has resonated with me not only because of the dive into spirit, but because it gave me a framework for understanding the language of the plants and my human clients.  The PSM that I learned from Eliot Cowan is rooted in Indigenous Wisdom and Five Element Chinese Medicine Theory.  Each element corresponds to a season and each season has different influences that define it. Colors, sounds, odors, emotions, tastes, body parts, organs and so much more have helped to orient me to what the plant may be teaching me and what the client is teaching me.  Each one of us is a puzzle worth solving, and there are plants waiting to help you.

Twenty seven years later, looking back, I can say that trusting my intuition and my plant spirit guides has been life-changing for me.  I have come to admire and trust the wisdom of the plant spirits.

Finding a career that allows me to be in relationship with plant spirits and also to go deep with the people who come to me for help with their life struggles has been a joy and blessing.

Early in my practice, I had to learn to trust this medicine.  As I began to see my clients heal and change their lives, I had the proof I needed to back up the trust.  Plant Spirit Medicine reaches deeply into the human spirit to discover just what it needs and wants the most. The healing starts on the spiritual level and works its way out to heal mental and then physical issues.

As a recipient of the medicine, I have felt the healing of the plants gently--and sometimes not so gently--guiding me to be a better me.  I am calmer, more patient, a better mother, partner, practitioner, and mentor.  I have found elegance in this method of healing, one that encompasses the whole being. I recognize the importance of this medicine and I want to see it continue and to touch more people who need the work. Partnering with fellow colleague, Clare Pearson, we feel compelled to offer a healer training to those who feel the call. 

Plant Spirit Medicine has improved my life, and I am so grateful for it. Perhaps you are being led to a deeper relationship with plants and an opportunity to step into your role as a healer.  Listen to that guiding force, it could change your life!