Welcoming wet weather

Kitty is unimpressed by wet weather

Let the rain kiss you.  Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops.  Let the rain sing you a lullaby.

Langston Hughes 

UK weather always makes for great discussion. Summer 2011 has been hot, balmy, raining, windy, and chilly; changing erratically and frequently, often from hour to hour. Definitely wild and wonderful.

Yesterday it rained a lot. Car-free with an active outdoor lifestyle, I have little choice but to engage with the weather, on the weather's terms.

Much as a barometer, conditions outside permit me to gauge my prevailing mood. As I awaken and open my curtains to reveal the new day, am I irritated by the overcast dawn sky or acquiescent?

In truth, I do enjoy the cooler climate of a British summer. I can be active without overheating and I quite enjoy the variety and unpredictability of weather. I have fond memories of living low impact and watching our ducks as it rained. Traversing the field with joy and enthusiasm, lustily quacking their contentment as they investigated small pools and crevices where water collected; gargling and bobbing with delight.

Christopher Robin explores a large puddle

Young children also show the way. Look, there's a big one! Exclaimed my six year old neighbour as he and his gang stormed a series of puddles which were forming on the pavement. The rain was a good thing! An opportunity for even more fun, adventure and laughter!

As we move through life such playful attitudes tend to harden into annoyance and cynicism. Cycling through Street, I witnessed small clumps of pedestrians protecting themselves under shop awnings; their faces speaking of dismay and discontent.

The inner voice appeared: To be afraid of the weather is to be afraid of life.  Fundamentally all weather is good, it is given to us with love from Mother Earth. There is a bigger picture, we can see it if we choose to widen our view; the weather isn't happening to us; we are part of an integrated living biosphere and our localised experience is part of a powerful, dynamic self-regulating system, deep and wise and intelligent.

Rain gives us an opportunity to rise above thoughts of duality and negativity: sunny weather = good; wet weather = bad. Such thinking is never helpful and keeps us in a state of disconnect from our true, loving  spirit. 

Keep smiling and carry on

Summer is as much as anything a state of mind; I bought  a beautiful bouquet of sunny golden and orange flowers, to evoke the warmth and light of the sun; instant upliftment.

I took an awesome swim in a near empty outdoor pool. The warm steam rising, the rhythms of  breath and  moving water under moody grey skies made for a very lovely experience.

Lifeguards sat stoically under large umbrellas in bulky cagoules and us few swimmers smiled at each other, acknowledging our happiness and good fortune.

I have a pair of waterproof trousers that fold small that I carry around. When I wear them I feel fearless and intrepid, quite childlike. I can greet the rain with glee and positivity, I can keep going, it's just different, that's all. The gentle summer rain is a blessing;  a thousand sweet kisses falling on my face.

Later in the afternoon I joined friends at a poetry gathering in a mongolian yurt on the lower slopes of Glastonbury Tor. The theme: Earthmatters. The rain was powerful, striking the canvas forcibly, thunder and lightning echoing outside the thin skin. This added a dramatic dimension to our chants, stories and songs, a natural percussion.

A reminder that we are supposed to be living much much closer to nature and all the elements. Changing weather is a dance that we are invited to participate it and not hide away from behind heavy walls and technology. Everything can be fully felt and celebrated. An invitation to presence and aliveness. 

Wet is a physical sensation, just as dry is. A contrast. Modern lives protect us from such extremes and I wonder whether in our search for maximising comfort something primal and vital been lost. 

It's only rain and I love it.

Your thoughts?

Jennifer

  

Meeting the wild plants of Glastonbury Abbey

Glastonbury Abbey, a peaceful summer haven

Last Saturday I attended the modestly titled Herb Walk led by local herbalist Jenny Gaze. Jenny is wise and accomplished, possessing a clear and thorough knowledge of wild and cultivated herbs.

Jenny gives useful information for collecting, preparing and storing plant materials. All good stuff. And yet beyond the practical something deeper was  illuminated: the hallmark of a truly talented teacher.

In recent weeks I have been exploring teachings around sacred plants, plant medicine and plant consciousness. Meandering with Jenny through the stunning wildlife haven of Glastonbury Abbey during high summer was a perfect means of animating this research. The session highlighted themes and insights that are showing up all around in my life right now, may be this will resonate for you too:

Jenny identifies mullein

The gift of change: Loss as a call to empowerment and re-skilling
The recently enacted EU directive prohibiting the sale of many plant based health supplements upset and angered many friends and therapists within the community.

I haven't felt moved to protest; it doesnt work for me to resist change; I prefer to flow like water and look instead for the opportunity to create something new, real and sustainable.

Surely it is an improved, evolved scenario to know someone personally, within one's community who can advise, teach and provide. And ultimately this is a call to learn for ourselves how to make one's own teas, tinctures, decoctions and ointments.

Humanity's current insanity is a blip in the grand scheme of things
Jenny really helped me shift perspective here as she related how up until the 1940s i.e. within living memory doctors in general practice in this country would rely on herbal medicine as a main treatment modality.

The pharma-scientific-technological-capitalism, the unchecked exponential expansion of allopathic pharmacology was a short, intense phase of aggressive acceleration that is burning itself out (MRSA anyone?) Peace and sanity is being restored TODAY; the old and new systems operating in parallel; one falling away as the other rises.

Return to community living, honouring of ancestral wisdom and tribal ways
Our indigenous ancestors held and embodied the timeless teachings of nature and we will again and it this time it will not be lost. We are interested in Grandmother's remedies. We turn to the wise elders within our community. We have the answers amongst us. We share resources and skills.  We care for each other, we are important in each other's lives. Embodying knowledge, we become living teachers of a practical wisdom that is enhanced and shared through the day-to-day reality of our lives. 

Receiving the teachings in the presence of the plant

Real and direct modes of learning  
I acknowledge and embrace all of the amazing digital technologies that allow me to be present with a master teacher in Hawaii or Skype with a friend in New Zealand. 

I love the vast and growing libraries of interviews and recordings that  humanity is sharing so freely and easily at this time when relearning is vital. Yet right now, for me, nothing beats showing up in a small, curious group and being shown how. 

Shifting to an expanded consciousness:  
As we become alive and sensitive to ourselves we begin to experience the natural world as sacred, alive, intelligent, aware and caring. Higher states known by enlightened masters and advanced spiritual seekers are available to us all. Feeling deep presence, divine healing energies and moments of sacred bliss are our birthright, our soulright.

Moving into heart-based sacred relationship The Earth is our mother who loves us and wants to care for us. Plants can support us in our cleansing, nourishing, healing and beautifying. As we synergise and align with their subtle signatures we receive nurture and increase vitality. It is for us to choose to recognise and accept the great love and abundance being offered. And we can choose to reciprocate with sensitivity, empathy and intuition; gratitude, respect and honouring.

Affirmations and intentions:

I reclaim my relationship with the natural world

I treat myself kindly and holistically with natural remedies

I open myself to receive the wisdom, love and nurture of Mother Earth

I acknowledge the sacredness and beauty of all living beings

Links/resources:

Additional photos from the Glastonbury Abbey Herb Walk on facebook

Further opportunities to learn from Jenny in Glastonbury early autumn 2011 www.jennygaze.com

International teacher Eliot Cowan is a personal plant hero, I recommend his book Plant Spirit Medicine

I am inspired by the programs on offer at the Gaian Institute, New Mexico www.gaianstudies.org

Joanna Harcourt-Smith interviews leading luminaries from the fields of indigenous wisdom, ancestral pathways, Gaia consciousness and related topics www.futureprimitive.org

Bountiful blessings of high vibrational plant love and healing

Jennifer

The Kitty Commandments: Teachings from the furry, purry one

Cute and feisty at seven weeks

My delightful cat companion Kitty turns two today.  Born in a barn on a local farm, I have looked after her since she was a tiny kitten, so small she could fit in a pocket! 

I have come to recognize her as a noble teacher who has much to show me. 

Here are the top ten Kitty commandments:

1 Trust your instincts and stay sharp. Avoid cars, busy streets, loud noises and angry people.

2 Be discriminating in what you eat and insist on freshly prepared food. Do not compromise!

3 Spend as much time as possible outside, preferably in wild, natural environments. Sleep outside in summer.

4 Always maintain a high level of personal grooming.

Keep exploring, whatever the weather

5 Sleep is a priority: choose a warm, comfortable and quiet spot.

6 Be playful! Climb trees, roll in the grass, commune with butterflies and bees.  

7 Green grass is medicine.

8 Stretch the body and especially the spine.

9 You are a sensual being. Receive physical affection and show your pleasure.

10 Be open and loving whilst maintaining a strong sense of self. Be vocal in expressing yourself!

Praise and blessings to all cats of the world!

Jennifer

                                                                                                                                                                                  

Summer sprouting, foraging and juicing tips

Vigorous young dandelions, Chalice Hill

Summer is a great time for juicing. Ayurveda instructs us that summer is the season of pitta, fire.  Thus to maintain health through natural balance we need to cool ourselves. Juices are ideal in this regard and can be taken in lieu of meals.

Nature provides: in tropical climates, coconuts grow abundantly and provide excellent nutrition as well as a sweet and delicious drink.

Here in the UK, with a decidedly cooler climate we can make the best of what is offered to us. There are some marvellous water rich lettuces growing well, romaine or cos has the highest nutrient density and juices nicely as part of a light and refreshing green lemonade. I picked up some squat, knobbly cucumbers grown at a local farm, a welcome change from their sleek, smooth skinned cousins.

If you can make peace with the food miles and include European produce, then melons are a good buy at the moment and juice well on their own. The holy grail of melons for me is the dark skinned, red fleshed watermelon; if organic I will juice the rind, where 90% of nutrients are to be found. And then munch down on the slippery dark seeds, nothing gets wasted! The resultant juice is a murky brown; don't be put off; it tastes wonderful!

Fresh new nettle growth, Wick Hollow

The recent contrasting weather of heavy rain and blasting sunshine has reinvigorated the hedgerows of Glastonbury. I have renewed my foraging for wild greens, which adds robustness to summer juices.  My favourite leaves right now are dandelion and nettle. I am looking for new growth as this is where the vitality and vigour of the plant is to be found.

Dandelion leaves should be young: bright green, erect and bursting with life. Older leaves are darker, tired looking and with the classic toothed appearance. Leave behind any nettles that have flowered, their life force is now in the reproductive parts of the plant. Live and let live, let the plant complete its cycle. Look instead for fresh new growth, low to the ground. I pick off the tips, the first few centimeters only.

Sun scorched wheatgrass in recovery!

At home, I have had to modify my sprouting methods. I am finding that everything I plant wants to bolt towards the light. The perspex covered annex which perfectly supports my mini plant kingdom during spring and autumn in summer is conducive to yellowed wheat grass tips and leggy baby sunflower greens.

I  moved operations to a cooler, darker spot and mist more frequently, this seems to do the trick.

Recipe for green summer lemonade:

Whole cucumber, skin on 

Head of romaine lettuce

Melon of choice

Handful of fresh mint

Juice all ingredients, adjusting quantities to taste.  Drink as soon as possible after juicing, ideally immediately. Share with friends and bless Mother Earth for her gifts!