Trillium Center/Herbal Resilience in Uncertain Times

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Herbal Resilience in Uncertain Times

My personal stories from working in free clinics during environmental and political disasters and how I translated my experiences into post-traumatic growth and resilience using herbalism.

Contents

Lessons Learned

That's me in the back of the truck with my team (tan hat, white shirt) in a village outside St. Marc, Haiti, where we set up a day clinic one month after the earthquake.

As an herbalist, first responder, street medic, and public health educator, I put myself in many chaotic situations. Some of these situations were environmental disasters, such as the earthquake in Haiti  and assessing cancer rates due to coal waste in West Virginia. Some of these situations were political disasters such as the giant gatherings to support Water Protectors at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation and many large protests across North America. 

Herbal Safety
    Responsible Herbalism.pdf
    • 15.2 MB
    How I Learned

      Air

      In the system I use for herbalism, the element of Air is dry. Air rises with the heat of Fire, sinks into the Earth as it cools, and bubbles up when under Water.
      The Faucet and the Ring of Fire
        Clear the Air
          Take a Deep Breath

            Fire

            Fire draws up Air to consume fuel from the Earth, warming Water until it also rises up in steam and if left too long will boil it away to nothing. 
            Stoking the Fire
              Burning the Candle at Both Ends
                Rekindling the Spark

                  Water

                  Cooling water often sinks in a clockwise spiral in the earth of North America, as steam up in all directions with Fire. Water rages in storms whipped up by Air and the wildness of Spirit.
                  The Inner Ocean
                    Treading Water
                      Getting Your Feet Wet

                        Earth

                        Earth is solid, holding our feet down.
                        Strengthening the Foundation
                          The Feather and the Anchor
                            The Walls that Surround Us

                              Ether

                              Ether is a mysterious element only understood as the thing, the spirit, the wind that moves through all things.
                              Listen
                                The Prickly Hat
                                  The Spiral

                                    Closing Words

                                    A few last words.
                                    Further Offerings
                                      Resources