From the http://www.traditionsinwesternherbalism.org/ site |
I'm back from my intense experience at the Medicine of the People conference (formerly the Traditions in Western Herbalism). It will probably take me weeks, if not months, to go through all the notes and process them. The amount of information available at this conference is staggering. Thankfully the class notes are available for download for a while and I don't have to rely on my chicken scratch!
Some of the buildings at the lodge |
The classes weren't just about using herbs or plants. They were about life. Classes as diverse as "Coping with death and caring for a dying loved one", "How to sit with a patient", "Making a financial living as an herbalist", "Ecology and activism in women's health", "Creating a dynamic practice", "Starting a community supported herbal clinic", "Clinical skills", "Endocrine systems", "Teaching the teacher", "Disaster preparedness", "Chronic pain" and "Creating social and political change for herbalists".
The information the presenters shared was sometimes so personal and came from such a deep place, that their words had to wait in the throat behind the lump that only comes when sharing the deepest, most personal experience of pain. But most of the time was filled with laughter and smiles shared between friends and strangers who all shared the common love of nature and the health of her residents.