My Teacher Bobby Lake-Thom (A.K.A Medicine Grizzly Bear) died this year. He was one of the last great Medicine Men in North America. He loved the old stories and published a collection of them. It feels appropriate to share one of his favorites: The Origin of Human...
Many indigenous cultures hold that the Earth is sentient and intelligent… Now cutting-edge science is coming to the same conclusion. For example, when pine trees get over-heated, they release aerosols that create clouds to deflect solar radiation. Tobacco plants...
How can conscious engagement with plants, with which we’ve co-evolved since the dawn of our species, support healing in the physical, emotional and spiritual realms and help mend our separation from nature? Three brilliant herbalists/botanists, long on the...
When I first started eating acorns, I felt like a sheepish imposter. I intended to bond with my adopted California homeland, but the last thing I wanted to do was disrespect or appropriate Indigenous cultures. As a Jew from New York, I know I will never be indigenous...
Jolie Elan, founding Director of the Go Wild Institute, has spent years drawing from her rich background in ecology and ethnobotany to transform people’s connections to the Earth. The Go Wild Institute weaves modern science with ancient wisdom in the programs it...
If your newsfeed is anything like mine, it might seem like the world has gone mad with greed, violence, and conspiracy. However, not all conspiracies plot with hostile governments. Conspire also means breathing together (con – with; spirare – breath)....
If I gave you a really big gift and you did not say thank you, I would probably be less generous next year. We all love to be seen and honored for our unique gifts to the world. When we feel unseen, we often get sick and sad. Maybe our more-than-human relatives feel...
SIT SPOT RITUAL Many people want to deepen their felt sense of connection to nature. One of my favorite exercises is the Sit Spot Ritual. This exercise was made popular by John Young. I have adapted it here: The most potent way to develop a strong and intimate...
An interview with Jolie Elan and Jesse Wolf Hardin in Plant Healer Magazine. In this interview we discuss a sense of place and why it is imperative for herbalists to foster a deep connection to the earth and her medicines. In these times of great change, how does the...
I live at the meeting place of three mountain ranges in Southern Oregon. My home town nestles in millions of forested acres that are watered by clear flowing, salmon-bearing streams fed by icy snow melt. It’s paradise, until fire season strikes. Then it feels more...
