Ancestral Apothecary » Healing

UNM Curanderismo Conference and August Classes

atava — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 20:29:25 +0000

Image from Codex Badiano, 1592 Aztec herbal manuscript

Greetings!

As we greet the month of August (and the month of my birthday), I am feeling very blessed and grateful. I recently returned from my annual trip to a ceremony in New Mexico. Afterward, I attended a few days of the University of New Mexico’s incredible two week class entitled Traditional Medicine without Borders, Curanderismo in the Southwest and Mexico.

I arrived in time to receive teachings and healings from a group curanderos from Mexico. My heart is still full from this experience. It was a gift to be in the presence of such high caliber healers with strong roots in the ancient healing wisdom of Meso America.

Curanderismo has so much to offer modern people of all cultures and walks of life. One of the most important aspects of curanderismo is the attention it gives to the tonal, or human spirit. So many people today are suffering from soul sickness or soul loss. This can manifest in many ways- as depression, anxiety, insomia, apathy, addiction, violence, emotional numbness as well as many forms of physical and mental illness.

One of the most effective treatments for the spirit is a traditional cleansing ceremony called the limpia. In the limpia ceremony, the curandero prays over the clients as she or he works with the elements of nature- fresh aromatic herbs, flowers, candles, incense, water, along with songs, drums, & rattles- to cleanse the person of unwanted or imbalanced energies or emotions.

With an expert curandera, a limpia ceremony can be very long and intense. However, most people can learn how to perform a simple limpia on themselves and their loved ones. It is a great skill to have in these times when most people are in deep need of spiritual cleansing.

In honor of this great tradition, I’ll be teaching the basic elements of the limpia in both of my upcoming classes, The Healer’s Toolkit and Herbs as Spiritual Allies.

The Healer’s Toolkit begins Tuesday August 3rd and will be held for five Tuesday evenings in August. In this class we will cultivate skills and knowledge to treat basic health concerns with acupressure and herbal medicine.

Herbs as Spiritual Allies will focus on connecting with the spiritual energies of plants and working with them to balance and heal ourselves. This class will be held mostly outdoors so we can open to the healing power of the plants, the earth and the elements.

Finally, I’m happy to announce that this month that Floracopeia is launching a brand-new website called Medicine Crow. Medicine Crow is dedicated to all aspects of the plant-based, grass roots health care revolution. It is exciting to be a part of a global community of healers, herbalists, gardeners, & environmentalists dedicated to preserving and continuing the wisdom of medicinal plants. Watch the inspiring video by founder David Crow and join us!

Have a blessed month,

Atava

Healer Heal Thyself, Part 2

atava — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 18:53:59 +0000

During the end of the December I had a very challenging time due to a health crisis with my father. I spent a lot of time in the hospital visiting my dad, who was in a critical state for over two weeks during the end of December.

As a healer, I am always learning from my personal experience and this time was no different. I have been reflecting on the things that helped support me and my family during this extremely difficult time. First and foremost were the countless prayers from friends and family. Many people of all religious and spiritual persuasions were praying for us and we could all feel the comfort, strength and support that came from these prayers. Thank you to everyone for your prayers, they most definitely did make a positive difference.

Polish Madonna, Our Lady of Czestochowa

Herbs and flower essences also held me through this stressful time. A bottle of Rescue Remedy was always on hand and I used it liberally on myself and my dad. I made a flower essence mister with Rescue Remedy and an essential oil of Jatamansi from Floracopeia that I used to spray in and about the hospital room. I also used a flower essence formula for extra psychic protection created by Dori Midnight, called Boundaries in a Bottle. Flower essence misters are a great way to bring the healing power of nature into sterile and clinical environments like hospitals and the work place.

My trusted herbal allies helped keep me healthy, rested and calm. Each day I took several doses of elderberry cordial and echinacea root tincture to keep my immune system strong. Herbal nervous system tonics like scullcap, california poppy and passionflower helped me to sleep and also helped to restore my overworked and shaky nerves. Medicinal Mushrooms and herbal adaptogens gave me strength, endurance, and the ability to adapt to a very stressful situation in the best way possible. I particularly loved taking the Ayurvedic herb ashwaghanda in warm milk (with a sprinkle of nutmeg) each night to nourish my body and to also insure a good night’s sleep.

I also received several acupressure and Jin Shin Jyutsu® sessions from my beloved colleagues (Thanks Toni and Claudia!) that helped to return my mind/body/spirit to a place of balance. I would arrive at Toni’s office exhausted, overwhelmed and tense and leave calm, relaxed and energized. I realized, once again, how valuable it is to have hands-on healing work to help support the body during a stressful or traumatic time.

Basically, during the month of December I was the recipient of all of the healing systems that I practice. For the past 18 years I have supported many people through crisis using similar tools: herbs, flower essences, bodywork, and spiritual support. In this New Year, I have renewed faith in the power of these ancient systems of healing because they really work! I give thanks to the healers of all eras and all cultures who have dedicated their lives to keeping these sacred and precious arts alive.

Many Blessings,
Atava

How Dreams Can Heal

atava — Fri, 22 May 2009 20:38:56 +0000

How Dreams Can Heal

“It’s time to live your dreams.”
Mr. Hale Makua, Hawiian elder

I have been listening to my dreams my entire life. In fact, one of my earliest childhood memories is of a scary dream of a big black raven. Later, when I was around 9 years old I had another nightmare that at my tender age sent me to the library researching books on dream interpretation.

As I grew up, I continued to jot down my dreams in journals. I never knew quite what to do with them, I only knew that they felt important and worth keeping.

In graduate school as a student of Dr. Apela Colorado, I was introduced to an entire new universe of dreaming. I learned that dreams are of central importance in many traditional indigenous cultures. I began to track my dreams according to the signs of the sun, moon and planets. I realized that my dreams were full of messages from the ancestors. We students in the Indigenous Mind program began to rediscovered the power of our collective dreaming. Sometimes our dreams would have similar themes or images; sometimes we would dream for each other; sometimes our dreams would fit together like pieces of an intricate puzzle.

“All dreams come in the service of health and wholeness.”
Reverend Jeremy Taylor

One of our assigned books to read was Healing Dreams by Marc Ian Barasch. I was fascinated to read the story of the author, who was able to diagnose his own cancer by listening carefully to his dreams. As someone who had studied and practiced healing arts for 20 years, I became intrigued by this process of dream diagnosis. What if our dreams do in fact, hold the key to our healing? I have had many clients with illnesses hard to diagnose and even more difficult to treat. I began to encourage them to look towards their own dreams, not just for information on their illness, but also to find the prescription for cure.

At the 2007 IASD’s Psiberdreaming Conference, I participated in a workshop entitled “Mind-Body Healing through Dreamwork” led by Ed Kellog, Ph.D. I was very inspired by his work. Later, in a live lucid dream chat, I learned from Ed about his “lucid dream challenges”. In these, the dreamer becomes lucid (awakens in the dream) and challenges himself to some task he or she has chosen before falling asleep. As a die-hard Harry Potter fan, I was intrigued by Kellogg’s “Harry Potter” lucid dream challenge. In this challenge, the lucid dreamer would visit Hogwarts and practice various Hogwarts spells. I was thrilled at the opportunity. Who hasn’t had the fantasy of being able to make magic?

Around this same time, I was dealing with a chronic painful condition in my right shoulder. I decided to incubate a dream in which I practiced a Hogwarts spell which would also send some healing energy to my shoulder. The spell I chose was “Lumos!” which calls forth light. The directions I gave myself before going to sleep were: 1) become lucid, 2) practice the “Lumos!” spell, and 3) once the light appeared, direct the light to help heal my shoulder.

As I drifted off to sleep, in my mind’s eye I practiced waving my magic wand. The next morning I woke up around 5:30 am and without my lucid dream. “Oh well. I’ll try again another night,” I thought, too sleepy to really be that disappointed. I drifted back to sleep. Soon I was dreaming again and found myself in an underground cavern. Suddenly I realized. “Wow! I’m dreaming! Time to practice my magic spell.” I began to enthusiastically wave my hand, which was holding a magic wand. “Lumos!” I cried as a bright light burst from the tip of my wand. My wand blazed with a neon green light, much like a Star Wars light saber. “Cool!” I exclaimed and began swirling my light saber, watching the beams bounce off the walls of the cave. In the midst of the fun, I remembered that I still had more work to do- heal my shoulder. As used my mind to direct the light to my shoulder, it changed both color and shape into a bright lazer-red eye, shaped like the eye of Horus. This eye is an ancient Egyptian symbol of protection and power.

I awoke amazed. The chronic pain in my shoulder seemed to have decreased. In the months to come, I continued to reflect on the red eye of Horus to guide my healing process. My shoulder went through many more phases (including completely frozen!) but my dreams continued to be my allies that guided my process.