How do Herbs Heal?
Biochemical processes or energetic wave forms: What are herbs really doing inside the body? A Vitalist's take.
One of the first things I remember “learning” about herbalism is that our ancient ancestors developed this body of knowledge by “trial and error”.
Now although that may be true to some extent, this remark remained dubious to me for some time. In fact, more and more over time.
For example, they picked a leaf, ate it, and observed what happened to them, or they happened to eat that leaf when they had stomach pains, and thus discovered that the leaf can alleviate stomach ailments.
Undoubtedly, I have ‘discovered’ things about herbs by just this route, through happenstance. But it was the impression left with me upon reading this that caused my doubt and suspicion to arise.
I feel there is more. That wasn’t the only way it happened.
From the start of my journey (by way of all that brought me to this path), I felt there was much more to this body of knowledge than a chain of ignorant, neanderthal knuckle-draggers stumbling and mumbling their way toward some perceived knowledge.
There seemed to be a clear knowing, and a benevolent relationship of some sort that fostered the knowledge. A coherent system, perhaps, laid out with all things considered, not too specific and not overstated in its claims and principles. A knowing that reflects the fluidity of the natural world, of the cosmos, one of reciprocity available to any experienced human willing to apply it at any point in time.
In fact, long before I read about it, explicity, or heard someone speak about it, I experienced a way of knowing within the forest that showed me there was much more to knowledge gathering than didactic instructions or the scientific method.
What I couldn’t articulate then, but somehow understood, was that the knowledge was fostered through relationship. As humans we played a pivotal role but the knowledge often came to us from elsewhere.
Ancient Plant Knowledge
The Sumerians created stone cuneiform scrolls and tablets depicting their use of herbs, and the Egyptians left us the Ebers Papyrus, for example. Just like these highly advanced cultures seemingly popped out of nowhere to come into existence, did our herbal knowledge appear just the same?
We commonly view their knowledge as archaic and immature, lacking adequate scientific knowledge and highly superstitious.
But how did they come to acquire all this knowledge “at the dawn of civilization”?
This is, perhaps, yet another question to ponder separately, but as we consider their comprehension of how herbs heal - via their affects on consciousness, or the mental and emotional body - we can begin to contemplate how their knowledge may have evolved.
Presiding Paradigm
As I gained in experience through working with plants, I also gained in accumulating a knowledge base of our modern paradigm of anatomy and physiology, biochemical processes and pathophysiology.
It was in the latter where I continually felt I was “behind the curve” or inadequate in my learning or mastery of the material. For this reason, I would default to doubt of myself rather than doubting, or questioning, the validity or relevance of any aspect of the pervading system. This continued for many years, but over time, through positive influence I have learned to effectively weight my experience with the relative validity of the claims of the biochemical model (upon which the modern medical paradigm is founded).
Just as the FDA requires sufficient relevant proof (or so they say) for claims made, I too have come to require that should I begin to buy into an idea, a theory, or a philosophy.
If it is truly scientific, ideas/theories/principles (that are designed to be widely applied) should be built upon what can be seen and demonstrated. To accept anything by faith alone relinquishes it from the realm of scientific… until it can be demonstrated, predictably and repeatedly.
To apply this to the foundational thoughts behind the biochemical model, physiology and pathophysiology renders a great deal of suspect claims that upon further inspection appear more to be ardent beliefs than actual facts of reality.
Experiential Knowledge
My experience with plants in the field, by myself and with others, has so consistently transcended the domain of material science moving into what one may call a spiritual experience, that I have come to a point not only of faith or belief in what could happen, but I carry a great deal of knowledge from what I have experienced and witnessed in myself and others in what I have seen happen.
I have witnessed in myself and others a consistent pattern of healing emanating from these experiences as well as evidence of healing taken root and having changed a person’s core behaviors, outlooks, and/or experience of their physicality.
From these experiences, I base my concepts on how herbs may heal.
How?
I have come to recognize this is one of the hardest questions to answer (along with, and perhaps right behind ‘Why?’). The more specific you look to make the answer, the harder it becomes. I believe any honest diagnostician would agree with this.
All in all, experience has shown me that the How can be more clear at certain times than others. The How may appear to be crystal clear from a certain perspective, but then, once new information emerges or a different perspective is taken, then a shade of doubt may creep in.
If an herb can relieve pain in one person but not in another, what does this mean?
Our modern biochemical concepts of pain relief may be too narrow to conceive of an alternate How, thus, an herb may be considered “ineffective” or “inconsistent in action”.
Traditional systems may begin to show a glimpse of the Why, leading to the How.
With a baseline understanding of what the world is made of (in a general macro sense), how these substances (elements) move and interact (what their nature is) with each other, and how all things are made of these substances and will interact in different ways at multiple levels of interaction, we can begin to formulate theories from observations.
We can then test these theories by applying them across a variety of phenomena to see if any consistent patterns emerge. Quite often the patterns overlap, but not entirely. This is all about context. By taking into consideration as much as we can of the context of the situation, we can tease out what appears to be most relevant about a given case or scenario - although it may often be hidden beneath several layers of misdirection.
For example, if I apply Estafiate (Artemisia ludoviciana) as a tea or tincture to help relieve insomnia, I may do so within the context of someone who is an active individual, is profoundly agitated with anger and/or impatience, perhaps some digestive discomfort, showing signs of liver stagnation, obstruction, or tension, some ligament and/or tendon pain and tension, and perhaps struggling to come to a decision over something. And this may all be during the spring season.
Whereas, another individual struggling with insomnia who also has high blood pressure, exhibits a ruddy complexion (or pale), has fullness in the pulse, but also racing, worried, anxious thoughts (perhaps about a past unresolved traumatic experience) that go round and round keeping them from falling asleep, I may apply a combo of Passionflower (Passiflora species) and Milky Oats (Avena sativa) tinctures.
This approach may come across as too abstract for some, or insufficient in its comprehension of “the facts”. However, I’ve found that the presumed “facts” are often made less relevant by the unique set of circumstances within an individual’s life (see the Sumerian approach above - or just about any traditional system of healing - addressing the mental/emotional picture).
I realize I may not have yet addressed How herbs heal other than to point out there are unique scenarios creating a particular context that certain herbs may be well matched for restoring harmony, of a sort.
First, I’ll state that it has been my experience that plants are sentient and there are open channels of communication between plants and humans, both of a conventional type (we hear a voice) and unconventional type (through feelings, thoughts, images elicited within ourselves, or other indirect methods).
Allow me to address something I call the Nature of the plant. This Nature is all-encompassing for what the plant is. That is to say that all that a plant may or may not express is contained within its Nature. Although its Nature may be vast in potential, it is not infinite but definite.
For example, a mint plant will not suddenly - or at any time - grow up into a pine tree or redwood. That’s just not in its Nature. There are gross examples and subtle examples as well.
I have found that the expression of a plant’s Nature - in some way, shape or form - is most often dependent on the individual receiving the plant’s Nature and the place in which it occurs - a tripartite relationship.
How does one learn about a plant’s Nature? - through experience, through engagement, but ultimately, via discernment.
This is what I have sought to develop within myself and cultivate for my students, primarily, in the field with the plants in the natural habitat.
- the faculty of discernment
So, the plant’s Nature, and how it matches with the context of our makeup/constitution/current state, is How the plant heals us.
(photo)
To address the initial question as to whether we’re dealing with biochemical interactions or wave form energetics the answer is most likely, “yes”.
Existence, it could be said, is relative to consciousness. Our consciousness changes our perceptions which can change our view of reality - ie. change the reality we’re perceiving.
Is our consciousness that powerful? Yes, I believe so.
Is an herb’s ability to heal latent within its Nature and how it affects our individual consciousness? Yes, ultimately, I believe so.
Is this a direct, linear, cause-effect relationship, or is it more complex, multi-layered, and co-dependent on multiple factors if not converging scenarios (ie. external and internal narratives)? Yes, I believe so.
Limited vs Unlimited
Whether we’re talking about energy, food, happiness, consciousness, or our ability to heal, one can take a perspective of definite limitations, or restrictions (of which there are numerous; if not unlimited) or unlimited potential (the ceiling’s off) with the potential for ever-widening expansion.
We can view this dichotomy within the presentation of molecules vs. wave forms. Molecules are definitive in form. Although they may shift and change over time, they are described and perceived as having the limitations of size and shape.
A wave form is expansive, either ascending or descending, in motion, and nondefinite. We normally look at wave forms on a graph as two dimensional, perhaps representing sound or light, but what about in three dimensions? How does that change things?
And do waveforms exist in a single plane? Or do they exist on multiple planes, crossing each other at different frequencies, and of varying amplitude?
This is the what I see represented, in large part, by the triskele (photo above). This symbol represents this reality in which we are enmeshed, this flow of energetic wave forms which are acting upon each other to varying degrees, producing the physical reality, via thought, before our eyes.
This paradigm of thought may be best perceived and absorbed by a walk in the woods, through the desert, or along the seashore.
Open and relax your mind, feel into your heart and allow yourself to perceive what’s right before you, observing how your internal world relates to it.
The experience of herbs performing healing may be best observed and/or understood either at the depths of despair in physical pain, or entirely free from it, mind expanded, feeling connected to all the world around you, allowing for information to move through you, but, ultimately, in relationship.