What is Bioregional Herbalism?
An attempt to restore wholeness in thought and body
This term has stuck with me for over a decade - bioregional herbalism. I recognize that it does sound a bit dry. Marketing has never been my forte.
But the concept is enriched by a broad understanding of the term “landscape”. It encompasses the totality of what is known as a bioregion - a place which is characterized by particular forms of life.
Or as the American Heritage Dictionary states:
An area bounded by natural rather than artificial borders that has characteristic flora and fauna and includes one or more ecosystems.
This is sufficient to describe a bioregion as a natural domain, the size of which is another matter, and not particularly important for defining our term of bioregional herbalism.
Bioregional simply has a better ring to it than ‘ecosystematic’ or ‘ecological’, or for that matter ‘geographical’. All in all, it defines our relationship to place through the life forms present and their collective responsiveness to the change of seasons. In other words, there is a degree of cohesiveness within what one sees as a bioregion and to see and understand this serves to deepens one’s awareness not only of the life forms around oneself, but it is also reflective of one’s own place within it - here we begin to conceive of ‘wholeness’.
Introducing the term ‘herbalism’ we narrow down our scope towards the usage of plants (and, arguably, all elements of Nature) towards the making whole of one’s being, or to heal oneself or another. But for me it’s more than that.
I use the term herbalism as my focus has largely been on plants for almost 2 decades now. But through the process of learning to deeply observe the plants, and myself, within their native ecosystem, or bioregion, I find that I cannot completely extricate any individual plants, let alone an entire species, from the whole of the place in which they grow.
What I have learned is that the life of plants, particularly naturally occurring plants, is intimately related to the flow of life - let’s say the Vital force - that moves throughout the landscape.
Not only does this vital force instruct the life of plants (just as it does our own) but it provides for a means of intimate relationship between ourselves and the wild plants; and not only that, but to the entirety of the place itself, the landscape, the ecosystem, the bioregion as a whole.
I have written previously on Becoming a Bioregional Herbalist in a 3-part series on my blog, and I continue to name my field study classes ‘Becoming a Bioregional Herbalist’. I do so because I feel that it is an unfolding process as one releases their individual barriers to perceiving what is directly in front of, or within themselves. thus coming forth to see what is - an integrated, reciprocal relationship with the life forms around oneself. This is perhaps the most fundamental principle of interaction to this concept of Bioregional Herbalism:
To become fully present to that which is right before you
I recall one of the first moments that I recognized this process occurring within myself as a transfer of knowledge from the landscape to myself was transpiring. I had to only stop for a moment, standing motionless, breathing, observing across the landscape, taking it in. Something had tapped me on the shoulder to take advantage of this opportunity, sort of like taking a moment to view a rainbow. Yet there was nothing particularly spectacular, visible before me. The landscape was whispering to me softly to take notice of something subtle yet powerful she wished for me to see and to learn. I took note of the message being conveyed by the sensual stimuli set before me and allowed it to penetrate my being.
Without exception, the lessons learned from my experiences of seeking to relate to the landscape through the feeling sense have indicated an attempt from the natural world (via the vital force?) to enable me, the viewer, to become whole. This has been experienced as tumult and challenge, as well as invitations to relax into the embrace the natural world has offered me. It, too, offers opportunities to take a more authentic look at myself, my thoughts, my actions so that I may enter into greater accountability, thus taking steps to become more whole. I have witnessed this in countless others as well.
This way of relating to the natural world via the feeling sense is unconventional, if not anathema to the reigning status quo in our society. It allows for a release of the grasp of the intellectual mind to conceive, control, and convey concepts that have submitted to this grasp.
To enter into the realm of the feeling sense is an act of embracing our inner knowing, a state of being that is not alone, nor is it necessarily fortified by any a priori knowledge. It is simply to be, and to be within a fluid state of relationship with the life around oneself.
For to become a bioregional herbalist, it is required to engage with the life around oneself, initially, the plants, but ultimately, the entire landscape - as the plants are intrinsically part of this landscape, as are we.
Some may be more inclined to submit to this process via the intellect, but that is only one small step, and one tiny aspect of this relationship. It is, arguably, a rather limited means of engaging with and deriving information from the landscape as it is often based upon what one (or the collective) already knows and simply seeks to affirm what one already knows. Most suitably, the intellect may serve to follow the creative mind, or that which is inspired by Nature, in order to organize one’s thoughts and bring forth logical, reasonable hypotheses stemming from this creative impulse; serving as a sort of discipline to the teeming flow of creative inspirations (the muse) coming forth from Nature.
Regardless, it is the heart mind, or as referred to above, the creative mind, that may most readily tap into the landscape of life before us. This integrated web of life, of creation and destruction, across the landscape, for bioregional herbalists, is our classroom, our therapeutic retreat, our opportunity to embrace our unique path beneath the rays of the sun, bringing into fruition the seeds of life and inspiration left to us by our ancestors - our Tír Raon (more on this in a later post).
Can I put it more simply?
Bioregional herbalism is the practice of developing active relationship with the plants and the entirety of the landscape around oneself to deepen one’s awareness of the plants and their natural cycles, while tapping into the tremendous resources, utilitarian, psychological, and spiritual that exist within the plants and landscape around us.
Through the consistent practice of engagement with our local landscape, one develops an awareness of the seasons. Through an awareness of the seasons, one begins to realize a depth of expression from the great variety of elements which comprise the landscape as a whole.
As one may be in tune to one’s own feeling sense, or begins to develop an awareness of this faculty, one may become aware of the multitude of stimuli and life present within the landscape, and to the extent that these life forms seek to gain our attention and awareness as we embark upon our path, exploring the landscape.
Here is where we get into the heart of what it means to become a bioregional herbalist - it’s about relationship.
Authentic, experiential relationship to the whole is the goal of the bioregional herbalist. This is where I see crossover with nearly everyone’s desire for a life well-lived. To feel alive, as I perceive it, is to be conscious witness to our own authentic self-expression, while feeling connected to, and perhaps resonating with, the self-expression of those lifeforms around us - whether they be human, plant, animal, etc.
To enter into this fluid relationship with the natural world permits one to tap into the heart of one’s own existence in relation to the lifeforms with which we share this existence - this is the landscape.
Here we have another primary concept of bioregional herbalism:
Person, Plant, Place
This sacred triumvirate sets us upon a most solid foundation for not only relating to the world around us, but being present within our own self-awareness in relation to the totality of life around us.
Within the Ayurvedic cosmology, a foundational concept is that all of life, throughout the universe, is comprised of 3 basic substrates: Wind, Bile, & Phlegm.
I am of the opinion that the Galenic humours (black bile, yellow bile, blood, phlegm) derive from these 3 building blocks of life. Evidently, they clearly overlap.
To recognize this simple concept, as a bioregional herbalist, is a means by which we can conceptualize the world around us through the feeling sense and allow ourselves to become empowered through our very own perceptual faculties. This absolves us of depending upon, or adhering to, the tools of technological sophistication to allow us to more deeply perceive the world around us.
To round out this introductory look at Bioregional Herbalism, let’s recap what’s most important to this concept:
Becoming fully present to that which is right before us, and within us
Engaging in reciprocal relationship with the landscape
Recognizing that the basic building blocks of life are present within ourselves as well as the landscape
The interrelationship of these building blocks throughout the natural landscape, and ourselves, is inherently fluid
Thus, from these basic concepts and principles, we seek to engage authentically with the plants and ourselves, within the landscape, in order to restore wholeness and retrieve vitality once compromised.
In future posts, I’ll be taking a closer look at the basic concept of Person, Plant, & Place, as well as Tir raon, and the various ways which we seek to engage with our landscape to honor this reciprocal relationship.