A Face In The Trees: The Making of a Healer (Part 3)

It goes without saying that I wasn’t a very trusting child by the time I reached Middle School.  I’d been through tortures that destroy people completely, and I’d experienced the bullying and mocking of my peers for something neither they nor I fully understood the source of.  The world around me had shamed the concept of trust, freedom, happiness, and respect from me.

By this time, to most of the world I was a ghost.  I was the quiet kid with few opinions and little to say.  At least, that was how I appeared.  Even – or maybe especially – to my family, I was very much an enigma.  I let them see only what they wished to or were most comfortable seeing. I became a mirror of expectations to most of the world.  There were few people who saw me as I was, and even fewer who accepted nothing less than the real me.

I kept those people, that life, carefully separate from my family and the rest of the world — a move I still regret, to this day.

So what does any of this have to do with being a Healer, or a Shaman?  Everything.  I tell you all of this not for pity or sympathy (I abhore both of those being directed my way).  No, this is to help you understand my reawakening, how significant it is that I overcame this — how the Healer was reborn, and the Shaman made.

There is an old expression, “Physician, heal thyself.”  I firmly believe that at the root of every true Healer is trauma, illness, or injury.  To understand the pain, illness, and fear we fight, we must first overcome it.  Much as the apprentice Shaman of yesteryear undertook a harrowing Spirit Journey — a journey into the both physical and spiritual wild places — the modern Shaman is tested by life.

My test was in overcoming my pain and bitterness at the past.  It wasn’t easy, and  there are still times I retreat behind the wall of silence I crafted as a defense when I was a kid and faced with those unable  to accept anyone of a faith or viewpoint different from their own.  There are still times when ignorance, bigotry, or violence take me beyond the annoyance and determination I can control, and clear into a spiritual vigilante’s rage.  I am, after all, only human.

My open Journey into what I am began ten years ago, with the realisation that the empty hollow inside of me was proof of a lesson I had yet to learn.  A lesson I could not learn where I was.

Celebrating Civil Rights

Today’s the day we celebrate the life of one of the most active and outspoken advocates of equal rights and freedom in the last century, here in the US.  Martin Luther King, Jr. was a man who believed in equality and freedom with so much ardor that he marched at the front of the line, arm-in-arm with some of his equally-dedicated compatriots, in some of the most troubled areas of the American South during the turbulent era of segregation, daring to face the consequences of flying in the face of the establishment of the day for what he believed in.

I’d like to think that people will take at least a moment, today, to thank Dr. King for his contributions to society – for being willing to stand up and be heard.  Dr. King, among many of the activists and speakers of the Civil Rights movement of the late 19^th and early to mid-20^th Century are among my most cherished role models.  These were people who saw a wrong in need of righting, and set about correcting it.  Many paid in much the same way Dr. King did – with their lives.

I’d like to think that people today don’t take the freedoms and rights we do have so for granted that they fail to thank those who’ve fought and died in the history of this country, in an effort to preserve what we have.

I’d like to think that as a society, we haven’t become so jaded that we see days like today as just an excuse to have a day off (the Civil Rights movement’s contributions are so under-recognized that some people — even ones who don’t work in essential career areas – still don’t receive today off). I’d like to think that people take some time, on days like this, to say “thank you” to those who’ve paid for the freedom we enjoy.  A moment of silence, a special acknowledgement of those who struggled so we don’t have to.

So, as you go about your day, today, take a moment to acknowledge how much the freedom you have means to you, and the people who are to thank for it.

Thank you, Martin Luther King, Jr.!

A Shaman’s View: At Grandfather Wolf’s Fire

I sit at Grandfather Wolf’s fire, surrounded by the forest.  He tells me stories of Creation – of Earth below and Sky above, of Father Sun and Mother Moon, of First Man and First Woman, and how the animals came together to provide for and protect them.  He speaks of Grandmothers Willow and Pine, Grandfather Mountain, and the Great Mystery of the stars.

I listen, captivated, as he speaks of the Seventh Generation, of renewal, hope, and awakenings.  He reminds me that prophecy is a means of teaching and learning about how all life is intertwined – prophecy, he says, is not a certainty of things to come.

Grandfather Wolf tells me how all men and women – the Red, the White, the Yellow and the Black – are all brothers and sisters, to each other as well as to the animals.  We all hold powerful Medicine, he says, though none of it is exactly alike, and we should all seek our own way to use that Medicine to heal and honor the Earth and each other.  He tells me that the name Shaman is not given only to one people.  There are Shaman of every people, every animal, and even in the Spirit.

As he grows silent for a while, his golden eyes on the fire and his silver fur gleaming in the light, I ponder what he’s told me, and I know he waits for me to ask.  He knows I have come with a question that burdens my heart, yet I remain reluctant to speak it.

He waits patiently until, with a sigh of defeat, I ask. “What is my part?  Why do I suffer, now?”

His golden eyes meet mine, and I feel the shimmer of his Medicine, his power, before he quietly begins.  He tells me that I, like him, am one of a pack – that our instinct is borne of Spirit.  Lone wolves do not survive long.  A wolf-spirit withers and dies without its pack, and once a pack is chosen, a wolf is loyal to the death.  While I nurture Medicine to help the world, my true Medicine, he says, is in family, community, and Spirit of the place.  Like most wolves, I am a child of the forest, and once I define my territory, being separate from it is like withering my soul.  He tells me this is why I suffer, but that I had to leave to understand, to learn and grow within my own skin.

Then, rising to his feet, he looks to the darkened wood around us, and I know.  It is time to go, to think on what has been revealed to me, and to make the changes necessary – both within my own life, and the world.

New Year, New Changes: What’s in Store at WildFlower Herbals & More

2011 was a great year – thank you all so much for making our break-out year so joyous!

But since I’m all about change, 2012 will see some great new changes!    Currently, I’m working on a complete overhaul of the website.  We’re moving to a different platform, in the hopes of streamlining things a little more and making them more cohesive.  The official launch date of the new site is February 1st, and so far we look to be on schedule for that.

When the new site launches, you’ll see there are not only aesthetic and technical changes, but also changes to the business as a whole.  All of the items and services you currently enjoy will still be there, but you’ll find there are a lot more items, as well, and some great new programs and features.

So, starting February 1, be sure to stop by the new WildFlower Herbals & More site, and check out what we’ve been changing!

Upcoming Changes in WildFlower Herbals & More Policy

From Owner Esther Mitchell:

As much as I would prefer to keep WildFlower Herbals & More operating as a fluid, negotiable-rate business, it’s been made known to me at recent meetings with financial and tax professionals that there are fiscal and regulatory issues that make such a business model not only impractical for sustained business operation and growth (the goal is to, within the next year or two, have a brick-and-mortar location), but also not viable for a number of tax-related reasons.  They gave me two options:

1. Change my business and file it as a Non-Profit.  However, this course comes with a variety of headaches and stress I’ve been trying to avoid in this venture.  There are government oversight regulations and tax accounting issues with Non-Profit that, quite frankly, I’m not set up to meet or keep track of.  Also a Non-Profit model would negate my ever being in a position to devote my focus more directly on WildFlower, free of an exterior source of income.

or

2. Redraft my business plan and remove the fluidity of the negotiated payment method.

I’ve been struggling with this difficult decision for the past couple of months, seeing little way clear to make WildFlower Herbals & More both a financial solvent company, and a service aimed at bettering the lives of everyone who seeks assistance, regardless of ability to pay.  The situation seemed a little bleak, for a bit.

Then, being me, I found a way to create an Option C that my financial advisers agree is potentially doable.  It requires some changes that some people might not be very agreeable with, as they’re used to getting the services for nothing at all, but I’m hoping to make the process as painless as possible.

The following changes will take effect January 1, 2012:

Negotiated fees/prices and “pro-bono” work will, largely, be going away.  All requests for services and/or consultation (including solicited herbal remedy advice) will require standard fees.  This must happen as part of the business plan/model change-over.  Continuing to provide such services without some kind of fee undercuts the effectiveness of the business operation as a whole.

However, as one of my core principles has always been helping others regardless of ability to pay, a new “Hardship Services” program will also be going into effect.  People seeking services and on limited funds can apply for this program, which reduces the cost of items and services which cannot be offered for free, and offers some items and services free-of-charge (within reasonable limits).

Also, you will see the roll-out, during the first part of 2012, of several new loyalty reward programs.  I already have the Custom Creator Club for Enchanted Elegance, but you will see similar programs for other areas of WildFlower’s products and services.  These programs are for those who either do not wish to apply or who fail to qualify for the Hardship Services program.  Those who qualify for Hardship Services will be ineligible for any other programs as long as they remain on Hardship.

These are my ways of continuing to offer some flexibility and fluidity within the payment structure, while still generating enough revenue to meet current business expenses and grow enough capital to eventually expand to the brick-and-mortar market, which offers advantages to everyone, in the long-run.

I hope you’ll join me as WildFlower Herbals & More looks toward the coming year with a great deal of hope, and the chance to continue offering products and services in both our local community, and around the world.

Thank you for your support.

Esther Mitchell

Exciting Changes Coming to WildFlower Herbals & More!

Stay tuned as we head into 2012.  There are some exciting changes coming!  I can’t reveal everything (that would ruin the surprise! …), but I can tell you that one of the big changes involves the website… And we’ve got some exciting new products and services coming your way, as well!

Yes, I’m excited about the new changes coming to WildFlower Herbals & More, and I hope you will be, too! Don’t forget to check back in the new year to see what changes have been made!

As always, I’m open to suggestions and feedback on products, services, and the functionality of the website.  Please e-mail me at esthermitchell@wildflowerherbal.com with any suggestions, comments, raves, or complaints you might have.

Brightest Blessings for the future!

Esther Mitchell, owner

A Shaman’s View: The Cycle of Hate

I read an article in the First Post, out of the UK, this morning, that saddened me to the very soul.  I was horrified.  I wish I could even say I was shocked, but what should be truly shocking is how overlooked such acts of violent hate often are. That yet another man has lost his life to brutal violence, and for senseless reasons, continues to sadden me.

Here’s the link to the full article: http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/86341,people,news,gay-man-burned-to-death-in-scotland-stuart-walker

What is it going to take, World, for humanity to understand that we are all here together, and that the only way we grow is if we accept each other as we are?  I weep when I close my eyes, and the vision of what it might take fills my mind.  Must we suffer from the same mistakes of history, ALL OVER AGAIN, because some among us have failed to learn from those lessons?  I fear that it may be just that terrifying an event that finally opens eyes and hearts, and I weep for that day, for the blessed, beloved humanity that would be lost, should such an event transpire.

I want nothing more than to stand up, in front of every television camera, behind every microphone, in the world, and make one soul-deep plea: Wake up, World!

To the “Christian” preachers who thunder hate from their pulpits: Do you have any idea how much you spit in the face of the very teachings Jesus espoused, when you spew your hateful words out over the congregations?

To the politicians who block freedom and love at every turn:  Do you even stop to think of how your hate-mongering impacts the children of the world?  How many suicides and murders must we bear the burden of, because you cannot see it clear within yourselves to teach love by example – to open your hearts and minds to those who are not like you?

To the parent who spits on a neighbor for being “different”:  Does it even occur to you that you’re damning yourself, with all your hate?  Does it matter to you that you’re condemning your own children, and their children, and their children’s children, to a bitter spiral meant only to carry them into the darkest places of the human soul, and turn all that’s good in their world into intolerance and evil?

To the parent who turns his or her own child away because of a “difference”:  I pity you, most of all, because you don’t even realize the love you’re throwing away.  You have no idea how much your child loves you, or wishes he or she could talk to you.  You have no idea the pain and fear you’ve caused, or how much you will one day live to regret your rash, hate-filled actions.

This world is consumed with differences, rather than seeing what is the same in all of us.  We are all human, and we are all beloved by Creation, whatever name you call that force.  Within us all resides an amazing capacity for love, acceptance, and honor.  Don’t let it take a crisis from which we have no hope of recovery, before you learn to embrace those traits within yourself.   By finding such human dignity and compassion within yourself now, we stave off the darkness that has not yet fully materialized.  In finding love within ourselves, we drive back the oppression of hate and fear, and truly create a better world.

A Shaman’s View: Past Life Rewind

Have you ever had dreams in which you felt like a completely different person, in a completely different era of human history?

If you have, you’re far from alone.  Nearly 35% of people who report vivid dreaming describe similar experiences as some of their most intense – whether those experiences are awe-inspiring, poignant, or downright terrifying.  While some try to lump this under the phenomenon of Lucid Dreaming, I have another name for it – Past Life Rewind.

I have a great deal of personal experience with PLRewind, and let me just apologize here and now if it seems like I talk about myself and my experiences a lot.  It’s the best way I know how to reach out and help those who need guidance or assistance know that they aren’t alone.  It’s the only way I have of connecting on a personal, human level.  I could throw a bunch of statistics and mumbo-jumbo at you, but it wouldn’t help those who are searching or confused nearly as much as knowing that yes, there’s someone out there who’s been where they are, and who can help them.

My personal experience with PLRewind began in early childhood.  Frightening dreams of whirling jungles, military jargon, fire that lit up the sky, and the noise – the deafening noise!  Had that been the worst, however, I might have endured it much easier – but it was the sensation of torture, the burning pain that wrenched me from sleep, awash with sweat and trembling with fear, that often kept me awake and huddled in my bed, afraid of the darkness around me.

Why am I so convinced that these early dreams are a PLRewind?  Because they’ve stuck with me throughout my life, undiminished by time or age.  I still have those nightmares.  Sometimes, I even feel the fear and pain of my prison and torture more strongly than I did as a child – and, sometimes, I’m even struck with that terror, and those memories, when I am wide awake.

There are other dreams, as well, though few are quite as vivid as the ones I’ve briefly described above.  There are other memories that come to me in bursts, leave me confused, until I understand their significance.

So what are PLRewind episodes?

First of all, they’re not to be confused with a Past Life Impression (PLI).  PLIs are feelings of déjà vu that involve historical sites or images.  PLIs are also intensely emotional, but without any clear images or knowledge of events or details.

PLRewinds should also never be confused with a Past Life Regression.  PLRegressions utilize a third party – a hypnotist – in order to access memories you have no conscious recall of.

While PLRegressions can prove a very effective therapeutic tool, there’s also a cause for extreme caution.  Even the most scrupulous and professional Regression Therapist can accidentally transfer certain expectations to the client’s mind, nullifying the
results of a session through uncertainty of their accuracy.

PLRewinds, conversely, are spontaneous recall of events, details, sounds, images, smells, feelings… whatever was experienced at the time it was first lived.  While typically in the form of dreams, PLRewinds can also happen in the waking world.

The essence of a PLRewind is that the subject experiences not only a profound emotional response to a place, object, or situation that cannot be explained by any event in their current lifetime, but also experiences intimate details and visions of places, times, people or events of which they should have no recall or knowledge at all.

I’ll go back to my own experiences, by way of example.

The PLRewind I described at the beginning of this article involves distinct, detailed memories of being an Army Ranger combat medic in the jungles of Vietnam.  In my dreams and visions, I can recall the sights, sounds, and smells vividly.  I see the faces of men whose lives I saved, whose wounds I tended, and whose lives I saw fade away despite my best efforts.  I can taste the acid wash of fear, smell the gagging fumes of Napalm burning, and the welcome scent of overcooked mess that meant I made it back in
one piece yet again.

While I’ve never been able to recall my full name (I think that’s a subconscious block – I’m still not sure I want to know), I know my unit called me “Lou” – since I’ve seen images in my mind since childhood of Lieutenant’s bars, I can only assume that
was a shortened designation of my rank, and not my actual name.  I also know I was a practicing Catholic who wore a St. Luke’s medallion, and that I was less than three months from being rotated out when I was wounded and captured during a firefight that left most of my unit dead, in 1969.  I’m also fairly certain I never made it home – my last memories are of horrific tortures
I prefer not to think about, whenever I can avoid it.

Nine years later, I was born into my current incarnation – complete with unfinished business that drove my dreams straight back to that jungle my spirit left sometime between 1969 and 1971.

To this day, I have a pull for VietnamI can explain no other way.  I’m seized with an overwhelming urge to go there, to trek into those jungles and recover my former body – to bring myself home, so to speak.  I have no idea if that body was ever recovered, and I’m sure that’s a question that will haunt me for the rest of this lifetime, and possibly for lifetimes yet to come.

It’s the vivid clarity, the absolute certainty, of visions, dreams, and feelings I can’t adequately describe, that make my experience a
PLRewind.  The terrifying sensations of being bound and tortured lead me to assume that those played a core role in how I died, though I’m not completely sure how.  That part is, thankfully, merely a PLI.  I have no concrete memories to back it up.

Why do I tell you all of this?

It is because I believe the investigation into Past Lives has not even skimmed the surface of this phenomenon, and that the root of many a psychological disorder that defies treatment, many a phobia that has no explanation rationally, can be found in the exploration of Past Lives.  It is my hope that, through this, others will open up with their PLs and PLRewinds, and that, in time, we can shed more light on a subject too long kept shrouded under a veil of taboo.

Ten Lessons In Life

Ten Things I’ve Learned About Life:

1.   Growing up doesn’t mean forgetting  your dreams.  Reaching for the stars is what makes living worth doing.

2.    Dance like no one’s watching.  It doesn’t matter if you’re good or bad at it – if the spirit moves you, all that matters is that you answer it.

3.   Being an adult doesn’t make the monsters in the closet go away.  It just makes them more dangerous, because you’ve forgotten how to see them.   Never take it for granted that what you see with your eyes is the only thing that exists in the world.  More than one serial killer was perfectly charming and appealing to his victims.

4.   Never give up on love.  Someone’s bound to break your heart, sooner or later, in life.  But only you have the power to let that moment ruin your ability to reach out to others, again.  If you give away that power, you won’t be really living, anymore.

5.  The brightest stars are hidden by the darkest clouds.  Don’t assume that just because the person you see on the outside has flaws, the person on the inside isn’t worth knowing.  Sometimes, the most interesting and beautiful people are hidden in forms you’d never expect.

6.  Laughter really IS the best medicine.  If you can learn to laugh at life’s little oddities and problems, you’ll be better equipped, emotionally, when real tragedy strikes.  People who take life far too seriously don’t stick around long enough to enjoy the good times.

7.  No one can hurt you if you don’t let them.  People will try – some unintentionally, and some very deliberately.  But YOU get to make the final choice as to whether you’re willing to give away the power over your emotions. Be careful who you give that power to.

8.  Never stop learning.  The moment you think you know everything, and stop listening to the wisdom around you (and that little voice inside you who urges you to try new experiences), you might as well lay down and die, because you’ve given up the one source of growth we all share – the ability to learn, grow, and change.

9.  There’s no such thing as “try.”  People use that word all the time.  But the people who really focus on their dreams don’t just try… they put themselves out there and do everything they can think of to make those dreams come true.  You may succeed, you may fail.  But at least you DID, while someone else sat around and “tried.”

10.   Life isn’t a dinky box of chocolates – it’s a full-fledge buffet.  You get to make a lot of the calls in life (maybe not the big, Universal ones, but most of the rest), and load your “plate” with all the memories you love and the people you cherish.  If you sample something and don’t like it, there’s no rule that says you have to go back for more, or even finish what’s on your plate.  Just scrape it off and hit life up again for something new.

This is just a portion of what I’ve learned, and what I continue to learn.  *shrugs* Take it for what you will…

The Power of Laughter

There’s a lot that can be said for laughter, but it speaks best for itself.

Laughter is contagious – It’s the only listed contagion on the planet anyone is happy to receive, and which can make the world better by being spread.

Laughter is medicine – Most illness contains a downward spiral caused by depression and pain. Laughter, however, can lift a person’s spirits, given them hope and the positive outlook to better fight whatever ails them. I try to laugh at least a little bit whenever I’m ill… It might not help me get better faster, but it helps me to ignore the illness and focus on the healing process.

Laughter grows – It starts as a giggle, a chuckle, a chortle… But the more you laugh, the more it grows, until it blossoms, and spreads sunshine on your day.

Laughter is stealthy – It sneaks up on you out of nowhere. A joke, a funny event, a memory of good times and good friends. But, wherever laughter strikes, there is nothing left but goodwill and a sense that all is right in the world, no matter what existed before that.

Laughter is so many things. It’s an old friend who comes to visit when you least expect it, reminding you of all the good in your life, even when things seem bad. Laughter allows us to face problems head-on, aware that as long as we keep our humor, we keep a part of ourselves.

I wish a life full of laughter to everyone, and I try to laugh a little every day… Hopefully, I’m spreading that laughter around…