There’s something magical about what our students experience as their learning journey rounds the wheel of the year into autumn. As much as we focus externally on getting to know the plants in spring/summer, now is about turning our gaze within and getting to know ourselves that much better, so we can pair plants and people effectively.
Nothing lights me up quite like when those first sparks - those aha! moments - start happening for our students - and they’re not just for first-year students. The moments keep coming well into year two.
We begin our turning inwards in year two with examining our entrances - all the parts of our body where we take in the word. It’s not just our mouths. It’s also our eyes, ears, nose, mind and genitals. We actually visualised all of these entrances as mouths, which created a very distinct mental image I don’t think any of us will forget any time soon, but it reinforces the following point:
Our bodies have got to try and digest whatever we take in, whether that’s food, images, sounds, smells, thoughts, ideas, information, or intimate exchanges. What we take in becomes us. What we take in gets processed in our bodies, or not. If it doesn’t it becomes stuck, turns into toxins and creates imbalance and dis-ease in the body.
And yet, how much of what we take into ourselves is indigestible - not just processed edible food-like substances, but also news, television shows we watch, music with a catchy tune and perhaps a miserable message?
So we posed the question - what if everything we took into ourselves was Michelin star quality? Beyond food, what would Michelin star music sound like? What would Michelin star sights look like? What would Michelin star knowledge feel like? And so on.
Aha.
How much have we digested the message we have to buy something to grasp at ever-fleeting satisfaction? How much have we gotten used to gloom and doom and perhaps relinquished the sensations of inspiration, excitement, contentment, dare I say joy?
We don’t have any assignments on our courses, but I invited our second-years to seek out as many Michelin star ingestibles as possible, to recalibrate their entrances to identify and appreciate the thrill and the joy of the abundance of wonderful, free experiences, to practice putting their personal filters in place at each of their entrances so they are deciding what they take in and what they choose to decline - what they do and don’t want to become them.
If our students’ journeys are inspiring you and you’re here in the UK, you’re very welcome to join us on our intensive herbalism course - Awaken Herbal Wisdom - which spans all four seasons. With up to three years of development available, our course gets herbalism both deep into your bones and your daily life, without either having to do a clinical degree or a traditional full-time apprenticeship. Although it is intense, it’s suitable for a wide range of herbalists, including beginners!
Be sure to join our mailing list to hear more about what the current cohorts are up to, learn some of the golden nuggets that emerge from our sessions and receive other school community updates. Enrolment opens after dates are announced each spring for the following year, and places are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. If you’re ready to join us on the journey, you can request an application to join an upcoming cohort.
Whatever your next step is with learning herbal medicine, I hope you enjoy the journey!
At the Heritage School of Herbal Medicine, our practice of herbalism is rooted in the belief that we must remember, reclaim and relearn our knowledge of our bodies, our autonomy and how to work with plant medicine in order to bring control of our own health back into our families and homes for a sustainable future for ourselves and the planet. Through our intensive herbalism course, we facilitate the development of confident, empowered herbalists, attuned to the messages of their bodies and the natural world. Living the deep wisdom of herbal medicine within themselves, their homes and their communities, they uplift themselves and others, creating a stronger society organically. We do hope you'll join us on your journey!
