Ask the ANGELS to assist…
they love to help us
& if something is too hard or complicated,
I ask them to help make it easier,
they are good at this!
Ask NATURE to assist,
they are waiting patiently
for us to ASK.
They have so much to offer!
I learned this first hand when I read
Plant Spirit Medicine by Elliot Cowan
Saleena: I excitedly began the practice; meeting the different spirits of the plants. Everyone of them has such a distinct personality and has specialties to offers to us for healing at all levels. They are delightful and have waited patiently for us to discover them and begin to ask for their help. That is part of Earth's contract; FREE WILL; so we have to ask for help, whether it is the angels or the flowers. I have met many plant spirits and they have shared so much humor, wisdom and healing with me. someday I will tell more of these stories… Each plant has unique wisdom for you, so it is a very personal thing…
What is Plant Spirit MedicineSM?
"Humans and plants have lived together for countless generations. We are family. Our plant relatives are generous and helpful, offering us food and medicine. Like us, plants have spirit, and their spirit can nurture and heal us. Plant Spirit MedicineSM brings us into balance and harmony. It is the shaman’s way with plants. A millennial practice known to all peoples, it was rediscovered in the West by Eliot Cowan, and has proved just as effective in today’s world as in times past."
"Plant Spirit MedicineSM recognizes that plants have spirit, and that spirit is the strongest medicine. Spirit can heal the deepest reaches of our heart and soul."
"I first saw a mirrored image while canoeing in the Adirondacks on a very still lake. The trees and plants on the shore reflected into the water causing a mirrored image. Along the shoreline faces and beings emerged much like a totem pole. I was amazed at how alive everything felt with so many beautiful beings sharing the lake and shore. I didn’t see this again until I saw Linda’s photos which visually made the plants come alive in a new way.
The cover photo by Linda E. Law is of Lady’s Mantle. I sat with this image for the longest time wondering about the alien being that is so prominent. This being has a masculine quality to it and I was surprised to not see a more feminine being. Then in a flash I saw it wasn’t an alien after all but, instead, a wise old alchemist. I’ve started to call him Arturo and, of course, Alchemilla (Lady’s Mantle’s latin name) would reveal such a being. You will find that each plant reveals different beings, some are sweet and others are almost disturbing, just like life. These most amazing photos give you a rare opportunity to delve into the essence of the plant."
More from Pam: Plants as Healers, Plants as Guides: Life Lessons from a Pine
Plant Spirit Medicine, A Review
by Eliot Cowan, Swan Raven & Co., Newberg, OR (trade paper 192 pgs., $13.95)
If you are a prospective reader or Internet surfer, ask yourself the following question: Am I on this planet as a human being having a spiritual experience, or am I on this planet as a spiritual being having a human experience? If your answer is the latter, a spiritual being having a human experience, then Plant Spirit Medicine is for you.
Some people find it difficult to accept the concept of plants communicating with earthlings. Such plant communication can be in the form of a plant speaking directly to an individual, or quite often, an individual seeing a plant spirit. For many, such an occurrence would be outside their boundary of reality.
In Plant Spirit Medicine, the author, Eliot Cowan, along with many shamans and healers, reveals to the reader, through various vignettes, their communication with the plant world. Keep in mind that plant communication is not a new revelation. One example is the Findhorn community in Scotland. Having carefully documented their work, the Findhorn people found that talking to plants produced a marked increase in the plant's growth and/or its yield. This increase was measurable against a control group.
In this authoritative and spiritual book, the author exposes the reader to the practices of plant healers. He describes how he takes the leaves of a plant to make a tea, and then with different forms of meditation, communicates with the plant to produce a healing for the patient. This is accomplished regardless of whether the disease is physical, mental or both. In my opinion, this in itself would certainly be worth writing about.
Cowan, along with his teacher, takes us to a higher plane of healing by sharing how he communicates in the dream world of Shamanism. It is here that he confers with a life form specifically associated with the plant. This life form may present itself as a person, an imaginary figure, an insect, an animal, a light or even a disembodied voice.
After introductions, the healer asks the plant spirit to teach the Shaman how to use this plant. The teaching comes in many forms that may even including a non-verbal transfer of the information. When the transfer is complete, the shaman then returns to a normal state of consciousness and immediately starts to record the entire experience. Next there follows an interpretation of the dream and as is generally true for dreams, the dream may or may not be self explanatory. As the author states, "If I can make that relationship with the spirit of the plant, I don't need the leaf or the root with which to heal…. instead, I ask the messenger (the plant) to bring the spirit of whatever plant that person needs. So instead of having or harvesting dozens of plants that I have to take with me, I just have pills or capsules made out of the messenger plant."
This ability to communicate with a messenger plant is revolutionary. Presently the practice of wildcrafting is drawing more and more criticism because it encourages the over harvesting of medicinal plants. I am personally aware of "over harvesting" as I witness the identical situation occurring with the medicinal plants of ginseng, and especially goldenseal. Under present circumstances, goldenseal is even now at the point of being an endangered species.
This wonderful ability to communicate with a messenger plant, which in turn eliminates the need of harvesting unnecessary plants, puts Eliot Cowan in a special place in the realm of plant spirit healing. This is an arena which even Cowan admits, "we don't control the spirit or even understand it. Humility is the way."
In Plant Spirit Medicine, the author interviews native shaman healers and describes their practice in great detail. His method of recording these stories is with such a wonderful flair and so believable that after having read his accounts, it will be difficult to view our little brothers and sisters of the plant world in the same light or with the same consciousness. In exploring the world of healing with messenger plants, Mr. Cowan puts a new spin on an ancient practice that could bring healing to bare with a thought process similar to the healing practices of avatars and enlighten beings. The door to the future of plant healing is opening and is very exciting.
As a wildcrafter and grower of medicinal herbs, I can relate to the plant healer who can be "in spirit" when asking a plant for permission to take its life in order to help another human being. Also, as one who has heard the call of the pileated woodpecker, the guardian spirit of the Ginseng plant, and as one who has been directed to that plant, it is with great confidence that I wholeheartedly recommend this book.
—©1996 New Frontier Magazine. All rights reserved. Reviewed by Robert Eidus, a teacher in the field of Ginseng, and president of North Carolina Ginseng and Goldenseal Co, Marshall, NC http://www.primeline.com/ginseng/homepage.htm
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