Plants Of Wisdom

When we ponder deeply our relationship to plants, we can’t help but stare into the depths of the great Mystery. We depend on these lovely beings for everything from cuisine and pure air, to nutrition, beauty, clothing, energy, healing and spiritual wisdom. How exquisitely intelligent there design! They drink in light and turn it into virtually unlimited patterns of energy.

Certain plants of healing like comfrey work to mend broken bones. Spices like cardamom and ginger improve digestion. Licorice has an affinity for nurturing the lungs. Gotu Kola rejuvenates the brain. The Indian herb, ashwaganda, is a rejuvenative, along with Chinese ginseng root, and Peruvian maca. Some heal the heart, like hawthorn berries, and arjun. Cayenne pepper works on circulation and many other parts of the body. There are thousands more in our forests, fields, deserts, oceans and mountains, each with its own signature; each with its own special purpose. It’s enough to make you believe in God.

Others fall into a whole other category that we call the Plants of Wisdom. These are the master teachers and healers like Ayahuasca, San Pedro, Peyote, and Iboga. These plants heal not only on a physical level, but at the very deepest levels of the mind and spirit. They work to mend the fundamental sense of separateness we feel from Mother Nature and the universe at large; in so doing they serve to dismantle the ego.

The truth is all plants serve, one way or another, the divine plan. They all work in concert with the universal life force that creates, sustains, and finally destroys all forms. Plants are an essential part of the evolutionary force of Nature.

For those who really want to get to know plants (as well as themselves) I suggest you visit the Amazon Rainforest. Find a good shaman and drink the famed Ayahuasca (Vine of the Soul). Let the Vine teach you about yourself, God, and Mother Nature. It can be quite humbling to discover a plant that is infinitely more intelligent than the human mind. Yet how wonderful! A force the mind cannot dominate. In the mind’s submission to a greater power, the heart begins to bloom. We move out of our heads, down into our hearts and guts where tender feelings whisper simple truths about living life in harmony with ourselves, neighbors, and world.

Imagine the leaders of world nations, stripped of their self-importance, sitting in a candle-lit hut in the jungle mentally preparing to drink the sacred brew and confront their naked selves! The Vine does not lie, nor does it couch the truth. It strips us of our social masks. It shatters our incessant internal dialogue of rational thought and analysis and reveals our true feelings. It uncovers the unconscious fears at the root of our need for power and control. Through extraordinary vision, through an enormous magnification of feeling, we connect with our deep self; our universal self. It is here that boundaries of us and them, black and white, Christian and Muslim, move into the background. It is here that brotherhood/sisterhood/creaturehood step up to the foreground. But it rarely happens without pain…at some point on the path.

Sometimes because of the intensity of the psychic debris being unleashed, we purge, heavily, through vomit and shit and tears. As we move out of our heads and relax fully into the experience we awaken a deep sense of gratitude simply for being alive. Our breath and body finally open and we begin to relate to life through the heart and feeling, rather than the head and thought. As we feel into life we begin to cherish life. As our hearts open we become sensitive to the hearts of others. The tendency toward violence is addressed at its roots. Separation, and the reaction of fear, is the cause of violence. The purpose of plant medicine is to reestablish a sense of unity within us. From unity we naturally begin relating to others as kin. We are simply part of the Web of Life, along with spider, mosquito, and typhoid. This is what the Plants of Wisdom show us when we’re ready to see. Imagine our world leaders attending sacred plant medicine ceremonies before important summit meetings.

When you sit down and enjoy a cup of tea, coffee, or chamomile, take a moment or two to tune what’s at work in these substances. Feel the subtle and not so subtle influences of these concentrated forms of energy and intelligence. One of the precious teachings of the plant kingdom is that everything has Spirit. Everything is dancing. Everything is alive, from rocks and minerals, to bugs and bees and all manner of plant life. The breath of life is in everything; breathing us, healing us, dancing us to the end of love.

At Sattwa we have a love affair with plants. For genuine masala chai lovers, dig the exquisite balance and complexity of our all organic Sattwa Sun. Our black tea is fair-trade certified, guaranteeing fair wages and positive work conditions for farm workers. Our spices are all premium organic grade. We study gratefully with the Plants of Wisdom and apply their teachings to our business, families, and community.