17. True Holistic Healing: Bridging Plant & Human Consciousness - Sajah Popham

The vital intelligence of nature is the force behind all growth, healing, and renewal, and our work as plant healers deepens greatly when we can match whole plants with whole people living inside the dynamic multiverse of the whole cosmos. 

One of the most common stumbling block upon the path of the budding herbalist is the this-herb-for-that-ailment approach to plant medicine. If you ever catch yourself asking "What's this plant good for?" then this mind blowing episode, and my guest Sajah's FREE online video course (which changed my life forever last year by deepening my understanding of what true healing is), is for you:

 Vitalist Herbalism Mini Course

Sajah Popham, founder of Organic Unity and The School of Evolutionary Herbalism, is a student of the universal truths found within both ancient and modern herbal traditions from around the world. The focus of his work is on integrating ancient teachings for a new paradigm of plant medicine, one that is truly holistic in its honoring of the spirit, energetics, and body of both people and plants. His unique synthesis bridges herbalism not only east and west, but north and south, above and below, into a universal philosophy that encompasses Ayurveda, western alchemy and spagyrics, astrology, clinical herbalism, and modern pharmacology. 

Sajah’s vitalist approach utilizes plants not only for physiological healing and rejuvenation, but for the evolution of consciousness, for a truly holistic practice of plant medicine. Sajah’s teachings embody a heartfelt respect, honor and reverence for the vast intelligence of plants in a way that empowers us to look deeper into the nature of our medicines and ourselves. He lives in southern Oregon with his wife Whitney where he teaches at his school, makes spagyric medicines, and practices his art.

In the Intro:

• The way in which most of us (including me) are called to the plant path
• It's time to remember who we are
• The multidimensional medicine of Calendula
• What I do when I want to remember new information forever
• How understanding the ancient idea of vitalism changed my approach to plant healing

In the Interview:

• The real definition of holistic medicine (it's probably not what you think it is)
• Approaching plant relationships the way we approach human relationships
• Why a balanced approach to herbal learning includes intellect, intuition, science, tradition, personal experience, and the experiences of others
• The best way to get to know a plant
• The two words that Sajah saw in a newspaper while clearing tables at a coffee shop job and how they changed his life forever
• The role synchronicity played in introducing Sajah to one of his most beloved plant allies
• Alchemy- the wholeness of the plant and the wholeness of the person integrated into the wholeness of the cosmos, and the importance using plants for the psyche and spirit as well as for the physical
• Mythic astrology, the archetypes of the zodiac, and plants as bridges connecting our internal microcosm to the celestial macrocosm
• Lung herbs and grief
• Ancient ancestral resonances and the memory we carry in our DNA
• The vitalist approach to herbalism- “something that is created by the whole is going to be more intelligent than something created by the part”
• Plants mentioned include oregon grape root, devils club, wood betony, ceanothus, osha, and mullein

Show Notes:

• Vitalist Herbalism Mini Course
• Evolutionary Herbalism website
• The Plant Path Podcast
• The Medicine Stories Patreon page
• The Medicine Stories Facebook group
• Take my fun Which Healing Herb is Your Spirit Medicine? quiz
• Music by Mariee Sioux (from her beautiful song Wild Eyes)