Medicine Stories

Safe, therapeutic, and sacred psychedelic journeys have the potential to enact profound transformation and healing on both a personal and a societal level. Many mistake these substances for party drugs, but their true medicine lies in the properly prepared and undertaken journey inward. Scientists were just starting to understand the therapeutic benefits of LSD, psilocybin, and more in the 1960's when the many studies being done were suddenly shut down. Research is thriving again today, and we are beginning to understand their role in healing addiction, PTSD, anxiety and depression, and so much more. James Fadiman has been at the forefront of this research for over 50 years. He is a writer and researcher with a PhD in Psychology and is the author of many books, including The Psychedelic Explorers Guide, which details how both journeyers and guides can create optimal conditions to have the best possible experience. Jim has also popularized the phenomenon of microdosing (taking tiny, sub-perceptual microdoses of psychedelic substances to enhance performance and treat ailments).  In the Intro: How Jim and I met The amazing free resource Jim is making available to listeners In the Interview: That feeling when the future Ram Dass gives you LSD in Paris and changes your life forever Ken Kesey, Albert Hoffman, Huston Smith and other heroes of mine who Jim knew Why psychedelic research got shut down in the 60's and what was being researched then How psychedelics work How to have safe, therapeutic, and sacred journeys Microdosing for: depression, colds, menstrual problems, asthma, allergies, stroke, and SO MUCH MORE Dying is absolutely safe Links: Jim's Website Free Journey Guide PDF at the Medicine Stories Patreon page Microdosing Psychedelics website Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) MythicMedicine.love (my website) Take my fun Which Healing Herb is Your Spirit Medicine? quiz The Medicine Stories Facebook group Music by Mariee Sioux (from the song Wild Eyes)

Herbalism has always been the medicine of the people, but most of us in the West have been cut off from our earthbound roots and encouraged to forget our innate, ancestral ability to work and heal with plant medicines. Both despite and because of this, an herbal resurgence is slowly uprooting the dominant paradigm as ever more people heed the calling in their hearts to return to the old ways. No one has done more to share knowledge, encourage people of all skill levels, and bring folks together than Jesse Wolf Hardin (and his partner Kiva Rose). Wolf is an acclaimed ecosopher, author, ecological and social activist, artist, musician, and historian– a champion of both human and bio diversity, as well as of nature’s medicine.  He has been a leading voice of and for the natural world for over four decades, coining the term "ReWilding" in the 1970's. He has been a featured presenter at hundreds of conferences and universities, and is the author of over 600 published articles in over 200 different publications and over 20 books, his work earning the praises of luminaries such as Gary Snyder, Terry Tempest Williams, Joanna Macy, Ralph Metzner, and Starhawk. IN THE INTRO: -How I met Wolf & Kiva -Story medicine, psychedelic healing, witches & wise ones IN THE INTERVIEW: -The Plant Healer vision and how it’s evolved -A child’s life changing epiphany in an avocado tree at military school -What re-wilding means, from the man who coined the now-ubiquitous word -Folk herbalism and the infinite ways to walk the plant path -The three books Wolf had with him when he came into the land he would go on to steward for the next four decades in New Mexico -The recent planned unassisted home birth of Wolf and Kiva’s son of Ælfyn Wolfson Thorn Hardin -The fabulous Good Medicine Confluence- “Any pretense of pretending it’s a conference is over” -Helping plant people reclaim their own traditions -Regulation and the assault on herbalism (and women) from the 1700’s to now -Standing up for who we are as wild-hearted healers in a sterile society  -How Wolf & Kiva met and why their partnership works and is so creatively productive -The sense of enchantment that feeds those who follow their calling -Balancing a rational and magical approach to herbalism LINKS: -Find Plant Healer Magazine, Herbaria newsletter, the Good Medicine Confluence, Wolf's books, and more at PlantHealer.org -The Mythic Medicinals shop -Medicine Stories Patreon  -Medicine Stories Facebook Group -Take my fun Which Healing Herb is Your Spirit Medicine? quiz -Music by Mariee Sioux (from the song Wild Eyes)

We evolved raising children in clans of 50 or more other humans; today we live in homes with just a few other people. It goes against our very biology to raise children in isolation. It's really hard and really lonely, and it's not your fault. In this episode I ramble into the microphone about my parenting journey. I am brutally honest and don't paint a rainbow over everything at the end. If you're already a parent, this episode will comfort you. If you're not and want to be, it'll give you a glimpse of your possible future and also maybe terrify you. If you're not and plan to keep it that way, you'll learn how to better understand and support the parents in your life. I talk about: -How our fractured, nuclear family living hurts families and relationships -Emotional labor, women's invisible work, and the endless To Do list -The very different experiences I had with my daughters, born ten years apart -Sleep: I've both co-slept and sleep trained (also- SIDS and entrainment) -Realistic self care- does it exist? Kinda. Here's what I do -Building community -Herbs for mamas & kiddos -When does postpartum end? -Anxiety & motherhood -Choosing not to have kids -How the Maiden to Mother transition is different for everyone -The bone deep depletion of mothering -Being envious of non parents -Failing every day  -Come gather around this fire with me Links: Medicine Stories Patreon & my favorite parenting resources Medicine Stories Facebook Group Music by Mariee Sioux (from the song Wild Eyes) Take my fun Which Healing Herb is Your Spirit Medicine? quiz

Birth and death are the bookends that mark every human life, and in them and in between them there is movement. Our ancestors moved in a variety of ways throughout their days- foraging, hunting, seeking new landscapes, building shelter, birthing and carrying children, breastfeeding, processing food, finding water, etc. Physiologically, we are the exact same species; our bodies are identical to those of our prehistoric forebears. Our biology hasn't changed, but our culture and physical environments have. Today, even the most active among us are mostly sedentary, and exercisers have just as many health problems and experience just as much injury as non-exercisers. We don't need more exercise (yay!), we need more MOVEMENT. A biomechanist by training and a problem-solver at heart, Katy Bowman is radically changing our assumptions about what it means to live in an ancient human body in a modern and ever-changing world. She makes movement fun and shows people how to integrate it into every aspect of their lives. Her award-winning blog and podcast, Move Your DNA, reach hundreds of thousands of people every month, and thousands have taken her live classes. Her funny, wise, life-changing books have been critically acclaimed and translated worldwide. In the Intro: How Katy's work changed my concept of myself & what I'm capable of Giveaway, Upcoming Event, etc. Herb Learnin'- herbs are not "pseudo pharmaceuticals" In the Interview: Ancestral movement: stepping outside ourselves and looking at the wide scope of human time Exercise as monoculture and movement as permaculture Stacking your life- integrating movement into everything else Finding your own roots (not someone else’s), and why 2018 is the year Katie finds her ancestors Katy’s connection to the great-grandmother she was named after Self reliance and how we’re shaped by the times we live in The recent unassisted home death of Katy’s father, and the parallels Katy saw between that and birth The many other deaths in Katy’s life within a 12 month period and how her movement practice kept her in a state of grace throughout the process Movement as a metabolizer of stress and emotions Bringing movement into grief- wailing, keening, caring for the body, (pallbearing!) Keep moving because “there’s always another wave coming” Katy’s recurring whale dream and the moment she lived it in real life Reverence for the capacity and consciousness of cetaceans Katy helps me break through my limited thinking around some of the things I spend most of my time doing (while sitting still) The conscious practice of paying attention to what captures your imagination Links: Katy's website Nutritious Movement Medicine Stories Patreon & my journey w/ pain & (non)movement My interview on the Self Care Club podcast The Good Medicine Confluence Our Extra Potent Elderberry Elixir Medicine Stories Facebook Group Music by Mariee Sioux (from the song Wild Eyes) Take my fun Which Healing Herb is Your Spirit Medicine? quiz

Here's the secret about magic: it's not elusive, it's not hard to find, and it's everywhere. Magic happens when we follow the mythic threads that call to our soul and travel ever deeper into ourselves. We court magic when we take our inner yearnings seriously- by paying attention to dreams, symbols, old stories, ancestry, etc.-  and more & more meaning and synchronicity become woven into the fabric of our daily lives. Ariella is a beekeeper, musician, and storyteller.  A student of the Path of Pollen, she has studied honey bee shamanism and the way of the Melissae for the past 8 years in the United Kingdom. She developed an interested in earth wisdom at an early age, creating her first herb garden and herbal remedies at the age of 15.  Plant lore and an affinity for traditional folk music led her to study the myth and folk wisdom of her Celtic ancestry.  As a result, she has over 25 years experience designing, leading, and participating in Celtic and earth-based practices and ceremony.  She believes in the power of body as guide and nature as ally, and is committed to fostering relationships between the human and non-human world.  She employs her skills with group facilitation in a number of workshops and classes focused on beekeeping, dreamwork, and women's embodied wisdom.   In the Intro: Dreamwork Me, my birthday, my dead mom, & something meaningful that happened Herb Learnin’- the myth of precise dosage Finding plant resonances In the Interview: The beautiful stories behind the meaning of Ariella’s name How the tales her father told her as a child planted a seed that started Ari following the mythic threads of her Celtic ancestry a decade later and inspired many pilgrimages to her ancestral countries Reclaiming the lost indigenous and women’s wisdom from your line The grief of displacement and how our animal bodies recognize our ancestral homelands Ariella’s devastating miscarriage and the lessons and healing that followed (including how her lost daughter brought the bees into her life) and how our biggest traumas are what we weave our gold out of  Ari’s initiation into ancestral, shamanic beekeeping  Folklore & magic of place: that feeling when the fae folk/spirits of the land appear and offer you entrance to the Otherworld as you’re standing at midnight on a sacred hill at Glastonbury that centuries of lore say is a powerful portal (a true story) Raven meaning & medicine Spontaneous, heart-opening healing: “the piece of me that left came back in” “My whole life has been led by listening to the animals and plants” Embodying your ancestry through story, music, the land How to study and work with Ari Links: Ariella's website Honey Bee Wild Ari's music Take my fun Which Healing Herb is Your Spirit Medicine? quiz Mythic Medicinals Bedtime Bear Sleep & Dream Elixir Medicine Stories Patreon & our dreamwork conversation Medicine Stories Facebook Group Music by Mariee Sioux (from the song Wild Eyes)

There is a vast intelligence in Nature, which both precedes and envelopes human consciousness. By opening our doors of perception- the heart, the senses, the nervous system- we can engage in communion with this field and come to know the world in which we are embedded as sentient, responsive, and ever-adapting, just as our ancestors did. Stephen Harrod Buhner is an earth poet and the award-winning author of twenty books on nature, indigenous cultures, the environment, and herbal medicine. He teaches about the sacredness of plants, the intelligence of Nature, and the states of mind necessary for successful habitation of Earth.  In the intro: The attentive noticing of the soul An herbalist's perspective on cold & flu Empowerment & herbalism Giveaway! In the interview: Stephen’s memories of his physician great-grandfather, and how DNA carries more than just physical information down through the generations The tendency toward high sensitivity in plant people Sensory gating channels & discerning meaning from the touch of the world upon us The doors of perception & how psychedelics, or “neurognostics”, effect them Plant perception and the neural networks in root systems- humans do not have a monopoly on intelligence The function of psychedelics in the ecosystem, apart from and long before human use The birth of James Lovelock’s Gaia theory and how real innovation & paradigm shifts can only happen outside of institutions How we can recover the intelligence of the heart in the direct perception of nature Visionary plant encounters & knowing plants through dreaming states Aisthesis- the exchange of soul essence between two life forms  The misunderstood nature, vast intelligence, and ecological necessity of bacterial & viral life forms The age of miracle drugs is over, just as so many people are stepping into the world of herbalism Herbs are much better able to deal with infections and disease than technological medicine is Stephen’s opinion on whether or not humans, and the earth, will survive What happened in the Great Flu Epidemic of 1918: “The thing we haven’t learned is the dangers of our hubris” True self-empowerment v reliance on outside medical knowledge The paradigm shift that happens when you realize that all around you are plants with exceptional medicine that you can learn to use The process of eldering and the point when the inevitability of dying becomes predominant  Herbal lineage, the march of generations, and young folks as the torch-bearers for the future of herbalism Links: The Foundation for Gaian Studies (Stephen's website) Stephen's books on Amazon  Extra Potent Elderberry Elixir My video An Herbalist's Perspective on Cold & Flu  Take my fun Which Healing Herb is Your Spirit Medicine? quiz Medicine Stories Facebook Group Medicine Stories Patreon Music by Mariee Sioux (from the song Wild Eyes)

The scrolls are in our bones, and an embodied relationship with our ancestors can bring countless rewards and reveal things a merely intellectual path cannot. Through myth, ritual, and creative expression we can remember the feminine magic of our grandmothers and reap their blessings. Lara Veleda Vesta is an artist, writer, and educator with strong, well tended ties to her Northern European ancestors. Her works and offerings focus on folk spirituality, archaic magic, mythology, ritual, and women’s remembrance. Our conversation runs deep and meanders from the cultural legacy of the burning times to the language of symbol to the nature of fate to the illusion of linear time and its effect on our modern lives to mold toxicity to snake medicine. And so much more! -In the Intro: Garden Party Giveaway! The status of the podcast Healing the Witch Wound Herbal Tip: plant recognition & the human brain   -In the Interview: The Motherline- intergenerational trauma, we’re all descended from survivors, and we are never separate from our ancestors “Things are real and not real simultaneously” Ancestral connection as an embodied path: connecting with the ancestors via direct information from your intuition, art, and ritual The scrolls are in our bones: the ancestral dream that changed my life Listening to the language of symbol Hyndla- goddess of the bloodlines (let's bring her back!) The woven web of Wyrd- the matrix of existence Fate is interactive, time is non-linear, everything is happening simultaneously The Disir- support, guidance, and blessings from the sacred grandmothers of your lineage Go sit on your ancestors graves (for real tho) Collapsing time and shifting consciousness  How linear time separates us from nature, the ancestors, myth, and indigenous ways of knowing "Get off the grid of your thinking" The multiplicity of reasons you are never alone Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, mold toxicity, and invisible disabilities Disregarding cultural expectations: exhaustion, trauma, and illness in women (especially at midlife) The ancient Northern myth of Golveig- “Thrice burned and yet she lives”- and what it can teach us about feminine power, magic, surviving patriarchy, and healing after pain and trauma Snake medicine & feminine magic   -Links: Lara’s website The Wild Soul School Lara’s Patreon Take my fun Which Healing Herb is Your Spirit Medicine? quiz Max Dashu and The Suppressed Histories Archives Jung and the Ancestors by Sandra Easter My blog post Ancestral Voices, Women's Weariness, & the Illusion of Linear Time The New Midlife Crisis for Women on Oprah.com

When she was 7 months pregnant, Amy Mea Woodruff's best friend was murdered by a stranger in her home. Amy speaks about this experience publicly for the first time, sharing the alternative grieving pathway she quickly carved out for herself as she sought to nurture and protect the life growing inside of her while simultaneously mourning the loss of her beloved soul sister. Experiences from her past that had grounded Amy deeply into herself were an anchor throughout this process, including the conscious use of psychedelics and a longstanding practice of learning about and connecting with her ancestors.  Amy (aka Daughter of the Sun) is a mother, craftswoman, land steward, budding flower farmer, and the founder and organizer of the Spirit Weavers Gathering.   In the Intro: My experience with Spirit Weavers (from skeptic to enthusiast) My first psychedelic experience   In the Interview: Amy (Mea)’s two (& more!) names Claiming your lineage and invoking your ancestors by speaking their names aloud Amy shares the story of her best friend Cheree’s murder and her grieving and healing process My and Amy’s journeys with forgiving the people who caused the deaths of our loved ones Diving deep with Amanita muscaria & the time/space collapse (we also each speak about our relationship with cannabis) Naming the land that raised us and listening to indigenous women Amy’s feral childhood, Choctaw & Cherokee ancestors, and the wild foodways she grew up with The challenges and rewards of founding and running the Spirit Weavers Gathering Stewarding land and listening to nature   LINKS: Amy's blog post expanding on this conversation and sharing photos of Cheree and of her ancestors The Spirit Weavers Gathering Alela Diane Hawane Rios talk Lyla June on the For the Wild podcast- On Resistance and Forgiveness in the Final Years of Patriarchy Stay on the Spirit Weavers land in Southern Oregon via HipCamp Music by Mariee Sioux (from the song Wild Eyes) Mythic Medicinals herbals Take my fun Which Healing Herb is Your Spirit Medicine? quiz Medicine Stories Facebook Group Medicine Stories Patreon

Six days before leaving her body, Cari Leversee and her husband Richard spoke with me about their journey together unto death. Cari died the way she had lived- with curiosity and grace, exploring, learning, and teaching every day. Our conversation is both profound and beautiful, and I am honored to have been a conduit through which Cari's wisdom, in her time of dying, can reach a wider audience. In the intro: How some people become exalted beings in their time of dying In the interview: Dying out loud + creating a living funeral Approaching death with wonder, & finding love in the face of terror Mushrooms & microbes as honored elders / Cari’s experience microdosing on psilocybin during the dying process  / Mushrooms teach us to lead with soul consciousness, show us how to die, and greatly reduce fear in terminal patients Bringing together the love and life and grief and pain and agony of death is where the healing happens Grief and love are not different emotions- the depth of love equals the depth of grief Home funerals: ecstasy, healing, and community / Alternative options for body disposal- deep sea burial, alkaline hydrolosis (or water cremation), green burial / Casket art “I want to go into my death with my arms open” What it is like to watch your beloved life partner die, “I have no intention of getting over my grief.” How our culture gets grief wrong I ask Cari if she's afraid In death, you recognize the true source of self In the Outro: Cari's passing We die how we lived More about microdosing Links: Full Circle Living & Dying Collective Death Cafe Jim Fadiman (microdosing) Mythic Medicinals herbals Take my fun Which Healing Herb is Your Spirit Medicine? quiz Medicine Stories Facebook Group Medicine Stories Patreon

There are countless medicinal plants and fungi out there, and among them are a special class of vision-enhancing gatekeepers to the Otherworld. These beings can expand our consciousness and allow us to perceive more than our physical senses can normally detect. Asia Suler of One Willow Apothecaries is an herbalist, educator, and writer with a deeply layered, highly intuitive relationship to the medicine of the earth. Her incredible way with words and ability to convey complex subjects with ease have made her a highly sought after herbal teacher (lucky for us she has many online courses!). I love the plant haling and consciousness exploring aspects of our talk, but I also *really* love our conversational foray into living under patriarchy and why the nice girl trope has to die. In the intro: Bear medicine  My ancient ice age grandmother & the Saami Herbal Tip - drawing salves "The center is the goal, and everything is directed toward that center" In the interview: How Asia’s full name is "a pretty perfect etymological encapsulation of what I ended up doing with my life” Journeying to ancestral lands & how the ancestors are in the land (literally tho) The fabric of the Otherworld: the limits of our senses, atomic space, the playground of consciousness, and dark matter Dream visitations from the dead Angelica: a visionary plant / opens portals of imagination / releasing trauma & coming in to our bodies Reishi as a psychedelic, and the untapped potential of the subtle Asia’s encounter with a creepy dude in the woods, #MeToo, and how being a nice girl is no longer a good evolutionary strategy for staying safe Ghost Pipe as a tool for releasing ghosts Links: Asia's website, One Willow Apothecaries Sylvia Lindsteadt Rainbow Heart Beams Elixir The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker (READ IT) Mythic Medicinals herbals Take my fun Which Healing Herb is Your Spirit Medicine? quiz Medicine Stories Facebook Group Medicine Stories Patreon