Holistic Herbal: A Safe and Practical Guide to Making and Using Herbal Remedies. David Hoffmann
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we slightly shift our view, we can see that we are really part of the whole of ecology, not separate from it. When we are healed with the help of plants, a part of the ecology is healed. By healing our bodies and our minds we will be more present as whole beings. And it is hoped that health will enable the growth of new awareness so that we can become conscious co-creators with nature and not remain the abusers and rapists that recent history shows us to be. A state of wholeness and health can affect our whole environment. It can affect our relationships, which affect society, and so potentially act to heal all humanity.
If we consider the concept of Gaia and remember that the Earth constantly works towards staying in a state of homeostasis, we can see how herbs act as homeostatic agents. Their purpose is to keep an element of the ecology—humanity—integrated and in harmony with the whole ecology. We can compare it to the purpose of hormones. Hormones released in one part of the body lead to a specific action in another part, integrating and harmonising our inner environment.
Chemotherapy cannot be substituted for this work of herbs. Chemicals do not work towards the integration of a system; at their best they bring some elements back into alignment. We can look at health as at any ecological system aiming for homeostasis. It is always in motion, with varying elements from outside influencing the system, which does its best to stay in balance and thus to stay alive. Health is when the personal ecosystem, the inner space that has been called the ‘milieu interieur’, is in balance with the outer space, and both of them are one. As J.Z. Young says: ‘The entity that is maintained intact, and of which we all form a part, is not the life of any one of us, but in the end the whole of life upon the planet.’*
The word healing has its roots in the Greek word ‘holos’, the same word that has given us ‘whole’ and ‘holistic’. Healing is the expression of wholeness, health is wholeness. The experience and expression of this quality can only come from within the individual, it never comes from an outer source such as a therapist or teacher. Just as all paths of spiritual development tell us to look within, so for our healing we must look to our inner selves.
Health is also the expression of integrated being that a person embodies. The emotions, thought-life and spiritual flow are as important to health as is the state of organs and tissues within the body. Whether we are concerned about being healthy, regaining health or moving to greater health, the whole of the being is involved.
The person who is ‘ill’ is in fact the healer. Aid can be sought from ‘experts’, whether allopaths or herbalists, psychotherapists or witch doctors, but the responsibility for healing can never be truly handed to anyone other than the person desiring healing. Healing comes from within, from truly embracing the life that flows within us. Herbs will aid in this process, but healing is inherent in being alive. It is our gift and our responsibility. This may come as a surprise to most of us, conditioned as we are to hand our power over to ‘experts’, whether they are doctors or politicians. In healing as in all life, we are free, and we are the divinely empowered authority for the process of our unfolding lives.
Healing is rarely an act of consciously harnessing inner energy and light, but is always a release and expression of this inner power. Whilst the healing process is unique, an expression of life in a person, this miraculous event can be facilitated by various tools and techniques. Numerous therapies have been developed throughout the unfoldment of human culture which have much to offer as healing arts. However, these do not heal. They cannot heal, they can only aid the body with its own innate healing power.
The apparent multitude of healing techniques, often appearing to contradict each other, can be seen as an interrelating ecology of approaches. I call it therapeutic ecology. Seeing the connections between the different schools of healing makes it clear that a unique blend of therapies may ideally suit one person whilst a different blend would be right for someone else. This provides us with a choice as to the best way to aid the self-healing process.
The following diagram places the individual—the heart and centre of self-healing—in the middle of an array of therapies. The foundation is Gaia, our beloved Planet, sustaining and supporting us. The overlighting presence is that of grace, embracing and illuminating us with the mystery of God’s loving presence.
I suggest four branches of healing techniques: medicine, body work, psychotherapies and methods of spiritual integration. Each of these is divided to show individual paths that represent many more, but there are limitations to this diagram as it is two dimensional, suggesting that the relationships of the tools of self-healing are linear. This could not be further from the truth, for the actual relationships are complex and numerous, creating a rich diversity. It is best to view this diagram as part of a three-dimensional web, creating a geodesic pattern of healing possibilities. An example would be an approach based upon herbs, massage, psychosynthesis and meditation. This combination might offer the person involved exactly what they need to facilitate self-healing. However, it may be that homeopathy by itself is appropriate. The combinations offer great subtlety and diversity of approach.
Medicine
The word ‘medicine’ here is used to describe anything that is taken—anything that is a gift from the Earth. At first sight it might seem strange that drugs are in the same group with herbs and homeopathy. They are all things, and as such, they are part of the diversity and richness of our planet. Whether it be hydrocortisone, False Unicorn Root, or a Bach Flower Remedy, all are produced from the body of the Earth. It would be a mistake to judge one against another. All have their place. What is needed is clear discrimination as to the appropriate treatment for each unique individual. There is nothing universally bad about chemotherapy or universally good about herbs. Let us be thankful for the choice.
Body work
The physical body has a deep wisdom, far outstretching the mind’s ability to conceive of it. A whole range of ways for freeing this wisdom and releasing the healing activity of the body have been developed. Perhaps the most limited and primitive method is surgical manipulation. But then there are times when all that can be done is to remove diseased tissue. This is necessary far less often than our surgeons believe, but it is still a valid and occasionally appropriate form of body work. Acupuncture, the ancient Chinese therapy of balancing body energy, is a most useful way of working with the body. In addition to these two very different types of body work we can include the manipulative techniques of physiotherapy, osteopathy, chiropractic, massage and Rolfing. Added to these things done to us are those we ourselves do. This would include Yoga, jogging, dance and all forms of physical exercise and expression.
Psychotherapies
Much of the pain and trauma that we experience in our lives is the result of emotional and mental problems. There are a range of therapies that help us move towards an inner knowing and an integrative realignment of our psychological selves. It is not just the emotionally traumatised or mentally confused person that benefits from an exploration and healing of the recesses of our emotional and mental nature. There is much that can be learnt by the ordinary individual to promote wholeness. Liberating the potential of a person can holistically transform them, which in turn affects their whole world. Reviewing belief systems, self image, patterns of behaviour and deep-seated drives or motivations within a clear context can liberate great reserves of healing energy and affirm an individual’s life and purpose.
Within the range of therapies there may be differing views of a human being’s psychic make-up that focus upon different parts of our ‘inner geography’. But they can all aid in the release of mental and emotional blocks.