HowlinWolf

Hi everyone,

I've been reading through some of the posts in the healing sections and began to wonder a few things. I am not a healer myself, at least not to my knowledge however I have been interested in the use of plants/herbs in healing. It seems to me that all of the posts here focus on the use of spiritual energy as healing and I was curious if anyone brought the use of herbs into their healing at all?

I don't mean to muddy any waters here as I know little about all the different approaches to healing. But from my understanding of traditional shamanism throughout the world, and more specifically in native american culture as I'm aware, use of natural medicines was a large part of healing as well as energy healing. Also that there was a great deal of spirituality involved in the knowledge of what healing properties plants have. In one book I had read a young child asked grandfather how he knew what plants to use in healing or food, grandfather simply replied "I ask them".

Aside from the fact that in this day and age there is a great deal of science involved in the healing properties of many plants and herbs. This to me just provides scientific proof of what native peoples knew all along about the healing powers of nature from spiritual knowledge. I guess where I'm going here is this:

Does anyone integrate the use of herbs and natural medicine into healing?
or
Has the shamanic practice of using this deeper knowledge of what plants to use for what ailments lost it's spiritual significance to science?

Again I don't wish to muddy any waters, my understanding of purely energic/spiritual healing is very limited and I don't wish too come off as ignorant or naive. However the idea of purely spiritual healing definately has it's place in many wholistic/natural healing clinics, is it something used as a stand alone thereapy? or are there other methods such as traditional (natural) medicines and/or modern medicine involved too?

Howlin

intune

For the last month my left arm has been aching. I noticed when I used the shintsu massager it was sore at first but was starting to loosen things up. the shinsu massager looks like a pillow with two thumbs rotating around it can go clock-wise or counter clock- wise and it's a hard pressure. When I went to bed at night I would take two 650 mg aspirian but during the night my arm would feel heavy aching , like I got a shot where my old polio vaccine was at and it would wake me up several times and I would get up, it would stop and I would go back to bed. When I got up I never felt well rested , like when you go to bed sleep a full 6 to 8 hours or more, then got up and keep going till you go to bed again.I had a full bottle glucosamine tablets, I took 2 tablets at noon I noticed my aching stopped. At night instead of taking 2 aspirian I took 2 of the glucosamine tablets and I woke up no aching or pain in the shoulder. I used to take Glucosamine when I work over nights at Wal-mart one person was doing the job of three people, and I just ached no matter what. This is the first time I really noticed it worked.


Love and light
intune

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Draigh

@ HowlinWolf
Firstly, I dont think science and spirituality have to be mutually exclusive. And I think time will eventually prove they are not. As to your questions about herbs and plants in general. My mother was a very good healer. She worked with energy a lot, both in the form of laying on hands and doing massages. But also in therapeutic work with lots of talking. She did have a very good working knowledge of herbs and plants and their healing properties, but rarely used it on clients because that wasn't what people were looking for. Also some of those inbalances they had were easier to solve with energywork than with herbs. She did use a lot of the herb-knowledge on the family (mostly me and my brother) as a natural remedy against many more common ailments. But always in combination with the official medical references.
I think the whole herbal knowledge is a lot less nowadays because we are often dependant on local herbs and need to be trained in its recognition and uses of a lot of different herbs. While energywork can be harder to learn in certain aspects, it's easier to grasp on the whole rational anatomical/medical level. You just have faith that your intention to heal is enough to get the healing energy where it needs to go to.

Just my two cents though...

@ Intune
Have you been to a physiotherapist with your arm yet? Healingwork and selfmedication can be enough, but sometimes it's better to also add the official medical knowledge to it. Sometimes one works better then the other.
Healing and best wishes for you and your arm.

In love and wisdom,
Draigh

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"Mix a little foolishness with your serious plans: it's lovely to be silly at the right moment."
Horace

"I'm not denyin' the women are foolish; God Almighty made 'em to match the men."
George Eliot (Adam Bede)

intune

Draigh,

Thank-you for the really great advice. That must of been interesting having a Mom that was healer and it must of been more interesting when she was able to get to the deep root of a problem, that would be some very strong Mom Intuition. Talk about not letting something slip past your Mom. It shows when you write that you have that strong instinct. That is a true gift to get root to any solution, and not just sugar coat it but to make it go away and deal with it so it does not come back. That would be the best kiss for a boo boo.


love & light
intune

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freevoice

Living within the Spirit being intune to the spirituality of that which surrounds you in your body,mind and thought at all times leads me at least to the proper path. Thus I prevent much illness for it has no place to grow. I have managed and am still working on keeping my Alpha waves in my thoughts to a degree while still operating on the Beta or analytical conscious level.Such things as anxiety,stress,anger,rage etc- cause health problems in all areas of the mind and body specially of the heart. I have for a long time been wanting to discuss the Alpha level but have just now decided to do so. I am not the type of person that is outgoing but more introspective but I observe others well. I have discussed this with a few close friends only because most people would not understand and think I was off key but really they would not understand.anyway.I can say that living with both sides of the brain open can brings on a relaxed state and thoughts and ideas enter the conscious level that otherwise would not.Let me just describe these thoughts as awareness perception.This is what I have been concentrating on more in my daily activities. Saying this YES there are herbs etc that are used when an illness enters the activities of the body
Shaman pray while they are applying herbal treatment thus for body and soul.
Thank you for the opportunity to express what I believe to be true.

Iain

Hi all,

Interesting subject healing, the healing process is a very interesting one. Things material such as broken bones and real physical things aid greatly from outside infullence. But i ask myself how many things are caused by inside infulence, how many of us hear such amazing stories of the placibo affect, how many of us have also hear of a spouse dying after a partner has passed away. How much sickness is caused by ones own self, and how much can one choose to be healthy.

One more point a healer or shaman should be there to show the person that they are there own healer or shaman and the greatest healer of all is ones own self.

forgive my spelling.

with respect iain...

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WITH YOUR SOUL ROOTED IN THE INFINTE, OPEN YOUR HEART AND PUSH THE LIMITS....