2012 Newsletter (reposted from email)
Greetings Plant Lovers!
This is Garliq at the Urban Herb School writing to break the long silence. Yes, it's been quite some time since anyone's heard a peep from the UHS. I haven't lost interest in herbs or anything like that, I've just been busy with a big move, having a baby (I didn't actually have the baby) and well, resting after a super busy season last year.I'll let you know that both Aven (now 6 weeks and yes, it's a plant name) and mama Clélie are doing quite well.In this post...1. Welcome msg2. HiC 20123. Awakening the Masses Tele-summit3. Coming this year4. 4 Fun videosI want to offer a special welcome to the folks who joined this list during this silent period. Thanks for not giving up ;)So, I confess that this is the 2nd version of this Newsletter. I really like the first one. It has a link to a great talk about adaptogenic herbs by David Winston and a cool link to the History of Medicine in America.It also has some teachings about Water, Winter and the 5 Elements in that style that I often write Seasonal Newsletters. Click here to read it, I think you'll enjoy it :)Instead, I've re-written this because I want to talk about 2012. I'm sorta surprised about how few people have been talking about this now that it's actually here. I've included 3 videos at the end of this that I think you'll enjoy.So... Welcome to the year of so many prophecies, so much anticipation, 2012. The Mayan
s say it is the end of time as we know it, the Incas say it is the time of meeting ourselves again. According to a stone calendar in the Great Pyramid of Egypt, the Mayans and the Cherokee the present time cycle ends in the year 2012.The Aztecs say this is the time of the 6th sun, a time of transformation and the creation of a new race.And the Anishnabe prophecy (of the Great Lakes Region) say ..."They will come to a fork in the road. One road will lead to Materialism and Destruction.....for almost all living creatures....The other road will lead to a Spiritual Way upon which the Native People will be standing...This path will lead to the lighting of the 8th fire, a period of eternal peace, harmony and a "New Earth" where the destruction of the past will be healed"I offer these not with any sense of doom and gloom because I don't have any. But with a huge sense of hope and possibility. I truely believe that Another World IS Possible! and it's up to us to recreate and remember it. "How does this relate to herbs?" you may ask. Well, it's simple. Plant medicines can powerfully link us to this Spiritual Way, in my experience. Receiving the healing gifts that plants offer is a step along this road, a step each of us can take. It has touched my heart and changed my life.Now, I'm not sure what to make of these various prophecies. I certainly don't believe that 2012 is the end of the world. But looking around at the state of things: the social unrest and injustice around the world, the environmental depletion that doesn't seem to be slowing down, agribusiness, machine cuisine, genocide of numerous Indigenous Peoples from Tibet to Turtle Island, etc (this is not a short list).We don't need prophecies to see that things need to change. We, as a species and as individuals, have some decisions to make about where and how we spend our time, attention and resources.With this in mind, the Urban Herb School will be offering some fantastic programing this year to support as many people as possible in connecting with the living energy of plant medicines. This offering comes from my heart because this work is my heart path, this work is me stepping into myself in order to offer that back. These offerings are not just for all the people who will take various classes and workshops this year, they are my offerings to humanity's best hope of surviving in the way that I'm most able help.So, whatever your path is, I offer my encouragement to act on that sooner than later, NOW even. Why wait? Maybe if enough people put their lives behind their heart's work, we can actually change something, prophecies or no prophecies.
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” Howard Thurman
If think you're called to the plant medicine path, please consider this...
Herbal Integration CourseBe an Urban HiC in 2012!
for Parents & Caregivers who want the medicines in their homes to fit with the values in their hearts
Community Health based on Empowerment, Trust and Values
- Empowerment comes from knowing you can ID the plants and make the medicines yourself for your family and friends
- Trust comes from knowing that the medicines work!
- Values of environmental sustainability, connection with the plant world, hope & action toward making the world a better place
8 Months – 8 Weekend Intensives – 8 Herbs- 68 hrs -
Here's what folks from 2011 had to say about the HiC..."I loved this class! It fed such a part of my soul and was such a beautiful entry in the land of herbs and plants. Thank you." Angela"This class has been the key for me to understand that the truest medicine is in my relation with the plants, and that all other medicine springs forth from that" ChelseaCheck out the UHS website for more information about Course Description, Course Structure, Students' Apothecary pics and Application.
Coming in January...
Balanced Wellness Retreats presents...
Awakening the Masses!
You'll be getting daily videos, diet plans, pep talks and much more. You'll have free one-on-one calls and unlimited emails with our team AND our amazing guest speakers who are health gurus on all on their own. For more info, visit www.BalancedWellnessRetreats.
Coming this year...
This year the Urban Herb School will be exploring the realm of callaboration and cooperation with other holistic practitioners. Plans are in the works for specialized, monthly workshops about:
- Herbal Fermentation
- Wild & Raw Foods
- Supreme Nutrition with Wild Foods
- and a few others
I am still looking for a few practitioners to collaborate with, so if you are an alternative, holistic practitioner or if you know one - and this part is key - WHO RESONATES with the UHS & the way I approach herbs and healing - please, super-please with fresh cherries on top, email me with ideas.Community healing is a cooperative effort. Mixing modalities and passions feed the biodiversity of our collective knowledge and resources.
At last the videos!
I've got 4 to share. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.Video #1 - Back to the Start - this is a cute video about farming in the old waysVideo #2 - Rap News 2012 - this video is genious! it made me laugh til I hurt. a great mix of the spiritual and political approaching 2012Video #3 - 8th Fire documentary - in the words of the uploader "Beautiful Storytelling! Awesome Visuals! Dream the Dream, the time is NOW." as you can tell by this email, this film and the work it shows has had a huge impact on me.Video #4 - Face & Body Creams Class - i'm proud to share this - FIRST EVER - video about the UHS. Adam Huggins shot and edited a workshop taught by Alison Brown & I last September. I hope you enjoy it. (it's also on the Creams Class page on the website)