By Far, My Biggest Announcement Ever
Hello lovers of plant healing.I hope that this early Spring weather is treating you well (even though it's a bit odd). Even here in the Kootenays there are signs of the waking plants.It's with this excitement of newness and growth that I'm writing to you now. My heart is actually racing as I type, I'm so excited.A quick back story: I practice two types of herbalism. One can more or less be called Western Herbalism and the other Plant Spirit Medicine (PSM). I did my first Western Herbalism program in 2004 at the Northeast School of Botanical Medicine with political hippy teacher simply named "7song". (lol, my roots are show!)In May 2006, I completed the PSM program and became a PSM practitioner. I was give the proverbial 'thumbs up' by my teacher, Eliot Cowan, and told that I could start treating people. I still had lots to learn about healing with western herbs, but I was excited to have my teacher's blessing to start working with people.But, four days after completing the PSM program, I moved across the county and landed in East Vancouver. As you can imagine, this put more than a few roadblocks on my way to starting my clinical practice. I was able to do a treatment here and there, but nothing consistent and it was either free or barter payment.You have to understand that my heart ached to bring the power of plant healing to others because it had touched me so deeply.But then, another obstacle... Nonviolent Communication (NVC). I call it an obstacle because while I wanted to improve my communication skills, I did not want to be swept away into studying another healing modality.
I remember crying on my bed one day, feeling such frustration that my mind and heart were absolutely infatuated with NVC when I really, really just wanted to be a practising herbalist. And at the end of that cry, I remember the idea popped into my mind...maybe, just maybe, my passion for learning empathic listening would somehow, one day, complement my skills as an herbalist. Maybe my heart knew better than my mind.It was just an idea, but it felt right. You know, that deep, inner knowing kind of felt right.So, I dove heart first into NVC and, like herbalism before that, it nourished some piece of my heart that I didn't realized had even existed previously. Learning emotional intelligence and empathy changed my life! (especially as a man, but How NVC made me a better Feminist is a different story)Fast forward to today: All these three traditions, Western Herbalism, Plant Spirit Medicine, and NVC-style Empathy, dove-tail together quite beautifully, I'm delighted to report.But more than just report, I'm super excited to announce a new 3 month program that combines them all together to provide a deeply supportive type of healing.The program is aimed at reducing the impacts of stress for the folks who are working hard to make the world a healthier, happier, more just place.It's available anywhere in Canada or the US (with a good internet connection for skype).Plus, the first step is FREE:
The Burnout Barometer is a FREE 30 minute assessment so you can find where you are on the
stress-to-burnout spectrum and make a plan to get you out of stress
(without pushing through with coffee, sugar, drugs or willpower)
You can either do the Burnout Barometer Questionnaire on your own as a journaling exercise or you can submit your answers to me and book a time for us to talk about how stress is impacting your health and your life.
From this 30 minute session you will:
- Find clarity about where you are right now on the stress-to-burnout spectrum. You’ll receive a “You Are Here” sticker for your internal stress map.
- Start to see a direction out of the darkness and back into the sunlight. It won’t be the whole path, but it’ll get you moving in the right direction.
- Identify potential blind spots you may have, so you can start to build successful self care strategies that really work for you.
- Feel a renewed sense of optimism. You can once again, feel rested, energized and excited to take on the empire.
By taking a good look at your relationship with stress, you can find the early signs – not just of burnout – but also of other stress-related conditions before they become a health issue.
Click here to check out the Burnout Barometer.
The 2nd part:
If you're sick and tired of feeling sick and tired, and you want some support and guidance on your healing journey, then I invite you to check this out ...
Announcing: The "REDUCE Your Stress, REVIVE Your Health, RECYCLE the System" Herbal Self Care Program -
3 months of healing with herbs and empathy to get the world's changemakers back to thriving!
This program might be a good fit for you if:
- You’re a parent, caregiver, healer, social entrepreneur, community organizer, or activist who is working hard to create a world that future generations will be glad to inherit.
- You’d like to have enough energy and feel healthy so you can do more than just survive in this ‘needs-to-change’ system.
Click here to read more about the Herbal Self Care Program.As I said, this is brand new. This email is the first public announcement for both parts of this program.Please feel free to check it out (if you show me a typo, I've got a special thank you gift for you) and feel free to share.One other important piece: this is a "New Practice in a New to Town" launch and comes with an Introductory offer - save $150+ - for the first 10 people to sign up for the 3 month program.The Burnout Barometer will always be free, though I've only got space to do 15 sessions with people over the next few weeks.If you've got any questions or feedback, I'd love to hear it, please leave a comment below.strength & wisdom.garliqPS. If you haven't already heard, I have some sad, yet celebratory news to share... early this month, Marshall Rosenberg, passed away. He was the creator of Nonviolent Communication, a communication process that "helps people to exchange the information necessary to resolve conflicts and differences peacefully."I never met him personally, but his work touched my heart. I offer him the deep appreciation that his work taught me to cultivate. May his spirit Rest In Peace.