Open Source; Definition: “In production and development, open source is a philosophy or pragmatic methodology that promotes free redistribution and access to an end products design and implementation details.
Before the phrase open source became widely adopted, developers and producers used a variety of phrases to describe the concept; open source gained hold with the rise of the Internet, and the attendant need for massive retooling of the computing source code. Opening the source code enabled a self-enhancing diversity of production models, communication paths, and interactive communities. The open source software movement was born to describe the environment that the new copyright, licensing, domain, and consumer issues created. The open-source model includes the concept of concurrent yet different agendas and differing approaches in production, in contrast with more centralized models of development such as those typically used in commercial software companies. A main principle and practice of open source software development is peer production by bartering and collaboration, with the end-product, source-material, “blueprints”, and documentation available at no cost to the public. This is increasingly being applied in other fields of endeavor, such as biotechnology.”
0 Comments
I’m not an expert on Shamanism, nor am I a stranger to it. In my experience, the most satisfying aspect of Shamanism is that it doesn’t seek answers, it seeks connection to innate wisdom that can lead one to answers or guide one to better questions. A Shamanic journey can be undertaken for any number of reasons, sometimes the intention is healing or communication with a specific spirit or energy. The question I’m raising here is; how are journeys brought on by psychotropic drugs or entheogens different from journeys brought more naturally, such as with a drum or rattle?
In a very general sense there are three main areas of life that are good to maintain balance in, the Physical, the Mental and the Spiritual. Manifestations of these three aspects of life are discussed by everyone from the Buddhist to the Bahá'í and in various religions from Christianity to Confucianism, often as Body, Mind and Spirit.
While there is more to "it" than meets the eye, most would agree that everything from the marvelous to the mundane falls into one of these three aspects of life. The beauty of them is that everything needed to keep them in balance, everything needed to live fully and completely, is provided. None of it needs to be purchased, none of it is difficult to locate or hard to get to. The tools are provided or you already have them and how to use them is innate. It can become overly complicated, juggling is still juggling. The best thing we can do to maintain balance is to not get in our own way. 
Today when I was meditating the neighborhood was quiet. A bee buzzed softly like he’d just been smoked out with the finest pine needles this side of the Mason Dixon. With the soft buzzing in the background, I let my mind wander, and wander it did. My daughter testing out of her Green Belt in Tang Soo Do and moving up to Advanced Green came to mind. To do so she would have to perform a few Katas. She’d practice in the living room, and I thought about the process, about what Kata is and why it is practiced. Even a Black Belt will often practice the more elementary Katas to stay tuned in to their body and to the movements and the proper ways to do them.
 During the pandemic I have had many guilty YouTube pleasures. Nothing weird or anything, just certain shows I binge-watched or channels I ended up getting a little addicted to. I’d heard of Gordon Ramsey prior to the pandemic, I knew he was fire in the kitchen and that he was easy to ignite. I watched a couple episodes of Kitchen Nightmares and couldn’t stop. To that end, I present: The Gordon Ramsey Kitchen Nightmares Approach to Eating Out and Everything Else  For those who need to hear it, I do have an extensive background in the use of herbs as medicine as I have been using them as such for decades. I have taken and completed programs with two different schools and am even doing an online correspondence course. I completed an internship with a TCM clinic as well as an apprenticeship in Native American Herbal Tradition. And still, I know nothing. I am barely scratching the surface. There is more to learn in this field than one could learn in a lifetime. Having said that, I can honestly say, the best way to learn is to do. Although there is potential for misuse resulting in possibly damaging side effects and care should be taken when using herbs, the potential danger is not nearly as prevalent as pharmaceutical companies and others with specific agendas might have you believe. Nor are they as benign and safe as the people standing at the other end of the spectrum would say either. I can say that the harmful side effects of using many prescription drugs are far worse than side effects from herb use. I encourage research. At the end of the day, the main point is responsible use. To that end, please heed the following: DISCLAIMER None of the information contained within this site is meant to replace medical treatment. Only use herbs as medicine if you know what you are doing, not if you just THINK you know what you’re doing, if you’re wrong there can be negative side effects. Improper use of herbs, just as improper use of prescription drugs, can harm or kill. Remember, natural doesn't always mean safe. Cross reference at least three reliable sources of information before taking an herb. Be sure about dosage and longevity of treatment. Mostly.....be careful. Resources *Much of what is here will be from my own notes collected over decades of study from vast and varied sources. Other sources are: -The Master Book of Herbalism by Paul Beyerl -Common Herbs for Natural Health by Juliette de Bairacli Levy -Rodales Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs -Culpepers Complete Herbal and English Physician by Nicholas Culpeper -The Way of Herbs by Michael Tierra OF NOTE: I had a lot of teachers, including apprenticeship and observation of masters at their craft. In that way, I have been extraordinarily blessed. I feel I need to be clear that in no way do I disregard the great work people do in traditional western medicine. I have had health issues that I'm not sure I would have made it through without the help of doctors and nurses. I think of herbs as a way to maintain. A non-invasive way one can work with, not in opposition to, a traditional doctor. I would never advise anyone to NOT see a doctor if they feel they need one.  
Liniments are herbal extracts that are rubbed into the skin over areas of soreness caused by strained muscles and ligaments. They also help with inflammation and arthritis. Generally they will include some combination of herbs that stimulate to get the blood moving, antispasmodic herbs and aromatic herbs to penetrate into the muscles and increase circulation. One can make a liniment by placing 4oz of dried herbs or double that if they are bruised, fresh herbs. Add 1 pint of vinegar, alcohol or massage oil and allow to extract. Shake the bottle a few times a day for three days if you used powdered herbs and fifteen if you used herbs that were whole or cut. There are so many varieties of ways to make liniment it could fill volumes, the best way to make one that works best for you is experimentation. 
It used to be the only kind of capsules one could get were gelatin, animal product. These days vegetarian capsules are available too. There are three main reasons to take herbs in capsule form cited in Way of Herbs by Michael Tierra, they are:
 Sometimes really strong herbs cannot be taken internally, that is when a fomentation, or as it is more commonly called, a compress, can be used. To make one is simple, make a strong tea, dip an absorbent cloth in it and place it over the affected area as hot as you can tolerate. A flannel blanket can be put over that and even a hot water bottle. Using heat allows for these herbs to be absorbed by the body slowly and in smaller amounts. I remember making compresses using my daughters cloth diapers, they worked better than anything else I used. I also used her little flannel baby blankets when she was done with them.
 An electuary is used when you have to give herbs that don't taste very good to children. To make the herbs more palatable they are mixed with something sweet such as honey, syrup or even peanut butter, it's the "teaspoon of sugar" that helps the medicine go down.  An electuary can be made pasty, it can be made into little bite sized goodies or it can be spreadable and put on toast or an apple or even just taken by the spoonful. One example in Michael Tierra's repertoire is enticing a child to take cayenne in a bit of peanut butter coated in honey. Of course, there are the more fancy varieties, like these chocolate mini cupcakes with nettle frosting...  
To try "simples" is to just use one herb. I have done this when I want to pinpoint what a specific herb does so I can use it or not use it when I am making a formula. It's also a good way to deconstruct a complicated formula into something simpler or reverse engineer a mystery formula.
I have always done a simple using the herb in tincture form. As a tincture I can take it for a long enough time to feel and document its effects over a course of three weeks or so. 
I don't need to go on and on about how to make tea, it's a pretty simple process. Here are a few points to make note of though, just as a reminder.
 Mistletoe will grow and has been found on almost any deciduous tree preferring those with soft bark, most commonly, old apple trees. It is also found on Ash, Hawthorne and Lime to name a few. It is an evergreen parasitic plant and grows on the branches of its host forming pendent bushes 2 to 5 feet in diameter. It has a woody stem with small leaves growing in pairs and flowers that are usually found in threes and have both female and male parts. When storing mistletoe it is recommended to remove the berries and store them separately as they are far more toxic than the leaves.
Mistletoe has been used in the treatment of high blood pressure and hardening of the arteries. It is said to calm the convulsions of epilepsy and other nervous disorders and to treat hemorrhage, severe headache and menstrual difficulties particularly excessive bleeding and painful cramps. It also improves circulation. The berries have been used externally to make a wash used in treating oily skin and acne. The berries aren’t recommended or internal use as they are highly toxic. Mistletoe is also being used in the treatment of cancer.  Hawthorne, of the genus Crataegus Laevigata (also oxycantha or monogyna, depending upon which of the three most common species you're looking at) are all from the Rosaceae family. The genus name crataegus is derived from the Greek word kratos, which means strength, just as the wood of the Hawthorne is known for its strength.
Greeks and Romans alike associated Hawthorne with hope and happiness. As such, it was widely used in floral arrangements for weddings; there again is that association with the heart. The Romans also believed that this plant kept evil spirits at bay and thus would use it in the babies cradle for protection. This also came from their association between this herb and the Goddess Cardea, strikingly similar to Cardio, she was the Goddess of marriage and childbirth. Cardea was mistress to Janus, the God with two faces, one always looking into both worlds and guarding doorways and portals, due to this association she was thought of as the hinge on the door of the year. On the other side of that coin, especially with the popularity of Christianity, love of this plant got twisted into an overwhelming sense of foreboding and a belief that if it was brought into a home someone in that home would die.  Herbal Properties/Medicinal
Below is a list of definitions. Often when we refer to medicinal uses of herbs properties are listed that might need definition, this list is meant to provide that. The following is a basic list and by no means exhaustive, there are many more properties that I may have left out for now. Questions? Ask in the comments. 
Shortages of health care professionals for a countries main populace are an increasingly common occurrence. In fact there are countries that have as few as 10 doctors for every 100,000 people, and I won’t even begin to expound upon the fact that in some countries the only reason people cannot get health care is because they are low income or uninsured. Decades ago, when China faced the problem of health care not reaching rural areas, their solution was to train the "peasantry" to treat the "peasants." Thus were born the "Barefoot Doctors" of China, way back in the 1960's.  I saw a movie once, I can't remember the name of the movie but I do remember it was very "Hallmark Special" in theme and presentation. It wasn't the plot of the movie that had my attention so much though as one of the characters. She was an elder, a medicine woman, though I doubt she would have called herself that. I associate her with that title because her methods of healing match that name better than any other I can come up with. She was a healer, a mid-wife, an herbalist and a spiritualist. As that is the type of healing I myself am most interested in, I was intrigued. |
