Pathways to Healing
A Guide to Herbs, Ayurveda, Dream Body, and Shamanism
Published by Don Ollsin at Smashwords
Copyright 2010 Don Ollsin
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
Acknowledgements
Foreward
Preface
H.J. Goals
Personal Healing Myth
Contacting Your Inner Healer
H.J. Guidelines
SECTION 1 Ayurveda
Ayurvedic Constitution
Four Pillars to Treatment
Congestion & Bio-fire
Ayurvedic Guidelines
Taste
Energetics
Tri-Constitution Chart
SECTION 2 Herbs
Preparations Medicine Making
Herbs that Keep you Healthy
Herbs for Change How to Use Herbs
Herbal First Aid and Herbal Medicine
Bach Remedies
SECTION 3 Dreambody
D.B. Introduction
Pathways
The Critic
SECTION 4 Shamanism
Introduction
Plant Dreamworld
Elements
Air
Fire
Water
Earth
Totems
Dreams
Bright dream\Grey dream\No dream
SECTION 5 Seasons
Spring
Summer
Late Summer
Fall
Winter
SECTION 6 Conclusion
Flow, Purpose & Order
Death & Rebirth
“Tell me and I will forget. Teach me and I will remember. Involve me and I will learn.”
- Benjamin Franklin
I would like to thank Sandy for her love, support, continual encouragement and fine editing. Our three children, Melissa, Jonn and Brooke for keeping me connected to the magic (dreamworld) and the mundane (ordinary world). My mother who showed me a functional model of how to live in this world. And my father whose dysfunction, prompted my search for wholeness.
My friends: Ken Bloomfield for his wise counsel and editorial comments. Stan Tomandl for his support, processing skills and positive feedback. Chris Carless for his long hours, creative wit and continual support and encouragement. Carmen Lane for her excellent typesetting and Paula Morrison for the cover design and Soren Henrich for his creative illustrations.
My teachers: Ellen White for her friendship, guidance and shamanic teachings. Kirpal Singh for his continual support, guidance and direction in the spiritual world. Dr. John Christopher for his trail blazing. Norma Myers for her wild - woman ways. Rosemary Gladstar for her warmth and support. Susun Weed for her guidance, encouragement and speaking her truth. Ryan Drum for his friendship and wildcrafting teachings. Robbie Svoboda for opening the doors of Ayurveda for me. Dorothy Maclean who talked to devas and passed on her inspiration and encourgement to me. Arnie Mindell who taught me how to experience, follow and grow through the dreaming body.
Every student and client I have had the privilege of being with. All of the graduates of the Herbal Healing Journey.
The Earth, Water, Wind and Fire and all their gifts as well as the Plant Beings and especially the Oak Deva.
Don Ollsin
I have a treasured memory of Don Ollsin and I at the onset of our friendship moving warily towards each other over many months. Feeling each other out, a powerful affirmation of exercise 61 in this book. What became clear as we became more comfortable with each other was that, as herbalists and teachers, we were breaking away from rigid traditions in our work. I am passionately concerned with education, the process of learning, and the values that are conveyed just as much as the information. So is Don. He brings a remarkable understanding of learning as a life process and a skill in setting the scene whereby people can gain understanding, insight and self-awareness as well as information. He showed me the value of asking students questions and creating an environment where they can find their answers. I see Don as a teacher, coach and guide as well as an informer.
Since those early days we have become collaborators and I have had the immense pleasure and privilege to be invited to co-facilitate with Don in some of the courses he teaches. His knowledge is vast yet rooted in his search for deeper questions that will reveal new answers. This process has always led us to new ground, always searching, listening to our inner wisdom and guidance, connecting our knowledge of healing and learning. From it we have both been richer.
For Don his work with herbs, nature and his own inner world is a personal journey, the fruits of which he shares with clients and students and has for over twenty-five years.
The great teachings call us to “know ourselves, love our neighbour and do good works” with one startling omission that Don provides in the Herbal Healing Journey. He shows us how.
Rowan Hamilton. Herbalist. MNIMH MSCS Dip Phyt.
Don Ollsin is a highly qualified herbalist, consultant, teacher, author and nature guide with over 40 years experience in the field of herbal medicine. Visit his website at www.herbalhealingpathway.com.
Pathways to Healing was previously published as Herbal Healing Journey Playful Workbook, a selection of the Time/Life One Spirit Book Club.
What a wonderful book, a jewel of originality among the plethora of herbal books lining the bookshelves. As its name implies, Herbal Healing Journey is a playbook, a workbook, a guiding light and a healing journey into the green world. I found the instructions clearly presented and the many exercises developed to bring one closer in touch with the plant world intriguing. I'm looking forward to incorporating several of the techniques described throughout this herbal "Play/Workbook"in my own teachings and classes.
Rosemary Gladstar, author of Herbal Healing for Women.
Danger! This book can help you become a wild green person who eats weeds. The exercises are sound and beautiful. Much here for beginners and pros, too.
Susan S. Weed, founder, Wise Woman Center
Don is a positive, enthusiastic, and energetic advocate of herbal healing, who lives his own beliefs and is an inspiration to many people including myself. His ongoing Herbal Healing Journey Programs are enjoyed and respected by all those who participate in them. He has been and continues to be a positive force in the lives of many people.
Nancy Turner, Professor of Ethnobotany, UVIC, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Welcome to the Pathways to Healing. This book is a journey of the self to the Self. It is a circular or spiral path circumambulating the Self. I am Don Ollsin and I was born in Assinaboia, Saskatchewan in 1946. My family moved to Vancouver, B.C. in 1954. In 1969, I travelled to India, where I lived, studied and meditated for six months. Afterward I returned to the West Coast and started various businesses - i.e. Health Food Restaurant, Natural Food Store and eventually, a Herbal Dispensary called Self Heal Herbs in Victoria, in 1976. I sold it in 1994 and am currently teaching, consulting and writing.
I work with herbs, plant devas, dreams, processes, elemental forces and natural medicines with clients and students. I have been sharing and building my repertoire of knowledge since 1969. I practice herbology, medicine-making, iridology, reflexology, shamanism and counselling. I use process-oriented psychology tools in my work. I am an active student of the dream world.
Don’s Dream. In this dream I come into a town and I ask where Carl Jung (one of the foremost founders of depth psychology) lives. I am directed to an apartment complex. I arrive at his door and with apprehension, I knock. His wife answers the door and leads me into the kitchen and departs. I stand there alone until Carl comes into the room. He looks at me and asks, “What are you doing with your life?” I begin to tell him that I am studying Dreambody with Arnold Mindell but he interrupts me. “ I said, what are you doing? What do you have to offer to the world?”
I remember two strong vivid awakenings that occurred around ages nine and thirteen. The first was in primary school. A teacher mentioned that the ancients had an archaic belief in the four elements. I remember experiencing a cloud of knowing enveloping me. I awoke in it and looked around wondering where I was and what was I being taught? In my previous world of knowledge, the four elements were fundamental to a precise and dynamic understanding of the world. Some deep part of me challenged the information being fed to me. As I looked around the classroom everything looked foreign to me, the walls, the windows and the desks. I remained in that heightened state for another fifteen minutes. It lingers in the present and guides me in this present work. I was approximately nine years old at the time.
My second awakening occurred when I was thirteen. I was sitting in my sister’s car waiting for her. I was lost in deep thought as she approached the old Chevrolet. I didn’t hear her open the door. She looked at me and inquired, “What are you doing? Meditating?” The word meditating invoked the most pleasant feeling that touched my spirit and spread throughout my body like internal goose bumps. I looked at her in dazed wonderment. “What does meditation mean?” I asked. In that moment
I knew that I knew better than her what meditation meant. By the age of nineteen I was actively pursuing the process of meditation. By twenty-two I was meditating three to six hours a day in an ashram in India under the guidance of Kirpal Singh, a true Master of the art and science of meditation. Through his grace and guidance I experience the incredible depths and joys that meditation brings. It has helped me immensely in my understanding of nature and her marvellous secrets.
I have studied personally with many teachers. Some of them include Kirpal Singh (Indian Mystic), Ellen White (Coast Salish Shaman), Stan Tomandl (Process Oriented Psychologist), Bernard Jensen (Nutritionist), Dr. Robbie Svoboda (Ayurvedic Doctor and Teacher), Dr. John Christopher (Herbalist), Eunice Ingham (Founder of Reflexology), Rolling Thunder (Medicine man), Dorothy Maclean (One of the founding members of Findhorn), Arnold Mindell (Founder of Process Oriented Psychology), and many others too numerous to mention.
I have conducted the intensive course, the Herbal Healing Journey, more than 17 times now. It includes experiential learning about herbs, healing, ayurveda, working with body symptoms using process-oriented psychology and shamanism. It has now evolved into a nine month course embracing home study and weekend practicums (see back of book).
I developed the exercises and accumulated the knowledge for this book over the last thirty years. The book is designed so that much of the learning comes from within yourself using the “do this” exercises to guide and support you.
My shamanic teacher, Ellen White, encourages us to think as we. We include: myself, my partner and editor Sandy, my children, my ancestors, my adopted grandmother Ellen White, my adopted grandfather Kirpal Singh, my friend Chris Carless, my buddy Stan Tomandl, my teachers, my students, my friends, my co-workers, the plant people, the elements, the ocean, the devas, the many beings from the spirit world. In Ellen’s world we are connected to all life. Nothing lives in isolation.
Carl Jung introduced me to the idea that our symptoms and illnesses are very important circumstances deeply connected to our growth, not meaningless pathological symptoms. When we take the time and effort to listen, decipher and act on our symptoms they can be rich in meaning, full of information and offer new directions, attitudes or solutions.
You may want to ask yourself, “ What is right about this situation or symptom?" By changing our questioning from what is wrong to what is right we may activate a new set of answers or solutions.
My goal in writing this book is to offer you tools and knowledge to increase your awareness that may initiate transformation in yourself and your life.
I have designed the exercises for optimum learning based on the latest research in education.
I want to share with you in an experiential way the wonders and magic of herbs, nature and life. If your life is changed in any small way for the better then my goal will be achieved and my heart will be happier.
My goal of connecting your learning and wellness practices to the flow of the seasons is to connect you to a natural flow that is consistent, stable and defined.
Do This!
Exercise 1 • Healing Journey Goals
Answer the following questions.
What do you want to get out of this book?
Is there anything that you want to heal or change?
Do you want to help others? How would you imagine doing that?
Is there anything that would keep you from completing this course? What do you imagine it might be? What changes might you make to prevent this from happening?
Preferably, discuss your goals and potential obstacles with a friend. Did anything new come out of the discussion?
"No favorable wind blows for a ship that has no port."
PERSONAL MYTH:
A strong experience that may create a pattern that tends to repeat itself.
PERSONAL EXAMPLE:
I remember being very sick when I was in grade five. I vomited out the contents of my stomach, then retched up bile and then had the dry heaves. It feels now like I was mostly alone. I did not go to the doctor. The only medicine I remember taking was some ginger ale.
I am sharing this with you to illustrate how it possibly shaped my personal myth around healing. Let’s analyze it for fun and learning. Firstly, I was alone, so I obviously started developing the philosophy of self-healing. Secondly, the illness followed its own course, therefore since I got better I learned to trust in the healing power of my body.
The only medicine I used was Ginger Ale which is an herbal beverage. Ginger is an herb that I still like to use, although now I take Ginger tincture or strong Ginger tea. Ginger links many of us to our childhoods. That powerful childhood experience probably influenced my interest in herbs. More healing experience memories may present themselves at another time, but for now I will work with the one my memory offered.
“The child is father to the man” William Wordsworth
Do This!
Exercise 2 • Healing Myth
Recall your earliest memory of being ill.
What was the illness like?
What was going on in your life at the time?
Who was with you?
Where were you?
How were you treated?
How did you get better?
This may have set up a pattern for getting sick and how you deal with sickness. Think about other times that you have been sick. See if they have any similarities to the one you just recorded.
Pay attention to all of the different factors involved the next time you get sick. If you notice a pattern you may want to do something different with it, or at the very least follow the process with more awareness.
CHILDHOOD DREAM:
A strong recurring dream or strong memory that affected us during our childhood. Some may have been disturbing while others may have been exhilarating.
Do This!
Exercise 3 • Childhood Dream
Reflect back to your early childhood to find the first strong dream that you remember. Mine is “I am sitting in a very large building. It is dim in the building. I sit on the ground. A huge rope hangs down and swings hypnotically, back and forth.” The strong part of the dream is the feeling that it evokes. I loved and feared that dream as it repeated itself often during my childhood.
When you have found your dream or memory spend time meditating on it. Maybe draw it, preferably in colour (big crayons are great) and write down any important words that capture the energy of the dream. Meditate on it again and pay attention to any feelings it evokes. Expand those feelings into small movements. Slowly increase the movements by increasing their range and tempo to the extent that is comfortable. Move-ment is challenging but often rewarding. If you have a willing partner then discuss the dream with them.
• Draw your childhood dream.
This is an excellent exercise that I adapted from the book "Writing from the Body" by John Lee. His exercise is called meeting the inner artist. You can use this format for contacting different parts of yourself. Find out how they are doing and begin building a relationship with them. For the purpose of this work we will focus on the inner healer.
Do This!
Exercise 4 • Inner Healer
Find a place where you will be comfortable to spend some inner time. Relax and let your attention gently turn inward. Allow your attention to move toward the place where your healer lives. Search for the door that leads to where s/he lives. Observe what the door looks like. Ask if you can come in? When the healer appears, ask how they are doing? Do they need anything? Do they have anything to share with you? How could you foster the relationship? When you are finished, say goodbye and take a few minutes to reflect on the experience before drawing and writing about it.
What is the door made of?
Is it open or closed?
Is the door used frequently or hardly at all?
What does your inner healer look like?
Did they need anything or have anything to share with you?
Draw the experience: drawing sometimes helps to access other parts of ourselves.
Record your experience.
"Enjoyable activities have clear goals, stable rules and inspired challenges well matched to skills.” — from the book, "Flow"
Move toward solutions. Put most of your attention on the solution.
Do all the exercises at least once. There is no right or wrong way to do the exercises, only personal experience and creative growth. Whatever you experience is valid. You may benefit from the repetition of some exercises until you become familiar with the technique. The exercises engage skills you may use to develop new ways of living and working.
You may want to enlist the support of a friend or partner to share your experiences. Support is one of the 4 pillars (knowledgable healer, right medicine, patient cooperation) of healing. I learned through periods of isolation and suffering that I need support. Now I actively seek support and I am continually learning how to support others.
We perceive life through our senses. By increasing our sensory perceptions we enlarge our experience of living and enrich our sense of aliveness. Whenever you feel spaced out or lost, use your senses to bring you back. Smell what you are smelling. See what you are seeing. Hear what you are hearing. Feel the sensation that you are feeling.
Only consume as much as you can digest, physically, mentally, emo-tionally and spiritually. Some material may be totally new to you. You may want to go back over the material, discuss it with a friend or just sit with it for awhile. The first book I read on consciousness, I reread seven times and I am still digesting its contents.
Take care of your Liver. Organic Dandelion root tea and diluted lemon water are excellent for the liver. Add them to your diet.
Nourish yourself.
Rework the contents of your consciousness until you achieve the level of function and contentment you want. When discontent, look inside yourself first to see if a shift of perception changes how you feel. We will explore new and exciting ways of shifting perception.
Stay close to your growing edges. If you notice that you are experiencing an unhealthy amount of depression then look to where you have moved away from your personal direction for growth. You only need to move 1\4 of an inch in the right direction to start feeling better.
Use an essential oil of your choice when studying to anchor (purposely connect something less tangible like information with something more tangible like a specific scent) your new knowledge. When you want to recall experiences and information gained from the book, smell the oil to help stimulate your recall.
The seasons affect our well being. Working with the seasons develops a natural order to our rituals of well being. Using this natural order is a great advantage. Keep a journal of the seasons so you can reflect on their influence on you over the years.
We live in two worlds simultaneously. One is our everyday world and how we identify ourselves. The other is the hidden world and parts we don't identify with. To achieve a solid sense of well being it is essential to understand both worlds. We call one world our Ordinary World and the other world our Dream World.
There are three active forces that govern life. They are Wind (Vata - Ether & Air) that governs movement. Fire (Pitta - Fire & Water) that governs transformations. Water (Kapha - Earth & Water) which governs growth and stability. All individuals are born with varying blends of all three. By understanding our unique blend we are in a better position to make more informed decisions. I have replaced the words vata, pitta, kapha with the English words wind, fire and water.
Herbs are a special category of plants that help us maintain higher levels of health. They offer us an ecologically sound system of health care. Herbs are a renewable resource and many of them can be grown locally.
Sad but true, most people's lives are a series of interruptions and disruptions. How we choose to view and utilize disruptions has a pronounced effect on our level of wellness.
A sense of personal growth is essential to a feeling of well being. There are many effective methods to choose from that encourage growth.
We need support, knowledge and guidance to achieve and maintain a high level of wellness.
Constantly remind yourself to focus on the person more than the disease.
Gentleness brings greater changes. In working your way through the material in this book, be aware that you will have the season that you are working on again next year and the next etc. Be gentle with yourself!
“Educate not medicate”
Bernard Jensen, a leader in the field of natural medicine.
LIFE • LIGHT • LOVE
Air (Vata-Life), Fire (Pitta-Light) and Water (Kapha-Love) are the 3 principles most fundamental to life. They represent, in order, the cosmic urges to movement, transformation and stability (cohesion).
After thirty years of using herbs I feel strongly that it is important to learn the energetics of the tastes and to choose our herbs and foods according to our desired goal. Our goal is to favour the foods and herbs that balance and strengthen our constitution. To know which tastes will get us back into balance when we have taken a learning journey into imbalance. Many diseases can be remedied through interventions that balance the constitution. This knowledge can be used to educate people on health choices and lifestyle decisions. It is truly a wholistic approach that reaches deep into the body and psyche of an individual and offers them wise counsel in every area. This is a remarkable system and I encourage you to study it further if you find it appealing.
I have purposely chosen to use the English names of wind, fire and water.
Western medicine has made a deliberate attempt to separate religion and medicine. Ayurveda sees the two as inseparable. In my practice I did as much or more emotional and spiritual counselling as suggesting herbs and other physical regimes. Disease is usually an opportunity to examine our life a little deeper and see where we may have wandered from our path.
By the end of this section you will be able to:
Recognize your own unique Ayurvedic Constitution.
Define other's constitutions.
Design a program for each constitution.
Define what to do to imbalance your constitution.
Recognize the four pillars of healing and be sure they are all present when healing.
Do This!
Exercise 5 • Personal Constitution questionnaire:
Go through this questionnaire (you may want to photocopy extras first) and check off the choice or choices that best describe you. There might be two for a category, so check off both. The more times you do the questionnaire, you develop a better sense of the three constitutions. It is helpful if you can do the questionnaire with a supportive friend who knows you well.
Example:
A robber comes into a bank and pulls out a gun and tells everyone to stick up their hands. What do you do ?
put up your hands immediately and start praying ?
put your hands up slowly while calculating how you can trick the robber and make him pay for interrupting your banking ?
walk out in disbelief, realize a block later what is happening and call the police.
Answers:
a) Wind b) Fire c) Water
Please redo this questionnaire 2 or 3 times. Do it with a friend who knows you well and can help fill in any holes. Think about the different aspects for a couple of months and observe yourself. Most people are a mixed constitution, often with one predominant constitution.
I find the knowledge I use and learn from Ayurveda to be vitally important to me personally and professionally. It is a fascinating and rewarding study. Good Health!
Do This!
Exercise 6 • Observing Constitutions
Spend a few days in a public place, where you can observe people. Go through each part of the questionnaire and pick out the different constitutions. Example: Lips. Do they have small, thin, dry lips? Or medium, soft, red lips? Or full, firm and smooth? Think about the effect of wind, fire and water and its presence or absence in what you observe.
What Constitution Am I?
You have done the questionnaire and you are still wondering what constitution you are?
WIND
You love to be busy.
You often have long lists of what you want to get done.
You enjoy talking.
Your hair is dry and somewhat curly.
You have cold feet and hands.
Your body is slender.
You sometimes suffer from gas or constipation.
You often experience fear (be honest).
FIRE
You are usually warm.
You have warm hands and feet.
You hate waiting in lines and are sometimes impatient.
Your hair is fine, straight and often oily.
You go to the bathroom frequently.
You love challenges and even a good fight once in awhile.
You particularly enjoy the visual world and often dream in colour.
You often experience anger, frustration and impatience (be honest).
WATER
You have fairly thick, wavy and oily hair.
You are often cool and you like to be warm.
You gain weight easily and it is difficult to lose.
You like to have lots of food in the cupboards.
You enjoy and need at least eight hours of sleep.
You tend to avoid stress when possible.
You think that most exercise is a waste of time and energy (be honest).
Mixed Constitutions:
Many of us are mixed constitutions. I have a Fire\Water body with a Fire\Wind mind. Fire is the predominant element in my make-up and I need to keep it in balance to feel good. When I first discovered Ayurveda I was living on yoghurt and suffering from a constant burning in my stomach. Sour is the most heating taste and by cutting back, my symptoms quickly disappeared.
My wife Sandy has a Water\Fire body with a predominantly Fire mind. She grew up in the Pacific Northwest and never realized how badly the damp cold affected her until we took a seven week break in the tropics. She especially loved the dry heat and many of her symptoms disappeared. Her fire mind is pro-active, unfortunately her Water body doesn’t always want to follow. She feels best when she gets lots of exercise and she is in a warm climate.
Be patient (if you don’t have too much fire) and you will get to know your constitution as you begin to understand the workings of Ayurvedic philosophy. The best thing to do when you are of a mixed constitution is to strengthen and build the missing dosha. If you are fire\water then you would encourage the development of air.
Three Functional Levels of Constitutions
WIND:
Harmonious: lots of energy, adaptable, quick thinking and good understanding, communicable, enthusiastic, optimistic, good healing power, ability to make changes easily.
Disturbed: hyperactive, unstable, poor decision making, restless, talks a lot, anxious, jumpy nerves, superficial, empty enthusiasm.
Darkened: depressed, filled with fear, drug addiction, self-destructive, dishonest, mentally challenged, suicidal.
FIRE:
Harmonious: good perception, sharp intelligence, clarity, enlightened, compassionate, inter-dependent, warm, friendly, brave, excellent guide, strong leadership ability.
Disturbed: controlling, domineering, forces will, manipulative, prone to anger, careless, false pride, impulsive, quick to criticize, ambitious.
Darkened: full of hate, resentful, destructive, criminal tendencies, attracted to the underworld, possible drug dealer.
WATER:
Harmonious: compassionate, able to forgive, reliable, nurturing, loving, supportive, devotional, patient, secure, strong faith.
Disturbed: need to control, attachment, greed, materialistic, comfort seeking, insecure, needy, needs luxury.
Darkened: lethargic, lazy, slothful, crude, confused, insensitive, possible thief.
How to keep your Constitution in Balance
Following are some suggestions for keeping your constitution in balance when needed. I find it has improved my health, understanding what upsets my constitution and what strengthens it. Being human I still find myself doing things that challenge my constitution but I usually do it with awareness and suffer less than I would have in the past.
I thoroughly enjoy the knowledge that I have gained and I am continually amazed at its accuracy. As you begin to understand yourself and others better, you may develop more understanding and compassion. By being clearer about your expectations of others your relationships may improve.
WIND: Predominant emotion is fear (takes stress and holds onto it)
Be regular and practice routine.
Start with one project or activity and work on one thing at a time.
Get up at the same time every day.
Take a hot bath every afternoon.
Have a gentle soothing massage with warm oil when stressed.
Keep your mind busy, active and happy.
Eat small meals frequently:
Eat a nourishing diet of sweet, oily, sour & salty edibles.
Eat hot, oily, cooked food (root vegetables are excellent).
Grains in general are beneficial. Millet is particularly good.
Add yoghurt to your diet.
Use aromatic herbs.
Eat in a relaxed environment.
Avoid eating dry foods.
Exercise with yoga or tai chi.
Surround yourself with less concentrated colours like yellow, orange and pastels.
Use alcohol based medicinal preparations like tinctures
For those suffering from excess wind: Administer medicated oil enemas. Corrective oily enema is considered the best.
FIRE: Predominant emotion is anger (takes stress and throws it back)
Keep pleasant company and environment.
Take cold baths or showers.
Stay in a cool atmosphere.
Administer mild laxatives.
Avoid sleeping during the day.
Participate in amusement, enjoy music and singing.
Food:
Favour sweet, bitter and astringent tastes. Eat cool salads and other raw foods.
Eat sufficient quantities. Avoid fried foods.
Avoid excessively pungent spices like cayenne.
Use ghee (clarified butter) regularly.
Avoid excess sour foods like tomatoes, yoghurt or wine.
Exercise should be cooling like swimming. Avoid competitive sports.
For those suffering from excess fire:
Strong laxatives are considered the best.
WATER: Predominant emotion is complacency (ignores stress)
Fast.
Exercise.
Sleep less.
Food: Favour pungent, astringent & bitter tastes. Eat dry, non-fatty foods.
Use stimulating spices like cayenne, ginger and garlic. Eat less.
Avoid fattening foods.
Use moderate amounts of honey.
Have a dry stimulating massage regularly.
Use emetics to induce vomiting if lungs become overly congested.
Exercise is considered the best for water constitutions.
How to Imbalance Your Constitution
WIND:
Fast often.
Worry a lot.
Never sit down to eat.
Stay up late and get up early.
Forget about routines.
Move around a lot in cars, planes, trains and automobiles.
Jog or bounce on a rebounder.
Hang out in dry, cold and busy places.
Drink lots of coffee.
FIRE:
Get drunk a lot.
Indulge in hot spices.
Involve yourself in frustrating activities.
Eat plenty of tomatoes, chillies, raw onions, and sour foods like yoghurt.
Add lots of red meat and salted fish to your diet.
Snack often on highly salted foods.
Exercise at noon in the sun.
Over dress.
Sleep with the window closed and the heat up.
Hang out in hot, stale and violent places.
WATER:
Get plenty of sleep during the day.
Enjoy fatty foods with lots of extra oil.
Eat often and as much as possible especially beer and potato chips.
Deny your creativity.
Lie around and feel sorry for yourself.
Hang-out in cold, dull and wet places.
Eat at least one big helping of ice cream or cheese cake every day.
Avoid exercise.
The Four Pillars to Treatment:
In Ayurvedic practice these four components need to be in place if one is going to have a chance of being successful. I have had to counsel clients that they needed an attendent for example.
Herbal Counsellor
Has theoretical knowledge, practical experience, skill, compassion, strong character.
Herbs
Abundantly available. Easily applied. Useful in a variety ways. High quality.
Attendant
Must be knowledgable in nursing skills, affectionate and clean.
Patient
Needs to have clear recollection, discipline with instructions, commitment, the ability to describe ailments and changes.
In this section we will explore congestion from an Ayurvedic viewpoint. How it is created and what is its affect on each of the constitutions? How to recognize it and remove it. You will learn how to prevent it by building a strong bio-fire.
By the end of this section you will be able to:
Know how to recognize congestion in each constitution and what steps to take to relieve it.
Recognize good bio-fire by the colour of the nail beds.
Prevent congestion by building strong bio-fire (digestion).
CONGESTION (AMA)
Accumulation of toxins, waste materials and indigestible food consisting largely of mucoid accretions.
Opposite of Bio-Fire.
Psychologically, emotional congestion arises from holding onto negative emotions.
Indigestible experiences become toxic like indigestible food.
We may need help breaking them down into digestible experiences.
Ama is the root of a weak auto-immune system, which can lead to colds, fevers, flus and chronic diseases e.g. allergies, hayfever, asthma, arthritis and cancer. Severe AMA is rare and presents a difficult condition.
Gently Eliminate Congestion (Ama) first (if obvious) before treating the Constitution!
Use bitter tasting herbs and foods. Bitter separates the congesting materials lodged in the tissues and organs. Stimulates catabolism breaking down foreign material.
Use pungent tasting herbs and foods. Pungent burns up and eradicates congestion.
Take bitter first to halt the development and pungent to strengthen the Bio-Fire. Bio-Fire promotes the consumption of congestion and prevents it from returning.
Congestion makes us feel heavy. I recommend cleansing, using herbs and foods of a light nature and exercising more.
Balancing the Constitutions
Pacify the constitution disturbed (likely Wind). Wind brings Fire and Water into line. Treat Wind with rest, meditation, warmth and massage.
We treat congestion first if present. Sama means there is Ama interfering with the function of the element. Nirama means there is no Ama involved. Severe AMA is rare and excess cleansing disturbs the body and the mind.
BIO-FIRE (AGNI)
Biological processes of digestion, metabolism and catabolism.
Gastric secretions.
Acidic in nature.
Present in every tissue and cell.
Supports the nutrition of every cell and tissue.
Maintains the auto immune function.
Destroys microorganisms, foreign bacteria and toxins in the small and large intestines and stomach.
Affects intelligence, understanding, perception and comprehension.
Gives colour to the skin.
Ruler of the enzyme system.
Impaired Bio-Fire:
Lowered resistance to disease and immune function.
Food particles remain indigestible and unabsorbed, clogging the intestines, capillaries and blood vessels. They develop into toxins that are absorbed into the blood and enter general circulation. They settle in weak areas in the body and develop into chronic conditions like arthritis, diabetes and heart disease.
Finger nails:
Pink and rosy = good bio-fire
Pale and dull = poor bio-fire
Use Ayurveda as a paradigm for processing the mass of new information avaliable today and organizing it for your future use.
Remember that "like increases like". Under certain circumstances, "like cures like" but always "like increases like", by the principle of its effect (resonance - vibration).
At the junction of the seasons, air, fire and water are realigning themselves. Pay closer attention to your constitution and its needs at these times. The stronger the seasonal change the greater the effect.
When healing with diet, choose tastes and temperature antagonistic to principle in excess. e.g. To reduce excess Fire eat more bitter tasting and cooler food like salads. Watch for foods that may be aggravating your condition or constitution and eliminate or reduce depending on the severity of the condition. Build up your power of digestion with short fasts, exercise and bitter taste. Lemon water is extremely helpful with meals.
Honour your own and everyone's uniqueness. Each person has a unique connection to the universe.
Disease may be the result of improper adaption to change. Use dreambody tools to process your changes when ill or preferably before you get ill. Take time to process your feelings when making any major changes. Your body will appreciate and reward you.
Either decide that something will be good for you, or avoid it.
Build when the person is weak. Purify when the disease is weak and the person is strong. Too much purification disturbs wind. Relax and enjoy your life without excessive concern for your well being when you are feeling good.
Learn to listen to your senses more often. When you are not listening to your five senses, you gather false information and develop false desires. When feeling confused use all your senses to pick up sensory-grounded information around you.
See what you are seeing. Hear what you are hearing. Sense what your body is feeling. Pay attention to any movements you are making. Smell what you are smelling and taste what you are tasting.
Obstructions on the path of your desires and obstacles to your escape routes from pain upset the balance of your constitution.
In this section we begin to explore the subjective realm of knowledge by taking you on a personal journey through the land of the six tastes. We begin to use more of our body and psyche for learning. It is important to participate to the best of your abilities and stretch your imagination into the many paths that we walk on this journey. By taking the time to explore each of the areas that I ask you about you will be expanding your experience and you may or may not be surprised at what may surface.
By the end of this section you will be able to:
Use the understanding of the six qualities and the six tastes to make informed decisions on the right interventions to help yourself or someone else.
Explore the nine paths of the journey.
Know what each of the tastes do for you.
TASTE
Taste is largely social and has a powerful social element. Most special gatherings and events are celebrated with food. Meal times bring families together where they learn many of the family patterns. Tasting is probably our main source of pleasure. Our goal is to increase and deepen that pleasure by increasing your experience and knowledge of the different tastes. A person who has taste is someone who has eaten heartily of life and developed a sense of the sublime and the gross.
—Diane Ackerman
Taste according to Ayurveda:
is the essence of the plant.
communicates feelings.
directly affects the nervous system awakening the mind and senses.
awakens Bio-Fire, enhancing our power of digestion.
sets our digestive fluids in motion.
Lack of taste leads to:
low Bio-Fire.
excess Congestion.
To improve Bio-Fire and eliminate disease it is necessary to improve our sense of taste. If the tongue is heavily coated consider a short fast. Increase your consumption of zinc. Get more exercise.
POST DIGESTIVE EFFECT (Vipaka):
The effect that a taste has after it has been digested.
Sweet\Salty = Sweet
Sour =Sour
Bitter\Astringent\ Pungent = Pungent
Digestion
1st. Stage (Water) - Mouth and Stomach
Moistening
Sweet
2nd. Stage (Fire) - Stomach and Small Intestine
Heating
Sour
3rd. Stage (Wind) - Colon
Drying
Pungent
TASTE EXERCISE #7
Expanding awareness of the tastes and linking them to the different paths. Get at least one representative of the various tastes.
Set aside enough time to enjoy and thoroughly experience the tastes.
These six tastes are a fundamental building block of ayurveda and herbalism.
Be sure to let each taste touch every part of your tongue. We taste sweet things with the tip, bitter at the back, sour on both sides and salty things spread over the surface of our tongue.
Pungent and astringent are more of a sensation than a taste.
Our taste buds detect:
Sweet in 1 part to 200.
Salt is detected in 1 in 400.
Sour is 1 in 130,000.
Bitter is 1 in 2,000,000 parts.
We need moistness to taste.
Healing Journey Taste Class (Example)
Giant Fir trees dotted the parking lot. The air was cold and crisp. You could smell the sea. There was a feeling of expectant anticipation. These students were my researchers. We were exploring new alchemical modes of awareness. We unpacked our equipment and headed for the beach. The leaves crunched under our feet. The sun was shining but the wind had a cold bite to it. We snuggled together for warmth.
The first taste we explored was sweet. I passed around some medjool dates and each student began their experiment. Some plunged the whole date in their mouth while others nibbled at the edges. Soon eyes were closing as students absorbed their attention into the sweetness. When I teach I usually do the exercises with my students so I will be in the experience with them. I bit off about half. The sweetness was intense and I allowed my taste buds to indulge in the orgy of sweetness. After sufficient time to explore sweetness in all the paths we came back together to share.
Some students found the sweetness thick, heavy and sticky. All of us noted the lasting quality of the taste. We felt a sense of sustained energy especially with the natural sugars of the date. Most felt it satisfying. We tried white sugar later and found it to have an empty quality. In the relationship path some found sweetness to be little acts of kindness. While others thought of sexual intimacy. Some felt their relationships provided the sweetness they needed while others sensed a lack and needed more. One student later divorced her husband. These experiences can often tap into areas of denial or unawareness. In the world path students thought of sweetness as a good job, others as a happy home and for some freedom gave them that sense of sweetness. For me it was doing the work I love in a place I love to be. Spiritually sweetness was most represented by contentment.
Next we did salt. I handed out some fantastic kelp powder harvested, processed and distributed by my friend Ryan Drum. I love salt. The moment I put it in my mouth I felt good. I felt it pulled together all the fibres of my being. I could smell the salt in the air and feel the ocean in my cells. Visually it was crystalline. I remembered pictures of processing sea water through natural solar evaporation.
I thought about all the different mineral salts. I crave salt. It is my addiction and when I am stressed-out I crave salted pumpkin seeds before any other taste. Salt as a movement was drawing me into a focused and still meditation posture. In relationship I thought of licking the salty tears of my lover. Also the power of attraction that draws souls to each other. The sound was clear, crisp and metallic like a high pitched symbol. In my world it is scuba diving. I feel totally satisfied after a good dive. Spiritually I find it centering and usually crave it more when I am in transition and there is a certain degree of chaos around.
Some of the students found the salty taste too intense. The experiences in the group were more polarized around salt than sweet.
Next we did pungent. I used fresh Ginger root for the pungent taste. When we compared notes we found more of a consensus with this taste. We all found it stimulating but not lasting like sweet. In relationships it was passion or conflict. Many of us felt that a certain amount of conflict was necessary in a healthy relationship. If everyone is thinking the same thing, then someone isn't thinking. Pungent definitely encouraged more movement than sweet and salty. There was a sense that pungent could be nicely moderated with the addition of sweet. And of course sweet could be motivated with a little addition of pungent. In the world pungent was moreassociated with action. Pungent feelings exist closer to the edges of the things we want to do but are afraid of trying. The closer we move to the edge of doing them, the more our life heats up. Pungent is heating. Spiritually it was spirited action.
Next I passed around slices of lemon. Another intense taste. I love lemons. I think they are one of the magic foods. I feel that everyone would benefit by discovering their magic foods. When they need a little magic in their life they can use them. Most of the students nibbled at the lemon. Almost everyone found it cleansing. Lemon cleans your mouth of the other tastes and leaves your tongue feeling clean. Sour was more complex, like salt, and brought out more differences in the students' response to it. This is why I encourage you to establish your own relationship to the tastes and not totally rely on some external system to tell you what they do for you.
Astringent was more of an experience than a taste. It was definitely contracting in all the paths. Bitter was surprising. We found it to be extremely centering and long lasting. Almost all agreed that a certain degree of bitter was beneficial in every path.
I hope you get a sense from this example of what I am asking you to do. I still use some of the insights that I learned on that day when I experience the different qualities of the tastes in my life and how they relate to the different paths.
Do This!
Exercise 7 • The Six Tastes and the Nine Paths
Do each taste separately and answer the questions below for each taste.
First smell it. Next place a small amount in your mouth and close your eyes. Allow the taste to penetrate you. Meditate on it for at least 5 minutes. You might want to try moving like it. Now answer the following questions.
SWEET: preferably use a medjool date. Another date will do. You can try other sweets to increase your knowledge of sweet. In one group we tried white sugar. Very revealing.
BITTER: Gentian, Dandelion, Endive etc.
SOUR: Lemon, Vitamin C etc.
SALTY: Salt, Kelp etc.
PUNGENT: Ginger, Garlic, Elecampane etc.
ASTRINGENT: Black tea, Blackberry leaf, Oak bark etc.
What kind of visions does this taste stimulate?
What kind of sound do you associate with it?
What feeling or body sensation does it evoke?
How would you imagine it moving?
How would it manifest in your personal relationships?
What kind of work would fit this taste?
How do you imagine this flavour in your community?
How would this taste manifest in the spirit?
Are you attracted or repulsed by this taste?
Do you feel you need more or less of this taste?
The Six Tastes according to Ayurveda
- means this taste reduces + means this taste increases
SWEET
Wind\Fire- Water+
Elements: Earth and Water
Qualities: Heavy\wet\cooling
Post Digestive Effect (Vipaka): Sweet
Body Effects:
Promotes the growth of all bodily tissues
Increases semen
Creates strength and longevity
Gives contentment
Soothing to the mind and the five senses
Rebuilds essential energy
Properties:
Rebuilds essential energy
Nutritive tonic
Rejuvenating
Demulcent and Emollient
Excess: Obesity, laziness, excessive sleep, heaviness, loss of appetite, weak digestion, abdominal distention, swelling of lymph, aggravates Water
Examples: Licorice, Marshmallow, Slippery elm, Roasted roots, Maple bark, Maple syrup, Licorice Fern root and Raw sugar
Emotions:
Lack - Unfulfilled longing Sufficient - Satisfaction
A person may have an unnatural craving for sweets if they are experiencing an excess of frustration and lack of satisfaction. If they learn to use the flow paradigm to regulate their life in a way that increases the amount of satisfaction they may crave less sweets.
BITTER
Wind+ Fire\Water-
Elements: Wind and Ether
Qualities: Cold\light\dry
Post Digestive Effect (Vipaka): Pungent
Body Effects:
Restores sense of taste
Cleansing to blood and all tissues
Helps reduce tumours
Enkindles the digestive fire
Helps scrape away fat
Drains and dries the tissues
Properties:
Anti-inflammatory
Antibacterial
Germicidal
Febrifuge
Excess: Wasting away of all tissues, produces roughness, weakening, emancipating, dizziness, dryness (mouth), aggravates Wind.
Examples: Dandelion, Oregon grape root, Goldenseal, Gentian and Endive.
Emotions:
Excess – Grief
Sufficient - Joy
I had a client who had spent a number of years in a concentration camp. He was a wind constitution. He was very attracted to bitter dandelion greens. He felt that they kept him alive. Even though the dandelions were bitter they brought him a lot of joy.
SOUR:
Fire\Water+ Wind-
Elements: Earth and Fire
Qualities: Hot\wet\light
Post Digestive Effect (Vipaka): Sour
Qualities:
Promotes digestion
Increases appetite
Nourishing to all tissues
Awakens the mind except reproductive
Promotes metabolism and circulation
Gives firmness to the senses
Promotes salivation, aids swallowing moistening and digestion of food
Drains the liver
Properties:
Carminative
Stimulant
Excess: Teeth sensitive, causes thirst, blinking of the eyes, aggravates Fire, causing a build up of toxins in the blood.
Examples: Hawthorn berries, Lemons, Rose hips, Sorrel, Alcohol & Fermentation.
Emotions:
Excess – Envy
Sufficient-Contentment
There was a period of time in my life when I ate a lot of sour. I experienced very little contentment and my fire was constantly in excess. I was involved in a sour relationship at the time. That relationship was dissolved and new ones were begun. I now experience more contentment and less envy. When I am suffering from excess envy I take it as a clue to a possible new direction that I may want to go.
PUNGENT
Wind\Fire+ Water-
Elements: Wind and Fire
Qualities: Hot\dry\light
Post Digestive Effect (Vipaka): Pungent
Body Effects:
Stimulating: increasing circulation and bodily functions
Removes waste material
Dispersing and moving effect
Increases appetite and promotes digestion
Intensifies and prolongs the effects of the other herbs.
Properties:
Diaphoretic – skin
Expectorant - lungs
Vermicide - digestive tract
Excess: Gives burning sensations, tremors, stabbing pains, weariness and dizziness.
Examples: Cayenne, Cinnamon, Ginger, Garlic (volatile oils), Propolis and Myrrh (resins)
Emotions:
Excess – Anger
Sufficient -Excitement
I often think of people as different herbs. One student I had was very pungent like Cayenne. Others found her difficult to take regularly or in large doses. I encouraged her to become more like Ginger. Anger is sometimes connected to a sense of loss. Figure out what you have lost and agree to let it go or make arrangements to try and get it back. This is more exciting than suffering from excess anger.
SALTY
Fire\Water+ Wind-
Elements: Water and Fire
Qualities: Wet\heavy\hot
Post Digestive Effect (Vipaka): Sweet
Body Effects:
Moistens and softens organs.
Promotes digestion
Creates salivation.
Liquifies congestion
Gives taste to food
Draws herbs to the kidneys
Properties:
Sedative
Laxative
Excess: Internal bleeding, hyper-acidity, inflammation, gout, aggravates Fire
Examples: Sea salt, Rock salt, Seaweed
Emotions:
Excess – Greed
Sufficient - Zest
When we have too much greed in our lives we are weighed down by our possessions. Sometimes a give away is just the thing we need to put some zest back in our life. We also need a certain amount of desire to propel us forward.
ASTRINGENT
Wind+ Fire\Water-
Elements: Earth and Wind
Qualaties: Cold\dryheavy
Post Digestive Effect (Vipaka): Pungent
Body Effects:
Contracts the muscles helping to raise prolapsed organs
Stops sweating
Stops diarrhoea
Promotes absorption of fluids
Properties:
Haemostatic (stops bleeding)
Anti-inflammatory
Vulnerary
Excess: Drying of the mouth, pain in the heart, constipation, weakens the voice, obstructs paths of circulation, aggravates Wind.
Examples: Plantain, Red raspberry leaves, Ladies’ mantle, White oak bark.
Emotions:
Excess – Fear
Sufficient - Courage
Excess fear is hard on our health. We are constantly on alert. We benefit by exercising our courage sometimes and facing our fears. Fear can cause us to live a constricted life. By facing them and overcoming them slowly our life expands.
The immediate effect that a taste has on the body.
Heating - pungent\sour\salty
Pungent - Ginger
Sour - Lemon
Salty - Salt
Cooling - bitter\astringent\sweet
Bitter - Gentian
Astringent - White oak bark
Sweet - Licorice.
TASTES & ORGANS
Excess sweet disturbs the spleen.
Excess pungent disturbs the lungs.
Excess bitter disturbs the heart.
Excess salty disturbs the kidneys.
Excess sour disturbs the liver.
Excess astringent disturbs the colon.
Tri-Constitutional Chart
Do This!
Exercise 8
Study this chart! It contains the essence of Ayurveda energetics. Herbs (in brackets) that reduce/balance the dosha/quality e.g. ginger warms cold, bitter cools hot, clay reduces oily. Includes time of day, time of life and season when dosha is most active. Also most commonly occupied pathway e.g. Fire - Visual.
SECTION 2 Herbs
Herbal Preparations
We are as much a product of our herbal preparations as they are a product of us. Creating medicines creates a medicine maker. We are all potential medicine makers. I can usually tell when I wake up whether it is going to be a good day for making medicine. Before beginning, I visualize the process in my mind, making notes of the supplies I will need. It is ideal to have a special space set up with all your tools for making medicines, otherwise you can improvise. Sometimes I make tinctures right in the forest where I harvest the herbs.
Medicine making is an art. We can isolate and duplicate all the components of a Stradivarius violin but we cannot reproduce one. Every person, plant, day and moment is unique. Cherish that uniqueness! No two people will make an herbal preparation the same and no one has the final word on what is THE right way.
My definition of an herbalist is one who has a vital link to Nature and helps others to bond with her. Making medicines is a process that deepens and potentiates your contact with Nature and her marvellously enchanting ways. Making medicine is a healing process. You needn’t be a medicine maker to be an herbalist but it helps to be familiar with the process and certain that the medicines you are using are of the highest quality. I personally encourage you to go through the medicine making process so that you will develop a feeling for the art.
Your Herbal Medicines can only be as Good as the Quality of the Herbs you Use!
I prefer wildcrafted herbs if they are harvested ecologically. Next are the ones that have been carefully and lovingly cultivated. It is good to talk to your plants and tell them of your INTENT in growing and harvesting them. Choose ones grown with good intent and high standards.
INFUSION: Water Extraction
Standard Infusion: 1 tsp. (5ml) to 1 cup (250ml) of boiling water.
Steep 5 to 10 min.
Medium Infusion: 2 tsp to 1 cup
Strong infusion: 4 tsp to 1 cup
Do This!
Exercise 9 • Solar Infusion: Sun & Water extraction
Place some of your favourite herbs (preferrably volatile lvs and flowers) dry or fresh in a clear glass jar with cold water. Leave out in the direct sun for at least 4 hrs., preferably between 10am and 2pm. For added strength you can place your favourite crystal in the jar while it is brewing.
Lunar infusion - to capture the power and magic of a full moon do the same except you will place the jar in the rays of moonlight. Best with fresh picked flowers.
Decoction: Usually used for tough leaves, roots, some berries and barks. Same proportions as infusion except you simmer the herbs for a given time. e.g. Hawthorn berries.
TINCTURE:
Generally the ratio used is 1:5, which means 1 gr. of herb to 5 ml. of menstrum (liquid they are in, usually alcohol). Vodka is good for most tinctures. We then macerate the herb in the menstrum for 10 to 14 days. I strongly recommend leaving them longer. A good time to start it is on the new moon & complete on the full moon. Some people like to use a blender to grind the herbs. I prefer to cut the herb as fine as possible and not blend. Shake the tincture 2 to 3 x a day. When the tincture is ready, strain it through fine cotton or strong cheese cloth and press it by hand. Label it with name, date, quality and batch number.
Do This!
Exercise 10 • Making a Tincture: Alcohol Extraction
Dried Herb 1:5 Ratio 40% Menstruum
Purchase yourself a bottle of Vodka.
Get six ounces of an herb that you use regularly.
Measure out 30 fluid ounces of Vodka and pour into a
large mouth jar.
Powder, grind or cut up fine the six ounces of herb.
Now add the herb to the alcohol.
Put on a tight leak prove lid and seal.
Label the tincture.
Leave in a convenient place where you can shake it
twice a day. Make sure that all the herb is submerged in
the alcohol. Depending on the herb you choose you
may need to add a little more Vodka if it all gets
absorbed. You want some fluidity and washing motion
when you shake it.
After two weeks minimum (some can be left for
months) strain through silk or fine cheese cloth.
Bottle and label. You now have your own tincture.
Keep a file card on your procedure and make notes on
what you might do differently next time. Experiment
with leaving the herbs in different lengths of time for
varying strengths.
Make small batches of as many herbs as you can to gain
experience (the best teacher). Use small jars. Practice
makes good medicine. Keep clear notes.
FRESH HERB TINCTURE
RATIO:
determine by weighing amount of fresh herb that fits into jar
finely chopped
measure amount of alcohol needed to cover the herb with 1 inch
over top of herb
divide weight into volume to establish ratio many books suggest
a 1:2 Ratio which we find unrealistic for most herbs
MENSTRUUM: % depends on herb
SATURATION TINCTURE: amount of herb that will fit into
established amount of menstruum
GLYCERINE TINCTURE: 6 parts vegetable glycerine\4 parts
water
6 parts vegetable glycerine\3 parts water\1 part alcohol Use
glycerine mix in place of Alcohol
VINEGAR: (Tincture)
Use same instructions as fresh tincture but use apple cider vinegar as menstruum. Buy a high quality organic vinegar. For nutritive herbs like Nettles, Horsetail, Alfalfa or Red Clover you can make a saturation vinegar. Don’t worry about proportions, just add as much herb as will fit and still allow the liquid to move around. Make small batches of a lot of different herbs. Experiment!