Essentially Holistic

The vibrant powdered herbs, seen in the picture on the left, are being blended specifically for one patient.  No other patient is receiving the same formula.  Essentially, unlike conventional medicine, holistic medicines specifically fit the individual patient needs rather than the patient having to fit the patent formula of the medicine. This may explain one of the reasons why our patients are not haunted by a list of side-effects.

     another consideration is, I am using whole powdered herbs.  The use of the whole plant part ensures that all the plant constituents are present to play an active role  in the healing process, as nature conceived it.  This is in contrast to the pharmaceutical industry and some manufacturers of patent herbal products who are obsessed with the "active" ingredients (usually alkaloids) and "standardisation.

      Alkaloids, on their own. are like the element of fire unchecked.  Fire, when tempered, can be a creative and healing force.  But when fire is unleashed on its own it can leave a path of destruction.  In contrast, whole plant material is in harmony with our  natural pattern of absorption as well as our energetic resonance.

     The pursuit of standardisation within manufactured herbal products reflects an attitude,among certain circles within the medical world, that see the natural world as evolving out of a meaningless series of random events. By extracting alkaloids (and other deemed active substances) and standardising them, they are doing a "proper job" with the "primitive" material at hand.  However, the isolation and standardisation of individual constituents has been seen to create the same problem in herbal products, in terms of side-effects as those experienced in the manufacturing of conventional drugs when applying this philosophy.

     My experience is the constituent combinations found in the herbs are anything but random.  When we observe this more closely natural patterns become evident that suggest a hidden intelligence of intent.  Even seemingly worthless plant fiber has a role to play in slowing down absorption of other more aggressive substances, subsequently softening the nature of their effect. The short term gains of extracted alkaloids and standardised herbal products may initially seem impressive when employed symptomatically, but in the long term there is a price to pay.  Herbs work best when they are used holistically and when they are used whole.

     It is true that some plants are found to vary in the concentration of their contents from one site to another.  For this reason it is good  for the home gatherer to map his/her areas of harvesting for more consistent results.  Likewise, attention to concentrations in blending or a variable scale in dosage can compensate for any variations.

     The vibrant herbs above were formulated for one patient alone.  They were converted into the capsules seen.....and in keeping with the application of holistic philosophy the patient is responding well.

Health and Happiness

The Green Man