Interview: Herbalist Susun Weed
by Daniela Maria Krueger
http://www.lifestylesatellite.com/
(Music from : Hidden Queen by Maia Oden ) -music control-
Susun Weed is the leading female herbalist in the United States. She has studied herbs for more than thirty-five years. Her books are bestsellers and a “must” for those who are interested in herbalism; they include information about healing plants for milestones in a woman’s life like pregnancy and menopause. Susun’s nickname is “Wise Woman,” and she teaches the “Way of the Wise Woman.” So, how does one become wise, Susun?
“Wisdom springs from connection. When we are connected to ourselves and to the Earth, then Wisdom flows through us. Listen to Nature. Listen to your gut. Listen to your heart.
Drink nourishing herbal infusions. Eat wild salads. Breathe deeply. Every breath is a give-away dance with the plants. Every breath is filled with green blessings.”
On her farm in Woodstock, NY, she grows her own vegetables; goats provide daily milk. There, she also maintains her “Wise Women Center” where women like herself, Vicky Noble, Z. Budapest, and other big names of this esoteric scene, lead seminars for people who are interested in their knowledge.
There are a lot of people who spend a large amount of money on achieving balance in their lives. Susun has an interesting view on balance:
“Balance is the step immediately preceding death. The Wise Woman Tradition defines health as flexibility. In the Wise Woman Tradition we nourish wholeness rather than trying to achieve a mythical balance. The essence of life is, in the words of E.O. Wilson, dynamic disequilibrium. He maintains, in his book The Future of Life, that we will only find life on other planets that are in dynamic disequilibrium, like the earth. Mars, he opines, is a dead planet because it became balanced. To nourish divine dynamic disequilibrium, drink nourishing herbal infusion daily.”
Yes to plants, but no to soy, at least in the way that has recently become so popular. According to our wise herbal woman, the trend to drink soy instead of milk is not healthy at all.
“Soy is the worst food on earth unless it is fermented. Miso and shoyu (real tamari) are the best foods on earth.I eat these two soy foods on a daily basis. They actively prevent cancer.”
Susun tells me that the state of Israel had a commission on soy. After three years, they reported that any consumption of unfermented soy will lead to osteoporosis, breast cancer, thyroid problems, and doubling of the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
“I rarely eat tofu and I totally avoid any food with soy factors (such as isolated soy protein or isoflavone) added to it. I never drink fake soy beverage. Milk comes from breasts and no soy bean I ever saw has a breast.”
No wonder that her way of teaching is so appealing. Knowing that humor opens doors between people is also a part of her wisdom.
However, even a wise woman has her teachers. Susun mentions the late Elizabeth Kübler-Ross, a well-known researcher on the topic of death, as one of her biggest mentors:
“I could write at length about the many things she taught me. Perhaps the most important are these two. 1) Humans need rest more than they need sleep. 2) The best cure for depression is to work on the children’s cancer ward. 3) Unexpressed feeling cause disease states in the body. Especially anger.”
Susun is now working on a new book: “Down There, the Wise Woman Way, Sexual and Reproduction Health for Women and the Men They Love.”
On LifestyleSatellite, under the category “Herb of the Month,” Susun will discuss a new herb at the beginning of each month. Those who want more information about this amazing woman and her work can visit her website.
.. Hidden Queen CD
by Maia Oden
This music is dedicated to the Creative Source from which it came, that which continually creates us and creates with us.
Maia Oden
Price: $15.00
Find out more about the Hidden Queen CD.
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Botany and Wildcrafting for Herbalists DVD
Botany for Herbalists DVD
Susun Weed takes you on a walk with her apprentices and her goats across her land at the Wise Woman Center. In this DVD she explains the Latin naming system devised by Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in the 1700's. Each herb has a family and a genus that it belongs to and a species that is its name. She explains the Tree of Life, flowering and non-flowering plants, and the reproductive cycle of flowering plants and herbs. She also teaches you about indentifying and harvesting herbs; and differentiates between annuals, biennials and perennials. As Susun says: “Weave yourself into the Wise Woman web. Join me in reclaiming herbal medicine as people’s medicine. Loving green blessings from me to you.”
Time: 1 hr, 12 min, 43 sec.
Produced in 2009 by HerbTV Studio
Price: $19.95
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