February 13-16
On this retreat we'll explore the ability of human beings to communicate directly with the souls of the plants and of the world, providing wisdom that has been passed down since our emergence as a species. Our survival depends upon making this deep connection with the earth. We can relearn how to deepen our connections to the web of life in which we live.
These encounters with the sacred Earth affect people profoundly. They convey information about sacred plant medicine, and also an actual experience of the way indigenous people live. This enables us to understand plants, and the Earth itself, as living intelligences capable of communication with humans.
Through a unique blend of storytelling, personal reflection, exercises, and information gleaned from the study of wild plants and indigenous cultures, Stephen Buhner will share the traditions of sacred plant medicine and how to gather knowledge directly from wild nature. Learn the subtleties of plant language, how plants maintain the balance of the Earth, and how manmade chemicals can interfere with the ability of plants to heal.
Many cultures have developed deep relationship with the intelligence of plants and the soul of the world. They've become so immersed in the living fabric of the world that they are able to provide tremendous information about plants and how to obtain powerful medicines and foods from them.
The philosophy of most cultures other than the West, centers the soul and intelligence of human beings in or near the heart. Western cultures have focused on the brain and denigrated the wisdom of the heart. We will explore the function of the human species, and learn why we have grown away from the ecological life web of the Earth. The plants and Earth poets know why we are here, and by the end of this long holiday retreat, which costs an additional $80, we will have learned what they have to teach us.
Stephen Harrod Buhner is an Earth poet and the multiple-award-winning author of nine books on nature, indigenous cultures, the environment, herbal medicine, and a book of poetry. His work has appeared or been profiled in publications throughout North America and Europe, including Common Boundary, Apotheosis, Shaman's Drum, The New York Times, CNN, and Good Morning America. He travels throughout the United States and Europe teaching about herbal medicine, the sacredness of plants, and the intelligence of Nature. He is a tireless advocate for the reincorporation of the exploratory artist, the independent scholar, the amateur naturalist, and the citizen scientist in American society as a counterweight to the influence of corporate science and technology. His most recent works are The Lost Language of Plants: The Ecological Importance of Plant Medicines for Life on Earth, and Vital Man: Natural Health Care for Men in Midlife, and The Fasting Path: The Way to Spiritual, Emotional, and Physical Healing and Enlightenment.
"One of the most compelling and moving presenters in the United States." Rosemary Gladstar, the godmother of American herbalism
One of America's preeminent herbalists, Stephen Buhner articulates the sacred underpinnings of the herbal world and deep ecology as only a real "green man" can." David Hoffmann, author of `The Holistic Herbal.