gail’s tenth step in her ten-fold path is to practice learning. she says:

As an elder and a teacher I can tell you that some of the people I learn the most from are my young students. They continually keep me fresh and on my toes with their new ideas and information. They inspire me. Don’t be afraid to say you don’t know something. We are all learners here. Practice learning every day.”


who here is on facebook, raise your hand!


how about herbmentor?


herbwifery forum?


yeah, i belong to them all! and my partner used to make fun of me for being on facebook (i have since converted him and he’s on there just as much as me, if not more!). what he didn’t understand at the time was the wealth of networking, friendship and knowledge of obtained from being on there. even though i don’t know half my list ‘in real life’, i love being part of the herbal facebook community. being able to read, comment and discuss my herbal interests has been a godsend. there isn’t much of an herbalist community in real life so i had to go online to seek it. i am honored to call the people i’m connected to on facebook friends and happy that i’ve been able to meet a bunch of them thanks to kiva and wolf’s hard work of creating the traditions in western herbalism conference!

most of my friends are herb nerds just like me so whenever we get together, talk usually turns to herbs at some point during the visit. there’s not a day that goes by i don’t think of herbs in some form. heck, there’s not an hour that goes by at that! 


my monthly study group is a great way to get together with people who love to talk herbs. sometimes people who study as much as i do come sharing their knowledge too and we all get to learn even more! 

i read articles, blog entries, monographs, plant healer magazine and anything else i can get my hands on. i seek out conferences where i can learn and study and teach. the more i learn, the less i feel i know! this is a lifetime pursuit of knowledge and when i die, i still won’t be satisfied that i’ve learned all i want or can. 


every day, i make a point to read something about herbs, herbalism, medicine, the human body, a disease or anything that has to do with learning in general. it may only be a 3 minute article or an hour absorbed in a great book such as ‘invasive plant medicine’ but every day, i’m here, learning.


practice learning. practice herbalism. practice life. 


every day. 


without fail.

gail’s ninth step in her ten-fold path is to be your own refuge. she says:

Get to know yourself. Really well. You cannot know plants or people well until you know yourself. Admit your foibles, acknowledge your strengths, and build upon your knowledge of self to extend help, love, compassion and healing to others.“

i’ve been having a lot of fun with this one this past year! for most of my life, i have stopped short of expressing myself, allowing myself to be who i really felt i was because of disapproval from my family and some friends. over the years i misplaced those friends, most on purpose, if they didn’t support me for who i was or accept me for who i was. my family wasn’t so easy though. 

i put up with comments that were painful, being told i looked like a circus side show or that my style was ‘out’ and numerous other snide comments. i started suppressing my desires and choices based on how my family would react. 

and then, last year, i said, no, i screamed: ENOUGH! i wrote down my feelings in a long letter and sent it off which started a long series of replies back and forth in which nothing but silence was accomplished. but in that year, i started coming back out of my shell. 

so now, i embrace myself. i no longer fight with my hair, i let it tangle, dread and love it! i dress in gypsy shabby clothing, go barefoot as long as i can stand it, i wear lots of bones, feathers and other natural objects. my house is decorated with anything we can drag in from outside…limbs, eggs, snake skins, animal skulls, dried flowers, on and on. 

even my zine i write is a reflection of me. it’s my interpretation of each herb, i express each herb through stories, songs, poems, crafts, recipes and more. i sketch them, draw them, paint them and add my drawings to the mix. 

i am becoming my own true wild self, the self i know and love. i share this self with only my closest friends, only those who will love me and appreciate me for who. i. am. 

i reject the society around me but not the community. to the community i offer my heart, my time, my knowledge and my experience through the local markets, my monthly study group and soon monthly presentations at the library. the library who asked ME to present, who accepts me, dreads and all for who i am, freely and happily. 

i tell my friends and children and partner that i love them all the time. i hug, embrace, rejoice with them. i am still working on keeping that space. i have none in my house, my kids are with me all the time. even when i leave, they are usually with me. showering, using the toilet…never alone. but that will come in time i know. and in the meantime, i am learning about my weaknesses and strengths and working on changing what i want or need to change about myself to become a better person.

(this is part 8 of a 10-part series, a life’s journey to become an herbalist observing gail faith edward’s article on the subject. you can find part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4.1, part 4.2, part 5, part 6 and part 7 here.)

gail’s eighth step in her ten-fold path is to listen to your clients. she says:

“Listen to your clients. Practice deep listening. Breathe deeply from your heart when you are with a client. Look into their eyes. Listen to the words they use as well as to their tone of voice, where they pause, swallow, take a breath. Learn to listen deeply. Allow your client to tell you what is wrong, what they need. Then commit to helping them. Practice noticing everything you can about your client. Look for the health, look for the radiance, look for the bright light in your clients. Nourish this.”

listening can be such a hard thing to do. and not just listening to the words, but listening to the tones, the vibrations, the emotions, the body language. i have a short attention span so this is one step i struggle with. luckily, i don’t see clients often and usually, they are friends of mine and i am more willing to listen to what they have to say. 

so, i’m looking for guidance on how to listen deeply. how do you listen to someone (not just a client) who is talking about a subject that doesn’t interest you? how do you stay tuned in even though you’ve heard it a million times before? how do you stay focused on their words, thoughts, emotions, body language? how have you learned to listen deeply?