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The Art and Photography of Sue Miller Part 4

The Photography and Art of Sue Miller

Sue Miller was raised Susan Pacheco in South Dartmouth Massachusetts. She began painting at a young age and was inspired by her artist father Tony Pacheco. She graduated from Dartmouth High School and attended South Eastern Massachusetts University (now called University of Massachusetts), where she studied fine arts. Sue also had private art lessons with legendary painters Milton Healey and Rachel Farrington and Margret La-shoot.

Sue enjoyed a career of 20 years as a professional graphic artist. She worked in advertising agencies, art departments, newspaper art departments, department store art departments etc. During these years as a graphic artist, Sue was able to express her creativity on the job. She considers herself lucky to have been able to draw and design daily for so many years.

Today Sue runs her own business called The Magic Palette Art Studio where she has taught thousands of students to draw and paint for the past 20 years. In addition to art lessons that she teaches out of her home studio, Sue is almost always involving her creativity to paint in some capacity every day. For Sue this can mean the preparation involved in beginning a new project or putting a brush to canvas. She has been known to be working on two paintings at one time. A day without painting in some faculty is like a day without water for Sue.

Sue’s work has been published in countless magazines and E-zines. She has also been blessed to with Authors to provide the cover art for their children’s books. A visit to Sue’s home or online gallery will have you immediately drawn to the diversity of her art. Her paintings include a variety of subjects from angels, fairies, elves, nature, wildlife, children and pets. You will also notice that Sue especially enjoys painting the seasons.

There is a vast collection of art to
cover every Holiday of the year. Sue’s models of her paintings are often her art students and her nieces that help bring about the humanistic qualities that adorn her art.

She resides in Northwestern New Jersey with her husband of 30 years, musician Vern Miller and their “baby” autumn their golden retriever.

Their home has been quoted by many people and popular newspapers as “The house of art and music” Sue’s art has been features in the following magazines Faerie magazine, Moon Shadows, The Aquarius,  Skyline Arts and Entertainment Magazine, Mystic Pop, Pathways Magazine, The Writer’s Post Journal, Inner Realm, Dream Weaver, Angels Magazine, Angel Times Magazine. Angel Yellow Pages, The Papoose, Celestopea Times E-zine, Susan Weed’s Wise woman E-zine, Fantasy is Love E-zine, Empowerment for Women E-zine, Painters for Human Rights E-zine and more.

Visit Sue's website here: http://www.suemillerart.com/

The Photography and Art of Sue Miller Part 3

The Photography and Art of Sue Miller

Sue Miller was raised Susan Pacheco in South Dartmouth Massachusetts. She began painting at a young age and was inspired by her artist father Tony Pacheco. She graduated from Dartmouth High School and attended South Eastern Massachusetts University (now called University of Massachusetts), where she studied fine arts. Sue also had private art lessons with legendary painters Milton Healey and Rachel Farrington and Margret La-shoot.

Sue enjoyed a career of 20 years as a professional graphic artist. She worked in advertising agencies, art departments, newspaper art departments, department store art departments etc. During these years as a graphic artist, Sue was able to express her creativity on the job. She considers herself lucky to have been able to draw and design daily for so many years.

Today Sue runs her own business called The Magic Palette Art Studio where she has taught thousands of students to draw and paint for the past 20 years. In addition to art lessons that she teaches out of her home studio, Sue is almost always involving her creativity to paint in some capacity every day. For Sue this can mean the preparation involved in beginning a new project or putting a brush to canvas. She has been known to be working on two paintings at one time. A day without painting in some faculty is like a day without water for Sue.

Sue’s work has been published in countless magazines and E-zines. She has also been blessed to with Authors to provide the cover art for their children’s books. A visit to Sue’s home or online gallery will have you immediately drawn to the diversity of her art. Her paintings include a variety of subjects from angels, fairies, elves, nature, wildlife, children and pets. You will also notice that Sue especially enjoys painting the seasons.

There is a vast collection of art to
cover every Holiday of the year. Sue’s models of her paintings are often her art students and her nieces that help bring about the humanistic qualities that adorn her art.

She resides in Northwestern New Jersey with her husband of 30 years, musician Vern Miller and their “baby” autumn their golden retriever.

Their home has been quoted by many people and popular newspapers as “The house of art and music” Sue’s art has been features in the following magazines Faerie magazine, Moon Shadows, The Aquarius,  Skyline Arts and Entertainment Magazine, Mystic Pop, Pathways Magazine, The Writer’s Post Journal, Inner Realm, Dream Weaver, Angels Magazine, Angel Times Magazine. Angel Yellow Pages, The Papoose, Celestopea Times E-zine, Susan Weed’s Wise woman E-zine, Fantasy is Love E-zine, Empowerment for Women E-zine, Painters for Human Rights E-zine and more.

Visit Sue's website here: http://www.suemillerart.com/

Featured Website ~ Bloch Healing

Bloch Healing

Peter Bloch is a teacher and healer of more than 25 years' experience, based in Wilmslow, Cheshire (near Manchester Airport).

Bloch Healing is a unique form of hands-on healing that is a sensitive, intelligent and powerful way to enhance your physical and psychological health.

It is a 'person-centred' approach to healing based on the therapeutic principles of honesty, respect, empathy and trust in each individual's capacity to heal.

Bloch Healing is based on long established, well researched and highly effective principles.

http://bloch-healing.co.uk  The home page of Peter Bloch, a teacher and healer based in Cheshire, England. Bloch Healing is the systematic use of ethical relating as a method of healing.

http://blochhealing.co.uk  This website on the Principles and Practice of Bloch Healing includes many interesting articles about health, healing and the ethics of therapeutic relating.

Kimberley Eve ~ Artiste

Kimberley Eve ~ Artiste

www.kimberlyeve.com

 

Kimberley Eve, illustrator and face painter - has a practiced ability to combine face painting, illustration and other art forms into a sustainable life style while still having time to have fun and travel.

She can be seen painting faces at King Richard's Faire and the Sarasota Renaisssance Faire.

Kimberley Eve is also the illustrator of Ashtree Publishing's Juliette of the Herbs Series

Other publishers include Inner Traditions and Artemesia, Inc.

Kimberley Eve also specializes in pet portraits, which can be seen at: www.your-petportrait.com

The Photography of Sue Miller ~ Part 2

The Photography of Sue Miller

Sue Miller was raised Susan Pacheco in South Dartmouth Massachusetts. She began painting at a young age and was inspired by her artist father Tony Pacheco. She graduated from Dartmouth High School and attended South Eastern Massachusetts University (now called University of Massachusetts), where she studied fine arts. Sue also had private art lessons with legendary painters Milton Healey and Rachel Farrington and Margret La-shoot.

Sue enjoyed a career of 20 years as a professional graphic artist. She worked in advertising agencies, art departments, newspaper art departments, department store art departments etc. During these years as a graphic artist, Sue was able to express her creativity on the job. She considers herself lucky to have been able to draw and design daily for so many years.

Today Sue runs her own business called The Magic Palette Art Studio where she has taught thousands of students to draw and paint for the past 20 years. In addition to art lessons that she teaches out of her home studio, Sue is almost always involving her creativity to paint in some capacity every day. For Sue this can mean the preparation involved in beginning a new project or putting a brush to canvas. She has been known to be working on two paintings at one time. A day without painting in some faculty is like a day without water for Sue.

Sue’s work has been published in countless magazines and E-zines. She has also been blessed to with Authors to provide the cover art for their children’s books. A visit to Sue’s home or online gallery will have you immediately drawn to the diversity of her art. Her paintings include a variety of subjects from angels, fairies, elves, nature, wildlife, children and pets. You will also notice that Sue especially enjoys painting the seasons.

There is a vast collection of art to
 cover every Holiday of the year. Sue’s models of her paintings are often her art students and her nieces that help bring about the humanistic qualities that adorn her art.

She resides in Northwestern New Jersey with her husband of 30 years, musician Vern Miller and their “baby” autumn their golden retriever.

Their home has been quoted by many people and popular newspapers as “The house of art and music” Sue’s art has been features in the following magazines Faerie magazine, Moon Shadows, The Aquarius,  Skyline Arts and Entertainment Magazine, Mystic Pop, Pathways Magazine, The Writer’s Post Journal, Inner Realm, Dream Weaver, Angels Magazine, Angel Times Magazine. Angel Yellow Pages, The Papoose, Celestopea Times E-zine, Susan Weed’s Wise woman E-zine, Fantasy is Love E-zine, Empowerment for Women E-zine, Painters for Human Rights E-zine and more.

Visit Sue's website here: http://www.suemillerart.com/

Featured Website ~ Wisdom of the Earth

Wisdom of the Earth

www.wisdomoftheearth.com

Wisdom of the Earth - Healing the Mind, Body & Spirit...Naturally. Wisdom of the Earth Essential Essences are a bridge and a connection to the Natural World. Wisdom of the Earth is a Way Station for all who seek help in their Ascension Process.

Barry Kapp is the founder of Wisdom of the Earth; he is an accomplished healer/practitioner, using massage as a primary vehicle for delivering the healing power of the essences. He consults with clients on aromatherapy use (in person or by phone) He is also available to do consultations or treatments before or after the Level I and Level II seminars. Cynthia Olivera is a certified medicinal aromatherapist and a movement/yoga instructor. She and Barry do transformational body work together, utilizing the oils and their intuitive gifts to work with clients in moving forward with grace and surety in their lives.

Audre Gutierrez is a Partner in Wisdom of the Earth. She consults with clients in Aromatherapy use (in person or by phone); does Reiki treatments, integrating the essential oils; and offers a Medicine Wheel Walk...an intuitive reading followed by an honoring/invocation ceremony on the Medicine Wheel at Wisdom of the Earth.

Contact Barry, Audre or Cynthia for more information or to schedule one or more of these services. We often schedule couples or friends for a several hour visit, wherein one or more of these services are provided for each individual. We will also customize a visit to meet your needs.

The Photography of Sue Miller

The Photography of Sue Miller

Sue Miller was raised Susan Pacheco in South Dartmouth Massachusetts. She began painting at a young age and was inspired by her artist father Tony Pacheco. She graduated from Dartmouth High School and attended South Eastern Massachusetts University (now called University of Massachusetts), where she studied fine arts. Sue also had private art lessons with legendary painters Milton Healey and Rachel Farrington and Margret La-shoot.

Sue enjoyed a career of 20 years as a professional graphic artist. She worked in advertising agencies, art departments, newspaper art departments, department store art departments etc. During these years as a graphic artist, Sue was able to express her creativity on the job. She considers herself lucky to have been able to draw and design daily for so many years.

Today Sue runs her own business called The Magic Palette Art Studio where she has taught thousands of students to draw and paint for the past 15 years. In addition to art lessons that she teaches out of her home studio, Sue is almost always involving her creativity to paint in some capacity every day. For Sue this can mean the preparation involved in beginning a new project or putting a brush to canvas. She has been known to be working on two paintings at one time. A day without painting in some faculty is like a day without water for Sue.

Sue’s work has been published in countless magazines and E-zines. She has also been blessed to with Authors to provide the cover art for their children’s books. A visit to Sue’s home or online gallery will have you immediately drawn to the diversity of her art. Her paintings include a variety of subjects from angels, fairies, elves, nature, wildlife, children and pets. You will also notice that Sue especially enjoys painting the seasons.

There is a vast collection of art to
cover every Holiday of the year. Sue’s models of her paintings are often her art students and her nieces that help bring about the humanistic qualities that adorn her art.

She resides in Northwestern New Jersey with her husband of 25 years, musician Vern Miller and their “baby” autumn their golden retriever.

Their home has been quoted by many people and popular newspapers as “The house of art and music” Sue’s art has been features in the following magazines Faerie magazine, Moon Shadows, The Aquarius,  Skyline Arts and Entertainment Magazine, Mystic Pop, Pathways Magazine, The Writer’s Post Journal, Inner Realm, Dream Weaver, Angels Magazine, Angel Times Magazine. Angel Yellow Pages, The Papoose, Celestopea Times E-zine, Susan Weed’s Wise woman E-zine, Fantasy is Love E-zine, Empowerment for Women E-zine, Painters for Human Rights E-zine and more.

Visit Sue's website here: http://www.suemillerart.com/

The Spirit of Simples

Healing Wise ... The Spirit of Simples by Susun Weed © 2004

What is a Simple?

A "simple" is one herb used at a time. A "simpler" is an herbalist who generally uses herbs one at a time, rather than in combinations.

Why Use Simples?

Most herbalists I have met -- whether from China or Japan, Eastern or Western Europe, Australia or North America -- use herbs in combinations. Simplers, like myself, don't. Why?

Because I believe that herbal medicine is people's medicine, I seek to make herbal medicine simple: as simple as one herb at a time. Because people worry about interactions between the drugs they take and herbs, I keep it simple: with simples, interactions are simple to observe, and simpler to avoid. Because empowerment in health care is difficult, I want to offer others easy, safe herbal remedies: and what could be easier, or safer, than a simple?

Simples Make Me Think

When I was just getting started with herbs, one thing that confounded me was the many choices I had when I began to match symptoms to the herbs that relieved them. If someone had a cough should I use garden sage or wild cherry bark or pine sap or mullein or coltsfoot (to name only a few of the many choices)? One way out of this dilemma was to use them all. I made many cough syrups that contained every anti-cough herb that I could collect. And they all worked.

As I got more sophisticated in my herbal usage, and especially after I completed a course on homeopathy, I began to see that each herb had a specific personality, a specific way of acting. I realized I couldn't notice the individual actions of the herbs when they were combined.

It felt daring at first to use just one herb. Would wild cherry bark tincture all by itself be enough to quell that child's cough? Yes! Would mullein infusion alone really reduce a person's asthmatic and allergic reactions? Yes! Would sage soaked in honey for six weeks ease a sore throat? Yes! Each herb that I tried as a simple was successful. They all worked, not just together, but by themselves.

The more I used individual herbs the more I came to know them as individuals. The more I used simples, the simpler and more successful my remedies became. The more I used one herb at a time, the more I learned about how that herb worked, and didn't work.

Simples Are Intimate

When we use one herb at a time, we come to know that herb, we become intimate with that herb. Just as we become intimate with each other by spending time one-on-one, tete-a-tete, simply together, we become closer to the herbs when we use them as simples.

Becoming intimate with an herb or a person helps us build trust. How reliable is the effect of this herb? When? How? Where does it fail? Using simples helps us build a web of green allies that we trust deeply. Simples help us feel more powerful. They help abate our fears, simply, safely.

Simples Are Subtle

Using one herb at a time gives us unparalleled opportunities to observe and make use of the subtle differences that are at the heart of herbal medicine. When we use simples we are more likely to notice the many variables that affect each herb: including where it grows, the years's weather, how we harvest it, our preparation, and the dosage.1 The many variables within one plant insure that our simple remedy nonetheless touches many aspects of a person and heals deeply.

One apprentice tinctured motherwort flowering tops weekly through its blooming period. She reported that the tinctures made from the younger flower stalks had a stronger effect on the uterus; while those made from the older flower stalks, when the plant was going to seed, had a stronger effect on the heart.

Simples Give Me Power

Using one herb at a time helps me feel more certain that my remedy has an active value, not just a placebo value. Using one plant at a time, and local ones at that, reassures me that my herbal medicine cannot be legislated away. Using one plant at a time allows me to build trust in my remedies. Using one plant at a time is a subversive act, a reclaiming of simple health care.

Combinations erode my power, activate my "victim persona," and lead me to believe that herbal medicine is best left to the experts.

From Complex to Simple

Take the challenge! Use simples instead of complex formulae. Let's rework some herbal remedies and get a sense of how simple it can be.

The anti-cancer formula Essiac contains Arctium lappa (burdock), Rheum palmatum (rhubarb), Ulmus fulva (slippery elm), and Rumex acetosella (sheep sorrel). Rhubarb root has no possible use against cancer; it is a purgative whose repeated use can "aggravate constipation." Slippery elm bark also has no possible anti-cancer properties and has no doubt been added to counter some of the detrimental effects of the rhubarb. Sheep sorrel juice is so caustic that it has been used to burn off skin cancers, but it would likely do more harm to the kidneys than to any cancer if ingested regularly. Leaving us with a great anti-cancer simple: burdock root. One that I have found superbly effective in reversing dysplasias and precancerous conditions.

A John Lust formula for relief of coughs 2 contains Agropyron repens (witch grass), Pimpinella anisum (aniseed), Glycyrrhiza glabra (licorice), Inula helenium (elecampane root), Pulmonaria officinalis (lungwort), Thymus species (thyme herb), (murillo bark) 3, Chondrus crispus (irish moss), Lobelia inflata (lobelia herb). Witch grass has little or no effect on coughs; it is an emollient diuretic whose dismissal from this group would leave no hole. Anise seeds are also not known to have an anti-pertussive effect; although they do taste good, we can do without them. Lobelia can bring more oxygen to the blood, but is certainly not an herb I would ever add to a cough mixture, so I will leave it out here. Licorice is a demulcent expectorant that can be most helpful for those with a dry cough; however, I do use it for a variety of reasons, among them its exotic origins and its cloyingly sweet taste. Lungwort is, as its name implies, a pectoral, but its effect is rather mild, and its place in the Boraginaceae family gives me pause. How much pyrrolizidine alkaloid might it contain? Thyme, and its more common anti-cough cousin garden sage, contains essential oils that could both quiet a cough and counter infection in the throat. A strong tea or a tincture of either could be our simple. Irish moss is, a specific to soothe coughs and a nutritive in addition, would also make an excellent simple. But it is elecampane that I would crown. It is not only a specific to curb coughing, it counters infection well, and tonifies lung tissues. Several small doses of a tincture of elecampane root should quiet a cough in a few hours.

Simples are fun. Give them a try.

Footnotes:
1. Among the many variables, I have especially noticed that the tinctures that I make with fresh plants are many times more effective than tinctures made from dried plants. My elders tell me that preparations of common plants growing in uncommon places will be stronger as well. Many herbalists are aware of certain areas of their land that nurture plants that are particularly potent medicines.
2. John Lust. The Herb Book. 1974. Bantam.
3. Note that this formula, as is frequently the case, contains an "exotic" herb which Mr. Lust does not include in the 500+ herbs in his book, nor does he give us a botanical name for the plant, leaving us literally unable to prepare his formula as presented.

Study with Susun Weed in the convenience of your home! Choose from three Correspondence Courses: Green Allies, Spirit & Practice of the Wise Woman Tradition, and Green Witch - includes audio/video tapes, books, assignments, special mailings, plus personal time.

Learn more at www.susunweed.com or write to:

Susun Weed
PO Box 64
Woodstock, NY 12498
Fax: 1-845-246-8081

Visit Susun Weed at: www.susunweed.com and www.wisewomanbookshop.com
For permission to reprint this article, contact us at: susunweed@herbshealing.com

Vibrant, passionate, and involved, Susun Weed has garnered an international reputation for her groundbreaking lectures, teachings, and writings on health and nutrition. She challenges conventional medical approaches with humor, insight, and her vast encyclopedic knowledge of herbal medicine. Unabashedly pro-woman, her animated and enthusiastic lectures are engaging and often profoundly provocative.

Susun is one of America's best-known authorities on herbal medicine and natural approaches to women's health. Her four best-selling books are recommended by expert herbalists and well-known physicians and are used and cherished by millions of women around the world. Learn more at www.susunweed.com

Protect Yourself -- it's the Flu Season!

Healing Wise ... Protect Yourself -- it's the Flu Season! by Susun S. Weed © 2004

Here Comes the Flu Season
Protect Yourself the Wise Woman Way
© 2004 Susun S Weed

Along with the beauty of fall days comes the need to get ready for winter. Time to get out my long underwear and my warm wooly socks. Time to nourish my immune systems so cold days won't be days of colds -- and flu.

I don't rely on modern medicine to keep me healthy, but if you usually rely on a flu shot to protect you, you may feel frightened by your inability to get one this year. You may be wondering what you can do instead. Or you may have discovered that flu shots don't give protection from all types of flu, just the ones the makers guess will be active this winter. And you may wonder if there isn't some other way to prevent the flu. Or maybe, like me, you prefer not to use shots or drugs unless absolutely necessary. You may wonder what herbs and remedies are the best to have on hand to help your family deal with the flu.

No matter what your situation, now is a good time to give yourself the benefit of Wise Woman Ways to prevent -- and deal with -- the flu. These flu presenters and flu remedies are simple. They are quite safe. And you don't have to be rich to use them. Wise Woman herbal medicine is people's medicine. Mama Medicine. You can buy most of the things I discuss in this article -- and you can find them growing freely, too. You can buy the herbal preparations I mention already made -- and you can easily make you own for pennies, too.

These Wise Woman Ways are supported by both tradition and science. Wise women through the centuries have kept themselves and their families safe from contagious diseases. And science has found good reasons for their effectiveness. I hope these tips will help you face winter's ills with confidence, and good health.

Beat the Flu

The best way to prevent the flu is to build a powerful immune system. While this can't guarantee that you won't get the flu, neither can the flu shot. Here are my favorite ways to keep my immune system strong:

Eat more garlic.

Drink nourishing herbal infusions daily.

Make immune-strengthening soups; or add immune-strengthening herbs to canned soup.

Use anti-viral herbs as needed.

Eat More Garlic
One of the best immune-system helpers is garlic. Dr. James Duke says it contains at least 17 different factors that nourish and support powerful immune system functioning. Herbalists in the middle ages relied on it to prevent infection from the plague, so it might keep us safe from the flu. Garlic is anti-bacterial, too. If you don't like fresh raw garlic, powdered garlic is just as good. The dose is 1 or more cloves of raw garlic per day, or up to a teaspoon of garlic powder.

Here are a few of my favorite ways to eat raw garlic:
Top scrambled eggs with minced raw garlic.
Put chopped raw garlic on pasta and cover with tomato sauce.
Try minced raw garlic on a piece of hot buttered toast. Delicious!
Add minced raw garlic to your baked potato.
Mix chopped raw garlic and olive oil with hot cooked greens like kale or spinach.

Drink Nourishing Herbal Infusions
Nourishing herbal infusions are the basis of great nourishment for the immune system and the entire body. They are full of antioxidant vitamins, minerals, proteins, phytoestrogens, and hundreds of protective phytochemicals that work to help you ward off the flu and colds too.

Here's how I make a nourishing herbal infusion:
Choose one herb: nettle, oatstraw, red clover, comfrey leaf, linden flowers, or violet leaf.
Place one full ounce, by weight, of any one herb in a quart jar. A canning jar is best.
Fill the jar to the top with boiling water.
Screw on a tight lid
Let it steep for four hours, or overnight.
Strain the liquid out, squeezing the herb.
Refrigerate the infusion, where it will be good for 24-36 hours.

I drink two to four cups nourishing herbal infusions daily -- over ice, heated up with honey and milk, or mixed with other beverages.

Make Immune Strengthening Soups
Cooking herbs and vegetables together for a long time extracts minerals, actives immune-strengthening phytochemicals, and increases the levels of available antioxidants. Raw foods weaken and stress the immune system.

To make an immune strengthening soup:
Chop at least half an onion per person and saute in olive oil until translucent..
Add at least two cloves of garlic, sliced or chopped, per person and saute for a minute.
Add two or more cups of water or vegetable broth per person.
Add one cup per person of chopped seasonal vegetables such as: carrots, cabbage, celery, corn, burdock, turnips, potatoes, tomatoes, parsnips.

(If using canned soup, begin here.)
Add one small handful of seaweed per person.
Add one ounce fresh, or one-half ounce dried mushrooms -- any kind -- per person.
Add one-quarter ounce dried tonic roots per person.
Add generous amounts of antioxidant seasoning herbs and some sea salt.
Bring to a boil; simmer for an hour.
Turn off fire and let your soup mellow in a cool place overnight.
Serve it the next day, heated up, with freshly-baked bread and organic raw milk cheese.

Seaweeds build powerful immunity. Kombu and wakame are excellent in soups. Cut them small; they swell to 5-7 times their dried size when cooked.

All mushrooms strengthen the immune system. Dried shitake are available and inexpensive at Chinese grocery stores. Reishii, maitake, and other medicinal mushrooms are delicious, as are the more common button mushrooms, portobellos, and dried porcinni.

Tonic roots help our livers, lymph, and kidneys work well, protecting us from infection. I often put these tough roots into a jelly bag and drop that into the soup so I can fish it out before serving. I use one or more of these, fresh or dried, depending on what I have available:
Siberian ginseng
Astragalus
Burdock
Dandelion
Chicory
Yellow dock
American ginseng.

Seasoning herbs from the mint family -- rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil, marjoram, and sage -- are loaded with antioxidants. I don't just season the soup with them, I add them by the handful for the greatest impact on my immune strength.

Anti-Viral Herbs
Anti-infective herbs can help us prevent the flu -- and assist us if we do get sick. Colds and the flu are caused by viruses, making them more difficult to treat than bacterial infections. Viruses are more vital than bacteria and harder to kill. There are many anti-bacterial herbs -- including yarrow, echinacea, elecampane, and poke -- but few that are anti-viral. Of these, my favorite is St. Joan's/John's wort. If any herb can prevent the flu, St.J's can.

Of course, even flu shots don't prevent all types of flu, and they don't prevent colds, so even if you do get a shot, it's a good idea to have some anti-viral and anti-bacterial herbs on hand. The distinction between them is not so important once you are sick. Both types of herbs will alert the immune system to the infection and help it gather the resources needed to counter it. Did you know that the achy muscles and headachy feeling we get with the flu is not caused by the flu itself but results from the immune system gobbling up all available resources so it can clobber the flu virus.

St. Joan's/John's wort (Hypericum perforatum)
This beautiful yellow flower yields a blood-red tincture that I take by the dropperful to prevent viral infections such as the flu. A dropperful in the morning throughout the cold months is adequate for prevention. I increase that to 2-3 dropperfuls a day if I have been exposed at home or at work to the flu. If I do get sick, I will use other herbs to counter the infection. Capsules of St. J's are ineffective; I only use the tincture.

Echinacea (Echinacea augustifolia)
The tincture of echinacea root is a well-known anti-infective. When I feel an infection brewing, I use large doses of echinacea to build white blood cells and encourage T-helper cells. The dose of echinacea root tincture is 1 drop for every 2 pounds of body weight, as frequently as every hour or two in the acute phase of an infection, 2-4 times a day otherwise. I have seen echinacea relieve terrible flu infections.

Important: I do not use echinacea as a preventative; it doesn't seem to work that way. I do not use any part of this plant except the root. I do not combine it with goldenseal, which I believe hinders the immune system. I do not take echinacea in capsules.

I make a quart of echinacea tincture each fall as my winter insurance. Here's how I do it: Put 4 ounces of dried Echinacea augustifolia root in a quart jar. Fill to the top with 100 proof vodka. Cap tightly and label. Shake daily for the first week. Then weekly for at least eight weeks.

Poke (Phytolacca americana)
The tincture of this root is so powerful some authors consider it poisonous. You may have a hard time finding it for sale. But poke is an important helper when flu "bugs" have taken over. I would not take poke as a preventative; it is far too strong. I use poke root tincture to kick my immune system into high gear. The dose is one drop -- yes, only one drop -- once or twice a day for no more than a month, although in serious cases I may use up to 8 doses a day. Poke root tincture can harm the kidneys if it is taken continuously. I never take capsules of poke root.

Elecampane (Inula helenium)
The tincture of this root is a favorite for clearing lung infections and countering the flu. The usual dose is 10-15 drops 2-3 times a day, but I would increase the dose to 6 times a day in an acute situation. I expect to see results within a day or less. I would only take elecampane if I had an active infection; it has little protective value. I never use elecampane capsules.

Elder (Sambucus canadensis)
Elder flowers are a nice remedy for those with a feverish cold, but for those with the flu, I prefer elder berries. The most common way to take them is in the form of a syrup. The immune enhancing properties of elder berries are renowned in Europe and slowly gaining popularity in the United States. Elder berry syrup also eases coughs and lung congestion.

Winter is Coming
Herbs may not seem strong enough to prevent or counter the flu, but they are. When we use herbs to maintain and regain health, we not only take a big step toward health independence but a small step toward peace on our planet. Instead of making war on weeds, I use them. Instead of making war on nature, I let Her guide me. Instead of making war on myself when I'm sick, I nourish myself toward greater health, greater peace.

Green blessings surround us. Herbs not only protect us from the flu, they can uplift our hearts and bring us joy in trying and uncertain times.

Tips to Avoid the Flu
1. Wash your hands, this is the single best way to avoid the flu.
2. Cough or sneeze into your elbow, not your hand. Viral particles are easily passed from hands to eyes and nose even if you use a tissue.
3. If the flu is active in your area, avoid public places.

 

Study with Susun Weed in the convenience of your home! Choose from three Correspondence Courses: Green Allies, Spirit & Practice of the Wise Woman Tradition, and Green Witch - includes audio/video tapes, books, assignments, special mailings, plus personal time.

Learn more at www.susunweed.com or write to:

Susun Weed
PO Box 64
Woodstock, NY 12498
Fax: 1-845-246-8081

Visit Susun Weed at: www.susunweed.com and www.wisewomanbookshop.com
For permission to reprint this article, contact us at: susunweed@herbshealing.com

Vibrant, passionate, and involved, Susun Weed has garnered an international reputation for her groundbreaking lectures, teachings, and writings on health and nutrition. She challenges conventional medical approaches with humor, insight, and her vast encyclopedic knowledge of herbal medicine. Unabashedly pro-woman, her animated and enthusiastic lectures are engaging and often profoundly provocative.

Susun is one of America's best-known authorities on herbal medicine and natural approaches to women's health. Her four best-selling books are recommended by expert herbalists and well-known physicians and are used and cherished by millions of women around the world. Learn more at www.susunweed.com

EDIE ART

EDIE ART

Edie grew up in The Netherlands near Rotterdam. She is a self-taught painter and musician. She drew and painted throughout childhood, but did not pursue her art seriously until later in her mid twenties. At the age of nineteen Edie moved to Paris to live and work there as a model. She stayed and worked there for 6 months, then travelled on to Sydney,Australia where she worked as a model as well.

At 20, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue music. She learned to play guitar, started writing, performing and eventually recording and co-producing her first [of now four] album.

Edie stayed in LA for 5 and a half years and within that period she started working on oil pastel drawings. Some of the work from that period was used on her second album’s artwork ["Nu"]
Edie didn’t start exhibiting until she lived in Nashville, TN where she also started painting with acrylics.

Most of her work is figurative or imaginative. Her use of color is bold and vibrant. From her work emanates a certain warmth and happiness, the shapes are often simplistic and the paintings have a lyrical quality.

Her work has been quoted as naive, folk-ish, impressionist. Edie’s influences range from the cities she has lived in to everyday life to more ethereal inspirations like music and dreams.

Some famous artists that she admires are Chagall, Karel Appel, van Gogh, J.W. Waterhouse, Dali, Klimt among many more. Now living and working in New York City, Edie devotes most of her time to painting and experiments with styles and mediums. Stylistically she has been experimenting with more naive, childlike paintings as well as portaits. Edie also paints live at events throughout the city, capturing the feel of an event over the course of the event.

Visit Edie's website at: http://edieart.com/#659