meetings & awakenings by Gaia Herbs

meetings & awakenings the coevolution of plants and people

some sort of blurb about Gaia about Gaia the company or the philosophy? or a blurb about what the book is?about Gaia the company or the philosophy? or a blurb about what the book is?

Ric Scalzo and Greg Cumberford

meetings & awakenings the coevolution of plants and people by Ric Scalzo and Greg Cumberford

ÂŠ 2010 Herbal Research Publications Brevard, North Carolina

There is a Field of Infinite Correlation that connects all life. Within this field there is perfect order, unbounded energy, and supreme knowledge that guides the organized expressions found within the bounty of nature. It is from this vast dark, underlying canopy found at the core within this field, that all life is manifested. From this vastness within the unmanifest, emerges an equally vast diversity of creation. These expressions of nature spiral forth and interact in a coherent and dynamic manner.

There is no distinction between time and space in this field of infinite correlation. It is at this core of all life where we meet the unmanifest source of our diversity. The journey of the meetings that we observe in nature begins at the junction point where the unmanifest begins to express itself. So much awareness and so many awakenings are born here and a pattern of organized intelligence begins to take shape.

The Wisdom and Intelligence imbibed in every seed expresses itself into a endless pattern of diversity. With each phase of growth of the plant more and more of the unmanifest intelligence begins to become manifest. We begin to witness the expression of order, of sequence, of conviction and of reverence. And when we observe the pattern of flowers aligning to the energy and movement of the sunlight we begin to see the coherent coupling within these intelligent expressions of nature.

Coherent coupling can begin to be seen in many formsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the pistils and stamens interacting with the forces of sunlight, the morning dew finding a purposeful home on the tender petals ,the flowers aligning to the rays of the sun for their journey through the day, and the young roots beginning to seek out growth promoting nutrients from the fertile soil that they nest within. As this blossoming of creative intelligence shapes these relationships, we begin to realize that we are part of a vast network of meetings that shape our plant medicines that restore our memory of this wholeness born within the core of nature.

Meetingsâ&#x20AC;Ś.. We are all part of one body seeking harmony. We remember our instinctual connection to the earth and all its inhabitants. Each individual longs to rekindle this connection, this partnership. Therefore, we must act in accordance with nature. There is no action more responsible.

reverence Every plant, in its true form, has the extraordinary ability to restore our bodiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; natural vitality through a symbiotic chemical interaction. It is our deepest belief, our duty, to help others return to a state of harmony by stewarding the coevolution of plants and peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;

encouraging each indivdualto meet the herbs that will work for them.

Stewardshipâ&#x20AC;Ś.. We assume our role as stewards of this life cycle. Plants bring forth their wisdom and intelligence through endless interactions with the formative forces of nature. We create fertile soils to nurture this expression of plant intelligence. Our meetings at this moment are very special as we recognize that we hold responsibility for the free and full development of this fertile and vibrant expression of nature.

a symbiotic relationship Partnership with the earth is our passion and commitment. We serve as dedicated stewards of this bond. We nourish the plants and the land, and they give vitality to all of us in equal measure.

Symbiotic Relationships…… we all are part of a life cycle… a journey together with relations that are both seen and unseen. Just as the wasp and the grub are connected together in their life path so are we connected with the soil, the plants, the insects, the cycles of day and night, the changing of the seasons. All these connections, all these relationships remind us how we are intimately woven together into a fabric of wholeness that sustains the very life that we live.

Nature heals when given the opportunity to do soâ&#x20AC;Ś.. we work diligently within the construct of nature to restore balance to our soils and attract elements that assist in maintaining that balance. Within nature are the remedies for any state of dis-easeâ&#x20AC;Ś. We simply subscribe to this truth as self evident and allow this intelligence that connects us to fully express itself so that we can meet our medicines in their purest form.

Within the very core of our existence is a mosaic of shapes and forms and relations.Our very existence depends upon our ability to sustain the fertility and vitality inherent within nature. The meetings that take place with our medicines should not be taken for granted. These meetings offer a promise that the cycle of life will not be broken. These meetings offer a promise that there will always remain a continuity of relations that will, if given the opportunity, provide us with the ability to achieve true health and wellness.

The web and the weaverâ&#x20AC;Śâ&#x20AC;Ś we stop for a moment in our work to witness the energy, the effort of those forces of nature that are always working for our benefit, our growth, our sustenance. Just as we take a moment to reflect on these relations, the sun carves out a moment in time to remind us that our medicines are being woven for us together within these meetings at every moment through the life cycle of plants.

Gratitude and humilityâ&#x20AC;Śâ&#x20AC;Ś in the process of giving, we receive. We are humble servants of these formative forces of nature and pride ourselves knowing that we may not meet all that take our medicines but we still own the responsibility to maintain the purity and integrity throughout every phase of this life cycle that we are intimately woven into.

Order and coherenceâ&#x20AC;Ś. there is a sequence and harmony that emerges from the vast unity in nature. So much diversity yet so much underlying harmony to connect these diverse elements of nature. In this field of infinite correlation we are connected at the core. Our work with plants remind us of the importance of nourishing the stillness that connects us all.

Stillness and dynamismâ&#x20AC;Ś.. two opposing forces of nature harmonized together become the building blocks of all life and wellness.

Honoring our present…. Nurturing our future….. We are reverent stewards of what surrounds us and what is within us….Every day we awake to these relations and honor our role in the co-creation of this evolutionary process. We must always improve the tilth of the earth we walk upon so that those that follow us can also share fully in these relations we nurture.

the choices we make The coevolution of plants and people is a harmonious continuum. Plants revitalize us, and we must nurture them in return it is this reciprocity that sustains the well-being of everything on the planet, and brings a renewed sense of wholeness to all the earth.

Observation within our sacred medicinary. We remain awake to our relations…. we observe and we serve….. we respect and we respond. We continuously take note of these ever changing cycles of nature with the intent to capture the full potential of nature’s vital energies. Our intent is purely to act in harmony with these formative forces. Our interactions must be timed perfectly.

Intentionâ&#x20AC;Ś.. every thought, every feeling, and every emotion becomes part of our medicine. We harvest and prepare our medicine as reverent servants knowing that our being, our consciousness becomes a part of every plant medicine that we steward.

Convictionâ&#x20AC;Ś as plants nourish us we in turn nourish and cultivate them organically, tending to them largely by hand, maintaining their purity. Only the truest expression of the herb must be brought forward. We must harvest gently at the optimal moment, to ensure the greatest potency. We must process carefully to deliver these gifts with integrity.

Respect for natureâ&#x20AC;Ś.. the formative forces of nature that guide us towards peak performances in our lives also guide the medicinal plants and trees to their peak performance. We remain patient, willing to observe their changing appearances and chemistries. Only at the precise time do we harvest these plants with deep respect for this co-evolutionary process that we share. We come to meet our medicines as they have evolved to meet us. These formative forces of nature that the plants have metabolized deepen our connection to a vital process that nurtures us endlessly.

As we share our passion, communicate our deep knowledge, and faclitate a personal connection between plants and people, coevolution grows stronger. We commit to responsible sourcing through our relationships with Family Farmers and Certified Partners, all upholding the Gaia Standards of Excellence. The influence of our carefully tended acres continues to grow, as both a trusted source and a model of organic farming and plant preservation.

co-creation with passion...... there is a small window of time in this process for us to be awake to the peak and total potential of nature. We come to this window with a passion for this meeting, with a purpose for this meeting, and a deep appreciation for the outcomes of this meeting.

Fresh and vital…… this is how we relate to our medicines. Nature is our pharmacy and we harvest this pharmacy while in it’s freshest and most vibrant state. We do not alter what nature has so perfectly created rather we look through the window of science to confirm our conviction that as long as we preserve freshness we preserve the healing power of nature.

The soil nurtures us with its vitalityâ&#x20AC;Śâ&#x20AC;Ś we come forward to meet this fabric of fresh and vibrant life. It awakens us to the knowledge of our purpose as stewards of these medicines.

A medicine for all seasons…. Whether floral bud or flower; whether seed or root…. In every stage of development nature creates a pharmacy that determines it’s use…. For every phyto-chemical in nature there is a corresponding and complementary receptor in our body. What resides within the body and mind of nature nourishes our body and mind to make us whole and vital.

The fruits of our labor….. we’ve waited all season for this moment… the ripening of such perfectly woven plant intelligence. This ripening represents the closure of a cycle….but within each ending there are also new beginnings… these are the seeds that keep the memory of wholeness within every cell in our hearts awake to all possibilities.

Our hearts are filled with joy and gratitudeâ&#x20AC;Ś. So many forces, so many elements, so much patience has come to this moment in time where we hold the conviction in our heart that we have truly been a part of cultivating pure plant medicine.

the roots that connect us in making transparent and traceable the history of every herb in every jar, bottle, and capsule, we empower individuals to reclaim control of their own well-being, share their knowledge with others, and participate more fully in an exchange that advances the coevlution of

plants and people.

Confidenceâ&#x20AC;Ś we have nothing to hide and everything to gain. We must remain open and allow the world to share our experience at every level so that others can meet and know usâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and meet and know their herbs. To enable this exchange we invite each person to see where their herbal medicines come from, how it was grown, harvested, extracted, and validated for purity, integrity, and potency.

Purityâ&#x20AC;ŚNature is pure. We must hold ourselves to natureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s standards above all others. Each herb must be cultivated according to how nature intended. Chosen from heirloom seeds, grown organically, harvested with care at the perfect moment of maturity with reverenceâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;each herb realizing its potential to grow, to develop, to bring forth vitality.

SCREEN SHOT

Integrityâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;through the window of science we validate the intelligence of nature. We hold a keen awareness that every plant, and only the correct plant, will deliver itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vitality and healing properties with selectivity. Validation of integrity and identity assures that a true partnership will be born between the body and mind of nature and our body and mind.

SCREEN SHOT

Validationsâ&#x20AC;Ś.. we evaluate identity on a macroscopic level and recognize the wisdom of the plant is expressed in both seen and unseen ways. Plants reveal their intelligence in many waysâ&#x20AC;Ś we must take time and honor the meeting between what is truly scientific with what is truly reverent.

SCREEN SHOT

Potency—colors and waves—a reflection of the strength that lies within……. interactive meetings between plants and sunlight are observed in absorbance and wave lengths. These meetings take place in the sacred laboratory of nature and validated within our own laboratories. We measure what nature has created and confirm with confidence the potency of our herbal medicine.

Awakenings…… the co-evolution of plants and people….. meeting our herbs as our herbs meet us… we meet our full potential as servant leaders with one simple intention……. to awaken the full potential of these meetings in their purest form……. to encapsulate the Vis Medicatrix Naturae, the healing power of nature,……. and to guide the awakening of this wisdom of nature within every cell of our body and mind.

meetings & awakenings...

Chapter 1: Co-Evolution

As you read these words, you are, presumably, breathing. But you may not fully realize what you are

As your supple diaphragm draws in and slowly

this. We may no doubt feel or believe that we are sepa-

expels air, sustaining your capacity to exist, consider

rate, that we are alone—existentially or physically—

this: that you and I can breathe at all signifies a pre-

in this life, but our very breath tells us otherwise when

breathing. The fact that your nostrils, trachea, alveoli,

cious and infinitely diverse interplay between animals,

we apprehend its significance. The humility in this

and approximately 600 miles of lung capillaries are

plants, and our living earth. Fundamentally, that all

apprehension carries us to one tenet of ecological

respiring a stable balance of atmospheric gases

cellular life respires in order to live ties us all into a

consciousness.

embeds you in a story whose origins lie at the very

responsive and empowered relationship to our own

beginning of life: the story of co-evolution. In this

bodies and to the ecology of the place in which we live.

perhaps 100 million years to our emergence, we

story, something so basic to being here—breathing—

At a cellular level, the living biosphere in which we are

mammals have shared one common, vital need in

connects you and me physically to the most ancient

intimately embedded records our existence—from at

whatever environments we’ve lived. We’ve all needed

roots of life on earth.

least the moment of our conception to the last meta-

to continuously respire an acceptable, tolerable,

bolic assimilation of our organic residue by the environ-

chemically stable quality of air. This is a precondition

ment—and responds instantaneously to our every act.

for any mammalian life form to exist, to proliferate,

Close your eyes and slowly take in one full, conscious breath, hold it briefly, then slowly release it.

In this way we are not ever, in our earthly existence, alone. Our shared biological provenance guarantees

Another is that we are all mammals. Going back

and to evolve. What assures us that this most basic need will be fulfilled?

At any given moment in earth’s history, the content

sugars, and proteins to metabolize and maintain a

primarily. (And largely still does inside our gassy GI

of our atmosphere has varied quite dramatically.

bacteria make it possible for us to metabolize our

remarkably constant physio-chemical environment

tracts, where sunlight never goes.) But once photosyn-

Indeed, the atmospheric content at the time of bacte-

food. Without them, our foods would putrefy inside us

inside us that mimics some key conditions for life on

thesis emerged, free and abundant sunlight was con-

rial life’s emergence on earth some 3.5 billion years

and we would auto-toxify in short order. Hence the

earth that predominated at their emergence.

verted by these “green” bacteria directly into sugars

ago was a methane and ammonia steam bath in

crucial importance of bacteroides, lactobacillus, and

which we would perish nearly instantly. The conditions

other beneficial gut probiotics to our own health. We

mutually beneficial relationship that trains our

cell structures while also liberating oxygen and water

for life at the beginning of life were completely incom-

can’t live without them.

immune systems, provides us metabolic energy, and

vapor into the atmosphere.

patible with the conditions we require today—and

This is a good thing, for those primordial, ancient

Yet many of our friendly gut bacteria can’t live in

Unlike a host-parasite relationship, this is a truly

kills unfriendly pathogens. This relationship signifies

that sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide into their

Paleoecologists recognize this stunning event,

that have been available reliably since at least the

what is now, for them, a toxic, nitrogen- and oxygen-

a true co-evolutionary adaptation of highly interde-

some 3 billion years ago, as the beginning of the

emergence of mammalian life. Quite interestingly,

rich atmosphere—which nearly all animals and plants

pendent cellular structures. It is rooted in continuous

proliferation of life beyond the “simple” organisms.

however, the genetic descendants of the earliest

today require to live. So they live symbiotically within

interactions that began hundreds of millions of years

This makes sense, because once the free and contin-

anaerobes, which paleobiology has determined were

us, ensuring that we can experience a long measure of

ago, but—crucially—required another evolutionary

uous energy of the sun could fuel an organism’s vital

the first living organisms on earth, live on today inside

years so long as we feed ourselves, stay clean enough,

innovation in order to occur at all: photosynthesis.

activities, a whole new world of ecological niches

the warm, mobile, flatulent digesters we maintain

and avoid fatal incidents. In exchange, we provide

for them: our stomachs.

them a regular “diet” of fluids, carbohydrates, fats,

Prior to the emergence of photosynthesis, bacterial respiration produced methane and carbon dioxide

emerged for life forms to colonize. Yet an interesting and perhaps ironic evolutionary trade-off occurred.

Photosynthetic organisms have remained sessile—

Yet at some early stage in the Paleozoic atmos-

Of course, we partake in this co-evolutionary

respire what they require (carbon dioxide) to live.

incapable of purposive mobility or mass migration.

phere’s transformation to its present composition,

symbiosis for the most part unconsciously since, like

Many non-photosynthetic organisms, including nearly

some anaerobic bacteria co-evolved metabolic

breathing, digestion is something most of us take

us and maintained over hundreds of millions of years…

all animalia, developed mobility as the means to feed

systems inside the earliest multi-cellular organisms

for granted. Yet in our exchange with the hundreds of

by plants.

and to avoid being fed on. And as our atmosphere

that would eventually allow the earliest forms of

anaerobic bacteria species and trillions of bacterial

As we breathe, so do we collectively nourish and

became more and more oxygenated over billions of

mobile animals (arthropods) to emerge. In this way,

organisms in our guts, we each ensure the other’s

feed one another continuously across the plant-animal

years by the earliest photosynthesizing bacteria, algal

the earliest ancestors of plants caused a global envi-

genetic continuity. It’s an excellent trade, especially

“divide,” which reveals from a cellular metabolic

mats, and ultimately plants, the archaic ancestors

ronmental transformation that, in turn, created the

since, had they not emerged, it’s a safe bet that

standpoint that we are in fact bound to each other

of all of today’s animals developed larger, faster, and

conditions for all animal life to flourish. But like mol-

higher plants and animals (to say nothing of mam-

through the respiratory and digestive cycles that

more complex body structures. They could do so

lusks that would emerge eons later, these anaerobic

mals) could never have emerged.

sustain us. Each “kin-dom” literally could not have

because they could derive energy from their food far

bacteria had to adapt to their changing environment to

Today we collectively breathe from a singular van-

more efficiently in the presence of increasing oxygen.

survive. They had to grow protective layers. They had

tage point—or precipice—in our living earth’s history.

even though each individual animal and plant species

And so the “botany of desire” among plants and

to go somewhere. Luckily for us, this symbiotic

Not only do plants form the basis of our nutrition

is never relieved from remaining relevant—either

animals, as Michael Pollan has brilliantly surveyed it

digestive dance with the anaerobes led to our being—

and our global medicinary, they also respire what we

adapting or failing to adapt in response to the ever

among plants and people, came into play.

or more precisely, our continual becoming.

require (oxygen and water) to live and we, in turn,

unfolding co-evolutionary paradigm of this biosphere.

We have received an atmosphere bequeathed to

proliferated over geological time without the other,

No individual species is inherently privileged, but

been relatively regular and relatively benign. But

ago and eliminated more than 80% of all terrestrial

Our species’ predilection to feed from, cultivate, and

every species expresses a particular, coherent, and

when we delve down into the world of bacteria, myc-

and marine life, most likely due to an asteroid impact

in so many ways co-create our world with plants

successful adaptive vector in relationship to its eco-

orrhizae, and endophytes, we see remarkable mor-

that altered earth’s atmosphere. This was an infinitely

that form our food and medicines expresses and vali-

logical matrix. A living or thriving species embodies

phological adaptation and phenotypic plasticity. We

long time ago in terms of conscious memory, but

dates what our DNA “knows” are highly successful

a co-evolutionary success story within a functioning

see into the co-evolutionary fire by which certain

relatively recently in terms of the genetic and cellular

strategies for surviving the most dramatic geochemical

habitat. A dying or recently extinct species embodies

assemblages and clades persist through successful

“memory” shared between the mammal and plant

upheavals possible on this planet. This knowledge

a failure to respond adequately to co-evolutionary

adaptation, and others die out. During the recent past

genera that (re)inhabited and co-evolved in the

lies latently within us, even when we have no conscious

challenges and opportunities.

2–3 million years of human proliferation on earth, a

postapocalyptic new world they inherited from the

or cultural referents to it. Even when we now appear

fairly stable phylogenetic array of animals and plants

dinosaurs and the gymnosperms.

to be the upheaval.

In this light, there can be no evolution outside coevolution. That all life forms, including humans and

has prevailed. Our atmospheric composition and

plants, inextricably interpenetrate each other’s cells

temperatures have been for the most part quite com-

beneficial, appropriative history between humans

the air, and to the magnificent story of how that air

means that we are always reciprocally co-evolving.

fortable and conducive to plant and, certainly,

and thousands of nutritive and medicinal plants is

came to be, we can feel profound hope. The several-

We only perceive taxonomic species and genotypes

mammal development. The narrative of earth history,

encoded into our DNA. Our cellular biology comes

billion-year-long story of phylogenesis on earth—

as immutable because we take a relatively short-

however, is punctuated by cataclysm.

straight from the womb and crucible of that last

the determined co-evolutionary force driving all life

great awakening among earth’s surviving species.

forward—will never finish so long as living organisms

term perspective, where climatic oscillations have

The last Great Extinction occurred 65 million years

A shared adaptive “memory” and a mutually

By reorienting our awareness (and our breath) to

can interact within local habitats and so long as the

what could be a more plain form of interspecies

sun sustains photosynthetic life. But due to our sheer

interactionâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;or cause for phylogenetic adaptationâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;

numbers and technology, we humans bear far more

than eating? Or being eaten? All organisms are

responsibility for outcomes now than ever before in

programmed by their shared DNA to learn from each

our cultural or biological memory.

close encounter at the threshold between life and

A dynamic, atmospheric equilibrium between 10

death, to adapt as efficiently as possible to ensure

plants and animals is a fundamental precondition for

continuity of their kind. Co-evolution is what life forms

our joint proliferation across the eons into countless

do and how they assert their relevance over geological

morphologies and habitats. Our every breath is owed

time within a biosphere that has proven remarkably

to a basic co-evolutionary process that connects our

capable of maintaining a dynamic, pulsing equilibrium

breathing to the origins of life itself.

for lifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s proliferation as its only directive.

What is the simple act of breathing but the outcome of a vastly intricate and complex interaction, mediated by bacteria and mycorrhizae, among plant and animal species over millennia? For that matter,

Today more than ever, aligning with that directive is our most pressing imperative.

Chapter 2: Sustainable Wellness From Plant Intelligence

Many of us believe that within our lifetimes we will

our wellness within the wider and wilder realms of

and phyto-medicinal gardens of indigenous peoples,

experience a global convergence of science, eco-

phyto-medicines, we can also build a very pragmatic

yet which must be scaled up to accommodate 8–10

nomics, and earth-honoring spirituality that will cause

and sustainable platform of solutions to our wellness

billion people’s basic wellness needs by the year 2050.

humanity to embrace holistic and integrative wellness

challenges. To enter into the realms in which our

Implications for urban ecology and all related land-

as the dominant mode of primary health care. Not

neuro-physio-chemistry will meet and be enlivened

scape and energy design professions could be pro-

only do our macroeconomics compel this, but our most

by intelligent phyto-medicines, we should first ask

found. We are at an important threshold requiring

incisive sciences and our most profoundly resonant

what will form the basis of a truly sustainable and

all our healing disciplines to align within a biospheric

spiritual traditions are converging to pass humanity

regenerative phyto-medicinary? For without a robust,

mandate that has never altered over the eons.

over a threshold, through a sort of Deep Remembering,

diverse, and accessible phyto-medicinary, we cannot

into a rhizomatic awareness of our own embeddedness

experience the meetings and awakenings with plants

indicate, people hunger for real nutrition that is mean-

in a regenerative, health-giving biosphere.

that our bodies have co-evolved to expect.

ingfully connected to place: there really is no practical

The most patient denizens on our home planet—

The answers are truly fascinating and deeply reas-

As the organic farming and local foods revolutions

limit on society’s ability to promote sustainable

the algae, fungi, and plants—form the real basis of

suring, because they point to the resolution lying in a

nutrition once the preventive and wellness benefits of

human and animal wellness today, as always. By

globally regenerative ecological agriculture, one that

healthy and natural foods reduce society’s health care

remembering our human natures, and the basis of

mimics the sophisticated pharm-ecological forestries

costs. Billions of dollars spent managing avoidable,

preventable disease states can be redeployed to

roughly one-sixth of America’s GDP—to say nothing

to the “BRIC nations take over” narrative that we’re

self-care strategies. Two diagrams may help draw

supporting our inherent capacity to stay healthy when

of “big agra”—a certified organic phyto-medicinary

hearing so much lately, since America enjoys a lead in

this contrast. The first captures the conventional

we facilitate routine cellular interactions with benefi-

supply chain could actually rival biofuels and bioplas-

superior academic research infrastructure, environ-

processes and costs associated with our dominant

cial plants, and make whole plant nutrition plentiful

tics as the Next Big Thing that revives the American

mental and ecological bio-diversity protections, entre-

pharmaceutical development and delivery paradigm.

and affordable. When a society starts realizing tangible

economy and turns our society away from climate-

preneurship and financing networks, vast agricultural

The second depicts a natural phyto-medicinary

wellness dividends, through prevented managed care

change-inducing fossil fuels. If we recognize the co-

support and production systems, and legal property

development paradigm.

costs and high-tech interventions (particularly for

evolutionary power of plant intelligence to feed us and

and patent rights guarantees. Throw in its break-

low-income people and elders), then all the financial

make us healthier, and if we align our society with co-

throughs in bio-fuels and bio-plastics, and America

resources necessary to realize a renewable-energy-

evolution, we can see a very compelling economic path

is uniquely situated to rev up a new economic engine

than the pharmaceutical paradigm because it is

driven, bioregionally diverse phyto-medicinary

forward that requires a balance of university- and gov-

delivering the world a robust, safe, and scientifically

rooted in the inherent co-evolutionary symbiosis

agriculture will be freed up. Farming will also become

ernment-sponsored technological innovation, respect

verifiable phyto-medicinary supply chain.

between humans and plants, while at the same time

a much more sustainable enterprise, because of the

for indigenous wisdom traditions, and entrepreneurial

inherent needs our bodies have for phyto-medicines

ventures responsive to particular societal wellness,

the naturopathic and integrative medical professions

the keepers and communicators of medical wisdom

free of herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides.

energy, and nutritional needs.

while keeping millions of people out of the medical

traditions embodied in plants.

With health care and “big pharma” representing

Such a path also offers a substantial alternative

Imagine the societal benefits of greatly expanding

claims nightmare through responsive and natural

This second system is vastly more sustainable

honoring the pivotal role played by practitioners as

We believe that a sustainable phyto-medicinary

Figure 2

Figure 1 Conventional Pharmacutical Supply Chain Paradigm biotech designer ACCEPTED compounds & compounds molecultes

pharma mfg

prescrip plans

physician

IND basic research

target ID

translation of research target DEV lead ID

synthesis

natural phytochemistry

pre-clinical DEV lead DEV

patient

NDA clinical research

phase I

phase II

phase III

lead OPT

supply chain belongs at the base of our wellness,

research in pharmacology and systems biology has

along with seasonally diverse, regionally or locally

expressed our personal beliefs and experiences

grown foods providing for our nutritional needs. When

through observed science. These observations cer-

this approach is pursued as an ethos, as an outcome

tainly validate the naturopathic approach, while at the

of a regenerative ethical relationship to place, to family,

same time reinforcing our deeper genomic ties to a

and to our bodies, the need for nearly all of society’s

rich, biologically-diverse ancestry upon which true

best-selling pharmaceutical “lifestyle” drugs simply

human wellness was always sustained prior to the

falls away, as do nearly all of the attendant costs that

advent of chemo-pharmaceuticals.

seem to be driving our governments into prolonged

A leading voice in this area is Kevin Spelman, a

• Only 1:20,000 odds from target ID to NDA

insolvency. Not surprisingly, our physiology, our social

doctoral researcher and scientist with ties to UNC-

• 92% of drugs rejected in clinical trials

economy, and the biosphere are all signaling to us that

Greensboro, Tai Sophia Institute, and the NIH National

something has to give.

Institute on Aging. We find Spelman’s research and

• Only 1 in 3 drugs make back R&D costs

REJECTED

• DD pipeline cost per product: $1 billion

compounds

Do we need to rethink drug development?

(Modified with permission from Dr. Jeffrey Schmitt, Wake Forest University)

Perhaps we wouldn’t believe this so fervently if

writing highly compelling, because he is elevating and

we had not experienced this degree of wellness our-

articulating the paradigm-upending biological concept

selves. But more recently, an emerging field of

of “coherent coupling” and its expression between

Sustainable Phyto-Medicinary Paradigm

natural phytochemistry

biosphere & ecosystem

community natural products retail

traditional use history & clinical observation

family bio-regional agriculture & ecological harvesting

COG manufacture & GMP quality validation

patient physician: advisor & apothecary

phyto-chemical ligands and matrices of cellular

metaphoric levels of the cell, the body, and the bios-

grade biology class, this is a highly disruptive notion!

ments. Now we’re starting to see tantalizing evidence

receptors. Spelman has helped us enormously by

phere, deftly weaving together molecular-genomic

Yet we find its implications both cosmological and

in the cellular makeup of plants and humans.

surveying an international body of scientific literature

exchange processes and species-biospheric exchange

comforting at the same time.

in the fields of evolutionary medicine, molecular nutri-

processes. We believe his work and that of his col-

tion, proteomics, and metabolomics, and what he calls

leagues will form the scientific foundation for clinical

be far more flexible, adaptable, and plastic than can be

organisms are inexorably interwoven into their envi-

ecological pharmacology operating at the cellular level

research in integrative medicine for the next 20 years.

Put another way, a species’ genome is proving to

It starts with the self-evident notion that all living

accounted for by simple random genetic mutations

ronments since they all start as single-celled entities,

In essence, a central dogma of biology—namely,

and natural selection alone, and our ability to “pheno-

and that it is not really possible at the cellular level to

exploring and bringing home fascinating stories of his

that genetic information flows only in one direction,

typically shift” based on either health-inducing experi-

speak of environment and organism as separate enti-

encounters along this margin.

from our DNA to RNA to protein and onward to the

ences or harm-inducing experiences at the cellular

ties—and probably not at the level of species and envi-

cell, multicellular systems, organs, organ systems,

level is more latent to a species’ genome than clas-

ronment, either. The term first coined in the 1980s by

encapsulated in a chapter titled “Ecological Pharma-

and the body—captures only part of the story. It is

sical evolutionary theory permitted. As an example, we

systems biologists Maturana and Varela to account for

cology: Pharmacology Informed by Evolution” in the

emerging through science that our cellular experi-

already have evidence of phenotypic plasticity in how

DNA shifting is “structural coupling,” which is defined

forthcoming book Fundamentals of Complementary and

ence through environmental interactions can affect

individual Pacific tree frog tadpoles metamorphose

as “a history of recurrent interactions leading to struc-

Integrative Medicine, 4th edition (Elsevier, 2010). He flu-

our DNA. In effect, this means that DNA can “learn”

differentially due to differing predatory pressures from

tural congruence between two or more self-organizing

idly connects information exchange processes at the

directly from the environment. Going back to 8th

fish or diving beetles in their natural pond environ-

systems.” Thus, living systems can and do undergo

of the human-plant interface. Spelman is intrepidly

Spelman’s research of the past 20 years is nicely

“coupled histories” of structural change due to their

sions of the basic observation that mutually adaptive

chemistries, we will see, show significant bio-activity

all species—and perhaps uniquely to humanity, which

consistent and constant interactions. Anyone who has

morphologies occur among plants and animals.

in animals in vivo, but purified or synthesized fractions

is capable of perceiving and realizing our interactive

of the same chemistries do not perform as well.

nature in the biosphere. It also places a special

been married for decades can visualize how coupled histories cause structural coupling in our own lives. Among humans and plants, this means that for

Certain species of hummingbirds have co-evolved bills for extracting nectar from flowers whose shape is

But these relationships don’t only happen over

responsibility on us to facilitate wellness and natural

uniquely suited to allow the hummingbird optimal

geological time. They are happening right now in ways

every cellular receptor in the human body, there is

access that assures the hummingbird departs with the

we can observe in cellular structures. As an explana-

Environmentally induced genetic change under

already a corresponding and complementary phyto-

plant’s pollen and/or seeds. The same is true with cer-

tory framework, coherent coupling gets radical when

coherent coupling means that sciences capable of

medicinal expression in nature. This co-evolutionary

tain milk thistles and butterflies with specially adapted

we move to the cellular and genomic level—where

characterizing genetic change due to metabolic

work is already massively correlated inside our

mouthparts. The December 2009 National Geographic

science is showing that the environment (via metabo-

interfacing can finally validate and authenticate why

human physiology and that of plants. How ingenious…

features an article showing in micrographic detail

lism, among other exchanges), and even an

ancient nutritional protocols like the Okinawan or

and how reassuring. Yet, as we’ve seen over geolog-

how individual pollen morphologies from flowering

organism’s perception of the environment, can induce

Mediterranean or Costa Rican diet and lifestyles tend

ical time in our atmosphere, each system is slowly

plants have adapted extensively and optimally to the

genetic adaptation and rewrite sections of DNA code.

to yield markedly higher longevity. Coherent coupling

transformed by the other due to their recurrent inter-

morphologies of their animal carriers, the better

This moves us well beyond random mutation and

as an explanatory model can also move the medical

actions. Life is always in flux. We can look around the

to increase the odds of successful coupling between

natural selection guiding epigenesis. It confers a far

sciences away from disease-driven single-vector inves-

genera of plants and animals and see myriad expres-

sperm and ovum. Many whole-plant extract phyto-

more profound evolutionary legacy and resilience on

tigations toward truly wellness-driven investigations

biodiversity among all species.

explaining what appear to be the underlying genomic

nutritional and therapeutic plants, through metabo-

hundredth? A thousandth? What are the consequences

notes that CYP 450 genes, which allow animals to

adaptations and adaptive proclivities that result in

lizing phyto-chemistry, shows us the way. . . . It’s not

of any protracted illiteracy over a generation or two?

generate a metabolic resistance to plant compounds

sustained vitality and greater longevity. Key to this

a one-way street.

Many conventional clinical doctors, nurses, and practi-

designed to dissuade herbivory, “follow an unusual

tioners are finding out!

ability to evolve rapidly.” The large family of genes in

whole framework is the notion that our DNA in some

All higher primates, while considered omnivores,

sense “expects” to be perturbed by our environment

are nevertheless primarily herbivores. Nutritional

and is able to “leap” adaptively when conditions are

paleontology estimates conservatively that over the

phological and biochemical modifications in plants

which to metabolize novel, never-before-digested

favorable—like Atacama desert flora waiting cen-

past 5–7 million years, Homo sapiens and our imme-

only requires looking at our agricultural and horticul-

plant compounds. Not only do novel plant com-

turies for rain.

diate ancestral forebears have accumulated dietary

tural history. Practically every plant-based staple

pounds—themselves adaptive phyto-chemical

In this way, environment and organism and DNA

Evidence that humans have caused genetic mor-

CYP 450 supply a cache of available proteins from

exposure to a conservative estimate of 80,000 to

or starch has already been bred and/or genetically

expressions in response to environmental perturba-

are constantly shaping and transforming each other

220,000 phyto-chemicals, a vast library of secondary

altered by humans to produce the results we desire.

tions—cause human physiological changes that

to mutual benefit or, at least, to potential benefit to

metabolitic repellants and attractants, nutrients,

But Spelman gives examples of how plants are

affect and potentiate differential advantages. Those

the most adaptive organisms undergoing environ-

immuno-modulators, anti-inflammatories, toxins, etc.,

causing changes in human DNA and protein.

novel compounds also trigger CYP 450 genes to write

mental perturbation. So how do we maximize adap-

that have shaped our genomic conditions for optimal

tivity to perturbation in the system? We believe that

wellness. How much of that dietary library do our

in cytochrome P450, which are an ancient set of liver

of detoxifying the novel plant compounds. This is a

our co-evolutionary history of coherent coupling with

bodies “read” today? Perhaps a tenth? A twentieth? A

enzymes shared by all vertebrate animals. Spelman

co-evolutionary process happening in real time, in our

First to the witness stand is the shaping of genes

new RNA code to create new enzyme isoforms capable

bodies due to environmental “experience” in the form

tion and mortality certainly drive genomic adaptation,

lular communication regulating human cell growth.

elicit compelling explanations, but we firmly believe

of ingestion.

something deeper is going on. Further investigation

Further, soil fungi molecular messengers have been

that mounting evidence of such structural correspon-

Such a rich history of recurrent interactions

inside the “omics” revolutions will tell. Spelman’s

shown to bind with the human estrogen receptor

dences at the level of cellular receptors across

between our Pleistocene forebears and a rich, biodi-

second “star witness” is the steroid receptors. He

and influence gene expression, as have plant steroids

phylogenetic kingdoms argues strongly for coherent

verse array of plant compounds argues strongly that

describes in particular how the estrogen receptor,

and flavonoids. This suggests to us, at minimum, a

coupling as an operating paradigm among humans

human CYP 450 genes have engaged for millennia

whose gene structure and ligand-binding properties

common communication strategy among fungi,

and plants.

in a mutually convergent evolutionary dance with the

have been conserved in fish, amphibians, reptiles,

plants, and animals involving molecules with similar

very same phytochemicals—themselves metabolites

birds, and mammals for 300 million years of

shape and electronegativity as estrogen.

designed to confer adaptive preference in plants—

vertebrate evolution, have a high degree of genetic

that we now recognize for their specific medicinal

homology to a receptor on the cells of fungal mycor-

disparate evolutionary forms as fungi, plants, and

properties.

rhizae in plant roots. These fungi perform functions

animals could result from mere chance… or from a

is stimulated and potentiated not only by high-affinity

involving mineral and other nutrient metabolism that

shared phenotypic adaptivity derived from a rooted

single-ligand agonists or antagonists targeted to a

genes in CYP 450 resulted, even over millennia, from

are absolutely essential to plant cell growth. These

genomic mutability, expressed as a messenger-

single, well-characterized receptor. Rather, the body’s

random mutation and selective pressure alone?

fungi possess a receptor that is homologous to the

receptor homologies, to shared or common environ-

wellness response is optimally stimulated and poten-

Coherent coupling suggests that while random muta-

human estrogen receptor, itself a key gateway in cel-

mental influences. Further research will no doubt

tiated by repeatedly digesting and metabolizing high-

How likely is it that this storehouse of adaptive

We wonder whether such coherence among such

A final, critical “witness” in the emerging ecological pharmacology is highly compelling. Spelman’s personal research in phyto-pharmacology has led him to propose that the body’s overall wellness response

volume, low-dose phyto-complexes with recognized

optimally activated or, indeed, fail to be activated at

molecules targeted to single receptors—aside from

fruitful outcomes by pursuing “magic shotguns”

broad-based affinities within whole organ systems.

all in certain people. His work is showing that both

accommodating business concerns—was the method-

instead of conventional “magic bullets.”

To an herbalist, this sounds very familiar.

high- and low-affinity ligands must be present to

ological and technology limits against characterizing

optimally stimulate receptor mosaics. This partly

activity across cooperating matrices of receptors. It was

corridor in the investigative mandate of 21st-century

Spelman’s hypothesis extends a self-regulatory

The implications of all this opens up a whole new

cooperativity in multimeric proteins to receptor

explains why oftentimes a purified drug or bioactive

never because phyto-complexes were not known to

pharmacology, especially if coherent coupling among

mosaics. Perhaps in the same way that receptor

molecule fails to work in certain individuals and

be biologically active—just that they were too complex

plants and humans is the norm, and our organ sys-

mosaics synergistically integrate colors in the fovea

sometimes triggers only undesirable side effects.

to characterize within typical business investment

tems actually require phyto-complex inputs to adapt

of the human eye, Spelman’s cellular research is

Spelman proposes other supportive mechanisms

constraints, a reductionistic scientific model, and the

to changing environmental conditions. If coherent

showing how superior therapeutic responses are

like plasma membrane morphology shifts, but the

technology of the day. But that is now changing.

coupling demonstrates that it is the “other” basis by

achieved in the presence of complementary (suppos-

key point is that whole phyto-complexes deserve

edly “non-active” or “low-activity”) phyto-constituent

pharmacodynamic characterization as much as high-

diseases, including AIDS and Alzheimer’s, that are

found implications for what constitutes a sustainable

complexes. His proposed mechanism is the stimula-

affinity ligand drug molecules do.

now shown to be treated far more effectively with

medicinary and how society achieves optimal well-

combinatorial therapies acting on multiple receptor

ness via the medical professions.

tion of cooperative and synergistically interacting

Tellingly, the main reason 20th-century pharma-

Even within traditional allopathy, there are many

matrices of cellular receptors that, if triggered solely

cology and the ensuing pharmaceutical drug develop-

sites simultaneously. Leading researchers now pro-

by a single high-affinity ligand drug may fail to be

ment model focused on isolating high-affinity ligand

pose that research investment dollars will yield more

which cellular biology functions, then it also has pro-

It certainly argues against a pharm-agra industrial complex, which systematically simplifies and

artificially fortifies our food to suit the dictates of

consciously extending Michael Pollan’s brilliant co-

capital efficiency and mass distribution. It also argues

evolutionary thesis in the magnificent Botany of Desire

and thus any species’ genome, has a vast reservoir of

against heavy governmental investment in single-

(Random House, 2001) to include adaptive mutualism

accessible yet latent phenotypic adaptiveness open

we must remember the rich herbivory upon which our

vector drug development (and towards combinatorial

among the human genome and entire plant communi-

to influence at the cellular interface. Why? Because

species has always relied and which our living bios-

approaches), since under the paradigm of coherent

ties in one direction, and adaptive mutualism among

it means that abiding wellness is our biological

phere still makes readily available. We must meet our

coupling, more affordable and sustainable medical

specific plant genomes and human DNA/receptor

birthright. It means that life is not an endless battle

healing herbs—whether by cultivating them in plant

interventions would derive from influencing a

matrices in the other.

against disease states until we die. And abundant

pots or garden beds, using them in our cooking and

wellness is not something scarce to be rationed and

salads, collecting seeds, or fortifying ourselves with

patient’s entire ambient experience through dietary,

Such holistic, transpersonal, and integrative

We find comfort in this idea that our genome,

The more diverse experiences, the better. To regain abundant wellness as our natural state,

lifestyle, and attitudinal changes—guided by our

approaches would greatly increase the likelihood that

mediated through a medical/insurance/pharma

them in medicinal preparations. As the poet Rumi

knowledge of our prehistoric ancestors’ diets. If you

balance and natural vitality return to a distressed

complex, like Pell Grants or food stamps or carbon

wrote, “There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss

wish to go deeper into this realm, we highly suggest

or diseased individual, precisely because the human

credits. Abundant wellness is abundantly available to

the Earth.” Our challenge is to find our own ways to

reading Paul Shepard, the human ecologist who

genome is biologically inseparable from its environ-

anyone who consistently supplies his or her phenome

allow such coherent couplings to occur. When we do

wrote Coming Home to the Pleistocene (Island Press,

ment and each individual’s genome awaits gentle or,

with cellular experience that our genome expects

this, we are stewarding a wellness revolution whose

1998) and Traces of an Omnivore (Island Press,

at times, robust interventions to stimulate healing

based on millions of years of iterative physiochemical

utmost consequence is a determined co-evolution

1996), among his many classics. We are also very

and regain balance.

and psychological interactions, primarily with plants.

that transforms our species’ future.

Chapter 3: Conviction

If all this is scientifically reasonable, then our real

heartfelt passion is to build a certified organic foun-

turn the tide against our amazingly dysfunctional

challenge is to sustainably provide people with the very

dation for medicinal herbs so that people will taste

health care system. Herein lies the power of our

best organic nutrition and botanical preparations that

and feel the difference in their quests for radiant

shared conviction, one that rests on solid science.

support convergence with their evolutionary potential.

health. Thankfully, a cadre of botanical medicine

It is up to us—we must create the opportunity for

Recent peer-reviewed scientific studies confirm

manufacturers is on this same quest. Many, if not

the interesting ways in which complex plant extracts

informed practitioners to help their patients “meet

most, of you reading these words would make botan-

exert a more “intelligent” therapeutic synergism than

the herbs” and accelerate the transformative power

ical preparations lovingly by hand if you could spare

isolated phytochemical fractions or their synthetic

of coherent coupling. We want practitioners and

the time. No doubt some of you do! For the rest,

counterparts alone. For example, in 2009 the journal

patients to feel undeniably better through a visceral

we’re here to help you convey your love of the healing

Phytomedicine published a review of recent pharma-

experience of coherent coupling with the most lov-

power of phyto-medicines directly to your body,

cological literature on this topic. Authors Wagner

ingly and caringly produced botanical medicines. It is

mind, and spirit. If you believe in what we’re sharing,

and Ulrich-Merzenich (J. Phytomedicine 16: 97–110)

then only up to you to meet the herbs that have been

then together we can move many more of our

survey the main mechanisms through which recent

stewarded by medicinal herbal partners who adhere

friends, relations, and colleagues to embrace a path

molecular medical science is discovering how

with conviction to deeply sustainable practices.

that not only sustains, but also regenerates our

complex botanical extracts oftentimes show a supe-

bodies, communities, and ecosystems even as we

rior therapeutic effect compared with isolated single

Organic foods have legions of advocates, but our

constituents. They define a synergistic effect when-

pounds that are naturally present in the whole-plant

involving the Ayurvedic herb Ammi visnaga as an

ever it can be shown that two or more constituents

target effects occurring in Saint-John’s wort (Hyper-

Hypericum extract “meet” a particular individual’s neu-

example, in which Khellin, the bioactive agent from the

The authors give an example of synergistic multi-

interact within in vitro or in vivo models in such a way

icum perforatum), in which multiple phytochemical

rophysiology and exert a definite antidepressant effect

whole-herb extract, is fully bioavailable in 10 minutes,

as to reduce the total amount of “actives” required to

constituents in this extract—hypericins, hyperforin,

that is customized intelligently to that person’s neuro-

as compared with the purified equimolar Khellin that

achieve a given dose-dependent effect than would

rutin, xanthones, etc.—are evidently “cooperating”

chemistry. Notably, the preponderance of over 40

is not fully bioavailable until 60 minutes. They also cite

be required using any single constituent. Put another

in achieving a beneficial antidepressant action at

placebo-controlled clinical studies cited by the authors

a compelling animal studies involving Hypericum

way, the total effect achieved in a truly synergistic

multiple receptor sites that is comparable or favorable

show little or no side effects, although certain herb-

showing that pure hypericin exerts only a weak antide-

therapy is greater than what could be achieved by

to synthetic drugs. They cite a study by Simmen et al.

drug interactions and increased photosensitivity are

pressant effect, but when combined with other con-

merely adding up the separate effects.

in J. Pharmacopsychiatry (2001) that showed affinities

well-known factors to consider when using Hypericum

stituents normally present in a whole-plant extract,

among these compounds at presynaptic neurons,

for mild to moderate depression.

“the plasma level of hypericin is clearly enhanced and

The three main mechanisms the authors find are:

Enhanced pharmacokinetic benefits occur when

a strong antidepressant effect is obtained….” These

•

Synergistic multitarget effects

postsynaptic neurons, the hypothalamus, and the

•

Pharmacokinetic effects

pituitary gland, and they further cite beneficial binding

“minor” or supposedly “non-active” constituents

studies underscore how important it is to prepare

(e.g., improved solubility, bioavailability)

inhibitions for serotonin, histamine, and H-estradiol,

increase the solubility or resorption rate of the sup-

phyto-medicines in a manner that preserves the nat-

Influencing bacterial resistance mechanisms

among other known depressant compounds. This is

posedly “active” compound(s), thus improving overall

ural array of phyto-constituents contained in the

a classic example of how differing bioavailable com-

bioavailability. The authors cite a 2000 German study

useful plant part. Just because science has not yet

•

parsed out exactly how a traditionally used botanical

cocus aureus, potentiating the antimicrobial effective-

Along these lines, they discuss research into many

such as Fiji, Vanuatu, and Western Samoa have

medicine works does not mean that the traditional

ness of berberine, and consequently shutting down the

different essential oils, including those from oregano

exceptionally low incidences of cancer, including lung

preparation methods, which preserve the natural array

multidrug-resistance capacity in the bacterium. They

and tea tree, and show many promising examples

cancer, despite not having smoking rates or cancer

of compounds, should not be respected. The minor

also cite studies involving thymol and carvacrol,

whereby their use in combination with antibiotic drugs

registration systems much different from other

compounds may hold the key to the medicine’s syner-

essential oil compounds commonly found in thyme,

significantly reduces the antibiotic dosage required

countries. This led them to suppose that kava con-

getic and coherent coupling potential.

cloves, and holy basil, which synergistically facilitate

to achieve the same effect. They state “…in all cases

sumption may have a chemopreventive effect, since

the permeation and penetration of antibiotic com-

real synergy effects could be measured.”

their epidemiological study showed that the more

A fascinating third synergistic mechanism exhibited by many botanical extracts is bacterial resistance

pounds into gram-negative bacteria. They further cite

Another highly compelling study recently con-

inhibition. The authors highlight many examples,

the remarkable effectiveness of grape seed extract

ducted by researchers at the University of Minnesota

their cancer incidence rates. One key outcome of this

including the well-known antimicrobial effect that

(Vitis vinifera) to potentiate the anti-candidiasis effect of

(J. Cancer Prevention Research, 2008, 1(6): 430–438)

study was that whole kava extract given at 10

Oregon grape root (Berberis aquifolia) has, despite the

amphotericin B in mice. When used in combination

showed a statistically significant chemopreventive

mg/gram of diet reduced lung tumorgenesis by 56%

fact that pure berberine is only weakly antibiotic.

with grape seed extract, half the dose (by body weight)

effect from kava root (Piper methysticum) extract

vs. controls, yet showed no liver toxicity at this

This occurs because a non-antimicrobial phenolic

of amphotericin B resulted in mean survival times

against induced lung cancer in mice. The researchers

relatively high dose. The authors concluded, “These

compound (MHC) in the plant extract has been shown

nearly three times as long as in control groups

in this study followed up on epidemiological evidence

results clearly show a chemopreventive effect of kava

somehow to shut down the “efflux pump” in Staphyloc-

receiving the full dose of amphotericin B by itself.

showing that people in certain Pacific island nations

against lung tumorgenesis in the A/J mouse model…

kava these nations consumed per capita, the lower

Its chemopreventive efficacy compares fairly favor-

ering how the unifying field at the deepest level of

botanical medicines work now represents the cutting

ably over other chemopreventive candidates…” We

nature expresses itself through medicinal plants.

edge on which our wellness may very well rest. For

find outcomes from rigorous scientific investigations

Ancient cultures have known of this formative force in

these reasons, we feel even greater conviction that, as

highly compelling because they verify that modern

nature for thousands of years. Modern pharmacolog-

makers of herbal medicines, we are helping usher

21st-century pharmacological and toxicological

ical sciences are just recently developing the capacity

humanity over an important biospheric proving ground.

investigations are capable of fully validating the var-

to evaluate and characterize the synergetics of tradi-

ious efficacies of traditionally used and traditionally

tional Chinese, Ayurvedic, and Native American for-

prepared botanical medicines, both for their past co-

mulas—some of humanity’s most ancient medical

evolved expressions of the infinite correlation

systems. They regard medicinal plants as particular

between humans and plants and for their future syn-

embodiments or expressions from the wellspring of

ergistic expressions as botanical drugs. Science is

intelligence within nature that coherently nourishes

finally catching up and converging with the traditional

and fortifies the infinite diversity of life. A “natural

medicinal arts. This is part of the Deep Remem-

biotechnology” that respects these ancient cultural

bering we are now inside.

systems and deploys 21st-century analytical

Modern medicine is just now on the verge of discov-

approaches to understand how and why traditional

Chapter 4: Confidence

Of the early 20th century’s many memorable insights,

be done—then it is done and all the world wonders

vate, make, package, and distribute herbal medicines

an especially compelling one to those who make

why it was not done centuries ago.

with a heartfelt confidence—an indwelling knowing—

whole plant phyto-medicines in the early 21st century came from The Secret Garden, a children’s book by

that we are doing our utmost to preserve the integrity In our lives, once we know something to be true—

of the plant intelligence expressed in each herb.

Frances Hodgson Burnett, which was published in

especially when it is something that bears moral depth

the spring of 1910, exactly 100 years ago:

and captures our hearts—we can no longer avoid it.

the United States, besides conferring certain undis-

You probably know that Certified Organic status in

We can uphold it, share it, and humbly follow its conse-

putable quality benefits to foods and medicinal plants

In each century since the beginning of the world,

quences. Its truth transcends our individuality even as

alike, also explicitly creates lot traceability to the orig-

wonderful things have been discovered. In the last

our lives feel more significant as we join with others

inal agricultural source (the grower) and oftentimes to

century, more amazing things were found out than

who understand its meaning.

a particular field on a particular farm. This is true at

in any century before. In this new century hun-

Yet our conviction must move beyond the scientific

dreds of things still more astounding will be

validity of traditional whole-plant medicines. So much

Gaia Herbs: we are Certified Organic on our farm and our manufacturing facility by Oregon Tilth, the strictest

brought to light. At first, people refuse to believe

of the synergism our bodies seek from medicinal

USDA organic certifying agent. Under annual audit,

that a strange new thing can be done, then they

herbs can be harmed, or at least attenuated, inside

products must not only prove the absence of toxic and

begin to hope it can be done, then they see it can

the supply chain from seed to shelf. We must culti-

synthetic agricultural inputs, they must also rigorously

demonstrate an unbroken chain of custody for all their

benefits it delivers, but also because of the third-party-

chain parties source only from wildcrafters who follow

fair trade certification agencies now exist to assure the

allowed inputs, yielding up a complete geographical

audited accountability it imposes on the entire supply

ethical, legal, and ecologically sustainable harvest

socioeconomic sustainability of a particular botanical’s

and chronological characterization of the provenance

chain. Certified Organic, as we have seen in the food

practices, who provide full and complete authentica-

uptake into the phyto-medicinal supply chain.

of each botanical. An industry movement in “radically

industry, also tends to support the growth and prolifer-

tion of their location, timing, and methods of harvest,

transparent” disclosures of sources is beginning,

ation of family-owned and -operated farm supply

and who submit willingly to site visits by their buyers.

farther and assure that a premium on the price they

and we’re among the companies at the headwaters.

networks, even when a nationally branded distributor

For their part, the buyers must respect international

pay for a given botanical goes directly into educational

Failure to prove a continuous chain of custody is

becomes the end consumer’s trusted trademark—for

and national laws prohibiting trade in CITES-listed

and community-supportive infrastructure in the

grounds for loss of certification for that herb or even

example, Earthbound Farms, Organic Valley, Stonyfield

botanicals, must assure that properly identified botan-

source villages. Gaia Herbs and other cohort compa-

that grower. Gaia Herbs’ farm has been Oregon Tilth

Farms, Cascadian Farms, and Seeds of Change. This

ical species are in fact being harvested (and not com-

nies in the United States have for decades directly

certified organic for 13 years as of 2010.

trend reinforces bioregional economic resilience and

mingled with other species), and must assure that

supported local and indigenous communities through

undercuts the proliferation of GMO foods and medicinal

fair trade practices are employed, preferably under fair

direct financial or in-kind sponsorship of school con-

plant crops, which is all to the good.

trade certification. This is particularly important when

struction, agro-ecology education, forest academies,

the botanical in question is endemic to the tropics

and wellness clinics in places as diverse as Vanuatu,

Potential loss of certification is true both at the level of the grower and the manufacturer of a phytomedicine. So one critical element of a sustainable

The next stepping-stone in a “green” phyto-medic-

The best medicinal herb companies take it a step

phyto-medicinary is organic certification, not only

inary covers botanicals that fall outside the Certified

and is being harvested by indigenous people who are

Jamaica, Costa Rica, Indonesia, and West Africa. Fur-

because of all the ecosystem and topsoil conservation

Organic framework. Here, the truly sustainable supply

themselves susceptible to exploitation. A number of

ther, Gaia Herbs in recent years has donated over a

quarter of our corporate profits to charitable or educa-

Organic brands in neighboring channels like medicinal

this, we set aside crude dried herbs that can be taken

delivery systems are well respected and well tolerated

tional causes like United Plant Savers, the American

teas and body care products. Bottom line: It makes no

in capsule, tablet, or tea form. Many have a fully legiti-

and oftentimes the least-cost way of ingesting medic-

Herbal Pharmacopoeia, naturopathic college endow-

sense if the systems from which we derive our health

mate role inside the materia medicae of the world’s

inal herbs. Certainly this is true for all culinary spices.

ments, and state naturopathic licensure efforts. This

and livelihood are in turn degraded. That’s just a for-

most venerated traditional medical systems, including

is actually another mode of coherent coupling.

mula for system-wide collapse, a possibility if we fail

traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda. However,

herbs because they want to consume a higher

Bringing ecological and socioeconomic sustain42

People take botanical extracts rather than crude

to coordinate our vision and let misguided convictions

crude herbs used in these systems present a number

amount of a given herb or herbal complex, beyond

ability full circle, the very best companies are now

run our manufacturing companies whose work trans-

of therapeutic challenges ranging from dosage vari-

daily levels that a crude herbal delivery system can

engaging in efforts to coordinate their botanical pro-

forms the economic and ecological nexus between

ability and patient aversion to supplier quality variability,

practically or palatably deliver. However, a wide quality

curement as part of a global supply chain integrity net-

humans and medicinal plants.

microbial and heavy metals concerns, and oxidative

spectrum exists within botanical extract manufac-

degradation. While there are certainly management

turing. There are many extract manufacturers that

work, assuring that botanical and human communities

Let’s now take up the manufacturing process, once

that supply the phyto-medicinal benefits that we all

a given bark, berry, leaf, root, flower, seed, aril, nut, or

systems and companies devoted to assuring premium

sacrifice the natural balance and array of phyto-

prize in turn realize long-term and systemic health

vine arrives to be made into a phyto-medicine. As you

quality in crude herbs, this delivery system presents

constituents in a crude herbal material for the sake

benefits. Such companies will assure that horticultural

may know, there are many ways to make a botanical

more unknowns and quality validation challenges to

of process efficiency, cost-cutting, or fraudulent profi-

and ethical protocols reach beyond direct supply chain

extract. Not all of them are completely nontoxic, and

the practitioner and the end user from a scientific

teering. This is some of our industry’s dirty laundry,

involvements to include some of the largest Certified

not all of them result in a therapeutic product. In saying

standpoint. Even with those constraints, crude herbal

but denying it won’t foster necessary system-wide

improvements. And from a health standpoint, practi-

safety regulations and widely varied capacities to

the body to receive a more consistently therapeutic

packaging applications in the natural products

tioners and consumers need to learn that many

enforce the rules they’ve enacted. Country of Origin

concentration of the plant’s full-spectrum of con-

industry. It is called the EarthBottle, and you will

botanical extracts today are primarily extracted in

labeling therefore is something we will see coming

stituents. And there is no need to isolate, purify, or

start seeing it used by more companies in the natural

industrial solvents like acetone, hexane, methanol,

forward to improve supply chain transparency.

“spike” the extract for the sake of hitting a certain bio-

products industry. Soon we will have a real alterna-

marker concentration: it is simply a matter of meas-

tive to petroleum-based plastics and the associated

certainly from the biology within the coherent coupling

uring the primarily active constituents using validated

risks of low-level endocrine disruption from the con-

model, Certified Organic botanical extracts made

analytical methods, assuring they are present at a

tainers for our bottled water, foods, and dietary sup-

the cumulative effects of consuming legally permis-

from water, vegetable alcohols, and/or supercritical

required level, and presenting this outcome on the

plements. There is a whole movement underway

sible trace industrial solvents in the finished products.

CO2 deliver the best overall wellness solutions from a

product’s label alongside the phyto-chemical array.

right now in sustainable packaging. Suffice it to say

Needless to say, sustainable companies use only

personal and planetary perspective. That is Gaia

ingestible and organically-certifiable solvents to make

Herbs’ choice. Companies that follow these extraction

ished botanical product, leading “green” phyto-medi-

away from packaging that causes unnecessary cli-

their extracts. It is up to each company to decide how

systems get extra points if they are already powering

cinary companies are now committing to sustainable

mate or solid-waste-stream impacts and towards

harshly or gently they wish to make their extracts, and

their manufacturing plants with renewable energy

packaging. Gaia Herbs is proud of our efforts to

packaging that poses no harm to the environment or,

which national quality standards to abide by. Different

systems. The resulting extracts retain the natural

develop and introduce a renewable, all-natural, and

in the best cases, can actually enhance soil nutrition

countries have different environmental health and

array of the crude herb’s phyto-chemistry yet allow

industrially compostable biopolymer resin for rigid

in managed composting systems.

and denatured alcohol—and must then be purified to remove the toxic solvents prior to final formulation. 44

This common practice leaves open the question of

From a “green” phyto-medicinary standpoint, and

Beyond the sustainable manufacture of the fin-

that the most forward-looking companies are moving

The final realm in which truly sustainable initiatives

Unless each generation keeps alive the world’s

moment we first felt “held” in a still place in nature,

are underway in phyto-medicines pertains to practi-

herbal traditions and delves deeper into the seemingly

perhaps at the first whisper of dawn against a gull’s or

tioner and consumer education. The actual point of

infinite mystery of phyto-therapy at the human-plant

a loon’s cry, or perhaps under a liquid canopy of stars

all this effort at sustainability and wellness is not truly

nexus, we will progressively lose access to our living

against a primordial night din of cicadas, or at the lap

fulfilled unless practitioner and patient alike under-

biosphere’s greatest and most plentiful source of well-

of a pristine lakeshore or lagoon, revealing a knowing

stand the principles of medical herbalism and can

ness and renewal: medicinal plants. Education and

to our depths that we are not alone—we were never

trust wholeheartedly in their supplier’s transparency in

use must go hand in hand—another type of coherent

alone—and the beating pulse of our earth mother’s

delivering full-cycle value to them. Gaia Herbs has

coupling—so that botanical communities and their

heart is waiting patiently, through her plants, throug-

traditionally taken a leading role in botanical education,

human collaborators around the globe can renew

hout the seasons, for us to hear her once again.

through our sponsorship of the annual Medicines from

themselves each season, in a never-ending dance that

the Earth symposium in Black Mountain, NC, our on-

yields greater and more sustainable wellness out-

site residential naturopathic education seminars each

comes for our soils, our ecosystems, and the biodiver-

summer, our financial support of naturopathic college

sity of our only home.

endowments, and our development of path-breaking online botanical-protocol support tools.

The biosciences are finally starting to confirm what many of us have known and felt intuitively, from the

Chapter 5: Reverence

Reverence for anything we do in our lives with

In making herbal medicines reverently and

help us remember our gifts and understand the true

conviction and confidence requires insight, perhaps

humbly before the great arc of our co-evolutionary

to the point of revelation, into what we’re really

story on this earth, our object is at once the plants

doing. Prayer and meditation express reverence most

themselves and the wider ecology in which we are

first generation to assimilate a detailed scientific

directly, of course. So could eating, or preparing

embedded. In offering herbal medicines to people

portrait of humanity’s impacts on global biodiversity,

a meal, or making love, or singing, or teaching

and other animals, we realize how crucial it is that

climate, and myriad fragile habitats and threatened

someone an art or craft or skill—like stringing a

our actions express our relevance to the infinitely

species, we are likely the last generation with the

bow or fletching an arrow or making fire. Traditional

complex co-evolutionary process by which life

means to do anything pivotal to prevent our bios-

hunters know this, too. We take reverence to mean

unfolds. Such relevance, as we have seen, is not

phere’s increasingly turbulent responses to humanity’s

“enacting consciously with utmost humility and

guaranteed to any species. At this time, through a

excrescence. As translators of archaic cultural and

respect” for the object of one’s actions and for the

global convergence of our sciences, our cultural and

physiological memory through the intelligences of

process itself. Reverence occurs when we realize

spiritual traditions, and the economics of 6.7 billion

the plants, we see that in order to achieve any of our

we are encountering the divine, enacting the sacred,

people seeking meaning in this world, we are called

aspirations to love, to family, to God, to self-realization,

and extending our awareness through the limits of

to understand what it means to remain relevant

to influence or legacy in the world, or to service unto

our normal everyday senses.

within that great arc. Surely the medicinal plants can

others, we must each signify ourselves ultimately as

syntax mediating our wellness. The message is quite humbling. As perhaps the

beings whose lives reinforce the whole of life that the

maintain balance. We have settled for medicating our

play, and knowledge. Is it working? More of us each

how many of us are seeking relief and even perhaps

plants initially created and bequeathed to us. We see

inflammation, stress, and anxieties. We have entrusted

day are drawn into this vortex of smart phones, social

freedom, ultimately, from stress? Most of us, to be

that we cannot systematically conserve and lay waste

our wellness to institutional experts and yielded to the

media, and digital simulation, but with unknown and

sure. At Gaia Herbs, we know that we certainly want

to our biological provenance. Paraphrasing Einstein’s

succor of conglomerate-produced surrogates for real,

largely unaddressed consequences to our health. We

this freedom—it was this yearning that led us to rec-

observation on the harrowing specter of nuclear

abiding satisfaction.

are undoubtedly more connected to one another glob-

ognize the profound ways in which our medicinal

ally. Many of us, however, are not healthier—only more

plants humbly meet us and can awaken a reverence with the power to resolve our stresses.

armageddon: you cannot simultaneously prevent and 50

So many of us excuse ourselves from the most

foment biospheric extinction. We must choose. We

basic responsibility that our bodies expect from us and

obligated, fractured, and oversubscribed. Hence the

must remake our lives, our commerce, and our cul-

which our biosphere makes available to us—to sustain

adoption of avatars, virtual beings in cyberspace

tures so that they proceed with reverence towards the

ourselves in vibrant health so that we may experience

whose lives we can live vicariously while our actual

as historically exceptional—as if no time prior to ours

source of our wellness. Inevitably this returns us to

joy, vitality, and fulfillment in relationship with others.

biological being languishes. Hence the proliferation of

could possibly have been this overwhelming or fraught

encounters with the healing and nutritious plants.

Very little, if any, technology is needed to come into the

virtual media and nanotechnologies into our very cells.

with stressful triggers. Think again. The 20th century

Of course, many of us already feel that we have no

We may feel tempted to regard our current stress

intimacy of God, love, nature, or health in our lives. Yet

Stressful responses and fantasized reactions

option but to sequester ourselves away from healthy

we are pitched headlong as a global society immersed

are the opposite of reverence, the antithesis of con-

global fascism, genocide, and then nuclear annihilation.

relationships, healthy lifestyles, and healthy consump-

in ever more ingenious technological interventions

sciously enacted rituals that reinforce our grounded,

The 19th century bore humanity through the Industrial

tion patterns. We feel our lives are moving too fast to

designed to “facilitate” communication, enjoyment,

natural feeling of belonging within the webs of life. Yet

Revolution, which, despite tremendous technological

brought humanity face to face with the real threat of

advances in almost all aspects of human commerce

human history is useful when we realize that despite

and science, was built upon the depredations of child

all our excesses—our global population has more

nized and recorded the basic ecological truth that we

Rachel Carson, who is credited widely as the awak-

and slave labor in the most “advanced” societies, let

than tripled in just the last century—the medicinal

humans are, in essence, expressions of plant intelli-

ener of the modern environmental movement through

alone aboriginal ones. The 18th and 17th centuries,

plants are still with us, still capable of offering the

gence. They saw further that plants are, in essence,

her 1962 classic Silent Spring, herself credited Henry

albeit an era of an ascending rationalist and scientific

same supportive benefits that they did thousands of

expressions of the interplay of water and earth (in a

Beston as her only literary influence. Beston stood at

enlightenment, witnessed the ascension of the first

years ago, before all written history even began.

cosmic field of light). The wisdom we seek to help us

the beginning of our technological age and, because

truly global empire—Great Britain—out of the previous

Musing on humanity’s basis in plant wisdom, the

move through and beyond the debilitating stresses

of his descent into shattering horror in places like

hegemonic reigns of France, Spain, and Holland, all

Chandogya Upanishad, one of humanity’s most

of our lives, therefore, is literally under our feet,

Verdun, sought personal renewal and solace with his

of whom had achieved their grandeur by laying waste

ancient sacred texts from the middle of the first mil-

beckoning us back to the garden.

young family in a small herb garden at his farmhouse

to indigenous cultures and native peoples the world

lennium BCE, observes:

over while capitalizing on the addictive power of

Vedic philosophers 2,500 years ago already recog-

Writing in the 1930s after experiencing directly the

by the simple interplay of the gardener and herbs.

in Maine. Luckily for us, his writing summoned well-

mechanized human slaughter of World War I, the

springs of reverence for the herbs full enough to span

opium, sugar, cacao, and coffee among other drugs.

The essence of all beings is Earth.

American naturalist Henry Beston, in his little-known

well into our 21st century and beyond if we can yet

Each time and century in the modern era has provoked

The essence of the Earth is water.

gardening diary Herbs and the Earth (now reprinted by

share in the delight, wonder, and yearning for (re)con-

and distributed its own stressors.

The essence of water is plants.

David R. Godine, Publishers, 2002) saw clearly how

nection to life that he expressed so lucidly as he

The essence of plants is the human being.

human alienation from the natural world is corrected

sought to heal from the psychological trauma of war.

Seeing today’s stress triggers in light of recent

Since Bestonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s words are so highly relevant today,

the sunâ&#x20AC;Ś the slow murmur and the long crying of

In describing a plant as powerful, ancient, and

the seas are in his veins, the influences of the

ubiquitous as basil, Beston shows us what happens

attack and disaster, if they can but lift one flower

rent societal debate on preventing climate change-

moon, and the sound of rain beginning. Torn from

when we allow ourselves the time and space to meet

from the ruin.

induced impacts on humanity, Beston wrote:

earth and unaware, without the beauty and the

a particular herb as it reveals itself to us: In Herbs and the Earth, Beston offers us rich

terror, the mystery and ecstasy so rightfully his,

bear, not surmount of caprice and outrage, of

it is worth quoting him at length. Presaging our cur-

What winds shall blow, fall what lustral rains that

man is a vagrant in space, desperate for the

Pivoted upon its share of soil, potent with its inten-

and poignant declarations of his love for the healing

the ancient sense of the beauty and integrity of

inhuman meaninglessness which has opened

sity of living, symmetrical and predetermined to

plants, and he perhaps uniquely understood the

the earth shall presently reawaken in the indif-

about him, and with his every step becoming

symmetry, a fine plant of Basil is a form, a gath-

contours of the precipitous escarpment along which

ferent blood? Or must some great and furious

something less than man.

ering together of that mysterious vitality of green

technological man stood, even before agricultural

storm (and such storms come) sweep clear the

Peace with the earth is the first peace. Unto

whose veins draw up the earth itself, and whose

chemicals, pharmaceutical drugs, and nuclear war-

whole coast of the soul of man and restore him

so great a mysteryâ&#x20AC;Śno one path leads, but many

impulse of life is the other side of that rhythm of

fare. Beston saw into our present age with historical

thus to his humanity? For man is of a quickening

paths. What pleasant paths begin in gardens,

life stirring with us in our blood. What a passion

foreboding, certainly, but also with an almost childlike

spirit and the earth, the strong, incoming tides

leading beside the other great mystery of nature,

for life plants reveal, what a body and desire of life

delight for the wonder and pleasure that healing

and rhythms of nature move in his blood and

the mystery of the growing green thing with its

dwell in the dark of roots and the hunger under

herbs would render to anyone who takes time to slow

being; he is an emanation of that journeying god

mute passion and green will.

the earth! What will they not endure to live and

down and meet them.

FPO need 1 color logo

Henry Beston saw, as we do still, that our own

themselves to you. They are always available to meet

humanity continues when we maintain some real

you, as you are, wherever you are, and to awaken you

connection to the herbs—and that we descend at our

to your highest potential under this sun, within this

own peril when we decide to “go it alone” outside the

majestic biosphere that they in fact created for us.

garden, outside what all indigenous peoples recog-

They are waiting patiently to bring you back home.

nize as our proper place among—not above—the 56

plants, the animals, and the rhizomatic tendrils of life force that tie us all together, in our innumerable diversity, as one. As you breathe in each moment, as you proceed over the terrain that is uniquely yours to cover in the time you have, save a part of yourself for the wondrous encounters that are also uniquely yours to experience with the plant-beings who show

Photographs by Stacey Haines Book design by Katie Craig