All Healing Is Self-Healing
On my first day of herb school at Self-Heal School of Herbal Studies and Healing in 2016, I learned something that I will never forget.
All healing is self-healing.
This principle underpins the foundation of my relationship to herbalism and continues to guide my work with clients, my own relationship with the landscape of wellbeing, and my understanding of what it means to truly heal.
To heal means to make whole.
When we heal, we are coming into union with the aspect of our Self that is forever whole and eternally well. In fact, what we encounter when we heal is the eternal well. The wellspring of Being that is the birthright of all sentient beings to experience and remember. Healing—simply put—is the process of being remembered into our innate wholeness.
All healing is self-healing.
What a great relief and also a mighty responsibility.
Plants are brilliant allies in the prospect of healing, yet they alone do not heal us. Plants help us come home to what is naturally ours—our health, vitality, vibrancy, and grace. Plants show us what is possible by pointing us to the place within ourselves where resolution already exists. Because at the deepest level, we are already healed. And it is through our work with plants that we may come into contact with the aspect of our Self that is spaciously aware, creatively renewed, and immutably whole.
Plants can shine a light or hold up a mirror, but ultimately we are the ones who must walk through the doorway of change in order to heal ourselves. In this way, the journey of healing is an invitation into the self-responsibility and emotional maturation that we are called to embody in order to actualize our full potential as human beings called to serve this planet and one another during this powerful chapter of our collective Earth story.
I share this with the deepest respect for plants—for their wisdom and for the teachings they impart. Their intelligence feels so far beyond my own and helps me remember how to find that same brilliance shining from within. Plants are powerful teachers and allies that embody many healing qualities. And yet, it is important to remember that we are our own self-healers. The final step into embodied wholeness is always for our steps alone.
Fortunately, we are not without support.
All healing is self-healing.
And self-healing thrives in community and in kinship with the natural world.
I am deeply grateful for the support that I have received along my path, and I am honored to offer support to others, as we all navigate this sacred work of homecoming together. A waitlist is currently open for all of my offerings, and my calendar will reopen to new clients later in 2024. In the meantime, I invite you to explore Artemisia Atara Apothecary to see if any of the herbal creations in the shop are aligned with your current visions for your own radiant self-healing.
I wish each of you the deepest peace and healing possible during this winter season. If you are in need of more fine-tuned winter support, I invite you to explore this blog post and this one to see if any of the practices help to nurture your fully aligned expression.
May you know your radiance and wholeness beyond any shadow of a doubt, as you unfold along the journey of remembering who you truly are ♡
