Author: Guy Waddell
Publisher: Aeon Books
ISBN: 1912807319
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 331
Get Book Here
Book Description
Through interviews with British herbalists, the importance of hidden experiences of meetings with plants is explored alongside how such 'enchantment' has influenced the narrative of their lives. Some herbalists have visible entryways into studying, such as personal experience of taking herbal medicine, a search for a new career or a love of nature. Other entryways are more hidden, with many noting 'crossings' and 'callings' with plants at a young age. This sensual ability of herbs raises questions about the agency of living plants and of herbal medicines, and about how the relationship between herbalists and plants may be reconceived. Meetings with plants and herbal medicines allow herbalists to draw easily from a diverse range of influences that others may see as incommensurable."This fascinating, original and challenging book convincingly explores modern-day herbalists understanding of their place in the complementary health world, against the backdrop of encroaching professionalisation, legitimacy and scientism. In his case study interviews with herbalists, Guy Waddell draws our attention to the enchanting power of plants and their agentic qualities. In his quest for greater understanding of their sensual power, the author rejects the conventional modernity/rationalisation thesis, seen both in the sensual- affective energy that herbalists draw upon and in the ontological implications of human/nonhuman crossings. This book is an excellent contribution to our understanding of Western herbal medicine and contemporary thought." - Dr Stuart McClean, PhD. Associate Professor in Public Health (Health and Wellbeing), University of the West of England"In the field of herbal medicine, few seem to know their history and the lessons it teaches us. In The Enchantment of Western Herbal Medicine, Dr Guy Waddell not only provides the reader with a detailed history of the trials and triumphs of British Phytotherapy, but also travels into uncharted territory looking at how herbalists come to find their passion for plants and the use of them to help heal others. This is a new area of research and exploring the entryways to practice though interviews and clinician narratives is both a fascinating undertaking and a unique way of understanding our own motivations and experiences as herbalists." - David Winston, RH(AHG), DSc (hc), author of Adaptogens; Herbs for Strength, Stamina and Stress Relief"Both compelling and challenging, Guy Waddell's unique book is filled with the voices of herbalists and makes essential reading for anyone on their own journey into herbalism or those interested in human- plant relationships. Here is a much-needed roadmap for all who are exploring the diverse choices between ancient and modern, science and tradition, evidence and intuition, and human and nonhuman agency. My congratulations to the author for so brilliantly signposting the fundamental unity that resides at the heart of herbal practice." - Phil Deakin. President of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists
Author: Hananja Brice-Ytsma
Publisher: Aeon Books
ISBN: 1911597892
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 344
Get Book Here
Book Description
For herbalists at all levels, this book presents recent insights into the hormonal basis of gynaecological problems in order to enable practitioners to devise effective treatment plans and explain them clearly to their patients. Female hormones are comprehensively explained - from the metabolism and role of oestrogen in health and disease to the role of progesterone and herbal influences on its production. General principles of herbal treatment are based on the interaction of the digestive, circulatory, endocrine, and nervous systems to support health and recovery from disease. These principles are applied to treatment and case management of gynaecological problems, with detailed examinations of PMS and menopause. Specific herbs used in gynaecological treatment are categorised by their constituents and actions.
Author: Luci Attala
Publisher: University of Wales Press
ISBN: 1837720509
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 251
Get Book Here
Book Description
Plants Matter explores how plants and people live together. This is not only a book about the importance of plants and how people use them, but it argues also that knowing the world is achieved-with plants. In addition to populating the landscape, plants alter human physiology in multiple material ways, through gatherings or through sensorial conversations using the chemistry of taste, perfume, colour, sound and textures. The chapters gathered in this volume offer a range of interdisciplinary perspectives that use ethnographic and ethnobotanical information to explore how the behaviours and capacities of certain plants around the world have enticed, excited and even seduced people to pay attention.
Author: Christopher Partridge
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0567108945
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 276
Get Book Here
Book Description
As a book about emergent spirituality in the contemporary West, this books focuses on the nature, evolution and significance of new forms of religion and alternative spiritualities. Part One of the book provides the theoretical background and guides the reader through some of the principal debates. After an overview of the secularization thesis, which argues that the West is becoming increasingly disenchanted, the second chapter turns to the sociological analysis of new religions and alternative spiritualities. Particular attention is given to the ideas of the sociologist of religion Ernst Troeltsch, especially his enigmatic analysis of the emergence mystical religion, which presciently provides helpful insights into understanding the contemporary alternative religious milieu. Against sociologists such as Bryan Wilson and Steve Bruce, this and the subsequent chapter argues that, rather than being insignificant, new forms of spirituality are actually proving to be a significant part of Western re-enchantment. Chapter 3 constructs a general theory of the re-enchantment of the West.
Author: Christopher Partridge
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 0567552713
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 481
Get Book Here
Book Description
The Re-Enchantment of the West challenges those theories that predict widespread secularization beyond traditional institutional religiosity. Spiritualities are emerging that are not only quite different from the those forms of religion that are in decline, but are often defined over against them and articulated and passed on in ways quite different from those of traditional religion. In particular, it is argued that such contemporary Western spirituality is fed by a constantly replenished reservoir of ideas, practices, and methodologies, which is here termed 'occulture'. Moreover, such occultural ideas both feed into and are resourced by popular culture. Indeed, popular occulture is a key feature of the re-enchantment of the West. Demonstrating the significance and ubiquity of these ideas, this book examines, for example, healthcare and nursing, contemporary environmentalism, psychedelia and drug use, the Internet and cyberspirituality, belief in UFOs and extraterrestrial life, demonology and the contemporary fascination with the figure of Satan, the heavy metal subculture, popular apocalypticism, and millennial violence.
Author: Graeme Tobyn
Publisher: Singing Dragon
ISBN: 0857012592
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 394
Get Book Here
Book Description
The Western Herbal Tradition is a comprehensive exploration of 27 plants that are central to the herbalist's repertoire. This fully illustrated colour guide offers analysis of these herbs through the examination of historical texts and discussion of current applications and research. Your practice of phythotherapy will be transformed as the herbal knowledge from these sources is illuminated and assessed. Each chapter offers clear information on identification, uses and recipes, as well as recommendations on safety, prescribing, dosage and full academic references. The Western Herbal Tradition reveals a deep understanding of the true essence of what each plant can offer, as well as a fascinating insight into the unique history of contemporary herbal practice. This book is a valuable resource for everyone interested in herbal medicine and its history.
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Herb gardening
Languages : en
Pages : 108
Get Book Here
Book Description
Author: Bianca Di Giulio
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 9811204047
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 317
Get Book Here
Book Description
The book's inherent value, currently, is in its uniqueness. There are few books on Integrative Oncology (IO). There are few books on the entirety of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of cancer. There are even fewer, if any, books that deal with the topics of Integrative Oncology and the use of traditional Chinese medicine as a whole in the treatment of people with cancer. While very broad and deep topics, this makes for a varied audience of interest that includes not just the TCM practitioner or student, but Western health practitioners and patients as well as laypeople interested in the topic of oncology.For those interested in the topic of IO, it gives one of the few non-biased, honest and critical views of the state of IO in contrast to what is promoted by various institutions and societies.For the Western health practitioner and/or patient, many of whom are completely unfamiliar with TCM and how it works or can be used, it provides information on the breadth of TCM and how it can be applied in various ways to help improve outcomes.For the TCM practitioner or student, it provides much needed information on how to go about caring for a patient with cancer to include clinical pearls and important Western medical information and terminology.
Author: Christopher Hedley
Publisher: Aeon Books
ISBN: 1913504387
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 616
Get Book Here
Book Description
A comprehensive compendium on the theory and practice of herbal medicine from expert herbalists Christopher Hedley and Non Shaw. This fundamental textbook draws on the wisdom of Christopher Hedley and Non Shaw, incorporating their belief in the importance of understanding herbal medicine in the context of living plants, and providing lived examples of how this can be used in the everyday practice of herbal medicine. Through these teachings, the book also acquaints readers with the rich legacy of Christopher and Non in Western herbal medicine. Drawing on Christopher's own approach to teaching herbalism, which was abundant with the importance of storytelling in learning, Plant Medicine is as fascinating as it is accessible, enriched with the depth of Christopher's own knowledge and warmth. The book is comprised of four parts: 'Roots' explores the history of plant medicine, investigating physiomedicalism and Galenic humoral medicine. The second section, 'Flowers', is a thorough, alphabetically ordered materia medica of the medicinal properties of individual plants, with properties, uses, preparations, dosage, cautions, and clinical uses of ninety-two plant medicines that Non and Christopher gathered over nearly two lifetimes. 'Fruits' provides information on how particular body systems and patient groups are treated therapeutically with herbal medicines, specifically covering the digestive, cardiovascular, nervous, urinary, musculoskeletal, endocrine, skin and immune systems. Finally, 'Seeds' concludes the book by inviting readers to consider going deeper and beyond their exploration of plant medicine, shifting their preconceptions of herbs to understand them on a more intimate level. Plant Medicine is a foundational text for all students and practitioners of herbal medicine, but it's wisdom and insight will also provide a guiding light for anyone seeking plant medicine as a way to reconnect to the abundance and beauty of nature.
Author: Stephen Harrod Buhner
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1591438365
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 548
Get Book Here
Book Description
A manual for opening the doors of perception and directly engaging the intelligence of the Natural World • Provides exercises to directly perceive and interact with the complex, living, self-organizing being that is Gaia • Reveals that every life form on Earth is highly intelligent and communicative • Examines the ecological function of invasive plants, bacterial resistance to antibiotics, psychotropic plants and fungi, and the human species In Plant Intelligence and the Imaginal Realm, Stephen Harrod Buhner reveals that all life forms on Earth possess intelligence, language, a sense of I and not I, and the capacity to dream. He shows that by consciously opening the doors of perception, we can reconnect with the living intelligences in Nature as kindred beings, become again wild scientists, nondomesticated explorers of a Gaian world just as Goethe, Barbara McClintock, James Lovelock, and others have done. For as Einstein commented, “We cannot solve the problems facing us by using the same kind of thinking that created them.” Buhner explains how to use analogical thinking and imaginal perception to directly experience the inherent meanings that flow through the world, that are expressed from each living form that surrounds us, and to directly initiate communication in return. He delves deeply into the ecological function of invasive plants, bacterial resistance to antibiotics, psychotropic plants and fungi, and, most importantly, the human species itself. He shows that human beings are not a plague on the planet, they have a specific ecological function as important to Gaia as that of plants and bacteria. Buhner shows that the capacity for depth connection and meaning-filled communication with the living world is inherent in every human being. It is as natural as breathing, as the beating of our own hearts, as our own desire for intimacy and love. We can change how we think and in so doing begin to address the difficulties of our times.
