In The Garden Earth

Cheers To Hearts Wide Open

Aug 04, 2024

Whisky salutations with cobalt blue Perito Moreno Glacier ice. Grateful for experience before it melts. Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina Patagonia © Nessa 2017

Dear Ones,

Hi bravehearts. What an incredible time to be alive. Cheers to feeling alive again. Cheers to hearts wide open again.

There are risks to heart-opening, no doubt. It comes with heightened sensitivity. It comes with porousness that needs constant protection. The benefits outweigh the risks. Believe you me.

Veils have all been lifted now. We cannot unsee harm doings or the interplay of it all. We cannot unsee our own contributions to it all.

Entropy disorients us. We slipped out of unity. How can that be given our oneness? Cyclical wisdom of ancestors suggests unity was possible before time. Is it possible now? It depends on our consciousness. What an enigma.

SOME OF US REMEMBER

Our memories got co-opted in the modern world. Some of us remember. Some of us were here before poison colonized our brains, hearts, and bodies (ex. microplastic, processed “food”, pharma drug addictions, artificialities of social media etc).

I do not know about you but I am sick and tired of violence of any form. In every land. In every era. I am especially tired of violence towards the sacred feminine. Medicine women face witch trials and inquisitions for wild honesty. Colonized health sectors created a legacy of damage to women’s relationship to self and others. We feel this now.

Widespread physical, emotional, ancestral, environmental, psychological, structural, psychic, and ecological violence sickens us all. We are all connected. Don’t you see that is why we are in this current pickle?

A sweet moment during World AIDS Day ceremony on December 1. 2006. No one can know the horrors of genocide like Rwandan women when machetes and HIV were used as weapons. © Nessa Kigali, Rwanda.

There is no life to be found in violence. Every act of violence brings us closer to death. Whether it's the mundane violence we do to our bodies by overeating toxic food or drink or the extreme violence of child abuse, domestic warfare, life-threatening poverty, addiction, or state terrorism. -Bell Hooks

Photo capture of a chemical reaction. I am in apprenticeship with plants and trees. This is a powerful type of plant medicine.

We were born with everything we need for our survival. We have intrinsic tools (conveniently omitted from med school curriculums).

Who knew?! Indigenous wisdom is a superpower now. What a plot twist!

Sharks are primordial and have been around for over 400 million years compared to our 200-300K years. They survived the dinosaur mass extinction. How cool is that?

This dominant human-centric material world is collapsing. Melting into truth literally. To that, I say good riddance.

Perhaps we could now yield to the wisdom of prehistoric and sacred beings like whales and sharks. Perhaps we could not cut down 4000 ancient Joshua Trees for solar projects. Perhaps we could avoid pumping seas full of plastic, chemicals, and cocaine? They seem like bad karma things to do. Don’t ya think? Check out this great read by

Amie Pearce

on the evolution of sharks.

There is one last heart to listen to- mine. I had spring in my step during this last hospital week. Everyone wondered where I got life energy from. They were so used to seeing me deflated in a soul-sucking setting.

9 SENSE AWARENESS

When something happens, how does your body experience it? What about your lovebugs (non-human flora)? If you do not know. Worry not. It takes practice. Afterall, we were conditioned to lose our body-mind-soul awareness.

Deconditioning is possible and is a prerequisite for healing past and present wounds. Thanks to observations of our 9 senses, we can practice new ways of healing at any waking moment. These are tools we carry with us at all times. Somehow the act of noticing is part of deconditioning process.

Our 5 traditional human senses are sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. The proprioceptive (6th sense) and vestibular (7th sense) senses help us with our balance and orientation. I ground myself to prevent vertigo.

Interoception is an 8th sense that allows us to perceive and understand our internal bodily sensations and states. We ironically lose this ability when overly disassociated for survival. It allows us to be aware of our body signals like hunger, thirst, pain, heart rate, temperature etc.

Gut Flora/Microbiota sense- To the ethers, I hereby add this as our 9th sense. I call it my lovebug sense. That gut instinct, ya know. How does one formalize this addition to the sense language? Oh well, who cares for formality anymore? I practice awareness of my invisible lovebugs simply by practicing the first 8 senses.

***NESSA TIP*** Spend a day this week paying attention to all 9 senses with compassionate curiosity. Practice while on a walk or when doing dishes. See how your lovebugs respond to various types of ingestions- food or other. Be gentle with yourself during observation. Visit here for a good review of our 8 senses.

ME: Departing from the “corporate health” world

THEM: What will you do next, Nessa?

ME: …

credit:https://www.facebook.com/parkerjpalmer/photos/a.448150067077/10156050785787078/?type=3caption...

I am leavesdropping to heal. I also dehydrate my Hibiscus and lemongrass for tea. Benefits are too many to list here.

This capture is such a rich example of how we can hold paradox in one frame. Nessa © Iran 2012.

DETOXIFICATION

On 7/31/24, I left the cult of Western conventional “medicine.” The trauma of my experience was so bad that I too suffer from “white coat syndrome.” I take time to process. I take time to heal. I give myself grace. There was no other choice.

I am currently on a phone device detoxification (limited and sundays only). It is just what the doctor ordered since it is a source of toxicity for me. You will find me in the garden Earth.

If you want snail mail from me, send me your mailing address.

***NESSA TIP*** Connect with nature even if it is awareness of trees on your street. Trial putting your phone device away or on airplane mode. Since we are addicted, it may take great effort such as locking them up etc. You will notice benefits right away.

Dar Tariki, Tariqat. In the darkness is the path. -Rumi

LOCAL SHENANIGANS -Grassroots activities and circular economies help us build and maintain healthy communities.

Check out herbwalks.com with author and nature guru, Lanny Kaufer. I am honored that he agreed to be my teacher. He is the author of Medicinal Herbs of California: A Field Guide to Common Healing Plants. Please support him by purchasing his book, going on an herbwalk, and subscribing to his newsletter.
The organic stonefruit at Ventura Farmers Market is heavenly this summer. Check out the O’henry peaches this year at Ken’s stand (pic below). I always leave with a plant- this time sacred tobacco. The plant guy promised to look for sweetgrass seeds for me. Fingers crossed.
I dropped by one my favorite Ventura shops, The Refill Shop, to get help concocting home apothecary products. Read the piece on waste and circular economy here. Every little bit we do to reduce waste matters.