Myco Medicine

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I find it amazing the way that plants communicate with us.

Everyone will have a different way of hearing the lessons to be learned, but for me, I get a sense. A deep feeling in my chest, a yearning to explore my relationship with whatever plant pops into my mind.

Often times it might not have a specific use right away, but many times when doing further research into traditional uses, it (whatever plant has presented itself) will be a plant that is specific to whatever I have going on at the moment, either physically, emotionally or spiritually. And sometimes the plant will show itself, it will manifest in front of me on a hike or outdoor adventure and I will specifically notice this plant. Other times I feel guided to look in a certain direction, just to see a plant that sticks out in my line of vision.

Many times this is how I feel about the mycological world.

Every living thing in this world has a symbiosis with something that they are connected too, mushrooms are no different. They are intelligent, living off of or coexisting with either trees (dead or alive) or with the mycorrhizae that delicately spreads its threads throughout the earth beneath us, creating one global living system.

Amazing!

I noticed this Ganoderma mushroom on a hike the other day. I was exploring a new part of the woods that I visit almost every day, making connections from place to place, trail to trail. And as I followed a path (that didn't really look so much like one, at least not a well traveled one), I turned to see this beauty. I got the sense that it was showing me how to sit, patiently, and observe. To really look inward and to pay attention to what it is that truly makes me happy. And then to share that joy.

I love to be outside, in quiet and seemingly lonely places. Although, I never truly feel lonely there. I am outside pretty much every day of the year, most of the time exploring the environment that I call home. Nothing makes me happier than to find a new trail or new, secret spot to revel in. I love to listen to the sounds of the natural world as I am out exploring. The hum and whine of the earth vibrating beneath my feet. The shrill screech of the trees as they rub againsts one another in a dance of tempest. Or the rustle of leaves from a slight breeze. Birds, chipmunks and squirrels chirrup. Ocean waves crashing and their booming bass echoing and reverberating through the granite and hollows in the ground (this I can really feel at night when life is still). I feel comforted by the crackle and crepitate of branches and leaves under each footstep. And let's not forget the rain. The stillness, the mute tapping on roof and window, the air heavy and reticent...

It is nothing new, but I have been deeply noticing lately how much I really need to be someplace that is more wild nature than human development. I need the mountains. I need fresh air. And water is a necessity in my life, preferably the ocean or running water. I feel the most alive and most connected to myself and my surroundings when I have constant access to such energy. I can't feel complete with out it.

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