Finding myself in the place I am now, I feel so much gratitude to witness my life filling with herbs- building my apothecary, building my understanding, having a homestead to invite medicine plants to grow and for me to grow with them. I feel too, a familiar feeling – of being in x marks the spot – that feeling of arrival. I have been here before. When I found rainbow and the tribes in the woodland gatherings, my spirit awakened and I was home. Five years later, again I was in the crosshairs when I took my vows to become Muslim and devote my life to spiritual purification. I could feel my very pulse echo in my ears as all else fell away.

Now I am older, my midpoint, my 40, the age I wanted to have my shit together and know my work. I’ve rooted my first chakra- I recognize my tribe. My second, nourished by my sweet husband. My third is my sense of self. In my youth I was a queen and then in my religious fervor I made myself a slave. Now I am neither. I have my core. I know who I am. My fourth, my heart, and that is where herbs come in. Nothing is new, the plants have been my acquaintances throughout the years but only now has the door opened for me to seek their friendship. I am so grateful to the East West school, to Michael Tierra for being relentless in curiosity and seeking understanding of the different systems of knowledge to bring us the best of them. I started at East West a year ago and am beginning to scratch the surface in understanding the main concepts and putting this knowledge to work by sharing herbs with friends and family. Opening my heart to these teachings, I go deeper- learning about our intricate relationship to plants, understanding the human organism and how our constitutions vary and the impact our various ‘bodies’ have on each other- physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. There is such richness here and I am so grateful to be on this path. I love my fellow students and teachers here in this school. I am in awe of the ways life unfolds and look forward to the work ahead.