20 AVENA Journal of the New Zealand Association of Medical Herbalists Autumn 2020

Feature Article

Exploiting Technology In the Spirit of Plant Medicine Adapted from Theosophy New Zealand National Conference 2020 presentation by Donna Kerridge

Mātauranga Māori is defined as the knowledge, comprehension or understanding of everything visible and invisible existing in the universe and is often used synonymously with wisdom (Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research, n.d.).

Technology has increased our capacity to communicate the ethos of traditional plant medicine practices across the planet and across cultures. Love them or hate them, when we embrace global social media networks to draw attention to, to organise and to promote the primary precept of traditional plant medicine i.e. that the land must always be our first patient, we can effect real change in the care of our planet. Without the health and wellbeing of the land, there are no plant medicines. However, whilst many would consider our current trajectory of a planet in dire need of healing, there remains hope. Technology is helping to create a renewed sense of spirituality and connection to the land. We are now exposed to a far greater number of plant medicine traditions beyond racial, religious, national and ethnic identities and our once limiting geographic borders.

New technologies have provided an unprecedented opportunity to connect global healing traditions and like-minded communities of interest to influence the conservation conversation. Through the increasing use and reach of social media, it would seem that the balance of power is shifting and achieving critical mass to change the current trajectory of a globally polluted and exploited land and seascape is, in fact, possible.

At a time when the world appears to be gripped in chaos, war, terrorism, racism, extremities of poverty, global pollution and social injustice, there remains hope. The ability to transcend the physical limitations of our existence and syndicate our knowledge and spiritual connections to the land through herbal medicine, we can inspire hope of a different reality.

As medical herbalists from around the world it is more important than ever that we acknowledge, share and understand the importance of our connections to the plants, the earth and each other. This can bring new perspectives and inspiration to ourselves and our world-wide peers and re-open doors to both the physical and spiritual dimensions of plant medicines. From the perspectives of many cultures across the globe, we are not the healers. It is nature and the network of visible and invisible connections that deliver healing. We are little more than the vessels of healing when we revisit our cultural traditions and founding principles of herbal medicines.

As a traditional Māori healer and rongoā rākau (plant medicine) practitioner, I rely heavily on my physical senses of sight, hearing, touch, tastes and smell but also my spiritual senses of pumanawa (intuition), tūhono (connectedness), aroha (love and empathy), tiakitanga (guardianship and protection) and utu (the notion of reciprocity). For me, Rongoā Māori, the Māori art of healing, can loosely be translated as ‘to sense’.

Nature is our blueprint for human healing. The seen and unseen dynamic connections between all things dictate our wellbeing. As science advances, indigenous and traditional healing practices and plant medicines are looking less and less flaky. The study of epigenetics and traditional knowledge relating to intergenerational trauma and natural gene suppression and activation in plants in response to their changing environment are now shining their light on traditional medicine harvesting knowledge.

My ancestors (Māori and Celtic) were also able to apply their intimate knowledge of the land and the special gifts of specific flora to discern which plants to use to relieve discomfort associated with certain physical health conditions. For example, plants

Donna Kerridge is a qualified medical herbalist and Naturopath. She is a professional member of the NZAMH, Public Health Association and the designated spokesperson for Te Kahui Rongoā the national collective of rongoā practitioners. In addition to her professional practice and consulting roles Donna serves on a number of expert advisory groups associated with health policy development. For more information visit www.oranewzealand.com

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Donna Kerridge

21Autumn 2020 Journal of the New Zealand Association of Medical Herbalists AVENA

by Donna Kerridge

that heal the land after it has been scorched such as Mānuka (Leptospermum scoparium) and Kumarahou (Pomaderris kumeraho) are also the plants that heal human conditions inflicted by fire such as burns and respiratory conditions associated with smoke inhalation. Plants such as Māmaku (Cyathea medullaris) that soothe Papatūānuku after she has been ripped apart through a landslide are the same plants that we used to heal some complications associated with childbirth.

Māori, like all indigenous cultures, share a spiritual connection with the land and the plants that have sustained them for many generations. Call it intuition, unconscious bias, wairua, we all have it, we just need to relearn how to connect to the living world around us rather than trying to master it.

Traditional herbal medicine is a study of the world of connections (endless ripples born of cause and effect) and is based on centuries of observation and complex reoccurring patterns. Traditional herbal medicine perspectives on health and wellbeing are important because they;

Give focus to the fact that our health is little more than a reflection of the health and wellbeing of the land that sustains us

Add to a modern knowledge repository for healing and bring centuries-old science back into the light for all to access

Remind us that wellbeing is a way of living in community (human and nature filled).

With regard to my own spiritual journey with plant medicines, there have been times in my life when things have happened that science would struggle to explain. In the beginning, I simply consigned these things to the ‘ookey spooky’ basket with gratitude for the fact that something obviously worked, even if I had no idea what or how. I tried not to think or speak about them in case people thought I was crazy or getting a bit too full of my own ability. But as time passed, and such instances continued to randomly occur, I started to pay more attention to them. When did they happen, what were the common denominators across similar events, how could I make better use of these gifts? While I have some theories, the answers to these questions and the workings of wairua/ spirit, for the most part, still allude me.

But one thing is for sure, they were real. And I now know, as I have said many times before, MIRACLES do happen and MIRACLES are just things science has yet to explain. I believe that the more we operate from a place of integrity and connectedness, the less random these kinds of healing events become and the more we acknowledge the spiritual aspect, the easier it is to connect and facilitate this type of special plant healing.

Just for a moment consider the notion that if Mother Earth/ Papatūānuku and God (or whoever we might define as our supreme being) were one and the same? Would we treat her any differently?

In the words of one of my greatest inspirations;

“Traditional knowledge is only of value when it is used, that is when it is applied in a modern context to the realities of today rather than just talking about it. We must use it to bring life back to the land and therefore the people. Traditional healing practices are a way of belonging to the world, they are not a treatment but about putting our roots down deep in the Earth in order to sustain ourselves”

- Rob McGowan

New technologies have provided an unprecedented opportunity to connect global herbal medicine practitioners and like-minded communities to change the plant medicine conversation from a set of purely physical and human considerations to include the relevant spiritual considerations as well. As a result of the growing use of these technologies, it would seem that the balance of power is shifting and achieving critical mass to change the current trajectory of a globally polluted and exploited land and seascape is now possible.

As the world’s inhabitants unite and begin to act in the interests of the planet and the right to survival of all of its inhabitants, the masses are initiating a powerful and unstoppable landslide that will overwhelm the assumed and immoral rights of businesses and individuals to; exploit and pollute the planet’s resources with no regard for the plethora of other species and people who depend on them for their survival and; the insatiable appetite of corporations to compete, expand, and to accumulate wealth and power for the few who foster their growth.

I encourage you to trade in any self-limiting herbal medicine definitions and allow yourself to become part of the unstoppable landslide enabled by modern technology, that is the peoples’ global network and appetite for change, that is about to force the recalibration our moral compass or hasten our demise as a species, for we are entering a time of real consequence and herbal medicine is not immune.

I implore you to use your gifts in herbal medicine to reconnect with our wider family in our natural world and use our communal wisdom to shine a light on the need and our inherent capacity to heal our planet.

Our wellbeing is predicated by the well-being of all others in our global tribe. Our interconnectedness and ability or inability to act with One Heart, One Breath and as One World will determine our destiny. 3

References Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research (n.d.) What is Mataranga Maori? Retrieved from https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/about/sustainability/voices/matauranga-maori/what-is-matauranga-maori

Rob ‘Pa’ McGowan - Photo Credit: Donna Kerridge