Science and Spirituality of Herbalism
The Plant Path: Herbalism, Medical Astrology & Spagyric Alchemy
Sajah Popham
4.8 • 570 Ratings
🗓️ 30 August 2023
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Science and spirituality are often painted as opposing forces. When this philosophy makes it into herbalism, you get a big divide between herbalists.
Depending on their perspective, herbalists will typically choose a scientific or spiritual approach to healing. The problem with picking a side is that you only get one half of the picture. By seeing the unity of science and spirit and the importance of each, you can become a truly holistic healer.
In today's episode, you'll learn:
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The key to transformational healing through embracing the science and spirit in herbalism
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That plants possess consciousness and work beyond physical symptoms to address the heart, mind, and spirit
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Why science isn't always able to explain how herbs work
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How sickness is a complex interplay of physical and spiritual imbalances
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Ways plant intelligence influences its biochemical makeup
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About spagyrics, a spiritual herbal pharmacy that concentrates the scientific and spiritual properties of herbs
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The Evolutionary Herbalism model for integrating science and spirit for holistic healing
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CONNECT WITH SAJAH AND WHITNEY
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To get free in depth mini-courses and videos, visit our blog at:
http://www.evolutionaryherbalism.com
Get daily inspiration and plant wisdom on our Facebook and Instagram channels:
http://www.facebook.com/EvolutionaryHerbalism
https://www.instagram.com/evolutionary_herbalism/
Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyP63opAmcpIAQg1M9ShNSQ
Get a free 5-week course when you buy a copy of the book, Evolutionary Herbalism:
https://www.evolutionaryherbalism.com/evolutionary-herbalism-book/
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ABOUT THE PLANT PATH
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The Plant Path is a window into the world of herbal medicine. With perspectives gleaned from traditional Western herbalism, Ayurveda, Chinese Medicine, Alchemy, Medical Astrology, and traditional cultures from around the world, The Plant Path provides unique insights, skills and strategies for the practice of true holistic herbalism. From clinical to spiritual perspectives, we don't just focus on what herbs are "good for," but rather who they are as intelligent beings, and how we can work with them to heal us physically and consciously evolve.
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ABOUT SAJAH
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Sajah Popham is the author of Evolutionary Herbalism and the founder of the School of Evolutionary Herbalism, where he trains herbalists in a holistic system of plant medicine that encompasses clinical Western herbalism, medical astrology, Ayurveda, and spagyric alchemy.
His mission is to develop a comprehensive approach that balances the science and spirituality of plant medicine, focusing on using plants to heal and rejuvenate the body, clarify the mind, open the heart, and support the development of the soul. This is only achieved through understanding and working with the chemical, energetic, and spiritual properties of the plants. His teachings embody a heartfelt respect, honor and reverence for the vast intelligence of plants in a way that empowers us to look deeper into the nature of our medicines and ourselves.
He lives on a homestead in the foothills of Mt. Baker Washington with his wife Whitney where he teaches, consults clients, and prepares spagyric herbal medicines.
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Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the plant path, your window into the world of herbal medicine, with Saja and Whitney Popham, founders of the School of Evolutionary Herbalism. |
| 0:23.4 | Hey there, everybody, Saja Popham here again, founder of the School of Evolutionary Herbalism. |
| 0:28.4 | And welcome back here to another episode of The Plant Path. And today I want to talk a little |
| 0:35.1 | bit about the science and spirituality of herbal medicine |
| 0:39.7 | and specifically how I see them as not necessarily having to be these opposing, contradictory |
| 0:49.5 | ways of thinking and approaching and thinking about things. |
| 0:54.4 | And I'm really passionate about this subject because, you know, for me, this was like my |
| 1:01.1 | original kind of obstacle I faced on my plant path of, you know, having my spiritual |
| 1:09.5 | kind of foundation being in my connection to nature and to plants |
| 1:13.9 | and to the forests and to the wisdom that's present there. And on the other side of things, |
| 1:21.0 | you know, my background in training in herbal sciences and understanding their chemistry |
| 1:25.9 | and their pharmacological mechanisms of action |
| 1:28.6 | and how that really kind of divided me in a way where I felt like these two parts of myself |
| 1:36.0 | were kind of playing tug-a-war, you know, the science part in my head, in my brain, and in my |
| 1:42.2 | way of thinking, and the spiritual side of things more in my heart and in my way of thinking and the spiritual side of things more in my heart |
| 1:46.6 | and in my kind of the feelings and the intuitive side of things and just in my connection |
| 1:52.0 | with the natural world. And it was really the alchemical tradition for me that brought |
| 1:58.5 | these two together and showed how science and spirituality don't |
| 2:04.0 | necessarily have to be at war with one another. And this is something that I've really noticed a lot |
| 2:09.7 | over the years, you know, where, you know, sometimes you get people that are very strongly oriented |
| 2:16.1 | in the science side of things and really |
| 2:19.5 | needing kind of rational explanations for everything. |
... |
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