|
Susan Burek, herbalist ~
Farming is in my blood. Both my parents
grew up on farms, and although they were the first generation off the farm, they
instilled in our family many of the ways they had learned while growing up living off
the land. I learned an early appreciation for plants and animals from them right from
the start of my childhood.
I started gardening at age six with my own 3x3 garden right next to my dad's big
vegetable one, starting with three little tomato plants. I remember very clearly
racing out to my garden each day to see what had developed. Daily, my dad and I tended
our gardens. I waited my turn for the hose and after my dad watered his garden, I watered mine. And I roamed the farm fields
and woods surrounding our tiny new neighborhood, before it developed into the city it
is today, and made my rounds visiting the plants and trees each day. So I started
out growing food. Farmers grow food. As I got older, no matter where I lived, I always
had a garden. Even when renting an apartment, I would chop out of the sod a 6ft size
plot in the backyard and grow something. During the 1980's, I was getting kinda bored
with growing just tomatoes and vegetables. So I looked around at what else I could
grow, and thought growing the cultivated herbs would be interesting since some of them seemed so
exotic! I started with the basics..you know...parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme..(haha)
and then got a little daring and grew all the varieties of mints (does chocolate mint really
taste any different than apple mint?) and on and on. My best friend found a place, Sweet Annies, out near where she lived
in Irish Hills, that became a frequent place where I had to visit while I was there
visiting her.
That expanded my knowledge of herbs from cooking spices to herbal teas, soaps, candles,
potpourri and pillows and wreaths - all the usual stuff of herb shops. So that took
me a step beyond the culinary point of view.
But the course was about to change even more. Around the early 1990's, on another
visit to my friend, we went to listen to an "herbalist" speaker in town, and my friend
thought I was so into growing herbs at that point, it would be interesting. After all,
the word
herb was in her title right? I had never heard of an herbalist before, and had no
idea what to expect. Well, I tell you, I don't remember who the herbalist was, but I do
remember she was an older middle-aged lady with gray hair, and she delivered a sermon
that would rival any Sunday school preacher. What I most clearly remember was her little
clenched fist raised in the air, denouncing the evils of processed foods and modern
medicine. At one point she was shouting, calling refined white sugar "black poison"
and I was sitting totally mesmerized in my
chair in the audience. This was my first exposure to the notion of herbs being used
for medicinal purposes and herbalism. So the first thing I did when I got home, was
to scour Ann Arbor for an herbalist. The only one I could find listed anywhere, which
I think I found on a bulletin board in an herb shop was
Cindy Klement,
who was
practicing out of her house at that time. Cindy taught from the teachings of
Dr. John Christopher,
and I started to frequent the area's herb stores experimenting on
myself with herbs. But there was also a vague disconnect there for me. I was growing herbs,
but buying my herbal products in bottles and dried herb from the herb store. I could
grow some of my own, but I had no idea what to do with it once I did. There was
still something else I was searching for that I couldn't quit place my finger on.
In the meantime, I explored different modalities of energy work, which can be part
of herbalism too. For a couple of years, I was very fortunate to be a student of and become friends with
Elena Gillespie.
learning the ancient
healing tradition of Reiki and other spiritualism techniques. Elena only took on a
small number of students since she was busy conducting a research study
for the University of Michigan's CAM department, to measure the healing effects of
Reiki, one of the first in the nation at that time. I was referred to her as a student from
Betsy Adams,
, from whom I was learning animal
communication and through her, got my first exposure to homeopathic remedies.
And on the
other side of the fence, I trained to become a Master Gardener, and then an Advanced Master Gardener, with my training focused on herbs.
And in the ensuing years through my volunteering, I have hooked up with various local
organic farming organizations and to this day I avidly follow the
progression of the organic farming movement in Michigan.
Looking for more places to study herbs, I was delighted to find a long established
herb study group at University of Michigan's Matthaei Botanical Gardens. But I
couldn't attend because I worked full-time during the day, which is when it met. So I called them up and
asked if they knew of any other possibilities. Totally unaware of their strong
"volunteer power" ethic there, I was soon talked into starting up the
Evening Herb Study Group.
I founded the group, and spent two years as president. We had
monthly meetings and our challenge each month was to ferret out topics with speakers
who would talk about anything "herbal" for free. I probably drove the board a little
nutty with my eclectic approach to topics! We ran the gamut from speakers like someone who owned
an herbal tea shop that hosted proper tea parties, to growing herbs with hydroponics!
I am happy to report the group is still going strong, and I occasionally have someone
walk up to me at an herb gathering introducing themselves to me as the "new" president
of the group.
So at one board meeting, the VP suggested an herbalist who happened to be
speaking at an herb shop she happened to be visiting that day. So we brought him in
and I had a huge "AHA!" moment. Here was the piece missing from the
puzzle! He spoke about native herbs and stuff
growing in your backyard and their medicinal uses. This was the piece I was looking
for. I started studying with
Jim McDonald,
whom I consider a mentor and friend, and I still study with him to this day.
I have attended many of
his individual classes and plant walks through the last seven years, along with two years of
9 month "intensives". Jim has been instrumental in uniting the herbal community
within Michigan and has organized bringing in many herbalists who pioneered the
herbal revival in the 1960-1970's in the US, into the Michigan community. So I have learned from
Rosemary Gladstar,
Matthew Wood,
and
David Winston
at weekend-long lectures. I also have a special friend
and teacher with another local herbalist,
Bronwen Gates,
who taught me about botany and the magic of flower
essences and plant energy and magic. In 2008, I completed a 9 month apprenticeship
program taught by Matthew Wood. In 2009, I continued my studies for more spiritual and energetic growth
studying the hermetic Quabalah taught by my gifted sister, Sandra Stockwell.
On a personal front, I bought property and built a house in a rural
community in 1999.
My plan was to eventually open an herb farm business which I have accomplished in the last
few years. The product plan is ever-changing as I fit the reality (a one-woman show
for now) and what is practical for me to work with along with my future interests.
Since initially I only had me and a handful of wary family and friends to practice on with
herbs, I looked to using herbal remedies for my critters. One of the first critters
I acquired once I was living in my new home (after the requisite dogs and cats), were
guineafowl, and then chickens. Followed by ducks and peafowl! The poultry gave me
lots of opportunity to work with, working my way through parasite infestations, and with
injuries that are common. Eventually I worked with my dogs, cats and goats as well.
This has been uncharted territory for me the last 9 years, especially when it comes
to birds. It is hard enough to find an avian vet, let alone an avian herbalist! I am
happy to report that herbal actions translate really well from human to animal and
much of what I have learned through the years, can apply. Along the time I acquired
my guineafowl, I
joined up with an Internet club, the GFBA. While part of the GFBA, I was the resident
herbalist hosting an herb forum (along with Laura) for a couple
of years. I also taught an herb and poultry related theme classes at three of the
annual "guineafest" meetings held
each year. I eventually outgrew that environment, which brought me to here!
So I have had a life-long relationship with herbs, even when I didn't know it when
I was a kid roaming those fields. My energy work has not only taught me some hands-on
healing techniques, but has also strengthened my medical intuition. And I have been
blessed to work with some very knowledgeable, creative and talented herbalists - some
of the best who teach in my area. But most of all, the plants are the teachers
beyond compare, so patient and wise…..…..and healing!
What a long and wonderful journey, all started with 3 little tomato plants…
|
