Herbal Medicine Cabinet

Because you will probably want to start using the information right away, we will cover dosage first. These are what I start with, though as with everything, each individual will have to find the optimum dosage for them. Also discontinue any herb where allergic reactions occur.

• Less than 6 months. In mothers milk
• 6-12 months old 1/10 of a standard adult dose
• 1-6 years old 1/3 of adult dose
• 7-12 years ½ adult dose
• 70 to 120 lbs. ¾ adult dose
• Standard dosage as per the herb being used
• Over 200 lbs. 1 1/3 standard dose
• Over 250 lbs. 1 ½ standard dose
• 300 lbs. and over double recommended dosage

Each herb will have it’s own dosage recommendation, though except for very few herbs, you need to double the dosage if you are using fresh herbs from your garden or pot. Please do not exceed recommended dosage except in an emergency, while trying to stabilize a medical crisis and medical help is not available.

First Aid Kit recommended contents.

• Comfrey ointment for bruises, sprains and to speed the healing of fractures.
• Calendula ointment for inflamed or minor wounds, skin rashes and sunburn
• Aloe Vera for minor burns
• Purple Coneflower for colds, flue, bacterial and viral infections
• Arnica Cream for bruises and muscle pain
• Valerian for stress and insomnia
• Lavender oil for insect bites and spot burns
• Slippery Elm for coughs and digestive upsets
• Feverfew for headaches
• Garlic for infections
• Dandelion for swelling, gaout, liver, blood pressure and arthritic problems
• White Willow Bark for soreness or mild headache

Be sure not to get this into open wounds

Dr. Maria F. Daly

Malfunction and Illness result when ones own energy and outside energy is out of balance. When an organ is not vibrating at the proper frequency in harmony with other organs in the body, illness occurs. A person is composed of a physical body, a psychological component and a spiritual being, with a connectedness to Earth and other spirits....Illness is a disruption of any of these parts.

Interpersonal relationships can be a cause of illness as well as a source of healing. Living in harmony creates wellness. Power and energy come from certain objects-feathers, rattles, animal skins, teeth and claws. These are power objects. Powers take the form of Deities, elements of nature, objects, ones relationships. These can heal if used properly, and are as efficacious as antibiotics, laser beams and radiation.

To be healed one must submit to the laws of nature. Native American Healers include the concept of  harmony with nature, harmony with community, harmony with the Spiritual realm. Other beliefs include nonscheduled living, Present Orientated, Non-Competitive, Deference to Group needs, Acceptance based on personal integrity, Punishment related to shame, Humility, Shared resources. These are much different from Anglo American values

TOOLS OF HEALING- Prayer-Herbs-Ceremony.-Sweating -Purging, purify the body and spirit, to prepare body for challenges. Sweat Lodges purify the body, while praying and singing and sweating prevents imbalances and illness. This also helps the individual to reach life decisions and major challenges

APACHE MEDICINE MEN OR WOMEN- are individuals selected by elders after passing ancient tests that were part of puberty rites. This includes, one week in the desert and one week in the mountains to learn strength. They are taught about herbs and other healing methods and are also trained in psychic feelings and psychic phenomena. They diagnosis through intuition. A healer is only selected if the GREY GHOST appears to them (An Apache symbol that the healer is selected by this revered symbol).

APACHE WOMEN AND MENOPAUSE-a transition from fertility, no different from the transition to puberty. Life transitions are always honored. Feminine powers are fluidity as well as fertility. Strength and vision are ceremony bestowed at menstruation. As a woman ages, their spiritual powers and vision increase.

NAVAJO MEDICINE WOMEN-are individual selected before birth by a blessing over the pregnant mother. After birth,  a child is molded in the medicine way. They are taught about plants, animals, spirits, the seasons, the sky, and the earth.

Thirty days after birth, a second blessing way ceremony is held. The child is assigned to her parents to be taught the blessing way. She is taught to chant-The Holy Way - to attract good, to cure, to repair.

THE GHOST WAY: to  remove evil

THE LIFE WAY: to treat illness, restore harmony, repair trauma.

All of her life she is a student, usually of a grandmother medicine woman. To prepare for healing, the medicine woman is in harmony with herself and nature. She diagnoses an illness, prescribes herbs for that particular patient and illnesses are selected and collected. She uses tools of healing, The White Buffalo, Prayer, Herbs, and Ceremony. Ceremonies are also performed by a Singer, or Medicine Man, or Woman. The Chants have been given to the Navajo by representatives of the spirit world-Chant Ways. The process of diagnosis and treatment is intimately woven into the entire spiritual tradition.

The Hogan, or home of the person to be healed,  is consecrated, as rites must be performed on sacred ground. Cornmeal is sprinkled in the four directions. Herbs and Feathers are placed on the body of the patient. Sweating and Emetic ceremony may be prepared to purify the patient. Chanting for the particular problem is selected. 

The Navajo women are taught to be strong, to have high self esteem. By the time menopause begins, they are strong, they pray, they run, they use the sweat lodge, and take special herbs to relieve symptoms.

THE CHEROKEE HEALERS: Keepers of the Sacred fire and Crystals. People descended from the Sun. Training in cosmology and Lineage is passed on by the females. Illness is an idea of discord, being out of phase with the pulse of the earth. All manifestations of disease are seated in the mind. Disease is in the mind first, before manifesting in the body. Everyone resonates. The Healer helps the person to find the Vibration that clears the disease process-to resonate their clear note. Chants bring healing, have symmetry, heal by a tone. The Cherokee work with quartz crystals, six sided crystals which vibrate light and energy. They restore the frequency of the person out of discord. The patient must be responsible for healing, along with the Medicine Healer.

The Native Americans have a pragmatic attitude toward health and healing. If something works, Use It. They can mix Native American Healing with Western Treatments.