Happy Thursday!

I was out at Somme Prairie Grove the other day scoping out the final plant walk for our Year 1: Foundations in Bioregional Herbalism course, scrounging around beneath Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardi) and Sawtooth Sunflower (Helianthus grosseserratus) to smile and wonder at the luminous blue and white jewels of Gentian (Gentiana, Gentianopsis, Gentianella spp.) hidden among tufts of Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum). See the picture above for one such astounding jewel.

Prairies are such fascinating and wondrous ecosystems. Beyond the ecological miracle of biodiversity they provide, there is something unique that happens to your state of being and perception when you allow yourself to drop into the rhythm of this unique place.

It is a quality of perception and being that I consider a kind of 'ecosynesthesia' where the myriad interrelationships of a place (the ecology) is perceived not from a thinking/intellectual place, but from an embodied place where the heart feels free to open wide to the landscape that surrounds it.

Under the spell of Prairie Vision, the sound of insects transforms from a discrete and separate sensation into a pulsing chorus participating in a wider symphony of place. Each footstep you take – along with the corresponding brush of the ankles against the delicate and wispy sway of Prairie Dropseed's (Sporobolus heterolepis) flowering stalk seemingly floating above the pathways as you walk by – provides a rhythmic anchor to this symphony. An earthy vanilla scent (coumarin-rich plants?) skips along the Silphium flowers gone to seed to finds its way to your olfactory organs, while a kaleidoscope of prairie grasses offer a gentle and welcoming touch to your sensitive skin with their leaves on the way.

All these feeling-senses weave together to erode the illusion of disconnection we often feel in relation to other-than-human nature... all through a simple walk among the prairie grasses and sparsely scattered oaks.

One could call this anthropomorphizing. Maybe. What I find is that when I enter perceptual states like this, my heart opens the door to imagination... not my imagination, but rather to imagination as a shared realm of connection and communication between my human self and the other-than-human landscape that embraces me.

Of course, this state of being is not limited to prairies – woodland vision, dune vision, bog vision (I'm particularly fond of this one), marsh vision... all states of being... portals we can step into to remind our bodies what it feels like to be human "in contact and conviviality with what is not human" (thanks David Abram for those perfect words).

A few recommendations if you are curious about entering this state of being, but tend to have a hard time letting your body loosen to meld into the rhythm of the landscape, as this state requires (don't worry, you're not alone):

1. Activating 'Wide Angle Vision' – this past weekend at the Great Lakes Herb Faire (I'll share more about this in my next newsletter) I was reminded of this wonderful technique by the amazing and brilliant herbalist Kat Maier, who I had the pleasure of meeting and dancing with! Her intensive, 'Reading the Landscape: The Heart as an Organ of Perception' had us practicing this technique to drop into this state of being, allowing ourselves to be more perceptive to the subtle impressions and communications coming from the plants, trees, and landscape.
   1. How to do it (as taught by Kat): find a place where you can stand or sit firmly rooted to the ground beneath you – reach both arms in front of you with palms facing away so you can see your fingers. Slowly start wiggling your fingers while moving your arms away from center towards your sides. Keep your gaze forward while tracking your wiggling fingers as they move away into your periphery until they disappear from sight. This should bring you into wide angle vision.
   2. I initially learned about this technique from one of my first mentors as a way of supporting my meditation practice. But for some reason I hadn't really employed this technique 'in the wild' until I was reminded through Kat's workshop (or maybe I did, or maybe the landscapes helped me into it through different channels).
2. Nibble on a trusted and known leaf or flower – I often find plants like Lobelia (Lobelia siphilatica), Swamp Lousewort (Pedicularis lanceolata) which is the late-season flowering species, and New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae) within or on the threshold of prairie ecosystems. Sometimes I will nibble on a single flower of any of these species which is kind of like taking of a 'microdose' of place to align yourself with the ecosystem you are within.
   1. Words of caution and awareness: as always, be absolutely certain of your ID before ingesting any plants. Harvest with humility, respect, and reciprocity by sharing a song or an offering.
   2. Lobelia in particular is a very low dose herb – if you have a tincture, we're talking drop doses. I love this plant as a 'visioning' plant, but for anyone that's taken the tincture or nibbled on a leaf or flower, you know how acrid / peppery and strong this plant can be. Taking too much of the plant will likely make you nauseous and potentially make you throw up. For me, I'm comfortable nibbling on a single flower or small leaf, but more than that will make me nauseous. See a picture of Lobelia in the top left of the photo gallery below.

More plants from my recent walk below:

Finally, A Sale on First Curve Products!

You know, it seems like it's been about a year and half since I've even mentioned a First Curve Product in the newsletter. I've always been bothered by newsletters that just try and sell sell sell... so I deliberately avoid selling anything here and just share about what I'm up to and what I'm interested in... and I'm so grateful that thousands of you are along for the ride – truly so so grateful. But the reality is... I gotta market sometimes, and to celebrate the annual remembrance of the fact that I have products to sell to keep the lights on and feed my family, I am throwing my first ever...

'Annual Remembrance-of-the-Fact-that-I-Have-Products-to-Sell-to-Keep-the-Lights-On-and-Feed-My-Family SALE!'

Click the link below to head over to our shop where all products are 20% off through Monday, September 21! No code necessary, discount applied at checkout!

Bonus! The products that are on sale happen to be really really good and I put my heart and soul (and occasionally some groovy dance music) into them. Win-win!

Upcoming Events

Herbal Harvest Fair

October 4 • 11-5 pm

At the Chicago Center for Psychophysical Healing – More details coming soon!

Respiratory Resilience - 4-Session Class

Sep 21 - Oct 12

Betsy Merbitz is a past Greenspell student and midwife leading this wonderful class with Holly Poole-Kavana and Rebecca Harris. Starting this upcoming Monday! Learn more and sign up at the link below.

Learn More / Sign Up

Mark your Calendars – The Annual Greenspell Open House will be on Sunday, October 18th!

More details to come, but you can read about past iterations of this event here:

That's all for now...Good luck dropping into that sweet Prairie Vision, and hope to see you at one of our upcoming events!

With the spirit of the prairie coursing through my fingers,

Alex