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ABOUT ME...
some
history...
In 1994, while living in an old, overgrown
farmhouse in Okemos, Michigan, I discovered a tattered,
purple herb book, left out haphazardly on the kitchen
counter by one of my roommates. I began flipping through
the book, and within a few weeks had begun foraging
through the abundant weeds that covered the property and
brewing them into strange tasting teas. Till then, I had
little interest in either herbs or health, and so my
sudden and growing passion with them was perhaps unusual. In
hindsight, I think something in those first sips of
strange tea woke in me my passion for plants and their
medicine. From those first curious experiences, my hunger
to both learn from and serve my green friends has been
without end.
I am, in many ways, a self taught
herbalist. This is not to say that I'm responsible
for learning everything I know myself, but rather that
I've never really had any formal training with any other
herbalist, gone through any courses, or attended any
schools. Though every now and again I get grief from
those who value credentials, I hardly view this as a
liability. If anything, it has provided me with a unique
opportunity to learn from doing, and base my knowledge
firmly upon my own first hand experience. My education in herbcraft has been, above all things, experiential. Unable
to readily find a teacher (this was in the dark ages
before you could look online for people teaching near or
even far away from you), I was left to my senses and
intuition. While plenty of time was spent in libraries
and bookstores devouring what information I could find,
more still was spent wandering through the forests and
fields around my various homes in southeast Michigan,
learning one by one the plants I shared this land with,
and the communities that together they created. This, by
far, was (and still is) the most valuable study I've
ever engaged in. Being with the plants creates
relationships with them, relationships that change
entirely one's understanding of their medicinal virtues
and the craft of herbalism.
That said, at this point
in my life with herbs, I've conversed, queried and
interacted with so many brilliant plant people, that I
can't and don't deny the impact of their teachings and
all around coolness on how I practice herbalism.
The diversity of their perspectives have deeply enriched
my own relationship with this craft, and I deeply thank
and acknowledge their flat out coolness (though I'll
omit names so as not to leave anyone out of the
shortlist).
energetic folk herbalism...
My approach to the use of herbs blends a traditional
european folk perspective of herbcraft with the
eclectic/physiomedical approaches of 19th
century American herbalism into a unique and (dare I
say) elegant "energetic folk herbalism". I use (and teach about)
mostly local plants I know and trust, though I certainly
enjoy a draught of Kava and don’t begrudge a plant just
cause it doesn’t happen to live close by. I place utmost
importance in ethical wildcrafting to ensure that the
plants I use continue to thrive in their natural habitats,
and in creating unique, personalized formulas for the
people I work with.
infuse
yourself in plants...
I
feel the most important offering I can make to the herbs
that have taught me so much is for me to teach others to
make relationship with the plants that grow around them
and receive their own teachings. It is my
deepest passion to encourage people to understand the
herbs that they share this land with, and to integrate
that relationship into every aspect of their lives.
That connection, I believe, is what makes for a good
herbalist.
My classes, if I do say so myself, are
quite good. They cover identification, medicinal uses, herbal
properties, ethics, history, folklore, preparation, and
generally include a plethora (a lot) of handouts,
thoroughly explaining the information and ideas covered in
classes. They're also taught in a manner that makes
sense, using stories, humor, examples, and analogies to
make important herbal concepts clear and relatable;
something you nod your head to, rather than furious
scribble down to figure out later.
Questions make my day. Top it off, I try to make
things affordable. I
never had a lot of money to spend when I was learning
about herbs, and I so try not to offer classes I couldn't
have afforded to attend. Of course, any amount may
be too much for someone... I do several free classes/presentations
every year.
If you're interested in learning about herbcraft, check
the classes and workshops link and see what's
currently happening...
I'd love to cross paths in the physical realm. But
you can also check out a growing assortment of online
classes at
herbcraft.podia.com.
contacting me...
While I do try to respond to
personal email, I do get quite a bit (ok, really, a LOT) and
it's just no longer feasible for me to respond to it all. If you have a question about an herb, a
condition, or some combination thereof that doesn't
require me specifically to answer it, feel free to post
it on my
Facebook page (though
messaging me there is fraught). This'll give you the opportunity to get
my opinion plus some ideas of others whose experience may
be worthy of consideration.
If you need to get ahold of me specifically (about a
consult, to schedule a class, of because you want me to
come and teach in Hawaii), please do call, email, and
repeat as needed. I do want to connect, but
sometimes I'm simply swamped and things get by me... I
ask for your understanding. The life of the
herbalist often requires that we act simultaneously as wildcrafter,
medicine maker, practitioner, teacher, marketing and
advertising coordinator, book keeper, janitor and pee-on. Sometimes the grunt work of taking out the
garbage gets in the way of the more pressing matters
like making all the calls I need to or returning emails.
Also, I can't deny being a creative scatterbrain. So: persist, and I'll try my best to make it happen.
Again, thanks for your understanding here.
blessings...
jim mcdonald
jim@herbcraft.org
wait, were you hoping for some
list of my qualifications and academic achievements?
Don't really have that anywhere, but here's a
"resume"
(of sorts)...
other
idiosyncratic miscellany...
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