In my continued efforts to consolidate my 50 websites into a manageable 2-25, I realized I needed some sort of software that would allow me to admin those sites from a single panel. I discovered “ManageWP” and thought a fun experiment would be to write 5 posts, interlink them with older posts, and then summarize them on this website. I’m not sure if I’ll keep doing this, but the prospect of interlinking my sites and articles far more, while having one place to see a journal of what’s been happening? – That is very enticing at the moment.
First, take a look at “How to Harvest Calea Seeds” on DREAMHERBS. That article discusses my recent more than ample harvest of Calea plants that grew to be over 30 feet tall, snaking up the Tree of Life in the garden. There I show some of my latest images of Calea zacatechichi, with a focus on knowing when to harvest the seeds if you decide to grow this spindly wonder. Calea seeds require an amazing amount of patience because the time from flowering to harvesting the seeds can be as long as 2 months, so it’s important to know the right time to harvest.
Next, I realized that ENTHEOLOGY hasn’t been posted to in a while, so I decided to post more on something I’ve been trying to discover for quite some time now: Kava is a sacred botanical that has been used safely for thousands of years, but does it have a spiritual side; a Teacher Plant side similar to other plants such as Ayahuasca of South America and Peyote of the American Indians? “Does Kava Have a Spiritual Side” is an effort to reach out to the community to see if anyone can report spiritual experiences with this plant (beyond the anxiety and inhibition-lowering effects that Kava users know intimately). I may look for a forum where things like this are discussed, because I would still love to know if there’s any research supporting the use of Kava ritualistically by shaman, tahunas or other spiritual guides and leaders beyond the bits I could find in “Food of the Gods: The Role of Kava in Myth and Legend“.
The moment I posted, I realized that this is a topic I’ve been contemplating for a while, and found “Kava Experience – Hawaiian Kava“, as well as “Kava – A Spiritual Unifier“. If nothing else other than revealing my writing compulsion, it shows that my interest in Kava is genuine, and runs quite deep.
Third, on Kava.guru, I wrote an article that’s related to the “Does Kava Have a Spiritual Side?” on Entheology. It’s called “Why I Love Kava“. It’s simply another callout for comments to see why people love their Kava as much as they do. For me, it’s been life-altering in more ways than I could count, and not simply because of the psychological effects that Kava has to offer. I’ve been places and met people that I never would have met before, I’ve had creative pathways open up that I may never have explored. I’ve learned about peoples and cultures that I may never have learned about otherwise, and it’s enriched my life in ways I couldn’t imagine not having as part of who I am.
Last; I decided to add a very brief post about Dreaming Herbs on IAMSHAMAN for the first time with “Check Out DreamHerbs“.
I’m beyond excited at how many people are learning about and commenting on herbs for dreaming, so I wanted to see if we could get more eyes on that project website. That site discusses some of the key points of lucid dreaming and what that website has to offer, which includes a guide about where to begin, where to go once you’re there, and my own proven techniques to help increase dream recall and to increase the occurrence of lucid dreams. There are far more comprehensive sites with far better data, but this explains a specific set of techniques that worked for me.
I’m grateful for the life I have and continue to want to find my way and do some small part to help out in some way. For someone with so much passion, I often feel very lost and discombobulated because of the vast number of thoughts that rush in and through my mind at an alarming pace. All of my websites are just a fraction of what I actually manage to get onto paper or screen, as the continual swirling rarely ceases. That is part of why I have always sought natural medicines, to help teach me to calm my mind, to find a way to that elusive inner peace that I had heard about or read about.
After nearly 2 decades of searching, after completing years of therapy, as well as a formal 2-year course in the foundation of Buddhist thought, studying with two Zen masters, and endless research — my “Life & Zen” series over at MyZen.org happened, and continues to be most of my focus at the moment. It’s an 8-10 hour practical online course that is offered nearly for free to those interested in trying to awaken to your true nature. As of this post, it’s got a long way to go, but I’m excited to share the final result.
Thanks for reading, thanks even more for commenting, and if you’ve got an issue with me, by all means, please don’t hesitate to tell me. I am grateful for the opportunity to see myself more clearly, and sometimes the best ways to accomplish that is through opposition. I stand by who I am, what I do, and how I do it, so I’m not afraid to defend myself when necessary.
Warm Regards,
Keith