Defeating the Dragon

This is a story of plants, and of people, and a dragon, and how the magic powers in the first can be used by the second to defeat the third.

The dragon is a shape-shifter, taking on many clever disguises to hide his true intent.  We have all met him; some of us consciously, others through uneasy stirrings as he creeps along the dark passageways of our subconscious minds.  But enough of him for now.  First we need to delve into the plant world and gain a foothold there before facing the beast.  So, let us begin.

When we eat, we absorb macronutrients in the form of carbohydrates, fats and proteins, and mironutrients (vitamins and minerals).  Plant foods also contain hundreds of chemicals with fancy names which have profound effects on the body, mind and spirit.

If we look even deeper into a plant's composition, beyond the physical constituents, we come to its etheric energy or life force.  Plants are not intelligent in the way humans are, but they are living beings that communicate with each other and with the entire cosmos including soil, bacteria, fungi, viruses, insects, animals and humans, the sun, the moon, planets, constellations of stars, and probably many other subtle energies we know nothing about.  This continuous interplay is what makes magic happen.  All the stimuli absorbed by the plants is refined and transformed into powerful elixirs such as essential oils, antioxidants and polyphenols which can enliven our minds, bodies and spirit.  The more we use and consume these power plants, the more we feel their effects.

What are signs of a plant's power and intelligence?  Thorns, odors, sticky sap, downy or prickly leaves and bright pigments give us clues.  Wild plants growing in their natural habitat have the most power.  Next are domesticated plants grown naturally without chemical fertilizers or pesticides.

Now picture this:  a hydroponic tomato growing in a tube of liquid in a carefully controlled indoor environment, sucking up ready-made, perfectly balanced nutrient formulas and chemicals to control pests and diseases.  This is not an intelligent plant.  It's a couch-potato tomato, with no reason to exert itself to find and synthesize what it needs from the environment.

At the other extreme, we can study the Mediterranean rock rose, Cistus incanus, which grows in abundance on Sardinia, off the coast of Italy.

This little shrub survives and thrives under extremely harsh conditions, enduring severe drought, poor soil, high temperatures and sun exposure.  Cistus has developed a symbiotic relationship with a fungus that helps its roots absorb water and minerals from the soil and fights off other fungi.  This plant has the highest polyphenol content of any plant in Europe and is proving to be a powerful remedy for many serious conditions such as Lyme disease, cancer, retroviruses and more.

Thorns, sap and prickles may not sound appetizing to you, but you might be surprised at the deliciousness of gently steamed or simmered nettle leaves (heating destroys the sting) with lemon juice, salt, pepper and olive oil.  We need to educate our palates.  We need to be courageous.  The body knows what it needs to be healthy, and you will be rewarded for eating intelligent foods instead of overly processed fare made palatable with large amounts of sugar, salt and addictive chemicals.  You will begin to crave the bitter greens, the enlivening herbs and spices and the strong wild flavors, so rich and complex on the tongue.

This is not to say we should not eat plain, bland fare as well.  Too much of anything is not healthy.  We need balance in the diet; we need soft and gentle potatoes, mellow grains, the delicate flavors of cucumber and squash.

You may say that you are too old to make changes; too sick, too busy, too distracted.  You may say that it's too late to save the world, and what can one person do anyway?  But this is the dragon talking, and these are the very reasons we should eat better and live more consciously.  You may say you can't afford good food.  Then I say go out into your backyard and pick the chickweed and plantain, the nettle if you've got it, and eat those.  Dig the dandelion and burdock roots and eat them.  These foods will do you more good than anything you can buy at the store.

Diet alone is not enough to make us into strong, resilient warriors, but it is the foundation and the starting point of a healthy life.  Without proper nourishment we will never progress, never have the strength to overcome the dragon.  He has been called by different names in different times and cultures, but the important thing to remember is that he wants us to be sleepy so we don't clearly see what's happening in the world.  He wants us distracted by ever increasing towers of facts and data coming to us at lightning speed; more and more and more information that leaves us anxious, weary and confused.  He wants us to not think for ourselves so he can slyly insert his own thoughts into us while making us believe they are our own.  He wants our hearts to be disengaged from our minds, so what we think is dry and dusty, without the warmth and fire of human enthusiasm.  He wants us to be separated into smaller and smaller groups, sects, religions and factions, each one pitted against the other.  Knowledge of his true nature is our weapon against him, and our will, fueled by a strong and healthy body, is our sword.

We eat to bring will forces into our limbs, enthusiasm into our hearts and clarity to our thoughts so we can become warriors for the good, the true and the beautiful.  We eat for our children, and our childrens' children, and for all the children to come into times more distant than we can imagine, because the future depends on the present.  We eat for those who have passed on before us, for they are as vital a part of the earth as those now in the flesh.  We eat so that one day the earth might become a bright and shining star radiating wisdom and love into the universe, instead of a darkened globe of misery and woe.  We eat in communion with each other and with all the kingdoms on earth and in the heavens, that we might truly become one.