Susun
S. Weed, herbalist, wise woman, and teacher for over two decades,
is the founder of the Wise Woman Center in upstate New York
and the author of four highly acclaimed books on alternative/complementary
healthcare for women. Honored as a Peace Elder in 1996, Ms.
Weed is respected worldwide as the voice of the Wise Woman
tradition, the oldest tradition of healthcare on the planet.
The Wise Woman tradition maintains
that health is flexibility and that deviations from normal
(that is, problems) offer us an opportunity to reintegrate
those parts of ourselves that we have cast out. This reintegration
is accomplished through nourishment and the person emerges
healed/wholed/holy. The Wise Woman tradition is compassionate
and heart-centered. It honors the Earth and the special mysteries
of women. It is simple, local, ecological, and invisible,
choosing to use common plants, such as dooryard weeds, rather
than exotic herbs from far away.
The Wise Woman Center, founded in 1984,
is a safe place for women around the world to gather together
to celebrate the wise woman within and to study herbal medicine
and spirit healing with Susun and notable teachers such as
Brooke Medicine Eagle, Z Buda pest, Vicki Noble, and Merlin
Stone.
Ms. Weed has been called a backwards
pioneer. She agrees: "I've gone backwards into prehistory,
into herstory, to rediscover and rename something as ancient
as humanity, but something which is perfectly relevant, indeed
critical to our survival, today." That "some thing"
is the Wise Woman tradition; a unique viewpoint from the distant
past that she be lieves will help us find answers for our
collective future.
The Wise Woman viewpoint that we are
all connected and that a health crisis is symbolic as well
as physical -- characterized by some as shamanic, by others
as superstitious -- still exists in our society today, both
in lay healing and in professions such as midwifery and psycho-therapy,
but it usually goes unnamed. "One of the characteristics
of this tradition is its integration into everyday life. By
healing through nourishment, whether it is a hug or a special
dinner, the wise woman acts invisibly whenever possible."
This is in marked contrast to other
traditions of healing, according to Weed, who differ entiates
three major healing traditions: the Scientific, the Heroic,
and the Wise Woman. In the Scientific tradition the doctor
is highly visible and the patient is reduced to a body part
or a disease designation. In the Heroic or Holistic tradition,
the healer is the one who knows the right way to do things
and the patient must follow the rules in order to get well.
In the Wise Woman tradition, illness is understood as an integral
part of life and self-growth, with healer, patient and nature
as co-participants in the healing process.
Much of today's alternative medicine
comes from Heroic traditions, which traditionally emphasize
fasting, purification, colonic cleansing, rigid dietary rules,
and the use of rare botanicals in complicated formulae. Even
much of metaphysical healing is applied this way: It views
illness as a failure rather than a natural and potentially
constructive process.
Susun Weed sees herself as a teacher,
not a healer. "A healer is someone who does for you,
while a teacher shows you how to do for yourself. When I work
with a correspon dence course student or an apprentice, for
instance, I'm working with the intention of helping her to
know herself better, to learn how to listen to and nourish
all parts of her self, which will allow her to become more
healthy/whole/holy."
Susun reminds us that wellness and
illness are not polarities. They are part of the contin uum
of life. "We are constantly renewing ourselves, cell
by cell, second by second, every minute of our lives. Problems,
by their very nature, can facilitate deep spiritual and symnolic
renewal, leading us naturally into expanded, more complete
ways of thinking about and experiencing ourselves."
Ms. Weed maintains an active teaching/lecture
schedule, with bookings throughout the U nited States, Canada,
Australia, New Zealand, and Germany (where she also trains
ap prentices). She has taught at many prestigious schools
including the National College of Naturopathic Medicine, Yale
Nursing School, South Florida Midwifery School, Rocky Mountain
Center for Botanical Studies, and the Waikato College of Herbal
Studies. She currently sits on advisory boards for the California
Institute of Integral Studies and the National Institute of
Health's Rosenthal Center for Alternative/Complementary Medicines
at Columbia University.
Ms.Weed is most well-known for her
books, which are variously described as informa tive, inspirational,
and accessible. Her poetic and humorous style have endeared
her to over half a million readers, who treasure her voice,
the voice of the Wise Woman way. Her published titles include:
New Menopausal Years, The Wise Woman Way
Healing Wise: The Second Wise Woman Herbal
Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year
Breast Cancer? Breast Health! The Wise Woman Way
Susun
Weed encourages women to work towards good health from the
inside out. Her close-to-the-earth approach continues to break
new ground in old ways, helping to make natural non-invasive
solutions available to women from every walk of life.
