Abundantly Well
and a Tribe of Kindred Spirits

This article started as a review of Susun Weed’s’ book Abundantly Well—Seven Medicines. As you will see below, I did write the review. And doing so led to wanting to share a personal story. Here goes:

Finding a Kindred Spirit: Spiritual Outlaws

Looking for a like-minded individual is like hunting for long-lost pirate’s gold. The search is not easy for everyone. A sought-after treasure can end up a shiny disappointment.

Luckily, over the years, I have been able to build a tribe of spiritual outlaws.

I Used to Feel Like the Lone Ranger

I teach Shamanism. Among my lessons are principles that are contrary not only to mainstream beliefs but also to a lot of Paganism. Here are three of those teachings:

1) The Great Goddess—Magna Mater, Creator of All—and life are the same. By life, I mean both the force of creation and every happening—nursing a baby, riding a bus, walking a dog, sleeping, losing a loved one. Within the Goddess are all powers. Thus, life can keep my spirit whole and heal it when needed.

Shamanism that removes us from life, tossing us up into the air without wings, is neither traditional nor healthy. No spiritual or mystical teaching replaces life. Shamanic teachers and techniques are vital. But I want Shamanism that has my head in the clouds, feet on the ground.

One of my goals as a Shaman is to create rituals that help you embrace life in all its beauty, horror, and empowerment.

The rituals include ones that help you circumvent rabbit holes, wild goose chases, and other distractions from your power.

2) Life is the body’s ultimate healer too. The erroneous idea that doctors, herbs, etc., are the healers interferes with letting life heal us. Western medicine, herbs, massage, acupuncture, and other treatment modalities are wonderful parts of life, not replacements for it.

3) Leaning into whatever life brings can help overcome barriers to life goals. Accommodating life just as it is can also help heal health problems, anxiety, and even trauma. Leaning into life is leaning into a magic that carries all blessings to me and carries me to all blessings.

The above teachings and almost everything else I teach go against oppressive culture. After sharing my teachings since the ‘60s, I felt like the Lone Ranger sometimes—an outcast.

Supporting a Sister Wild Child

But I have found my kindred spirits. Susun Weed is among them.

I read one of her books a few decades ago and thought, Oh my Goddess, she sounds like me. I need to meet this woman. I recognized someone who represents the unpopular type of wisdoms I espouse.

I do not mean represents those wisdoms only in the sense of talking about them. I have my share of imitators who talk my talk, but I can tell they do not walk it. They co-opted my ideas because—as an example—they thought appropriating material from my best-sellers would give them best-sellers too. Susun is another matter. She is no imitator. Her words come from her cells and her desire to serve.

I love opportunities to support Susun in gratitude for a kindred spirit:

Spiritual outlaws support each other. When someone is a wild child, they do fabulous things that I want to support. Like this book:

Susun’s Weed’s Abundantly Well—Seven Medicines

I am excited about Abundantly Well because it is amazingly useful.

I also support it simply because I’m grateful to know someone other than me who insists that life is the ultimate healer. I do not care if all her ideas on the topic are the same as mine. Below, I’ll talk about how important it is that she and I are different. But I have immense gratitude for her in-depth understanding of life as healer, with its many subtleties.

For example, a number of authors present music, laughter, or orgasm as healing modalities. That’s an important service to the community. And many of these authors could serve community even more. Their writing limits results by representing music, laughter, or orgasm as health-giving activities if set apart from life. That approach disconnects readers from some innate healing abilities.

Abundantly Well is a much-needed contrast. Susun’s discussion of music, laughter, and orgasm embodies life as healing.

I am also grateful for all the commonalities in our teachings. They have helped keep me from feeling like I’ve been the Lone Ranger saying unpopular things for decades.

Instead, I feel like Susun is another friend shoulder to shoulder with me.

I Love Rebels Like Me
Who Are Also Not Like Me

Susun and I are very different and teach in different styles, in different areas. For example, she focuses on medicine and brings ritual into it, while I focus on ritual and am not an herbalist, although herbs are my close friends.

Forgive the kind of false distinctions in the above paragraph. Medicine, herbs, ritual, and my feet are all the same when I look at them with my otherworldly eyes. Sometimes, dividing life into categories stops us from understanding any part of life. However, I need to use categories sometimes, just to be able to speak.

An important aside: I truly experience a world in which everything is everything. But saying, “Everything is everything” is not always useful input.

Another important aside: Life, Goddess, and Shamanism are the same. However, remarks are often contextual. For example, during their wedding ceremony, if marital partners say, “I love you,” they are probably expressing romantic love and devotion. If someone makes a hilarious joke and I laughingly respond with I love you, my remark is likely an appreciation of their humor.

The statement Life, Goddess, and Shamanism are the same could be misunderstood in the context of this essay. For example, I do not mean that Shamanism is a replacement for medical treatments. But I feel compelled to say:

One of my core beliefs/understandings is that Goddess and Shamanism are one, and living accordingly has been endlessly fruitful. So much abundance, beauty, and power come my way. As do chances to be of service and ways to overcome adversity. I could only learn this truth experientially, embraced by Shamanic culture instead of stifled by Western cultural norms.

Everything is everything and Life, Goddess, and Shamanism are the same cannot be understood in the context of Western culture. But they become practical and can be applied to maximum benefits in a tribe that embodies Shamanic culture.

Participants in my classes receive experiential lessons in Shamanic culture, become part of a community, and learn practical applications of my Everything is everything type of statements. This empowers them to manifest abundance, serenity, and other life goals. For information about upcoming courses, subscribe to my newsletter here.

Back to what I had been saying: Susun and I are very different and teach in different styles, in different areas. The Gods need many roads to journey to our aid. It’s wonderful that Susun’s and my different approaches work to the same ends—power, freedom, joy, lustiness, choosing your destiny, and more.

I am blessed with a community. I am blessed that its members represent a diversity that allows true change through many different strengths working together. I am blessed that my students come from all walks of life, adding their love and power to my tribe.

Wild organizing dedicated to joy, fruitful rebellion, and wholeness of individuals and community fosters, embraces, and celebrates diversity.

Review of Susun Weed’s book
Abundantly Well—Seven Medicines

The full title is Abundantly Well–Seven Medicines: The Complementary Integrated Medicine Revolution. The publisher reports that the seven medicines encompass all options for optimum health.

That promises a lot in one book. It is not hype. Susun delivers many times over what some might think possible. The back cover of the book has more promises you can trust:

* More than 125 complementary medicines to build good health
* Protection if you need drugs, surgery, or chemo/radiation
* Certain to become a cherished reference
* The best foods, tonics, and herbs for living long and well

This extensive body of knowledge is integrated with a message of joy. … Although integrated is not the best word because joy heals, and Susun knows it.

Her call to joy is never covert advice to bury your head in the sand. Instead, she provides tools to meet health challenges.

You want happiness, you want wholeness, you want health? Read this book. Purchase it here.