Plants That Speak, Souls That Sing by Fay Johnstone

Author:Fay Johnstone
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Spirituality/Nature
Publisher: Inner Traditions/Bear & Company
Published: 2018-05-09T16:00:00+00:00

Thanks to the way that our brain works, taste, like our sense of smell, is linked to our emotions; the senses of smell and taste are also linked to each other. For example, our mouths water when we smell bread baking in the oven.

Our taste buds have evolved over time to help us survive by identifying the difference between poisonous food and nutritious food. The Ayurvedic way of working with herbs identifies six basic qualities of taste, known as Rasa in Sanskrit: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent and astringent. Think of honey, lemons, olives, coffee, garlic and cranberries. We are all familiar with the hot sensation of spicy too, but in theory this is actually not a taste but a pain response!

These different tastes can help us to understand more about the physical qualities and chemical properties of a plant and the effect it may have on the body. If we are working with medicinal plants we can use this information when formulating a herbal preparation – for example a bitter plant would not be suitable for a tea.

Resist the urge to nibble every plant you meet! My advice is not to go ahead and break off a tiny piece of the plant to put in your mouth until you have identified it as being non-poisonous. When experimenting with the taste of plants, always approach with caution and loving respect. Don’t just dive in there and grab a handful of leaves. As in the previous exercises, say hello, hold the intention in your heart to get to know the plant better and ask for permission. Pause before you break off a piece of the plant to sample. If you don’t feel that there is any opening towards you doing this, then leave it alone.

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