"Hearing is a gift. Eyesight is a blessing. LISTENING is an ART. "
Most of us take a lot for granted. Sure we take electricity, running water and a dwelling for granted. What about your health? Do you take your eyesight or sense of hearing for granted? I find it amazing how other senses adapt to the loss of one sense. Whether it is eyesight or hearing, other senses will compensate.
Imagine just for a day what it would be like if you had no eyesight, or you were not able to hear. How would you compensate? You could blindfold yourself for the whole day in your own home and try to do without eyesight. You would have touch, smell, and hearing. It is not as easy as you might think. Take nothing for granted. If you have the ability to take the cotton out of your ears and put it in your mouth--and truly LISTEN, amazing things will be revealed.
So in the last ten years I have listened at many herbal conferences. I have listened to men and women with knowledge beyond reproach. These are the grassroots individuals of the herbal movement. These are people with a passion for plants--no a passion for life. One of these men is James Duke.
James A. Duke (born 1929) is an American botanist. He is known for his numerous publications on botanical medicine, including the CRC Handbook of Medicinal Herbs. He is notable for developing the Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases at the USDA.
James "Jim" A. Duke, Ph.D was born in Birmingham, Alabama. He received his doctorate in botany from the University of North Carolina in 1961. His wife Peggy also got her doctorate at the same time. She illustrates all the plants in his books. While in college he played in a Dixieland Jazz Band. He wrote poems which he set to music about herbs, their proper and common names, and some of their properties. He teaches at Tai Sophia in Columbia, Maryland and leads eco-botanical tours specializing in Ethnobotany. Two years ago in the Southwest Conference on Botanical Medicine, Dr Duke lectured on his 80th Birthday. Mark Blumenthal, founder of the American Botanical Council (now in its 23rd year) surprised Jim at that conference with his appearance and a birthday cake. At the Medicine of Earth conference I sat in the audience as Jim played his guitar and sang his herbal tunes. This is a memory of a lifetime.
Until tomorrow...
Imagine just for a day what it would be like if you had no eyesight, or you were not able to hear. How would you compensate? You could blindfold yourself for the whole day in your own home and try to do without eyesight. You would have touch, smell, and hearing. It is not as easy as you might think. Take nothing for granted. If you have the ability to take the cotton out of your ears and put it in your mouth--and truly LISTEN, amazing things will be revealed.
So in the last ten years I have listened at many herbal conferences. I have listened to men and women with knowledge beyond reproach. These are the grassroots individuals of the herbal movement. These are people with a passion for plants--no a passion for life. One of these men is James Duke.
James A. Duke (born 1929) is an American botanist. He is known for his numerous publications on botanical medicine, including the CRC Handbook of Medicinal Herbs. He is notable for developing the Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases at the USDA.
James "Jim" A. Duke, Ph.D was born in Birmingham, Alabama. He received his doctorate in botany from the University of North Carolina in 1961. His wife Peggy also got her doctorate at the same time. She illustrates all the plants in his books. While in college he played in a Dixieland Jazz Band. He wrote poems which he set to music about herbs, their proper and common names, and some of their properties. He teaches at Tai Sophia in Columbia, Maryland and leads eco-botanical tours specializing in Ethnobotany. Two years ago in the Southwest Conference on Botanical Medicine, Dr Duke lectured on his 80th Birthday. Mark Blumenthal, founder of the American Botanical Council (now in its 23rd year) surprised Jim at that conference with his appearance and a birthday cake. At the Medicine of Earth conference I sat in the audience as Jim played his guitar and sang his herbal tunes. This is a memory of a lifetime.
Until tomorrow...
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