Lilipoh ~ the spirit in life
Honoring the Bien
Michael Thiele grew up on a farm in a tiny village in central Germany. He has been deeply influenced by the German biodynamic beekeeping movement and now teaches classes on natural and holistic beekeeping in the United States. He worked for seven years as the beekeeper at Green Gulch Farm, a Zen center just north of San Francisco. He takes care of the hives at The Melissa Garden, a honeybee sanctuary––including several “alternative” hives. Melissa Garden utilizes biodynamic methods and will seek Demeter certification. By extension, their beekeeper, Michael Thiele, is practicing biodynamic beekeeping methods according to the standards put forth by the international Demeter Association. Michael was interviewed over the phone by LILIPOH editor, Christy Korrow.
LILIPOH: Please introduce us to the concept of the bien. What does it mean, and how is it related to beekeeping?
M. Thiele: It’s interesting that, let’s say, maybe 150 years ago, before the introduction of modern beekeeping, beekeeping was not something special and not performed for any agro-industrial production. The crops, so-called crops, were not really the focus of beekeeping. It was just part of agriculture. Part of regular life. Culturally, the bees have always been important to humans. But it was not about the crop itself.
Then, at a very interesting time, when modern beekeeping emerged, meaning the Langstroth hives (square boxes), some people started raising their voice and said “wait a moment.” The tendency of the modern human mind is to approach the world through reduction and to look only at certain aspects of the bee hive. Due to this, the notion of the one-being was created ( Einwesen, in German) also called the Bien (bee in German is: Biene)
Seizures As Part of My Journey
By Melody Chord
On March 3, 2003 I was in a car accident that caused my body to start having seizures and spewing out poems. Nine months later, with no seizure improvement, I attended a Healthy Lifestyles Workshop. There I first learned about the seizure research being done by Siegward Elsas, M.D., at Oregon Health Sciences University*. His research is about controlling seizures without the use of drugs.
I did not qualify to participate in his research project. However, Dr.Elsas told me about the Takacs Clinic in Portland, Oregon where I could learn how to manage my seizures without taking medication. He also said I should begin going outside for a walk immediately after I wake up in the mornings and eat organic food. I began walking and changing my food choices the very next day.
Special Issue
Living with Cancer; Perspectives in the Pursuit of Health
CANCER: A POSSIBLE PATH THROUGH FOUR DOMAINS OF FREEDOM
By Gerald Karnow, M.D.
How dare you talk about something you have not experienced as a reality in your life?
I can well imagine being asked such a question, so will begin by saying that, as a physician, I encounter varied forms of cancer and varied approaches to the disease through my contact with many in whom cancer is a physical reality. I stress the word “physical” because cancer is generally considered a bodily, physical affliction. However, a little deeper look reveals that any physical manifestation of cancer is preceded and accompanied by pre-conditions, pre-cancerous states, which occur not just on a tissue level, but on a physiological level, a psychological level, and even on a spiritual level. Thoughtful physicians come to know cancer not merely as identical with the tumor, but as an illness of the entire human being. With this understanding we can explore how each dimension of the human being – body, life, psyche and spirit – is integral to the arising, the development, and the healing (or non-healing) of the illness. If we address only one dimension of the whole, we will not be facing reality.
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