• And the Plants Will Set You Free

    Through knowing and using the plants that grow around us—the ones in our backyard, the weeds that resist all efforts to control them, the abundance and diversity of the species in the Cascadian forests—we are more whole, secure and free. What’s right under our feet are, by their very nature, agents of freedom. [Read full post]

  • Design Thinking for the Creative Herbalist

    As herbalists, we are naturally using design processes all the time. Working in the plant and human world for the purpose of healing we are constantly dealing in very complex worlds. I want to push you to go past what you know is comfortable and reimagine your practice so you are doing the wildest, most liberating brilliant work that you can. [Read full post]

  • Aesthetic & Beauty in Practice

    It’s touching the dirt, digging roots, preparing and sipping beautiful garden tea blends, smelling the flowers, having my apothecary full of jars containing gorgeous, whole-leaf herbs. Microwaving a wack bag of herb tea is a completely different game. Authentic botanical practice is a lifestyle that honors the sanctity of life and the ecological patterns around us. It’s how we connect to the larger planetary system. [Read full post]

Category Archives: Systems Theory

Conversation with Ann Armbrecht on Traditional Medicine

By Renée A.D. | Published: September 6, 2012

Ann Armbrecht, Ph.D. (author of Thin Places: A Pilgrimage Home and creator of the film Numen: The Nature of Plants) and I were able to talk last month about my recent work with a Salish ethnobotanical education program, as well as larger issues of traditional medicine and community healing. I had a great time doing this, [...]

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Thesis Published: Does the cultural use of local plants enable coping with diabetes and generational trauma in Salish tribal communities?

By Renée A.D. | Published: June 17, 2012

For everyone still subscribed & reading: I know it’s been quiet around here this past Winter & Spring. I’ve been focusing on health, TCOB & funneling all my creative energy and writing to the thesis that follows. This paper completes my graduate program and illuminates the connections between plants, culture, and healing; between social constructions [...]

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Framing Health in a Context of Interconnectedness

By Renée A.D. | Published: January 9, 2012

It’s a terribly chilly day here in Olympia. I’ve spent most of the day at my desk, drinking puerh tea, brow furrowed in intense contemplation over some aspects of my developing thesis. I’m exploring the question of the contribution of ethnobotanical knowledge & practices to public health and I face a number of challenges. And [...]

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Tradition is Innovation & Other Useful Paradoxes

By Renée A.D. | Published: November 25, 2011

Lately I’ve been really curious about what’s considered innovative in mainstream healthcare. I have my views and visions for what I think are good next steps for a sound health system–one based in communities and ecosystems, that takes into account ecological and animal health, based on positive health principles and prevention. But hey, that’s me, [...]

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The Systemic Theory of Living Systems and Relevance to CAM

By Renée A.D. | Published: October 11, 2010

To my delight, I’ve found a 3-part article that actually addresses the systems view of biological systems in relation to medicine practice and design. As much as I’d like to keep this blog focused strictly on traditional Western herbal practice, my work in systems theory is just bound to creep in at some point. This [...]

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Joe’s Cyborg & Other Posthuman Curiosities

By Renée A.D. | Published: March 3, 2010

I wrote this piece exclusively for the March 2010 issue of Second Nature Journal of RMIT’s School of Media and Communication in Melbourne. The theme of the issue is Superhuman: Revolution of the Species. I will post a link when it’s released. Enjoy! Humans. I can go on forever wondering about them. In my mind [...]

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The Network Art and Science of Cesar Hidalgo

By Renée A.D. | Published: February 9, 2010

Cesar Hidalgo is a Research Fellow at Harvard University’s Center for International Development. Over the years he’s done a lot with applying the science of networks to the global economy (and mapping product spaces of various nations and states) and researched mobility in networks. But what really has me excited is how he approaches networks [...]

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Key limiting factor for human development?

By Renée A.D. | Published: January 24, 2010

According to Paul Ehrlich, the key limiting factor for human development on this planet as a whole is the inability for our environment to handle our waste products. Watch the video at the Stockholm Resilience Centre. Thought provoking, whether you agree or disagree with him.

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Review: The Subsistence Perspective

By Renée A.D. | Published: December 31, 2009

This is a review I wrote last year about their book The Subsistence Perspective: Beyond the Globalized Economy for the Center for World Indigenous Studies’ quarterly journal The Fourth World Journal. It’s a little scholarly but don’t let that deter you. Reading about global economics can be intimidating. Attempting to understanding it and possible alternative [...]

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Edward Tufte: The Data Artist

By Renée A.D. | Published: December 26, 2009

Edward Tufte, lovingly called a “Pioneer of Visual Data Analysis,”  is an artist and statistician at Yale University. His sensitivity in the areas of visual literacy has provoked a number of works that are reshaping the dialogue on how information is expressed and presented.

Also posted in Adventures in the Trade, Books | Tagged | Leave a comment

(Short) Review: The Power of Scale

By Renée A.D. | Published: December 5, 2009

I’ve been wanting to write about this book for a while. The author, John Bodley, presents the idea that there is a maximum number of interpersonal interactions that one person can grasp. Any systems (or societies) that are larger than that become too big and unmanageable to be efficient. In his words, the majority of [...]

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Research Design and Philosophy

By Renée A.D. | Published: December 4, 2009

The current research paradigm in the West still glows with the logical empiricism of early 20th century thought, divided into qualitative and quantitative research. Very limited methods of measurement and analysis are accepted. Thus, Science is rather lopsided, as it’s only getting one part of the story.

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