What is self-healing? And is it even possible to love oneself unconditionally? The plant spirits I consulted while writing Wisdom of the Plant Devas: Herbal Medicine for a New Earth answered these questions and more. Those “voices” told me they were devas, the unseen, other side of nature, responsible for keeping everything alive.
Deva is a Sanskrit word meaning “body of light” or “shining one.” The plant devas heal us through sound and light frequencies, assisting our evolution. Every time we receive the healing essence of a plant, we also receive communion.
While living in the Cherokee Qualla Boundary of Western North Carolina, I communed with a plant called Self-Heal. She appeared in my time of need and I included her message in the book. I didn’t choose the thirteen plants that I wrote about; they chose me. Self-Heal is an Appalachian medicinal plant (or weed, some would say) whose botanical name is Prunella vulgaris. Abundant and found practically worldwide, it grows in the temperate to arctic portions of North America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. When I opened to receive her communication, I learned that she had come to teach me about unconditional self-love. Love is the greatest healer. This plant loves us so much that it keeps showing up seemingly everywhere.
Our medicine is never any further than we are right now. —Thea Summer Deer
When people are badly damaged or wounded through neglect or violence, we must love them until they can love themselves. That is what the devas of the medicine plants are doing – loving us until we learn how to love ourselves. Reclaiming the disenfranchised parts of ourselves is powerful soul work. And as I opened my heart to receive Prunella’s message, she gave me the following story…
The Deva Speaks
(excerpted from Wisdom of the Plant Devas)
I will tell you a story now of a quiet little village at the foot of a mountain by a river, where a child was born to a mother who had no father by her side to help raise the child. This child was well loved by the entire village, who took it upon themselves to help raise it. This was an extraordinary child, as it had no sexual organs and could not reproduce itself, and it had eyes that never focused on you the way a normal child’s eyse would focus. And this child had no language that could be understood, yet all perfectly understood its communications. And while it had no language, it had a sweet laugh that tinkled and chimed like the village bells that called the people to gather, a laugh that reminded the villagers of the bells of the wandering goatherd.
It was not thought when this child was born that it would live, because there was something not quite right with its heart, and in fact the child did not live a very long life. When the day came that it chose to leave this life, it called all the villagers together with the tinkling of its laughter and without using a single word. And when the villagers, who had loved this child for the whole of its life, stopped what they were doing and gathered together, they witnessed a most miraculous thing. As they waited and focused their attention on their beloved child, whom they had raised since birth, the child took in the whole of what was before it with unfocused eyes, and then the child simply dematerialized right in front of their eyes.
Where did it go? The villagers were shocked and amazed, and they speculated as to where it had gone and on what they had just gazed. Some said it was the work of evil, and some said it was a miracle. Some were angry, and some were relieved. No one was indifferent, and all were grief-stricken, and they all raised their hands to their hearts and felt something within them stir. A piece of them had gone home. A piece of them had returned. And with one whole heart, they turned to continue the work of their day, knowing that when it came their time to return home, they would be warmed by the fire of their labors and greeted by the sound of laughter and bells.
And so in your loving, without the condition of judgement, may you find your way home not only to unconditional love, but also home to yourself.
Learn more about the book on Wisdom of the Plant Devas Blog
Paid Subscribers receive the following premium content below: A behind-the-scenes look at creating the artwork for Wisdom of the Plant Devas: Herbal Medicine for a New Earth, and Thea’s song Unconditional Love.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Thea Summer Deer to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.