Nathaniel Whitmore teaches about WILD EDIBLE AND MEDICINAL PLANTS AND MUSHROOMS. He regularly offers PLANT AND MUSHROOM WALKS, CLASSES, and WORKSHOPS at various locations in Wayne County, PA and beyond.

Nathaniel practices as a clinical herbalist and shiatsu therapist at THE HONESDALE WELLNESS CENTER (in Honesdale, PA) and SACRED SPACES ALTERNATIVE HEALING CENTER (in Hollisterville, PA). These centers are also primary teaching locations for Nathaniel.

Walks and classes are focused on the practical aspects of IDENTIFICATION, HARVEST, PREPARATION, and USE of WILD EDIBLES and MEDICINAL HERBS. Nathaniel teaches from his experience as a wild food forager (a large portion of the vegetables that Nathaniel consumes come from the wild) and from his experiences working with medicinal plants. As an herbalist, Nathaniel specializes in the use of local wild herbs. He makes tinctures, cough syrup, and salve from the wild.

Generally walks and classes are open to the public. Often by donation. Sometimes walks are with organizations that require registration and/or a set fee. Nathaniel is also available for private walks.

You might also find Nathaniel at SPECIAL EVENTS such as FAIRS and FESTIVALS, where he often sets up tables and leads walks.

Nathaniel Whitmore is a local expert on edible and medicinal wild plants and mushrooms. He teaches frequently throughout the area and practices herbal medicine and shiatsu.

Growing up on a farm in Damascus, PA, he has always lived close to plants and began studying with an herbalist and wild foods forager while still in high school. He went on to study herbal medicine with Clayton College of Natural Health and dietetics and shiatsu at the Kushi Institute. He also studied shiatsu at the Endless Mountains School of Shiatsu and elsewhere. He has studied with some the the country's leading herbalists and continues to study privately with an herbalist in Forestburg, NY.

Nathaniel has extensive experience harvesting and using wild plants and mushrooms. He makes herbal medicine preparations, including tinctures, cough syrups, and salves from local plant medicines. He also harvests a vast number of plants and mushrooms for food. A large portion of his diet consists of wild edibles, and at certain times of the year almost all of his vegetables come from the wild. Wild nuts, acorns, berries, and mushrooms are also staples of his diet.

Nathaniel frequently leads plant and mushroom walks for the public and for schools, camps, nature centers, and other private events. He teaches regularly at the Honesdale Wellness Center, at Sacred Spaces Alternative Healing Center, and at the Lodge at Woodloch.

The world, including human life, is governed by a marvelous order. Although Nature is vast and mysterious and our lives are filled with endless challenges (including health difficulties), it is possible -necessary, in fact- to live in health and harmony. For we have the intuitive capacity to find solutions to our problems and the innate ability to heal ourselves through natural methods.

So often people turn to so-called medical experts for "cures" to their sicknesses. So often fear and lack of knowledge causes people to give their power to others for their healing. The laws of nature, however, clearly indicate that health must be created by each individual. We must be our own doctor.

Modern pharmaceuticals, invasive surgical procedures, and other modern symptomatic treatments do not create health. These practices merely chase after symptoms. Further, they are often toxic and invasive and actually destructive to health. Health can only be created within.

Health is constantly re-created in our lives through positive thinking, wholesome relationships, healthy foods, and natural herbal medicines. Exercise, contemplation, prayer, and creative expression all help to create health in our lives.

Herbal medicines, especially those that grow wild in our area, differ profoundly from pharmaceutical medicines as they are direct expressions of the Order of the Universe. They are given to us as gifts from God.

Natural foods and herbs work with the body to create health. They have an intelligence that is beyond the most advanced scientific medicine. As natural substances they are metabolized by the body in a wholesome way. (This is not to say that all herbs are safe, or that all foods are equal, for this would be far from the truth. Rather, it is important to use our judgment to determine the best foods and medicines for our being, which is the essence of natural medicine.)

If you are suffering from sickness it is important to see the hardship as an opportunity for growth. Consider your sickness to be a message, from your own self or from God, that is teaching you how to live in balance. Perhaps the first step is to realize that health is natural- that the Life Force that animates all things under Heaven seeks to nourish you. If there is some sickness, it is a deficiency or a stagnation of the Life Force.

It is quite amazing that we are so inclined to accept disease as a hardship from nowhere, while we have a hard time having the faith that disease can return to nowhere. This attitude reveals a deep disconnect, a lack of faith in the Life Force that is the Order of Nature.

The person that trusts in Nature or in God understands that life is a true gift. Such a person realizes that the gift of life comes from an Order that is vast and mysterious and seeks to cherish and understand the Gift of Life. When sickness befalls this person, he or she seeks to mend themselves by developing a respect and understanding of the Order that created Life.

There are so many wonderful plants that live all around us. Many are good for food. Many are good for medicine. (In fact, the difference between food and medicine is imaginary. We can call certain things food because of how we use them. And we can call certain things medicine because of their particular uses. But we can also call foods medicines if we choose to see them that way. And we can also call medicines foods, as we consume them. No matter how we define "food" and "medicine" the fact remains that the plants nourish us- they provide us with Life Force.) The study of medicinal and food plants is the study of Nature and the study of Life. Not too many generations ago, when people lived closer to Nature, this was a basic fact of life.

Medicines in general, including pharmaceutical and homeopathic, start with herbs. Foods also start with plants. Even if you eat meat, you are eating something that ate plants, or something that ate something that ate plants. Plants are the great providers of food and medicine, as they have the miraculous ability to transform sunlight into carbohydrate, and to absorb minerals and create vitamins.

The awareness of this basic fact is the foundation of herbalism. Herbs are not mere "natural pharmaceuticals", which is to say that they are bundles of chemicals. Herbs are Divine expressions of Life Force, far beyond any human concept or theory. Therefore, those who choose natural medicine must do so with humility. When we seek healing we admit that we are in need of greater understanding and we humbly turn to Nature and to the herbs for help.

On my path as an herbalist I am constantly reminded how little we understand about medicine. I am also constantly amazed at the healing power of herbs. So while my conviction that herbal and natural medicine works becomes stronger and deeper, my awareness that healing is mysterious grows. This is why I believe that healing is about opening to greater knowledge, awareness, and humility.

My standard fee is $50 for shiatsu or an herbal consultation, though I will gladly except less from those who would have trouble affording it or more from those who would like to support the cause.

MUD BALL FESTIVAL August 23rd

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HOME-SCHOOL WALK August 28th 10 am

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WILD EDIBLE & MEDICINAL PLANT & MUSHROOM WALK

At Lacawac Sanctuary

Saturday, September 6th from 1-3 pm

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GREEN EARTH FAIR

At the Lackawaxen Firehouse / Fairgrounds

Saturday, September 13th from 12-5 pm

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WILD EDIBLE & MEDICINAL PLANT & MUSHROOM WALK

At the Northern Wayne Community Library in Lakewood, PA

Saturday, September 20th at 11 am

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HOME-SCHOOL WALK September 25th

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MUSHROOM WALK

At Damascus Forest

Saturday, September 27th at 11 am

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Call for details: (570) 224-0264

For those who are interested in the regular and thorough study of natural medicine, I offer weekly group classes / study sessions.

One group meets at the Honesdale Wellness Center on Mondays, one meets at Clearwater Acres on Wednesdays, and one may be starting up at Sacred Spaces Alternative Healing Center.

Let me know if you would like to attend.

Shiatsu is a form of bodywork that treats the meridians and pressure points with finger and hand pressure and other techniques. It is based on Traditional Chinese Medicine (though it was developed in Japan, which is why it has the Japanese name that means "finger pressure") and includes awareness and techniques from other bodywork and energy modalities.

See the top of this page for links to a list of on-line articles and for a link to sign up for my newsletter. Archived newsletters are published on the web, but it is sometimes difficult to bring them up.

My newsletters typically contain updates to my nature walk and class schedule, reminders of events, and articles about natural medicine.

Please take the time to look through the articles posted. I put them on the web because I believe they can be helpful. I also write monthly for Connections Magazine and occasionally for other local publications.