Letter from the President, Christine Dennis

February, 2004
I have been reading a lot lately from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and his ideas on Science. Goethe was a German writer born in 1749. He believed that science was as much an inner path of spiritual development as it is a discipline aimed at gaining knowledge from the physical world around us. Science, therefore, is about observation and thinking but also involves feelings, intuition and using your imagination. As a result, a person experiencing science in this way does not need to be a scientist or have a university degree to understand what is happening in the world around them. Getting out and observing nature and feeling what is happening is more valuable than any referenced book or double blind cross over study. Goethe insisted that human beings are “an exact instrument.” He felt that if observations were connected to the living human relationship to nature and that by viewing all the ‘wholes’ as well as all the ‘parts’, then with such attentiveness and openness of the mind and the senses, no other tools or instruments could be more powerful.

Goethe also wrote on morphology, the study of forms. It is the scientific study where emphasize is placed on “functional relationship of an organism within the whole in a harmoniously functioning unity.” Looking at the individual parts makes it “impossible to restore it and bring it back to life again”. This, of course, is what herbalists have always said.

All this reading has made me think about the OHA and how it relates to Goethe. This new year has brought with it changes that are going to affect herbalists and herbalism. Things are happening and as the earth shakes and moves herbalism in this country, never before has the words of Goethe been more important. It has been stated that Goethe’s voice is part of the troubled conscience of modern scientist. Today’s scientist no longer has an openness to experience because they have fallen into the trap of pre-existing categories set in place by modern science. They no longer feel, they just think without an attempt to see beyond the individual parts to a more fundamental process. We must keep in mind that we need to both think AND feel.

As an association we need to hang on to the traditional healing systems. We need to continue using subjective observation but at the same time we need to recognize the changes that are taking place and the demands that are being made necessitating objective observation of herbalism for it’s survival. We need to both think and feel when we take a look at the history of herbalism and when we look to the future of herbalism. The OHA needs to be aware of where herbalism is heading but at the same time observe and remember where we have come from.

The entire association is working together for the greater good - Herbalism. Every aspect of this association, the PPAC, journal committee, herb fair, promotions, membership, etc. are all working together. We are not individual groups at different stages but part of the whole. In order for the vitality and life to remain within the association, a harmonious unity needs to exist.

I want to take this time to say thank you to all our members, both those that volunteer their time and those that are unable to. Thank you for your on going support. If it were not for all your financial contributions, your moral support, and valuable time and efforts, the future of herbalism would certainly be cloudier. You are a part of this “whole”. A special thanks goes out to Svetlana Novikova for her generous donation. It is very much appreciated and will be put to good use. Thank you.

Another piece of this “whole” is that herbalist’s need to be heard!! But before we can be heard we have to be known!! It is a bit like the tree falling in the forest. The OHA is committed to making our presences known and our voices heard. We all need to spread the word about OUR association. The more people working on this goal the better. Herbalists need to be involved in making the decisions on the future of herbs! It should not just be left up to chemists and pharmacists. The OHA, as the largest and oldest body of herbalists and herb interested people in the country, has the responsibility of working for the future of herbs. The OHA needs to be out there, front row center, to help steer the future with these eminent changes. Tell a friend about the OHA; give another friend the gift of a membership and subscription.

I think this is going to be a big year for herbalists. I can feel it, can you?

Letter From the President, February 2002

Letter From the President, May 2002

Letter From the President, Fall 2002

Letter From the President, November 2003

Letter From the President, February 2004