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After writing last issue's article on Motherwort, I was asked to write a regular herbal column, and I am excited for the opportunity to share what I have learned about plants with you. I am being mentored in the Wise Woman Tradition, and it has given me a whole new way of viewing the world — health and healing in particular.

I have found that this tradition resonates deep in my core, and I offer you a glimpse into this practice. Thinking in a wise-woman way, I no longer see sickness as a set of symptoms to be diagnosed, treated, fought and overcome. Rather I ask, "How is this problem my ally?" I trust that what my body does is right — that this illness is a gift in some way and that the symptoms I'm experiencing are my body's healing response.

The Body's Internal Wisdom Once, early in my transition to this way of thinking, I was visiting my father, and I got a bad cold. He offered me his over-the-counter cold medicine, but I didn't want it. I knew my body was doing what it needed to do to heal itself. The mucus that was making it difficult to breathe was not the problem, but part of the solution. And I knew that this cold was a reminder to take care of myself while traveling. My husband suggested doing chamomile steams, since chamomile is an herb that's easily available, even when one is away from home.

So I brewed a big pot of chamomile tea, put a towel over my head and the pot and breathed in the steam (see box). This cleared my nose, making it easier to breathe while also providing my body with another healing tool, the soothing medicine of chamomile. (See "Compassionate Chamomile" issue #16.) I still had several days of cold symptoms while my body healed, but a sinus infection did not take hold.

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