As I began my studies in university in the US in the mid-1990s, I was in a class for cultural anthropology. One of the first themes we discussed was, "Nature vs. Nurture." Does a living being get shaped by her/his environment in the manner of behavior and physical traits, or does s/he come into the world with certain characteristics both physical and mental that are already present within and predestined, that manifest throughout her/his lifetime? This debate has been going on in the Western scholarly tradition since the 17th century and continues on till today in the form of Behavioral Psychology and Medical Genetics.
 
In Chinese Medicine, this is not a debate. It is clear in the philosophy of the medicine that life on earth, human beings included, is the fusion of the energies of Heaven and Earth. In our medical text, the Yellow Emperor Internal Classics - Basic Questions (Huang Di Nei Jing - Su Wen), written probably around the 2nd century BCE, it states in Chapter 25, "A human being results from the Qi of Heaven and Earth...The union of the Qi of Heaven and Earth is called human being." 
From this union comes Jing or Life Essence, which is the blending of energies from the mother and father to create the individual, and the nourishment to sustain life. When we speak of Jing, we refer to both Pre-Heaven and Post-Heaven Essences; Pre-Heaven being that which we receive from our parents and Post-Heaven being that which is derived from air, food as well as fluids, as we are born into the world. One may conclude that Pre-Heaven Jing alludes to genetic information and Post-Heaven Jing the influence of the environment. Already at the point when a child is born onto the earth, takes its first breath and begins suckling (or not) at the breast of her/his mother, the individual is being shaped by both her/his genetic inheritance, the nourishment provided from the environment and his caregiver, as well as the process in which s/he enters into the world. Sounds complex, doesn't it? I believe it is, as within these first few minutes of life, we enter into the world that is already in existence, carrying the hopes and dreams of our ancestors as well as ourselves as individuals, and the process in which we are birthed into the world shapes what comes later.
 
Chinese Medicine believes that we are both formed by our genetic inheritance and by our environment that we live in. The manner in which we behave and live in the world is determined by both the body (physical, emotional and mental) we have in this lifetime and the environment that we grow up in, whether it be the people around us or the climate that we live in. It is good to understand how we came to be, why we are here, but I believe what is more important is what we do in this lifetime. How we live with our Jing affect all around us, people, other living beings and our environment. Here is a view from a Chinese medical scholar, Giovanni Macioca in his book "Foundations of Chinese Medicine" on Pre-Heaven Jing:
 
"This Pre-Heaven Essence is what determines each person constitutional make-up, strength and vitality. It is what makes each individual unique... Some say this Essence is 'fixed' in quantity and quality. However, it can be positively affected, even if not quantitively increased. The best way to affect one's Pre-Heaven Essence is by striving for balance in one's life activities: balance between work and rest, restraint in sexual activity and balanced diet...A direct way to positively influence one's Essence is through breathing exercises and such exercises as Tai Ji Quan and Qi Gong."   
 
So, the Chinese medical answer to the debate of "Nature vs. Nurture" is that it is both "Nature and Nurture." It is Nature that gives us a form and a path, and Nurture gives us the means to walk the path. We are both of these and more, we have the free will to choose how we live, and what we do in our lifetime.


Photo by Aron H.
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"An apple a day, keeps the doctor away," is a common English adage. I recall as a young student in school, where the girls used to pass on friendship books to write details of ourselves as a remembrance and this was one of the little adages included. I thought it funny and cute. We don't have apples growing naturally in tropical Malaysia; all our apples came from China, Australia, New Zealand or USA. They weren't always the crunchy, juicy, sweet apples we have here in Switzerland. Sometimes, they were soft and powdery on the inside but outside was bright red. No wonder, as they had to be shipped a couple of thousands of kilometers to get to me. The first time I saw an apple tree laden with fruits, ready to be plucked and crunched into, it felt like a dream, like something from a fairytale. What I did not realize then is that apples are very special fruits and symbols of life and bearers of nourishment, holding the power of spring and summer in its flesh.
 
Malus domestica, is the Latin name for the fruit we now know as apple. It is an ancestor of Malus sieversii, which is a wild form of apple native to the mountains in central Asia, in countries like Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, as well as Malus sylvestris, European crabapple, found all over Europe. Apples appear to have been around for over thousands of years and have over 7500 cultivars. What also is amazing about this fruit is that it comes from the family of Rosaceae, the Rose. All the relatives of plants that we had no idea of, native to an area and migrating from one place to another and then becoming almost natural to that place over a period of time, as we humans. Have you ever cut an apple horizontally? I normally don't but when I did, this is what I found, a star with five points. Wow! What a revelation for me! The pentagram is sacred in many cultures, the Celts, the ancient Greeks, Romans, Jewish tradition...to name a few. It is also relevant in mathematics and geometry. In Chinese Medicine, it represents the 5 Elements (refer to the diagram in my first post in February 2019). All these years, I have been eating my apple and was never ever aware it had this form within it.  
 
Now is the time of the apple harvest, late summer into autumn, the time of Earth and Metal in Chinese Medicine. As such, the apple affects the organs of the Spleen, Stomach, Lung, Large Intestines and also the Gall Bladder, by nature of its medicinal properties. All herbs and foods in the Chinese Materia Medica, have organs associated with it, a temperature, tastes, which also have connections to organs and its specific functions. Apple is cooling, as most fruits are, and has a sweet, sour taste. This means that apple will cool down warm conditions or heat in the body, its sweetness will nourish Qi and the sour will astringe fluid. So, when we look at its functions of reducing and clearing heat in the body, moistening dryness, stimulating digestion, as well as tonifying Qi and Blood, it all makes sense with the tastes and temperature. It also will cool down heat in the Lung, protecting it from cigarette smoke, stimulate appetite, help lower cholesterol and toxic metal levels in the body. You can grate apple and make a poultice for sunburn and conjunctivitis. Of course, be aware that if you have a tendency to feel cold and have sensitive digestion, like loose stools, you should not overeat apple. Cooking it may help that it be absorbed better, like in the case of babies, who have weak digestive systems. 
 
Remarkable isn't it?  Something so common, found in every grocery store at the moment, or somebody's yard falling to the ground as no one had time to pick it, can do all that. We take too many things for granted. Maybe the simple things in life, right in front of our eyes, hold the magic and the miracle of healing and health. For us in Chinese Medicine, we take the perspective that "Food is Medicine." What you eat in the everyday, affects how your body and mind functions.  Don't just eat apple, because someone told you it's good for you, eat it and sense how it makes you feel, in mind and body. With this, I propose a new adage,
"If you want to stay healthy, listen to your body (and mind ;-))".


Image: apple by Pixabay user bernwaeltz
Image: 5-pointed-star apple by Elaine

The extreme heat (above 35 degrees celsius) and the rains of this past summer has both helped our plants to grow and mature. Some plants like the Coriander have dried out, which I had expected as they are very fast-growing, short-living beings that need to be plucked regularly for their leaves to continue growth. They are beginning to grow their seed, which we will harvest for next year's growth. We have also discovered a stowaway Tomato plant, growing in our pot of Lupins. It grew late in the season so we will see if it will have enough time to fruit. The Garden Project adventure has gotten many of our team members on the balcony, watering and sharing in its growth. Looking up from Falknerstrasse to see living beings on our balcony is very satisfying. Not just that they are beautiful, green and blossoming, but also to know that life can thrive in the harshest of environments by adapting.   


​Photos by Elaine

Photos by Elaine.

The Summer Solstice came on the 21st of June and passed. The heat of summer has been sweltering. Our plants are thriving, blossoming, but some suffering from the extreme heat. We have been busy watering and nurturing them as much as we can. Our Sage was scorched early on in June, turning yellow and was looking like it wouldn't make it. I changed its position, slightly away from the direct sunlight and onto another balcony with some other plants. Since a few weeks, it is looking better, like it will make it though the summer. Amazing how so little can make a difference. Our team at ICM has had the benefit of fresh herbs, like Basil and Coriander, with their lunch. We have tried out fresh Mint tea and will soon share our harvest with our clients and visitors to ICM. So come by and share a cup of home-grown Mint tea to cool you down in the hot summer days. 


​Photos by Elaine

I first met Elder in the summer 1999, on my first visit to Europe. My husband and I were still studying in the USA and as we came together to Switzerland, he introduced Elder to me. Sambucus nigra in Latin or Holunder in German. This beautiful, sweet scented, small tree crowned in white glorious blossoms in June. I was immediately enthralled by her presence. He told me then that Elder is considered the friend of humans, a protector in old European culture. Hence, often grown next to houses. He introduced me to the syrup and told me how people in Switzerland often go out and gather the blossoms to make the drink. I obviously loved its flavor and vowed I would make it myself. Since we moved to Switzerland, I have done this almost every year with my children. One of the first plants that my kids could identify as young children was Elder.
 
Last year, I gained new perspectives on plants. Ever since I began studying herbal medicine, I have had a feeling that there is more to plants than just leaves, branches, fruits and roots. I went to study with Nathaniel Hughes in England, who teaches Intuitive Herbalism. He has opened a door to plants for me. The perspective that plants are living beings in themselves with a character, mind and spirit as we do. We got introduced to plants, everyday plants that you may pass as you walk to work or in your backyard. It amazed me how I didn't notice them or realize how they were even present. In the Intuitive Herbalism course, Nathaniel showed us how to slow down to "plant speed." We humans move at such high speeds that we are not aware of other beings that may move and live at a slower pace. Humans use speech as a way of communication and don't realize that maybe other beings on the planet actually are communicating to us and each other in other ways.
 
This brings me back to Elder. Have you ever noticed how this plant blossoms at this time of year and perfumes the air with a mild sweet cooling scent? I noticed too that she, I experience Elder as a female being, is often hidden at other times of the year and right at the cusp of summer, she pops her head out beside the tram tracks, on the side of a walking path or even in the corner where the compost sits in the garden, like white fire shining in the newly summer sunlight. I experience her as a being of transition, like on a path or at the transition of spring into summer. Interestingly, this is one of the effects of Elder flower on our human body. It helps to cool fevers, which is in one perspective, a space of being in between worlds. In his book "Intuitive Herbalism," Nathaniel writes,
 
"The Elder mother is a creature of ancient folklore with many healing gifts for us. Perhaps the greatest among them is the power to lift us into fever, take us into timeless delirium and see us through. She offers an entrance to our underworld where we may see the causes in spirit of our illness and purge them through our sweat."       
 
Whenever anyone in my family has a fever, we often drink the Elder flower syrup throughout the process. Previously, I imagined it only to be hydrating and cooling but this new perspective, that Nathaniel Hughes has given me, sure awakens my interest to explore further. So next time you or someone in your family has a fever, try drinking lots of Elder flower syrup, sleep and let the healing process begin.
 
Of course, Elder also has berries that ripen in autumn, which are helpful in clearing phlegm conditions. I have a friend who makes them into syrup and jams, but I haven't yet experimented with the berries. If you haven't tried making your own Elder Flower Syrup, try it. It's easy. Here's a recipe I've used for a while.
 
Elder Flower Syrup  
10 sprigs or more of Elder flower
1 L water
1 kg sugar
2 lemons, grate the rind for more citrus flavor
20 g citric acid (optional)
 
Soak the flowers in the water overnight with lemons. Heat fluid with sugar (and citric acid) until melted. Strain liquid of the blossoms, lemon or insects. Fill while hot into airtight glass bottles to keep vacuum for conservation. With citric acid, the syrup will last longer. Otherwise, refrigerate and it should last at least a month. It makes about 1.5 L syrup. Once opened, keep refrigerated.   
 

Photo by Elaine

 
All our plants are in their pots and growing. Since the cooling down rains and then the heating up these last few days, our plants are bursting into growth. We have Peppermint, Lemon Balm, Chamomile, Calendula, Coriander, Rosemary, Thyme, Basil, Oregano, Majoram, Hyssop, Perilla, Tarragon, Goji, Lupines, Lovage and Swiss Chard. Most are thriving, except for a Rosemary plant. Not sure why. Once a gardener told me that plants are like humans, if they don't like the environment they are moved into, they don't thrive. I thanked him for his words of wisdom and remember that plants are living beings like us humans.  


Photos by Elaine

What has often fascinated me are stories of transformation. Even as a young child, I loved reading fairy tales like The Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid or The Ugly Duckling. It’s only since I began my studies in Chinese Medicine that I realized why. As with the seasons (spring, summer, autumn, winter), all living beings on earth are guided by the cycles of birth, growth, transformation, death and possibly rebirth. Composting is that “real” tale for me. I gather my kitchen waste, put it in a compost pile in the garden, the transformation from dead food scraps to fertile earth, which allows me to grow plants that will become food again. The cycle of life, death and rebirth happening in my garden, without me doing much except to occasionally turn the pile. This is the ultimate story of transformation happening right in my own backyard.
 
My family and I have had a compost bin ever since we have had a garden. Our current compost bin is 6 years old. We all know that traditional composting is based on the decomposing process, an aerobic process which takes time. My kids know, as we do, that we can’t put meat, dairy or cooked grains in compost, as these will attract vermin, or citrus, due to it not decomposing well and worms don’t like them. One of my boys had the chore of taking out the kitchen scraps, at least once a week or in summer up to 3 times, and putting it in the big bin in the garden. There, he would be assaulted by flying insects, slimy slugs and the putrid scent of decomposition, which he totally detested. Now, that has all changed.
 
We began a Bokashi compost this past February. I had seen it many years ago in a catalog for natural products but didn’t look further into it. Some vegan friends of ours mentioned that they were using it and then last year a good friend of mine from Malaysia mentioned that she had one. When I told her of our compost not having meat, grains or citrus, we began to discuss the benefits of Bokashi and how one can basically put every organic matter in it to ferment, creating super healthy compost without the vermin.
 
Bokashi is a Japanese word meaning “alteration” or “fading away.” The Bokashi composting method, developed by Dr. Teruo Higa, is a fermentation process not a decomposition. It works with bacteria like Lactobacilli, yeast and purple non-sulfur bacteria, which come in the form of Bokashi bran. This bran is added to the kitchen waste every time you put it in the airtight Bokashi bin. It’s an anaerobic process, which ferments and doesn’t decompose the organic matter. Hence, it doesn’t smell like decay but more like a pickling (slightly vinegar/acid) odor, which vermin do not like. We purchased our kit which comes with 2 airtight buckets and a whole bag of Bokashi bran. My internet research has shown me that you can make it all yourself, if you want to. Once the bucket is full, you set it aside for 2 weeks and then bury the organic matter in the earth for another 2 weeks before you plant on top of the enriched soil. I put mine in my compost bucket. After 2 weeks, there’s almost no more matter that resembles food, just sweet-smelling compost full of worms. What’s also great is that there is a Bokashi tea, which needs to be emptied every 2-3 days and this can be used to help fertilize plants (diluted down with water) or poured down the drain to help clean your pipes. Now how brilliant is that? Food waste transformed into earth and the liquid used to clean and fertilize, all happening in my kitchen and backyard. That’s what I call transformation!


*Note: Author has not received any financial renummeration for recommendations

Photo (Metamorphosis) by Pixabay user Annca
Photos Bokashi & Compost by Elaine

I woke up this morning to the unexpected flakes of snow falling as I opened the window. It's April, early spring. Snow in April is not surprising, unexpected due to the last month of sunshine but not surprising. Humans have known that snow is possible even in spring. Our classical Chinese Medical text, Yellow Emperor Classic of Internal Medicine (Huang Di Nei Jing), written 3000 years ago, speaks of it. Spring is a time of changes, of warmth and cold, of winds. Hence, we must be careful not to open too soon. Not t-shirt weather just yet, keep the jacket on.
 
Paying heed to this. Our garden project has already begun since the middle of last month. We have out vessels for planting ready on the balcony, earth awaits to be filled into these vessels. Seeds have been planted but inside, in a little "greenhouse," to keep the warmth and moisture ever present. The seedlings are thriving. We have basil, hyssop, coriander, gou qi zi, echinacea, to name a few. We wait till the middle of April to set the seedlings into their vessels outside, observing the weather to ensure that they have the best temperature and environment for growth. A garden, as we humans, needs to be nurtured. Sometimes, that means waiting for the right moment to move forward.  


Photos by Elaine