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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Photos by Elaine

I became aware of fasting already as a child. In Malaysia, where I grew up, even the Muslim children fast during Ramadan. I grew up in a Catholic household and during Lent season, Good Friday and even Advent season, we either fasted from food or abstained from meat. What is fasting? It means an abstinence from something, often food. But there are many other ways of fasting, as well as many goals for fasting. It is a very personal process.
 
Every year now for the last 8 years, I have done some kind of fasting in late spring/early summer, as the Qi is closer to the surface of the physical body  than in autumn or winter. Sometimes I abstain from all food or certain types of food. Often I begin at the new moon and end either around the full or the following new moon, 2 to 4 weeks. I do this not as a way to lose weight, as so many people imagine (fasting is the worse way to lose weight!), but to let go of energetic blockages, or attachment to food and other behaviours that don't benefit me, or just to get clarity. Thus, beginning afresh. Often, I have fasted with an intention or a dedication to someone. This makes it a little easier, it guides the journey and pulls you back on the path when the moments of vulnerability occur, which they will definitely occur. 
 
This year, I decided that I wanted to do it differently. I didn't need to remove anything from my system but I realized that I could spend more time connecting with my environment and my inner self. I found that I hadn't spent enough time in nature since juggling work and family life. I used to take walks almost every day or hike in nature often when I lived in California. On the new moon in May, almost 2 months ago now, I began my practice of walking in nature at dawn or dusk for at least 20 minutes. Sometimes, I was on the path for 2 hours. It was amazing! No excuses, rain or shine, family or no family, I went on my walk.
 
​Why dawn or dusk? These are very special times of the day. For one thing, there are very few people around. There is a certain quiet in the air. I met an occasional dog-walker but very few people were out and about at that time of day. There is also that detail of light, the moment between light and dark is really special. What I often saw clearly in the bright daylight was quite different in the sunset/sunrise. I felt like I found secret spaces that only opened up at that moment between sunrise/sunset. Kind of like in "The Hobbit," by J.R.R. Tolkien, where the door to the Lonely Mountain would only be able to be opened at that certain time of year, where the light of the moon shone of the face of the mountain, illuminating that secret keyhole. 
 
The sky at sunset would glow red, purple, peach... it was often an artist palette of radiant colours, until the sun dropped, then shades of darkness would engulf the sky and all around. Then, the stars would shine. A few times, I encountered animals, birds often, once a fox, so quick I almost wasn't sure it was even there, and once a deer, who leapt so nimbly over the path and into the forest before I could even be aware of its presence. I felt very connected to nature. I felt like I was experiencing the space around me like our ancestors did, who had little of our modern technology. Just me, with my legs, my senses and body, feeling the earth under my feet, the sky over my head, moving in the space around me.
 
I realized then that we are so blessed in Switzerland. Though small, we still have many spaces of nature and so accessible on foot. Where I grew up, which is now a city of over a million people, nature spaces are a little more challenging to get to, partly due to urbanization, which has lengthened distances to natural spaces and also the lack of nature conservation. We are so lucky that we don't have to pay to be able to go into natural spaces. For instance, the Swiss National Park in Graubünden has no entry fee or just walk out your door and within a few minutes, there are trees, forests or even a lake or river, maybe even mountains. You don't have to do a fast like I did. But, value what you have as your own backyard. No excuses, take a walk outside, enjoy the fresh air, the environment that surrounds us and be open to what nature wants to share with you.      


​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

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.   


​Photo by Elaine