Lush. Lavish. Lovely.
The Chiang Mai Flower Market along Mae Nam Ping. Heavy traffic. I wanted to stop to inhale them, but, jammed in by a red songtaew and an ice delivery truck, I could only gaze momentarily from my window.
Even amidst all that extravagance of bloom and exotic loveliness, I had eyes only the lilies. My mind and heart lingered for a moment in thoughts of lilies weeping with me over my friend Fairlie's grave. And smiled with me at my optimistic self carrying a huge spray of the most opulent white lilies at my second marriage, irresponsibly drunk on the fragrance and romance. The lilies of a thousand hospital bouquets whispered back to me too.
And then, life shook itself like a sleepy dog, the traffic light on Narrawat Bridge changed to green, and as the car inched forward I suddenly had a thought.
Why isn't lily medicine a 'thing'?
In all the years I have danced around my fascination for Asiatic lilies, I have never stopped to look beyond their blooms, nor have I given a thought to their innate healing gifts. Until today. And once that thought had taken form, it dominated my mind all afternoon.
Of course I have heard of and worked with flower essences over the years, but somehow they never ignited me in the way a fresh-cut lily in a bucket on the sidewalk does. What is lily flower essence all about? The grace of the Divine Feminine; the nourishment of the Divine Feminine deep within the human spirit.
I couldn't help myself and I read some more. And was SURPRISED at what I learned!
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) lily bulbs are prized as a treatment for cough and lung conditions including tuberculosis, they'e used to calm and treat insomnia, and to steady the heart beat. You can read more about that, and the underlying Chinese philosophy, here: http://www.chineseherbshealing.com/bai-he-lily-bulbs-calm-spirit-and-cough/
But the wise Chinese also EAT their lily bulbs as medicine-food! They're eaten mostly in stir fries and soups. This is a great link to explore of that catches your interest: http://www.chinesesouppot.com/2-common-ingredients/1752-lily-bulb-bai-he-herb
And finally lily bulbs in Chinese culture giving the ultimate natural medicine of Good Luck. Lily bulbs are combined with Lotus Seeds in a traditional wedding sweet to bring good luck and long life to the happy couple. Yes, we even have a natural medicine recipe for you! https://www.chinesemedicineliving.com/eastern-philosophy/lily-bulb-for-soothing-lungs-and-mind/ Clearly CARRYING the said lilies in one's wedding bouquet is not quite enough. :)
And so the luscious lilies worked their medicine on my mood, brought back some sweet memories, enlarged my thinking and my natural medicine knowledge whilst simply DELIGHTING me.
I love lilies.
I'm left with William Blake's lines from The Songs of Experience:
The modest Rose puts forth a thorn,
The humble sheep a threat’ning horn:
While the Lily white shall in love delight,
Nor a thorn nor a threat stain her beauty bright.
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Ahh how I enjoy reading your posts. Always such a journey and packed with divine wisdom for learning and embracing. Those ancient Chinese eh? So darn smart and knowing of the plants.
Thanks for sharing and expanding my reading for the day. Always appreciative of your perspective. Now where's that tub of lotus seeds in leiu of munching lilly bulbs.. 💚
Glad you enjoy. :) I enjoy the discipline of daily posting and how it makes me view the world around me with curiosity and different eyes.
Yeah your perspective is always a welcome read, thanks for your committed sharing.
She quotes Blake! I love you even more now! That's cool about the medicine of the lilies. @metametheus, could you add more about your knowledge of this? They are beautiful, but kinda remind me of death.
A double major in Music and English Literature will do that to you.... Blake, I mean. :) I wonder where the lily-death association comes from?? The stunning pink Asiatic lilies are BURSTING with life and hope and colour.
They look absolutely lovely. Lilies were always one of my favorite flowers, they look so elegant. I did not know they had medicinal qualities, thank you for this info about them honey 💚
oh, so beautiful @artemislives, I found this fascinating. It is strange that so many flowers are seen as just being ornamental or aromatic while the health benefits are completely ignored. We ate some tulips and hostas for the first time last year and there are so many others I'd like to explore.
My goodness what a beauties!
Yes these flowers totally feel like an enhancement of life.
For some reason I have a problem with buying flowers. The fact that they are already plucked feels like something is missing in the process. And that in a short amount of time they will be gone, it feels to sad to let them go.,
Ergo-> I need a lily bush on my balcony hahahaha
What a beautiful post! Very uplifting like the beautiful lily! We have a lot of wild tiger lilies growing around our place, although they are illegal to pick or harvest. I was curious about them so I did some research and found the Native Americans had been using them for medicine. For myself I will just have to enjoy their beautiful blossoms!
flower-power :-)
How to make a patch of land into a productive medicinal 'cabinet'