Greetings Friends,
It has been such a journey welcoming this Fall season. It seems like there has been an extra hustle, an extra energy helping us harvest, make medicine, fine tune our meditation classes, and follow our nose to some exciting wellness collaborations.
We can feel it in our bones that this Fall season is supporting us as we connect to folks who can truly benefit and resonate with our mission, and we could not be more grateful.
That being said, we want to shout it loud and clear, that our mission is to empower ALL people to find full bodied wellness, and to offer holistic, compassionate, alternative healthcare to everyone in our community and beyond.
As we got crystal clear about our mission, we realized that we could use this month’s newsletter to spread awareness for two movements with which we passionately support, and feel fully align with our values.
So hold onto your hats, folks!
We will begin by sharing a bit about why we love Bernie Sanders, and explain why we plan to vote for him in the upcoming primaries. After our journey with Bernie, we will share one of our favorite recipes for homemade fire cider! We believe that making fire cider, and sharing recipes with friends, is one of the best ways you can support the Free Fire Cider Campaign, and keep the dark cloak of capitalism and trademarks away from the tradition of herbal medicine.
We realize how saturated your news-feeds, inboxes, and dinner tables might be with the discussion of politics, and truly do not intend to spark discord with any of our followers.
Instead, it is our hope that this can be a safe space to come to if you are looking for information about either of these movements, and hopefully inspire you to consider if these movements align with YOUR core values.
why we love bernie
We are formally endorsing Bernie Sanders in the 2020 presidential primaries! During his first presidential run, his bold proposals, aimed at helping the most vulnerable among us, inspired us to have even more compassion for the disenfranchised in our community, and instilled in us hope for a better future.
In 2019, his proposals have become even more inspiring, addressing the working class and poverty stricken with even more kindness, and advocating for the environment and most vulnerable among us. We find it telling that every other candidate running has been strongly urged to frame their campaign through his grassroots lenses to maintain their relevance with voters.
Below we will detail the policy proposals which guided us to reveal our political preference at this critical time for drawing distinctions between candidates.
We do not see Bernie as an infallible figure. We hold our own criticisms of his record. That being said, his positions are significantly more aligned with our morals than any other person running against him, especially when it comes to holding the powerful accountable and showing the struggling among us his unflinching empathy. It cannot be argued that his loyalty is to helping the poor, and is not to enriching the wealthy.
Medicare for All (Single Payer) has become the metric for gaining the support of modern grassroots movements. While his rivals have had trouble explaining why they support it and tend to try and reshape it so as not frighten their close connections with our abusive health insurance industry, Bernie has taken a firm position that every single human being deserves to have medical attention regardless of the balance of their bank account. Medical insurance should not exist. Poor people do not deserve to be punished for simply getting sick and they especially do not deserve to be punished as unaccountable corporations flood our marketplaces with products that often negatively influence our health. If you are sick or injured, you have a right to immediate healthcare without the burden of jumping through financial hoops or risking bankruptcy. Bernie also understands that we need to cancel all medical debt. Watch this video of Ady Barkan asking Bernie about his healthcare proposal. Ady has done interviews with all of the major candidates except for Joe Biden, who has refused to acknowledge his requests to meet thus far. Healthcare is a human right.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dzRoqVvtZo
Federal Rent Control and Federal jobs guarantee are needed to address an alarming trend in rising rent costs, unemployment, and homelessness across the country as wages consistently stay stagnant and landlords continue to take advantage of their tenants. Landlords should not be able to raise our rent levels beyond our means when there is no possible way to keep up with their frequent rent hikes. This is pure, unchecked greed, and Bernie sees this as a national problem in need of correction. People shouldn’t be evicted from their homes because their landlords are looking for extra income. Housing is a human right. Jobs are a human right.
Housing the homeless is not a radical idea. Here in S.F. we see thousands of un-housed human beings forced to live on the streets in tents. These people have done nothing wrong, and they are often victims of corporate greed, yet our city leaders and national politicians are currently placing boulders on sidewalks to prevent these people from resting or creating tent communities. Police and city officials proudly destroy their only shelters and offer no alternatives for a place to sleep. every human deserves a roof over their head as they navigate the complexities of recovering from extreme poverty and the many fall outs of this condition. these people are veterans, teachers, all walks of life, forced to sleep in the street and treated as criminals. Their crime? Falling on hard times. Bernie has a plan to give these people the dignity of shelter to help them back on their feet. Again, housing is a human right.
Student debt is beyond outrageous in our country. a person seeking higher education should not have to spend the rest of their life working to pay off their education when tuition free college is offered in dozens of other countries with great success. Bernie understands this need for free education and has offered a plan to cancel all student debt and provide tuition free education for any person who would like to go to college. Any sane country wants their citizens to be well educated. Being poor should never prevent someone from receiving a higher education. Bernie’s most generous political rivals only offer up to 50k in debt relief which is an extremely insufficient response to this crisis of greed. Education is a human right.
https://hk.tv.yahoo.com/popular/bernie-sanders-explains-plan-cancel-203711030.html
Bernie also possesses a keen understanding that the federal government needs to address income inequality and the rampant prejudice against minorities and people of color. He is the only candidate with the honor of being supported by several Native American tribes and Muslim organizations. He has been a vocal supporter of the LGBTQ movement since way way back in 1972, while his contemporaries were nearly 40 years away from evolving on these issues. He protested vigorously for Civil Rights. He also understands clearly that ICE needs to be shut down and that our local police forces shouldn’t be armed like the military. His votes clearly reflect these positions. It seems to us that Bernie sees overlooked and abused citizens in our society as he does his own family. We are all human beings in his eyes and we all deserve to be treated as such. We share that view.
The Green New Deal proposed by the Sanders campaign looks at the climate change situation with sober eyes, seeing it as a global problem which can only be solved if the wealthier nations assist in helping the poorer nations. We cannot solve this impending catastrophe by simply regulating US corporations or reforming the corruption that is inherently built in to our corrupt systems. We need a leader who can stir and unite the entire world to fight for this and make the necessary changes if we want our future generations to have a habitable home.
https://berniesanders.com/en/issues/green-new-deal/
SuperPAC money has given the wealthy an immense upper hand in who we elect and its influence on our democracy has been devastating. Bernie has boldly turned his back on money from these hidden billionaire sources to make a statement that the working class and poor should have an equal voice within our democracy. He didn’t accept their money in 2016 and he refuses still today. We need a candidate who understands that accepting this kind of money is not acceptable under any circumstance. Bernie is the only candidate that is 100% working class funded. The only candidate who hasn’t taken any money from billionaires and he’s consistently breaking his own fundraising records.
Sanders is the most anti-war candidate standing on stage with one of the firmest chances of beating Donald Trump. He did not vote for Trump’s military spending increases while others challenging him did.
Bernie values all of the human lives in Palestine as well as the dozens of countries we’ve been bombing consistently for almost 20 years now. US military aggression is used to create instability and to protect US financial interests abroad and Bernie understands this toxic dynamic. We trust him to reign in our overreaching military aggression over anyone else running.
Flower & Frequency is devoted to helping all people, regardless of their station in life, to attain wellness. Therefore, we are proud to cast our votes for Bernie Sanders. he has been a steady voice for helping all people to receive healthcare, housing, education, and basic human dignity for decades. These policies were not recently adopted just before he began running for President. They are long held beliefs of his.
If you’re thinking “how do we pay for this?” That question has been sufficiently answered many times now by the campaign. The obscenely wealthy will pay for the overwhelming majority of it— the people who hide their money in offshore accounts and use tax loopholes. The immoral corporations who now write our laws and pay very little taxes.
If you’re thinking “how will he even get these things done?” That question is fair to ask. Bernie has a firm understanding of the powers available to a sitting US president and has said that he would use processes such as Budget Reconciliation to advance his proposals with help from us the people. Bernie has a rich history in leading massive grassroots and union movements for workers and generating sufficient momentum to pressure lawmakers and businesses to act in favor of the good of the people.
In expressing our opinions, we want to make clear that we fully respect your own preferences in this primary should they be different from ours. We want to thank you in advance for respecting our voice and opinions.
If you feel compelled to help support Bernie’s campaign you can do so here.
Let’s do this folks! Bernie 2020!
Homemade Fire Cider for the Masses!
If you are in any way connected to the herbal community, you have probably heard about the attack on fire cider by now. I hope you add this recipe to your rotation, and get inspired to make Fire Cider for your family and everyone you love!
If you have no idea what I am talking about, it delights me to share this recipe with you even more!
Fire Cider is a longstanding herbal remedy, first coined by herbalist Rosemary Gladstar in the 1980s.
It is basically a bunch of anti-microbial, Anti-viral, Immune supporting, cardiovascular and Anti-Inflammatory herbs infused into Apple Cider Vinegar and honey.
It is especially helpful during fall and winter months to boost the immune system, prevent and relieve symptoms of the cold and flu, and help the body experience optimal circulation and digestion.
In 2013, Shire City Herbals trademarked the term “Fire Cider,” and began sending cease and desist letters to other herbal businesses selling fire cider, even though herbalists and kitchen witches have been making this remedy for well over 30 years (not to mention the versions of Fire Cider that date back to Hippocrates). It even brought lawsuits against three small herbal business owners.
Currently there is a movement, Free Fire Cider, that is working to fight Shire City Herbals, and prevent all herbal traditions from becoming trademarked in the future.
One of the greatest acts we can do to support the Free Fire Cider movement, is to make homemade Fire cider, share with Family and Friends, and keep the tradition of homemade herbal medicine in the kitchen, and out of corporations!
So without further ado, here is our favorite, spicy recipe! We love spoonfuls or even shot glasses full once a day in the winter as a preventive, and several times a day if we feel a cold or flu creeping in!
Enjoy!!
Ingredients:
1 large yellow onion
1 cup Fresh Ginger
1/2 cup Fresh garlic (or more!)
1/2 cup Fresh Horseradish Root
1/2 cup Fresh Turmeric Root
1/2 cup Rosehips
1/4 cup Fresh Thyme
2 Teaspoons Fresh Ground Black Pepper
1-2 Tablespoon of Cayenne Powder (or 3-5 spicy peppers)
1 Sprig of Rosemary
Raw Apple Cider Vinegar
Local Raw Honey
Wax Paper
Instructions:
Chop up all Dry ingredients (everything except honey and ACV) and combine in a 1/2 gallon jar. Cover with enough vinegar so it covers at least 2-3 inches over the herbs.
Cut out piece of wax parchment paper big enough to cover lid, and place between the jar and metal lid. You can also use a BPA- free plastic lid in lieu of wax paper. Basically the vinegar makes the metal lid rust, so you either need to ditch the metal lid, or create a barrier.
Now that the lid is on tight, shake like crazy, then put jar in a cool, dark place and let sit for 4-6 wks. Traditionally fire cider is buried in the ground, then dug up after one full moon cycle. If this is not your bag, or if the ground is too hard and cold by now, a shelf in your kitchen will work just fine for storage!
Once your fire cider has infused for 4-6wks, strain out herbs then add raw, local honey to taste. Your Fire cider should be spicy, but a little sweetness helps the medicine go down, and honey is an incredible anti-microbial and immune supportive medicine in itself!
You can store your Fire cider for up to 6 months on a shelf, or about a year in the fridge! You can also add ANYTHING into this recipe, and experiment with any number of herbs that are calling to you! Some other herbs we have loved in fire ciders are lemon peel, cinnamon, astragalus, lemon balm, and echinacea to name a few:)
Thank you so much for coming on this journey with us! We hope you are feeling inspired and empowered, and that you carry this energy with you into the nesting and slowing down of this season!
As always, here is a fresh meditation track to help you slow down, and give your nervous system some tlc.
We also want to remind folks that we have a very special event coming up on Monday October 21st at the Center for New Music in San Francisco. Josh will be joined by Joe from PlantWave to perform a plant/brain music duet! PlantWave is currently raising money for their second generation device as we speak. Feel free to support them by following the link.
https://plantwave.kckb.st/1e6e7f95
Take gentle care out there, friends!
In peace and in power,
Nora and Josh
