Oct 16 min read

What I learned from Prunella, the Self-heal flower and how to tune into nature’s wisdom

Prunella vulgaris is the botanical name for self-heal, a plant that’s been used for a variety of natural healing long before chemical pharmaceuticals came along.

Prunella is also the name of my inner critic.

Before I tell you what the plant taught me, let’s go back in time a few months.

Inner Critic

A mentor asked me one day, “What’s her name?” , referring to my inner driver- the one who judges, criticizes, and pushes me to keep doing.

I had never named her, or thought about that until now. So I stopped for a moment, and immediately the word “Prunella” popped into my mind….

I don’t know anyone by that name and to be honest, I didn’t really like the sound of it very much (my apologies if this is your name) and wanted to change it.

But I’ve learned to trust my instinct, and go with the gut reaction.

(I learned a month later that Prunella is also the name of a plant! Also called Self-Heal and a plant that I have drawn and collected seeds from!)

The act of naming my inner critic was helpful, because I could separate Prunella’s unhelpful words running in my mind from my own thoughts.

I can recognize the demands swirling around in my head as Prunella just doing her thing, trying to be helpful, and stop being ordered around by her words.

I recognize Prunella came from my past where she had a valuable role to protect me and keep me safe. But now, years later, no one updated her job description, so she’s still running under the assumption that she needs to protect me. She doesn’t know I’m grown up and can be the adult in charge here.

So, I’ve been noting my thoughts more and choosing to shower loving energy to acknowledge Prunella. This has shifted my energy and helped me get unstuck— instead of following her demands unconsciously, I can now choose my actions.

Prunella plant

Prunella, Self-heal flower. Wikimedia commons

Anyways, what I wanted to share, is the insight Prunella the plant gave me.

During my Wander in Wonder class in July, I shared that Prunella was the name of my inner critic. Someone in the class commented that it’s the same for self-heal plant, Prunella vulgaris. Wow! Bingo! That’s why I needed to trust my first impulse in naming her.

I know Prunella has come to my awareness to highlight something for me.

A Conversation with Nature: Spark Journaling

To reflect on what Prunella had to share with me, I used my process, I’ll call Spark Journaling, to find and/or explore the Spark, uncover deeper meaning, and open a conversation with nature.

This process begins with the left-brain observation of what’s there and what you take in with senses, then it moves to a right-brain creative and intuitive process.

Here’s what I did:

First, I pulled up some photos of the self heal flowers I had taken recently, as well as a couple images online. (Or sit with the real plant).
In my nature journal, I sketched some of the flowers and plant, noticing and noting what I saw, allowing my curiosity to blossom, I added questions that arose in the process.

Prunella vulgaris, Self-heal Wikimedia commons

3.Optional - Next I looked up reliable botanical resources, for some ecological information and wrote a few facts that stood out to me— but didn’t go super detailed.

The botanical and common name
Habits (how it grows),
Home territory (where is grows),
Preferences (environmental conditions it prefers),
Health (prone to certain pests?),
Personality (growth patterns, vine, clustered or solitary, etc).
And it’s strengths and medicinal properties.

4. After drawing to see more, got some sketches, and warmed up connecting with the flower from memory and resources, I moved over to a blank page.

This page is where I write down words or ideas that come to me in response to the question.

5. I sat with Prunella, took three slow long breaths, and asked:

“What would you like me to know?”

And I wrote the question down and began writing whatever I was feeling, sensing or being aware of-

I’m listening and seeing beyond the plant— for intuitive signals.

What does listening to intuition look like?

This could be a sudden thought, phrase, or idea that you suddenly become aware of.
Or you get an image in your mind's eye or imagination
Maybe an event or past experience pops into your mind.
It could be a sound, smell, color or emotion
Or a song (music and or lyrics)
A sensation in your body- like tightness, tingling, openness, warmth — on your skin, face, gut, throat….
If something came to you- it’s right, so don’t discount it, no matter how weird it may seem! 😃

Prunella in the Sierra Nevada mountains Photo: M Nakagawa

Trusting one’s intuition and listening is a practice. You might think “am I just making this up?”— not to worry. Trust the first thought or impression, and keep going. It will become clearer over time.

Most of us have not been taught to listen to our inner voice or gut feelings- most often we are encouraged to disregard it and trust something external (person or thing) for guidance.

I’ve been practicing listening to my inner voice for many years. I mean “practice” not with the goal to be a master, but rather, I practice (doing something repeatedly) so that it becomes second nature.

So that when I inevitably fall back to the old way of second-guessing myself, it’s easier to notice and return to trusting myself again.

What Prunella shared with me

What came from this page today was that Prunella plant (or self-heal) is for my self healing. I am to use this plant (physically or by growing it near me or reflecting on its qualities) for my self nurturing.

And to bring self-heal for others’ self-healing.

So I share with you some things self-heal offers, and invites us to look in the mirror and reflect what in your life is being highlighted.

Resilient: Self-heal grows in diverse kinds of soil- so it’s resilient- has an ability to thrive in all places and conditions.
- 🟣Where are you resilient in your life? Or where do you need to build the capacity for resilience?
Flexible: It likes sun but can grow in shade too.
- 🟣How are you being flexible or do you need more flexibility - physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually ? Can you practice flexibility in your attitude, relationships or perspectives?
Abundant: Self heal is prolific and grows easily through seeds or through runners.
- 🟣Is there abundance in your life that needs your acknowledgment ? Have you been sitting in scarcity thinking? Could you say aloud a list of things your are grateful for?
Sharing and Service - feeds bugs, birds, and bees with prolific flowers. Healing properties.
- 🟣Is there some area of your life you can be of service? Or has someone been of service to you? Could you share your time, a kind word or lend a hand to someone??
Strength: It’s generally pest-free and disease resistant.
- 🟣What are your strengths? Is there a strength you haven’t acknowledged? Is there an area in your life you’d like to build strength?

You can see that there are a number of things nature could be sharing with you. There is no right or wrong.

If popped into your mind, or feeling, then trust it.

Those who tell you that plants can’t talk, don’t have fluency in nature’s language.

You can cultivate the connection and communication to help you live a more joyful, fulfilling life!

It’s not too complicated- though my example above may have had many parts, it can be simple, too.

Prunella vulgaris, Self-heal Wikimedia commons

Just go out into nature, see what draws your attention. Spend some minutes observing more closely, sketch and write about what you notice and experience. Does some idea or though rise to your awareness? Write about that.

Sometimes the nature's wisdom is not clear right away. It could hours or weeks, and maybe it becomes and ever unfolding conversation.

Be gentle with yourself.

Please share your thoughts in the comments below. What kinds of nature conversations have you had? I'd love to hear!💜

For more:

If you want to learn how you can grow this connection, join me in the Spark Collective where we can practice more ways to deepen your relationship and fluency with nature's language.

You can book a call with me if you have questions or if you want to learn more about Spark Collective online collaborative co-learning space!