"The existential crisis humanity is facing is rooted in the great myth that humanity is separate from all other life forms. To heal is to become whole, and to become whole is to re-connect and re-claim our place within the greater web of life. Our animals are waiting to guide us back home."
Josie Beug, DVM, CVA
Originating in ancient Greece, GAIA is the name of the Greek goddess of the Earth. She is the personification of the Earth and one of the Greek primordial deities, the ancestral mother of all life.
The Gaia hypothesis, formulated by the chemist James Lovelock and co-developed by the microbiologist Lynn Margulis in the 1970s, proposes that all organisms and their inorganic surroundings on Earth are closely integrated to form a single and self-regulating complex system, maintaining the conditions for life on the planet.
This complex self-regulating system Lovelock speaks of is the Web of Life. Many if not most Indigenous cultures recognized this web and man's place within it, including the ancient Taoists.
Their philosophical system of the Five Elements, developed by deep introspection and observation of the natural world, actually describes the creation and self-regulation inherent within this complex system of life on planet Earth.
Let's bring back healthy sharing, respectful discussion, and debate!
Dr. Josie has a unique combination of experience, knowledge, and wisdom, gathered along her lifelong quest for spiritual and physical wellness for herself, her loved ones - human and animal - and the Earth.
Dr. Josie is a licensed veterinarian and trained in, teaches, and has over 20 years of practical experience in Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine (TCVM).
When she began studying TCVM with her teacher Dr. Xie, at Chi University, she also began practicing the internal alchemy of Taoism and Tibetan Buddhism, to integrate the often-forgotten spiritual branch of these ancient healing arts.
She has used holistic healthcare as her primary mode of healthcare personally, studying herbalism in college and wild-crafting her own medicines for personal use over the past 30 years. She has experienced, learned, and practiced numerous energy medicine modalities, integrating them into her practice: Reiki, T-Touch, Bodytalk, Taoist stone medicine, etc.
After earning a Bachelor's degree in biology, neurobiology, and cognitive ethology, she worked in the trenches of the animal welfare field for 8 years. When she discovered veterinarians were using needles and herbs to heal animals, she decided to obtain her degree in veterinary medicine with the intention of practicing integrative veterinary medicine.
While in veterinary school, she introduced the student body to alternative methods of healing including acupuncture, chiropractic, homeopathy, and herbal medicine by inviting leading holistic veterinarians to lecture and teach. And she refused the free bags of kibble, making her own homemade raw all the way through school.
She has explored numerous lineages of "the old ways", having been fortunate to cross paths with spiritual masters of Tibetan Buddhism, Taoism, North and South American shamanism, and most recently her Norse ancestry. She follows the stars, reads Tarot, and collects lots and lots of stones!
"This is the year I am launching my signature program. Take a journey with me through the seasons of the year, the corresponding organ systems and body parts, traveling within and without, as we explore the mandala of creation mapped out by the ancient Taoists. " -Dr Josie
SEASONS + CLIMATE + FOOD
We will spend 10 weeks within each season, exploring its correspondences within nature: the climate, temperature, seasonal foods, and plants, experiencing the outer reflection of each of the 5 elements...
BODY + MIND + SPIRIT
...and learning about the internal correspondences of each element: the organ systems and their functions in both Western and Eastern medicine, the body parts and tissues, sensory organs, acupuncture channels + points.
ELEMENTAL CONSTITUTIONS
We will meet each of the 5 constitutional types and learn to identify their characteristics when in states of both harmony and imbalance.
SUPPORTING MODALITIES FOR EACH ELEMENT
Finally, we will learn the needs of each element and how to support them with food, plant medicine, exercise, environmental enrichment, and acupuncture point stimulation using various modalities, eg. light, stones, smoke, flower essences, oils, along with other energy medicine techniques.
Upon completion of the annual cycle, we will have woven a beautiful mandala of health and well-being for our animal friends AND ourselves that can be renewed and refreshed year after year.
Every year that I follow this path, it deepens and widens into a whole new layer of experience, a rabbit hole indeed without end...but full of precious gems at every turn.
My wish is that all who may benefit may join me on this great adventure!
Dear Josie, Oh My💕💖💕
I was able to “catch up” and want to send to you so much thanks🤗 & much love 💞 for bringing forth the magnificent & exquisite energies that these beautiful animal energies shared with us;... their amazing words of wisdom and how they are so ready to help...we just need to communicate with them💞And, I know, that all of us here, on Reverence, are communicating with these mighty spirits.
Dr. Josie has created a space and an atmosphere of peace, love, acceptance and mutual support where we can come to learn, teach, share knowledge and experiences, as we momentarily put aside the ever-increasing chaos of the world at large. I trust you will all come to appreciate and value this great gift, as I, and others, already have. Welcome❤️
I learned so much from our Mushroom journey including what the mycelium debate is about, product recommendations (super helpful!), functional properties, and how to take them. But the most interesting and unexpected thing that I learned is how to truly connect with each Mushroom as a living thing. During the final meditation when we were going to meet our mushroom guide, I quite honestly didn’t think it would work for me. I was blown away. It was like an awakening to a new aspect of life! I also loved learning about the elements - super helpful in so many ways! Thanks Dr Josie!! The mushroom journey was fantastic!!