Greening power

Having spent thirty years (!) literally bricked into a dark abbey cell, Hildegard von Bingen always sought out the light.

Having spent thirty years (!) literally bricked into a dark abbey cell, Hildegard von Bingen always sought out the light.

And although the Benedictine nun was told that the divine was above all things, she trusted her vibrant visions that showed her how the divine was in all things, alive in every stone, leaf and flower. With the sun and wind on her face, she would work the gardens of her monastery, studying the healing power of the plant world, becoming convinced that we can find harmony within the mind, body and soul by tapping into the universe's magnificent 'Greening Power'. "Let food be your remedy," she wrote, and noted over 2000 herbal remedies in her classic work on health and healing: 'Physica'.

To this day, her holistic teachings - such as intermittent fasting - are still practiced in bustling 'Hildegard' health clinics all over the world. No wonder Hildegard is often considered the founder of Western alternative medicine. She even had a plant genus named after her: the Hildegardia family. “God has arranged everything in the universe in consideration of everything else,” she marveled at the interconnectedness of things. Using apocalyptic descriptions, Hildegard warned us against the dangers of upsetting nature's harmony, eight centuries before 'climate change' was even a thing. Mystic visions or common sense? A bit of both, undoubtedly.