AN AMALGAMATION OF WISDOM from the scientists & shamans, the healers & herbalists, the sages & stargazers, and the mages & mavens of the NOW
“We must pay respect to water, and feel love and gratitude, and receive vibrations with a positive attitude. Then, water changes, you change, and I change. Because both you and I are water”
–Masaru Emoto, “The True Power of Water”
Quaamen Falls, Jamaica 2012 photo by Morganalefay
When I enrolled at University of Bridgeport College of Naturopathic Medicine I knew I would be in for an unique education, that’s what I was going there for, but I did not realize that a few test cramming months later I would be in the Jamaican Bush studying medicinal herbs with my mentors and colleagues. Dr. Eugene Zampieron, ND, is one of the core clinical and academic faculty at UBCNM and has helped build the program from the ground up over the past decade.
Naturopathic Doctors (ND) receive an equivalently accredited education to MDs (4 graduate level years, 4,100 hours of study and 1,200 direct patient contact clock hours) but differ in the philosophy behind their treatment approach. NDs use mostly natural treatments but more importantly, they look to identify and treat the underlying cause of the illness, not just the symptoms. Individualized natural treatment options are then outlined for the patient and the ND and patient work together to restore health and happiness.
During is undergraduate education in biology, Dr. Z began visiting remote areas of Jamaica. He returned frequently and during a subsequent trip for his graduate studies in marine biology, he fell ill with a severe case of dysentery. When the mainstream “Babylon” medicine only made things worse, he went to see an old friend, Jamba, and his Maroon healer elder, Pop-a-top, for help. After three days of sacred herbal gathering, decoctions, chanting and drumming they were able to restore his health and a brotherhood was formed. Pop-a-top advised Dr. Z that the illness had a spiritual connection and it would change his life. Sure enough, the event provoked Dr. Z to leave the field of marine biology and to peruse a career in natural medicine at Bastyr University of Natural Health Sciences in Seattle, WA. After graduating he moved back out east, established a private practice in Woodbury, CT and began his influential role at UBCNM. Now, once a year Dr. Z is kind enough to share this connection with us and provide an opportunity for a few of my classmates and I to gather and study herbs, immerse ourselves in the Rasta culture and reconnect with nature….
