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Healing From A Grandmother's Heart. Copyright © 1999 by Amanda Larson. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without prior written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, contact:

Book design and cover art by Stephen Kraft
Printed by McBride's Printing & Graphics, Inc., Gaithersburg, MD

To all who knew
Edna Tilghman Larson,
and all who will
know her through
this book

First and foremost, I would like to thank Michael Kane for his tremendous support and superior editing skills. Without him, this book might not have made it into your hands today.

For standing by me and supporting my vision when others didn't quite see the world as I did, I wish to thank Christiana Carty, Lord Carrett, and Michael Gilles. Thank you, Diane Ney, for being a good friend with a sharp eye for detail, and thanks to Mary, Larry and Nick at McBride's Printing for their good words and fine work. And Stephen Kraft, you designed a beautiful book.

I would like to express my deep appreciation to the following people for their contribution to this book—the gifts of wisdom, light, and just plain good advice: Trudy Fenton, Phyllis Burlage, Bill Tilghman, Phyllis Blaunstein, Margo Baldwin, Steve Evans, Paul Dankanich, Bonnie Bates, Judy Eggleston, Richard Hewlett, Irene Hishmeh, George Fassiadis, Durelle Jones, Lynne Glassman, Diane Pelavin, Ann Miller, Kim Perino, Sherry Schiller.

The Creator of the Universe sat by himself and pondered his dilemma. He had the secret to a happy life, one that he dearly wanted to share with all of humankind, but sadly, he could see that they were not ready. This great truth is everyone can create their own reality. He had to hide this truth until all of the people were ready to listen and truly believe. But where?

He consulted the Stars of the Sky. "We'll ride the truth along the Milky Way, and take it to space, they said. "No," said the Creator, "they will go there and find it."

He asked Old Mother Four Winds. "I'll blow the truth to the top of the Earth, she said. "No, said the Creator, "they will go there, too, and will find it too soon.'

He spoke to the ancient master of the seas, the Giant Whale. "I shall take it to the very bottom of the sea. No one will find it there!" he said. "All, but they will go to the bottom of the sea sooner than you think, said the Creator. "They must find this truth at precisely the right time."

Despairing, he called to the Snake, the high master of wisdom. "What shall I do?" the Creator cried. The Wise Snake looked at him kindly, and said "Cloak it in intuition, and put it inside their hearts. They will only look there when they are ready to hear."

Time went on, and proved the Snake to be correct. As the new millenium approached, the Creator saw that the time for Truth had arrived. Boldly, human beings the world over started discovering the secret of life—that happiness is a birthright, and that we create it through love. These brave beings set forth to spread the word that heaven was within our grasp, right here on Earth. All transpired just as it was supposed to.

Edna Tilghman Larson, my grandmother, was a very special person. Born in 1908, she grew up on an historic farm in southern New Jersey that was once owned by a relative of Benjamin Franklin. Edna's own ancestor had served as General George Washington's aide-de-camp during the Revolutionary War. While Edna's personal background connected her to the origins of our nation in significant ways, her spiritual roots were even more deeply grounded within the earth itself. Her mother, Hilda, was a wise and visionary healer who passed her knowledge and wisdom on to her daughter. Hilda taught Edna to make and use herbal and flower remedies, and started her on a lifelong spiritual path that brought healing and love to everyone who ever came within her circle of family and friendship.

The story of wise and magical women in our family goes back a long, long way. When I was an adult, many years after Edna had passed away, I asked my father about the family's healers. All he knew was what Edna had told him—that the daughters had been taught the magic of the world and were well-known as healers of body and soul. I know from Edna's personal papers that treasured recipes and information were passed down through the centuries, sometimes on paper but mostly by practical instruction. There is a thread that ties all of the daughters, and one day I hope to know who the founding matriarch of this family might have been. For now, I know the joy of the light energy that swirls within and around me, and I thank Edna for the gifts of spirit and earth she so beautifully passed on to me.

Edna was taught the magic of healing in a unique place. Sharon Plantation, the Tilghman family farm, was a lovely 240-acre pre-Revolutionary bit of history—it had farmland, woods, meadows, and best of all, a clear stream called Barker's Brook running swiftly through the center of it. There was also an enchanted home that was built in the 1740s. The Sharon of my grandmorher's and great-grandmother's day no longer exists except in my memory and a few photographs. It lives on, however, in the power of the herbal healing remedies that the women in my family made and used, as well as in the healing practice that I continue today.

Edna's warmth and wisdom became the guiding forces in my life. She believed in the Golden Rule—you remember, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. She was loving, straightforward, and magical. She also was practical, no-nonsense, and very funny. The roots of the woman I am today are wound securely in her spirit, and through her influence I am able to continue the healing presence that was begun so long ago.

This book is a tribute to my grandmother, Edna Tilghman Larson. As you read it, I hope you get to know this warm, funny woman and see how her practical approach to life makes so much sense. Her ability to mix the spiritual, practical, and magical sides of life is one that I've tried to emulate. My life can be summed up in one word—joyful. I learned how to be that way from her. I'm thankful every single day.

This book, Healing From A Grandmother's Heart, is an amalgam of wisdom, sayings, recipes, and ideas that flowed from Edna to me. I have arranged it so that in the beginning, you'll meet and get to know her a bit. She had very definite feelings about why some people heal and others don't, and I begin with that. The Catalyst Steps, my name for Edna's rules of living, are presented in the next six chapters. In the balance of the book, you'll learn even more about her, and by reading these final chapters you'll have the inspiration to make your life seem newer, more loving and ultimately all that you want it to be. Finally, I've included some of her charming and unique recipes—for Violet syrup, Horehound-Catnip drops, and other such old-fashioned, but effective, remedies.

Edna has had a profound impact on my life, and I sincerely hope she will do the same with yours.

This book will share with you all that made Edna special. I hope you'll be inspired by her words and by her example. Stories from and about her as well as quotes from her will be highlighted in the chapters to come. Her life was not one of fame or riches, yet we would all be incredibly wealthy if we lived our lives according to her principles.

It's my hope that you'll see the depth and beauty of the tapestry of life she wove with her wisdom and healing ability. She knew what wise ones have known throughout the ages—that we have the ability to make our own reality. I hope she inspires you to make your life all that it should be.

As a young girl, Edna often drove a truck loaded with tomatoes from her family farm in Jobstown, New Jersey, to the Campbells Soup Company in Camden. Her sister-in-law, my Aunt Pete, told me how she would drive all the way to Camden and never drop one tomato from that truck. The particular vehicle she used was an old-fashioned flatbed that had to be loaded just right or all the tomatoes would end up in the street. This was in the late 1920s, too, With bumpy back roads—no interstate! Most girls would have hated the job, but not Edna. Why?

"I was on the road with the wind in my hair. I felt free. Besides, I was much better at it than my brothers!"

Edna was a unique individual and the most important influence on my life. She was a gregarious woman who loved people but also kept to herself. My grandmother was the glue of the family, always making sure we all kept in touch even though some of us lived far away. She needed her "Mama Nature time, her quiet time outside, and would allow nothing but an emergency to disturb it. She was honored to be a healer, but never boasted about her power or that of her mother, from whom she inherited the gift. Edna loved deeply, but was not always able to show it. She adored animals, too much actually, because after her beloved collie died she could not bring herself to get another dog. "Too painful to lose them, she said.

Edna was an educated woman living with a husband who did not encourage her ambitions. She managed to get her Bachelor's degree by squeezing it in between her various jobs on the family farm. She would tell me of running down the long lane that led from the farm to the railroad tracks to flag down the train that would take her to Rider College, in Trenton. She was never able to convince my grandfather of the value of advanced education—she would have loved to have been a doctor. Remember, this was an age when men ruled the roost, and as gifted as Edna was, she came from a traditional family. Grandad may not have been keen on her going to medical school, but he did give her a precious gift—freedom. "I would have died if Ivar kept me under his thumb,' she said to my mother. "Literally. I need to follow my spirit.'