Valerian's Kiss Report from Kamishiroya: Paul Manski

 

Valerian's Kiss

Report from Kamishiroya: Paul Manski

                                   

                                      

       I am delighted to have arrived at the deer pen. Reaching the deer pen means everything is going well, so I am happy. Frequent visits to the deer pen also indicate that everything is going well. The deer living in the deer pen, regardless of size, are holding a special meeting to discuss planting valerian in the spring and other topics important to them. Both large and small deer are attending the meeting, and red deer, eagles, and hawks have also come to offer their opinions and join this grand gathering. I want to thank the deer living in the deer pen, as well as the jays, turkeys, chipmunks, and squirrels who are involved in the decision-making. I also want to thank the stones, trees, air, water, wind, and countless other creatures participating in the meeting.
                                  

      The deer gathered on the poplar meadow in the deer park, where the snow had just melted. They were entirely white, their bodies covered in triangular lightning bolt patterns. These patterns were particularly striking when the deer gathered. As the sun set, the last rays of sunlight illuminated the triangular lightning bolt patterns on the body of a larger medicinal deer. Where the triangular lightning bolt patterns shone,

Squirrels, skunks, chipmunks, cougars, and felines all joined in the celebration, while frogs and toads hopped around where valerian grew, bringing joy to all the animals.         

    The waterfalls were moved to the poplar meadow. Several waterfalls of varying sizes and shapes came into view, with spring water cascading from the deer enclosure above bathed in dazzling light. We all took a cold shower to prepare for the valerian kiss that followed.

     The herb deer, large and small, devised many ingenious ideas for summer. All summer plans were coordinated and arranged at the Aspen Gathering. The Valerian Dance was the first grand celebration in the deer enclosure. All the deer participated in planting valerian; they brought back seeds, roots, stems, and whole plants to their forest home. Then, they scattered the valerian throughout the forest. Joyful dancing, singing, and waterfall bathing continued until late into the night.                    
                                  

         Tonight, some of the larger deer are calling for snow in Valeriana. I want to express my gratitude to all the animals who came to this gathering, regardless of size. Thank you for inviting me to this ceremony in the deer pen.                              

        Valeriana's Kiss takes place in the deer park, transcending the realm of paid, constrained intimacy. It is a lesson between the deer Valeriana and a guest chosen based on passion and affection, ultimately leading to  a natural embrace between the deer and the guest.

     As we explored the deer park, it was like learning in a forest, where we discovered the romantic connection between the deer, the mountains, valerian, and ourselves. 

      The Deer Park is a private, veiled room,  open to shooting stars, moonlight, meteor pollen, and sunlight. Entering it is like stepping into a bedroom, or a place prepared for romance. As we venture into the forest, the scenery is breathtaking. We enter the Deer Park not only to understand the plants themselves, but also to understand them through the medicinal deer that cultivate them in the gardens beside it. We can be invited into this bedroom, or summoned to arrange impromptu encounters. The deer, the valerian, and the forest itself are all ready to welcome love. It is built on the mutual attraction between people, plants, and the environment. There is no coercion here. Plants, people, and the environment offer themselves to each other, like offering a blissful kiss. This is not just a light kiss on the lips, but a tender caress of the whole body under a dazzling night sky nourished by waterfalls and meteor pollen.

     Historical records show that Deer Park nurtured many great teachings and wisdom. It's noteworthy that the history of these teachings is not so much related to the teachings themselves. These teachings transcended the constraints of money, directly addressing the participants and based on their connection to the land. Lovers were drawn to each other through a long courtship process, which could last months, years, or even just a moment. When their eyes met, their souls were pierced by the connection between them and the land. When this courtship progressed to a kiss, its authenticity was unquestionable. It was revealed in a revelatory way. 

     Sometimes we focus on teaching, sometimes we focus on learning. The most valuable teaching and learning happens in face-to-face interactions, not in relationships bound by money or operating in drastically different ways. In a documented case, someone might be holding flowers in a deer park, but people's attention is usually focused on the person holding the flowers. The true meaning of learning lies in the flowers and the deer park itself, not in the person holding the flowers. 

     It is commonly believed that someone or some people teach in the deer park. However, the reality is that, regardless of whether anyone teaches in the deer park, it is little known that deer occasionally teach themselves in the park. The time during which deer hold or teach in the deer park is called "deer park teaching." "Deer park teaching" has nothing to do with the teaching methods in the deer park itself; it refers to the learning activities in the deer park.

     
      The flowers of Deer Park also practice the teachings within the park. So when the deer are teaching, it is the deer teachings, and when the flowers are teaching, it is the flower teachings. The Deer Park itself practices the teachings using the flowers that grow within the park. When only the Deer Park is teaching, it is called Deer Park Teaching. Regardless of who is teaching inside or outside the park, the emphasis is not on teaching, but on learning and courtship beyond the realm of monetary bondage.

      So, of course, it's not important to find a teacher to hold the flowers in the deer park; what's most important is to go directly to the deer park and to the flowers and plants that grow there, planted by the various medicine deers, large and small, that operate within and around the park. It's important to forget about the people who have flowers in the deer park, because they happen to be there by chance. The flowers sustain themselves within the deer park, living, breathing, and moving within it, sustained by the forces of wind, water, and sky. This is, of course, true experientially and existentially. The flowers sprout in the spring and sustain themselves beyond the concept of being held up. When you stand, you are supporting yourself, regardless of whether you see someone standing there or not.             

     The flowers in the Deer Park may be perceived as mountains. The flowers in the Deer Park may be perceived as waterfalls. The flowers in the Deer Park may be perceived according to each individual understanding. Thus, it may be understood that "the flowers are walking mountains...". The mountains walk within their own concept of mountains. The mountains, like flowers, reach up towards the sky and support themselves. The flowers are walking mountains, the mountains are walking flowers, and all things walk according to their own essence towards the perfection of nature. When we see the mountains and flowers walking in the perfect blue sky, it is known as the walking of the mountain flowers.

     We are looking at a flower, and at the same moment, the flower is looking at us. In other words, what is happening is "seeing." We often look for a flower, but sometimes, even when we search for it with our eyes, we cannot see it. It is important to realize that we are being seen, because in many cases, the flower is looking at us. The flower is looking for us. It is looking for us. Seeing does not depend on light. Seeing does not depend on whether our eyes are open or closed. Seeing is seeing, and seeing is being seen. When you look, you are also being seen. When we practice "seeing," we are both the object being seen and the one who sees. So, in the moment when we are looking for a flower, it is important to realize that "seeing" and "being seen" are one and the same process. They have the same nature as a process. There is no difference between the process of "seeing" and the process of "being seen." We are discovered in the act of discovery.

      One of the ways the plants themselves teach and discover within the Deer Park is through the large medicinal deer that run and manage the Deer Park. 
                                 

    One of the first lessons the deer teaches you is the Valarian Kiss. ​​When you see the large, sun-white, gold-triangular rump of a large medicine deer, you'll immediately notice how lightning and thunder are effortlessly created and expressed through the deer's rump. This is called deer lightning. Don't be surprised if, in a clear blue sky or in the middle of the night, you hear a flash of lightning, followed by distant thunder or a deep rumble that sounds like the ground shaking back and forth. This isn't rain thunder or spring snow thunder. It's the thunder of the deer in Deer Park teaching the Valarian Kiss.                     

     
     This fundamental expression—the triangular white-gold flash on the large medicine deer's rump and the valerian-kissed lightning bolt—is a powerful teaching that occurs at the first moment of spring, when day and night are balanced. The correct understanding of the longer days in spring has little to do with the sun and everything to do with the teachings of the medicine deer living in the Deer Park forest. Both the large and small medicine deer control sunrise and sunset. Depending on the teaching the medicine deer is conducting that day, the day can be endless or short. You may witness multiple sunrises and sunsets in a single moment. The sunrises move back and forth across the sky within 10 to 15 minutes, sometimes in a straight line, sometimes in a circle, and sometimes two or even three times in a single day. This is all at the discretion of the Deer House teachers and the teachings they impart. In Deer Park, the length of the days varies from day to day. Very short days can be followed by very long days. All of this is the privilege of the medicine deer that live in Deer Park.             

     The key to experiential herbalism is the Valerian kiss with the herbal deer. Just like in human schools, there are introductory classes, and you may first take a test to determine your ability to enter the course of study. The deer in the deer shed within the deer park function similarly. The initial instruction and introductory class begins with the Valerian kiss. The Valerian kiss is a girlfriend experience (GFE) that is a departure from the bounds of paid intimacy. It is romantic and intimate, and cannot be forced, purchased, or bought with money. In the human world, a GFE girlfriend experience is something you can purchase by the hour. You can also visit places like Cottontail Rabbit Ranch and request a GFE, or girlfriend experience. This interaction is a departure from the bounds of paid intimacy. It is a form of intimacy, but as the clock ticks, the experience ends when the alarm goes off, and the girlfriend experience, or GFE, fades away with the rising sun like a faint morning cloud. This experience typically does not include breakfast, so don't expect coffee, bacon, eggs, or buttered toast in the morning.  
                                    

      Cottontail Rabbit Ranch's GFE offers intimate kissing and touching, but if you're expecting coffee, buttered toast, bacon, and eggs in the morning, that's not what's happening. Otherwise, your visit to Cottontail Rabbit Ranch offers no kissing, no coffee, no buttered toast, and no morning bacon and eggs. It's limited, paid, and constrained intimacy within a set timeframe. You start out completely unconstrained and empty, with no obligations other than the ticking clock of paid, constrained intimacy. Valeriana Kiss with the Big Herb Deer also offers no buttered toast, coffee, bacon, or eggs in the morning. Neither the paid, constrained intimacy of the girlfriend experience at Cottontail Rabbit Ranch nor the free Valeriana Kiss experience with the Big Herb Deer offers a free breakfast. If you're looking for a free breakfast, you'll need to search elsewhere and find breakfast outside of the girlfriend experience.

     There is no fee structure for the Valeriana at Kami Deer Hut, so there are no financial constraints. The Deer Park, Valeriana, and waterfall are all conducted without financial constraints. However, the early spring teachings at the Deer Park include a kind of GFE (Girlfriend Experience) in the practice of Valerian Kissing. Valerian Kissing is the first lesson given by both the Deer Park, the independent flower, and the large and small medicinal deer. 

      In the fields of herbalism and botanical science, the valerian plant is sometimes discussed as a nerve-soothing and sedative. The roots and aerial parts are processed in a variety of ways, including as a tea, a tincture in alcohol, or a preserved root. There may even be stories of traveling to valerian's native habitat. The valerian kiss can only occur when the herbal deer and the valerian plant meet face-to-face. 

      It's easy to imagine large deer rolling and prancing in a meadow of valerian. They roll and tumble in a deep, enchanting sensation of the flowers. They gently rub their white triangular buds, gathering the scent and pollen of the valerian. They luxuriate in the scent, preparing for the moment for the valerian's kiss. We do the same, as the deer first bathes in the ice-cold waterfall. Following the deer's lead, we roll and prancing in the meadow of valerian, rubbing the water over our bodies. We become one with the valerian, and with the deer who surrenders to us. Their white triangular spots rise high into the sky, and we easily allow ourselves to wrap our arms around their necks and stroke their shoulders. 

     Like us, the deer has bathed in the waterfall and is now ready to bestow a delicate kiss of valerian. For a moment, amid a gentle rumble of thunder and a flash of lightning, the deer allows the herbalist to enter into the mysteries of plant, person, and place. For a moment, we become one with the deer, Valerian. In that intimate embrace resides the knowledge of each plant's medicinal properties. Just like our encounter at the cottontail farm, with or without a breakfast of buttered toast, bacon, eggs, and coffee, we return a little different, a little altered. And now our journey is a solo one, guided by the herbal deer on the trail of plant medicine.