Harvested from higher cliffs of Nepal this mad honey has kept human civilization spellbound for many centuries because it combines some medicinal values and spiritual connections. In this article, learn the story behind mad honey, its connection with mindfulness and health. Dive through a simple mindfulness practice with mad honey and get an overview of how one can be respectful to nature and the tradition of honey hunters who bring this rare gift to us from the wild.
Story Behind Mad Honey
Honey containing grayanotoxins or what is known as mad honey in Turkey, or Wild Cliff honey from the Himalayan regions of Nepal is a special kind of honey. Grayanotoxins are naturally occurring toxins found in the nectar of some species of rhododendron flowers and some kind of Wildflowers. Honey produced by bees feeding on these flowers contains Grayanotoxins which can cause intoxication, hallucinations and temporary euphoria.
Traditional uses of mad honey span the medical and spiritual spectrums. To the ancient Greeks, this was a very powerful tool that would let their soldiers be turned into mind-altering states. This honey has been used to treat various conditions such as high blood pressure and stomach problems and is also considered an erotic in the folklore medicine of many parts of Nepal and Turkey in the Himalayas. The extract being medical in nature calls for being taken in great cautiousness because of the action therein involved.
Why Mindfulness and Mad Honey Go Hand in Hand
Mindfulness basically involves living in the present, creating awareness and giving respect to everything that lives by their connectivity. Honey is a product of nature therefore it invites people for deeper digging into nature for respect and reverence towards traditional ways of healing wisdom.
More importantly, in many indigenous cultures, the very consumption of mad honey is less physical and more one of deep acknowledgement to nature understanding the essence of balance and harmony-or better put the continuance of life itself. One will find mindfulness within consumption-disposition to opening in general to the physical and spiritual characteristics ensuring the approach or attitude towards consumption is respectful and careful in a reverential manner to those natural processes from whence this comes.
Mindfulness in this context deepens our awareness of the effect honey has on body and mind. The intoxicating effects of mad honey are subtle, deep and inviting one to introspection and contemplation. It is, unto itself, a catalyst, when consumed mindfully, to quiet the mind, release distraction and connect more deeply and intentionally with the present moment.
A Simple Mindfulness Practice with Mad Honey
To really experience mad honey, set the intention with this simple, multisensory invitation to help tune you in to the experience of the whole of your senses.
1. Setting the Intention: Take a few deep breaths before consuming the mad honey and set an intention for what you are looking for from this experience. You may say, "I am open to receiving the wisdom of nature and being present in this moment."
2. Tuning the Senses: Start by beholding the sight of the honey in front of you. Note the color and texture. What is this like to touch? Mellow the scents to recollect past experiences. The moment has fully come.
3. Tasting: Take a little with the spoon. Allow honey to melt on your tongue in tiny sips. Recognize if it tastes sweet, earthy or sharp. Be aware of how this taste feels in the mouth and the way this travels down the throat as well.
4. Reflection: Sit silently and observe without saying a word, notice changes in your body and mind as the action of honey starts within. Am I closer to nature now? Is there any feeling that comes up? Let these be experienced with curiosity not judgment.
5. Gratitude: After the practice take time to give thanks to the bees, flowers and natural world for this gift. Pay reverence also to the tradition of the honey hunters who gather with much care in order for the continuance of their practice with harmony in nature.
Respect Towards Nature and Honey Hunters
It does not magically show up in jars but is the end product of a fragile balance between nature and human labor. This extraction of mad honey is an intricate process normally by professional honey hunters in very remote mountainous parts of the Himalayas and other parts of Turkey. These honey hunters climb steep cliffs to extract honey from these beehives and they do it in a very traditional manner following ancestral knowledge. That was a very dangerous and extremely laborsome job. It needed great knowledge both of the landscape and the insects.
The deep relation between honey hunters and the bees is one of deep respect. Honey hunters extract the amount that is needed only during certain times of the year when it is plenty. This ensures continuity for both the bees and the ecosystem so as to sustain the tradition of honey hunting without harming the environment.
Respect for mad honey is respect for this balance and the work of those gathering it. It is a sign of respect to them and the processes that have kept this tradition alive by mindfully consuming the mad honey. We reflect on the connectedness we share with the environment and the need to be sustainable in ways honoring nature and tradition.
It means, in other words, mad honey is nothing but that intoxicating, exotically sounding substance, just the bridge connecting an approach toward ancient healing by means of being in a state of present consciousness and deep respect to nature. A person using the mad honey with mindfulness opens to probably much more than a physical experience and allows connection to earth wisdom. It is a reminder that the world is a repository of gifts with which we must deal in reverence and care. In such mindfulness of being connected to the mad honey, healing and insight reach back to tradition, nature and timeless art.