In Pursuit Of Maine: June 19, 2014 - Reishi/Lingzhi Mushroom

Thursday, June 19, 2014

June 19, 2014 - Reishi/Lingzhi Mushroom

The Reishi/Lingzhi mushroom is a miraculous fungus that grows wild around here. It has a long history (over 2,000 years) in Asia of promoting health and longevity. In the U.S. it is used as an anti-cancer medicine, especially anti-metastasis, and it shows real promise against this disease. Reishi/Lingzhi is currently in high demand as it takes many months for the fruiting bodies to grow. Therefore, I think I will keep my patch a secret.

Of course, it’s well known around these parts that fairies have been using these mushrooms for a very long time, hence their longevity. They know how to use all the secret things of the woods, and they have no need for the modern pharmacopeia. I already make many of my own simple medicines and cures, and I get the feeling they like that because they know I respect natural cures. If there’s anything a fairy hates, it’s a “modern medicine man” (you can read between the lines there) turning up his nose at their “primitive” treatments. When a rapport has been firmly established, I will begin studying their medicines and tonics. Until that time, I have no choice but to rely on “modern” understanding of such mushrooms/herbs and my own instinct. My own instinct hasn’t served me wrong yet, so I shall always turn there first.


Reishi/Lingzhi mushroom

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I’ve chosen 37 unique fairy tales that will be loved by both adults and children as they can be read and interpreted on many levels. But if you are looking for only sweet tales that end in joy and fairness, you may want to pass this book by. Some fairy tales are simply “dark,” and that is because sometimes life is simply dark. Not always, of course, but often enough. Sometimes the hero lives; sometimes he dies. Check out my book, “Fairy Tales of Maine,” in the photo link below. If you are brave, you might just meet yourself in one of these tales.