NONI - The All Everything MEDICINE

July 17, 2019

It was over 10 years ago now that Genna and I began wild-harvesting Noni Leaves and crafting tea from this most potent all-everything medicine. We would go on jungle hikes to waterfalls, white sand beaches and jungle homes to pick the kindest of leaves. There was this one Noni tree in Moloa'a Bay that was so robust, abundant and giving; and a dreamy waterfall hike in Kilauea that would allow us to fill backpacks with the darkest of green Noni leaves; and a beautiful zone down by Anini Beach that was always lush with rich, healthy leaves and so easy to access on a whim. We soon began making tea with the Noni Leaves, and started selling it at the farmers market and in local Kauai health food stores. We were having so much fun wild-harvesting and crafting Noni Leaf tea, and were so grateful to be able to use this plant to heal, and provide this beautiful healing medicine to other people.Drinking Noni Leaf Tea became our personal gateway to true plant medicine (Kauai style) and we truly believed it had the potency, abundance, and balance to heal the world. The All Everything Medicine I remember our lead gardener repeating over and over again, “if there was one medicine plant you could choose among the 60 to 70 medicine plants we now grow here in our healing gardens that stands out above the rest for universal yet effective medicinal application and usage, it would have to be the Noni. I remember reading somewhere that the Hawaiians made tea out of the Noni Leaf and also use the leaf as a wrap or poultice to provide warm circulation to sore muscles. So initially I began heating the leaves and tucking several raw leaves into my belt buckle to help relieve the de-habilitating lower back pain that I was experiencing at the time. The leaves would provide much needed circulation while sweating the toxins directly out of my back, as well as guide me to drink more and more water to hydrate myself. We also started putting the leaves in a pot and drinking fresh green Noni Leaf Tea. It tasted very unusual to us at the time, but wow was this some potent medicine. By the 3rd or 4th week of drinking the tea, I spent an entire evening personally learning what passing a kidney stone felt like. I didn’t even know I had a kidney stone. Our authentic ignorance was blissful to say the least. Later on, I remember our lead gardener repeating over and over again, “If there was one plant you could choose among the 70 medicinal plants we grow, that stands out above the rest for universal yet effective medicinal application and usage, it would have to be the Noni.” The ancient Hawaiians held this wisdom and used Noni widely.

They would not only make tea out of the Noni Leaf, but also use the fresh leaf as a wrap or poultice to provide warm circulation to sore muscles. So, initially I began heating the leaves and tucking them into my belt to help relieve the debilitating lower back pain that I was experiencing at the time. The leaves would provide much needed relief via circulation, while initiating the release of toxins through my skin. Naturally, I was guided to drink more and more water to facilitate detoxification and keep hydrated. The Truth Serum As some of you know, we called the Noni Leaf “The Truth Serum,” because we were learning what honoring and speaking our truth was really all about. The Noni Leaf detoxified the physical acidic blockages that were fostering fear inside us and began expelling the calcified matter out of our system. By drinking this supersized, vibrant, green, jungle Leaf, we began finding our youth, and with it our truth. It was so empowering to be us, and proved to be our initial step towards living our authentic, uninhibited minds and spirits. It was really our first lesson in letting go of our previous pattern of just “yes-ing” others. We recognized this was only enabling more and more fear and also reinforcing the deep-rooted conditioning we were taught was “normal”; rather than expressing our loving truth. The Economics As a self-acclaimed economist, I was enamored that there was so little value put on this life-giving leaf. “How could it be,” I thought? Noni leaf may be the most potent and versatile medicine in the Kauai jungle (no small statement), yet you could not give it away. From the densest of jungles to the most populated of neighborhoods, wild Noni Trees abounded with big, bold medicinal leaves. So much healing power in this leaf, yet so few people know much about it, and even fewer use the Noni Leaf to heal. I could not help but think of the local economic opportunity to create medicine, jobs and commerce for the island.

The Leaf and not the Fruit The fruit of the Noni Tree is held in high esteem for its healing powers. It is, indeed, amazing medicine. We use the raw fruit externally by applying it directly to wounds and injuries. We also ferment the fruit to make a juice for internal ingestion, external soaking and convenient spray application. But it literally stinks! Yes, it stinks like rotten blue cheese (no joke!). And the texture is kind of gooey and super challenging to work with, to say the least. I remember the days of studying, experiencing and experimenting with all the ways you could use this superherb— the leaf, the fruit and even the bark, roots and flowers. The medicinal potency, accessibility and efficacy of The Leaf was unparalleled. It just seemed too easy to fall in love with the versatility and balance of the mighty Noni Leaf. USES