I have never met anyone like Raylene. She was so filled with kindness, so present and so clear. In honor of the gifts she offered us all,  I wanted to share some of her words from our conversation with her at the International Herb Symposium in 2007. I have kept her words as she said them, without making edits or changes, because as I read them, I can hear her speaking…

Ann: What role do plants have in your journey?

Raylene: As an Hawaiian, the plants are our ancestors. Our creation chant brings into the world everything that exists here in this world. What we learn by the chant is that we, as human beings, are the youngest. We’re the youngest, perhaps the favorite, and we were loved and cherished and pampered and given things sometimes perhaps that we would not cherish in the manner we should have, as we reveal ourselves today.