Everything Under The Sun: A Holistic View Of Honeybees

Meditating with the bees.

With bee colonies continuing to be endangered by the use of neonicotinoids, more people are awakening to the usefulness and necessity of bees continuing to be an important part of our environment. We could not survive without these insects, so adept at cross-pollination. So, we're seeing also more people interested in learning about bees and their role in our lives.

Laura Ferguson, who now goes by the name of Laura Bee is one of the fresh voices entering the dialogue about the future of honeybees. Besides having expertise in natural beekeeping methods, she also has a background in leadership, disaster relief, art, and spirituality. With all of her expertise and passion, she founded COLLEGE OF THE MELISSAE CENTER FOR SACRED BEEKEEPING.

Laura's College began with a two-year online program that enrolled 28 students in a multidisciplinary program, including the sacred aspects, on all things honeybee. She stated, "As an educator, beekeeper and activist I feel impassioned to produce a curriculum that offers a holistic study of the honeybee. Modern apiculture is focused on creating chemicals to solve problems caused by chemicals and modern agriculture removes the integrity of right:relationship for bees, plants, and humans. We hope to create and normalize the bridge between science and sacred through helping create an environment attuned to the voice of nature: through the honeybee."

As time has gone by, College of the Melissae has expanded its variety of educational offerings to workshops, weekend immersions, and an online lecture series, in addition to the two-year online program. This year, the College sponsored a Sacred Bee Symposium & Immersion, with the Findhorn Foundation, for a week in early August in Findhorn, Scotland. Historian Andrew Gough presented the ancient myths and traditions of sacred beekeepers throughout history. Laura Bee looked at the Six-Fold Path of Sacred Beekeeping through history, science, mystery, activism, art/medicine, and the sacred. Hands-on experiences, singing, meditation, lectures, ceremony, were all part of the immersion experience.

Honeycomb based architectural design, but without the bees.

Down to some of the nitty-gritty details of everyday life, Laura was called upon to extract a colony of bees from a homeowner's residence. In essence, extraction means removal of the colony, and as it gets closer to fall, it also means that those bees will die. Since it was a rather sizable colony, that meant that it had been there for a few years. Yet no one had complained about the colony until it was brought up recently. Laura decided to re-frame this issue for the homeowner, since it wasn't really bothering that individual. Laura relied on her knowledge that bees had always held a special place in sacred temples and holy places, plus the bees do sing so beautifully. The homeowner and Laura placed their ears against the wall together, whereupon the homeowner realized that there was something really special. How could they stay? was now the question. So, Laura advised making a window in the wall, with a cupboard door covering it, and whenever the homeowner wanted to see, the door could be opened. That's a rocking extra feature now in that house! And a problem solved simply, with a colony kept intact.