One of my herbal formulations is called EMPATH, taken by healers. Anyone who helps others can benefit from consistent use of this tea. Healers include teachers, nurses, physical therapists, acupressurists, acupuncturists, and even auto mechanics; anyone who is in a profession to help others can be technically described as a healer. Most of us enter these professions because we want to help others; we are empathetic to them and their needs.
After returning from the Conscious Life Expo in LA (where I spoke and presented) a few weeks ago, I needed an unusual amount of time to recuperate. It wasn’t that I experienced sadness for people’s tragedies, oddly, it was the opposite; people seemed to take their losses in stride, learning that their lives, and those of their loved ones, was most important. Most people spoke of learning a great lesson in non-attachment.
I had encountered underlying tensions, things I couldn’t put my finger on, that were draining me. There was a kinetic-ness, as if people were on anti-depressants or psyche meds, causing a kind-of frantic energy. Many expressed concerns about the future of our societal infrastructure, its life-support systems, and the political landscape. I gave about 300 pulse analyses and returned home with a deep sense of burnout.
This presented an opportunity to test the effectiveness of my EMPATH formula. Back at work at my elixir bar, I made a drink using 1 teaspoonful of EMPATH in a mug of hot water with added oat milk and maple syrup. This one cup was all it took for me to feel completely back on top of my game. Once again, I contemplated, how can this herbal formulation work so magically? Surely it seemed to be beyond bio-physical remedy – that should take at least a while for the nutrients to restore balance through metabolic actions. No, my recouperation was immediate. And while I have conjured plausible explanations for why other formulas of mine, including SHIFT, appear to work more quickly than the laws of physics should allow, this recovery was even more inexplicable.
How EMPATH Works
Healers are said to draw from a kind of wellspring the Great Masters say is held ion our kidneys. This energy is called Jing. The distinct energy we use is called Yin Jing. This is an intaking, absorptive energy we also use to recuperate. Yin is associated with feminine, water night, rest, replenishing. This Yin wellspring is our source when giving to others.
Yin must be restored. If not, we can feel drained. The Masters of my lineage determined thousands of years ago when observing the law of , that these reciprocal energies must be held in balance for health to thrive. Yinis decribed as the “intaking and storage of energy,” and Yang, the “use of that energy.” Yin holds our healing potential, accumulated over time, even over multiple generations, and Yang is the process of using that precious energy.
As healers, we draw upon Yin to give to others. This is a tangible energy that must be put back, lest we feel burnt out, and can even lead to complete debilitation.
The original formula: HEALER’S TEA
Approx. 1200 years ago, acupressure was integrated into Chinese medicine. At that time, 100,000 practitioners were trained in the exact method and placed in clinics across the country. In short time, many reported feeling rained by their work, particularly at the solar plexus in the middle of the back, between the kidneys. This is the location where the Masters say our life force enters and is recharged through a circular energy called the “Microcosmic Orbit.” This is the anatomical location where the depletion was occurring.
The TCM health authorities needed to develop an herbal tea recipe specifically for 
healers, soon recognizing it must replenish Yin. In their miraculous, inexplicable way, the authorities developed a tea formula simply called Healer’s Tea. This simple formula is comprised of four herbs, the stringy rootlets or pods of the Dendrobium flower (Shi hu), with Goji berries (Go ji tze), Schizandra berries (Wu wei tze), and Licorice root (Gan cao). As simple as it sounds, this tea can be remarkably effective in immediately restoring spent Yin.
Since that time, Healer’s tea has been mandatory to drink by all acupressure practitioners in China and South Korea. When a customer enters a clinic, a cauldron of Healer’s Tea will be brewing in the lobby. Without which, customers will not go in. After each session, every practitioner must drink a cup.
In 2002, I was working with Ron Teeguarden, managing his elixir bar in Santa Monica. I didn’t yet know about the concept of Yin depletion and was really burning the candle. A number of highly disturbed people started coming to me for solace and I found myself ensconced in their tumultuous lives, hearing horror stories of being locked in mental institutions and fed harmful drugs. I found myself taking their problems home, until one night I literally could not climb the steps to my apartment.
The following morning, I dragged myself into Ron’s office and asked to be relieved from bar duty.
“Are you taking your healer’s Tea?” He bellowed.
“Um, no,” I answered, not yet aware of this tea and its use.
“Get down there and drink some.” He charged, and I quickly drank a cup at the bar.
The recovery I felt was too remarkable to be true. In minutes I was totally back on the job. Of course, I could not reason “How” this tea worked, only that it “did.”
Fast forward to February 2025, I worked at the Conscious Life Expo, just after the Los Angeles fires. Over three days I gave up to 300 pulse readings and listened to people’s travails of losing their homes. I didn’t take Healer’s tea during this time, and by the end of the event I almost passed out while trying to get to my hotel. Once home on the plane, I drank a cup of my rendition of Healer’s tea, called EMPATH, and the recovery was again miraculously fast, within minutes. Now, I could not deny the efficacy of this great formula.
My EMPATH is a revised version of Healer’s tea. Recognizing that modern healers also have to protect their energetic field from harmful energies, I added the great Reishi Mushroom (Ganoderma lucidum) (Lingzhi) for spiritual resilience. And I included an important herb, Polygala. (Yuan zhi). This root is called the “Will strengthener.” It helps us block all energies that don’t serve our higher good. Polygala is also called a “Spirit (Shen) stabilizer.” Polygala is taken by Shaolin monks to hold their vows of celibacy. It is also included in my cleansing formula ASCEND to strengthen our resolve to walk away from anything, anyone, that does not support our higher good. In EMPATH, I also add Albizzia flower (magnolia cocos) (he huan pi), said to help one “overcome heartbreak, anxiety, and stress.” And Ophiopogon (Mai men dong), a Yin replenishing herb.
Polygala (Yuan zhi)
EMPATH can be a wonderful ally for anyone who wishes to help others.
Taoingly, Rehmannia
