HOSHINDO SOCIETY OF THE AMERICAS

MISSION STATEMENT

       The Hoshindo Society of the Americas, founded by Voyce Durling-Jones, is a non-profit organization whose primary mission is to bring public awareness to the essential contribution of Honey Bees to the bio-system; to promote organic and scientific bee ecology and beekeeping practices; to present educational community programs regarding these practices and those of traditional Japanese Meridian Apitherapy; to generate, exchange, and disseminate ideas about honeybees and to liaise with, and foster cooperation and collaboration among organizations and individuals interested in the relationships between bees, humans, and their mutual living environments; and to assist the work of those organizations and individuals involved in the same or similar purposes such as organic beekeeping and agricultural practices, origin seed preservation and promotion through the arts, that function as educational and charitable endeavors.

       By honoring the traditional healing and spiritual lineage of Hoshindo in combination with those of the Americas and other societies, the ancient knowledge of the Sacred Bee will not be lost.

       The Society honors the Honey Bee and welcomes all those who wish to become Keepers and Guardians of the Bee. It therefore encourages organic beekeeping and agricultural methods in a global effort to save the bees and other pollinators and thus protect our lives upon this sacred planet.

       Without the industrious Honey Bee and healthy land, life itself is in jeopardy; without respect of the Feminine, societies can continue to feel free to exploit women and children and the rights of its citizens; to legislate laws for the benefits of certain corporate entities; those politicians who ignore institutional checks and balances and the rights of other nations and by extension, the planet 'mother'– Earth itself. The diminishment of the feminine voice and thus balance in society has contributed to a global environmental/ economic/ health/ crisis and needless war.

       Bee Venom Therapy originated in China approximately five thousand years ago. After millennia, the Japanese refined this apitherapy into a unique healing art, bringing it into the modern era as Hoshin; the lineage was then carried to the West by Voyce Durling-Jones who introduced the practice of Hoshindo to the Americas during the last years of the 20th century.

       The practice of healing with the medicines and foods of the honey bee appears to have also emerged in the Americas more than three thousand years ago from within the First People's societies who used Honey, Royal Jelly, Pollen, Propolis and Beeswax for healing, nutrition, and candlelight. The Maya Nation had a special reverence for the Honey Bee because of its importance in agriculture, in human health, and as a spiritual helper.

    Maya temples and ceremonial centers were built in Mexico and Central America to honor the Honey Bee for its many gifts to humanity, known as the Diving Bee Spirit. The Maya DayKeepers, still follow their practice of astronomy now thousands of years old. The earlier Maya rulers and priesthood observed that without the honey bee to cross-pollinate, the fruit, vegetable, and nut crops failed. They also innately and experientially understood the life-giving treasures the bee brought to our planet.  

          In the Americas there are only a small number of tribal Bee priests among one or two First Nations in Mexico and Latin America who still use Bee Venom in addition to their other healing remedies.   

          Sadly, many misinformed modern urban societies and government agencies permit the agro-industry and corporate farms to carelessly play with neurotoxic pesticides and genetically modified foods, without demanding long-term intensive research which could yield proper scientific results, verifying whether these chemicals/antibiotics used in gardens and agriculture are safe for babies, bees, and all planetary life.

          The medical data is mounting that indicates the present dangers we face with the use of these products.  The toxins from these pesticides, especially glyphosate and neurotoxins have moved into our soil, ground water and global rainfall cycles. The medical repercussions are about to become catastrophic.

         As a first step, the public needs to immediately demand labeling of all genetically modified organisms in our foods (GMO’s) and to ban glyphosate and all neurotoxic pesticides, which can then allow us to make choices for the well-being of our families, especially for the next generations.

          There is a profound connection between bees and our lives and our beautiful planet. If the Honey Bees were to die across the planet, we would inherit a world with only wild grasses and wild rice to eat and would begin to follow the bees into oblivion. This would then cause a planetary mass famine, collapse and death because there would be no pollination without bees, thus no food for the planetary web of life.

                              May we serve with humility.

Hoshindo Oath and Covenant

Ancient drawing of a Maya Bee Priest      

© Voyce Durling-Jones