What Are Flower Essences??

What Are Flower Essences??

Flower Essences are a fascinating and powerful way to work with
plants for healing. Working with herbs themselves, as extracts of
various kinds or as food sources, uses the chemical components of
the herbs as well as their vital energies. Aromatherapy uses a
particular set of the chemicals present in plants and also engages
their energies. Flower essences contain an absolute minimum of
chemical and biological material, and offer wholely the energies of
the plants.



Flower essences are water-based solutions which contain the
essential energies of flowers. They are made by floating flowers in
water and allowing the light of the sun (or in some cases the moon
or stars) to help the water absorb the energy signature of the
flowers. The structure of the water molecule is such that it can
store these energies.

When a person places a few drops of a flower essence under the
tongue, the energy of the flower floods one's aura, vibrating at its
own special frequency, and can nudge the vibrations in a person's
aura toward their own frequency. This creates an immediate effect on
the emotional and spiritual levels of the aura. In the section about
how the essences work, I will try to explain how this effect can
progress to healing on the physical level as well.

History

I am sure people have worked with plants in this way for
millenia...washing one's face with dew on Beltane morning, or being
prompted to lick the dew off particularly beautiful flowers.

It was the work of a sensitive and dedicated physician, Dr Edward
Bach, which first started to characterise the healing properties of
these preparations. Bach was a medical doctor with an interest in
homeopathy. He worked for many years within this discipline and
developed remedies called nosomes, which were homeopathic
preparations of bacteria. He became discouraged at how little it
seemed medicine was able to heal. His work convinced him that if
people could be at peace emotionally, they would be and stay
healthy. Recognising that he had always felt most peaceful in the
woods near his childhood home in Wales, he decided to take a break
from practice and go there for a period of contemplation.

I'm fictionalising based on facts here, but one can imagine that
after a while of looking for answers and failing to find them, he
might be getting somewhat desperate. Then, one morning, while
walking along a path ruminating on whether he should return to his
practice, his attention was drawn to the lovely flowers of
Impatiens. Seeing the dew sparkling on the petals, he was drawn to
lick it off, as he remembered doing as a child. Being the sensitive
he was, he realised that the impatience he had been feeling a moment
ago was gone. Whatever had been guiding him suggested he should see
if this effect could be reproduced by doing the same thing the next
day. Presumably it was, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Bach realised that the water that had sat on the flowers soaked in
some sort of energy from the flowers that could have an effect on
his emotions. Just as the Impatiens helped dispell impatience and
irritability, he discovered that Mimulus could calm everyday fears.
As he worked with the flowers, characterising the effects they could
have on emotions, he discovered that if he could give the right
flower essence to lessen the predominant emotion that was disturbing
a person's peace, certain physical ailments they suffered from could
also be relieved.

Bach died very young, but in his lifetime, he characterised the
healing energies of thirty eight plants. These remedies are detailed
at the homepage of The Dr Edward Bach Centre in Mount Vernon,
England.

Since Bach's death, the study of flower essences has exploded.
People from all over the world have made a point of studying the
healing energies of their native flora. There are companies making
essences in Hawaii, Alaska, Ariazona, Australia, California, British
Columbia, India, South America...and probably many more places I
haven't yet heard about.

It is beyond the scope of this site to list all the essences that
are available, and could well infringe copyright, but I have links
to many sites where more information is offered.

How They Work




The essences contain the healing energies of the flowers from which
they are made. In the words of Dr Bach, they "cure by flooding our
bodies with beautiful vibrations of Higher Nature which melt dis-
ease like snow in the sunshine."
Bach's theory is that we are born perfect, but life stresses make us
develop defences and ways of coping, and these pull us out of
alignment with our spirit. Distress at the level of spirit is
translated into physical dis-ease: Bach saw disease as a way that
our spirit tells us how our behaviour or attitudes are getting in
the way of our health. By healing our unhealthy patterns, we can
relieve any physical dis-ease we have collected. Unhealthy emotional
patterns can cause tightness or even scarring that blocks the
natural flow of energies in our bodies, and so parts of us cease to
vibrate in harmony with the whole.

The flower essences fill our auras with the vibration they contain,
and help loosen any energy blockages that keep us from vibrating at
our natural frequency. Once such blocks are removed, and our energy
bodies are vibrating freely, the physical ailments caused by the
energy blockages will resolve.

Bach taught that if we help people to emotional harmony, they will
be healthy. The essences target emotional pattern s that we pick up
as defence mechanisms on our way through life. Bach demonstrated
that two people who experience debilitating fear may have different
physical ailments, but a remedy that helps this fear will heal the
ailments of both. Similarly two people with (for example) similar
cases of eczema but different emotions disturbing their peace can
both have their eczema healed by taking remedies appropriate to
their emotional symptoms. Time and time again he demonstrated cures
for those suffering serious physical diseases using his remedies in
this way.


Advantages and Disadvantages



There is virtually no physical, chemical plant material in the
essences, so there is almost no risk of allergies or adverse
effects. Brandy is used in the essences as a preservative, but as a
dose is only four drops, and these can be administered in warm
water, the alcohol can be evaporated before the remedy is taken. For
someone sensitive to brandy, the essences can be prepared in another
preservative like glycerine or vinegar.
These remedies have the advantage of being completely safe. They
contain little if any organic material to cause physical ill-
effects. All of the energies involved are positive, and if an
inappropriate remedy is chosen, the effect wears off quickly.
Therefore, self prescription can do no harm, as long as serious
conditions that need medical attention are not ignored. One can
learn about the effects of the essences by trying them out without
taking any risk. I suppose that an overdose of lovingness might
induce one to do something s/he might regret later...so I advise
strongly against taking more than the suggested dose of four drops
at a time.

Unlike homeopathic remedies, flower essences are not effected by
aromatics such as coffee or mint; they can be taken with food or any
other substance and be effective. Their benefits for the emotions
are not based on any sort of physical effect on the nervous system
so they are non-addictive.

Because of the dilution process outlined below, one bowlfull of
flowers can make enough flower essence for several million
individual doses. It is an extremely efficient way to use biological
material, and one way to avoid the danger of extinction that is
threatening some popular herbs in the wild.

However, flower essences work on the emotions and spirit, and their
effects can take some time to manifest on a physcial level. If one
is open to change, their effect can be dramatic indeed, but if one
resists the nudge they give the emotions, they may have little
visible effect in the short run.

Rescue Remedy

Bach also made a combination of five essences which he called Rescue
Remedy. This remedy has been used for decades to help people in
states of extreme shock, anxiety, or agitation. It is a great help
in dealing with nervousness before exams or interviews, or in any
situation (such as a healing crisis) where intense emotions are
coming up and one cannot take time out to deal with them. It can be
used in emergencies to help people stay grounded. It is given to
victims of accidents to help them avoid shock. I have seen it have
pronounced calming effects on people suffering drug withdrawal.

It combines the essences of Star of Bethlehem, which helps deal with
the shock of trauma: Rock Rose, which helps reduce terror: Cherry
Plum, which helps deal with the fear of losing one's mind in extreme
states of fright: Clematis, which helps one center in the present:
and Impatiens, which helps one deal with things one at a time rather
than staying trapped in the hope that everything will be cleared up
at once. I have both seen and experienced how this remedy can help
people in severe mental distress calm down enough to start dealing
with their situations.

This remedy can be taken in a glass of warm water, rubbed on the
lips of an unconscious accident victim, or even sprayed in the air
in a crowd where emotions are running high. It is also sold as a
cream which can be massaged into an injured area.

Making Flower Essences

It is best to find flowers just as they are opening in the Spring,
full of vital energy. It is usually best to make essences as early
as possible in the day, just after the dew evapourates, as the
plants' energy can dissipate in heat. It is also best to pick
flowers from as many different plants of the same species as there
are available.

Get into a meditative state and communicate with the flowers, let
them know why you want to make an essence and what you hope to use
it for. Ask permission to pick the flowers for this purpose and wait
for an answer. Ask the deva or spirit of the flower to help you and
help transfer all available healing energy into the essence.

Pick the blossoms without touching them if you can; it's best to use
cotton gloves. Float the flowers in a clear glass bowl of spring
water. Put the bowel in the sun. Usually takes 2-4 hours depending
on the weather; the energy absorption will take longer if it's
cloudy. Ask the deva or spirit when you think they are done, and
wait for an answer.

Filter the liquid and mix it with brandy, three parts of solution to
two parts of brandy. This is the Mother Tincture. Pour into dark
glass bottles. All essences should be stored out of light and heat,
away from sources of electromagnetic energy.

To make a Stock Solution, put 3 drops of the Mother Tincture in one
ounce of fluid; again, this fluid is three parts of water to two
parts brandy. This Stock Solution is what you buy from suppliers or
retailers. Both it and the Mother Tincture can be stored for many
years without loss of potency.

To make a Dosage bottle, put 3 drops of stock solution in one ounce
of spring water. Add 1 tsp of either brandy, glycerine, or vinegar.
You can often get by without the preservative in the dosage bottle
if you refrigerate and use within 2 weeks.

Up to six different essences may be mixed in a dosage bottle,
depending on your needs.

To take the essences, put four drops from the dosage bottle under
the tongue four times daily.

Choosing Flower Essences

Someone who is knowledgeable about the essences and good at drawing
people out in an interview can often determine quite quickly which
essences are likely to help another person.

The best way to choose the remedies is to read the descriptions and
think about whether the they paint an accurate picture of either
your current or habitual emotional patterns. There are also
questionares available which allow one to select essences for
him/herself.

Many people use muscle testing to choose flower essences. The theory
behind muscle testing, which is also called "biokinesiology, " is
that our muscles will be stronger when we focus on something
positive for our system than when we focus on something likely to
harm us. You can try this by holding your arm out in front of you
and stating your name; a friend trying to push your arm down will
find it strong. Then say, "My name is Ethelred;" if your name is
not, in fact, Ethelred, your friend will likely find it easy to push
your arm down. It is actually possible to learn to muscle test for
oneself using the small muscles in the fingers. Machaelle Wright
describes this technique in her book "Flower Essences."

Muscle testing can be used to confirm the essences one chooses by
reading about them, or it can be used as the exclusive tool for
choice.

Someone who is confident in the use of a pendulum or other intuitive
techniques can also select essences in this way.

I have found that in general the Bach essences work best with long-
term emotional patterns. The Flower Essence Services (also
called "California" ) essences can work with long term patterns, but
can also work very well with short-term spritual or emotional
challenges. Perelandra essences tend to work best with situational
challenges. Some essences will be relevent for months or years, and
can be taken in several consecutive dosage bottles. Some will be
relevent for a number of days.

In Flower Essences, Michael Wright outlines techniques that work
through disease processes or emotional patterns by taking single
doses of essences determined by muscle testing, then testing for any
further essences needed, until the testing provides the answer that
one is clear of further emotional patterns needing essences at the
present time.

When one is starting, I would suggest reading about the Bach
essences and selecting one or two remedies that seem relevent to
take for a month or two. See what sort of difference this makes for
you. I also think every household should have a bottle of Rescue
Remedy to use for anything from cuts, stings, and poison ivy, to
intense emotional situations and frank emergencies. If one is
interested in using the essences for healing or spiritual growth,
s/he might then consider buying a small set such as the Perelandra
essences and using them along with meditation, journalling, and
internal journeys.

If you are sensitive to plants, you can start making essences from
the plants that seem to stand out and attract your attention. Often
these will be the plants whose energies will help you. If you work
this way, you might want to enlist the help of clarivoyant or
clairaudient friends sensitive to energies, who can validate your
impressions about the effects of the essences. As one works with
these remedies and reads the descriptions offered by the companies
that have developed lines of essences based on local flora, it
becomes obvious that Nature has supplied every region with plants
whose energies cover the whole range of emotional healing needs.

This is an exciting field because the essences can be extremely
powerful, but it is safe to experiment. It also brings one into
deeper contact with the plants, seeing them as energy beings who can
join us as partners in our healing, rather than as packets of
chemicals. It helps us deepen our awareness of the Divine in all
living things, and to connect with the unique presentations of
Divinity in our friends the plants.