Flower Essences

First, a little history.

Back in the late 1920s, Dr. Edward Bach was working as a physician in London. He was frustrated by the fact that modern medicine was shifting focus from healing people to treating symptoms (sound familiar?)

After some thought, he left his medical practice and moved to the countryside. During the 1930s, he identified what he considered to be the 38 basic negative states of mind, and set about finding ways to treat them, with an eye towards healing how we feel (thus allowing our bodies to heal physically). His solution was the flower essence: usually a flower soaked in spring water in the sun for a time (but there are some variations for certain types of flowers, and in his remedies there is even a “gemstone” essence or crystal elixir, made via the same process, but using a stone instead of a flower).

Each of Bach’s original essences corresponds to a specific emotional state. There are now groups all over the world experimenting with flowers native to those regions to determine what states of mind they help with, and many of those groups have expanded Bach’s list of negative states of mind.

Flower essence do not become more potent when they’re diluted, like homeopathic remedies. They can be taken several times a day, or put into your water glass for the day.

The most famous flower essence is probably Rescue Remedy – it’s a blend of 5 of the Bach remedies (Impatiens, Star of Bethlehem, Cherry Plum, Rock Rose and Clematis), meant for use in crisis situations where there isn’t time to determine the best specific remedy and in general everyday situations that are stressful.

Because flower essences are basically an extremely weak tincture, they’re very safe for everyone to use. They can also be used in sprays, lotions, and applied topically, so they’re great for kids.

If you’d like to learn more about flower essences, join us on the Learning About Flower and Gemstone Essences facebook group. I try to post info on a specific essence at least once a week, and we talk about people’s experiences with essences.

Check out my new energy work page, http://www.facebook.com/GoodVibrationsEnergyStudio