I was 18 the first time I came across flower essences and working as a waitress in in London whilst at the same time studying to be a drama teacher. One of the other waitresses presented me with the list and uses of the Bach Flower remedies one evening before work and my first reaction was, “Yes I need them all!” I began using Bach flower remedies straight away and carried on doing so for many years. I am sure their subtle but effective action on my emotional and mental states throughout the years have played a crucial role in my own healing journey.
Since then I have gone on to discover other flower essence makers and now many of the essences I use, I make myself.
Dr Bach was a homeopath and believed that the cause of disease was emotional, a conflict between soul and mind that needed spiritual and mental effort to eradicate it. He speaks in his work ‘Heal Thyself’ about his belief in the existence of the soul and how the root of disease and unhappiness is often linked with conflict from either the material world or other people leading one away from the soul’s real path. The second major theme that Dr Bach relates to health is that of unity and interrelatedness, he outlined some of the human defects that he believed to be adverse to unity such as pride, cruelty, hate, self-love, ignorance and greed stating that illness sets in if one continues in these defects after knowing they are wrong.
I have met flower essence practitioners who will only work with the 38 Bach remedies believing that Dr Bach created a range of remedies that were complete and that there is no need to diverge from them. I personally believe that the system and remedies that Dr Bach offered to the world in the 1930’s had and still have their work to do but there is absolutely no reason why his system shouldn’t be used to experiment with other plants and continue to add to what is now becoming a vast information base of flower essences. There are as many essences out there as there are plants; by making one’s own essences, herbalists and practitioners will find the flowers that speak to them personally and through this relationship be able to hear when it is the right time to suggest one to a patient.
What are flower essences?
Flower essences are the vibrational message of a flower transmitted to water by solarisation, and the vibrational resonance of the flower is memorised by the water.
Today in my work as a herbalist, I make flower essences to use with patients. A certain plant will attract my attention and I may feel drawn to make an essence. Just before or during the process, I sit with the flower and listen and meditate (over the years I have learnt to listen and not get way-laid with mental doubts or questioning); I jot down in my notebook what comes up. I will later trial the essence myself and ask colleagues to trial it too in order to build up a picture of the plant’s message and how it can be used in herbal practice. Read the rest of this entry »
Cathy Skipper 