Flower Essences

Let’s define what holistic actually means. In holistic medicine, the whole being is considered: environment, social and spiritual factors, personality, and emotions, not just the symptomatic parts. Holism, as popularized in the 1960s and 1970s, was a backlash against the Cartesian reductionism—the idea that complex natural phenomena can be explained by reducing them to their constituent parts—that still dominates Western science and medicine today. I like to call it the ‘only matter matters’ Newtonian medical system.

Philosopher René Descartes, the seventeenth-century mathematician who wrote, “I think, therefore I am,” somewhat perversely saw nonhuman animals as a mindless, soul-less collections of parts, instincts, and reactions that could be taken apart and analyzed and thus understood. This belief led to the use of animals as labor, experimental subjects, clothing, food, and entertainment, with little if any consideration for their feelings. This, to this day describes Western medicine, in my opinion, pretty much to a “T!”

Let’s take a look at the life of Dr. Edward Bach.

After many years of researching the healing properties of flowering plants, Dr. Bach developed thirty-eight natural remedies to address every negative emotional state he identified. In addition, he created the combination formula Rescue Remedy intended for any emotionally or physically traumatic situation. If you don’t see your emotional or physically traumatic situation covered in the 38, Rescue Remedy is a brilliant choice on its own. And I always carry it with me! Today, these remedies are world-renowned for their effectiveness. But good luck trying to share this concept on your next visit to your physician unless you know this individual has studied up on this subject matter and is open to it.

Dr. Bach’s work has had a significant influence on holistic medicine through his philosophy and essence development. However, while many of his followers believe his 38 remedies are the only viable ones, other innovators have expanded the essence repertory, as I mentioned having now created thousands of new essences of not only other flowers but animals and even inanimate objects (gems, crystals, minerals, mountains, lakes, landmarks) and the intangible (celestial bodies and even angelic beings).

Unlike antidepressants and tranquilizers, which only mask emotional distress, flower essences, or flower remedies, are gentle catalysts that have been found to alleviate underlying causes of stress and restore emotional balance. Flower remedies are benign, and they may, therefore, be safely used for humans and animals. The subtlety of this therapy makes it also well suited for our animal companions as it works brilliantly in my opinion on our cats, dogs, and horses, too. The fact is I have never found anything that doesn’t benefit from the use of flower essences, including plants, and the good news is, their use is completely safe.

Note: I caution the reader to seek the advice of their doctors for diagnosed and undiagnosed medical conditions and to use flower essences as an adjunct therapy for emotional well-being when appropriate. Please don’t confuse the sharing of information with medical advice. Again flower essences can be used to accompany any therapy holistic or not!

Also please note, that flower essences are not herbal remedies. Herbs possess powerful medicinal qualities and should only be used as directed by a qualified herbalist. There are both veterinary and human holistic practitioners who specialize in different aspects of holistic medicine. However, flower essences do not contain any of the physical flower but only the energy or “essence” of that plant. In this way, they are as previously mentioned somewhat like homeopathic remedies. Like homeopathic remedies, they are diluted to such a degree that a kind of memory or “ghost” of the original substance is imprinted on the water. Have a look at this YouTube video to see a bit of interesting research on the subject of imprinting water. And for more on the subject of imprinting water see my article, Heartfusion: The Magic of Imprinting Water.