Flower remedies are dilutions of flower material developed by Edward Bach, an English physician and homeopath in the 1930s. The remedies are intended primarily for emotional and spiritual conditions, including but not limited to depression, anxiety, insomnia and stress.
Because the remedies are extremely dilute they do not have a characteristic scent or taste of the plant but they have the energetic nature of the flower and that this can be transmitted to the user. Although flower remedies often are associated with homeopathy, the remedies differ from homeopathy in that they do not follow fundamental homeopathic precepts such as the law of similars or the assumption that curative powers are enhanced by diluting and shaking or “succussion”.
Bach thought of illness as the result of “a contradiction between the purposes of the soul and the personality’s point of view.” This internal war, according to Bach, leads to negative moods and energy blocking, which causes a lack of “harmony,” thus leading to physical diseases.
Bach’s flower remedies were intuitively derived and based on his perceived psychic connections to the plants. If Bach felt a negative emotion, he would hold his hand over different plants, and if one alleviated the emotion, he would ascribe the power to heal that emotional problem to that plant. He believed that early morning sunlight passing through dew-drops on flower petals transferred the healing power of the flower onto the water, so he would collect the dew drops from the plants and preserve the dew with an equal amount of brandy to produce a mother tincture which would be further diluted before use. Later, he found that the amount of dew he could collect was not sufficient, so he would suspend flowers in spring water and allow the sun’s rays to pass through them.
I have over 100 different flower essences and can make custom combination depending on the emotional needs of the patient. More often lately I have been using flower essence tablets made by Apex Energetics, that use homeopathic and sometimes gem essences along with the flower essences. They have 30 products. Examples of two products I use often are
24: Adpttn (adaptation): For the relief of symptoms related to the feeling of not knowing where one fits. Anguish and restlessness. Inability to adapt to new environment.
25: Lf-chngs (life changes):For the relief of symptoms related to despondency, sullenness and discouragement. Inclination to constantly criticize. Facilitates the letting go of false self-images which no longer serve any productive purpose.
Flower essences are often used towards the end of healing, after the person has detoxified and are used to balance out the emotional level that may have to do with why the person became blocked or ill in the first place.