Holistic Arts Institute Integrating Ancient Wisdom and Modern Practice
THE MANY ADVANTAGES OF
BACH FLOWER REMEDIES
One of the greatest
advantages of Bach Flower Remedies over many other therapies is that there are
no known side effects or negative reactions and as such flower remedies can be
used safely by everyone—babies, children, adults including pregnant women,
animals, and plants.
It
was Bach’s contention that in order for health to exist, there must be perfect
harmony between body, mind, and spirit.
It was this harmony alone that needed to be re-established for any
lasting healing to be effected. To this
end, he developed the flower essences to release the emotional and mental
disharmony within us, to facilitate being true to our soul’s purpose once
again; thereby, restoring our system’s equilibrium. It is not possible for us to be ill if we are
in harmony with our true nature. Bach
taught that it does not matter whatever condition is behind our trouble or
whatever fault there is in our nature because the flower remedies will help us
to correct the fault and heal the root cause of the illness restoring physical
and mental health.
Aromatherapy: Ancient
Wisdom for Modern
Times
Although the contemporary practice of modern aromatherapy originated only within the last hundred years, the use of aromatic plant substances for healing purposes can be traced back to all the major ancient civilizations of the world. Ancient writings describe the use of aromatic herbs, spices, resins, fats, oils, vinegars, wines, beers, and more for rituals, embalming, healing, and beatification. It is believed that aromatic plants have actually been used by humankind since the dawn of human history. . . . MORE!
EXCITING
CAREER OPTIONS
At this time, many holistic
practitioners choose to work in private practice offering individualized holistic
wellness consultations. Others may be
involved in:
~Holding health seminars.
~Writing books and articles on various aspects of holistic
medicine.
~Developing DVD and CD programs concerning holistic health.
~Owning and operating a health food store.
~Owning and operating a healthy restaurant.
~Owning and operating a health spa.
~Owning and operating a holistic clinic.
~Manufacturing or formulating dietary supplements.
~Manufacturing or formulating herbal products.
~Manufacturing or formulating aromatherapy products.
~Manufacturing or formulating flower essence products.
~Manufacturing or formulating gem essence products.
~And much, much more. . . .
Human beings, vegetables, or
cosmic dust—we all dance
to a mysterious tune,
intoned in the distance
by an invisible piper.
~Albert
Einstein
The Many Advantages of Bach Flower
Remedies
By Theda Renee Floyd, PhD, RN, HHP
Bach
Flower Essence Therapy was developed in the 1920s and 30s by British researcher
and physician, Dr. Edward Bach (1886-1936).
Bach eventually turned from the allopathic medicine of his day to that
of homeopathy. It was his understanding
that the treatment of symptoms was not adequate to heal disease; rather, one
needed to get to the root cause to truly restore health. He increasingly observed the psychic
components in physical illnesses, and understood that these related to certain
personality types and specific negative reaction patterns. Bach decided to concentrate fully on studying
the different personality types or soul qualities and finding the corresponding
healing plants. Together with his
assistant, Nora Weeks, he discovered and prepared the thirty-eight Bach Flower
Remedies and Rescue Remedy.
The harmonious energy frequency is the
particular energy wavelength of a soul quality of a plant or a person. Each Bach Flower Remedy embodies a certain
soul quality or particular energy wavelength.
Each of these plant based soul qualities is in tune with a certain soul
quality in a person—a certain frequency in the human energy field. These soul quality states described by Bach
are archetypal behavior patterns of human nature; they are not symptoms of
illness. The human soul contains all thirty-eight
soul qualities of the corresponding Bach Flowers.
Various
aspects of the Bach Flower System differentiate it from other healing systems
in the West. The Bach Flower Remedies
are included among the subtle methods of healing, similar to the classical
homeopathy of Samuel Hahnemann, in that they do not act at the level of the
physical body, but at the more subtle etheric levels that directly influence
the human energy system. There are
numerous advantages of using Bach Flower Remedies over many other therapeutic methods:
v
Their methods of
production are simple and natural: Bach’s simple. natural means of production differ from all
other methods known to Western medicine.
The methods he developed—the sun method and the boiling method—release
the healing energy of the flowers from their material form, which allows this
energy to bind to the substance of water, the carrier medium. This actually produces a much more stable
energetic pattern than those found in homeopathic remedies (Scheffer, The
Encyclopedia 16).
v
Taking them is easy:
Therapy
with the Bach Flower Remedies is easy.
Once a remedy is selected, it may be taken in more than one way. The usual method of taking the remedies is
orally, either in a drink or from the stock bottle. It is also possible to receive the healing
benefits of the remedies from a bath, compress, or cream as with Rescue
Remedy. Such versatility of
administration ensures that the remedies may be used in all situations
regardless of age or capability.
v
They are suitable
for self-healing: Their harmless effects make Bach Flower Remedies a risk
free system to use in self-healing. The
soul quality states described by Bach are archetypal behavior patterns of human
nature; they are not symptoms of illness.
Therefore, it is not necessary to undergo extensive medical training to
be a successful practitioner of Bach Flower Therapy. Characteristics and abilities that are much
more important are maturity combined with a clear grasp of the human condition,
perceptiveness, sensitivity, and an honest compassion for others. Bach’s vision was that the flower essences
would someday find their way into the medicine cabinet of every household.
v
They produce no
side effects: Bach Flower Essences work as subtle, nonmaterial
impulses. They communicate information
through specific, high vibrations that stimulate our emotional and mental
self-healing forces. One of the greatest
advantages of Bach Flower Remedies over many other therapies is that there are
no known side effects or negative reactions and as such flower remedies can be
used safely by everyone—babies, children, adults including pregnant women,
animals, and plants. There is no worry
of what might occur if too much or a poorly selected remedy should be taken.
v
They are
compatible with all other forms of therapy: The
Bach Flower Remedies will act harmoniously with any other form of therapy,
particularly holistic therapies. Being completely harmless,
when a remedy is poorly selected and not actually suited, the body simply
absorbs it with no effect as only those remedies with the soul potentials
needed are effective. This enables the flower
remedies to be used successfully in combination with other forms of treatment
such as homeopathy, prescription drugs, psychotherapy, or other allopathic and
complementary therapies, without concern of interference.
v
They often
augment other therapies: In many cases,
Bach Flower Remedies have been known to augment other therapies. The actions
of high homeopathic potencies are intensified and psychotropic drugs are
usually gradually discontinued, at the individual’s own request, when flower remedies
are given in conjunction. Psychotherapy
may be accelerated and the treatment of psychosomatic conditions can be greatly
shortened with flower therapy. In the
treatment of chronic conditions, the addition of flower remedies have often
brought about a crucial positive turn of events (Scheffer, Bach
214-15).
v
They help us to avoid physical illness: Bach Flower Remedies do not act at the level of the physical body, but at the
more subtle etheric levels that directly influence the human energy
system. Therapeutic needs are determined with
reference to observable negative soul states rather than physical symptoms,
which are actually very late indications of imbalance. The flower remedies then work directly with
the body’s energy system to restore equilibrium. With
distortion on an etheric level corrected, distortion on the physical level will
also be corrected and possibly even prevented if the subtle vibrational healing
is initiated early enough. In this way,
physical illness may be avoided as the remedies are able to aid in healing on
an etheric level before physical signs and symptoms develop.
v
They enable us to
overcome a fear of illness: “Heal Thyself” is at the heart of the Bach philosophy, for
it is the divine healing power within us that permits and enables healing. Edward Bach calls upon each person to take
responsibility for their own life and health.
He emphasized that all human beings hold within whatever they need for
their own healing. With this knowledge
and Bach Flower Therapies we become able to overcome a fear of illness as we
restore balance and enable healing within ourselves.
v
They free us to
live our own truth: Bach Flower Essences help us to transcend the conditioning
of our past, our culture, our society, and the media. Spiritually, they clear the path for the
Higher Self to be the driving force in our lives, empowering and assisting us
to recognize, speak and be who we are, who we want to be, and who we are meant
to be—essentially to express our will.
This frees us to live our own truth, a truth governed by the higher
perspective of Self, enabling us to cocreate our lives and our realities.
v
They enable us to
see ourselves as part of the whole: Bach’s approach is rooted in a frame of reference that
rises above the boundaries of a single human personality and extends into the
higher spiritual dimensions. The
remedies have the optimal vibration for their specific soul quality or
harmonious energy frequency, and they work through entrainment to correct the
corresponding but distorted and negative soul state of the individual. In this more harmonious state, the individual
is then better able to entrain with the greater whole. In this way, we are better able to grasp both
the unity and simplicity that underlie our complex world, and have the
fundamental readiness to see ourselves as part of the whole, a part that in the
final instance is governed by a holistic creative principle.
The Bach Flowers are pure, harmonious energy frequencies
that will never have negative effects; however, symptoms may be temporarily
intensified following the initiation of Bach Flower Therapy in a response similar
to that known in homeopathy as aggravation. This means that the individual may feel worse
for a short time as toxins are released during a clearing process often
referred to as a healing crisis. Such a clearing process is a positive
indication that equilibrium is being restored. It is impossible to induce
an artificial healing crisis with the Back Flower Remedies, for their energy
merely supports the Higher Self, the divine healing power within us that
permits and enables healing.
It was
Bach’s contention that in order for health to exist, there must be perfect harmony
between body, mind, and spirit. It was
this harmony alone that needed to be re-established for any lasting healing to
be effected. To this end, he developed
the flower essences to release the emotional and mental disharmony within us—to
facilitate being true to our soul’s purpose once again; thereby, restoring our
system’s equilibrium. It is not possible
for us to be ill if we are in harmony with our true nature. Bach taught that it does not matter whatever
condition is behind our trouble or whatever fault there is in our nature
because the flower remedies will help us to correct the fault and heal the root
cause of the illness restoring physical and mental health.
Works Cited
Scheffer, Mechthild.
Bach Flower Therapy.
---. The
Encyclopedia of Bach Flower Therapy.