The healthcare industry boasts rapid technological advancements, from the discovery of the smallpox vaccine by Edward Jenner in 1796 to the medical crackdown on cancer and its sisters. Alongside rapid scientific developments, people are turning towards natural products over chemical products to reconnect with nature and its purity.
Among alternative approaches are naturopathy, certain forms of natural therapy, and, thanks to our Indian forefathers, the long-standing tradition of Ayurveda. Ayurvedic medicine uses herbs, spices, and natural substances, which, while not proven by science, have treat various ailments for centuries, based on the belief that nature is as important as modern medicine.
But while the world is busy curing ailments and eradicating disease, what about the soul? What about the part of us affected by the environment we live in, by the words of others, or by internal flaws that plague us and no medical test can detect? This is where the concept of Flower Therapy comes in.
What is Flower Therapy?
Flower Therapy is an alternative practice in which individuals take flower extracts to help ease emotional strain and nourish the “tarnished” or the soul that is unstable or distressed. Remedies are chosen based on a person’s present emotional state and psyche rather than physical symptoms.
For example, people suffer various forms of emotional instability or character flaws that affect daily life, including relationships and their mental health. Some of them include:
Agrimony- This flower extract is given to individuals who have people-pleasing tendencies. These individuals hide their distress behind a cheerful exterior and may turn to substances to cope. By providing this extract, they learn to set boundaries and form meaningful relationships.
Aspen- For people who experience irrational fear of things around them. This extract provides them with relief from all things that they fear.
Gentian- For people who are negative both in conversation and thinking. They are capable of being positive individuals, but suffer from overthinking and doubt. With the help of Gentian, a person may develop into a positive individual with positive thoughts and identity.
The above flower extracts provide nourishment to the soul and allow the soul to navigate through the trials and tribulations of life and improve the livelihood of individuals. The affected individuals must add 2-4 drops of their desired extract into water or tea every day and slowly observe the extract taking shape into one’s soul.
Also known as Bach’s Flower Remedies, this practice was developed by Dr Edward Bach. Through extensive research on flowers, he identified 38 flower essences, where each essence is considered to have healed a specific negative emotional condition. The goal is to restore mental balance and emotional stability.
The Soul Expert - Dr Edward Bach
Dr Edward Bach was a medical doctor and bacteriologist whose focus was on emotional well-being. Although he worked as a doctor at the London Homoeopathic Hospital, at the age of 43, he was searching for a new healing technique. During the summer and spring, he started researching flowers and uncovered and prepared new flower remedies. His perspective on flower remedies rests on several ideas, the most important being:
- The cause of disease results from the conflict between the mind and the soul.
- True health happens when one’s personality aligns with the soul.
- Emotional instability only leads to distress, which manifests in the body.
- Hurting others only disrupts the unity of creation.
- Illness may also stem from unresolved lessons from the past.
During his years in Mount Vernon near the Thames Valley, Bach was wholly invested in nature. His close observation of nature helped him identify each flower’s emotional significance. He used two processes to prepare flower remedies: the sun method for sun-loving flowers and the boiling method for others.
The fresh sun-loving flowers are placed in water and set under sunlight, while other flowers are boiled for half an hour. After heating, a “mother tincture” is made by adding an equal amount of brandy to the sun- or boiled-infused water, which is then stored and finally diluted to create the final remedy.
A Guide to Your First Flower Remedy
Flower Therapy is based on the idea that flowers carry healing and positive qualities. When consumed, these essences, Bach believes, reduce emotional imbalances and disharmony that eventually lead to physical diseases.
For your first flower remedy, you must assess yourself: what is your emotional state, and how is it affecting people around you? Flower therapy focuses on the present mood and emotional behaviour. 2-4 drops of your desired flower essence or flower essences (if you have other emotional flaws) into water or tea, and observe yourself becoming a different person than before that.
Helpful Uses
Flower Therapy is helpful in situations like:
Pregnancy- Remedies like Mimulus, Rock Rose, or Impatiens ease tension or fear that occurs before childbirth and support a gentler labour.
Children- Remedies like Olive and Gentian provide mental toughness and curb nervousness in children, respectively.
Criticisms
Flower Therapy is not without its disadvantages. The disadvantages of flower therapy include:
Changes in behaviour cannot be tracked through scientific tests. This reliance on subjective feedback or the placebo effect may seem invalid or inaccurate compared to modern medicine, which is proven by science to cure diseases.
Flower Therapy also suffers from oversimplifying the practice of attempting to “cure” emotional instability. Humans have complex emotional states, and to consider a flower extract could cure someone’s bad habits or behaviour overlooks the complexity of psychological conditions.
The idea of Flower Therapy is more philosophical than medical. Bach’s belief that diseases originate from emotional flaws, akin to ideas like the law of attraction or visualisation, does not align with contemporary scientific and medical models.
Despite these criticisms, Flower Therapy remains an alternative practice that offers a new approach to developing one’s sense of soul and spirit. This is founded on Bach’s principle that suffering stems from the disharmony between the mind and the soul.
The simplicity of the methods, the natural origin of the remedies, and the principles of Bach underscore the purpose of Flower Therapy: to heal the ailments that stricken humanity and everything connected to it. It reminds us that healing begins with self-awareness and the appreciation of nature’s gifts that promote our well-being.
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