Flower Essences as a Healing Modality

Flower essences are becoming an increasingly important healing modality. It seems that, intrinsic to the human psyche, is an understanding of our intimate relationship with the natural kingdoms. When our souls are in need of solace – beauty, enchantment or solitude – we instinctively turn to nature. On a physical level, as well as the food we eat, the materials we use for clothing and shelter – cotton, flax, clay, brick, wood, thatch, are provided by nature.

So, too, do we intuitively seek in nature for the solutions to disease and disharmony.  Naturopathy, aromatherapy, homeopathy and flower essences all draw on the healing qualities and vibrations of the three lower kingdoms.

Like homeopathy, flower essences work on the principle of vibrational healing. Although their effect does impact on the physical body, when working with them it is usual to focus on the emotional and mental aspects of the problem presented. Increasingly, there is this understanding of how intricately these are linked to our health and happiness. In doing this, it is very helpful to see the body as a tool your Higher Self uses to give you feedback, to point you in the direction requiring focus in order to facilitate your growth.

To understand how flower essences work, it is helpful to understand the law of resonance according to which different vibrational frequencies have an effect on each other. Depending on their frequency, when brought into contact with each other, frequencies will either amplify or potentise, cancel or neutralise each other.

We are vibrational beings. We know that, examined under a microscope, our bodies are not solid but made up of molecules, atoms, protons, neutrons and electrons all of which are vibrating at particular frequencies. Other frequencies with which we come into contact will impact on our frequencies, either raising them or causing them to be pulled down. Quite literally, we are all interconnected.

Thus, as we go about the business of our lives, our frequencies vary. When we are fulfilled, happy, empowered, with people we love – who themselves are positive and energised – or living our lives joyfully, our frequencies are high. When we are despondent, depressed, weary, feeling powerless, at the mercy of circumstances or exposed to negativity, our vibrational frequencies correspondingly drop.

When you put a drop of flower essence under your tongue, you are introducing the frequency of the flower into your auric field. A flower essence holds the energetic pattern and high vibrational frequency of the flower from which it is made. As we explained above, when two frequencies come together they impact upon each other. Because of this, the frequency of the flower will raise your frequency. This is what is meant by energetic medicine.

Depending on what is going on in your life and how low you are feeling, you may need to use the essence just once, or for a prolonged period. Flower essences enable you to stabilise your frequency at a level where you feel good, where your immune system is boosted and you see things differently.

However, more than just feeling good, you can use the new perspective you have when you change your frequency, in order to make permanent changes in your life. When you see things differently, you make different choices and decisions, manifesting, for yourself, the life you have always wanted. You can choose to give up the victimhood, martyrdom, the control, domination and punishment of others. You can quit pretending you are powerless and acknowledge, and use, the potent magic of choice in your lives.

The usual method of taking flower essences is by mouth. It is also possible to put them into massage oils and they are a wonderful complement to aromatherapy oils. Certain flower essences such as Avocado Essence and Dandelion Essence are particularly used for muscle relaxation. You can also put drops into the bath. If someone is unconscious, or when dealing with infants, rub them on the soles of the feet and the pulse points. It is a matter of introducing them into the energy field.

Many laypeople confuse flower essences with aromatherapy oils. This is understandable since the name ‘flower essence’ does not give a very clear differentiation between the two. However, besides the fact that flower essences are predominantly for internal use, the method of extraction is also very different.

While aromatherapy uses a method of crushing for extraction, the production of a flower essence is a purely energetic process. Firstly, since one is dealing with energy and working in cooperation with the nature spirits, it is necessary to have permission from them to use the flower. There is a sacredness to the process. The flowers are then picked and floated in a bowl of pure water and placed in the sun for a few hours in order for the energy of the flower to be imparted to the water. Water is a truly magical medium and has the ability to capture and hold electromagnetic energetic patterns.

While there are at least twenty-five international producers of these essences, in South Africa many people are only aware of the Bach Flower Remedies. However, being made right on our doorstep since 1995, we have The South African Flower Essences, which utilise much of our indigenous flora. They are now available in pharmacies and health stores nationwide.

Like many of the other ranges, The South African Flower Essences produce a large number of individual essences, 151 in all, as well as a range of 18 combination essences. Underpinning the production of these essences is a focus on providing tools for the attainment of greater levels of self-awareness and consciousness.

Although it is certainly possible to determine which essences to use in any given situation by reading their use and deciding which you think are applicable, the preferred method of testing is to do it intuitively. This can be done by dowsing with a pendulum, using kinesiology or simply by clearing your mind and asking for guidance. You may be surprised at the level of insight you obtain into the real issues underlying a problematic situation when you read the sections on the essences, which come up in your testing, in the handbook to the essences. This is entitled The South African Flower Essences.

The combination essences simplify matters considerably for the newcomer since they are named according to the function they perform. Thus, for example, you have Balancing Essence, which grounds, centres, restoring equilibrium and balancing yin/yang energy or Harmony Essence, which brings emotional clarity and serenity at times when we find ourselves thrown off centre or in situations of discord. Of the combinations, Crisis Remedy and Stress Essence are the stock favourites.

With the increasing awareness today of the vital connection between the emotions we feel, the thoughts we think and our physical health, it is wise for anyone involved in healing to have a working knowledge of flower essences. They are very powerful tools for bringing about major shifts in areas of the human psyche which can be very hard to access or change in other ways. The results you achieve may surprise you!