CHRONIC TONIC posts on Thursdays at 9 EST, it is a place to share stories, advice, and information and to connect with others with chronic health conditions and those who care for them. Our diarists will report on research, alternative treatments, clinical trials, and health insurance issues through personal stories. You are invited to share in comments (and note if you'd like to be a future diarist).
Tonight's diary is by Amaryliss
I've been promising for a year now to write a diary on Bach flower remdies, and here it is, finally! I'm working on a Bach article for a health and wellness magazine, so I've taken bits and pieces from it, added a few other things I think you might enjoy and made it all into a diary. I'll be around after the diary is posted, so if you have any questions, I'm happy to answer them. Cheers!
Bach flower remedies offer a system of vibrational healing that anyone, of any age or ability, can use to move towards better emotional health and well being. Over the past few years, Bach flowers have helped me cope with the emotional impact of my diagnosis of fibromyalgia, assisted me with maintaining a healthy emotional balance in my life, and acted as wise guides on my journey of personal and spiritual development. I've come to think of the remedies as good friends.
The Bach flower remedy system was discovered by Dr. Edward Bach, a noted English physician, bacteriologist, and homeopath in the 1920’s and 1930’s . The system is made up of thirty-eight remedies prepared from the flowers of wild plants, trees and bushes. One remedy, Rock Water, is made from spring water only.
The remedies, (also known as Bach flower essences), available in many health food stores, are a sun tea dilution of flowers, water and brandy. Remedies are made by floating flower petals on spring water in direct sunlight for three hours, or for woodier plants, such as Aspen, Willow and Elm, by boiling flowers, stems and twigs for half an hour, and diluting the water 50:50 with brandy. Every plant carries a unique vibrational signature, a signature that is transferred to water when the remedy is made. The brandy preserves this energetic signature so that Bach Flower remedies maintain their energetic vibration for years.
Bach flower remedies are sometimes confused with essential oils, but they are completely different. Essential oils are highly concentrated, aromatic plant oils used for aromatherapy. By way of contrast, Bach flower remedies have no taste or odour and work purely on the level of energy, emotional resonance and vibration, helping to release negative emotional states and recharge positive states of mind.
Bach flower remedies, if taken from the 20ml stock bottles bought at the store, can be taken a couple of drops at a time in a glass of water or other beverage. The dosage from a customized remedy bottle (a blend of remedies in one ounce of water) is four drops daily, four times per day. The drops can also be put directly on the tongue or in any hot or cold beverage, spritzed in an atomizer on the body, rubbed on pulse points or put in the bathtub.
For an excellent analysis of how flower remedies work, I recommend that you see, The Evolution of Vibrational Medicine: Learning To Heal With The Wisdom of Nature, from Vibrational Medicine: The #1 Handbook of Subtle-Energy Therapies, by Richard Gerber, M.D.
When we speak of vibration we are merely using another synonym for frequency. Different frequencies of energy reflect varying rates of vibration. We know that matter and energy are two different manifestations of the same primary energetic substance of which everything in the universe is composed, including our physical and subtle bodies. The vibratory rate of this universal energy determines the density of its expression as matter. Matter which vibrates at a very slow frequency is referred to as a physical matter. That which vibrates at speeds exceeding light velocity is known as subtle matter. Subtle matter is as real as dense matter; its vibratory rate is simply faster. In order to therapeutically alter our subtle bodies, we must administer energy that vibrates at frequencies beyond the physical plane. Vibrational medicines [flower essences] contain such high frequency subtle engergies.
The most commonly known Bach remedy is Rescue Remedy, a blend of five flower essences -- Cherry Plum, Star of Bethlehem, Rock Rose, Clematis, Impatiens. Rescue Remedy is used to help us cope with life’s everyday stressors, as well as to calm us and keep us in emotional balance during and after emergency and crisis situations. Rescue Remedy can be used before giving a speech, before a dental appointment, or after witnessing a traffic accident, or any other time you find yourself feeling stressed by life’s circumstances. (First person to list, in the comments section, 20 circumstances in which you can use Rescue Remedy, will get a FREE bottle of it, sent in the mail from me. If you prefer, I will send Rescue Pastilles :) I'm not kidding. Ready, set, go!
Children and pets respond exceptionally well to Bach flower remedies, and because the remedies are gentle, do not have any side effects and do not interact with any medications or other healing modalities, they can be used with children and pets without fear of harm. Plants also love receiving the vibrational healing of Bach flowers! I give my kitteh and house plants flower remedies. The kitteh gets the remedies mixed with water and rubbed on her paws, and I just add a few drops of whatever I think the plants would like to the watering jug when I water them. Rescue Remedy works especially well when you're transplanting!
Dr. Bach grouped the 38 remedies under seven headings:
For fear (Rock Rose, Mimulus, Cherry Plum, Aspen, Red Chestnut)
For uncertainty (Cerato, Scleranthus, Gentian, Gorse, Hornbeam, Wild Oat
For insufficient interest in present circumstances (Clematis, Honeysuckle, Wild Rose, Olive, White Chestnut, Mustard, Chestnut Bud)
For loneliness (Water Violet, Impatiens, Heather)
For those over-sensitive to influence and ideas (Agrimony, Centaury, Walnut, Holly)
For despondency and despair (Larch, Pine, Elm, Sweet Chestnut, Star of Bethlehem, Willow, Oak, Crab Apple)
For over-care for welfare of others (Chicory, Vervain, Vine, Rock Water)
While Dr. Bach intended the remedies to be used as a self-help system, it can be a little daunting at first to know which remedies to choose when you're first starting to explore them. That's where a Bach practitioner comes in. A trained practitioner, knows the detailed indications for all of the remedies, the subtle ways the remedies overlap, and understands, on an energetic level, the unique vibrational signatures of all of the remedies.
As many of you know, I've been training as a practitioner for the last couple of years. I'm happy to tell you that I'm almost finished and within the next six months I will be applying to become a Bach Foundation Registered Practitioner. Woot! This is especially gratifying for me as because of my fibromyalgia and chronic myofascial pain, I've had to stop working as a full time social worker. My Bach flower practice will allow me to set my own hours and work at my own pace. Plus I get the honor and of working with a healing modality that brings such wellness and so much joy to people -- including myself.
Now, how good is that?
Photo Credits.
Wild Rose, Hummingbird Copyright C Sam Sumida
2003 Camarillo CA
Copy permission granted for
non commercial use only
Flower of Life, John Oldham
Please note in comments your interest in being a diarist
July 1: CorinaR
July 8: ParkRanger
July 15: Diarist needed
July 22: Diarist needed