"Flower Power"

Today my parents sent me flowers and it got me thinking... I love flowers. I love to watch them bloom in the spring and enjoy their wonderful fragrances. I love to see the trees bloom and sing "Pop corn popping on the apricot tree" with my kids. I enjoy hiking in the mountains smelling the earthy woods and fresh pine scent, especially after a rain storm when everything is crisp and clean. I like to see the aspen trees "quaking and shivering" in the breeze. Oh I can't wait until spring to enjoy the beauties of the outdoor world! In the winter when it is gloomy and gray I can't pass up the urge to occasionally buy a mix of fresh flowers to add some color and beauty to our home for even a short time. Sometimes my sweetheart will bring them home to me :) I also recognize that there is more to my love of flowers than just their prettiness. Flowers and plants have healing properties. From biblical times until today plants have been used for healing. I know that when I spend time with Heavenly Father's creations I feel better. Just being in the great outdoors improves my health both physically and emotionally and I feel more grounded and connected to my Heavenly Father ~ my spirituality is on better ground.

I also love flower essences. In the early 1800's there was an English doctor by the name of Edward Bach. Dr Bach had a general practice, he was a surgeon, a pathologist, a bacteriologist and he studied vaccines and homeopathy. He was very successful with his medical practice but he was unhappy with the medical model of treating disease and ignoring the patients with the disease. So he left his practice and went in search of a better system which he believed existed in nature. His belief was that if you could treat an individual's feelings and personality and bring them into balance then it freed up the bodies own ability to heal itself and happiness and health would be restored in the body. He spent years studying plants and their effects on human emotions. Isolating which plant essence did what. In the end he came up with 38 plants that he believed could balance emotions and created the original flower essences . (There are more now as more research has been done but Dr Bach believed that these 38 addresses all emotional states) and promote healing and well being.

My first experience with flower essences took place many years ago. At the time I had never even heard of them. I was consulting with my local homeopath and he recommended that I take the flower essence of mustard. Just a few drops in my water. Wow did it make a difference! Here is the indications for mustard: "Those who are liable to times of gloom or even despair, as though a cold dark cloud overshadowed them and hid the light and the joy of life. It may not be possible to give any reason or explanation for such attacks. Under these conditions it is almost impossible to appear happy or cheerful." - Dr. Edward Bach I felt like I had came out of the gloom into the sunshine and there was happiness in the world again. Impressed by how effective a few drops of a flower preparation could have on me I started studying flower essences. I took Dr Bach's course and learned a great deal about the flower's and their properties. Here are a few examples of flowers and when they would be indicated:

Apen is taken when "Vague unknown fears, for which there can be given no explanation, no reason. It is a terror that something awful is going to happen even though it is unclear what exactly. These vague inexplicable fears may haunt by night or day. Sufferers may often be afraid to tell their trouble to others." - Dr. Edward Bach Think of an apen tree how the leaves kind of look like they are shaking and quivering in the breeze...

Mimulus also for fear but distinctly different is taken for "Fear of worldly things, illness, pain, accidents, poverty, of dark, of being alone, of misfortune. The fears of everyday life. These people quietly and secretly bear their dread; they do not freely speak of it to others." - Dr. Edward Bach The fear is of something very specific like the dog next door is going to attack them. To read about the 38 original Bach Flowers and how to use them go to http://www.bachflower.com/38_Essences.htm the official Bach site and look around. There is also a North American Flower Society with flowers indigenous to this part of the world. I am excited to share flower essences. They can be helpful in so many ways as we journey through this life. They are safe, non toxic, do not react with medications and can be taken by pregnant and nursing women and by children I even give them to my pets as I humanize them and see imbalances in them. I am grateful for the world Heavenly Father created for us and for the hidden helps all around us if we just look for them!