Australian Bush Flower Essences

The concept of healing that was shared by such great healers as Hippocrates, Paracelsus, Hahneman and Steiner was a simple one. They all believed that good health was the result of emotional, spiritual and mental harmony and found that when they treated their patients’ psychological imbalances their diseases were cured. This belief is embodied in the philosophy of the healing modality of flower essences.

The Australian Bush Flower Essences work on the mind and spirit but predominantly work on the emotional level, harmonising negative feelings and belief patterns held in the subconscious mind, and are very specific in the issues and emotions which they address. They are obtained by extracting the healing vibrational quality from the highest evolved part of the plant, the flowers.

The history of flower essences

Ancient records show that over 3000 years ago the Egyptians were collecting the dew from flowers to treat emotional imbalances. The Australian Aborigines have also long used flowers to heal emotional imbalances. They would also collect the dew or else eat the whole flower to obtain the vibrational healing aspect of the plant. The early settlers reported that when the local Aboriginals fell ill they would treat themselves by floating waratahs in water for a number of hours and then drinking the water.

The earliest written European records of flower essence usage dates back to Abbess Hildegard von Bingen in the twelfth century and Paracelsus, the famous Swiss medical professor, alchemist and herbalist of the sixteenth century. Both prepared remedies from the dew of flowers in order to treat their patients’ emotional problems and physical ailments. Flower essences have also been widely used in Asia, the Indian subcontinent and South America.

Up until the mid-nineteenth century the majority of people in many countries were familiar with the emotional healing qualities of the plants and flowers growing around them. This is evident, for example, in Europe with the numerous books published in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries on the subject of the ‘language of flowers’ wherein the emotions associated with each specific flower were listed. Today we still see the remnants of this system in that people associate roses with love and rosemary with remembrance.

As detailed earlier in this chapter, the flower essences were further developed in the 1930s by Edward Bach (1886-1936) and since the 1980s there has been a great resurgence of flower essence development around the globe. There have been seven International Flower Essence conferences held in different countries since the inaugural conference in France in 1990. The Australian Bush Flower Essences carry on this very long healing tradition of flower essences.

Development of the Australian Bush Flower Essences

Flower Essences and vibrational healing

As alluded to at the beginning of this chapter, the philosophy of flower essences views physical symptoms as merely the manifestation of emotional and spiritual imbalances. Recently there has emerged a heightened understanding that all living things have a unique energetic vibration, and keeping that energy in balance is essential for their wellbeing. Flower essences, being a form of vibrational therapy, can be a very effective healing tool to bring all aspects of any imbalances into alignment.

If the attitudes, thoughts, emotions and physical body are aligned and working harmoniously, then good health and wellbeing are assured. Richard Gerber, the author of Vibrational Medicine for the 21st Century (), states that vibrational medicines, which are high-frequency subtle energies, are able to act on the subtle energy bodies at the emotional, mental and spiritual levels. There is then a flow-on from the subtle bodies into the physical.

Gerber states that the term ‘vibration’ is a synonym for frequency, and that the only difference between dense matter such as a piece of wood and subtle matter such as a flower essence is the frequency at which they vibrate. Subtle matter vibrates at exceedingly fast speeds. The vibrational medicines that contain high-frequency subtle energies are able to act on the subtle-energy bodies and at the level of the emotional, mental and spiritual body.

Gurudas, the author of the book Flower Essences (), postulates that when an essence is ingested or absorbed through the skin, it is initially assimilated into the bloodstream. Then it settles midway between the circulatory and nervous systems. There, an electromagnetic current is created by the polarity of the two systems. The essence then moves directly to the meridians, which are vital mechanisms of interface between the subtle bodies and the physical body. From the meridians the flower essence is thought to be amplified by silica in connective tissue out to the chakras and various subtle bodies and then back again to the physical body.

According to Gurudas, of the three major forms of vibrational remedies (flower essences, homoeopathic remedies and gem elixirs) flower essences are the most effective modality to reach and treat the subtle-energy bodies, along with the meridians and physical body.

Preparation and administration

All of the Bush Essences are prepared by the sunshine method, a technique that was originally developed by Edward Bach to simulate nature’s production of dew (see ‘Bach Flowers’). Under ideal environmental conditions, flowers growing in the wild, far away from pollution, roads or power lines, are collected, placed into a bowl of pure water and left in sunlight for approximately two hours. Under the action of the sun the healing quality of the flowers is released into the bowl of water. The flowers are then removed from the bowl. This remaining flower water is then added to an equal amount of brandy, the latter acting as a preservative. This resulting compound is referred to as the mother tincture. The mother tincture is further diluted to what is known as stock. Practitioners prepare dosage bottles for their clients from their stock bottle. Several essences can be combined in the one dosage bottle but there is rarely a need to work with more than five.

The standard Bush Essence dose is to take seven drops from the dosage bottle, under the tongue, on rising and retiring. These are powerful periods for the psyche and at the same time it is very easy to remember to take them and affords high patient compliance. To address an emotional imbalance the remedy is normally taken for two weeks, whereas to address a physical problem the remedy will normally need to be taken for a least a month. There is no harm in taking the remedy for longer periods.

Contraindications

One of the most positive aspects of the Bush Essences is that they are self-adjusting, totally safe and without side effects. Since prescribing is predominantly for emotional states and the essences are safe, anyone can prescribe them. However, someone who does possess counselling or diagnostic skills could incorporate the Bush Essences at an even deeper level.

The only time to hesitate in prescribing the Australian Bush Flower Essences would be if the person were unable to take alcohol, whether for religious, social or health reasons. In such cases vegetable glycerine can be substituted for the brandy.

Australian Bush Flower Essences: Working with other Modalities

Australian Bush Flower Essences: Case Histories