Fleurs de Bach

IN SEARCH OF HARMONY

“Disease is in essence the result of conflict between soul and mind, and will never be eradicated except by spiritual and mental effort… it is in no way a cruelty or a punishment, but is in fact a corrective, and if we can read the message aright, is guiding us to our essential faults.” Edward BACH

Under the name “the Bach Flower Remedies,” there are 38 preparations made from plants and flowers, each specifically designed to target a different issue; these preparations help manage the emotional demands of daily life. They promote a return to balance by helping one take control of one’s emotions and feel more at peace with life.

The Bach Flower Remedies were devised in the 1930s by Dr Edward BACH, an English physician, bacteriologist and homeopath. Edward Bach was particularly critical of the medicine of his time, which he considered “bankrupt,” concerning itself “only with symptoms, and not with the true causes of disease.” According to him, “as long as our soul and our personality are in harmony, all is joy and peace, happiness and health.” Conflict arises when our personality strays from the path set by the soul, either through the pull of our own passions or through the persuasion of others. This conflict is the deep-seated cause of disease and dissatisfaction. Discovering the root of this initial conflict — most often located in an unconscious error — is the decisive step toward recovering health. In his approach, Dr Bach identified two broad families of causes of conflict: internal and external. From the internal standpoint, we act as though we were autonomous beings, isolated from the totality of the cosmos, whereas we are intrinsically bound to it. And from the standpoint of our relationships with others, we act either in a mode of interference — seeking by every means to dominate and influence others — or we allow ourselves to be diverted from our life path by the pressure of those close to us, by that of society, or even by mere circumstance. From these two types of dysfunction, Dr Bach developed a typology of 38 characteristic forms of behavior, corresponding to 38 plant extracts. These preparations have since become known as the Bach Flower Remedies. These 38 preparations are classified into 7 categories of behavior: loneliness, fear, discouragement or despair, uncertainty, insufficient interest in present circumstances, over-sensitivity to influences and ideas, and over-care for the welfare of others. There is also a 39th elixir, made up of 5 extracts, called Rescue Remedy, or the emergency remedy.

If there exists, within the energetic potential of a given personality, a conflict between its intentions and those of its soul, there is distortion and slowing of its wave frequencies, thereby producing a discordant state within the energetic field. This distortion has repercussions on the whole of the person’s energy field, meaning it affects their state of mind globally. The consequence, according to Dr Bach, is a negative state of mind. The flowers used by Bach come from plants that each vibrate, on the energetic level, at a given frequency corresponding to certain energetic frequencies of the human energy field. They are vibrational liquids that have recorded the “Life Force” of plants in full bloom, the moment when this energy radiates with the greatest intensity.

The floral essence makes contact with the spiritual dimension of the person, which it re-harmonizes through a process of frequential energetic resonance. In other words, the Bach Flower Remedies act as catalysts that re-establish, at precise points, the interrupted contact between the soul and the personality. The soul can once again make itself heard by the personality. Where dissonance and rigidity once reigned, there is once more a flow of life. Thus, the person who “was no longer quite themselves” becomes “themselves” again. The personality manages to free itself from the confusions and limitations caused by various influences and interferences. It rediscovers the potentials of the soul, or the virtues that allow it to reconnect with the meaning and harmony of Existence.

By absorbing their luminous energy, the floral elixirs nourish our soul’s need for light. They are catalysts that stimulate our life force, tuning forks that bring the true note of our deeper being into resonance, transformers of emotions, attitudes and behaviors that do not foster fulfilment. An evolutionary force runs through them, a source of inspiration and transformation. They help us listen to our inner truth, to broaden our field of consciousness, and to transform our blockages so as to express our creativity with greater ease.

The Flowers carry no toxicity or risk of misuse. They can be used by everyone. The preparations come in liquid form; they can be taken separately or combined with one another (to remain meaningful, a mixture should not exceed 6 Flowers). Used undiluted, at a rate of 2 to 3 drops taken directly in the mouth, or in a glass of water, 2 to 4 times a day, they allow one to address emotions felt in the present, often in connection with a specific event. In dilution, at a rate of 2 to 3 drops in a 30 cc dropper bottle topped up with spring water and brandy, taken as a few drops under the tongue 3 to 4 times a day, they allow one to connect with older, deeper, more global patterns of behavior. The Bach Flower Remedies are “harmonizers” that guide one toward emotional balance. They are a precious aid toward inner peace. If a Flower not suited to the emotion being expressed is used, nothing happens, since the elixir works by opening one up to information already known and already experienced — somewhat like searching for the key to a door that is already open. Lastly, there is no benefit in increasing the dosage taken; the Flowers do not work quantitatively.