Flower essences can be such a gentle and powerful support for any emotional imbalance. Find out more about flower essences, including what they are, how they work, and the potential benefits.
Overview
- What are flower essences?
- How are flower essences made?
- How do flower essences work?
- What are the potential benefits of flower essences?
- How do I figure out which flower essences I need?
- How can I learn to use Bach flower essences for myself and with friends/family?
- How do I take flower essences?
- Are there alcohol-free options for flower essences?
- What’s the #1 tip to taking flower essences?
- How long do flower essences take to work?
- What flower essence brands do you recommend?
- What is Rescue Remedy?
- Are flower essences safe? What happens if I pick the wrong flower essences?
- How do flower essence consultations work?
- How do I prepare for a Bach flower essence consultation?
- Can flower essences effectively be used with my pets?
What are flower essences?
Flower essences are a vibrational natural healing system that can subtly yet po
werfully bring our emotions into balance. They don’t have a scent or taste, and are traditionally taken orally, which is different than essential oils or herbal remedies.
In the 1930’s Dr. Edward Bach developed the 38 Bach flower essences from England, in the hopes that anyone could learn and use this simple system for emotional healing. Many others have gone on to build on his work with additional flowers from around the world.
How are flower essences made?
Flower essences are made by picking the flowers when they are at their peak expression, and placing them in a clear glass bowl filled with pure spring water. After several hours, the heat from the sun imprints the memory of the flower in the water. This solar diffusion uses water to record the message. If you are inspired, you can learn to make them yourself.
How do flower essences work?
The flower is the peak expression, or highest soul expression, of the plant. When you take a flower essence, it floods the soul with the positive vibration unique to that plant, which corresponds to the positive emotion you need to bring yourself into balance.
What are the potential benefits of flower essences?
- Release anxiety, fear, and worry
- Ease loneliness and feel connected to others
- Soothe grief and depression
- Be more present and grounded
- Balance taking care of others at the expense of yourself
- Become more resilient in dealing with uncertainty
- Connect with your internal wisdom and intuition
In addition, flower essences can enhance and deepen the results of your Hypnosis, Reiki, and/or Tao Hands sessions, providing ongoing support between sessions. Flower essences greatly enhance your self awareness to help you heal old patterns, and as a result, you’ll often see results more quickly.
How do I figure out which flower essences I need?
Think about the primary negative emotions you’re feeling now (rather than referring to past emotions) and select up to 6 flower essences that best correspond to these feelings.
Here’s a free Bach Flower Essences quiz to help you select the flower essences you need.
You can purchase Bach flower essences here.
Here’s a helpful Bach Flower Essences List of Indications & Outcomes.
Not sure how to use Bach Flower Essences? You can schedule a Bach flower essences consultation with Deborah, or she can include recommendations as part of your Hypnosis or Reiki session.
How can I learn to use Bach flower essences for myself and with friends/family?
If you want to go deeper and learn the basics of using flower essences for yourself and your loved ones, you can take Rose Todd’s wonderful online Bach flower essence training. Julian Barnard, of Healing Herbs (my favorite brand of Bach flower essences), offers this in-depth free training as well.
How do I take flower essences?
Take 2 drops of each flower essence a minimum of 4 times a day under the tongue. Flower essences work vibrationally, so they are different than supplements or medication. It’s not about the quantity or number of drops, it’s more about consistently taking them. Taking them first thing in the morning and right before bed is wonderful because you’re very open energetically when you sleep.
Other options:
- Take them in a small glass of water and sip throughout the day.
- How To Use Flower Essences
- Put a few drops on your pulse points.
- Put several drops in a small spray bottle (add essential oils if you want) and spritz around your body.
- Here’s more detail: 3 different ways to take flower essences.
- I love these unusual and creative ways to take flower essences.
- More FAQs from Flower Essence Society.
- There’s a special way to take Wild Oat, the flower essence for helping you find and fulfill your life purpose. Here’s a wonderful article by Rose Todd about how to use Wild Oat.
Are there alcohol-free options for flower essences?
Flower essences are usually preserved in a tiny amount of organic brandy to preserve the water. While some companies sell alcohol free versions of flower essences, they can be hard to find in the U.S. You can add the flower essence drops to a cup of hot tea or water and most of the alcohol will evaporate.
Here’s an alcohol-free version of Rescue Remedy (also known as 5-Flower Remedy).
What’s the #1 tip to taking flower essences?
The greater the intensity of the emotions you’re experiencing, the greater the frequency of dose. For example, Dr. Bach treated a fisherman who almost drowned and was unconscious. He administered Rescue Remedy every 30 seconds until the man revived. (Of course, in a situation like this, you would seek medical attention immediately.)
How long do flower essences take to work?
Flower essences enhance your self-awareness and this can help with all aspects of healing, whether it’s physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual. They gently complement and support Hypnosis, Tao Hands, and Reiki sessions, helping you sustain the positive changes made during any kind of healing work.
Similar to any kind of holistic healing, acute conditions balance more quickly than more chronic issues, so you may notice subtle changes within a few days, or you may need to take them for several months. As a general guideline, take them at least 4x a day for 3-4 weeks and then evaluate. Deborah will make a recommendation during your consultation.
Some positive changes to look for and notice:
- After taking them you have trouble remembering how you felt before you took them, or it’s harder to access the problem.
- You feel calmer or more peaceful.
- You forget to take them or your lose the bottle (this is often a sign that you can stop taking them or it’s time for a new blend).
- Dr. Bach said, “there is only true healing when it brings about a change of outlook.” Keep this in mind as you take flowers essences and see what you notice.
What flower essence brands do you recommend?
These are brands I particularly love and personally use:
Bach flower essences [affiliate link]
Lotuswei
Flower Essence Society (You can purchase the Healing Herbs brand here, prepared the same way Dr. Bach made them)
Alaskan Essences
What is Rescue Remedy?
Rescue Remedy, also called the Five-Flower Formula, is a foundational remedy containing five different Bach flower essences: Clematis, Cherry Plum, Impatiens, Rock Rose, and Star of Bethlehem. Dr. Bach developed it as a “rescue” combination to address major stress, shock, emergency, and crisis conditions.
You can find more detailed information about Rescue Remedy here.
Are flower essences safe? What happens if I pick the wrong flower essences?
Flower essences have no contraindications and will not interfere with medical treatments or prescriptions. If you select the wrong flower essence, you will simply not notice any positive effects.
How do flower essence consultations work?
An initial Bach flower virtual consultation is 30 minutes. Subsequent follow-ups are 15 minutes. Let Deborah know if you’d like Bach flower essences recommendations as part of your regular Hypnosis, Tao Hands, or Distance Reiki session. You can book a session here.
How do I prepare for a Bach flower essence consultation?
Come with a bulleted list of physical, mental, emotional, and/or spiritual priorities. We’ll discuss how you’re feeling about different aspects of your life, and how you want to feel. You will receive custom flower essence recommendations to target exactly what’s going on in your life.
Can flower essences effectively be used with my pets?
Yes, many people start using flower essences once they see how effective they are at helping their pets with various issues such as fear of thunder/lightning, aggression, etc.
Here’s a helpful pet chart.
