Dr. Edward Bach was a Harley Street physician in London. He was a pathologist, bacteriologist and homeopath, who was totally impressed by homeopathic remedies and soon turned into a homeopathic flower essence healer. He astounded many physicians of his time by leaving his thriving and lucrative medical career to pursue his belief in nature. He believed nature to be the answer to disease and that the soul guides us towards our purpose in life.
Mankind inherited noble virtues such as love, humility, strength, courage, mental peace and understanding; however, when the soul’s dictates are violated, these virtues turn into negative qualities such as hatred, weakness, depression, fear, indecision and cruelty. This gives way to disease, the origin of which is in our spiritual state and therefore, the cure for this also lies within us.
Although, man has emotionally and spiritually turned away from nature and started living a lifestyle that causes illness; mother nature, as protective as ever, has been kind enough to bestow her blessings in the form of medicinal flowers that can erase imperfections and take man back to his original perfect self.
Dr. Bach used the curative powers of these flowers in successfully treating different ailments. This amazing holistic approach to medicine has resulted in 38 flower remedies with the 39th remedy being a combination of five of them.
He believed that it is all in the mind and the body is affected by our thoughts and beliefs. He did not use the flower itself but its essence to create several remedies over the years, for different problems of the mind. The essence was initially obtained from the dewdrops that fell on the flowers, as the dewdrops attracted the energy and power from the flowers. But as the demand for his remedies increased, the dewdrops were not sufficient and he used springs to create these remedies.
Bach flower therapy is a unique system of medicine that has the power to change even the subtle psychological and emotional states of being. According to Dr. Bach, flowers leave behind their essence in the water with the passing of the sun’s rays. The essence from the flowers has the incredible power to increase the energy levels in man and changes the emotional and mental state to positive. The best thing about these remedies is that even if a wrong remedy is taken, no negative effects are experienced.
Deep-seated personality traits, such as anxiety, irritability depression, terror, lack of confidence, intolerance, selfishness or hatred can be completely alleviated with just a couple of drops of the appropriate remedy taken thrice a day.
Bach flower therapy not only changes the very personality, but it does so through the spirit and not the body, thus pre-empting the possibility of any uncalled for side-effects, overdose or incompatibility with other therapies. Considering that a large part of human misery stems from emotional turmoil, a remedy that addresses these aspects cannot be welcomed enough.
In spite of the fact that this system was given birth to by Dr. Edward Bach in the 1930s, it was only in the recent years, the interest to this homeopathic treatment has again been rekindled.
Although, the number of remedies has risen to more than 1,200 with producers in different countries tapping the healing power of various flowers, here are the original 38 Bach remedies that have become legendary for their effective treatment:
Agrimony, Aspen, Beech, Centaury, Cerato, Cherry Plum, Chestnut Bud, Chicory, Clematis, Crab Apple, Elm, Gentian, Gorse, Heather, Holly, Honeysuckle, Hornbeam, Impatiens, Larch, Mimulus, Mustard, Oak, Olive, Pine, Red Chestnut, Rock Rose, Rock Water, Scleranthus, Star of Bethlehem, Sweet Chestnut, Vervain, Vine, Walnut, Water Violet, White Chestnut, Wild Oat, Wild Rose and Willow.
The 39th combination remedy, “Rescue Remedy” is the most popular of all the Bach remedies. People who have used it vouch for its miraculous effect on trauma. Many accident victims have been known to regain consciousness and even walk to the hospital. This is considered to be an essential part of every person’s survival kit.
All the 38 flowers embody archetypal soul states and help restore balance between the soul and the personality. Read the second part to see how each of these wonderful remedies work.
