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World Remedies

World Remedies – a look at the differences in potency and growing conditions from different continents. In this thesis we will take a look at world remedies from several different locations and examine some of the differences in potency and growing conditions from different continents.

The development of different flower remedy systems is ongoing. Certain countries and places such as Australia, New Zealand, Himalayas, Hawaii, the Amazon, Alaska and California boast their own remedies made from plants indigenous to these lands. The Bach remedies may be the most common although Gurudas are also now very popular.

These remedies may also have a longer history than we think. According to Ian White, an Australian writer and bush flower essence practitioner Australian Aborigines have used flower essences for thousands of years to heal emotional imbalances and physical injuries. Flower essences were also used in Ancient Egypt, as well as India, Asia, Europe and South America. As we know from the study modules this system of healing was rediscovered and popularized seventy years ago by Dr Edward Bach, who used English flowering plants. At the present time we know that Californian, Alaskan, Amazonian and Australian essences are widely used. All these different remedies have different characteristics because of the climate and type of soil the plants, flowers and tress grow in.

We will examine some of these regions in turn now. In particular we will examine the English,  Californian, Australian, and Alaskan systems. Firstly we will look at the climatic, environmental and soil conditions that generally prevail there, secondly we will look at some of the specific essences unique to those regions with a note on treatments and potency.

Firstly lets consider where the present use of flower essences began i.e. with the work of Edward Bach (1886 – 1936). Bach built on the previous work of others but he differed in many ways from his predecessors. It should be pointed out at the outset that Bach built upon the basis of  Samuel Hahnemann’s (1755-1843) work originally in homeopathy but differences did emerge. The main differences between Hahnemann’s and Bach’s ideas are as follows. Hahnemann looked for remedies that would treat our minds and started people thinking about alternatives to purely materialistic approaches to medicine. In fact in the materialistic cures the body in fact learns no lessons in its “higher nature” so in the long run such a cure may be actually harmful according to Hahnemann.

He also believed that the malady was a natural attempt to correct a problem by stimulating its natural self healing ability. In slight contrast Bach felt that only good could eradicate evil. He wrote “True healing can be obtained, not by wrong replacing wrong, but by right replacing wrong: good replacing evil: light replacing darkness “. He also believed that the vibrational power of flower essences would overcome the malady and drive it out of the body instead of attacking disease by means of poisons that mimicked the sickness and that to awash our bodies in an opposing virtue to the malady is prosperous to us. Bach believed these essences were beneficent, blessed, in possession of a heavenly virtue and gave us inspiration, raised our natures and brought us closer to our souls. In fact one outcome of a cure would be that we got a map to harmonize our lives with the “dictates of their Soul”.

In addition Bach felt that our specific personality type was determined at birth by our moon sign. and that throughout life we were learning one of the 12 great lessons of life. He believed that the 12 signs of the zodiac had a special link to the 12 categories of people and the remedies of “The Twelve Healers”, which we will discuss later. The strongest differences between the approaches of Hahnemann and Bach though possibly relate to the points that Bach made on Hahnemann’s earlier works on homeopathy.

Bach believed that only certain homeopathic medicines could be classed as divinely blessed and wanted to remove the poisons from Hahnemann’s Materia Medica. Bach believed herb treatments had positive polarity and poison cures negative polarity. Perhaps more significantly Bach made the point that in Hahnemann’s work quite a few of the herbal medicines in Materia Medica have in fact no toxicity. In fact they have curative abilities that exceed the minimal ability they should have as a toxic curative.  The basic difference in the two systems is  that Bach’s flower remedies are based on the idea of right replacing wrong (mentally negative attitudes) by overwhelming it with opposing virtue.

In contrast homeopathy practices “like healing like” which is equal in fact to ” wrong healing wrong”. Flower essences have an absence of material substance and therefore completely non toxic. Let us start in England first as this is where Bach worked. Bach outlined 12 very useful flower essences in particular with a further 7 in support: The helpers or healers The 12 healers reflect and transform our essential nature while the 7 helpers assist with chronic conditions. According to Misty Ray Cech the 12 healers were designated by Bach as the flower essences that help transform the source of discord and address the 12 archetypal groups of humanity .

In the briefest possible terms the 12 are; 1)  Impatiens which helps with impatience and those who have difficulty with the flow of time 2)  Gentian which helps with those who are too easily discouraged when setbacks occur 3) Mimulus is the core remedy for known fears in everyday life. 4) Clematis is for those who are dreamy with insufficient interest in the immediate moment of life. 5) Agrimony is for those hiding a deeper rooted pain 6) Chicory is for those filled with self pity 7) Vervain for those seeking balance Centaury for those who can not say no 9) Scleranthus for the indecisive 10) Water Violet for opening the heart 11) Rock Rose for great fear 12) Cerato for those who don;t trust their own opinion.

The 7 helpers are to address the chronically ingrained negative vibrational patterns which can obscure primary personality type and they are: Olive, Gorse, Oak, Vine, Heather, Rock Water, and Wild Oat The 19 remedies The 19 remedies are the ’second 19′  that relate to  more immediate traumas and difficulties. These were the 19 Bach found in the countryside around his home as he searched for remedies for his immediate needs. The 19 are Aspen, Beech, Cherry Plum, Chestnut bud, Crab Apple, Elm, Holly, Honeysuckle, Hornbeam, Larch, Mustard, Pine, Red Chestnut, Star of Bethlehem, Sweet Chestnut, Walnut, White Chestnut, Wild Rose, Willow. It can be seen from a brief description and consideration of the 38 essences above that Bach worked with the flowers and plants that he found locally in Oxfordshire in England. This relatively benign and gentle landscape may influence the kinds and potency of flower essences found.

Let us now move on to a consideration of other systems. The Wider World Californian Essences As far as the wider world is concerned perhaps we could should start with the Californian flower essences. According to the work of Candy Hillenbrand the Californian Flower Essences were developed by the Flower Essence Society during the 1970’s and reflect the personal growth and human potential movement. Lets take a brief look at the climate and environmental conditions prevailing in parts of California before diving into the different Californian essences. The range of Californian climates seems ideal for producing a variety of useful plants. The cool California Current offshore often creates summer fog near the coast, creating in turn a moderate oceanic climate on the northern coast and a moderate Mediterranean climate from Cape Mendocino southward.

Further inland the climate becomes more continental while remaining semi arid with colder winters and hotter summers. Some low lying inland valleys such as the Central Valley have a hot Mediterranean climate with sub-tropical temperatures but a well defined summer dry season. It is true that westerly winds from the ocean also bring moisture and the northern parts of the state generally receive higher annual rainfall amounts than the south.

California’s mountain ranges also influence the climate with moisture laden air from the west cooling as it ascends the mountains, dropping moisture. Northwestern California has a temperate climate with rainfall of 380mm to 1,300mm per year. Some areas like the Coast Redwood forest receive over 2,500mm of rain per year. This vast range of favorable climates fosters a great variety of wild flowers and tress that can be used for essences. The brown loamy soils are also supportive of a range of plants. Now let us look in some detail at the Californian Essences that these favorable soils and climate produce.

It should be noted that the variations of soils and climates in California are so varied that there will be many individual variances from the norms discussed above. According to Candy Hillenbrand many of these flowers are used to enhance such things as creativity, self actualization and spiritual growth. These essences include a lot of familiar herbs, like yarrow, borage, sage, rosemary, garlic, dill and dandelion and familiar garden plants like sunflower, snapdragon, fuchsia, forget-me-not and calendula. Rather than just list the whole repertory of Californian flower essences perhaps we could pick out a few from the selection made by Patricia Kaminski and Richard Katz.

Let us select five as a small sample from the over 140 Californian essences now available. Let us consider Aloe Vera. This has the positive quality  according to Kaminski and Katz of creative activity integrated with vital life energy, active expression of soul fire. This is useful in cases where there is an over-emphasis of will forces or creative fervor, “burned out”or workaholic syndrome. Secondly we can take a look at Black Eyed Susan. This has the positive quality to awaken consciousness capable of acknowledging all aspects of the Self, penetrating insight and self-aware behavior and can be used in cases where there is avoidance or repression of traumatic or shadow aspects of personality or addictive behavior due to loss of consciousness.

Interestingly we have a relatively familiar plant next. Blackberry has the positive quality of competent manifestation in the world, clearly directed forces of will, intentional and decisive action and is useful where there is an inability to translate goals and ideals into concrete action or viable activity. Iris has the positive qualities of inspired artistry, soulful creativity in touch with higher realms, radiant, iridescent aspects of life and is useful in those lacking inspiration or creativity or feeling weighed down by the ordinariness of the world or dullness.

Finally in our tiny cross section of samples of Californian Essences we have Saguaro. This has the positive qualities of awareness of what is ancient and sacred and sense of tradition  or lineage and an ability to learn from elders and is useful for those with conflict with images of authority or alienation from the past. We could devote a lot of time and space to the influence and importance of the Californian flower essences and we would still not have a complete picture as there are also currently experimental essences in preparation such as Belladonna, Clary Sage, Five Spot, Globe Thistle etc. However, this small selection does illustrate the in different parts of the world different growing conditions effect the potency and type of flowers used in preparing flower essences.

Let us now consider the Australian essences. Australian Essences Candy Hillenbrand states of the Australian essences that: ”I have been told that the Australian essences are very powerful and are suitable for those who wish to work on very deep-seated issues”. This may show one variation in potency between the different systems. Also in terms of climate Australia is quite different from the other regions under discussion.

The climate of Australia varies widely but by far the largest part of Australia is desert or semi-arid. 40% of the landmass is covered by sand dunes. Only the south-east and south-west corners have a temperate climate and moderately fertile soil. The northern part of the country has a tropical climate, part is tropical rainforests, part grasslands and part desert. Rainfall is highly variable with frequent droughts lasting several seasons thought to be caused partly by the El Nino Southern Oscillation. Sometimes a duststorm will blanket a region or even several sates and there even tornadoes can occur. Rising areas of salinity and desertification can ravage the landscape in certain areas with implications for the plants available for flower essences. Australia’s tropical/sub-tropical location and cold waters off the western coast make most of western Australia a hot desert with great aridity, The cold waters produce precious little moisture needed in the mainland.

A study by Australian and American researchers in 2005 investigated the desertification of the interior and suggested one explanation was related to human settlers who arrived about 50,000 years ago . Regular burning by these settlers could have prevented monsoons for reaching interior Australia. This shows that humans can really impact plant life, even many thousands of years ago and this has further implications for the types of plants available. However, these factors may go towards making Australian bush flower essences unique.

Interestingly Ian White, an Australian flower essence specialist states: “Australia, as well as being the first continent, has both the world’s oldest and highest number of flowering plants, displaying striking colour, tremendous beauty and powerful ancient forms. It is one of the most unpolluted countries and metaphysically has a very wise, old energy. The Australian Bush Flower Essences tap into this power, strength and vitality and for this reason the remedies are unique, fast acting and are successfully used worldwide”.

This gives us a very clear answer to the initial discussion topic of this thesis – how do potency and growing conditions vary worldwide. Let us now take look at a small selection of the 66 essences and three companion essences advanced by Ian White in Australia. These range from the familiar to the exotic.

First lets start with Banksia Robur. This has the positive outcome of enjoyment of life, enthusiasm and interest in life and can deal with the negative conditions of lethargy, frustration and being disheartened.

Secondly we could consider Bluebell. This opens the heart, makes us believe in abundance, have universal trust, joyful sharing and unconditional love as well as dealing with fears of lack, greed and rigidity.

Thirdly we can consider Freshwater Mangrove. This is a real example of the differences in potency and growing conditions found in Australia. Freshwater Mangrove can give us openness to new experiences, people and perceptual shifts and a healthy questioning of traditional standards and beliefs. It can also help us with a heart closed due to expectations or prejudices which have been taught.

Next we have Green Spider Orchid which helps with communication and the ability to withhold information until the right time and attunement. This helps with nightmares, phobias from past life experiences and intense negative reactions to the sight of blood. Quite dramatic uses !

Finally of the five we have selected we come to Kangaroo Paw which helps with kindness, sensitivity, savoire faire, enjoyment of people and to relax. It also helps us if we are gauche, unaware, insensitive, inept or clumsy. These are just a tiny selection of the essences offered but they do reflect differences in potency and growing conditions.

We can  now move to the final region to be discussed Alaskan Essences The climate of western Alaska is determined in large part by the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska. It is a subarctic oceanic climate in the southwest and a continental subarctic climate further north. The temperature is somewhat moderate considering how far north the area is. The area has a tremendous amount of variety, especially in precipitation. The northern side of the Seward Peninsula is technically a desert ( less than 250mm of precipitation) while some locations between Dillingham and Bethel average over 2,540mm of precipitation. The climate of the interior of Alaska is best described as extreme and is the best example of a true subarctic climate. Fairbanks shows these extremes. The summers can have temperatures reaching nearly 30 degrees Celsius and in winter the temperature can fall to minus 52 degrees Celsius. The climate in the extreme north of Alaska is what would be expected for an area north of the Arctic Circle.

These unique climatic conditions give rise to some unique plant species and certainly unique growing conditions for plants and trees. We can look at the work of Steve Johnson in Alaska and select our standard selection of five essences as a sample of the many essences he has developed based on Alaskan flowers.

Firstly Black Spruce. This promotes the integration of information from past lessons and experiences into present time awareness and helps us access eternal wisdom from the collective consciousness of the earth. This also helps with a contracted view of life and tendencies to forget information from past lessons and experiences.

Secondly Fireweed. This, according to Johnson, strengthens the grounding connection to the earth and helps break old energy patterns so renewal can start. This is good for shock or trauma, energy stagnation on any level and being burned out. Let us consider Green Bog Orchid. This stimulates the gentle release of pain and fear from deep levels of the heart and expands awareness of inner nature and supports connections with others and nature. It is also useful for those with sensitivity blocked by pain and fear held deep in the heart or a lack of trust or difficulty in communicating from the heart. Green Bog Orchid is therefore good at dealing with deep seated problems and seems a potent essence. Next we can consider Northern Twayblade (Listera borealis) which is useful for opening to the subtle aspects of our own consciousness and integration of our spiritual and divine nature with our basic needs. It helps us enlighten our mundane realities with the finest aspects of our spiritual wisdom. Finally we have the Alaskan essence of Soapberry which stimulates the release of tension from the heart associated with a fear of nature, helps us move through fear with an open heart and also helps us with fears of using our own power in irresponsible, inappropriate or unbalanced ways.

This is just a tiny sample of the Alaskan flower essences available and in addition the list grows as there are experimental or trail or research essences coming from Alaska such as Alaska Violet, Cloudberry, Lapland Rosebay and Purple Poppy. In fact Johnson himself gives us a good quote concerning the uniqueness of Alaskan essences: “My inspiration to prepare essences in Alaska began with an awareness of the vibrational purity of this land. Alaska is one of the very few places left on our planet where the environment is much as it was thousands of years ago. Less than 600,000 people live in an area one fifth the size of the continental United States, and over half of these are clustered in the three largest cities. The plant and elemental kingdoms here are still in tact, healthy, and exuberant because much of the state has never been impacted by human activity”.

This also helps us in any discussion of the differences in potency and growing conditions from different continents and locations. Johnson also adds that “all of the life forms here have had to develop special adaptations to insure their chances for survival in an extreme climate characterized by constant movement and change. As we move…….the skills and abilities that enable us to thrive in an environment of continual change and transformation are becoming increasingly relevant. These qualities are embodied by the Alaskan essences”. So Johnson points out that the unique conditions in Alaska do influence the potency of his essences.

Conclusion

It can be seen from the four examples above – from the gentle Oxfordshire countryside, the varied and fertile Californian valleys, the harsh Australian bush and the rugged Alaskan country that the growing conditions vary enormously behind the flower essences and this in turn may have some impact on the potency and types of essences developed. Interestingly Bach himself did not over-emphasize the importance of who grew or where the flower remedies were grown. He pointed out that they should be grown organically or collected from wild, clean areas and all the above fall into that criteria.

Its surely interesting that these areas have advanced the theory and practice of flower essences and have unique environments and in fact we have by no means been exhaustive as we could also discuss Hawaii, the Amazon and New Zealand which have established flower essence programs and also I think we can expect to see the rise of flower essences in popularity from places like Spain, Madeira and the Mediterranean areas which have unique species and areas like Southern Africa and South America. World remedies will continue to grow and diversify.

Sources Essential Writings of Edward Bach – The 12 Healers and other remedies/Heal Thyself. Vermilion 2005.

A Course in the Bach Flower Remedies by Candy Hillenbrand. 1994 – 2004

A Guide to the Bach Flower Remedies.  Julian Barnard .

1983 Bush Flower Essences. Ian White 1997

The Essence of Healing. Steve Johnson .

2000 Flower Essence Repertory. Patricia Kaminski and Richard Katz.

Dr Simon Harding

www.biblon.com

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