Flower Essences, originally developed by Edward Bach, are commonly used for helping us through our emotional ailments. There is much literature on the subject, where you can find out all you need to know about which Essence to use for which type of issue.

Emotions that are stuck can become a bit of entity unto themselves. They become a pattern, literally. If you could see a person’s aura, you would be able to see the patterns of the emotional body. Emotions, like the rest of the earthly things, are made of energy, and they all have their own energetic blueprint, and like snowflakes, the energy pattern is totally unique every time. If one could understand this, one could probably be able to see what the pattern looks like. It’s a good exercise to do, a bit like doodling – to focus on the emotion, or the stuck negative emotion as the case may be, and paint a picture of it. The creative process involved allows one to distance oneself from the emotion, and see it as an entity of it’s own, rather than identifying with it. It is our identification with our emotions that causes them to become blocked.

There is a reason for my saying all this. We must understand these things if we are to even start to understand how to use the flower essences. Sometimes, the appropriate essences will not have the required effect. This does not mean that they do not work.

Emotions, as entities, need time to develop. Think of a stuck emotion like an adolescent pimple. It has to come to a head before you can get rid of it. I know, it sounds disgusting, but negative emotions can be quite unsavoury. The thing is though, they are there for a reason, and if you do not learn the lesson from whatever emotion you are experiencing, you will keep on experiencing it again and again.
The Flower Essences are not a quick fix, like aspirin for a headache. And if you take them before the fruition of the issue, they can be at best without effect, at worst, they can amplify the problem. This is because there is no running away. They will amplify the problem, because that is what is needed. They will only soothe the problem when you are receptive enough for it, and the issue is ready to be dissolved.

To me, the flower remedies are little bottles of consciousness. To quote Rumi, “if a few drops of the wine of vision were to rinse your eyes, wherever you looked, you would weep with wonder”. For this reason, they are to be regarded as loving friends, as people, who will give you what you most need, if you ask them kindly enough, and are willing to learn the lesson. Taking the Essences is like going on a journey of self discovery, the only real journey we will ever take, and the most fulfilling one. And if we are lucky enough to encounter that wine of vision, there will be some beautiful sights in store. But if we have spent all our lives in the dark, and are suddenly exposed to the light, it would be painful, and would cause us to squint and cry. So we must advance with little tiny steps, and eventually, we too will weep with wonder.