Show Notes:

Kathleen and Rochana welcome Heidi Smith back to the podcast! Author of The Bloom Book – A Flower Essence Guide to Cosmic Balance, Heidi is a psychosomatic therapist, registered herbalist, and flower essence practitioner based in New York. 
In this episode we dive into her latest book, The Uncommon Book of Prayer: A Guide to Co-Creating with the Universe. After unraveling and reframing the term “prayer”, we explore flower and vibrational essences that support divine connection, ritual, affirmation, and intention. Enjoy this illuminating discussion just in time for the Winter Solstice.

Audio:

FEP82 Flower Essences & Prayer with Heidi Smith

Kathleen and Rochana welcome Heidi Smith back to the podcast! Author of The Bloom Book – A Flower Essence Guide to Cosmic Balance, Heidi is a psychosomatic therapist, registered herbalist, and flower essence practitioner based in New York.  In this episode we dive into her latest book, The Uncommon Book of Prayer: A Guide to Co-Creating with the Universe.

Video:

Flower Essences discussed during the show:

• Green Rose
• Celandine
• Cosmos
• Iris
• Larch
• Angelica (Delta Gardens, FES, Bloesem)
• Cerato
• Rock Water
• Rock Spring
• Calling all Angels
• Chalice Well
• Kunzite

RESOURCES:

Heidi’s info: https://www.moonandbloom.com/ and linktree

The Uncommon Book of Prayer: A Guide to Co-Creating with the Universe 

The Bloom Book: A Flower Essence Guide to Cosmic Balance

Previous podcast episode with Heidi: FEP28 Heidi Smith and the Bloom Book 

CLOSING PRAYER

“May the hearts of all humans open and awaken to the interconnectedness and sacredness of all life.” 

 and 

“Please show me how to make things easier on myself”

Show Transcript

CHAPTERS

00:42 Introductions

1:43 Origins of the book

4:05 Defining and reframing prayer

8:32 Working with clients and complex trauma

11:45 How flower essences integrate with prayer

15:02 Affirmations, intention, and spellwork

19:20 Poetry and heart language as connective truth

21:39 Green Rose for heart/earth connection

22:18 More examples: Celandine, Cosmos, Iris, Larch 

22:50 Cerato – Angelica – Rock Water formula

27:43 Rock Spring for hope and miracles

28:20 The importance of connecting to guidance

30:15 Calling all Angels formula

32:20 Winter Solstice, stillness and the co-creative dreamspace

33:36 Making it a practice in whatever way works for you

37:00 Heidi’s offerings

40:06 Closing prayer

Kathleen Aspenns: Welcome, flower lovers. Today, on the podcast, we are welcoming our friend, Heidi Smith, and Heidi has joined us on The Flower Essence Podcast before, in the way back, on Episode 28, where we talked to her about her wonderful previous book, The Bloom Book. And today, we’ll be talking to her about her newest book, The Uncommon Book of Prayer. And we’re really excited to have this conversation. Heidi is a psychosomatic therapist, registered herbalist, flower essence practitioner, and author. So, Rochana and I really welcome you, and we’re really happy to be speaking to you today.

Heidi Smith: Thank you so much. I’m really happy to be back.

Rochana Felde: It’s great to see you, Heidi, and I’m really looking forward to diving into this new work of yours, in which you do also bring the flower essences in with this concept of prayer. So, would love to hear more about it.

Heidi Smith: Thanks, Ro. Yes, this book was published last fall, in October of 2024. It was, I guess, after the publication of my first book, The Bloom Book. We were still in COVID time, and there were just a number of things hitting at once. And for many, it was a very stressful time. I was needing to deeply lean into my spiritual and healing practices to show up for myself, for my people, my community. And I just found myself kind of re-approaching prayer in a new way, and it started to reveal itself in its own kind of modality, I guess. And it had always been part of my sessions with clients, my medicine-making, I’ve always had a personal relationship to prayer, but I started to think about it in terms of its own methodology. And also, I’m naturally attracted to the feminine and the mystery and the subtle energetic, and prayer is all of those things. I also come from a very conservative environment, religious, that never really resonated with me, but I did have a relationship with prayer, as many of us do. It’s a charged word, and I thought, what an interesting topic to reframe it and make it more accessible and inclusive for people. 

And at this point in time in my work, I’m very interested in the connecting threads and what we, as humanity and as sentient beings, have in common, not just what differentiates us or what separates us. So, I thought, would be interesting to take a more syncretic approach to understanding prayer cross-culturally. So, yeah, the book just started revealing itself to me. 

Rochana Felde: Since prayer is a polarizing term and we’re talking about it in terms of different definitions, in even just what you had presented, what you grew up with, and then being attracted to more goddess practices and looking at different kinds of cultures around the world and what they’re doing, how do you now define prayer? And has it changed throughout this work?

Heidi Smith: Mm-hmm, yeah. So, to simplify, I use the words, prayer, affirmation, meditation, resonant language, spellwork; I use those all interchangeably. And I remember having this meeting with my editors at my publisher about, “Should we use the word prayer,” because it can be such a triggering word for people. And it felt okay for me, and that’s my word. And if you have a different word, then, great, use that word. And I decided to land on a term that felt better for me. And so, I define it as an active agreement that you make between your soul and the divine, whatever that means to you. And it’s a sacred practice that can be called upon to bring about states of grace, healing, and change.

Rochana Felde: And I have to say, when I read that in the book, I really loved it. And that was very impactful to me in turning around how I use that term of prayer.

Heidi Smith: Oh, good, I’m glad it resonated. 

Kathleen Aspenns: There’s this quality of communication that, for me, because– and to be candid, right, the word prayer is a really loaded one for me personally. I’m a fundamentalist cult survivor, and it’s really tough. It brings up a lot of stuff that’s really hard. And so, for me to kind of frame it differently into a communication, because I’m comfortable with communication. It’s like, that’s my thing. I love to communicate, and I love to communicate with nature, and for me, that’s my pathway to the divine. So, being able to connect to the spirits of plants even more directly, to maybe that devic level of plants, that is my connection to the divine, because the God word is a really tough one.

Heidi Smith: Mm-hmm, yeah, thank you so much for sharing that. And I do think that is true for a number of people, unfortunately. And in my work, I work with complex trauma survivors, and a lot of those people are survivors of narcissistic abuse. And I consider cults to be narcissistic systems; Maybe you do, too, so there is a lot of overlap there. And everybody gets to choose what their work is. And so, I understand if you see my book and you see that word, you need to walk away; I totally respect that. And my hope is that just because something is secular, doesn’t mean that it can’t be sacred. And that if you feel up for it, you can consider what I’m offering and reframe prayer for yourself and reclaim that for yourself, and I think that can be really healing and empowering because one of the harms of surviving a cult or narcissistic abuse is that you were having power misused against you, and your choice was removed, and that included what you believed. And so, to be able to stand in your own truth and beliefs in an embodied way, that is a repair. So, I’m hopefully facilitating that in this book and with this work.

Kathleen Aspenns: I really appreciate that you’re bringing this conversation forward in a way that feels really embodied and grounded, and that you’re offering a lot of options, and that you’re offering a lot of options in the languaging and in the way you speak to it, because, like you were mentioning, you do have a lot of experience in working with people who have had these levels of complex trauma. How do you begin that conversation with a client of describing this work on some level of reconnecting them to what was taken from them?

Heidi Smith: Yeah, so, most of my clients are complex trauma survivors. And what that means is they were in environments for extended periods of time that were unsafe. And that could have been in an abusive family system, that could have been in a cult or religionized trauma, that could have been being mistreated within the educational or medical industrial complex, and they are either making their way out, or they’re out, and they’re kind of dealing with the aftermath. 

And when I began my private practice about 11 years ago, I decided that I wanted to start every session with a prayer and a grounding. And this felt a little controversial at first. And I remember thinking, am I allowed to do this? And I felt, yes, I am. This is my practice, and I get to co-create it in the way that feels right for me. And as long as I’m asking for permission, then that feels appropriate. And so, I always ask permission from the client, and I always ask permission when I make medicine for the client or anyone. I’m saying, do I have permission to connect with your spirit, and your spirit team, those are your angels, your guides, and your ancestors? That is what is co-creative. It’s not just me at the physical, self, 3D level, and you at that level. It’s much more dynamic than that. And so, I think people that are drawn to my work, it’s a pretty self-selecting crew already, and if they’re not into that, I totally respect it. But at this point, if you’re not comfortable with that, I might not be the best fit for you because this is a big part of my work. And if you’re ambivalent, totally fair, like, “Let’s work with that. That’s so interesting.” And I think that’s a really interesting entry point to work with that ambivalence. I think that’s so healthy. I know I had to work through my ambivalence. So, yeah, I think that’s part of it. And I see it as if you think of like the biopsychosocial spiritual model of healing, I think it’s a vital part of that spiritual level of the therapeutic alliance.

Rochana Felde: I really appreciate that perspective. And in the book, the way that you lay it out and the examples that you give, there’s quite a few prayer examples and places where you match that with appropriate flower essences. So, to our listeners who may be wondering, how do flower essences fit with affirmations, prayer, and any kind of intentional work, I mean, I think we all already gravitate to that and already use flower essences with intention, but in a little bit more formally with a prayer, maybe you could talk a little bit about that, how you like to do that.

Heidi Smith: Yeah. I mean, yes, I do feel that prayer is such an easy, natural complement to flower essences, and they both feel so vibrational and subtle, energetic and feminine and yin, and they’re part of the medicine-making already. And people are always asking me how to take flower essences, and also, people were asking me how to pray, and I thought, oh, what an interesting inquiry. And let’s offer some more structure for this because we know that when we’re working with flower essences, there’s different applications and there’s different ways to potentize them and amplify them. So, I had always loved working with breathwork or creating a mantra to go with the flower essence because I think of flower essence as a kind of liquid attunement. So, it’s like you’re reminding your body, okay, we’re doing something different now. We’re inviting this process of change. And so, if we think about language as the agreements that we make with our life situations, then it’s just another way to work in the co-creative field with the flower essences to create these changes that maybe we are intending consciously, or maybe we don’t know, we’re just open to the process, or both. So, yes, I love pairing them with simple prayers or long-form prayers, too. I offer the structure to create both in my book. I also love integrating breathwork, just anything to create the time– the more time and space you give these medicines to work, I think the better their efficacy. And the same goes with prayer. It’s like any practice you put time in, the better result you’re going to see. So, the same is true for this process. And it’s a way to bring more intentionality and also creativity to it.

Rochana Felde: Absolutely. As a practitioner, when I create a custom formula for a client, I always write the intention, and it’s really such a part of the process. And you could consider that prayer, that intention, and how it’s written out, I give it to the client and tell them, give them some affirmations that they can repeat when they’re taking the formula. And it’s optional. If they’re not into affirmations, that’s fine, but I feel like it is something that’s so helpful in creating that resonance and connecting with the plants and the flowers and reminding the self, the soul, what it is you’re trying to accomplish. And as you’re doing that and connecting to the plants, that is a prayer. It’s a connection with these plant allies. And I’ve been doing it for so long; Lots of times for myself now, I don’t even take the flower essence, but I just kind of put that prayer out. I’m still getting used to calling it that. So, every time I say it, I need to practice, I guess, but every time I think about plants, these are my allies; They’re like guides for me. And you could consider it that way. 

And I like, in your book, how you do talk about that resonance, because I’ve always felt that flower essences and intention are working with those fields. And you also mention about bringing in the how you feel and the emotion into it, connecting with the heart space, and bringing the feeling into that. And that’s something that I learned when I used to write spells. I used to write spells all the time in a magical space. And I found that when I did that, when I brought my heart into it, I took my ego out, and brought my heart into it in a very coherent, connected place, vulnerable place, that was true, then those spells, those prayers really actually worked. And that’s a really important point, I think, and the part that might be missing from a lot of teachings.

Heidi Smith: Yeah, thank you for sharing that. I love that you yourself write the affirmations for your clients. And thank you also for mentioning that connection to the flower essences, because that was part of studying the Flower Essence Society essences and Alaskan Essences and Bach Essences. They all had these beautiful affirmations that the producers created. And they’re so divinely transmitted; You can feel that when you’re reading them. And that really did help me understand how those plants work. And sometimes poetry or writing can just capture something very numinous, because you’re dealing with the mystery, that which cannot necessarily be named, like, “This does that, and this for that.” That’s not how these medicines work, right? And I am doing my best to help people access language from the heart space. We have more than we need from the ego in terms of manifesting and generating and producing. That’s not what we’re after here.

Kathleen Aspenns: I love all of this, and I would also affirm that that’s always been a big part of my practice, too, in creating a formula, is to create a resonant affirmation. And so, here we are in the same space of talking about connecting to the heart space as a– like the words are a vehicle for that heart request or that heart intention because what you were mentioning is that we have more than enough of the ego, of the intellective. And that’s so funny that so often when I start to work with a client to create an intention, it feels like so much pressure at first, it’s so interesting, because people think that they have to do something really smart or something that’s polished in a certain way, and then we start kind of playing our way through it. And a lot of us, especially those of us who’ve kind of come up in a new age, there are these affirmations that are very strong declarative sentences that don’t resonate at all, that they’re something that you’re trying to force onto. And it feels like that’s a really similar model of an attempt to control instead of an attempt to find my way through and to have a conversation, and instead, we’re trying to force that onto ourselves. 

And so, I love that we’re talking about how to do this from a heart space, how to do this from a place that’s true, like poetry is really true on a level. It may not be the same sort of grammar as somebody might discuss, but there’s a truth to it that really runs through you, and it helps you connect to that space that the flower has as well, and that they’re speaking the language of the heart and the language of that level of truth. So, I don’t know where I’m going with all this, but I think it’s like bringing the flowers in or starting to bring the flowers in. Would you mind starting to share some of the flowers that you think of when you’re connecting to this heart space?

Heidi Smith: Mm, yeah. I mean, I’m always kind of working with different essences. I think one that has been enduringly present for me with prayer and the heart is Green Rose, which is a Flower Essence Society essence, as you know. And my work feels very connected to the heart and the earth, and that is one that I feel like is firmly connected and connecting both. And then, if I’m needing support in terms of accessing more heart-centered language, I do love to call upon Celandine or Cosmos or Iris. There’s a Bach essence that’s on the tip of my tongue. Can you help me? It’s not– Larch.

Kathleen Aspenns: Perhaps Cerato?

Heidi Smith: Larch?

Kathleen Aspenns: Larch, too, sure.

Heidi Smith: Yeah, Larch. Thank you. But definitely Cerato. Cerato and Angelica and Rock Water is a formula that usually I make for first-time clients because I find that we want to encourage safety and feeling connected to your own intuitions, and being able to trust yourself in this work and information to come from different places. So, yeah, I would consider Cerato part of that as well.

Kathleen Aspenns: I’d love to spend a few minutes unpacking that three-part formula with you because there’s so much there. And one of the thing that we really try to do here is go into the next layer, down into the essences, rather than creating big lists for people that feel overwhelming. Can we start with Cerato? Do you see that as being–maybe Angelica would really be kind of like the top of the formula if you see your formulas in that sort of list kind of way?

Heidi Smith: I do. Yeah.

Kathleen Aspenns: Yeah. Okay, yeah, let’s talk about Angelica first. 

Heidi Smith: Yeah. I also visualize Angelica as like an oval, the auric field around a person. And I like Flower Essence Society Angelica. I also have Blossom Essence Angelica that’s really beautiful, but I usually just use Delta Gardens Angelica. And according to David, this creates a sealing feel around the field, so a person feels very held and safe. And it also offers the connection to your guides; That’s what Angelica is, Angels. And you know that flower is this beautiful white flower that opens up to the heavens, and it has that thick stalk, that’s the Air element running through there. It feels very safe. It feels very protective. 

And then Cerato, yeah, like I said, for connecting to self-trust. I feel like that’s more connecting to the center of the body, maybe, is how I conceptualize that. 

And then Rock Water, yeah, the flexibility to start opening to this work, to maybe being guided from a different direction, or just that openness and receptivity. And I really like starting off with Bach essences because I consider him to be the father of this work. So, it just feels like a comfortable entry point to bring people into it.

Kathleen Aspenns: And I love that you’ve included Rock Water into this combination because, if you’re trained in reading the books on the flower essences and you’re looking at Rock Water, you probably wouldn’t see that as being a safe opening kind of an essence. It’s described in a way of, for people who are rigid and mentally inflexible, and yet, if you think about the signature of Rock Water, it’s a sacred spring. Dr. Bach intended that this remedy be made from a spring that didn’t have a religious overlay on it, but just a really pure, beautiful spring that emerges out of the earth. And so, for me, that’s that connection to the earth. It’s that connection to that new possibility. The water emerges out in a new chance. And I think that that’s a fantastic idea of helping people to embrace that life force, that flow, that potential for change. That is so perfect, Rock Water. Thank you.

Heidi Smith: Thank you. Yeah, I feel that way about Rock Water and just the Water element, and yeah, coming out of the rock. I mean, it technically is a gem essence. So, I like that too, that it’s kind of a hybrid. 

Kathleen Aspenns: Yeah. 

Heidi Smith: And it was a pagan spring, which, that’s really cool.

Rochana Felde: Yeah. It made me also think of Rock Spring that Alaskan Essences has, and that is kind of in the same vein that you’re using it. It’s really one for opening up to the possibility of hope and miracles. So, it would be a really lovely one for any kind of prayer or situation that is bringing that water in and helping to open up and let flow and accept the abundance of nature. So, I really love that too. That’s a really sweet little combination. 

As you both were talking, it really struck me what a timely conversation this is, not just for the time of year, as we’re heading into the winter solstice, but also just the time that we’re in. It feels like getting to a place of quiet is really important, and connection, and finding one’s own connection is such a key right now with the bombardment of information from a million sketchy sources that constantly come at us. And I’m very interested in really wanting people to develop their own connection into the divine for guidance. I think we just, really, as a whole, it’s so needed right now. 

And what we’re talking about today with intentions and affirmations and all the ways that we can do that, I actually really love the frame of it being a prayer because there is something about that word that brings to it something special and sacred. It’s bringing in a little bit more sacredness, and yet, this reframe that we’re taking, this place that we’re taking it is, we can do that however we connect to divinity. It doesn’t have to be with a religion, for example, right? 

And so, again, there’s a lot of flower essences and gem elixirs that could be really helpful in just that connection, just developing that sacred space and that connection. And one I like a lot is Calling All Angels in the Alaskan Essences. It’s such a sweet combo, and especially great for children, but people of all ages. And it also has Angelica in it. So, I mean, that is like the top of that formula, of that protection, of that guidance of feeling held and feeling guided and developing that connection, but it also has Chalice Well in it. And I don’t know if you’ve ever been to the Chalice Well, and I have not—it’s on my bucket list—but it is a sacred space. And speaking of sacred wells, and from the times of old, very powerful places on the planet, that water from the Chalice Well offers up this matrix of support for people and helps us to connect. And it also has the Chiming Bells flowers and the gem elixir of Kunzite. And I really love bringing in the gem elixirs for this as well. And Kunzite is back to– we were talking about opening the heart and connecting, a really great one for that, and then it can help anchor in the divine connection into the heart space.

Heidi Smith: Oh, okay. I didn’t know that much about Kunzite. That’s good to know. Yes, I love Chalice Well. I’ve been able to go there two times, and it’s very magical. Definitely a power source, power spot on this planet. And yeah, this time of year, that’s the winter solstice signature, is stillness and going inward, and this is my favorite time of the year. I love the dark. I’m very comfortable, and I think it’s interesting, too, to work with people who, in our culture, we’re such a sun-obsessed, ascension-obsessed culture, it’s uncomfortable to get quiet, and it’s not getting easier. Our connection to the earth, our source connection is becoming more and more disturbed. Also, for complex trauma survivors, meditation, stillness, getting quiet, that can be really triggering. So, it has to be a practice that you practice and you work up to, but regardless of where you are, it is a worthwhile practice to take on. And this is the perfect time to be in the co-creative dream space and lighting a candle, making some cinnamon tea, getting cozy, and getting creative.

Kathleen Aspenns: It’s such a strong draw. I feel the draw of that quietness, of trying to do less, of trying to sort of settle myself. It feels almost, I mean not like a draw so much as absolutely essential for survival at this point, to find ways to implement that into my life in any way that I can. And so, I appreciate that you mentioned that a sitting practice and even a breathwork practice is something that those who have experienced complex trauma, really, let’s take the should out of things, because a lot of folks on a healing path or on a development path feel like they should do that, and they’ll throw themselves into things, and that can really be destabilizing. So, I love that you are amplifying that. It’s really important to titrate these things just slowly, gently, and finding little moments. And we can do that with the essences, too, is to find a moment of just picking your essence up in your hand, taking a little breath, saying an affirmation of something that’s true for you, something that’s actually really true. And it could just be like, I’m trying to find some peace, and taking a little breath and taking your essence and just connecting into that, that’s a little moment of meditation that you built into your day. And it doesn’t have to be a two-week silent retreat. It can just be a moment of regulating your nervous system. And the essences can always be there for that. Just a little moment.

Heidi Smith: Yes, exactly. As my teacher, Jane, would say, most of us are not monks living on the mountain. We are in the world in a different way, and we all have busy lives. And it doesn’t have to be some complicated, involved practice. It can be a micro-choice, it can be a micro-practice. And I always say, find different ways in. If sitting in silence isn’t for you, that’s fine. Maybe you need to listen to some ambient music, maybe you need to walk and leave your phone at home, or maybe you need to hold a stone, or cuddle with your animal, maybe you need something more tactile, maybe you need to have a cup of tea. You can be creative with it, right?

Kathleen Aspenns: Yeah, take that should out of it. 

Heidi Smith: Yeah, just take the should out.

Kathleen Aspenns: Get rid of the should. And I love that you’re helping people build these experiences. And those are beautiful meditation practices and prayer practices in themselves. It doesn’t have to look like somebody else’s practice. It can be a hundred percent yours. And the way that it emerges organically from you is perfect.

Heidi Smith: Yes. So well said.

Kathleen Aspenns: This has been such a wonderful conversation that I think we could do this for hours, having this discussion. I wish we had all the time in the world because there’s so many other essences that are in your book, and I encourage everyone who’s listening to check it out. The physical book is a beautiful thing to hold in one’s hand and a beautiful thing to just be able to open to a page and find something that you can create that moment with. And then also, your audiobook is also beautifully narrated, and your voice is so soothing and supportive. So, I really want to appreciate that you brought this and birthed this into the world. And how do people find out more about your offerings? Do you have any classes coming up?

Heidi Smith: Yeah, so I’m planning an in-person Prayers for the New Year event at the yoga studio I live near here in Brooklyn called Prema, and that is going to be sometime in mid to late January. And I’m also doing an event with Myths of Creation. And then later in February, I believe I’m doing a professional seminar with Spirit Seed. And if you’re not familiar– You know Lindsay’s work. Yeah. So, that’s going to be in February. So, I think that’s kind of a few things I have coming up. And I do have all of this information on my Linktree, on my website, and yeah, I always look forward to hearing from people. 

Rochana Felde: And I just wanted to ditto the sentiment about your book—I’m going to hold it up for those that might be looking at the video—because it’s just a really great little kind of size. It’s got that beautiful artwork that, I believe, is it the same artist that you had for The Bloom Book?

Heidi Smith: Chelsea Granger. Yeah, she’s so amazing. 

Rochana Felde: And it’s just a great little physical book, the way that it’s been produced. So, really appreciate that, and also, thank you for creating an audiobook. I usually never have time to read full physical books front to back. So, if it’s something I want to get all the words from, I get the audiobook. And it’s disappointing when there isn’t one available. And not only did you have that available, but you’re reading it, and it is a great job on the narration.

Heidi Smith: Aw, thank you. Thank you so much.

Rochana Felde: And is there anything else that you’d like to leave the audience with, any other plants you want to bring in, or just wisdom you’d like to impart, anything?

Heidi Smith: Oh, I thought I could just share maybe a few lines of prayer that I’ve been saying recently. 

Rochana Felde: Yes. 

Heidi Smith: I have short prayers that I say and then longer form ones too, but something I try to pray for every day is, “May the hearts of all humans open and awaken to the interconnectedness and sacredness of all life.” And I also am finding myself saying to myself, “Please show me how to make things easier on myself.” And maybe a lot of us need to hear that, especially this time of year. It’s okay to make things easier on yourself.

Kathleen Aspenns: That was beautiful. Thank you for spending time with us. Thank you for sharing.

Heidi Smith: Yeah, thank you so much for having me. It’s so wonderful to connect with you, as always.

Kathleen Aspenns: Yeah, it’s been a real privilege and a pleasure to spend time with you again, Heidi. 

Rochana Felde: Really lovely. Thanks.

Heidi Smith: Blessings. Thank you.

Kathleen Aspenns: See you again soon. Thanks.

Heidi Smith: Okay. 

Rochana Felde: Bye-bye.

Kathleen Aspenns: Bye.