Show Notes:

In this episode, we help you get started with flower essences, what they are, how to select and use them, how to use Five Flower Formula for emotional first aid, and more.

Topics and Suggestions:

• What are flower essences?
• How to use them for yourself, your family and pets
• How, and how many, to choose to work with
• How to blend a formula and how to preserve your bottle
• Working with intentions
• Using Five Flower Formula
• Working with a plant ally
• Changing habits with Flower Essences

Flower Essences discussed during the show:

• Five Flower Formula (AKA Rescue Remedy)
• Borage
• Oak

Resources:

• Flower Essence Society Repertory and Cards
• Desert Alchemy Books and Flower Cards
• Alaskan Essences Online Repertory and Cards
• Louise Hay – affirmations

Show Transcript

Kathleen Aspenns [00:00:42] Welcome to the flower essence podcast. Today we are going to be talking about some of the basic issues of flower essences. What are they and how to use them. We’re getting started with the basics. So nice to see you again Ro. 

Rochana Felde [00:00:56] Hello Kathleen, great to be here. 

Kathleen Aspenns [00:00:59] So we should start with the very first question of what are they? What are these things we call flower essences? 

Rochana Felde [00:01:07] Well they’re they’re so difficult to define, and because they’re a vibrational medicine I call them gentle botanical extracts that are made from flowers. They’re subtle but powerful in balancing the body and they work on the level of the mind body and spirit. They’re different than essential oils and different than herbal tinctures or extracts. And we can go into a little bit more about those technicalities but the main thing is they’re more closely aligned to homeopathy. The way that I see it as being a highly diluted aqueous infusion. 

Kathleen Aspenns [00:01:52] Yeah I like to think about it as the spirit of the plant in a liquid base. I like that connection to the energetic wisdom and intelligence from the nature of a particular plant. I think it’s a good place to start. Just defining that they’re not essential oils.  The terminology gets very confusing sometimes. Having the conversation about flower essences, and people think “I love the lavender oil that’s the most wonderful thing” and I agree, it is a wonderful thing but it’s very different than the flower essences. You have this wonderful diagram and I’m sure we’ll put this in the show notes talking about or showing the differences between the different forms of herbal medicine and how there’s this spectrum of herbal medicine that has flower essences being all the way on one end and essential oils being all the way on the other. I really enjoyed seeing the way you put that together because it’s so clear. 

Rochana Felde [00:02:54] Yeah, everything depends on the dose. And it’s a little oversimplified in that scenario but just as a visual and showing where the opposite ends of the spectrum are and everything in between. I think it packs a powerful punch. So thank you for that feedback. In my opinion, coming also from the herbal and aromatherapy world, you know every plant medicine has an energetic effect as well as a chemical effect in the body. And then when we get down to flower essences, as with homeopathy, we’ve sort of refined it, we’ve removed the chemical effect and we’re only looking at the energetic effect. 

Kathleen Aspenns [00:03:47] Yeah interesting, and I think that even even more it’s that that that’s what we’re looking for out of the flower essences that we’re really connecting deeply to the spirit of the plant, to the Energy Medicine of the plant, rather than that we’re looking for that chemical input. But I think that’s a good way to differentiate it. I think that really intentional herbal medicine and really intentional aromatherapy can be amazing because they can have an energetic input as well. But with flower essences we are working with just simply, strictly, magically, that energetic imprint. But I think that the biggest thing that I always like to think about is that there’s no potential for harm. You don’t really need to worry about contraindications. It isn’t a problem to use with an infant, an elder, a pet. You’re always safe using flower essences which is a really important feature to me. 

Rochana Felde [00:04:50]  That’s an aspect that makes them so much more accessible to anyone. I think that’s part of what Dr. Bach had in mind. You know, that you didn’t have to work with dangerous substances, and you don’t have to look up prescription medicine interactions when we’re working with flower essences, like we do with herbs and essential oils. So you know there’s all sorts of levels we can go to in working with these, as far as the therapeutic effects, and the way we as practitioners offer flower essence therapy. But at the same time, anyone can just start where they are and pick up a flower essence and use it. 

Kathleen Aspenns [00:05:43] It is really an accessible way of working with plants and plant medicine. So I think  that’s right, you can you can work with it from so many different levels. Whether you don’t really know much of anything at all and you just feel drawn to a particular plant, versus all the way to the other end of being a flower essence therapist and and combining really carefully and intentionally in order to help somebody progress through whatever challenges they might be going through. So there are a lot of different access points for flower essences all along the way. I think that usually I would start with a conversation when I’m talking to somebody about flower essences is, have they ever tried Rescue Remedy? Are they familiar with that particular combination? Because that’s oftentimes a very good starting point for working with flower essences, the five flower remedy as Dr. Bach called it. And I think that it’s a really great entry point. It’s a good thing that people should have on hand as a first aid remedy. You know I really like to keep one in my purse, keep one in the kitchen, because things happen in life. And it’s really good to have your first aid kit handy. So, five flower formula, which is known by the brand name Rescue Remedy. They’re essentially the same thing. Different companies from slightly different makers have different qualities perhaps, but five flower formula is really helpful for crisis. I think about it for any kind of a shock or terror. Are there other circumstances that you like to think about it for?

Rochana Felde [00:07:24] Yeah. You know, I actually use it a lot for anxiety when just that pops up unexpectedly and in a way that’s a certain form of shock or terror. You know in small forms, it’s not like car accident level, but it’s a little random thought that prompts a reaction in the body, a stress response. I find rescue remedy is great for just so many things that are like that. You know, just to pull you out of that cycle. 

Kathleen Aspenns [00:07:59] Yeah, thrilling fear that throws you up and out of your body. Whether it’s small or big. 

Rochana Felde [00:08:06] Yeah absolutely. And I’ve had my own struggles with anxiety throughout my life. And at one point I was taking anti anxiety medication and then I decided to get off of it, which is very difficult because it throws you into rebound anxiety. And the Rescue Remedy was right there in my tool kit and used often and with great results. So even now that I know so much more about how to refine a formula for somebody specific needs, including myself, I still rely on Five Flower so often. 

Kathleen Aspenns [00:08:56] Yeah I think that’s a really good thing to remember because a lot of people have different moments of anxiety. Whether it’s something that’s a full fledged part of their lives regularly, or whether it is something more transitory. And it’s just good to know that it exists, that you can have it handy, keep it around, and then just take it as often and whenever you need it. I think the next piece is that you can’t overdo it. Taking it regularly, even taking it every few minutes when you’re in the midst of a little crisis or a big crisis, is really the best way to go. Flower essences work on this vibrational principle, so the more often you take it, rather than the more volume you take is the principle. The next question is what sort of dose should I take? How many drops? And it’s so hard for us as Western minded people to be thinking that the number of drops doesn’t really matter, that one drop or 10 drops is kind of the same, because it’s more that vibrational principle of, did it enter your field? Did it enter maybe your body, or on your skin? And how often? I usually use the framework of a singing bowl. Have you ever felt a singing bowl chime? You feel that vibration flow through your whole body, and your body resonates in in tandem with the bowl or the chime. I think that the essences are like that, where on an imperceptible level we’re vibrating along with that essence. And then we might fall out of that vibration, and then we need a little dose in order to come back into that vibration. That’s kind of the way I think about it. 

Rochana Felde [00:10:39] I love that analogy and I like to say less is more, but more often does better. So that’s what I tell people, it’s not the amount, it’s how often and what your frame of mind is when you take it. 

Kathleen Aspenns [00:11:00]  What do you like to talk to people about? About the frame of mind concept. I think it’s really important that we’re not taking it mechanically. 

Rochana Felde [00:11:12] I tell people that if all they can do is just take a couple of deep breaths. Then that’s 100 percent better than nothing. And if they can say a positive affirmation while they’re doing it, and really feel what the intention is for the blend, and then  affirming for that intention is making it real for them. It puts them all in alignment. The flowers, the person, the energy, everything gets in alignment. So I I usually work with a client to come up with one to three positively stated affirmations in the style of Louise Hay, which I studied a long time ago. I resonate with the way that she instructs the wording being in the present moment and so forth. Then if the client can do that, it makes everything stronger. They don’t have, obviously we can use essences on animals, and you can speak more about that, but I think the difference is is that animals don’t have negative conditioning patterns that could block it. 

Kathleen Aspenns [00:48:25] This podcast is meant for educational and entertainment purposes only. We are not physicians and do not diagnose, prescribe, or treat medical conditions. Please consult with your own physician or health care practitioner regarding the suggestions and recommendations made by the hosts and guests of the flower essence podcast.