Bach flower remedys were developed by Edward Bach (1886-1936) who was a physican and surgeon in England. He, at one point in his career, was responsible for a 400 bed hospital that dealt with war casualties during World War I in England. He did pioneering research in vaccinations both conventional and homeopathic. But his greatest passion was the patient not the disease. Rather than constantly focusing on the disease Bach studdied the patient. Though years of observation he came to see that many diseases held their orgin in negative emotions that resulted from conflict between the soul and the mind. Eventullay Bach gave up his successful practice in London to escape to rural England. There he developed a system of vibrational medicines made from flowers to treat emotional imbalances. In all, he developed 36 remedies that have born the test of time and have been widely used by homoeapths around the world, and now, more recently, by Bach Flower Remedy practioners.

Each remedy is made from a flower picked and prepared during a specific time in its life cycle and is selected for its ability to retune the emotions and bring to the person to a new sense of calm and centeredness. Emotional states such as fear, anger, greif, jealousy, shock, shyness, indecision, apathy etc etc can be treated by proper selection of a remedy and may be given singly or in combination when more than one emotion is at play. The Bach practioner is trained to observe, question and select the appropriate remedies for the client based on the clients current emotional state. The remedies are nontoxic and may be used by babies and pregnant women. Up to 6 Bach remedies may be given in a single mixture. The remedy may work immediately or may require many months of use for deep seated emotional stresses and traumas.

One of the most interesting combinations of Bach Flowers is called Rescue Remedy. This remedy is made from Rock Rose, Star of Bethlehem, Impatiens, Cherry Plum, Clematis and is used for acute shock and fear. Since it is an acute remedy used to treat immediate needs related to such emotions many people carry it with them or in their cars all the time so that it will be on hand when the need arises. One of the most interesting cases where I gave Rescue was to a young man who was having a Grand Mal seizure at a festival. It was reported to me later that his seizure which usually went on for 5 to 6 minutes only lasted about 45 seconds. He and his friends started to carry rescue with them and were able to shorten his seizure time profoundly . Rescue remedy can be used at the site of auto accidents, when someone receives bad news, during an acute asthma attach, bee sting or snake bite, and during severe physical injury to eliminate the fear and shock associated with these incidents. The appropriate medical treatment should always be iniatied first, then to be followed by Rescue. If no medical treatment is available give Rescue right away and continue on the way to the hospital.

Bach flower remedies are administered by simply dropping two drops into the mouth. Rescue remedy requires 4 gtts. If the remedy is in a dropper bottle with water and not in an alcohol base (used as a preservative) it may even be dropped into the eyes. Contact with any mucous membrane is all that is required.


Bach followed the following philosophy:

"life is seen as a learning process
ill health, whether mental or physical, is to help us understand more about ourselves and the purpose of our lives
health is achieved through harmony between our physical and spiritual selves, so the body can be free to begin its own natural healing process
the mind and body will remain in a state of health, if emotional equilibrium can be maintained"

Four years ago when I moved from Dallas Texas to Salt Lake I had the daunting task of transporting 2 cats 1300 miles. In the past I had gone to the vet for some good old cat narcotic and essesntially knocked them out for the trip lest they scream for the duration and do other nasty and untidy things in my car. This time, through the wise advice of a homeoapthic vetenarian I prepared a spray bottle of Rescue remedy and I sprayed their faces twice a day. Once in the morning before getting into the car and at the end of the day before introducing them to a new motel room. I can not say just how great the trip went! Even sour old Jessica, who had previously always refused to use a litter box in preference for the great out of doors dutifully used the box in the motel room each day and both permitted me to walk them on leashes. Not a peep from either of them. They seemed content to lay in their carrying cases and to preen and sleep. Truly a miracle!

Agrimony - mental torture behind a cheerful face
Aspen - fear of unknown things
Beech - intolerance
Centaury - the inability to say 'no'
Cerato - lack of trust in one's own decisions
Cherry Plum - fear of the mind giving way
Chestnut Bud - failure to learn from mistakes
Chicory - selfish, possessive love
Clematis - dreaming of the future without working in the present
Crab Apple - the cleansing remedy, also for self-hatred
Elm - overwhelmed by responsibility
Gentian - discouragement after a setback
Gorse - hopelessness and despair
Heather - self-centredness and self-concern
Holly - hatred, envy and jealousy
Honeysuckle - living in the past
Hornbeam - procrastination, tiredness at the thought of doing something
Impatiens - impatience
Larch - lack of confidence
Mimulus - fear of known things
Mustard - deep gloom for no reason
Oak - the plodder who keeps going past the point of exhaustion
Olive - exhaustion following mental or physical effort
Pine - guilt
Red Chestnut - over-concern for the welfare of loved ones
Rock Rose - terror and fright
Rock Water - self-denial, rigidity and self-repression
Scleranthus - inability to choose between alternatives
Star of Bethlehem - shock
Sweet Chestnut - Extreme mental anguish, when everything has been tried and there is no light left
Vervain - over-enthusiasm
Vine - dominance and inflexibility
Walnut - protection from change and unwanted influences
Water Violet - pride and aloofness
White Chestnut - unwanted thoughts and mental arguments
Wild Oat - uncertainty over one's direction in life
Wild Rose - drifting, resignation, apathy
Willow - self-pity and resentment
There is also a Rescue Remedy, which is a combination remedy made up of five different remedies.

More recently, over 400 flower remedies have been developed to assist with a wider array of emotional and spiritual imbalances.
I can prepare a Bach Flower Remedy for you for a nominal fee of $2, to cover the bottle and preservative. Bach always insisted that the remedies be given free of charge.

C2006

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I've tried bach remedies for an occasion when I had to speak publicly.

a warning.. this has a lot of alcohol. I put a few drops on my tongue.. didn't think anything about it. but.. when I got to the event, I became aware that my breath was quite ... alcoholly (is this a word? well, it is now)

I guess putting the drops on your tongue and letting them sit there.. LOL. I don't know if brushing your teeth afterwards would help, but ruin the effect of the bach flower remedy.

well... the end result is people are going to assume that it isn't the bach flower remedy, but the alcohol that has such a nice relaxing effect on you.

ST, in general the little bottles you purchase of remedies are considered stock bottles and they may use very strong alcohol like everclear.

To prepare a remedy you would take a one ounce dropper bottle, fill it with spring or distilled water and put 2 drops of the stock bottle into it. Up to 7 flowers can be put into this personal bottle to design your own mental/emotional prescription.

When I make a bottle for someone, I usually put about 25% brandy in the bottle with the water to keep things from growing. But if they don't want that you don't have to. You can leave it as plain water. Then they should keep it in the refrigerator and be very careful that the dropper never touches the inside of their mouth. I prefer to mix them with a little brandy so they can take the flower remedy with then to have when they need it.

Then if this 25% alcohol personal remedy is still too strong for some they can put a half dropper or so of it into a 3 to 4 ounce glass of water to sip on though out the day. See how far a stock bottle can go!!

The stock bottles have lots of alcohol in them to preserve the cleanness of the solution. Bugs can't grow in alcohol thus keeping your stock storable for a 100 years at least!

This is one type of therapy that I didn't find to be helpful. I've tried the Rescue Remedy on many occassions with no discernable success. I also tried getting a taylor-fit remedy made by a homeopathic doctor. Sadly, I didn't find any benefit with that either.

Obviously, this is only an anecdotal observation but I thought I'd share it anyway.

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I think it is important to share what doesn't work for some people as well as what does work. As important in alternative medicine as it is in conventional medicine.

My experience with flower remedies is the same as Harry's - I found no effect at all, but I have met many people for whom it does work well. Once again, we find what works for us, and what doesn't.

I too have seen flowers work for some and not others. It seems that there is a need for vibrational sensitivity.

I have seen Rescue Remedy pull someone out of grand mal seizure. The folks were so impressed with how the seizure ended so quickly and how well the person felt after that they got their own Resuce remedy to carry with them. And then I have not had such great personal experience with the remedies either but have had people repeatedly come to me for remedies thinking they are just great.

I need to combat a stress headache. Since my water pipe has been broke, I am starting to get a serious stress headache. Maybe just some meditative music, darkness, and relaxation would work.

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My MMS Blog Diary

I've heard that women are more sensitive to that.

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For now we see through a glass, darkly.... 1st Corinthians 13:12