Flower Essences

Vibrational essences (often called flower essences or flower remedies) preserve the vital life force of a substance for use in healing. An ancient form of healthcare, essences are used to prompt greater levels of health and well-being in the user.
Though essences made from flowers are the best-known type, we like to call them "vibrational essences" because they can be made from many other energies besides those of flowers. This includes other parts of plants besides flowers (stems, leaves, roots, buds, the whole plant), minerals/gems, animals, energy of a place (called "environmental" essences), light (star, moon, coloured), healing energies (like Reiki).

Essences are usually in a liquid medium, generally water with a preservative like alcohol added. You may also find them in an oil base, or an ointment or creme, though this is more unusual.

Vibrational essences are a part of ancient wisdom, and have been found in aboriginal cultures throughout the world. The 16th century master physician and herbalist Paracelsus also used essences.

The best-known essence maker of the modern world is the English physician Dr. Edward Bach. He re-invented essences in the 1930's, creating the popular Bach Flower Remedies. They are used widely throughout the world.

In the past 15 years or so, many new essences companies were founded all over the world. They offer a wide range of essences made in new and creative ways. These newer essences advance Dr. Bach's original work by meeting the needs of this specific time in wonderful, new ways, using more up-to-date energies.

If we assume the Universe has been made by an intelligent, wise and loving Creator, then everything is imbued with a portion of Spirit in a way that makes each thing unique. Through use of essences, we can access these qualities, reminding us of our own innate intelligence, wisdom and love, moving us to a greater state of health and balance in the process.

Essences don't give us something we don't already have. We like to think of them of them as reminding of us of what we already know....connecting us to what we have always possessed, accentuating our innate abilities. Often, this means fostering awareness of what is out of balance. It may mean the empowerment of hidden strengths or gifts which create inventive solutions to our problems. Or our resident healing abilities may become freed so they can do their miraculous work.

Many use essences either straight from the bottle or diluted in the liquid of choice. They can be taken by mouth (the most popular method) or applied topically in a bath or compress, added to cosmetics, or just rubbed into the skin. They can be introduced into any environment by misting the air with a dilution of essences. When using several at a time, you can premix and dilute them together in a dropper bottle.

To make a dosage bottle, here are general instructions. Vary them as your intuition or manufacturers' instructions lead you. Get a one-ounce bottle, say from a pharmacy or remedy supplier, fill it with spring water (e.g., Evian) and one teaspoonful of brandy. Then add four drops of each of the remedies you have chosen, shake them very well (perhaps 100 times) so that the remedies are completely dispersed into the water. Take a dropperful of the resulting mixture several times a day or as desired/instructed. Such mixtures do not keep forever, but their shelf life can be extended by keeping them in the refrigerator.