Thanks to the sale section at my local Barnes & Noble, I picked up a book on Bach Flower Remedies. Anybody ever heard of these or used these?
It sounds quite interesting in concept… the idea is that there are seven different kinds of emotional problem:
• Fear
• Uncertainty and Indecision
• Insufficient Interest in Current Circumstances
• Loneliness
• Over-Sensitivity
• Despondency or Despair
• Over-Concern for the Welfare of Others
There are 38 different remedies that ease any one or several of these major emotional problems. Dr. Bach developed the remedies after noticing that individual people had different emotional responses to the same disease. Despite their emotional reactions, they all got the same treatment. He started to think that treating the person would be more effective than treating the disease.
Bach believed that accessibility was one of the most important qualities of the remedies. Anyone can make and use the remedies. There are two different methods for making: the sun method and the boiling method.
With the sun method, you take a clean glass bowl and fill it with one liter of mineral water. Cover the surface of the water with flowers and leave the bowl in the sun for three hours. After the time is up, remove the flowers and pour 2oz of the flower-water into a clean glass bottle (amber colored is best, because remedies store well in dark colored bottles — the same with essential oils!). Add 2oz brandy and you’ve got 4oz of flower remedy! Remember to label and date your remedy!
With the boiling method, fill your saucepan almost three-quarters of the way with your flower material. Add one liter of mineral water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for a half hour. Remove from heat and let it cool. Take out the plant material and filter 2oz of the flower-water into a clean glass bottle. Add 2oz brandy. Remember to label and date your remedy!
You can use your remedies alone or mix up to six of them together. I’m looking forward to trying some of these out in the spring! I’ll be posting information about the 38 flowers over the next few weeks, so you can try them out, too!