Bach Flower Remedies

Thank you for visiting our Bach Flower Remedy page. Below are brief descriptions of our herbal remedies and further down the page is more detailed information. Simple click the + plus icon to learn more. If you have any questions for us, you can reach us at (727) 400-6969 or by our contact page.

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 – 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

Agrimony

Those who need the Bach flower essence Agrimony are inwardly troubled by fear and anxiety. They may worry excessively about illness, finances, or problems with their work life. But yet, they present a cheerful, carefree face.

Because Agrimony people are sensitive and long for harmony, they go out of their way to be kind to others, and even to sacrifice for them. Because they spread cheerfulness and downplay any problems in their lives, they’re very popular people!

Unfortunately for those in need of this Bach flower remedy, Agrimony people not only hide their feelings from the world, they hide their feelings from themselves.

Because being alone causes them to think about themselves and their situations, they avoid being alone. Thus they throw themselves into activities. That person you see working for every charitable group in the community may be sorely in need of Agrimony. They may also bounce from one organization to another, because they are easily distracted and have little staying power.

Because they fear confronting their own feelings, these people often turn to alcohol or drugs to drown their sorrows and avoid contemplative thought.

Because the Agrimony personality resists seeing itself in totality, it is always unbalanced and unable to make contact with its higher self. Luckily, Bach flower remedies can bring this personality back into balance.

The tendency toward an Agrimony personality often begins in childhood. Children who have been taught not to show their distress and always to observe proper social conventions are especially at risk. When these children go through normal childhood stages of loneliness and sadness, Agrimony will help them communicate more easily. Adults treating children with Bach Flower remedies should take care not to push, but to let the Bach flowers do their work and simply be available for relaxed conversation.

Agrimony is the Bach flower essence indicated for release of inner tensions, anxieties and other hidden emotions. It also provides relief to people who are suffering from extreme anxiety disorders and even such disorders as post-traumatic stress syndrome – in which unpleasant memories have been buried.

Agrimony helps to restore a cheerful disposition and increases confidence. After treatment the person can finally feel safe in facing both sides of his or her personality and in not only facing, but discussing life’s problems.

Aspen

The negative Aspen state is a fearful place indeed. Those in need of this Bach flower essence seem to be “caught” in that emotional and astral plane that we all pass through every night in our dreams – the planes that harbour our personal emotional experiences, along with our notions of heaven and hell, superstitions, and even fairy tale ideas.

These people are inordinately sensitive to impulses and psychic currents around them, such as conflicts in the workplace, the psychic energy of a fellow rider on a bus, and of course, the fear of war, financial disaster, and other “what ifs.” They are often aware of developing conflict before others around them take notice.

Their fear, unfortunately, remains nameless. In the negative Aspen state, sufferers are overcome with fear without being able to say why they are fearful. It’s a “feeling” of dread and anxiety – as if something terrible is about to happen.

In extreme cases, the fear turns into full-blown anxiety attacks, complete with trembling, bouts of sweating, and fluttery feelings in the stomach. And still, they cannot say why.

Children in need of this Bach flower remedy often believe that the “monster under the bed” may be real, and insist that their bedroom door remain open or that a light be left on all night.

Some Aspen people have a fearful fascination for magic and the occult. Many, even as adults, fear the dark.

After treating with the Bach Flower Remedy Aspen, these people are able to recognize the divine power of love and to consciously use the positive side of the Aspen energy. They then are able to explore these non-material planes of consciousness without fear, and to use them for their own benefit, and that of others.

Strangely, efforts at self-help can trigger the negative Aspen state. Those who have become too “opened up” by certain group meditation techniques can become overly tuned in and become “stuck” on these planes. Individuals who have been through “bad trips” while on drugs often react similarly.

Treatment with the Bach Flower Essence Aspen allows a person to once again enter into more subtle planes of consciousness and gain access to higher spiritual spheres. After transformation, the person will be able to explore those higher spheres without fear.

Shapeless, nameless, and groundless fears will become a thing of the past.

Children treated with this Bach flower remedy will once again be able to trust in their guardian angels.

Beech

Each of us, at some time, experiences the negative Beech state. This is when we judge others by our own narrow standards, and become highly critical and even arrogant. Happily, most of us do not remain “stuck” there.

The Beech personality does remain in this state – focused outward from a critical position. Unable to focus inward and digest experiences, some Beech people also experience trouble with physical digestion. This phenomenon helps to explain why Bach Flower Essences do aid in curing physical ailments although created to treat emotional imbalances.

Often, people belonging to suppressed minority groups develop the Beech personality. Having been subjected to hatred, humiliation, disappointment and battered self-esteem from other segments of society, they withdraw and build their own set of values. These private values serve to insulate them from the slings and arrows coming from outside – and in fact help them elevate themselves to a position of superiority over their detractors. Often, entire families exhibit the Beech personality.

Unable to face criticism, scorn, or disapproval from others, an individual in need of the Beech Bach Flower Essence suppresses her own feelings to such an extent that she cannot possibly understand or empathize with the feelings of others. Professor Higgins in Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion is a classic example of the Beech personality in action. Completely out of touch with his own feelings, he is unable to see the pain he inflicts on Eliza.

In an extreme Beech state, the sufferer’s tolerance levels fall so low as to become unduly upset over such simple things as another person’s speech patterns or small gestures.

After treatment with Bach flower remedies, the Beech personality lets go of its limited value judgements. Criticism is transformed into understanding and the individual finally experiences sensitivity, genuine love, and tolerance for those who are different from himself.

The Beech personality feels cut off, even while it longs for unity, a fellowship of souls, and harmony. The arrogance and criticism are merely a shield that has been erected in an effort to protect the individual from emotional pain.

Dr. Bach’s Beech flower remedy helps us to re-connect with our Higher Self and with the Unity of the Universe. It helps us return to a state of joy, cheerfulness, and tolerance for those around us.

Centaury

Do you know someone who serves on every committee, helps out at every event, runs errands for her parents, and anticipates and jumps to serve every need before her husband or children even ask?

If you know her well enough to suggest that she needs help, get her a bottle of the Bach Flower Essence Centaury. (If that person is you, get yourself a gift.)

In the negative Centaury state, service, devotion to a cause, and a genuine desire to help turn the person into a doormat – unable to say “No” to any request.

These people are often tired, overworked, and slightly resentful that others take advantage of their good nature. But their desire for recognition and validation prevent them from developing their own individuality. They are simply too fearful of rejection to allow their own distinctive personalities to develop and to stand up for their own wants and needs.

Energy from the Bach Flower Essence Centaury will help restore contact with the powers of one’s own will.

Some believe that the negative Centaury state may represent a desire to avoid growing up. By remaining emotionally child-like and doing as they are bidden, these people do not have to learn to discriminate and decide. The choices are all made for them.

People with emerging psychic abilities often fall into a negative Centaury state for a time. This is the result of a lack of balance when the psychic faculties become stronger than the will. In this state, people are easily made unsure, hurt, and upset. They may also become physically ill for no apparent reason.

Those who fall under the spell of “enlightened” teachers are especially at risk of losing their own personalities and weakening their own chances of personal development.

After treatment with Bach Flower Remedies, Centaury people realize that rushing to assist is not always helpful to others, as they hinder the learning process for both parties.

They will also be able to say no, and to give service when and where it is appropriate.

Another time when Bach Flower Remedies are indicated is after a prolonged illness, when the person has been unable to do anything for himself. At this time, Centaury will give new vitality to mind and body and allow the person to “return to living.”

Cerato

Cerato relates to the principle of inner certainty, the inner voice, and intuition.  In the negative Cerato state problems arise in accepting one’s own correct judgements, without being actually aware of this.

A decision has to be made: the answer comes intuitively, but the head, the rational mind, does not accept this intuitive response, rapidly covering it over with all kinds of routine arguments and adopted behavior patterns.  Something intuitively known to be right cannot be put into practice with conviction.  An unconscious conflict arises.  It leads to doubt as to the correctness of one’s own decisions; failure to trust one’s intuition.

The Cerato error consists of the personality refusing to perceive and acknowledge the role of the Higher Self.  Instead of realizing that only Higher Self is able to guide us to what is best in us, the answer is sought in the outside world, often popular theories, doctrines, and in the experience of people who are quite different from us.  People needing Cerato are constantly getting on the nerves of others with their questions concerning subjective problems and minor issues.  What would you do if you were in my place?  I know perfectly well, of course, but somehow I do not feel in can rely on that .  It can’t be as simple as that.  These are typical Cerato phrases.

Many people who are in the Cerato state are not at all aware that, in fact, they know a great deal.  They will therefore gather more and more information, hoarding it as though in a savings account instead of working with it.  Because of this, their knowledge will not help them to gain their own living experience.  Yet certainty and trust in one’s own ability to decide can arise only from genuine personal experience.

People  who are again and again following current diet fads, unquestioningly, even if they know they will not be good for them, are in the negative Cerato state.  “I know onions don’t agree with me, but surely if the diet says so they have  to be good for me”  Cerato patients often harm themselves against their better judgment and therefore appear foolish and stupid to others.

Anyone working with Cerato will find the inner voice growing stronger again.  And the more one trusts in it, the more clearly it will speak.  You will find, to your pleasure, that suddenly all necessary knowledge is at your fingertips just at the right moment, so that you are able to  make rapid decisions, diagnoses, interpretations and correlations.  A great desire then often arises to share such knowledge with others.

The positive side of the Cerato energy is an attitude of quiet certainty, so that no argument, however convincing it may appear, will deflect one from a decision one has recognized to be the right one.

Practitioners report that the dream life is often greatly stimulated by Cerato, and dreams are remembered better.  The seeds for subsequent Cerato states are often sown during schooldays, when the curriculum is too demanding, suppressing development of intuition in many children.

Cerato Key Symptoms:  Lack of confidence in own decisions.

Symptoms Due to Energy Block:

  1. Distrusts own judgment.
  2. Constantly asks others for advice.
  3. Talks a great deal, getting on the nerves of others by cutting in with questions.
  4. Thirsts excessively for information.
  5. Hoards knowledge but does not use it.
  6. Is made unsure by the decisions of others.
  7. Is led astray against own better judgment and to own disadvantage.
  8. Needs the approval of others.
  9. Opinions uncertain, changeable, vacillating
  10. Appears gullible or simple, even simple.
  11. Identity is weak.
  12. Likes convention, and wants to know what is “in”.
  13. Tendency to imitate attitudes of others.
  14. Poor concentration due to lack of confidence in own judgment.
  15. Lacks in trust in others, not trusting in own judgment.

Potential Following Transformation.

  1. Intuitive and capable of enthusiasm, curious, eager to learn.
  2. Able to gather information, organize and use it.
  3. Happy to pass on knowledge.
  4. Good coordination of abstract and concrete thought.
  5. Accepts guidance of “inner voice”, trusts in self, and stands by own decisions.
  6. Acts wisely.

Supportive Measures

  1. Breathing exercises to make contact with the “centre” of your being.
  2. Take up contact with nature; silent meditation in nature.

Positive Statements for Practice:  Inner voice, speak to me.  Inner voice, I hear you.   “I take note of my first impulses.”  “Only I can decide what is right for me.”  “I trust in my inner guidance”.

Cherry Plum

The negative Cherry Plum state is nothing if not dangerous. In this state, individuals may feel as though they are about to lose their minds or “explode.” Many fear that they will commit acts of extreme violence. Others harbour thoughts of suicide – either physically or at a mental level.

The processes of spiritual and mental growth that occur when energies are balanced are almost frantically suppressed, as the person seeks to deny the dark forces which reside in everyone. The person’s own terror that dark thoughts could lead to dark actions causes them to try to drive down and suppress all such thoughts.

Before treatment with Bach Flower Remedies, the person in a negative Cherry Plum state is unable to face his or her own inner feelings and completely denies the guidance of the Higher Self. This personality suffers from a fundamental fear of opening up to the process of development. He is literally unable to “let go.”

Men who have fought in wars and endured days of continuous shelling, or who have spent time in prison camps under brutal interrogation have often developed negative Cherry Plum states.

Children in need of the Bach Flower remedy, Cherry Plum are often bed wetters. These children, who keep themselves under tight control during waking hours, let their inner anxieties come to free expression only when there is no conscious bodily control.

While often hard to recognize because the negative Cherry Plum personality exhibits extreme outward control, they may be betrayed by their eyes. Often they exhibit eyes that are wide open, staring, and blinking less than normal.

Once in treatment with Bach Flower Essences, the personality will begin to submit itself to the guidance of the Higher Self. There it can be led through the chaos to the light. After re-connecting with the Higher Self and passing through this state, these individuals are often able to bear extreme adversities that would break a lesser personality.

In the positive Cherry Plum state, one becomes able to enter deeply into the unconscious and to use the insights gained there. He or she becomes connected to a powerful reservoir of spiritual strength, gains great spiritual insight, and makes tremendous advances in personal development.

Chestnut Bud

When Dr. Bach formulated his Bach Flower Essences, no one was speaking about Attention Deficit Disorder, but it would appear that those in the negative Chestnut Bud state do suffer from the condition.

They seem not to be able to focus and learn from any experience, but instead to keep repeating them, and making the same mistakes over and over.

The negative Chestnut Bud personality is self-willed and acts almost in childish defiance of the Higher Self.

A person with this energy imbalance may date the same kind of person over and over – with the same unhappy results each time. They may buy the same color shirt repeatedly, even though the color doesn’t flatter them and thus they don’t wear the shirts.

Those needing the Bach flower therapy to be gained from Chestnut Bud seem almost determined not to recognize cause and effect in their lives.

Since the physical body does react to the spiritual state, these people are often ill – and if they stopped to recognize the patterns in their life, they would probably see that their illnesses are often triggered by the same life events – repeated over and over.

These could come from personal relationships, such as an argument with a loved one, or from job-related stresses.

Chestnut Bud appears to be a state of very young energy, and is frequently seen in children. These youngsters seem inattentive and absent-minded – always ready to fly off to a new adventure rather than carry through with present tasks. They’re forgetful, easily distracted, and are often mis-diagnosed as “slow” because their lack of attention prevents them from absorbing their lessons.

When treated with the Bach flower remedy, Chestnut Bud personalities achieve better co-ordination between their inner thought activity and the physical situation. They begin to learn from their own experiences as well as the observation of other’s experiences.

Mental flexibility and activity increase, so the person who was once considered slow and disinterested in life turns into a student eager to learn – especially with regard to learning from his or her own mistakes. Every experience – negative or positive – becomes an inner gain.

Chicory

“This is the Bach flower for unconditional love”. But beware, in its negative state, the Chicory personality can be the most domineering and demanding of them all.

The negative Chicory state produces a need to control, to be the focus of attention, and to be continuously assured of the family’s love.

These are the children who cry incessantly if left to their own resources, and who use every tool from bribery to flattery, to extreme eagerness to “help,” to falling ill in order to achieve the attention they crave.

In adults the need for the energy balance achieved from this Bach flower remedy shows up as a kind of possessive, extreme mother love. The negative Chicory personality will try to control and arrange every activity for her family and those in her circle of friends. She’s always there to “put things right” when others don’t meet her standards of performance. Her pleasure seems to come from commenting, criticizing, and demanding.

Her love is conditional: “I’ll love you if you… ”

This is the mother who insists that her children spend every holiday with her – and who makes their lives miserable if they don’t comply. She’ll use heavy doses of guilt to attain her objectives – making dealing with her an emotional drain on the entire family. In adults, as in children, frequent illness may be used as a way to gain both sympathy and attention.

Often, the negative Chicory state is a result of a childhood devoid of love. Thus, the need for affection stems from a lack of fulfilment and a feeling of being unwanted. The feeling of unworthiness prevents this personality from being able to give love to itself so constantly seeks love from others.

An interesting esoteric thought is that people destined to live in negative Chicory states have spent many past lives under the all-controlling influence of “mother church.”

As Bach Flower Remedies begin to work in the Chicory personality, fear of loss will dissipate and the ability to love oneself will grow.

Once brought into balance through Bach flower therapies, the Chicory personality has the potential for great inner strength and a strong ability to love unconditionally.

In the positive state, the chicory personality becomes the “eternal mother,” spreading wings of kindness, warmth, and security – and providing shelter for others selflessly, with no expectation of reward.

Clematis

This is the Bach flower essence for people who are detached from “real life.” They prefer to live in the world created within their own minds, and show little response to either good or bad news. This does not endear him to his fellow man, as he exhibits a complete disinterest in other people’s enthusiasms or problems.

Because most of their psychic energies are used up on the inner planes, Clematis people show little anxiety or aggression – or excitement.

In the Clematis state, a person appears to be a “wanderer between the worlds” and reality holds little interest.

Clematis personalities are extremely creative and imaginative and do well in occupations such as music, fashion design, journalism, and film-making. However, when their creativity cannot be put to good use, they fall into the negative Clematis state – where their energies can take the form of exaggerated romanticism, delusions, and various kinds of eccentricity.

These people have little instinct for self-preservation – making a difficult job for a physician when they fall ill. Often, they give the impression that they’d be perfectly content to pass to the other side – perhaps even looking forward to being reunited with someone who has gone before. This lack of desire for wellness led Dr. Bach to refer to the negative Clematis state a “polite form of suicide.”

You may recognize a person in need of treatment with this Bach flower therapy by their dreamy look – an unfocused gaze and an attitude of slight confusion. Because they are never fully focused on the present, they have poor memories and little sense of detail. They simply can’t take the time to listen well enough to absorb things.

The negative Clematis individual is usually very pale, and has cold hands and feet. Because their eyes and ears are more tuned in to their inner world than the physical world, they often develop problems with vision or hearing.

Following treatment with Bach Flower Remedies, the Clematis person is able to connect the inner and outer worlds and once again becomes interested in the physical world and the people surrounding him.

Crab Apple

Crab Apple is one of the most interesting of the Bach Flower Essences, because it is used to treat both the inner and the outer self.

Individuals in the negative Crab Apple State are focused so intently on order, purity, and perfection within themselves and their immediate environment, that they are quite often unable to see the larger picture.

These people are prime examples of “Not being able to see the forest for the trees.”

Once a detail that is “off” captures their attention, they can think of little else until they correct that detail.

Their desire for cleanliness pushes those in the extreme negative Crab Apple state to exhibit the kinds of behaviours that would seem bizarre to others. For instance, they may wash their hands every few minutes, or take 6 showers in a single day.

This overwhelming desire for purity makes those in need of this Bach flower remedy especially wary of insects, foods that have been in the refrigerator too long, and all kinds of infections. They are first in line for preventative measures when a new virus is announced.

Those in an intense positive Crab Apple state are often healers – able to absorb, filter, and transform dark forces and blocked energies in others. People with that kind of energy are rare, but all persons in the positive Crab Apple state can share positive energies with those around them.

On the physical level, Crab Apple, often combined with Pine, has long been used to treat skin disorders. It can be added to bath water or used as a compress. Combined with lotion, it is often used to treat wounds.

Some Bach Flower Remedy practitioners recommend Crab Apple to aid in recovery from an incipient cold, or to counter-act the side effects of pharmaceuticals. It is also recommended to overcome the effects of a hangover.

Because Bach Flower practitioners are continuously subjected to the energies of their patients, some take Crab Apple and Walnut between sessions to lessen the effect on their own energies.

Along with aiding humans in their quest for happiness, this Bach Flower Remedy is used in combination with Feel5ive to treat pest infested plants or plants that have been re-potted and need a little help getting re-established.

Elm

The Elm personality usually shows itself in the positive form – in the person of a “take charge, get it all done” attitude and behavior. These people are generally of above average intelligence and ability, and responsibility – and others depend upon them for leadership and guidance.

Unfortunately, Elm personalities often put aside their own needs for those of the greater good – and this can lead to a state of near breakdown. They have forgotten that each of us has a responsibility to care for ourselves first, and that we must take care not to exceed our physical or emotional limits.

Those in need of treatment with this Bach Flower Remedy will suddenly feel themselves unable to cope. A task which would have been easy just a few days ago now seems overwhelming, and beyond their capabilities.

Often, this negative state is the result of increasing professional or personal pressure coinciding with a temporary physical weakness. The “breakdown” is the body is attempting to tell the person to “take a time out.”

Because the person’s self-esteem is so firmly rooted in fulfilling his or her responsibilities, the ego takes a major blow when he or she cannot carry on.

This Bach Flower Remedy is sometimes termed “psychological smelling salts,” because it lends strength to the strong in times of weakness. It helps them once again put problems and situations in their proper perspective and return the ability to cope. It also helps re-create the knowledge and belief that if help is needed, it will come at the proper time and in the proper manner.

Bach Flower Essences help re-balance energies, but once back in balance, those with the Elm personality should take care not to repeat the same activities that put him or her in the negative Elm state to begin with. They should remember to see themselves first as an individual who has responsibilities toward themselves as well as to others. They should also schedule vacation time and a treat now and then.

Gentian

This Bach Flower Essence brings a return to faith – not only faith in God and the Higher Self, but faith in the meaning of life, and faith in one’s own future.

People who live in the negative Gentian state are eternal pessimists, always depressed and always seeing what could go wrong for themselves, for their families, and for society as a whole.

They doubt the messages from their higher selves, as they doubt everything and everyone else around them.

Those who live with such a person often feel that they are taking enjoyment from their own depression and pessimism.

At its extreme, this personality doesn’t feel comfortable unless it is engaged in worry over something.

Interestingly, even when working with Bach Flower Remedies, the Gentian personality will harbour a seed of doubt about their effectiveness – in spite of seeing the positive results.

The true Gentian personality will always be a sceptic, but after treatment will become a “Positive sceptic,” able to see difficulties without falling into despair, and able to live with conflict because he can once again see a positive outcome at the end.

A temporary Gentian state can come about as a result of extreme circumstances. These might include a lingering illness, a prolonged period of unemployment, or the death of a loved family member, friend, or pet. Children caught between warring parents in a divorce often fall into the Gentian state, as do elderly people who are forced to leave their homes for life in a facility.

Children who often have trouble in school and wish desperately not to be forced to return are exhibiting the temporary Gentian state – Wise parents should keep Bach Flower Remedies on hand to help them when those situations occur.

Gentian is the Bach Flower Essence to choose when psychotherapy is having no effect.

Gorse

This Bach Flower Remedy embodies hope. In the extreme negative Gorse state, all hope has been lost.

One sensitive described this state as one in which there seems to be a thick pane of glass between the soul and the personality. They can see, but not hear each other. They are cut off from their Higher Selves and refuse to accept its role as the controller of its destiny.

Often, such people possess a difficult Karma which needs to be addressed in this lifetime through suffering. Thus they are beset with long-term, chronic illnesses. They go through many unsuccessful treatments, but without real hope that any will succeed. Even those who begin treatment with Bach Flower Remedies do so only to please their families – not with any hope of relief. Interestingly, they can be persuaded to try new treatments because deep within the lack of hope is a seed of belief that some outside miracle could save them.

They have no understanding that healing comes from within, and from the connection with the Higher Self that they are now rejecting.

Of course, the negative expectations work to more firmly root the disease within the body, making the situation worse. And, by withdrawing more from the Higher Self, these people become even less able to work through the processes demanded in this life.

The extreme Gorse personality often shows in physical appearance – with pale waxy skin and dark shadows under their eyes. They can look like a living corpse.

After treatment, a new attitude emerges – a person is able to accept the lessons, knowing that all will come out right in the end. The Bach flowers bring a return to hope, and in milder cases of illness, hope is exactly what’s needed in order for healing to occur.

Gorse will aid those suffering from terminal illness to get through the final stages in a state of peace.

A milder Gorse state shows up in an attitude of “I’ve tried everything, but…” You might see this milder state in people who have been trying unsuccessfully to find a new job after a layoff. Bach Flower Remedies can often bring about a speedy change, allowing them to get back on track with a more positive search. And of course, expecting positive results generally brings positive results.

As an aid to gardeners, Gorse is used to encourage limp plant cuttings to take root.

Heather`

We all know individuals who could benefit from this Bach Flower Essence. These are the people who are only concerned with themselves and their problems. They take no notice of yours, even when you are in a state of unhappiness over a recent event.

Everyone is at some time temporarily in the Heather state, but for some it becomes chronic, and their lack of empathy or concern for others is the state by which they are known. Often they are the butt of jokes among those who seek to avoid their company.

The extroverted person in a chronic Heather state will often “invade your space” by coming oppressively close when they talk to you, even as you seek to get away. In a group conversation, they’ll find ways to continually bring the conversation back to themselves and their problems or triumphs.

Such people don’t care who they talk to, as long as they can keep talking and someone will listen. These are the people you meet in a waiting room or on an airplane who tell you their entire life history, including every detail of all medical procedures and illnesses. They do not want to be left alone, so if alone, they’ll get on the phone and talk for hours – almost always in sentences beginning with “I.”

Two other Bach Flower personalities often become their victims: Centaury, who lacks the will power to get away, and Mimulus, who lacks the courage to simply walk away.

The introvert suffering from this state will turn inward, perhaps not saying much, but focusing entirely upon their own problems and concerns. This state of mind is obvious in his or lack of interest in the concerns of others.

A normal Heather state is seen in children who are in the ego development phase of childhood and who exuberantly tell you a lot about themselves. Children do need to express themselves, and need someone to listen.

But in the negative Heather state, that childhood need carries into adulthood. The adult remains the “needy child” and needs an audience from which to draw energy.

Few who observe the extreme Heather personality would recognize the needy child within, because they exhibit a strong and decisive front to the world.

Before treatment with Bach Flower Remedies, this personality cannot recognize that the love and attention they seek can only come from their own attention and care for the people and the world around them. Thus they try to take it by force, and it backfires – repelling those whose affection they want most.

In the positive Heather state, the talkers become good listeners. They develop great empathy and create an atmosphere of trust and strength in which others may feel comfortable.

Holly

Holly holds a central position among the Bach Flower Remedies, because it embodies love – the highest energy quality through which we all live, and which is our greatest healing power.

The desire for love is programmed into every cell of our being, and when we are going with the stream of love we live in a state of grace. However, when the need to give and receive love is denied, the negative Holly state emerges.

The personality will experience such extreme disappointment that love is expressed as its opposite – in jealousy, hatred, envy, resentment, malice, and a desire for revenge.

While everyone experiences these emotions at some time, in the negative Holly state they are prevalent, and can form the emotional basis for serious physical illness.

While even the negative Holly personality longs for love, it is unable to let it flow forth, and thus often repels that which it seeks through jealously. Even when finding someone with whom to share that love, uncertainty and fears predominate and it lives in fear of losing that love.

Mild forms of jealousy will arise in any loving relationship, and they lead to growth. But when the jealousy becomes “morbid” the love can be extinguished.

In an extreme negative Holly state, an individual becomes suspicious, is super sensitive to real or imagined slights, feels rage and anger, experiences violent bouts of ill-humour, and, understandably, feels unloved and unworthy of love.

Temporary states that can benefit from treatment with this Bach Flower Remedy arise from understandable jealousy – such as shown in a fist born child when a second child comes into the family. Also, dogs who have been the “only child” can also become jealous when displaced in their families’ affections by a newborn child. Holly will help both the child and the dog overcome their jealousy and extend their own love to the newborn.

When describing this Bach Flower Essence, Edward Bach said: “Holly protects us from everything that is not Universal Love. Holly opens the heart and unites us with Divine Love.”

The soul quality of Holly is that which we all desire – the ideal human state. In its positive state, individuals are able to live in inner harmony, taking pleasure in the achievements and successes of others, freely accepting and feeling love that flows toward them, and having a sense for the Divine scheme of things.

Honeysuckle

Honeysuckle is the Bach Flower Remedy that allows you to live in the present rather than the past.

The negative Honeysuckle state keeps a person “stuck” in the past – unable and unwilling to accept the changes of his or her present life, and expecting nothing good to come from the future.

This state generally takes one two forms:

First is the person who resists change and refuses to accept changes that come about through the continual flux of life. If there is to be a change, he wants to determine how and when that change will come about. And even then, he may not be happy with the results.

For instance, a couple who has moved to a new city or a new part of town may talk continuously of the old neighbourhood and refuse to embrace the new. Thus it becomes impossible to make new friends or become accepted into the community.

We’ve all seen individuals who refuse to accept the advances of time – and continue to dress and act as if they did in youth. This often happens to those in the movie industry, whose careers rested on their good looks.

The Honeysuckle state is also apparent in those who have lost a spouse, but refuse to part with their belongings or move on to another relationship, even after years have passed.

These are the people for whom the past was better than the present, and they want desperately to hang on to it. They cannot learn from the experiences of the past nor can they integrate those experiences into the present.

Another form of the negative Honeysuckle state is evident when one has regrets about the past and cannot let them go. These individuals replay their missed opportunities and mistakes.

The Honeysuckle state is common and understandable in the elderly. They believe that no new experiences are coming, so they relieve better days of the past. Honeysuckle can be used to combat the regret that one is growing old, and the use of this Bach Flower Essence to relieve that regret can result in a more youthful look – particularly in the skin and in a person’s bearing.

The Honeysuckle state can be temporary, as in children gone off to camp or school who are homesick. This Bach Flower Remedy can relieve that anxiety and allow the child to gain full pleasure from his or her new experiences.

In a positive Honeysuckle state, one is able to connect to the past and learn from it – holding on to good memories and letting go of regret over poor ones. Writers who bring back the past for our enjoyment are living in a positive Honeysuckle state.

Hornbeam

This Bach Flower Remedy is an effective treatment for individuals stuck in the kind of dull, one-sided routine that results in intellectual weariness and exhaustion.

Your first image might be that of a factory worker, doing the same thing over and over. But it can also apply to office workers, and even executives who have the same kinds of problems and issues to deal with from day to day. Even those whose work revolves around running a household, attending charity events, or volunteering for a cause can become so stuck in routine that life loses its luster.

This is the person who is out of touch with the impulses of the Higher Self – turning a deaf ear to its messages and preferring to stay in a familiar, routine pattern, even while it is unsatisfactory. He or she ignores opportunities for development on any but the mental plane, and thus misses out on many of the things that make life worth living.

Because energy is not exchanged between the planes, energy deficits occur – making the sufferer as if life has become a burden rather than a joy. Mornings hold no anticipation of the day to come.

Interestingly, the Hornbeam personality can be jogged out of its weariness when something unusual happens that challenges the person at a different level. Mental challenge can be the way out of the mental rut.

Sensitives describe treatment with this Bach flower essence as refreshing – like taking a cool shower that revives body and spirit.

After treatment with Hornbeam, the individual rediscovers the correct way to alternate between activity and passivity. Life and work once again are pleasurable and the individual knows that he has the strength to achieve his desires.

Some fall into the negative Hornbeam state through the routine of work and daily life, some through intense study for long periods of time, and some through confinement because of a long illness.

Hornbeam is one Bach Flower Essence that is usually needed in combination with other flower essences, such as Olive, Gentian, or White Chestnut.

As a compress, Hornbeam can be used to soothe tired, irritated eyes, and to strengthen varicose veins.

The tonic effect – the cool, refreshing shower – is often helpful in getting individuals successfully through drug rehabilitation.

Gardeners often choose this Bach flower essences, along with others, to give new vigour to limp plants.

Larch

This Bach Flower Essence relates to the soul quality of self-confidence. The negative state usually stems from infancy, or even before birth, when the child takes on it’s parent’s negative attitude.

This child grows up with a belief and a certainty of failure. And, since like attracts like, a vicious circle is set and failure does heap upon failure.

This person doesn’t doubt his abilities, he knows that he is inferior and “can’t do it.” As a result, he fails to learn and grow and change through new experiences. The personality becomes impoverished and life becomes mired in feelings of discouragement and an unconscious melancholy.

While some personalities refuse to recognize their own limits, the Larch personality sees only limits. They are expected and accepted as a condition of life.

Larch types may appear to be acting sensibly and realistically when they refuse to take on projects or tasks they feel unable to handle. However, if they had the nerve to try, most would find that they know more and have more talents than they recognize.

After treatment with Bach Flower Remedies, they are able to assess things objectively, and to do it from a positive point of view. They usually find that they can handle almost any situation that is handed to them.

Once the Bach Flowers allow energies to rebalance, they are able to connect with and take guidance from their Higher Selves.

The negative Larch state is not always a chronic condition stemming from childhood. Individuals can also be temporarily thrown into this state by a setback which shakes their confidence.

This Bach Flower Essence has shown itself to be useful when an extra dose of self-confidence is needed – as when facing examinations or enduring divorce proceedings. It is indicated for use in children who are afraid to venture on their own, but always want mom or dad or an older sibling to “go first.”

Larch is used in the treatment of alcoholics who drink to “forget their failures” and in problems with sexual potency which stem from the belief in and expectation of the re-occurrence of the problem.

Mimulus

Mimulus is the Bach Flower Essence for overcoming the fear of something that could be an actual threat, but has not materialized as such. Unlike Aspen personalities, whose generalized fears often cannot be named, the Mimulus personality fears real life.

Fearing such things as a trip in an airplane, a shot from the doctor, a confrontation over some unpleasantness in the family, or an illness, the Mimulus personality is constantly filled with anxiety.

The Mimulus baby will begin to cry upon awakening – even with no apparent reason, as if entering into this physical reality is just too painful to bear.

Those with marked Mimulus traits tend to be physically delicate – with refined features and a tendency to blush easily, stammer, or suddenly become speechless. Others talk too much from sheer nervousness.

Some are able to cover up their nervousness and appear self-confident in public, although they would prefer to be left alone. The Mimulus personality has a great need for “down time” to withdraw to a quiet spot and recharge without guilt. Mimulus children should always have their own room, as they need the quiet time to give their nerves a chance to recover from the day’s fearful activities.

In the negative Mimulus state, individuals are hypersensitive to many things in the environment such as bright lights, noise, or an overabundance of activity – or even of food.

When the pressure is great, the Mimulus person will fall ill, and they expect to fall ill. They’ll refer to a reoccurrence of “their headache,” “their bronchitis,” etc. Because they are over careful in recovery, their recovery is often delayed.

The Mimulus personality is naturally peaceable, and even in anger is not threatening.

Some in the Mimulus state will need Bach Flower Remedies as an ongoing treatment, as the world tends to keep throwing their energies back out of balance. Treatment will help them come to grips with the fact that dwelling upon their fears will only serve to attract the situations they seek to avoid.

Once in the positive state, these individuals are able to use their human understanding and sense of humour to help others who suffer from similar anxieties.

Treatment with this Bach Flower Essence will help the Mimulus personality find its way out of the confusion and tackle his fears – which causes anxiety to dissolve. When in treatment, focusing upon and resolving one anxiety often causes several others to disappear at the same time.

Mustard

The negative Mustard state cannot be hidden – as the suffer turns completely inward, with all energies directed toward living through an overpowering gloom.

The gloom descends without warning – even while in the midst of a joyful event. It is an immobile dark weight, imprisoning its host and only lifting of its own accord – often as suddenly as it occurred. While sufferers and their loved ones may try reason or diversion to lift the melancholy, these tactics are useless against the powerful negative Mustard state.

As a rule, those who suffer from this state do now know and cannot see a reason for the gloom.

Many who work with Bach Flower Essences believe that the Mustard state often comes with us into this life – that it is a karmic state, arising from the depths of the soul. This soul, in a previous time, has used its access to cosmic forces entirely for its own ends, and squandered them. The result is a state of the soul in mourning, and needing to go through that period of mourning in order to emerge into the light.

Everyone is subject to an occasional negative Mustard state, but some individuals have to endure this process repeatedly throughout life. The good news is that each bout seems to come before positive steps, when the soul develops more fully and brings more light not only to itself, but to the entire planet.

When speaking of this Bach Flower Essence, Dr. Bach said: “This remedy dispels gloom, and brings joy into life.” Thus a person using the Mustard Bach Flower Remedy will have the feeling of waking from a dark, heavy dream – in which the darkness rolls away and allows them once again to experience the light.

The positive Mustard state carries a feeling of joyful serenity that serves them through both dark and sunny days. They’ll still see the dark clouds, but won’t be plunged into depression by them.

Oak

A person needing Oak may well tell you that they don’t have time to stop and take a Bach Flower Remedy.

The Oak person carries all the qualities of a winner – tremendous will power, courage, devotion to duty, strong powers of resistance, superhuman endurance, unbroken hope, and high ideals. Life is a struggle, and the Oak personality can meet it head on.

Unfortunately, when the Oak aspect of personality overrides others, the individual forgets to let his Higher Self be the guide, and does not allow himself to explore the playful, joyful, or tender-hearted moments of life.

People in need of this Bach Flower Essence often appear strong and gnarled. Others depend upon them for strength and guidance, and they never take the easy way out of any situation. This is the person who sacrifices for her family, or for the good of the company without complaint. This is the man who fears dependency, and will never ask for help.

While this personality takes great pleasure in bringing joy to others, in the negative Oak state, he or she will deny themselves all personal pleasures.

As the negative Oak state becomes more pronounced, he may behave like a high performance engine, never stopping. But just like an engine, will be stopped by a breakdown when wear and tear and a lack of routine maintenance catch up with him. Along with a state of extreme exhaustion, this may come as a physical breakdown, as in an illness, or it may be a state of deep depression and despondency.

However, even during a breakdown, the Oak personality never gives up.

The Oak flower essence will allow this personality to begin following the impulses of the Higher Self and allowing the journey through life to be more pleasant. When energies begin flowing freely, heart, soul and vitality are rejuvenated.

While still “strong as an oak” the individual will now meet obligations to work and to others with a balance that allows time for rest, rejuvenation, and pleasure.

This is one of the Bach Flower Remedies that is indicated during recovery from a long term illness. When the patient has grown weary of the routines of recovery and the dependencies of an illness, Oak will provide the power to persevere.

Olive

This Bach Flower Essence for those who have relied only on their physical energies rather than drawing strength from higher sources – and have become severely out of balance energetically.

As a result, they feel completely “done in.” The exhaustion occurs at the physical, emotional, and psychological levels, so that the smallest task becomes an insurmountable hurdle.

The negative Olive state may come as a result of a long period of great strain – a long physical illness, a period of taking on more work than one can reasonably be expected to handle, or the stain of providing long-term nursing and care to a family member.

When in this state, an individual simply wants to be left alone to sleep, or merely sit. Often, the person will be so exhausted that they do become physically ill.

The Olive flower remedy brings peace, regeneration, and restored balance. Using this Bach Flower Essence allows one to once again reach to higher energy sources – those of the Universe.

The Olive personality has a little trouble with this, as they feel self contained and able to handle things on their own. However, once in the positive Olive state, these individuals are able to recognize their bodies’ early warning signals and are able to give themselves over to their inner guidance.

In the positive Olive state, these individuals appear to have inexhaustible resources, and are able to cope with extreme stress while remaining balanced and even joyful.

Because the negative Olive state marks a disturbed energy flow throughout the entire system, physical ailments are common. A medical check up is often called for when the negative Olive state is extreme. This blocked energy flow can result in reduced kidney function, reduced oxygen flow, and internal toxicity.

Because this Bach Flower Remedy strengthens both body and soul, it is extremely helpful in recovery from debilitating physical ailments, including recovery from alcoholism.

After treatment, the individual using the Olive Flower Essence will once again recognize and honor the needs of his or her body.

Pine

This Bach Flower Remedy would have brought great relief to a boy I once knew. His every conversation was peppered with the words “I’m sorry.” Most of the time, there was nothing to be sorry for, but he apologized anyway. Of course, through the act of constant apology, he irritated those around him – for which he apologized!

A person in the negative Pine state may feel guilty over seemingly trivial recent events – he forgot to turn off the oven and burned extra electricity – or by both large and small events from long ago.

He may even accept guilt for events that happened long before his birth – even going back to Adam and Eve.

He’ll also accept the guilt for other’s actions. This trait is especially evident in children. The Pine child will become a scapegoat in school, accepting responsibility and guilt for other children’s misbehaviour.

In the severe Pine state, the individual may apologize for his very existence, perhaps not recognizing that he deserves life, and certainly not recognizing that he deserves to enjoy life. This person asks more from himself than from others, setting high standards that often cannot be met – thus intensifying the guilt.

This personality cannot stand up for itself, and feels guilt at asking others to be considerate – such as in asking his neighbour to turn down the stereo or quiet a barking dog.

Lacking joy in life, he or she is usually physically tired and worn out. But, when he becomes ill from living in this state, he’ll apologize.

He truly believes that he deserves both guilt and punishment. Thus, while longing for love and acceptance, he may choose an inconsiderate partner who makes his life even more difficult. A person in need of this Bach Flower Remedy truly does not believe that he or she deserves to be loved. Once cut off from love, divine energies cannot flow.

Once treatment with this Bach Flower Essence has been successful, the Pine person is able to see and accept his own faults and mistakes – and let them go, realizing that mistakes are stepping stones in life.

Once transformed, the tired and worn out Pine person becomes filled with energy and is able to help others in a similar state – sometimes just by radiating his energy in their presence.

Red Chestnut

Do you have a friend or relative who can’t allow you or others to fully enjoy any experience because he or she is constantly asking “But what if…?” If so, that individual may be in need of the Bach Flower Essence Red Chestnut.

Red Chestnut personalities appear to be caring and concerned, but that care and concern can be smothering, especially for children who need to experience new events and situations in order to grow.

This is the mother who, because of her illogical fear of disease, won’t take her infant child out of the house, and discourages anyone from visiting for fear they’ll bring a virus or a germ. This irrational fear of disease has a name, Pathophobia, and can be successfully treated with this Bach Flower Remedy.

This is also the mother / spouse / friend who is sure something terrible has happened if another person is late for a gathering or doesn’t telephone at an appointed hour.

Those suffering from the Red Chestnut state do feel pain and suffering because of their worries, but don’t realize that their over-concern is inflicting pain upon their loved ones. They also fail to realize that focus on the possibility of negative events can energetically attract those events.

The Red Chestnut state can occur when a symbiotic bond is not severed at the appropriate time. For instance, it occurs when the bond between a mother and an infant is not loosened enough to allow both to continue with their own growth. This flower essence is helpful for both mother and child when weaning.

When one party becomes too dependent upon the other, both can be damaged. This is not to say that the bonds of love should be severed – merely the over-dependence of one upon the other.

The Red Chestnut personality does not limit its care and concern to family members, but can project its worries and fears to friends and neighbors as well. Some whose professions cause them to identify strongly with others often fall temporarily into this state: for instance, nurses and counsellors.

Few experience the Red Chestnut as a life-long state, but those who do suffer greatly.

After treatment with Bach Flower Remedies, the Red Chestnut personality is able to project thoughts of security and well-being rather than worry. He is able to provide guidance and a positive influence without being intrusive, and is able to handle events in his own life with a cool head.

Rescue Remedy

Rescue Remedy is  a combination of these 5 remedies:

Impatiens: For those who act and think quickly, and have no patience for what they see as the slowness of others. They often prefer to work alone. Teaches empathy and understanding of and patience with others. We’ve found it very fast-acting in alleviating an impatient attitude and lowering stress.

Star of Bethlehem: For trauma and shock, whether experienced recently or in the past. Teaches the ability to recover from traumas and to integrate them into the present life.

Cherry Plum: For those who fear losing control of their thoughts and actions and doing things they know are bad for them or which they consider wrong. Teaches trust in one’s spontaneous wisdom and the courage to follow one’s path.

Rock Rose: For situations in which one experiences panic or terror.

Clematis: For those who find their lives unhappy and withdraw into fantasy worlds. They are ungrounded and indifferent to the details of everyday life. Teaches one to establish a bridge between the physical world and the world of ideas; may foster great creativity. Is also used to bring clarity and alertness to the present moment.

The Rescue Remedy is designed to help deal with immediate problems. If you are working through an underlying problem – or if you need rescuing every day – you will find a longer-term solution by selecting a personal blend of remedies.

Rock Rose

Rock Rose is one of the Bach Flower Essences contained in Feel5ive Remedy – the pre-mixed remedy that comes to the rescue when we’re faced with stressful, fearful situations. This essence helps build courage and alleviate terror.

Examples of people in the negative Rock Rose state include those who have just been given the news of a life-threatening accident or illness; children who awaken screaming from a nightmare and can’t calm down enough to go back to sleep; or persons who have narrowly escaped a serious accident and are still shaking with fear.

This is a state of frozen fear that has been aptly described as a “punch in the stomach,” and that is an apt description, because the solar plexus is at the center of the nervous system, which has suddenly been rendered unable to cope.

The fear emanated by individuals in this negative state pervades the whole aura to an extent that some sensitives have actually been able to give a physical description of it.

Treatment with this Bach Flower Remedy allows a state of calm and reason to return, while the fear subsides. Parents of a child who suffers often from nightmares would do well to keep a bottle of this flower essence close at hand.

Positive Rock Rose energy is quite the opposite. In the positive state, individuals are able to mobilize tremendous forces that allow them to grow beyond themselves.

The negative Rock Rose state is usually temporary and responds instantly to Bach Flower Remedies for treatment. It is often indicated for children who are going through growth phases which cause fear.

However, some true Rock Rose types can be found among adults. They may not appear nervous on the outside, but their energy reserves are extremely low and they are delicate in their nervous constitution.

This Bach Flower Remedy has proven helpful as an additional medication in the treatment of sun stroke, heat stroke, and drug addiction.

Rock Water

While included in the list of 38 Bach Flower Essences, Rock Water is not a plant, but water from natural springs in areas far from civilization. Here the waters are not exposed to environmental conditions caused by man, but only to the sun, the wind, and the pollens from natural trees and grasses.

The person in a negative Rock Water state is not much fun to be around – either for himself or for others. His high ideals and expectations of himself make him rigid, and as unmoving as a rock. Conversation with this personality is not generally satisfying as he adheres only to his own view, whether the subject is politics, philosophy, or some mundane aspect of living. There is no exchange of ideas with the person in need of this particular Bach Flower Remedy.

He may subconsciously wish to be “a saint” while still on earth and will inflict self-reproach when modern life makes it impossible to live under ancient ascetic visions of life.

While he doesn’t have a great deal of interest in imposing his own philosophy on others, he does tend to conceitedness. He possesses a form of spiritual pride bordering on self-righteousness.

The Rock Water personality desperately wants to “be good,” and has lost touch with the fact that everyone makes mistakes. He also wants to achieve spiritual development externally, rather than by connecting with his own Higher Self to guide him. In fact, his personality does battle with his Higher Self.

This self-absorption causes the Rock Water person to completely miss the fact that one grows through service to others.

After treatment with Bach Flower Remedies, this personality is able to examine and consider new insights and theories. However, he will not be easily swayed by others. He will look inside to find answers, but now with guidance from his Higher Self.

Once in the positive Rock Water state, this person is a joy to be with, as his own joy and inner peace are radiant.

Scleranthus

When you simply can’t make up your mind, this Bach Flower Essence will help.

If you’re missing opportunities in life because you simply can never decide which way to jump, you’re in a negative Scleranthus state.

The Scleranthus personality is often compared to a grasshopper – jumping from one thought and idea to another in reaction to any and every outside impulse.

While this personality does not seek advice from others – preferring to make up her own mind, she is influenced by those around her. She’ll listen to the arguments for or against an action and be completely on one side of the question – until she talks to someone else and hears the opposite view. While pondering both sides, she’ll switch her opinion back and forth enough times to make anyone dizzy.

Often, this indecision causes her to miss opportunities, because the rest of the world simply won’t wait weeks for her to make up her mind.

While the Scleranthus personality is most often seen in women, I have known men who suffered from it. These were people with whom you could not carry on an intelligent conversation because they switched subjects seemingly in the middle of a sentence. It takes all of your energy just to follow and try to figure out what they’re talking about now.

The Scleranthus personality is clearly out of balance – but is constantly seeking that balance and trying to come to good decisions. Once cleared of the negative state, she is able to make decisions quickly and with intuitive confidence.

While in the negative state, this person’s body as well as her thoughts and emotions can be in a state of turmoil.

The imbalance may show up as complaints of the inner ear or motion sickness. Since her body can’t “make up its mind” her symptoms can change from day to day. Doctors can become frustrated with treating her, since one day she runs a fever, the next her temperature is sub-normal; one day she will experience ravenous hunger and the next have no appetite at all; one day she may experience diarrhea and be constipated the next.

This person may also be “fidgety,” unable to sit still and concentrate.

As with all negative states, the negative Scleranthus person is failing to listen and follow the guidance of her Higher Self. After treatment with Bach Flower Remedies, that connection will be re-established and these symptoms will disappear. Then she will show great powers of concentration and determination. She’ll be versatile and flexible, able to consider both sides of an issue and come to a correct decision.

Once annoying, her presence will now be soothing to others.

Star of Bethlehem

This Bach Flower is the essential ingredient in Feel5ive Remedy. It neutralizes any form of energetic trauma, integrates the actions of the other 4 Flower Remedies, and quickly restores the body’s self-healing abilities.

Energetic trauma occurs any time we experience a shocking event that our energy system is unable to cope with. Untreated, it will remain in the energetic system, causing an imbalance and blockage in the area it influences. Thus, an adult person may still suffer from an energetic trauma at birth.

Such shocks do not have to be major life events – they can stem from something as simple as shutting the door on your fingers. As seen, they can be physical, intellectual, or emotional events.

They can manifest in personality traits, or in physical symptoms. For instance, a person who has been informed of a financial or legal setback may react by withdrawing emotionally, or by exhibiting physical symptoms such as blurry sight or inability to hear.

Energetic trauma sometimes makes itself known instantly after the event, and sometimes not until years later. Suddenly a person will exhibit psychosomatic conditions that have no apparent cause in his or her current life.

While few experience the negative Star of Bethlehem state as a chronic condition, some do. In this instance, the person will seem to be in a mental half-sleep. He will withdraw from everything he doesn’t want to have feelings about – such as a soldier who has experienced the traumatic events of war and tries to avoid replaying those events in his mind.

Those experiencing the medical condition known as Post Traumatic Stress Disease are stuck in the negative Star of Bethlehem state.

Dr. Bach, when categorizing the Bach Flower Essences, called Star of Bethlehem the “Comforter and soother of pains and sorrows.”

Star of Bethlehem awakens the personality and leads it back to its Higher Self. It re-establishes energetic links so that residues of energetic trauma can dissolve and allow the individual to regain energy, vitality, mental clarity, and inner strength.

Bach Flower Practitioners use Star of Bethlehem regularly – because none of us is immune from experiencing traumatic events. Since our energies respond to traumas both large and small, we are often in need of this Bach Flower Essence to clear the blockages and allow us to return to normal.

Many recommend giving Star of Bethlehem to newborns, so that the trauma of birth can be released rather than remaining to clog the energy pathways.

Patients with psychosomatic conditions that have proved “untreatable” by conventional methods often find relief when this Bach Flower Essence is added to their treatment regimen.

Sweet Chestnut

When describing the Bach Flower Essences, Dr. Bach said that Sweet Chestnut “Is the (remedy) for that terrible, that appalling mental despair when it seems the very soul itself is suffering destruction. It is the hopeless despair of those who feel they have reached the limit of their endurance.”

A person in the negative Sweet Chestnut state feels completely alone, helpless, hopeless, and unprotected. The emptiness and the despair are acute, yet he harbours no thoughts of suicide.

This person fears breaking down under the stress and works hard to keep his anguish from other people. He may be recognized by phrases like “I don’t know what to do,” or “I’m at my wit’s end,” but he will not admit to the despair he’s feeling. You may recognize him by the fact that no words of hope will enter his conversation, because he has none.

Sweet Chestnut is one of the mostly strongly negative soul states, but does not always show up in its most extreme form.

Interestingly, the extreme negative Sweet Chestnut state is often the beginning of a transformation into a new and much better life. This is an emergency state – a “dark night” for the soul – a time when old beliefs and patterns break apart and make room for new levels of consciousness, and even to a new connection to God.

The negative state will resist the change, but this personality will somehow realize that he must hit rock bottom in order to rise again.

After treatment with Bach Flower Remedies, the Sweet Chestnut personality will recognize that a new inner journey has started and he will welcome the ability to believe again. He may also experience a new personal relationship with the Divine Spirit.

This person knows that he has been lost, but has been found again.

Vervain

The person in need of this Bach Flower Remedy is so passionate about an idea that he will exhaust his own resources in its pursuit.

When the inner flame of a good idea, a cause, or an injustice to be corrected is ignited in a Vervian personality, he cannot rest until all those around him are in agreement, working toward his ultimate objective. Vervian types are revolutionaries at heart and radiate their energy – they are preachers who try to win everyone to their mission.

Never resting, always tense and keyed up, those in the negative state cannot relax even if they want to. They “get by” on a minimum of sleep, believing that their cause is more important than caring for their own bodies. Their movements are quick and their speech rapid.

This is the person who pushes so hard that he sometimes creates a result that is opposite from his desire – turning people away from his cause and becoming labeled a “fanatic,” or even a “kook.” And indeed, some in the negative Vervain state do take it to extremes.

They are willing to suffer great inconveniences, be arrested, or even destroy themselves to get their point across. You’ve read of people who tie themselves to a tree in the forest, lay in front of an approaching bulldozer, or pour gas on themselves before lighting a match.

In the negative Vervian state, a person ignores his own body’s warning signals, pushing on in exhaustion until illness overtakes.

Once restored to his positive state through Bach Flower Remedies, the Vervain personality will still be involved and dedicated to his task, but will be able to use his energy wisely. He’ll be able to consider other’s ideas and points of view and will alter his own if the argument is convincing.

He will be able to do what he could not do in the negative state – to inspire others and gain their support for his mission.

Vine

Had the tyrants and evildoers in history been given this Bach Flower Essence, our history might read differently today. Sadly, the negative Vine energy is still evident in dictators around the world today.

A person in the negative Vine state loses all regard for others and their feelings – knowing that his way is the only way he imposes his will upon others indiscriminately.

Vine types in general are possessed of strong will-power and presence of mind. They know what to do in a crisis and they do it. They’re both capable and ambitious.

Because their drive results in success, this can eventually lead to a belief in their own greatness to an extent that they actually feel they are doing others a favor by interfering in their lives or their work.

In the negative vine state a person is entirely egotistical, using his will power and energy only to strengthen his own power and standing. This is the father who is willing to give up the love of his children in exchange for their fear and subservience or the teacher who does not allow a student to voice a differing opinion.

In some instances, women who experience the negative Vine state do so in a more subtle manner. Rather than express themselves verbally, these women command obedience through gestures and glances.

Children who bully their playmates are often in need of this Bach Flower. When treated, they’ll find school much more enjoyable because they’ll be able to enjoy friendships not extended to bullies.

The Vine personality is strong, and in the positive can do much good, but the tendency to go “over the line” into the negative state is strong. Those who see this in themselves would do well to keep this Bach Flower Remedy at hand, so that they can stay in the positive state and continue to enjoy the companionship, friendship, and love of those around them.

In the positive state, Vine personalities make wise and understanding leaders. They are teachers who have a natural authority and they nurture their students with love and compassion. They are able to help others to help themselves and able to delegate tasks without strict oversight and criticism.

In the positive state, the Vine personality will exhibit strong leadership qualities when needed, then back off when the crisis is over. He will no longer feel the need to control everything and everyone around him.

Walnut

Dr. Bach is a fine example of the positive Walnut type. When he let go of social approval, financial security, and the traditions of orthodox medicines and set forth to categorize and identify what became known as the Bach Flower Essences, he made a major change in life and followed his goal while ignoring the disapproval of friends and former colleagues.

Walnut is the flower essence to use any time a voluntary major life change is in the offing. This may be a change in residence, in occupation, or in companionship. It occurs when moving to a new community or country, upon starting a family, on contemplating divorce, when beginning retirement, and when voluntarily moving from one’s home into a retirement home.

It also occurs during the natural changes of life over which one has no power. These include teething, puberty, menopause, or the terminal stages of a disease.

All major changes are times of increased stress, which lead to an increase in inner instability. Even those who are normally stable and sure of themselves can slide into a negative Walnut state at those times, and become unsure of taking the next step – the one that would make the change irreversible – or at least difficult to reverse.

The person in a negative Walnut state may wish to go forward, but be held back, tied to the past by forces he may or may not recognize. This could be a karmic bond or the subconscious effect of a wrong decision made long ago. It could be the boring stability of a present job combined with the insecurity of starting a new business.

For some who want to change a part of their lives that is not satisfying, “The devil they know” may suddenly seem safer than reaching into the unknown.

Dr. Bach called this Bach Flower Remedy the “breaker of spells,” for it’s ability to untie the bonds that hold one to the past.

After treatment, and back in a positive Walnut state, this personality will at last be free from shadows of the past. He will be open to inner inspiration and free from outside influence. Like Dr. Bach, he could be a pioneer – going forward while always remaining true to himself.

Walnut, because of its ability to break ties with the past and allow a person to go forward with confidence, is often used in treating nicotine addiction. It has also been shown to have a stabilizing effect upon chiropractic adjustment – where chronic sufferers often must repeat the same manipulations and treatments over and over.

Water Violet

The person you know who needs this Bach Flower Remedy is probably someone you admire, but not someone with whom you have formed a close bond.

The negative Water Violet person is far too reserved to allow you to get that close.

Water Violet personalities present an image of superiority, capability, and calm control. They never fall apart in an unexpected situation, but can take charge, knowing just what to do. Thus they are greatly admired and their advice is often sought.

This dependence from other people leads to an emotional drain that can cause a Water Violet person to begin believing that they truly are special and thus they become prideful. Always independent in nature and comfortable with their own company, they withdraw further into their shells – where they wish not to be disturbed.

Although they will give advice when asked, they never interfere in other’s concerns, and they reject all interference in their own. Even when ill, they prefer to be left to their own resources.

The phrase “Keep a stiff upper lip” applies to the Water Violet personality – they prefer to deal with their own problems. This personality trait blocks much of their energy and can lead to tension and “stiffness” in the entire body.

Water Violet people are always able to see another’s point of view and recognize others’ problems. Thus, while they are valued as bosses for their calm leadership style, they find it very difficult to make hard decisions regarding employees. He expects employees to follow his lead, and if they don’t, he will withdraw from them rather than bring down harsh criticism.

After treatment with Bach Flower Remedies, the Water Violet personality is able to use his self-confidence and independent attitude for the good of others as well as herself. She will go through life with a quiet elegance and inner dignity that draws people toward her – and she will once again be able to respond.

In the positive state, Water Violet personalities like to be on their own, stay in the background, and let others live as they wish.

This Bach Flower Remedy is indicated for those who are having trouble connecting with others – either at home or in the workplace.

White Chestnut

Most of us have been in need of this Bach Flower Remedy at one or another.

While for some it becomes a chronic state, the temporary lapse into a negative White Chestnut state can occur after a particularly unpleasant exchange.

This may happen at home, at work or in a social organization meeting, when a person or his ideas have been attacked by adversaries – and especially if the attack has come from those he felt were allies. The situation may become resolved on the surface, but the inner turmoil and brain chatter remains.

This is not just an adult malady. Children in school or those with overbearing parents may be even more prone to fall into this state, due to the fact that they are not always allowed to speak up in their own defence.

After an exchange such as this, the sufferer may spend the rest of the day and night re-running the conversation over and over, and thinking about what he should have said in his own defence.

When the negative state persists, and a person falls into a chronic, extreme negative White Chestnut state, she would like nothing more than to escape from her own mind. She feels that it will never shut up and give her peace.

One young child described the feeling as his brain being like a hamster on a wheel, constantly moving faster and faster, but getting nowhere.

Many who suffer from this state experience chronic frontal headaches. Their faces will betray a great mental tension and they may unconsciously grind their teeth. Because the brain refuses to relax, they have trouble sleeping. Thus the body experiences physical fatigue as well as mental strain.

The Bach Flower White Chestnut allows the mind to discriminate between thoughts that should be accepted and those that should be rejected, and thus releases the need to keep replaying thought impulses which are not in its best interests.

After treatment, the mind once again becomes clear and balanced. The individual can connect with and hear the guidance from his Higher Self and use his powers of thought constructively. He or she is able to let go and get on with better thoughts.

Wild Oat

Unable to make a career choice? This Bach Flower Essence will help.

The temporary Wild Oat state can occur during a “midlife crisis” or any time a career decision must be made – especially if many choices present themselves. When a person has lost contact with his Higher Self and cannot seem to identify his mission in life, Wild Oat will help him clarify his true goals and come to a right decision.

Interestingly, the chronic negative Wild Oat state can be likened to a person who is said to be “sowing his wild oats.” These people are “bachelors” in the field of vocation and can be described as stuck in a stage of delayed mental puberty.

The Wild Oat personality is one that attracts many opportunities – which makes his decision making even more difficult.

The chronic negative state often traces back to childhood, when domineering parents refused to let the child make any decisions of his own and thus weakened his personality development. Wild Oat children are typically not members of gangs or even positive organizations – they bounce from one activity to another, never making a decision or finding their true place.

True Wild Oat personalities are usually very intelligent, even gifted. They have no trouble learning new skills and achieving success. They’re ambitious and they find unconventional ways to enjoy life.

However, they are not happy, because they feel adrift. They are constantly seeking the next best thing and become bored in their present professions, even while experiencing success. Due to their grasshopper-like behaviour, they often find themselves associating with people who are not satisfying companions. Because these people are not at their level of intellect or spirituality, they feel frustrated and dissatisfied.

When taking this Bach Flower Remedy, a person will begin to feel himself becoming calmer and more confident in his own decisions. He will begin to see a clear vision for his future and will once again rely upon his Higher Self to guide his actions. Once he chooses a career path, even the most enticing new idea will not make him waver.

Wild Rose

For many who need this Bach Flower Remedy, it is a long term therapy, as the soul conditions inherent in this state are firmly ingrained from birth, or even before.

For instance, a baby, crying for hours yet ignored, eventually accepts the fact that he is alone and deserted. He accepts this fate as “the way it is” and begins life without energy or interest.

This condition, left untreated, can become the chronic, dominate feature of his personality.

In its extreme, the negative Wild Rose state is one of hopelessness, accepted as inevitable. These people know that nothing is going to get any better, feels no joy in life, and makes no effort to bring about positive changes. His sadness is palpable.

Sufferers often appear as the walking dead – exhibiting no interest or enthusiasm for life, but accepting their fate with a miserable resignation. They often speak in a flat, lifeless voice and fail to understand why others show interest in life.

At the same time, others cannot understand the negative Wild Rose state of mind, because the circumstances surrounding sufferers never appear to be that dire.

These people are boring company – uninterested and uninteresting. Their deep depression creates an apathy that casts a pall over every gathering.

In a milder, yet still chronic Wild Rose state, people may engage in frantic activity to compensate for their lack of true interest.

While generally a chronic state of being, the negative Wild Rose state can sometimes occur as a temporary condition. This might occur after a miscarriage, during psychotherapy, or during a phase of intense work on one’s personality. During these times, this Bach Flower Essence will help the person return to their normal states of energy and enthusiasm.

Treatment with this Bach Flower Essence leads gradually to a new interest in life, and the joyful expectation of better things to come. The patient gains a new flexibility and inner freedom and is once again able to let the riches of life flow through him. In essence, he “comes back to life.”

Willow

Human nature dictates that each of us has needed this Bach Flower Remedy at some time. It can occur when another’s good fortune contrasts too sharply with our own situation and jealously and resentment overtake us.

At those times, we rail at our fate and blame everything and everyone but ourselves for our situation. Self-pity is our over-riding emotion. We may feel so resentful that we’re tempted to put an end to someone else’s cheerfulness by doing something to spoil their day!

Quite obviously, we aren’t happy and comfortable with ourselves. A few doses of this Bach Flower Essence can bring us back to our normal state.

When the negative Willow state becomes chronic, it can have a destructive effect on the sufferer – and on everyone around him. Willow is a state in which feelings are powerfully projected into the outside world.

In this state, people are very good at making demands, but never see a need to reciprocate. They criticize to an extent that they finally alienate all those who once tried to help them. Eventually, people grow tired of trying and withdraw.

Thus, the chronic Willow type becomes more isolate, and more embittered over the injustices in his or her life.

He holds grudges, sometimes for years, and sometimes for reasons that have become unclear. Rather than erupting and “having it out” with someone, he will smoulder and emit clouds of toxic energy.

Because he is a victim, he will never take responsibility or look within to see the reasons for his many failures. As do those in other negative flower essence states, this personality refuses to accept guidance from his or her Higher Self.

Often, people who have not experienced the success they wished for fall into the negative Willow State as they meet the midpoint in life. They bemoan promotions not received, status not attained, possessions not owned. Those who place a high value on physical attractiveness bewail the fact that his or her looks are fading.

Those being treated with this Bach Flower Remedy will gradually come to see that everything he or she experiences is the outcome of personal thoughts being projected into the outer world, and will begin working to change those thoughts. He will learn to deliberately focus on the positive rather than the negative, and thus begin to bring about positive changes.

Once transformed to the positive state, this person will take responsibility for his or her own fate. He will cease being a victim, and will become the master of his own fate. Thus, he will begin once again to enjoy life.

(727) 400-6969
2531 Landmark Dr. Building E, Unit 207
Clearwater, FL 33761