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28 Jul 2011 Comments (0) Flower Essences and Clutter Clearing

Why is it that we accumulate so much 'stuff'?

Drawers, shelves and cupboards, under the stairs, in the attic or basement, any spare spaces seemed to get filled up with evidence of our past interests, holidays, hobbies, friends, studies and the connections we've had throughout our lives.

Most of it has no current interest and, we recognise, is unlikely to inspire us again but we do tend to hold on to the detritus of our lives.

Why is it so difficult to let go of?

Clutter is one of the easiest ways of getting in touch with issues that are still to be completed. It is drawing our attention to issues that are still emotive and that we need to do some work on. If that part of our lives were complete then we wouldn't need to hold on any more.

I hold onto things for various reasons. There is one area in particular that I struggle with because I still hold anger and disappointment around that part of my life. I trained as an artist in my mid 20's and I really felt that I could be successful and was committed to that as my life path. I was bitterly disappointed at getting a 2.2 for my degree and felt that it was personal (I didn't engage with the tutors with much deference, or spend any time in the pub with them). I then spent 5 years trying to make a living out of painting uncompromising, unsalable paintings which I thought were brilliant (I actually still think they're brilliant but that's neither here nor there).

So now I have a basement full of large paintings that I'm not willing to let go of because I still have an emotional attachment to that ideal and I still have anger at not getting the acknowledgement I felt I deserved from my tutors.

Any area of clutter has a story, there is a reason we can't let go of it. However, when we are ready to do some letting go, this is an area that Flower Essences can bring some light to.

Australian Bush Flower Essence 'Bottlebrush' is particularly helpful for clearing out the old. It is very much about major life changes and letting go of old, outmoded patterns. 'Boab' is also relevant, particularly to do with family patterns and if we tend to repeat our past experiences

The Alaskan Flower Essence 'Sweetgrass' is another powerful aid to letting go, particularly letting go of anything held on the etheric level. It is to help bring lessons and experiences to completion and so is ideal in this situation (for me). It is one of the Essences in the Alaskan 'Purification' combination and this Sacred Space Spray is a valuable place to start any clutter clearing process. Another constituent of Purification Essence combination is Black Tourmaline. It talks about releasing toxic energy from the mind and emotions.

Not sure if I'm quite ready for it yet though, I think I'll hold on to that particular area of clutter for a bit longer. You never know, I may yet be 'discovered' (and proved right).

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21 Jul 2011 Comments (0) Using Flower Essence Insight Cards

Flower Essence Insight Cards are becoming more and more popular and with Steve Johnson bringing out his Alaskan Flower Essence Insight Cards, I thought it would be timely to review what's available and how people use them.

All the different Insight Cards show beautiful pictures of the sources of individual Essences, Australian Bush Flower Essences, LightBringer Essences, Wild Earth Animal Essences, Bach Flower Remedies and now the Alaskan Flower Essences as well. If you already work with a particular range of essences, a pack of Insight Cards could help you to develop an intuitive approach to essence selection and facilitate a visual and fun way of choosing essences whether for yourself, your family and friends, or in your practice.

Using the Insight Cards in practice is a great way to introduce clients to the essences, as pictures of flowers and animals are immediately appealing. It also involves them directly in the process of choosing essences which helps them take responsibility for their own healing journey.

There are many different ways of using Flower Essence Insight cards, someone can pick the images that they feel most strongly about, it could be images that generate both positive and negative feelings, or they can pick 'blind' with the cards upside down so they aren't automatically drawn to their 'favourites' or just play safe. They can choose as many as they want, usually up to about 5 or 6. Sometimes they just feel they’d like 1 or 2. It's good to pick cards with their non-dominant hand to by-pass the mind, which can be so effective at avoidance, denial, controlling.

The cards can be very revealing, sometimes allowing us to see what is behind the issues and giving insights that may not occur to our rational thinking process. For a practitioner this can be useful for understanding of what is really happening in the case. And for the person seeking to take a step forward on their journey, there is often a sigh of relief, if not an expression of amazement and gratitude that the cards have ‘got’ them so spot on. It is always extraordinary how accurately we attract the right cards, seemingly at random and the realisation of one of our patterns of behaviour, or just bringing an unconscious issue into focus is a big step towards starting to address it.

Energy clearly shifts by working with the cards because healing energy is available directly through the image as well as in the essence itself, so healing often starts simply by focussing intention on the card although people also love to have a bottle of their essences to take away and continure the process.

Other ways of working with the cards include doing a spread of 3 cards - the first card represents the past , the second card the present, and the 3rd the future. You could also set 3 cards in order as where you are now, the challenge you are facing and then the outcome. Insight cards also provide an aid to meditation. When you meditate deeply on a flower, or it's image, it can have a profound healing effect.

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08 Jul 2011 Comments (0) How To Dilute Flower Essences From Stock

So many people ask about this, there seems to be some mystique but it is not difficult.

Most Flower Essences are sold as ‘stock’ bottles, these are simply concentrates (like orange squash) that you can dilute to make up a ready to take ‘dosage’ bottle. This means that the essences you buy will last a long time as you are only taking a few drops out to make up a bottle that will last a long time.

Many people take essences directly from the stock bottle and there is no problem with this, it's easier but your bottle won’t last as long. Some people think that the effect will be stronger taking them 'neat' but Flower Essences work subtly, reinforcing their message over a period of time by repetition so I think this belief needs questioning but you should always go with your own experience and intuition.

To make up a dosage strength bottle from a 'stock' or concentrate, you would dilute few drops from the stock bottle into an empty 30ml dropper bottle. We suggest using a 25% brandy or vodka solution to dilute as a preservative over the 3 or 4 weeks that you may be taking it but if you don’t want any alcohol you can use spring water and keep it in the fridge. Alternatively you can use vinegar or salt to preserve it.

Different ranges of Essences suggest different amounts of drops to be diluted from the stock bottle into a clean 30ml dropper bottle.

Flower Essence Range drops from stock dosage

Australian Bush Flower Essences 7 drops. 7 dps twice daily

Alaskan Flower, Gem and Environmental Essences 2 drops. 4 dps 4 x daily

Bailey Flower Essences 3 drops. 3 dps 3 x daily

Bach Flower Remedies 2 drops. 4 dps 4 x daily

Wild Earth Animal Essences 5-7 drops 5-7 drops 3 to 4 x daily

The Essence makers have come up with what they feel is a good dilution but, again, you can use your intuition or dowsing, muscle testing etc to find what's right for you at this time.

Your body and energy system will always know what it needs better than someone else so don't be afraid of listening to that above the opinion of an 'expert'.

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06 Jul 2011 Comments (0) Flower Essences for stress

I thought changing bank accounts was supposed to be easy now. Having decided to change to the Co-op Bank a long time ago, I finally got around to it back in the middle of June, filled in the forms, got the account then filled in the transfer from to transfer DD's and SO's and close down the old account. Seems straightforward enough.

2 weeks later nothing has happened so I think it's time to follow up with a phone call. (I should have had the calm & clear ready at this point but I thought it would just be a quickie)

You know the story I'm sure. I bounce back and forth between the banks to find out where the hold up is. The old bank says they've never received the request and the new bank say they got an automated reply saying there are no DD's or SO's on this account, meanwhile I'm tearing my hair out (and there isn't much of it to tear).

Eventually I discover that the new bank has been trying to get account information with the wrong account number, which is on two places in their electronic system (so it must be right) so I ask Andy to check the number written on the original form, all ready with a cry of incompetence and a few other choice expressions.

Oops! It looks like I wrote the number down wrong.

Fine. Problem solved as far as the bank account is concerned but what about all that stress?

I can feel the glow of my sympathetic nervous system jangling away and a tight knot in my solar plexus, I can really do without both.
First, turn to the Australian Bush Calm & Clear Spray - the new ones have just arrived in so that's very timely. A quick spray and I can immediately feel my jangling stressed nerves calm down, great, just what's needed. But what about the knot? That's still there.

Hmm, we've got some Wild Earth Dove Spray, I'll give that a try..... It certainly does something, not sure what but something I hadn't identified feels easier but the knot is still there in my solar plexus.

I just had a call from someone who's 6 year old was having night terrors and Calling All Angels is the ideal Alaskan spray for that. I felt that there was some relationship between my experience - it felt like being tormented by some faceless ogre and I couldn't fight my way through the tangle of conflicting information. So I reached for the Calling All Angels spray....Phew, immediate relief. Back to reality, it's a lovely day with some welcome showers for the garden and the young swallows have just fledged and are taking their first wobbling flights.

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