Our outlook on life depends on the nearness of the personality to the soul.

The closer the union, the greater the harmony and peace,

and the more clearly will shine the light of Truth and  radiant happiness.

                                                                                                                ~Dr. Edward Bach, Heal Thyself
 

The capacity of flower essences to help us with a wide array of life challenges and issues is endless. The key to their effectiveness is specificity of selection: matching the specific, unique and subtle issues needing attention to specific flower essences known to address those specific issues. In other words:

Match the deepest known energy of what’s going within ourselves to the healing qualities of an essence(s)

Selecting Essences: What Do I Really Want Help With?

When seeking selection of flower essences for yourself you may want to spend time journaling, meditating or connecting with your spiritual guides to help you become as crystal clear as possible about what is in need of flower essence support.  Consider the following questions:

What is the story of my pain or issue?

What are the facts about the discomfort/disharmony I want to balance? 

          What hurts?  For how long?  What do I notice?  Are there any ways I act or respond that are
          counterproductive or destructive?

What are the full range of feelings I have or have had regarding this issue/concern?

            What's the point of pain behind the issue?  What hurts the most?  What feelings consistently return?

What is the origin of this pain?

What, if any, are my memories of similar pain even if in very different contexts?

What beliefs have I created from these experiences and how do they impact me today?

 
In reflecting upon all of the above, what is the deepest level root cause energy of my issue that I know?

Asking such questions of ourselves with great lovingkindness, nonjudgment and compassion increases intimacy with our own soul's wisdom. It is such intimacy, such self awareness, which is the stimulant if not the prerequisite for deep healing.  Taking flower essences--or any other substance, or partaking in any healing process-- without such awareness does not create healing.  It merely numbs the pain of symptoms.  Sometimes, of course, conscious symptom relief can help us build stability needed for further self understanding and deeper healing.  But a steady diet of any healing substances or processes to merely numb pain takes us further from living in contentment from the wisdom of our own soul. Attempts toward healing without self awareness are often futile. The process of selecting flower essences, especially if on-going, is an experience of self awareness which in itself begins our intention of healing before we even begin to take the flower drops.

When we first hear about flower essences, we may feel the impulse to rush out and try as many as possible as soon as possible. But then, they would become only another thing we grasp for in our consumer-driven society. If we want to use flower essences truly wisely, we need to stop and reflect upon important questions.  ~Patricia Kaminski
 

To gain the greatest healing benefit, carefully match your specific feelings or current state to the healing qualities of the essences.

Essences can be effectively chosen with cognitive, left brain and intuitive right brain methods:

Cognitive, left brain: Match  information from reflection on your issues to the healing qualities of the essences.

The following two books and the recommended essences lists on this site are excellent sources of cross reference of emotional and spiritual issues to essences which help heal them. I highly recommend purchasing at least one of them for a lifetime reference for this powerful source of holistic well being and healing:

Flower Essence Repertory, Patricia Kaminski and Richard Katz
           (creators of FES essences)  Available from www.fesflowers.com

The Alchemy of the Desert: A Comprehensive Guide to Desert Flower Essences for Professional and Self-Help Use, Cynthia Athina Kemp Scherer
           (creator of Desert Alchemy essences)    Available from www.desert-alchemy.com

Intuitive, right brain methods, such as kinesiology, the use of a pendulum or flower essence cards.

Kinesiology or use of a pendulum are helpful to get yes/no answers or confirmation for your best guess for flower essences appropriate to the situation. The flower essences cards can be used as divination decks for helping us choose essences. The beautiful photographs of the flowers on these cards can also help us connect with the energetic healing signature of the flowers we are taking on a deeper level. Available from FES and Desert Alchemy.  ( link here).

It can sometimes be helpful to use the services of a flower essence consultant well versed in many of the essences, and trained to help you both clarify your issues in a session of tender compassion and loving support.  Consultations can also reduce the time it can take to familiarize yourself with a wide array of essences.

“Hold the essence or combination of essences in your hands. Imagine them as seeds being planted in the soul soil of your heart. Sense the secret and potential of the seed, the healing energy encoded into it. Breathe deeply. As you ingest the flower essence imagine this seed becoming moistened with the secretions of your heart, the dew of your tears, the waters of your feelings.” ~Patricia Kaminski, FES Co Founder

• Duration:  times for healing root cause issues: when see positive desired result
              plus times few mores weeks or month for stabilization 

 • Change essences as new layers of healing emerge

Flower essences come in glass dropper bottles and are taken just a few drops at a time. Ideally, essences should be taken about four times per day.

Frequency of taking essences is extremely important to their effectiveness. Taking the essence just once a day may not make a difference in the situation you are attempting to heal. It is truly important to take them a few times each day. At the same time, more drops does not equate with greater effectiveness. Taking the whole bottle in a day or week will not heal the issue more quickly. It will merely be a waste of the essence, since only small quantities taken several times a day is all that is needed. The only exception to this is during a crisis or emergency, when taking essences every few minutes, every hour, etc. can ease the emotional burden and stress.

In addition, there is no possibility of  “overdosing.” Taking large doses of flower essences will not hurt an animal or human. If you accidentally spill an entire bottle of essences into a water bowl and they drink the whole thing, the only negative result of this is that you will have wasted a few dollars.

The duration of taking essences depends on the situation. Because flower essences are vibrational (i.e. they do not directly impact the functioning of the physical body as do drugs and herbs) there is no set protocol for duration. But there are a few important things to keep in mind regarding duration.

• If you are giving essences for a short term situation, such as wanting some energetic support to feel confident and clear (vs. having stage fright and sounding inarticulate) for an upcoming presentation, you only need take the essences during your prep time and of course the day of the presentation.
   

• If you are working with any long term, serious, or deep seated problem such as recurring depression or consistent negative feelings about your body image, I recommend taking the essences every day, a few times each day, until such time that you see significant change with the problem. This could be weeks or months depending on the complexity of the situation.

For deep seated problems, very often our healing occurs in layers.  One area of our consciousness becomes crystal clear about this issue, then another layer comes up for healing.  A typical indication of this is when we longer feel attracted to take the particular essence or combination of essences that have felt so helpful for a number of weeks.  This is our signal that we no longer need or are being helped by those particular essences.  It may be time to look within to determine what will best help us next.

Sometimes, the feelings and phases of a particular life problem or issue will change from day to day, week to week. For greatest benefit from the essences, re-select them to match your changing feelings and evolving process. There are many essences described in this site's list and hundreds more described in the books listed in the resource section for on-going future reference.

Be patient! They work powerfully, but more slowly than drugs

Even though some essences such as Five Flower Formula (this includes the same essences as Rescue Remedy) bring immediate relief and calm in crisis, please remember that overall flower essences are not drugs designed to mask symptoms. They are healers of root causes. Sometimes, it can take a number of weeks before we see any progress. Don’t give up.

After you see change or improvement, continue taking the flower essences for at least one more month, or longer if the issue is serious and long standing. This provides the energetic support needed to "seal in" or complete the healing offered from the flower essences for a  particular issue.

There are No Contraindications

Flower essences are powerful but very gentle. Taking them will not in any way impact other medications. There are no foods, liquids, traditional medicines or holistic remedies that animals must avoid while taking flower essences.

Flower Essence Basics