Flower Power Is Back In Action: Meet The Plant-Based Remedy That Changes How You Think, Feel And Behave

After 20 years of working with flower essences, I have some serious questions. Why aren't these life changing liquids being shouted about from the rooftops? Why are so many people unaware of them or dismissive of them? Why do we have such a problem believing that vibrations can permanently change how we think and behave? Or is it simply that flower essence producers have done a fairly poor job of explaining how and why they work?

I've spent a large proportion of my life making them and am still bemused by why these extraordinary remedies haven't become a mainstream wellbeing staple. Ok, most people have used or at least heard of Rescue Remedy, but even then, there is still a lot of misunderstanding about what flower essences actually are, what you might use them for and how they work. So let's start at the beginning.

Flower essences, sometimes known as flower remedies, were first developed in the 1930s by Edward Bach, a Harley Street homeopathic doctor who believed it was far better to treat the whole person than the symptoms they presented with, and that our emotional wellbeing plays a much greater role in our physical health than most of us realise. He developed a way of capturing the energy, or life force, of plants as a memory in water, and discovered that by adding alcohol, that energy becomes fixed. Once diluted to a level the human body can 'hear' the unique vibration of the plant, usually taken as drops under the tongue, begins to influence how someone thinks and behaves.

Each plant has something different to teach us. Perhaps that simplicity is exactly why it is so hard to believe? Think of it like music trapped in a piece of vinyl. When that sound is released and played on a record player, it travels through the air as a vibration, enters our ears and changes how we feel. Flower essences work similarly, though the change they create can be considerably more profound and, in many cases, permanent.

So once you have got your head around the how, what about the why?

It is increasingly accepted that our emotional state has a direct impact on our physical health. Staying positive and up beat influences our whole being, and flower essences are masters at shifting how we feel in the present moment. Life suddenly gets a whole lot easier when we use them. Think feeling less anxious, worrying less, no longer procrastinating, feeling more confident and outgoing. And that is just in the short term.

They can also be used to help release negative beliefs and thought patterns from the past that no longer serve who we are today. Taking a particular essence or blend for a few weeks can sometimes achieve more than therapy alone, or work beautifully alongside it, particularly once you have developed more insight into your own patterns and behaviours. I found using essences a bit like handing my problems over to a trusted friend to deal with. Somehow things shifted and changed, and all I had to do was remember to take the drops.

Over more than two decades, I have witnessed incredible shifts in people simply by introducing the energy of plants into their bodies. As the saying goes, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

So what are you waiting for?

And because flower essences contain no material matter, they are extraordinarily safe for all ages, including during pregnancy and breastfeeding and alongside any medication, herbal remedies or supplements. The worst that can happen if you take the wrong one is that your system simply does not respond and nothing changes. Although, here at Grounded we always encourage you to check with your trusted medical professional before taking any supplements alongside medication or medical conditions.