F.A.Q's on Essences in General
What are flower essences and gem essences?
Flower essences are energy medicines, made by floating flowers on
water in the sun, bottling the water, and then using this water, in diluted form,
for healing purposes.
Gem essences are energy medicines made in a similar way, but with a gemstone
or crystal placed in the water instead of flowers.
See the following questions for further details on how they are made.
Flower and gem essences are usually taken orally, a few drops in the mouth,
though they can also be absorbed through the skin, for example by being added
to massage oil.
We recommend that you read the article
Essence Therapy Explained in our Articles Section.
How are essences made?
Flower essences are made by floating freshly cut flowers on water (traditionally in a wine
glass - not many flowers are needed). The water,
with the flowers floating on top, is exposed to the sun for several hours,
after which the flowers themselves are then discarded and the water, which
is now “energised” with healing energies from the flowers, is bottled and
preserved (usually with brandy as a preservative).
This water and brandy mix becomes what is known as the “mother tincture” of
that particular flower essence remedy. This mother tincture is diluted down, a few
drops into a whole bottle of water/brandy mix, to make up the “stock” strength
essence. It is the “stock” strength that is supplied to essence practitioners.
The practitioners then dilute the essence down again, a few drops into a
bottle, and it is this (twice diluted) solution that is used, in the “treatment bottle”.
Who made the first flower essences?
It was the Welsh doctor,
Edward Bach,
in the 1930’s, who was the first person in the modern era
to discover this way of utilising the healing
power of plants.
Dr Bach made 38 essences from wild flowers growing in the
English countryside. This, the first set of “flower essences”
became known as the
Bach Flowers, and is still in widespread use today.
Native peoples all over the world however, have been using the healing power
of flowers for thousands of years. What Dr Bach did that no-one else appeared to have done,
was to devise a method of capturing this healing energy in water and
preserving it indefinitely for future use, thus making it much more convenient
for people in the modern world.
Since the time of Dr Bach, many others have “followed in his footsteps” in
countries all over the world, making many new sets of flower essences.
Why so may sets of essences?
Since the time of Dr Edward Bach hundreds, even thousands of sets of flower
essences have been made all over the world.
Each country has a unique energy, and the plants that grow in each
country have a contribution to make to world healing.
As the decades have passed the energy of the
mass consciousness of humanity has changed. The issues that face us today are
not
the same issues that people faced back in the 1930s.
Our modern global culture is
much more complex.
In order to help people heal the effects of living in this time, with
all of its stresses, the plant kingdom has brought forth new healing energies
for us to use.
What’s so special about
this
set of essences?
* They are right at the
“cutting edge”
of energy medicine technology, being very
powerful, and carrying a unique type of energy.
* Within the New Millennium Essence range, there are essences to address issues
that have never been addressed so specifically by essence therapy before now.
This includes specific essences for issues like
addiction,
cultural issues,
children's issues,
women's health,
physical health,
relationship issues,
assistance with childbirth, and the
legacy of war, to mention a few.
* There are “ready to use” essence mixtures targeted at specific health issues.
By using the new techniques discovered as part of the New Millennium
Essence Project, the power and versatility of this new range of our
Everyday Helpers
is unique.
* Utilising some of the new discoveries, the makers of the New Millennium
Essences have produced the
Super-Essences, which represent a
huge leap forward
in the way essences are used.
How do essences
really
work?
Flower essences work at the “energy anatomy”
level of the body in a similar way to acupuncture.
The benefits of working in this way include the fact that there are no
“side effects”, or “contra-indications”, they can be mixed
with any other form of medication with no risk.
Another benefit of working at the energy anatomy level is that flower essences are
subtle yet at the same time powerful. They do not “hit you over the head”.
Are essences the same as homeopathics?
While essences and homeopathics do have some things in common, in that
they are “energy medicines”, essences are
different
from homeopathic remedies in several ways.
Flower essences are prepared in a different way to homeopathics. Homeopathic remedies
are energised by repeated dilution, with the solution being shaken (sucussed,
as it is known) with each dilution. Essences are not diluted repeatedly and
they are not usually sucussed.
Unlike homeopathics, essences are
not
affected by the use of substances like
coffee, peppermint, strong perfumes, etc,
and they can be taken with food and drink.
By “essences”, do you mean “essential oils”?
Flower essences are
totally different
from “essential oils”.
Essential oils, as used in aromatherapy, are made by distilling, the
volatile oils from flowers with heat. Essential oils are highly concentrated, they
contain complex chemical compounds extracted from the plant, and they always
have a very strong odour.
Flower and gem essences contain no oil, and no chemical substance from the
plant.... they are made of pure water which has been energised with healing
energy from the flower, with brandy added as a preservative. Flower and gem
essences have no odour (see next question).
However, we are currently also researching and developing a new way of blending
together flower essences with aromatherapy essential oils. See our aromatherapy blends
index page for details.
Please note that we now do also stock a range of top quality
organic and wildcrafted essential oils, however,
these should not be confused with our flower essence products, as they are a totally
different type of natural healing product.
What smell do essences have?
Flower and gem essences are totally odourless, apart from the smell of the
brandy that is added as a preservative. Flower and gem essences contain no
material substance from the plant or gem, so there is no mechanism for any
odour to be present. The water acts purely as a carrier for the healing
energies, with no physical material being present in the solution.
