Frequently Asked Questions
What are Flower Essences?
Flower Essences are not therapeutic drugs - but work on the mind, body and spirit and are obtained by extracting the healing vibrational quality from the most evolved part of the plant - the flowers. They work on an emotional level, harmonising negative feelings and belief patterns, held in the subconscious mind.
How are they prepared?
Flower Essences are prepared by imprinting a flower's unique vibrational healing signature onto a carrier solution of brandy and water. This is achieved by working with flowers, under ideal conditions, that are growing in the wild in an environment free from pollution, roads and power lines. These flowers are collected and without being touched directly by the individual, placed in a bowl of pure water and left in direct sun for several hours. The flowers are then removed from the bowl, using a twig or a leaf from the same plant. The remaining flower water is then added to an equal amount of Australian brandy and this mixture is referred to as the Mother tincture. The latter is further diluted to produce the stock concentration which in turn is also diluted in order to prepare the dosage strength.
How do Flower Essences work?
The concept of healing that was shared from such great healers as Hippocrates, Paracelsus, Hahnemann, Bach and Steiner was a simple one. They all believed that good health was a result of emotional, spiritual and mental harmony and found that when they treated their patient's emotional imbalances, their diseases were cured.
Disease (dis-ease, that is not at ease with oneself) itself is a physical manifestation of emotional imbalances, put quite simply where the emotions go the mind and body follow. Yet disease is not something to be feared or overly worried about, rather, it can be seen as an indication that something in a person's life is out of balance. Consequently, a disease or illness can be seen in quite a positive light, for it can point the person back towards the right path. Each person has a specific life plan or purpose and, once in tune with this and following it, the person's life flows much more easily and successfully. It is our intuition or 'gut feeling' which helps to keep us aligned to our life purpose.
The Bush Essences give us the sensitivity, strength and courage to listen to and follow both our intuition as well as our goals and dreams.
The Australian Bush Flower Essences also bring forth the positive qualities that reside deep inside every one of us. Their activation allows us to replace fear with courage, hatred with love, insecurity with self confidence, etc.
Bach himself stated it quite wonderfully when he said that the function of Flower Essences are:
To raise our vibrations and to flood our natures with the particular virtues and to wash out from us the faults which were causing them. They are able like beautiful music or any gloriously uplifting thing which gives us inspiration, to raise our very natures and bring us nearer to ourselves and by that very act to bring us peace and relieve our suffering. They cure not by attacking disease but by flooding our bodies with beautiful vibrations of our higher nature in the presence of which disease melts as snow in the sunshine.
Richard Gerber MD, in his excellent book Vibrational Medicine, provides a more scientific and physiological description of how the Flower Essences work. When an Essence is ingested or absorbed through the skin, it is initially assimilated into the blood stream. Then it settles midway between the circulatory and nervous systems. There, an electromagnetic current is created by the polarity of the two systems. The Essence then moves directly to the meridians, which are vital mechanisms of interface between the subtle bodies and the physical body. From the meridians the Flower Essence is amplified out to the chakras and various subtle bodies and then back again to the physical body. The amplification also magnifies the life force potency of the Essence and aids in its assimilation. The Essence reaches the imbalanced parts of the body faster and in a more stable form. The quarts-like crystalline silica structures in the physical body, such as those in the blood stream, the hair and nails, amplify and transmit the healing energies of the Flower Essences to their appropriate sights of action, and at the correct frequencies. This whole process is similar to the way radio waves strike a crystal in a radio so that the crystal resonates with the higher frequencies, absorbing them and transforming them into audio frequencies which can be heard by the human ear.
How long have Flower Essences been used?
For thousands of years Australian Aborigines have used flowers to heal emotional imbalances and physical injuries. Flower Essences were also used in Ancient Egypt, as well as India, Asia, Europe and South America. This system of healing was rediscovered and popularised seventy years ago by Dr. Edward Bach with his use of English flowering plants. Naturopath, Ian White, a 5th generation Australian herbalist, has further developed this method using plants from all over Australia. Ian grew up in the bush and was taught from an early age the healing power of Australian plants. He has spent many years travelling Australia researching and developing a range of 65 specific Bush Essences.
What makes Australian Bush Flower Essences unique?
Australia, as well as being the first continent, has both the worlds oldest and highest number of flowering plants, displaying striking colour, tremendous beauty and powerful ancient forms. It is one of the most unpolluted countries and metaphysically has a very wise, old energy. The Australian Bush Flower Essences tap into this power, strength and vitality and for this reason the remedies are unique, fast acting and are successfully used worldwide.
Are Australian Bush Flower Essences safe to take?
Flower Essences are completely natural. They are perfectly safe, free from side effects and are self adjusting to the needs of the individual taking them. Occasionally the symptoms for which the person is taking the remedy can become more intense for a day or two. This is part of the healing process and in fact is called a 'healing crisis.' It is not a bad sign as it is indicative of the healing that will soon follow. In a 'healing crisis' we would recommend that an individual either stop the remedy for a day or two or alternatively take the remedy more frequently such as four or five times a day. Brandy is added to the Bush Essences as a preservative agent although the alcohol content in a dose is almost infinitesimal.
Is there an alternative to brandy?
If you would prefer to not have brandy in your essences, vegetable glycerine or apple cider my be used in place of brandy. They can also be made with just purified water. However, if you are using purified water, it would be best to keep the bottle in a cool place or in the refrigerator and the shelf life would only be two weeks whereas with brandy the shelf life would be at least three years.
What's the difference between Flower Essences, Herbal Remedies, Homoeopathy and Essential Oils?
As explained above Flower Essences are produced by imprinting a flower's unique vibrational healing signature onto the carrier solution and are used to treat imbalances at a higher level, bringing about balance and well being in the whole person. Homoeopathics are prepared in a somewhat similar way to Flower Essences using animal, mineral and herbal bases imprinted upon the solution at varied dilution ratios and are generally recommended for a specific ailment. Homoeopathics are not self adjusting or without side effects and can result in severe aggravations. Also Homoeopathic remedies are easily antedoted by contact with aromatic substances such as perfume, strong mint flavoured toothpaste, garlic, coffee or Essential Oils. According to Gurudas, the author of the book Flower Essences, of the three major forms of vibrational remedies - Flower Essences, Homoeopathic remedies and Gem Elixers - Flower Essences are the best and most effective modality to reach and treat the subtle-energy bodies, along with the meridians and physical body. He states that Homoeopathic remedies generally operate on the biomagnetic fields of the body. Some of them can effect the chakras and subtle bodies, but not as effectively as Flower Essences. Gem elixirs act similarly to Flower Essences but not to the same degree, as they do not have the same potency of life force.
Herbal extracts and tinctures are derived after macerating parts of plants and trees i.e. root, bark, leaves in alcohol for a period of time before straining and bottling. Herbal remedies are once again generally recommended for a specific ailment and only work on the physical body, they are far cruder in nature and their chemical constituents can be analyzed and measured.
Essential Oils are extracted from the flower, bark, sap and leaves of plants and are aromatic /scented residues that work via the olfactory sense. Flower Essences can be effectively used in conjunction with all of these other modalities.
How do Australian Bush Flower Essences compare in effectiveness with other Flower Essences?
We have a high regard for all professionally prepared Flower Essences. Australian Bush Flower Essences started within a natural health clinic and became the choice of practitioners worldwide because of their diverse range and efficacious results within a clinical environment. There are a number of unique points associated with our essences, firstly, Australia being the first continent has some of the oldest species in the world and has the highest number of flowering species - a wonderfully rich biodiversity in natural healing qualities. Secondly, Australian Bush Flower Essences address many contemporary health issues such as communication, learning difficulties, spirituality, radiation, electromagnetic radiation, space clearing and sexuality not addressed by our peers. Also the Bush Essences have a reputation world wide for being incredibly quick acting and having a profound effect on the physical body. Australian Bush Flower Essences were the first to introduce combination essences, creams and mists with product names that clearly identify the health issue. This feature makes it easy for retailers to recommend and consumers to self select the right essence. This initiative has significantly increased consumer usage of Flower Essences and grown retail sales, making Flower Essences one of the highest growth retail categories in natural health retailing today.
What is the difference between stock and dose?
"Stock" is the form generally purchased by practitioners. The stock (or concentrate) is then further diluted down to a dosage bottle, the form in which it is then taken under the tongue, morning and night by the individual.
How do you prepare a dose bottle?
Seven drops of stock are added to a bottle up to 30 millilitres (or 1/2 ounce) in size, that is filled with a mixture of three quarters purified water and one quarter brandy. This is called a "dose" bottle and the recommended dose is seven drops under the tongue on rising and retiring for two to four weeks. Several essences can be combined in the one bottle but it is generally suggested that the number of Essences combined be limited to a maximum of four or five.
How do I choose an Essence?
There are many ways in which you can choose an essence. You could simply read through the information on each of the individual essences and decide which ones are most appropriate. However, this can overwhelm some people and they could feel that they need them all! To drastically narrow down the number of essences that you are considering ask yourself the following questions - what do I most want in my life? or what is the major issue that I am working through at the moment? Then simply choose the appropriate Bush Essences. Alternatively you could look through the Flower Insight Cards and choose those which most appeal to you (limiting them to no more than 3) and also include any card that you have an aversion to. Invariably you will choose Essences that will address your most pertinent issues. These Essences can then be mixed together in a dosage bottle. Other less commonly used methods to determine the choice of a remedy include o Dowsing o Kinesiology o Numerology o Using your Intuition o Working with a Flower Essence practitioner.
Can I take Australian Bush Flower Essences when I am currently using other medication?
Absolutely. The Australian Bush Flower Essences can be taken whilst under treatment with natural and/or pharmaceutical medications with no negative effects whatsoever. There is no healing modality that is compromised by combining it with the Australian Bush Flower Essences.
What if I selected and took the wrong Bush Flower Essence?
The subtle energies of the essences will address current and presenting issues only so there is no danger of taking the wrong essence. The remedies are self adjusting and without side effects. If you did not need the benefit of the remedy then nothing would happen, it simply would not work.
Can I use Australian Bush Flower Essences with children?
Australian Bush Flower Essences are an effective drug free solution for adults, children and even your pets. In fact they work extremely quickly on children and animals as they do not have as many emotional blocks as adults generally do. We recommend the same dose for children as adults and animals as well, i.e. 7 drops on rising and retiring.
When would I expect to notice results?
As we are all unique individuals it is difficult to predict how long it will take before you notice results. Normally however, we would recommend taking a remedy for two weeks when addressing an emotional issue and four weeks when addressing physical imbalances. If at the end of this time the desired result has not been achieved then we would suggest that you repeat the remedy for a similar length of time. Flower Essences, can at times, be very subtle and gentle as they work towards creating emotional and spiritual harmony and the changes can occur so easily and effortlessly that we are not aware of the healing shifts until sometime later. Then at other times, the changes are profound and instantaneous.
Can I take more than one Essence at a time?
It is far more effective to focus on just one issue and one dosage bottle, at a time, otherwise the results can be very scattered as they have no main focus to address. You can, however, use a remedy for example Emergency Essence in a one off acute situation whilst still taking another remedy over the standard two or four week period.
There is absolutely no detriment in using the mists and creams while also taking a Bush Essence dosage drops orally.
Will food, drink or toothpaste harm the Essences?
The Australian Bush Flower Essences are not antedoted by strong aromatic substances such as toothpaste, coffee, garlic or Essential Oils. However, it is best advised to wait a few minutes before or after taking the remedy before eating or drinking anything (except water) as well as cleaning your teeth.
I suffer from hayfever so could I possibly have an allergic reaction to the Bush Essences?
When Ian makes the Bush Essences, he leaves the flowers in the water long enough for the life force energy of the flowers to combine with the water. He then removes the flowers from the bowl so that no physical properties of the flowers remain in the flower water. This flower water is then further diluted down several times until the dose essence is achieved. The dose bottles have been analysed by chemical laboratories to determine how much physical matter of the flower is present. The results show that there is only an infinitesimal amount of the flower remaining - one part in a hundred thousand, which is far too small to cause any physical reaction.
Are they organic, or certified pesticide free?
All of the species used in the formulation of our essences are ecologically gathered in unpolluted and naturally occurring regions of the vast Australian landscape. The making of some of our mother stock literally requires travelling thousands of miles into some of the most inaccessible regions of the outback. All of the species grow uninterrupted in natural, unpolluted, pristine environments that are pesticide free.
