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The Spirit of Ma'at, Vol 2 March 2001 "Alternative Healing"
by Diane M. Cooper In flower essences we are dealing with geometric forms which are the precursors for the formation of matter. These codes are absorbed by the etheric body and translated into stimulating vibrational frequencies. —Dr. Marcel Vogel[1] Dr. Edward Bach Dr. Edward Bach was a remarkable man. After qualifying as a doctor in 1912, he said, as he received his diploma, "It will take me five years to forget all I have been taught." In fact it took longer than that. It was eighteen years before he smashed the glassware in his laboratory and abandoned his career as a successful mainstream physician, leaving London in search of the cures for illness he believed would be found in Nature.Before he left the mainstream world, Bach was not only a general practitioner, but also a bacteriologist and pathologist working on vaccines. He became fascinated by the connection between a person's colon flora and their health, and discovered that a vaccine made from a patient's intestinal bacteria and injected into the bloodstream gave excellent results, especially in chronic diseases. When Bach discovered homeopathy and the work of Dr. Hahnemann, he modified his method and developed homeopathic preparations known as "nosodes" (remedies made from pathological tissue). He classified these nosodes into seven categories which are known today as Bach's Seven Nosodes. Early on in his practice, Bach noticed that a patient's personality and temperament played an important part for him in deciding what medicine would be most effective to help in healing. Soon he noticed that there seemed to be seven major personality types which seemed to correlate with the seven categories of nosodes he had developed. With a great deal of success, he began prescribing totally on the basis of personality type rather than biological testing, and thus confirmed his belief that it was more important to treat the person's individual nature than the disease. Although Bach had great respect for Dr. Hahnemann and his work, he disagreed with the premise of homeopathy that like cures like. ''It is obviously fundamentally wrong to say that 'like cures like''' Bach commented. ''... Like may strengthen like, like may repel like, but, in the true healing sense like cannot cure like. ... [A]nd so in true healing, and so in spiritual advancement, we must always seek good to drive out evil, love to conquer hate, and light to dispel darkness. Thus must we avoid all poisons, all harmful things, and use only the beneficent and beautiful.''[3] Just as he had abandoned his practice in London, he now abandoned the scientific methods he had used until then. He was inspired by his work with homeopathy, but he wanted to find remedies that would be purer and less reliant on the products of disease. He left London and went in search of a system that he was sure could be found in Nature. The first two plants he used in his practice were impatiens and mimulus. The third was clematis. Bach was very particular in his selection of flowers. Because of his sensitive nature he could feel the vibration of the plant and where it was grown, and thus sought only those of the highest vibratory pattern. Thirty-nine of the essences he eventually developed are from plants, trees, and bushes. One remedy, Rock Water, is from a special spring. The 39th, known as Rescue Remedy, is a combination of several remedies and probably the most well known today. Bach's research and his life followed the seasons. In the spring and summer, he looked for and prepared the remedies. Winter was spent treating those that would come to him for assistance. As he focused on the personalities and feelings of his patients, their physical maladies would be relieved as their bodies' natural healing potential was unblocked and allowed to work freely. The discovery of the 38 remedies took five years. During this period, he continually suffered the symptoms and mental agonies that his patients were going through. In finding his last 19 remedies, for example, he was known to have endured the 19 mental states for which he needed them. Only when he found the right plant was his suffering alleviated. In the early days Dr. Bach worked in several hospitals and was well aware of their negative affect on the human spirit. He dreamed of a different kind of hospital where people would go freely to find themselves and learn the lessons that life was teaching them. He dreamed of doctors who would treat their patients as individuals, studying their nature rather than the results of tests. He imagined patients taking charge of their own health, accepting the needs of the Spirit rather than dealing with the physical body alone. Dr. Bach passed away peacefully in 1936 at the age of 50. He knew that the 38 essences he had discovered would cover every possible area of need and had declared the system complete. He had found all the remedies he needed: 38 individual preparations which could be blended into nearly 293 million combinations –yet so simple to make that anyone could do it! How to Make the Mother Tincture The natural substances used to make Bach essences are initially extracted either by boiling or by leaving them in the sun. Most of the more delicate flowers are tinctured using the sun method, where the petals are floated in pure water for a number of hours. Woody plants, or flowers which bloom when the sun is weak, are prepared by boiling them for half an hour.In both cases, full strength, 80-proof brandy is then used as a preservative, mixed 50/50 with the prepared tincture. Finally, drops from this preserved Mother Tincture are further diluted in brandy to make the stock bottles that can be purchase in stores today. It's a simple process and does not require special preparation or special abilities. All that is needed is sunshine, water, brandy, bottles – and the right plant on the right day. Dr. Bach had the gift of healing by laying on hands, but he understood that this gift was not universal. He felt that the remedies, and the simple methods of working with them, would place the same power of healing in the hands of all. Thus, he did not patent his recipes. They can be had by reading his book The Twelve Healers. How Are Remedies Chosen? By being aware of one's own mental, emotional, or spiritual state, one can select the remedy that may be useful for onesself. In his book The Seven Healers, Bach suggests looking for the positive, uplifting aspects, or the opposite of the person's current state of being. For instance, if a person is discouraged, this might indicate a need for Gentian, which restores hope.Remedies are available in most health food stores and can sometimes be found in local grocery stores, as well. They may also be purchased online at nelsonbach.com. The Seven Healers Dr. Bach placed the flower essences into seven main categories1. Fear
2. Over-concern for the welfare of others
4. Not sufficient interest in present circumstances
5. Oversensitive to ideas or influences
6. Uncertainty
7. Despondency or despair
Rescue Remedy Composed of five essences formulated for use in acute or emergency situations, Rescue Remedy is used to assist in calming, clearing, and restoring harmony.Footnotes 1. Earth, p.2 2. Collected Writings, p.91 3. Collected Writings, p.113 4. See Collected Writings for more information Recommended reading on Bach's and other flower essences: Bach Flower Essences 1. Collected Writings of Edward Bach, edited by Julian Barnard, 1987. Excellent reading. Philosophy and practical information on the remedies 2. The Healing Herbs of Edward Bach: An Illustrated Guide to the Flower Remedies, Julian and Martine Barnard, 1988. A beautiful and informative book. One of my favorites 3. Patterns of Life Force: A Review of the life and work of Dr Edward Bach and his discovery of the Bach Flower Remedies, Julian Barnard, 1987. 4. The Medical Discoveries of Edward Bach, Physician, Nora Weeks, 1973, Keats Publishing. The book about Bach's life and work 5. Bach Flower Therapy: Theory and Practice, Mechthild Scheffer, 1986, Thorsons Publishing Group Limited. Great book for information on choosing remedies 6. The Bach Flower Remedies: Illustrations and Preparations, Nora Weeks and Victor Bullen, 1990, The Dr Edward Bach Centre Other Flower Essence Books 1. Seven Herbs: Plants as Teachers, Matthew Wood, 1986, North Atlantic Books. Highly recommended 2. Flower Essence Repertory, published by The Flower Essence Society. A flower-essences materia medica, so to speak. Very well done 3. Flower Essences: Reordering Our Understanding and Approach to Illness and Health, Machaelle Small Wright, 1988, Perelandra, Ltd 4. Vibrational Medicine: New Choices for Healing Ourselves, Richard Gerber, MD, 1988, Bear and Company |