Bach Flower Remedies
Bach flower remedies are diluted flower materials developed in the 1930s by an English physician and homeopath named Edward Bach. It contains the energetic nature of the flowers that is transmitted to the user to aid one’s emotional and spiritual condition most often with regards to depression, anxiety, stress and even insomnia. Bach flower remedies come in the form of a liquid preserved in brandy or cider vinegar but sometimes also in cream to be spread for massaging.
Bach got the idea of using flower remedies as an alternative to scientific healing when he became convinced that illnesses are not brought by bacteria but rather because of a disharmony between a person’s mind and soul. Such disharmony creates an inner tension thereby clogging the flow of spiritual energy, which then renders a person susceptible to illnesses.
Since Bach radically negated the scientific assumption of how illnesses thrive and are cured, he turned into nature and intuition to find ways of healing. It went to its extreme when he suggested that one would only have to hold a plant or a flower whenever one feels sick and that finding the right flower would already give the person a feeling of alleviation. This was Bach’s preliminary effort of finding the right cure to a certain illness that subsequently became the basis of collecting remedies from different flowers.
From this began Bach’s quest in finding the purest form of healing. He thought that flowers grown in the sun are more natural, hence, more effective. He started to collect dew from each flower. But then, it came to him that collecting dew in large amounts through such a way as impractical. Driven by his intuition, he decisively formulated other methods of collecting remedies. He soaked the flowers in a bowl exposed to sunlight. He also tried boiling the flower.
Both methods satisfied Bach for its simplicity. He also considered it to be the only method of maintaining the rawness of the plant as it uses all four elements for production. The result of the process is known as “mother tincture.”
He discovered 38 now infamous remedies all derived from flowers of wild plants, trees and bushes. These remedies can be taken orally by dropping a very little amount on a solution of water and brandy acting as a preservative. A couple of drops can also be spread in the temples or other pulse points to be massaged.
Modern-day marketing strategies allowed the development of Bach’s method of finding the flower remedy most suitable to a person. Each of the 38 flower remedies were ascribed to a specific emotional problem it would supposedly heal. One could also combine different remedies although it is recommended to first seek the advice of a naturopath or a trained Bach flower remedy practitioner.
Although Bach flower remedies are heavily patronized, some critics accused it of corrupting the people’s trust with science for the purpose of expanding the market. Bach flower remedies can be bought by anyone over the counter. This, critics claim, attests to the artificiality of the flower remedy being packaged as a legitimate cure.
In fact, different research and experiments were done to expose and efface Bach flower remedies. Most materials used to promote Bach flower remedies were found to have no substantial data backing and that testimonials for the remedies, even if true, were result of placebo. If not placebo, effects are perceived as the result of other external factors like the conversation with a practitioner or the ritual in taking the remedy. So far, there has never been an effect that can be directly attributed to the remedy.
CONTACT ADDRESS :
Institute of Alternative Medicines Kolkata
189, Diamond Harbour Road, Thakurpukur
Kolkata – 700063, West Bengal
Phone: 033 2438 0705 (From India), +91 33 2438 0705 (From Abroad)
Mob: 09433024576 (From India), +91 9433024576 (From Abroad)
Email : iamk.online@gmail.com
