Flower of the month
Articles |
The Floral Essences
Floral Therapy
The use of flowers and plants to treat human beings is very ancient. Research indicates that already before the Christian Era flowers were used for this purpose. Australian aborigines would eat an entire flower to obtain its effects. The Egyptians Africans and Malay used them to treat emotional disorders. Records from the Sixteenth Century reveal that Paracelsus also treated his patients with emotional disorders with floral essences. However the use of ultra-diluted floral essences was introduced by Bach.
In the 1930s, Dr. Edward Bach floral essences to be available at home where a mother could indicate the best essence for her child. Today, more than 70 years later, Floral Therapy is being disseminated, daily in the offices of therapists, psychologists and doctors, all over the world.
In 1996 the Dr. Edward Bach Foundation, in England, promoted the First International Floral Therapy Course in Brazil for the purpose of spreading the Bach Flower Remedies and graduating Practitioners (Floral Therapists recognized and certified by the Bach Foundation).
During the last decades, dozens of floral systems have been developed in several parts of the world, each one with its own particular characteristics determined by the flowers from each region. One of the first systems to emerge in 1980s was the California Flower Essences, developed in the United States. Later the Bush Flower Essences appeared in Australia. Nowadays, there are several systems in a single country, each one utilizing a group of regional flowers, although it is not unusual to find they have similar flowers among them.
In the United States floral essences are considered to be homeopathic remedies which are classified as nutritional supplements. As such they are not considered to be medicines, drugs or pharmaceutical products and are not subject to control by the Health Department nor the need to present proof of effectiveness in treatments. The same holds true in Brazil. However, this classification does not allow them to be presented as therapeutic agents for the preventive or healing purposes. [1].
Composition and Preparation
The original Bach Flower Essences are natural and were created at the Bach Center at Mount Vernon, Sotwell, Wallingford, England where Dr. Bach lived towards the end of his life (1934 – 1936).
Their manipulation obeys the rigid standards determined by this Center. The floral is composed of mineral water, grape brandy (cognac) and the Original Bach Flower Essences (having one to six essences in the same bottle and rarely, up to eight essences).
The brandy (stored in oak barrels) serves to preserve the solution. This means that there is approximately, less than half a drop of alcohol per dose. Accept only the original Bach Floral Remedies. See below how they are prepared. Natural apple cider vinegar is another preservative used when a person cannot or does not wish to drink essences containing grape brandy.
Therapeutic Action of the Florais Da Amazônia
Floral therapy arrived on the scene and made an impact on the world in a way as subtle as the nature of the flowers, before any analyst had found the time or interest to delve into the mechanism of their operation.
When Dr. Edward Bach launched his research on the healing power of flower essences, he certainly did not imagine his divine inspiration would become the significant therapeutic reference for mankind that it is today. Yet, it happened because the time had come to rescue this knowledge, present in many traditional cultures of ages past, and relegated to oblivion by the erosive action of time.
The rise of Western Science brought important discoveries for the benefit of human health. The analytical thought that made it lose its way, likewise, consigned to second place
certain lore based upon more subtle and methodical perceptions ruled by a holistic vision of life in all its expressions. Associating the equilibrium of life with the interdependence of the diverse kingdoms, this vision consolidated a broader conception of health, sickness and healing.
So, when floral essences began to appear at the height of the twentieth century they were initially treated by Science almost as if they were placebos or something insignificant, whose method of action did not deserve to be studied. But time brought a rapid and undeniable expansion of research into floral therapy, all over the world, in diverse ecosystems of the planet, among peoples of the most varied origins and traditions.
The researchers looked for terminology that would adapt to their perceptions of the phenomenon. We were prohibited by law from using the word “cure” when referring to the effects of floral therapy because it was proven that the essences did not have a detectible biochemical action. For some time we used the term “vibrational,” but time would tell that their subtlety transcended the level of vibration, since their effects could be verified though not measured. In the end, these little drops stirred op a revolution. That was when Quantum Physics – bringing a new paradigm into scientific thought, seeking to observe all unaccountable phenomena as true and opening up new directions in research – came to our rescue and managed to explain with its own scientifically recognized language the mysterious “miracle of the flowers,” describing the therapeutic process as an “interaction between fields of consciousness.” This new description made waves and led to many studies among the very researchers of floral essences, because many of them were unable to immediately assimilate this language or information.
In the case of the Florais da Amazônia [Amazonian Floral Essences], this approach was a confirmation for us and therefore, heartening. We always understood that the action of the floral essences takes place directly by way of consciousness, by mirroring the living consciousness of the flowers. In our first texts we talked about the “dialogue” between the flowers and the consciousness of those who take their essences.
The classification of our system presents the flowers of the virgin forest as rescuers of deep ancestral memories by way of tuning into those flowers from the plant and mushroom kingdoms, in that region of preserved millennial species, keepers of the records of very ancient memories. We always understood floral essences this way. The Human Being recovers his state of equilibrium or his original patterns of healthy behavior through observation or by seeing the reflection of the behavior of the elemental beings of the kingdoms of Nature as expressed in the flowers. Within this concept the individual studies his imbalance in the light of being aware of his emotions and feelings and by following the path of remembering how he altered those patterns of health and reached the point of weakening himself and becoming vulnerable to pathological agents such as viruses, bacteria, etc.
Hence, our vision, marked by the strong influence of the traditions that have endured centuries or millennia in ¬the Amazon Forest, has found support in this current scientific explanation of floral therapy, as well as a universal parameter in the proposed alliance among all who undertake research to benefit the health of humanity, and do so with pure intentions.
Written by Maria Alice Campos Freire
The Process of Creating the Floral Essence
The floral therapists are used to saying that the therapeutic use of the Amazonian Floral Essences is not a religion, but rather a science and an available resource of alternative medicine, without rites or symbols.
The first essence was made in 1994, taking the subtle plane into account in making contact with the plants, as told by Isabel Barsé.
“That is something very subtle. It may sound strange or ridiculous to many people, when we say that we communicate with the plants, but that’s how it is, something very intimate and profound,” says the floral therapist.
The process of making a floral essence, as told by the therapist, is very simple, because it uses the traditional method created by British physician, Dr. Bach, responsible for the Bach floral essences.
“The method everyone uses is the one introduced by Dr. Bach: a mixture of water, flour and sunshine. We pick the flowers, place them in pure water, leave them at the foot of the plants to receive the sun’s energy for a few hours, and that’s it. It’s very simple. Ideally it is best to pick the flowers before sunrise in the early morning mist. After that there is a whole process of conservation and dilution before arriving at the final product,” explains Barsé.
From Jornal de Rio Branco, April 26, 2002
Written by Rose Farias
Naming the Florais da Amazônia [Amazonian Floral Essences]
When it comes to the names given to the floral essences, Isabel Barsé explains that they are intimately linked to a holistic vision. They are a system of floral essences containing flowers native to the virgin forest, slash-burned terrain, or cultivated plants which are garden flowers, medicinal and fruit-bearing plants.
“The flowers from the virgin forest are those that we found but had never been identified. We had name them ourselves and to this day we have not managed to find out their botanical identification,” says the therapist.
The work was conducted along two lines, one championed by Isabel Barsé linked to the White Brotherhood, and the other, followed by therapist Maria Alice, linked to the Orixás.
“Our work is the union of these vibrations. It is holistic. Thus many of the plants’ names sprang from that sensitivity. Take, for example, Cocar de Jurema, which is a vine. We gave it that name because of the vibration coming from the plant. In the bush it looks like a feathered headdress. To this day we have not been able to find it in books,” she remarks.
From Jornal do Rio Branco [Rio Branco Newspaper], April 26, 2002
Written by Rose Farias
Researcher from Amazônia talks about the healing power of flowers
JORNAL NOSSA CIDADE [NOSSA CIDADE DAILY] (Camanducaia, MG) – Tell us about the importance of floral essences in healing illnesses…
Maria Alice – This benefit was opened up to the world. Actually, that consciousness, that movement that generated this boon is very ancient. The wisdom that embraces everything that is alive has its elemental units of life. In fact, every being, everything that lives has an elemental. The organization of the differentiation of these elements is what gives form to life. We study floral therapy. It is a product of the interaction of those elementals of nature, of the plant beings. And an interaction also takes place between the researchers and therapists who use the product of our investigations, as well as with their patients.
So, we humans were given the possibility to find, in nature, our own paradigm of health. We fail to stay healthy because of our free will, since we can do whatever we want, even place our own life in danger. However, our goal is to be healthy as we were initially. We must regain that health in our own physical bodies. If humanity is sick and suffering, it is because we have lost our blueprint for health. Once again, another chance is given for us to interact with nature.
Mankind will then be able to visualize in nature its own paragon of health, since the same source of life that created nature also created us. Floral therapy is based upon this kinship. In the past, great men such as Paracelsus studied this relation and worked with different levels of plant potencies, according to what was needed at the moment. These were very high-level interactions with nature, but those men were misunderstood in their time.
JNC – How did you go about recovering this knowledge of the flowers from Amazônia?
Maria Alice – Finding it is one story, bringing it out is another. That region lacks resources. Its population is needy and requires medical care. In the absence of this service, the forest offers itself in the form of its flowers; but it is necessary to perceive energy, an important factor in the art of floral essences. That is the way plants communicate, though interaction of counciousness fields. Physics studies the subject in energy fields. On one hand, the plant communicates its capacity to heal, and on the other hand, man deciphers this knowledge. That is how we came to know this therapy, naturally. We opened the Centro Medicina da Floresta(Center of Forest Medicine) with my friend Marina Ruberti and several adolescents and children. Later on, with my friend Isabel Barsé, who is also a researcher, we started the floral essences research. For three years we carried on investigations without divulging our findings.
JNC – How do the floral essences restore health?
Maria Alice – The floral essences may and may not be called remedies. They are a help. They get in touch with the vital current of the person being treated. All of the forest’s exuberance enters into harmony with the flow of energy in the human being. It restores original health. It works on the physical, emotional and mental levels. Healing happens from the inside out, beginning with the most subtle levels in man. And there are no side effects. It is a counciousness cure.
JNC – To whom do you recommend this therapy? Who seeks you out?
Maria Alice – I receive persons with all kinds of problems including mental illness, and even those who merely come in search of psychological and spiritual orientation. But the best example of the effectiveness of floral therapy is evident in children because they are more sensitive to the energies of the environment. The effect is immediate in children.
JNC – At school children have difficulty concentrating and learning.
Maria Alice – Yes, and sometimes these difficulties come from the home and have emotional repercussions. They are symptoms of instability in the unconscious mind and the floral essences act upon these subtle levels. The Amazonian Floral Essences, especially, affect the deepest levels of the unconscious. The healing power lies in this powerful, primeval nature that lay undisturbed. Our system includes plants from the virgin forest, “capoeira” (secondary forest or brushwood) and cultivated plants. Each type has a level of action.
The Equilibrium of Flowers
When we go to a pharmacy or a doctor’s office to relieve an affliction that is troubling us, we don’t even realize, especially if we are the region of the Amazon, that the solution may be right under our feet, or next to us in the flowers and plants along our way.
For thousands of years mankind has been using plants to heal, and this knowledge is the basis for the “Florais da Amazônia” [Amazonian Floral Essences] which, 53 year old Maria Alice Freire has been studying and developing for a decade, together with Isabel Barsé.
Equilibrium
The “florais” are products made by extracting and utilizing flower essences so as to bring harmony to human beings.
According to Maria Alice, nature is one harmonic whole, and it is precisely this equilibrium that flowers can transmit to man, who, in spite of also being part of nature, has distanced himself from his relationship to it. The florais may be defined as flower essences stored in water. And when administered in therapeutic doses, the energy contained in these essences can be used to correct disorders, be they physical or not.
“Many plants work like a balm for pain. Forest dwellers have known this for a very long time. However, in our investigations, the flowers of these same plants have demonstrated that they also bring a person relief at the level of consciousness,” says researcher Maria Alice, adding, “The essences help bring about a balance which is both physical and spiritual.”
At present, according to the researcher, there are over 80 essences on the market. This kind of therapy is already widespread in Brazil.
“On an organizational level we are doing very well. We are now recognized as professionals by the Department of Labor,” said Maria Alice, one of the most recognized names in the country when talking about floral essences.
From the Jornal da Familia, Manaus, Sunday, November 18, 2007.