Flower Essences and Aromatherapy: The Perfect Marriage

By Lila Devi, Founder/Director of Spirit in Nature's Flower Essences since 1977

(originally appeared in Vibration Magazine: The Journal of Vibrational and Flower Essences, August 2006 issue)

Flower essences and aromatherapy are both potent forms of vibrational medicine. Flower essences employ the innate power of blossoms, sunlight, and pure spring water. Aromatherapy is derived from flowers as well as from roots, leaves, seeds, fruit, and wood resin. Flower essences generally contain a brandy base to keep them chemically pure and also to "anchor" the blossoms' vibrations in the water; aromatherapy needs no preservatives. Flower essences carry no contra-indications and cannot be overdosed; aromatherapy may carry specific warnings.

Natural, herbal, non-toxic and non-invasive, flower essences stimulate positive qualities within us. They may be used both sublingually and topically. They have no taste other than the brandy in which they are preserved, nor are they scented. Similar to aromatherapy, they are highly concentrated. A little goes a long way.

Whereas it is important for the scent of the aromatherapy oils to enter the brain -- either by way of the olfactory nerves or absorption through the skin -- flower essences only need to enter the body sublingually, topically, or around the body, the energy field or the aura, in order to be effective. Since their action is not biochemical in nature, essences do not need to pass through the bloodstream.

Combining the two is remarkably easy. Simply add the flower essence to an aroma diffuser along with the oils. You may also add essences to carrier oils for use in massage or sprinkle them in bath water (sixteen drops per tub). The ratio of essence to carrier oil is always the same: four Stock Concentrate drops to a cup of oil. Only one drop to one quarter cup of oil is needed. Adding more drops to the carrier oil will do no harm. If you add too much, the essence will simply be wasted.

In fact, in the case of administering essences to animals, one effective dosage method is to simply stroke the remedy onto the animal's coat, feathers, scales, or shell. Some oils are harmful to animals, so be sure to check with a qualified aromatherapist before administering them to your pets. Do not apply them full strength, and avoid the eyes and mouth. Additionally, some oils are safe when used externally yet become potentially harmful when used internally due to their high concentration and potential toxicity. Diluted tea tree oil, for example, is an excellent insect repellent for the coat of your cat or dog, and is often found in pet shampoos to add luster to their fur, but its numbing quality on the gums is highly unpleasant for them.

A Case Study: The Child Within

A massage therapist, who has evolved her own intuitive approach to working with flower essences and aromatherapy formulas, likes to begin each session with a laying-on-of hands for her client. Once in the person's energy field, she senses the particular needs at that moment in time. How does she know for certain? "I just do," she says.

Some time ago, she treated a woman whose mother had died earlier that year. The masseuse selected Spinach Essence -- for simplicity, lack of pretense, and nurturing the inner child. She then added it to a small quantity of warmed carrier oil. Halfway through the massage, the woman lifted her head and said, "You know, I miss my mother," her tears flowing along with the release of repressed grief. Not one inclined to communicate or express her feelings, the woman left the treatment feeling cleansed both physically and emotionally, newly able to articulate her simple needs and inner growth.

In Conclusion

Last week, I spoke with a medical doctor on the East Coast who has been in practice nearly thirty years. She is gradually beginning to treat her patients with holistic therapies and stepping away from medical approaches to illness and disease. She commented, "It's the flower essences that work deeper, where the transformation takes place."

Alternative therapies such as flower essences and aromatherapy address subtler states of consciousness where true healing originates. Flower essences and aromatherapy -- and indeed all vibration-based tinctures -- derive their efficacy by acting as catalysts for our inner transformation. I like the image of essences as pump primers. Once our life force is activated, their work is done. These herbal remedies do not transform us; they allow us to transform ourselves. They do not change us; they support us in changing ourselves.

Countless massage practitioners and holistic therapists have combined flower essences and aromatherapy for their families, friends, pets, and clients, demonstrating that this union is indeed a perfect marriage.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Lila Devi is founder and director of Spirit in Nature's Flower Essences since 1977, the oldest essence line outside the UK. She is also the author of The Essential Flower Essence Handbook and Flower Essences for Animals. Also available on this site are homestudy courses and product information.

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