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Is it Time to Emerge from Your Spiritual Cocoon?

Spirituality

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May 10, 2016

Is it Time to Emerge from Your Spiritual Cocoon?

“The world is changed by your example, not your opinion.” ~ Paulo Coelho

You’ve started your journey inward, you realize that true happiness and fulfillment must be found within, you resonate with silence and stillness and the observer inside of you that watches all things from an unbiased standpoint, and you’ve begun to re-write your subconscious belief systems that have been holding you back in life, but now what?

While the journey inward is a continuous process, at a certain point in our incarnation here, the spiritual seeker might face the question, “what is this ‘outside’ world for if the real journey is the one inside my own mind?”

What a travesty and waste it would be if we knew some of the most amazing wisdom from higher dimensions, had some of the most magnificent revelations about life and spirituality but shared it with no one. However, for those more in tune with their inner self, the world can feel like a very unwelcoming place.

When others don’t seem to be seeing the world as you see it from a similar perspective, it can feel as though the safety and comfort of our own mind is the only place we truly feel understood.

But alas, we must come to face the fact that all the wisdom in the universe doesn’t make just sitting on our couch “knowing it” any more exciting. There must come a time when rejoining the world becomes imperative.

In order to find balance between the two, we must first determine if our inward journey is beginning to work against our outside progress, and when we determine that it is, what do we do next?

Is your inward journey inhibiting your progress?

When spirituality begins to monopolize our whole life at the cost of us working on our goals it is most likely a sign that less time needs to be devoted to our inner journey to make way for action steps to be taken in our outside world.

The most important indicator in determining whether or not it’s time to get back out into the world is to connect with our emotional reactions towards the idea.

Our emotional response is our inner compass which points us in the direction of our highest wisdom and evolution. So, if rejoining the world sounds completely terrifying, unexciting, or is even physically impossible due to an illness or other physical setback, it is only a clear signal that it is not the time.

But if one gets the feeling of confidence and excitement to get back out into the trenches, so to speak, this most assuredly is the green light to do just that.

Come out of your cocoon

“Make the world more beautiful. You should leave the world more beautiful than you have found it when you were born-then you have done some service to existence.” ~ Osho

Every beautiful butterfly requires time to transform inside their little cocoon but there comes a time when it is time to shed that cocoon and show the world the beauty we have cultivated and for our presence to inspire others to do the same.

Coming out of the cocoon can be slightly overwhelming for the person who has spent so much time in the comfort of their own mind, but by being patient with ourselves we can break it into smaller steps that make the whole process a little easier.

Small but new choices each day will begin to invite more passion and excitement into our daily life which push us into the path of our highest good. Maybe that choice is joining a gym, signing up for a cooking class, or applying for a dream job (even if you think it’s impossible to get, you’ll never know if you don’t try, right?), anything that feels exciting and something that you wouldn’t normally do for yourself.

New choices will begin to manifest new possibilities and outcomes. For example, maybe you meet your soulmate at your cooking class, or the dream job you applied for just to see, actually calls you back for an interview!

The choices don’t have to be huge, but in order to be of some service to this world and for your own experiencing of this world to the fullest, a choice in a new and fresh direction needs to be made.

Don’t be ashamed to shine

“Love in action is service to the world.” ~ Lynne Namka

Once you’ve started to follow your joy by taking time away from your inner progress to focus on the outside world again, it is important that you allow your inner light to shine through you.

After all, the world is transformed by the people who become the change they wish to see. The wisdom we have cultivated in our inner journey will be what leads others to do the same in their own life.

Those of us who have undertaken this spiritual journey all deserve a pat on the back. It is quite a courageous thing to go against what the rest of the world believes to be true in order to find all the answers from within instead of without.

As with all things, balance is key. The outer world is where we get to put to practice the insightful things we have come upon in our inner world, and our inner world is where we can go to heal and transform our own selves so that we may be of more service to humanity.

Image source

Alex Grey art

Ten Quotes That Will Shatter Your Beliefs

Life

Gary Z McGee

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May 9, 2016

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Ten Quotes That Will Shatter Your Beliefs

“Quotations are like wayside robbers who leap out, brandishing weapons, and relieve the idler of his certainty.” ~ Walter Benjamin

Ah quotations, those little packets of redemption, those tiny bundles of emancipation. They take our tiny bowls of fixed thinking and stir them up into giant bowls of flexible thinking. They eclipse both certitude and uncertainty, intermittently. They intellectually crush out.

In this article we’ll delve into ten quotations that tear the veil between the believer and his/her belief.

Ten quotes that rattle the cage of our certainty, tease out the hypocrisy of our convictions, and force our heads over the edge of the abyss of the human condition.

As Bradford Keeney pinpointed, “Words are only useful in teasing one another. In teasing we are less likely to get stuck in any particular belief, attitude, or form of knowing.”

1) Quote on Life:

“We understand nothing! If you understand this, you understand everything.” ~ Paul Mic

It’s okay that we’re fallible. It’s okay that we’re imperfect and prone to make mistakes. It’s even okay that we’re inherently hypocritical and torn between spirit and flesh. After all, we are a ridiculously young species in a preposterously ancient universe. Does this get us off the hook? Nope.

But it does get us out of our own way, so that we’re able to focus on what really matters: life, love, and laughter. As, Jorge Luis Borges said, polishing up the predicament, “To fall in love is to create a religion that has a fallible god.”

Quote on Interrogation:

“I would rather have questions that can’t be answered than answers that can’t be questioned.” ~ Richard Feynman

Indeed. Questions are infinite and free. Answers are finite and fixed. I would even go so far as to say that the only answer is to question. How could it not be? When you can question anything, ad infinitum. One could even question my declaration that the only answer is to question.

As Elie Weisel said, “Every question possesses a power that does not lie within the answer.” Of course! In the end all one has are questions with which to challenge the lot; to usurp the throne it’s intellections, and make assumptions naught.

And then there’s Franz Kafka’s thought on the subject that knocks it out of the park, “He who does not answer the questions has passed the test.”

Quote on Embracing New Perspective:

“Time makes ancient good uncouth.” ~ James Russell Lowell

Such a thought keeps us open to new evidence, new arguments, and new experiences, so that we may perhaps evolve, or co-evolve, into having a healthier perspective of reality. We’re able to move from thesis to anti-thesis and into synthesis, and then back into thesis, to which a new anti-thesis becomes inevitable.

Lest we doom ourselves to making the same mistakes as our ancestors did, it behooves us to intuit when an antiquated ideal has grown unhealthy and stale. As Aldous Huxley warned, rounding out the thought, “That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons that history has to teach.”

Quote on Change:

“You must change in order to find your truest self. And keep changing. The false idol is any form that hangs around too long and gets fossilized. It’s worth considering that if your ideas of God don’t change, then your ideas are dead. God is not dead. He simply went elsewhere because you were too boring… Tease God. Do not fear God. A fool’s love is what God loves best. It represents the ready and available heart of a child at play.” ~ Bradford Keeney

Barring the idea that everything is an illusion, ‘change’ is perhaps the only certainty we have to hang our hats on. It seems to be the only permanent. Which is ironic, because change is the epitome of impermanence. Oh well.

Might as well have a good sense of humor about it. Better to laugh with all the gods (and with the absence of god, if you’re an atheist) than to stare all self-serious and dead-mackerel-eyed into the infinite nothingness vainly tempting to force-feed “Truth” into a reality that doesn’t give a rat’s as*.

Alan Watts smooths out the thought, “Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun.”

Quote on God:

“God emptied to the limit is man, and man emptied to the limit is God.” ~ Alan Watts

Imagine it: God emptied to the limit. What’s left? Man, in his imperfect, naked vulnerability: a finite, trembling creature at the seeming center of an Infinite Flourishing. Imagine further: Man emptied to the limit. What’s left? God, writhing in perfect union with all things, interdependently spread out into infinite ubiquity.

Such is the existential predicament of mankind: a breath-gasping, sphincter-tightening, mortal beast daring his soul into transcending it all with the self-actualized symbolism of God. Either way, man is God and God is man.

Especially considering Meister Eckhart’s thought on the subject, “The eye with which I see God, is the same eye with which God sees me.” Or? As Rumi said, “Maybe you are searching among the branches for what only appears in the roots.”

Quote on Truth:

“The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement, but the opposite of a profound truth may very well be another profound truth.” ~ Niels Bohr

Truth shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s ability to hold multiple conflicting dispositions at the same time regarding the same topic. In short: Truth is a slippery red herring. In order to handle it, the mind must be both flexible and sharp, all while not taking itself too seriously.

This requires being circumspect with ideas while also attempting to sharpen them on the whetstone of probability. And then having the audacity to be circumspect with probability. Perhaps nobody said it better than Aristotle, “It is the mark of an educated mind to entertain a thought without accepting it.”

Quote on True Inner Power:

“’I don’t know’ is an unparalleled source of power, a declaration of independence from the pressure to have an opinion about every single subject. It’s fun to say. Try it: ‘I don’t know.’ Let go of the drive to have it all figured out: ‘I don’t know.’ Proclaim the only truth you can be totally sure of: ‘I don’t know.’ Empty your mind and lift your heart: ‘I don’t know.’ Use it as a battle cry, a joyous affirmation of your oneness with the Great Mystery: ‘I don’t know.’” ~ Rob Brezsny

Indeed. “I don’t know” frees us into a state of “prepared to learn.” We are liberated from the burden of having the answers. We shed the weight, so that maybe we can pack it back up in a healthier way that makes us more robust. We unlearn what we have learned.

Then we shed the weight again, back into a state of “I don’t know.” We empty the cup, so that we can fill it back up with the fresh water of awe and wonder. Then we empty it again. Over and over. Education by perpetual astonishment is the thing. ‘I don’t know’ in order that I may be overwhelmed by my not knowing.

Quote on Religion:

“The easy confidence with which I know another man’s religion is folly teaches me to suspect that my own is also.” ~ Mark Twain

If, as Voltaire said, “Religion began when the first conman met the first fool,” then perhaps the fool gets un-fooled by realizing that the conman is just a man – fallible, flawed, imperfect, prone to mistakes, and more than likely just as wrong about his assertions as the fool is about his uncertainty.

The absolute folly of the human condition is the only salvation for the fool, if only he could intuit it. But alas, as Mark Twain surmised, “It’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.”

Quote on Doubt:

“If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things.” ~ Rene Descartes

Just as the folly of the human condition is the only salvation for the fool, so too is doubt the only salvation for the blindly faithful. And the predicament is much the same. How to get the blindly faithful passed their blind spot. It comes down to a problem of cognitive dissonance that’s exacerbated by people’s tendency to take themselves and their beliefs too seriously.

But breakthroughs can be made. We just need to trip our ignorant religious tendencies into an enlightened spiritual dance. As Eckhart Tolle suggested, “Here is a new spiritual practice: Don’t take your thoughts too seriously.”

Quote on Self Renewal:

“But the worst enemy you can meet will always be yourself; you lie in wait for yourself in caverns and forests. Lonely one, you are going the way to yourself! And your way goes past yourself, and past your seven devils! You will be a heretic to yourself and witch and soothsayer and fool and doubter and unholy one and villain. You must be ready to burn yourself in your own flame: how could you become new, if you had not first become ashes?” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

There you are: a tiny human in a gargantuan cosmos, a small speck in a vast universe, a flash in the pan of Time heretofore. What to do with the existential angst? What to do with the delicious tearing between spirit and flesh? What to do with the preciously finite amount of time you have within an infinite reality?

It’s all yours to take in. It’s all yours to open up to. It’s all yours to plant seeds so as to flourish into the healthiest, most open-minded version of yourself. It’s all yours to breathe in an out with a flexible and un-shatterable sense of humor. It’s all so serious that it’s not serious at all.

Laughable, really. And yet, as Terence McKenna profoundly stated, “You have to take seriously the notion that understanding the universe is your responsibility, because the only understanding of the universe that will be useful to you is your own understanding.”

Image source:

Doubt 6 by Misha Gordon

A Wolf Howl, a Photon, and a Dribble of Dark Molasses: A Humorous Inquiry into Soulcraft

Life

Gary Z McGee

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May 8, 2016

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A Wolf Howl, a Photon, and a Dribble of Dark Molasses: A Humorous Inquiry into Soulcraft

“If you need to visualize the soul, think of it as a cross between a wolf howl, a photon, and a dribble of dark molasses. But what it really is, as near as I can tell, is a packet of information. It’s a program, a piece of hyper-spatial software designed explicitly to interface with the Mystery. Not a mystery, mind you, the Mystery. The one that can never be solved.” ~ Tom Robbins

If, as Bill Plotkin wrote in Soulcraft: Crossing into the Mysteries of Nature and Psyche, “Once one has said yes to the call to adventure, the ego is securely in the grip of the soul, and the soul serves notice that the ego will not emerge unchanged,” then the soul must be a catalyst of great power, a force to be reckoned with, a force that drives the ego into the corner wearing a Dunce Cap while the soul fills up the room with numinous wisdom.

If you want to further visualize the soul, imagine the coalescence of a hot coal in deep snow, a singularity, and a kitten all wrapped up in its little blue purr. If you want to feel the soul, just pinch the sunset between your fingertips, lick the moonlight off your lover’s skin, or touch the crisp pages of a burnt bible inside a pink My Little Pony backpack.

But if you really want to dig deep into the guts of the soul, you’ll need cataclysmic forceps, a bowl of existential water, a scalpel sharpened by Death’s silvery scythe. You’ll need patience, Koch-curved time, the will to be a flicker of nothingness amidst a majesty of infinity. You’ll need love, salve, a plethora of masks, a spool of crisis stitches, sutures and wax.

It will be an arduously Nietzschean task that will flabbergast your hearts all-too-serious tangle –for which you’ll need all the algorithms of paradox to untie the knots and unpluck the splinters of rebirth from the shattered mess.

But if you should make it through this infinite jest, this jokes-on-you, ludicrous tenderness, and if you are able to piece back together all the bones that make a spine, all the love that makes a heart, and all the ache that makes up the spirit, then you, my friend, will have discovered a laughter of the most-high, with a numinous transcendence that will make the gods sigh as they trip over their halos, righteousness, and plight.

Who’s to say this cannot be Soul?

A wolf howl

“We are here on earth to fart around, and don’t let anybody tell you different.” ~ Kurt Vonnegut

If the soul is a wolf howl, then it stands to reason that it is also a call to adventure. But it doesn’t have to be all serious and threatening, although it can be both. Disposition goes a long way. Sure, our ego gets put on display and its vulnerability splayed out like a self-inflicted crucifixion, but there’s no reason why we cannot have fun with it.

Think: The closing scene in the Monty Python flick, The Life of Brian (see video): “If life seems jolly rotten, there’s something you’ve forgotten. And that’s to laugh, and smile, and dance, and sing. When you’re feeling in the dumps, don’t be silly chumps. Just purse your lips and whistle -that’s the thing.”

Let’s say yes to the wolf’s howl: the call to adventure. Indeed, let’s be the one howling, soulfully, into the moon-thick night. Let’s dare the rabbit hole to challenge us, the wormhole to astonish us, and the existential blackhole (dark night of the soul) to transform us. How else are we going to find our place in the world, let alone our own unique soulwork? Like Charles Simic said, “He who cannot howl, will not find his pack.”

Monty Python - Always Look On The Bright Side of Life

A photon

“Our separation from each other is an optical illusion of consciousness.” ~ Albert Einstein

The soul is like a photon in the sense that the soul cannot be currently explained in a rational way. It’s a deep feeling of being in mind-body-spirit, an awareness higher than mere consciousness. Indeed, conscious observation itself seems to be a factor that confuses the data.

Similar to how particle physics cannot explain what is light. Physicists can postulate the photon’s particle-like nature. They can postulate its wave-like nature.

But in the end, the phenomena of Light is just as systematically indescribable as the Soul. Contrastingly, we may postulate the neurological and cognitive aspects of the soul and how it connects the body to the world, or the deep feeling of oneness that is felt in meditation, but in the end the soul is just as systematically indescribable as a photon of light.

Only in the most generic sense can either the soul or a photon be explained systematically, but, all the same, we know it’s there, somehow, dancing its unexplainable jig.

A dribble of dark molasses

“What we have to learn in both meditation and in life is to be free of attachment to the good experiences and free of aversion to the negative ones.” ~ Sogyal Rinpoche

Ah, the bitter-sweet shadow. The inner darkness we’re all afraid to face, yet makes up a greater amount of our character than most realize. But the shadow is just as much the soul as the light is. Alas, the soul can be double-edged, sharp yet shielded, aegis-fanged. Best to comb the shadows for Eros. Plant seeds in your fear’s undergrowth in order to manifest soulcraft.

Challenge your demons to a duel and then turn the tables on them like Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid (see video). Eventually those demons will become your greatest ally, and your soulcraft will flourish ten-fold with a shadowy edge. As the Pagan Proverb states, “Don’t you ever tame your Demons, but, always keep them on a Leash.”

From the annihilation experienced within the cocoon of the Dark Night of the Soul, to the spirit-twisting, mind-altering numinous transcendence experienced on the Bright Day of Providence, the soul is there expanding like a cosmic drum skin stretched across the vicissitudes of our lives. Demons howl and angels sing, but both beat out their love/fear song on the mighty drum of our soul.

All we need to do is be present, to be aware, in the moment, to learn from the fear in order to nurture fearlessness, to learn from the love in order to cultivate providence, and of course, to learn a good sense of humor in order to foster enlightenment. As Marcus Aurelius said, “Death smiles upon us all, all a man can do is smile back.”

The Karate Kid - Car Window Breaking Scene

Hyper-spatial software

“Reality is frequently inaccurate.” ~ Douglas Adams

In the end, we are hyper-spatial beings in search for the rhapsodic. We scramble the self and crack open the ego so that Soul can seep in. We long for union. We hunger for connection. We yearn for the growth of the soul and the expansion of our soulcraft.

Soulcraft is both the courage and the humor gained to be so engaged interdependently that we’re able to feel how our souls are 14 billion lightyears deep in catasterism, in the Omega rhythm of the mighty cosmos.

When we’re aware, when we’re fully engaged in the here-and-now, we feel our souls longing to count coup on all the gods, to extinguish all the lies shoved down our throats. That is soulcraft. Reality as it stands is simply not enough.

We must add our own unique contribution to the soulstream of human evolution. It’s the epitome of creativity, and the cornerstone of being a paradoxical creature constantly stretched between finitude (body) and infinity (soul).

Although we know the entirety of the soul will always elude us, somehow catching glimpses here and there is enough. Tapping the cornerstone and reverberating our own unique musical resonance is enough. Elusion be damned. We have a choice to seek the rhapsodic or not, but it behooves us to do so, for it is one of the core tenets of living well.

As the Tibetan Proverb states, “The secret of living well: eat half, walk double, laugh triple, and love without measure.”

Loving without measure is wearing our soul on our sleeve and using the hyper-spatial software of our mind-body-soul as a tool to leveraging health into the universe despite entropy, despite mortality, and despite death.

Image source:

Wolf howl in the cold
Art by Kerstin Zettmar

Are We All Experiencing the Same Reality?

Life

Nikki Sapp

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May 5, 2016

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Are We All Experiencing the Same Reality?

“Quantum physics tells us that nothing that is observed is unaffected by the observer. That statement, from science holds an enormous and powerful insight. It means that everyone sees a different truth, because everyone is creating what they see.” ~ Neale Donald Walsch

The idea that reality is not set in stone, is a difficult idea to understand, and one that quantum physicists and meta-physicians alike are beginning to explore more in depth and actually agree upon.

I won’t pretend to know and be able to explain the scientific aspects of this theory, but I can speak from my own level of consciousness which comes from my own “aha moments” and spiritual understandings of life. From the spiritual side of things, we have heard the saying “reality is an illusion,” from more than one teacher.

The book, “The Tao of Wu”, stated, “When Buddha says ‘all is an illusion’ he isn’t saying that nothing is real. He’s saying that your mind’s projection on to reality are illusions. He’s saying that the elements in the universe that form every physical thing we see – solid, liquid, gas – if they’re taken down to a subatomic level, they don’t exist. Therefore all we see is an illusion, because it’s shape or form, not true essence.”

This explains somewhat from a physics level, at it’s lowest form (a subatomic level), matter does not actually exist, and it comprises 99% empty space. But what does all this mean on a practical level? And is there a way to test this theory ourselves, to show that not everyone is actually experiencing the same reality?

“The whole universal consciousness created the individual consciousness of each of us, experiencing itself from different perspectives, in which each of us creates the life we experience.” ~ Unknown

It seems that almost everyone you meet has their own “platform”, something that they stand for, some moral standpoint (no matter how big or small) that they believe in and these beliefs represents who they are as a person. Some people are convinced that the world is going downhill at a rapid pace and if we don’t save it we will all be wiped off the face of the planet, while some people don’t see the world from this perspective at all.

While for some people saving the bumblebees might be the biggest crisis facing the world, for instance, another person may be completely convinced that the corruption of the government is our biggest problem here. And while many will agree that there are 7 billion different perspectives happening here, what they may not realize is that this is actually the proof that we are not all experiencing the same reality.

If we think that each person has their own individual dimension of consciousness and their perception of the outside world is a complete reflection of their own inner world, we see that not everyone is actually experiencing the same thing. The changing variable that differs from one person to the next is our reactions to life.

One person may see a war on the night news and be angered, and another person may see the exact same news story and have a completely different reaction to it altogether.

For those that feel as though they are living in a world (the same world that everyone else is), and that life is happening to them rather being created by and for them, it is very easy to see why people are caught in a victim mentality.

They think, “life is happening, people are doing things to me, things are happening to me & I have little control over the things that happen in this world,” which causes them to blame the outside world for their negative emotions rather than see how their universe is trying to empower them by inciting the negative emotions.

The emotions being catalyzed by that person through their reactions to reality are the very emotions that are begging for our unconditional love and acceptance, and in turn are trying to be healed through us. However, those who see that, will realise that each person is in fact creating their own reality.

They see that everyone is here to go through their own life lessons and trials, and however their particular universe chooses to “wake them up” through the emotions incited through their version of physical reality is perfectly right for that person.

How many conflicts in this world would cease if we would all just realize that not everyone is experiencing the same reality and we actually have more control over what we see ‘out there’ than we think we do?

Perhaps the most beautiful thing about life is that all perspectives are not only unique but completely relevant. If all is from the same source and that that source is interested in infinite possibilities and versions of reality all being experienced by individual dimensions of consciousness called by us, “people,” then perhaps it is time for us to look for the divinity in it all, instead of looking for the differences in each of us.

By taking the time to consciously realize that not everyone is going to have the same reactions to reality, the same “story” of what is important or not important here on earth, or perhaps a wildly opposite perspective of life altogether we can turn the attention inward into our own hearts and tend to the only thing that we actually do have the power to change and heal, our own hearts and our own selves.

Image source

Artist Thijme Termaat

6 Flower Essences to Raise Your Vibration

Pia

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May 3, 2016

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6 Flower Essences to Raise Your Vibration

“Nature, time and patience are the three great physicians.” Bulgarian Proverb

While herbal tinctures are associated with the body of the plant, essential oils with their circulatory system, flower essences contain the vibrational energy of the plant which interact with the subtle bodies of the human being, and evoke specific qualities within us.

Flower essences introduce positive qualities in your consciousness that will drive out the negative state of mind, or they also strengthen the qualities we already possess.

They were popularized in modern history in the 1920’s by English physician, Edward Bach. They are prepared by a dilution process wherein flowers are infused in water, sun-soaked and then stabilized in a solution of water and brandy.

It is similar to homeopathic practice, in the sense that the energetic imprint of the flower is believed to be left behind in the final solution. Herbalists believe that each flower/plant has a subtle and unique energetic frequency, having the ability to heal the emotion they are attuned to.

Here is a list of some essences to heal the soul:

1) The Holly (Heart Healer) for Love

This wild flower, featuring in old Celtic wisdom and in Christianity, embodies love. The healing energy of Holly helps us to face the dark, unloved parts of ourselves and transforms them with the light of compassion. This flower essence has the power to turn negativity completely around, erase past wounds and instill positive feelings in its place.

If you’re feeling unloved, envious, hostile or angry, Holly can offer a deep reconnection with yourself; it opens the heart centre and reminds us that love and happiness can only be found within.

2) Purple Monkeyflower for Fear

All types of Mimulus works on fear. This essence, particularly, deals with fears related to spiritual experiences; being stuck in old patterns or unable to see and accept the truth. It helps bring a sense of purpose in life, to trust one’s path, and build a positive spiritual practice based on love and acceptance as opposed to a constant striving, which is a state of denial.

It also opens up our third eye and crown chakras. While taking Purple Monkey flower, you might experience intuitive dreams. It reminds us that self-love and surrender can go a long way. It also helps treat psychosomatic problems, anxiety, asthma, nervous system issues, gastrointestinal disorders and insomnia.

3) Impatiens for Patience and Gentleness

The nature and color of every plant reflects the quality it can heal or build within a person. Impatiens meaning ‘impatient’ or popularly known as ‘touch me not’ , is a remedy for impatience and the frustration and irritability that often go with it.

For example, you are impatient by nature, so you take the Pale mauve or purple Impatiens (both these colours relate to the qualities of patience and gentleness) flower essence.

Over time, you notice that you become more relaxed and your pace is less hurried. If you suffer from panic disorders like claustrophobia, dyspnea and tachycardia, then this is the essence for you. It develops an ease of mind, peace, tranquility and forgiveness. It teaches us to how to stop and smell the roses!

4) Oak for Balance and Perseverance

The Oak tree itself is a picture of perseverance; strong and hardy, it stands tall and unwavering, weathering all storms. When a person is drawn to Oak, it indicates a need to slow down. Oak flower essence makes for a great medicine for those who overwork themselves until they reach a point of collapse and never ask for, rather do not know how to ask for help.

Stress sends the body into flight or fight mode, imbalancing our immune system which paves the way for all sorts of health problems, both mental and physical. Oak essence restores a sense of balance and healthy levels of activity.

Oak carries the message that sitting still and clearing the mind is as important if not more, than achievement and recognition. It helps to put things into perspective and allowing our journey through life to be more pleasant. Among physical cures it helps the heart, ulcers, headaches, hypertension, rheumatism and purifies the liver and spleen.

5) Red Chestnut for Codependency

When our sense of sympathy spirals out of control and starts to work against us is when one should call upon the healing forces of the Red Chestnut. Our sense of empathy is what helps us recognize the wisdom of oneness and love.

It is an overwhelmingly uplifting feeling, but this is different from a pervading pain of sympathy. It is tuning into a vibration that hurts you because you think it is the only way you can help. But how can you offer healing if both you and the person you want to heal are in pain?

This flower essence teaches us how to ground ourselves within empathy and become more self-loving in those moments. It helps us understand where we need to create boundaries. It is perfect for those who carry the world’s pain, make mountains out of molehills, cannot see the bigger and brighter picture and have anxiety because of it.

This essence is recommend for over stressed or new mothers or anyone who would like to let go of unhealthy codependent relationships.

6) Dandelion for Emotional Trauma

Often regarded as a weed, Dandelion is one of the most beneficial healing herbs. It is a detoxifier that works on the emotional and mental being of a person, releasing repressed emotions like anger, grief, trauma and ease muscle tension in the neck, back and shoulders. It brings calmness to a hyper active mind and allows a person to fully live in the present moment.

(Flower essences must be taken in recommended doses. Consult your flower therapist to decided the length and strength of the course which will be evaluated based on the underlying emotion or spiritual issue at hand. All of the above can be taken in various forms.)

Here are some ways to take Flower Essences:

Drops into the mouth

This is the traditional way of taking flower essences. You can place them under your tongue to maximize absorption. Make sure to keep the dropper away from your mouth as it could breed bacteria.

Add to Drinks

You can add a recommended dose into non-alcoholic beverages like juice, teas, milk or just water. This dilution does not affect its power. You can sprinkle it onto food or drinks for yourself or others, even pets.

Drops in the bath

Add your dose or intuitively follow how much you’d like to add into your bath. Soak in it for a minimum of 30 minutes and relax.

Rub on the skin

If you have an alcohol resistance or allergy (as it is diluted in brandy) you can resort to rubbing it behind the ears, on the wrists, lips, temple or soles of the feet. You could also work directly onto chakra centers.

Decant into a spray bottle

You may then spray it onto the body. It can also be used for insect bites, bruises or burns. Flower essences can also be used as an alternative to incense sticks, it clears negative energy and cleanses auric fields.

Spray them onto clothes or pillow

This is a great way to get a good night’s sleep. When doing this, the flower essence works on you all through the night and since the subconscious is all about surrender, the effect can be even better!

Mix into lotions or oils

Add them into skin lotions you use regularly.

You can also make your own flower essences if you have access to flowers nearby. All you need is spring or well water, brandy, a little vinegar and a dropper bottle. Here is a video detailing the exact steps to make flower essences –

How to Make Flower Essence Remedies -Herbal Medicine

“Don’t be ashamed to weep; ’tis right to grieve. Tears are only water, and flowers, trees, and fruit cannot grow without water. But there must be sunlight also. A wounded heart will heal in time, and when it does, the memory and love of our lost ones is sealed inside to comfort us.” ~ Brian Jacques

There isn’t an ailment in the world that nature cannot cure. It is about working with nature, using and not abusing it. When we are in sync with it, we will be guided intuitively on how to heal ourselves. We must learn to listen with our hearts first.

References

Flower Society
Desert Alchemy
Bach Remedies
Bach original flower remedies guide

Image sources
Blooming Essence
Making flower essence

Fractal Enlightenment