Saturday, December 06, 2008

Weathering the Winter winds of change: Flower Essences

I've been trying to think of something to post here, about herbs, or plants, or anything remotely related to such topics, but I've been completely self absorbed the last few weeks. Summer is always a tulmultuous time of crazy change and destruction, but winter also has its way, the little death, the letting go. The trees let go of their leaves, knowing the mulch will provide nutrients and support for next years growth and seedlings. So it is now...letting go some of my life leaves, to go into the heart of myself, and find in spring that something new has budded, sprouted and sprung forth.

My heart is breaking, yet I'm full of hope for the future. I've been relying deeply on the flower essences in these last few weeks as the winds of change have been blowing around me and things have shifted from one place to a completely new place in the span of days.

I am continually amazed by the gentle power the flower essences hold for us. So subtle is their influence, we hardly notice it, until we realize that everything has changed in the blink of an eye. Recently someone special came back into my life, and I was faced with a very hard choice, very difficult indeed. The kind of choice that would usually send me scurrying away to hide my head in the sand and pretend it didn't need my attention. But life insisted and I turned to the flowers for help.
Scleranthus to help me make a decision, difficult though it would be, either way I decided.
Walnut to rely on the strength within myself, to come from a place of wisdom of my own needs and desires, without being influenced by others desires and energy.

Clematis to stay present, in the moment, in my body, without projecting fear or what if's of the future, or getting lost in my thoughts, or getting stuck in my head.
Cherry Plum to maintain some semblance of control over myself in very intense situation, where it would be easy to let go and get out of self control.

I took this formula for maybe...6 hrs, maybe 8 over the course of the day, very frequently, definitely more than the reccomended four drops four times per day. By the end of the day, I had come to a decision, based on my true needs and hearts desires, without projecting the what ifs, the fears of the future uncertainty, and what other people in the situation wanted from me. And I kept my cool , even when things got a bit emotionally crazy. It struck me in the middle of a meeting with friends, that the flowers had worked their magic yet again, giving me just the rightnudges in the right direction to be able to do what I needed to do. I'm not giving away all the credit to the flowers, but time and time again I've seen them shift things so sutbly, so gently, but yet so profoundly, in just a few hours time...it blows my mind every time!

I feel strong like a walnut tree, focused on the present moment without great anxiety or fear about what the future holds, trusting that I know what is right for me, and feeling peaceful. Most of all, the winds of change are blowing and shifting the ground under my feet, but I feel at peace with the decisions made and the changes underfoot.


It helps to have the support of trusted friends, teachers and family members, and the unending gift of support and nourishment of Gaia and the plants and flowers, and the strength to call on all the resources available to me when I need them, whatever they may be.

Have flower essences been as remarkably helpful for you as they have been for me?? Share your stories with me? Feel like you need a little extra love and support from the plant world and want to try the flower essences? Send me a note and we'll figure out which might be supportive to your situation right now.

Hopefully I'll have more to write about plants in the not too distant future, but tis the season of holiday craziness, so be patient!

3 comments:

Sarah Head said...

I hope things work out for your highest good, Darcey, whatever that might be. I don't use flower essences very often although they are fantastic things to make during summer workshops - everyone always chooses exactly the right flower medicine they need.

My most profound experience of a flower remedy was with yarrow several years ago. A friend of mine was involved in a terrible accident and I was beside myself with worry about them, their family and possible consequences. The pain in my solar plexus was excrutiating for nearly a week. Then I suddenly thought to make myself some yarrow flower remedy after discussions by jim macdonald and Karen Sanders on Herbal Highways on herbs for boundaries. I took the remedy into work with me on the Monday morning after making the remedy the previous Saturday. Within half an hour of taking the first dose, the pain started to dissipate and by the end of that day it was gone, never to return. I recommend it now for people like me who are natural helpers, but who have trouble keeping themselves separate from the person they are caring for.

Wendy said...

Hi Darcy-

Yes, I have been in this place and not too long ago. It was so painful, I resorted to Sagebrush Flower Essence. "Empty consciousness". It helped me go to a safe place while the changes whirled all around me.

http://www.gardenplum.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=FESAGEB&Category_Code=

wen

Lisa Zahn said...

I have had very amazing healing experiences with flower essences. My own herbalist makes up a remedy combination for me based on listening to my "issues" and then pulse testing to find the right remedy for me. I often have very physical reactions to them, even though they work on a spiritual/emotional/energy level. The effects are profound and wonderful on all those levels.

I, too, love Yarrow!

"The mother of us all, the oldest of us all, Hard, splendid as rock, Let the beauty you love, be what you do. There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the earth"~ Rumi ~