So if you think of Bach’s Rescue Remedy you’re on the right track –usually they are taken as drops under the tongue and help deal with emotional inbalance.

Flower essences hold the vibrational imprint of a plant in a mixture of alcohol and water. Each different essence contains the ‘personality’ of that particular plant. Taking this liquid into your body acts as a reminder to behave in a similar way to that plant, to take on its characteristics if you like and brings awareness to thought and behaviour patterns and helps you change how you feel and act.

So if you want to act and feel more like a buttercup – sunshiney and confidant and full of the joys of life take buttercup essence and see just how different you feel.

Because flower essences don’t carry any material matter of the plant they are completely safe to use with other medications, during pregnancy and breast feeding and for children. In fact they work especially well with children who are a lot less stuck in their patterns and are generally more open minded and receptive to change.

But because they contain no material matter people who are much more used to using the logical (left side) of their brains find the whole concept difficult to get their heads around. Once people have tried essences and experienced their changes they find it much easier to believe they work. And because they deal with emotions which are very subjective it is nearly impossible to conduct reliable studies into how each essence works. The science is catching up to show how essences in general work. Dr Emoto in Japan has done lots of work with holding vibrations and memories in water and quantum physicists have lots of evidence of how water holds vibrations. My general reply to sceptics is that an awful lot of people thought the world was flat for a really long time….. and that the Bach essences have been made and sold to millions since the 1930’s –people don’t keep buying things that don’t work.

So what can essences be used for?

Unlike the Bach essences modern essence makers aren’t legally allowed to claim that they help with any physical/medical conditions and so they are mostly described in how they affect emotional issues (although there is LOTS of evidence to suggest that how we feel and think affects our physical well being).
Essences can help you sleep, stop you worrying, make you feel more confidant, stop you feeling nervous, not good enough, intolerant, impatient etc etc. If it’s to do with emotions and how we behave as humans in this roller coaster journey called life there is probably an essence for it out there.

Obviously we would like you to use our essences but there are lots of other companies out there. In general smaller companies make things with more love and integrity – and with something as energetic as a flower essence I feel this is crucial. So if you have something that needs changing in your life and want to use something that is completely natural, safe, and easy to use then flower essences are one of the first things to turn to.

TRY THEM AND SEE –THEY REALLY DO WORK

On my return from my 2 months in New Orleans it was great to notice how different I felt and I’ve needed time to assimilate those changes. I’m telling you all this partly because as humans we often feel the need to make excuses for our behaviour when we feel we haven’t done something we feel we should have (or done something we feel we shouldn’t have) and also because you might find comfort in seeing someone else’s life is more uncertain and up in the air than your own I’m (mostly) loving it by the way –and have my friends the essences to help me out when it all gets a bit much.

One of our strong motivators as a company besides being told stories of how or essences have helped people get through difficult times in their lives is trying to get them to people who wouldn’t usually take essences – ie the general public –it’s an uphill struggle most of the time and we need your help recommending them wherever and whenever you come across people having a hard time….. word of mouth with something as subjective as essences is best –so Tweet (we braved it (!) and you can follow @saskiasessences), Facebook, tell people you interact with face to face about essences and the magic they can do whenever you can because those flowers really want to help us all in our struggles –be it with confidence, grief, speaking up for yourself, worry – THEY REALLY DO WORK WONDERS…help us spread the word and change the world at the same time- we’re all in this together.

Oh and do get in touch if you have queries about which essences might be good for you –that’s what we’re here for.

(For those that don’t already know I’m living in New Orleans for a couple of months and staying with a very good friend/ soul sister, experiencing the Carnival season and all the other things this city has to offer )

I’ve done quite a lot of travelling in my life but never before have I noticed how it affects me energetically as much as I have done this time. Without all my ‘things’ and history, friends and family around me I have a new feeling of who I am, me in the here and now- more condensed and contained and more able to be who I truly am without all my history and peoples pre-conceived ideas of who I am and how I should behave –it’s very liberating and fun to play with and I’ve been really enjoying the Buttercup essence for smiley confidence, Cowslip (for playfulness) as well as Twayblade (Leap of Faith) for diving into new adventures. In the past, without the help of essences, I would have found this experience more scary (and Wild Garlic would have helped loads with that) and constricting and I would have pulled into myself more.

After a couple of weeks living in someone else’s space, sharing their life and their ‘things’ I’ve really been helped by Yarrow essence which is great for realizing what is your ‘stuff’ and what is theirs. In all relationships there is an interaction of energy and it is so easy to take on the feelings of someone else – and for them to take on yours. I’m realizing how important it is to be responsible for the energy you give out and just how we affect those around us. Coming back here after 3 years has really made me realize just how much I’ve changed and achieved in that time -thanks mostly to those fabulous flowers .

I’m just love love loving our My Personal Space spray –it really came into it’s own during a long flight and makes me feel safe and protected while walking the streets (and its smells sooo good)

And I’m really enjoying living with someone else and sharing good times, dreams, meals and thoughts and seeing how different another culture is, how other people do things and learning more about myself in relationship to that- reassessing my values, finding out what’s important to me and what I want to really do with my time.
The essence that has really really helped with all this movement and change is Rio Clarillo, our river essence, which helps you go with the flow, to not get stuck in your ideas of how things ‘should’ be and is a lively, fun and energetic number for letting go.

I’m truly hoping that you too are enjoying the beginning of this year as much as I am and using those essences to support you in all the challenges that you come across –never forget how much support you have available to you when you need it, and do get in touch if you have any questions at all about which essences you might need at this time –It may sound like I’m off being footloose and fancy free but if it’s essences you want help with I’m always here …… (saskia@saskiasfloweressences.com) -as is Christine, back at base, ready to pack off your orders as soon as they arrive.

If you find it difficult to have fun this combination means business –it is full of yellow sunshiney confident flowers, is great for bringing you back to the here and now with the roots of Carrot and Dandelion and also has our Chilean river essence, Rio Clarillo, in it to help you let go and wash your cares away…… the essences that begged to be invited to the party were : Buttercup to add a confident shine, Cowslip to help you feel safe enough to play, Gorse to bring joy, Dandelion to help bring out your inner dandy here and now, Carrot to help you interact with others and Rio Clarillo to relax and go with the flow…..

Every New Years Eve my resolution is to be more Joyful –I’m getting much better at it but every year I decide I could definitely have more Joy in my life. With a couple of droppers full of Let’s Celebrate in the party punch this year it’ll be a cinch

So this party season take some of the magic of flowers along with you and take celebrating to a whole new level……

It also makes a great gift………….

In the so excitingly rapidly changing world that we have today where it feels we have suddenly awoken from a dream and realized that how we have behaved as a race can no longer sustainably continue it is essential that we are able to put our heads up high and say “this is what I believe, this is how I see it, this is what I am doing about it, this is wrong, this is how I believe it could be”. This combination helps you be able to do that in a focussed, connected way that feels right and powerful.

So what essences has it got in it to perform such miracles….well the first is Bluebell which helps you put your head up high and speak your truth. It is great for people who don’t think they are worth listening to, that their view isn’t valid, who would usually rather keep their head down and not be noticed. Then we added Borage, another blue flower, which brings courage and a feeling of being able to deal with all life has to ‘offer’ and then the fabulously cheerful, creative and confident Buttercup had to be invited along to remind us how easy it is to shine. When we have a lot to say it is crucial to get the words out in an organized understandable way that makes sense so we added Carrot and finally for an extra dose of universal support we put in Wild Garlic. This essence makes you feel safe and connected, and in communication, with the whole.

With all those fabulous flowers along for the ride I feel life might just get a lot more interesting. We all have a part to play in this world and the more we take part in a conscious vocal way the better it will be for everyone. So if you are having a hard time saying what you really want to and are feeling a little powerless this is the mix for you.

Go on give it a go and ‘Speak with Confidence’ – others don’t know what you think unless you tell them.

Lots of people believe that there is a massive shift happening for the life of the planet and the beings that live on it. This shift will, undoubtedly, bring chaos and destruction as the old ways of being/doing/ thinking change into the new.

Essences are great tools to have by your side while all these changes are happening .How we deal with the changes inside and outside of us affects how those around us react and, therefore, how the planet as a whole reacts. How you deal with things affects EVERYTHING .

If you believe in a divine plan but are unable to let yourself go with the flow and let everything happen as it is ‘meant’ to Rio Clarillo is a great essence (I wrote more about this amazing river essence in a blog a year or so ago- called All Change) it brings movement and change in a light playful way, enabling you to relax, feel into your intuition and move with less resistance down the river of life.

Some of us would prefer to believe that change is not happening by keeping keeping on, working hard and fast and hoping that by doing things like we have always done everything will continue to be as it is. For this way of being Speedwell is a very good essence bringing a calm knowingness that everything is going to be alright, it’s fine to slow down(or even stop), it brings a stillness in amongst the chaos (a bit like being at the stationary middle point of a whirlpool) and is fabulous for these turbulent times.

Willow essence brings flexibility .It stops us seizing up and becoming stuck. Dr Bach said it was very good for arthritis when our bodies seize up and are unwilling to bend at all. The flexibility of the willow means that this tree, often found near rivers/water, doesn’t break during times of great stress, which is a lesson we all need to remember.

Walnut is another Bach tree essence that is very good during times of change bringing a protected feeling from how everyone else is reacting to how we are and helps with transitions from one phase to the next.

When right in the midst of stressful, panicky changing times Star of Bethlehem and Dandelion are great for feeling grounded and solid and centred.Star of Bethlehem is used in our Accident and Emergency essence (as well as in Bach’s Rescue Remedy) for shock of any kind –in the present, near past or a long long time ago. Dandelion is incredibly grounding bringing you completely into the present and able to deal with things in a present, sunshiney way. Borage is very good at bringing courage and a feeling of being able to cope with all of life’s challenges/growth opportunities(!)

Oh and don’t forget the Wild Garlic which brings us back in touch with whoever is ‘up there’ looking out for us . It brings back a knowing that we are safe and supported.

If you are feeling good about all that is happening in your life, you are happy and thriving with all this change but find other people’s reactions hard to deal with you might find ‘My Personal Space’ spray very good for keeping firm boundaries and not letting ‘others’ bring you down.

And if you want to change and are having trouble doing so our Keep on Track combination is just what you need to help you along your chosen path.

Change is inevitable –how we deal with it is up to us. So don’t forget those fabulous flowers to help you remember how to be who you truly are.

However in the long term this can be incredibly bad for our mental and physical health and will either turn inwards mutating into bitterness and resentment, affecting our relationships and our general outlook on life or forcing its way to the surface in an unmanageable, and often violent explosion.

However we feel about it anger, expressed and confronted while fresh and young can be an incredibly healthy and rewarding experience, bringing about change and showing where things aren’t working.

Holly essence is the best flower essence for dealing with anger in ourselves and understanding it in others. It brings an awareness of what the underlying issues are, bringing compassion to a situation and helping us see how a resolution to the problem may come about.

Usually it is situations where we are being treated unfairly, are not being listened to or feel we are misunderstood that bring feelings of anger and frustration , as we are experiencing throughout the world this year. Sometimes all it takes is for someone else to acknowledge that there is a problem, that they are listening to our grievances and are willing to try and help find a solution. At other times we may need to physically move our anger out of our bodies . Digging or chopping wood, swimming, running or doing some other strenuous activity really helps ,transmuting the energy into something else.

Other flower essences that really help with situations involving anger are Weld which brings perspective to a situation, helping you step back and objectively look at something. Nettle is very good for situations where you are not putting up clear boundaries. When this happens it is very easy for you to get angry at being mistreated. Blackberry is great about doing something about situations you are angry about especially situations where others are being treated unfairly/ unjustly. It helps you stand up and state your case and brings energy to get things changed. Once anger has changed to resentment and bitterness Willow can be very useful to bring flexibility to a situation/person that has become stuck and unbending .

So yet again we can turn to the incredibly powerful tools that essences are to help us deal with our emotions in a healthy way , to bring awareness , to find solutions and to make life a more enjoyable, healthy experience all round .

In yet another ‘light bulb moment’ that Christine and I are prone to we realized that here was a new combination essence waiting to be ‘born’ which can help with anything you have resolved to do and keep you focussed on your mission. And so, along with 3 other new combinations, we have recently launched ‘Keep on Track’ and so far the results are looking pretty good (though I say so myself ). One woman described a feeling of having a laser beam rather than a hazy light shining on her resolve.

 This is the essence to take if you are training for a race and are finding it really hard to get out of bed to do your daily run, if you have decided you want to give up smoking (or any other addiction) or if you keep getting pulled back into a destructive relationship. And I’m sure you can think of lots of other times when you need to be reminded to keep on the road you have chosen, to not get persuaded by other people to do something you don’t really want to do, to say no to the piece of cake that you’re being offered …… I could go on.

 Flower essences are great at bringing awareness and helping us shift patterns, and as someone recently said to me, to “awaken your true self”. It feels really good to be able to bring something into the world to help you all keep to your chosen path and we’re incredibly grateful that the flowers want to help us all in this complex human journey.

 This fabulous new combination contains : Nans Polyanthus – for things that are difficult to do, Walnut – to stop being influenced by what others think ,Weld – for keeping the bigger picture in mind, Blackberry – for energising your ‘mission’, Yarrow – protection from outside influences, Pennyroyal – for feeling balanced and complete.

 We hope that you’ll find it really useful in your toolkit for life.

To order Keep on Track go to:

 http://www.saskiasfloweressences.com/keepontrack.html

“The reward of our work is not what we get, but what we become” Paulo Coelho

Saskia’s Flower Essences consists of me (Saskia), my very good friend Christine and her partner George who we employ to do the website, leaflet/label design and any other technical stuff –in fact often we feel he does more than the 2 of us put together.

We’ve been friends since our boys were at primary school together (more than 15 years now) and the quote above reminded me how much the work we all do together, to get the essences out to the people who need them, has strengthened/tested/improved our relationship and the personal growth we’ve gone through along the way. I know for myself personally that, with the help of the flowers I’ve become much more confident, outgoing , self assured and happier with who I am.

It’s knowing how much the essences help people in their struggle to become the best that they can be that keeps us going when the bills come in/we’ve spent all day at the computer/orders don’t come in as quickly as we want.

All along we’ve known that this is a long term business, that (like life) slow steady growth is best, that helping others is what it’s all about and it’s the small milestones that we celebrate – yesterday we managed to get barcodes on our combination labels for a chain of stores who need them and for some reason this felt like a big leap and they looked sooo professional (thanks George)….. it’s the little things that keep you going

Also this month we have released  4 NEW COMBINATIONS  which we know are going to be a great success ……STRENGTH AND SUPPORT, SPEAKING WITH CONFIDENCE, LET’S CELEBRATE and KEEP ON TRACK……we hope the names are self explanatory but if not go to our combinations page where you can also buy them : http://www.saskiasfloweressences.com/combiessences.html

And we also had a great day at Hawkwood College Open Day where we launched our new essences, our new leaflet and gave a workshop (which my dad attended !!- bringing me face to face with how much I have grown and who I’ve become).So many people told us their stories of how our essences have helped them which is really rewarding…… We are doing a 2 day workshop there next month which we’re really looking forward to -they still have places available so if you’re interested get in touch.(http://www.saskiasfloweressences.com/workshops.html)  

For me the exciting bit about my ‘work’ is not only what it’s helped me become but how much further I know it’s going to take me…along with the help of the flowers and my friends to act as catalysts/mirrors…..BRING IT ON 

Like the star sign of Leo they are ‘dominant, spontaneously creative and extrovert’ and seem to ‘thrive on adversity’ and indeed Dandelion flower essence brings a dandy-lion quality with it. This is truly a Leo flower.

This energy- strong, grounded and certain of itself -definitely seems to be needed in the world at the moment where world events have left many of us feeling wobbly, despondent, helpless and unsure of what the future will bring and how to deal with it. Dandelion essence brings you back into the here and now in a strong, brave confident way, able to get on with what you have to do to make this world a sunnier place. And like a dandelion that sends all its seeds off into the air to go wherever they will the thoughts that come while being grounded and true to yourself inspire and help others to do the same

So start practising being a dandelion today, go and lie in a field in the sun until you feel a deep connection with the earth, as you feel the sun filling your body relax, start glowing and smile very broadly…..then let your seeds/thoughts just drift off on the breeze-and see how much more present, confident and sunny you feel. Taking our Dandelion essence will make this even easier, especially if you are surrounded by concrete!

To order some today go to:

 http://www.saskiasfloweressences.com/dandelion.html