Mount Mitchell State Park  

North Carolina - October 2005

Photo courtesy of Robert W. Cauley

"Mount Mitchell is the highest elevation in the United States east of the Mississippi River... (web photo has imbedded copyright watermark)

 

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Dear Friends,

I thought it would be helpful to provide some helpful excerpts from a wonderful book, Flower Essence Repertory - A Comprehensive Guide to North American and English Flower Essences for Emotional and Spiritual Well-Being by Patricia Kaminski and Richard Katz.

This sort of information is very useful for the emotional states in dealing with loss. 

 

 

The Flower Essence Information Below is Reprinted Here

with the Kind Permission of  

the Flower Essence Society.
 

 

Flower Essences to help in Dealing with Loss of a Loved One

 

 

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"Grief"

(See also "Death & Dying")

[Also "Brokenheartedness"]

 

Bleeding Heart -- to release a relationship which has ended, or death of a loved one

 

Borage -- uplifting and renewing the heart with courage; heart balm for grief

 

Dandelion -- releasing feelings of grief or emotional pain which are stuck in the body

 

Evening Primrose -- deep soul pain, ability to encounter traumatic abuse in early infancy and childhood especially rejection and abandonment

 

Fuchsia -- contacting grief that may be emotionally repressed

 

Golden Ear Drops -- releasing tears of grief that may have been held back, especially during childhood

 

Honeysuckle -- letting go of the past, coming into the here-and-now so that life can go on after death or loss

 

Love-Lies-Bleeding -- profound feelings of melancholia and anguish, especially when the soul suffers privately and is cut off from others

 

Sagebrush -- accepting the pain and emptiness of any kind of loss

 

Star Of Bethlehem -- calming and soothing after the shock of death or other tragedy

 

Wild Rose -- not accepting the tragic events of life; withdrawal or numbing due to grief

 

Yerba Santa -- internalized sadness due to past trauma, melancholy; deeply internalized pain stored in the heart and chest

 

 

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"Death & Dying"

(See also "Grief")

 

Angel's Trumpet -- appropriate surrender to death, ability of soul to prepare for crossing into spiritual world

 

Angelica -- ministering to one crossing the threshold of death; helping the soul find protection and benevolence from the angelic realm

 

Black Cohosh -- life-threatening situations characterized no by physical illness but violence, murder or revenge; confronting and transforming death and violence

 

Black-Eyed Susan -- for those in denial or avoidance of a terminal illness; developing the courage to look at one's true situation, and the insight to understand it

 

Bleeding Heart -- letting go, releasing attachment to those who can no longer be with us

 

Borage -- over coming grief or heavy-hearted feelings from the death or impending death of a loved one

 

Chrysanthemum -- deep sense of despair about one's own mortality, inability to accept transitory nature of earthly life, shifting awareness from lower Self to higher Self

 

Five-Flower Formula -- extreme pain or shock in situations of death and dying, helping the soul to register consciousness

 

Forget-Me-Not -- ability to forge telepathic link with loved one who has died, to hold consciousness of another who lives beyond earthly realm

 

Holly -- bringing calm and acceptance to the heart, for giving others, making peace with worldly relationships before death

 

Love-Lies-Bleeding -- profound pain or suffering which moves one beyond the limits of self-identity; soul and spiritual transcendence

 

 

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"Depression and Despair"

 

Baby Blue Eyes -- despair when beset by cynicism, no longer trusting in goodness of the world

 

Borage -- discouragement, especially grief or heavy-heartedness

 

California Wild Rose -- alienation from life; not accepting difficulty or challenge

 

Chamomile -- to stabilize the emotions; calming and soothing

 

Chrysanthemum -- deep soul angst about one's own life and death; inability of soul to accept death and dying as a larger spiritual process

 

Elm -- despair about one's ability to fulfill responsibilities and expectations

 

Gentian -- doubt and discouragement from setbacks; lack of faith

 

Gorse -- hopelessness; expectation of suffering

 

Hornbeam -- depression when facing the tasks of daily life, such as work

 

Love-Lies-Bleeding -- pain and suffering which drives soul too deeply inward; to experience one's pain within a larger human context

 

Milkweed -- deeply depressed state, inability to cope with daily affairs, desire to obliterate consciousness

 

Mustard -- feeling overwhelmed by a "black cloud" for unknown reasons; wide mood swings

 

Olive -- depression stemming from physical exhaustion

 

Pine -- despair and anxiety about one's own faults and mistakes

 

Sagebrush -- feelings of personal devastation, a feeling that one has reached rock bottom; ability to accept emptiness and loss

 

Scotch Broom -- discouragement in the face of obstacles, especially feelings of world doom

 

Sweet Chestnut -- extreme anguish; the "dark night of the soul"

 

Wild Oat -- dissatisfaction with one's work, despair over finding life's work or direction

 

Wild Rose -- apathy and resignation when faced with illness or other challenges in life

 

Yerba Santa -- internalized sadness, especially when held in the chest region; emotional pain

 

 

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"Brokenheartedness"

(See also "Personal Relationships")

 

Angelica -- transcending personal relationships as the only source of emotional fulfillment; feeling the presence of benevolent spiritual beings

 

Bleeding Heart -- emotional detachment and acceptance when ending a relationship

 

Borage -- to bring cheerful courage and upliftment; to ease pain, constriction or grief which weighs down the heart

 

California Wild Rose -- acceptance of painful feelings in the heart, especially when there is a tendency to avoid pain or real life experience

 

Chamomile -- calming emotional trauma or argumentativeness in relationships

 

Forget-Me-Not -- to open the heart to spiritual realms, especially to transcend personal grief for one who has died; to instill a spiritual recognition of the departed soul

 

Holly -- opening the heart to true love and acceptance of compassion

 

Honeysuckle -- dwelling on past relationships; living in the past; inability to cope with present reality

 

Love-Lies-Bleeding -- physical or emotional pain which stretches the boundaries of the heart; ability to learn compassion through personal suffering

 

Pink Monkeyflower -- to retain trust and vulnerability despite previous heartbreak or trauma

 

Sweet William -- feeling that one's heart is being split open; great and intense anguish that is often transpersonal or spiritual; "dark night of the soul"

 

Yerba Santa -- accumulation of psychic toxins within the heart; deep-seated pain and trauma which blocks the heart from full expression

 

 

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"Forgiveness"

 

Baby Blue Eyes -- to heal cynicism or other forms of "soul hardness,"

through forgiveness and acceptance of past trauma

 

Beech -- forgiving faults in others; overcoming tendency to be critical

 

Golden Ear Drops -- letting go of and healing childhood trauma

 

Holly -- seeing others as part of the human family; ability to drop feelings of separateness

 

Mariposa Lily -- making peace with one's childhood, especially with one's mother

 

Pine -- self-forgiveness for one's own errors and faults, for not being perfect

 

Sage -- making peace with life, especially as part of aging process; accepting and learning from events, letting go of emotional attachment

 

Willow -- forgiving the errors of others; overcoming tendency to bitterness, resentment or blame.

 

 

 

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Additional Information about The Flower Essence Society

"Animal Care with Flower Essences" --- "One of the most promising areas of flower essence use is with our friends in the animal kingdom. Many forms of therapy create suffering through animal testing. Flower essence therapy, by contrast, recognizes animals as soul beings, with feelings and experiences, who deserve our compassion and care."

Read many helpful articles about the various uses for Flower Essences -- including having dogs get along together: "If you are having any behavior problems with your pet or pets, I highly recommend that you investigate the possibility that Flower Essences can turn your aggressive, fearful pet into a happy, calm, gentle companion, and save you many hours of worry and work." -- "If You Aren't Using Flower Essences, You Are Missing the Best Part of Your Pet!! " by Elaine Edwards.

Join the Flower Essence Society   "Your membership keeps you in touch with the latest developments in flower essence therapy. Your membership and donations enable the Society to continue its plant study and clinical research, develop in-depth educational programs, and facilitate our worldwide networking effort." Individual Membership is $25 / year  ($30 outside USA) and the benefits include:

• Member E -newsletters
• Online Flower Essence Repertory
• Current issue of Calix at 25% off & free copy of next edition
• Exclusive member access: FES Research Essence Profiles
• Affirmations for use with the flower essences
• Practitioner Referral Network
• Automatic Notification for Classes

"Gain access to the Flower Essence Repertory online,
with user-friendly features in an interactive format:
—categories of issues addressed by flower essences, arranged alphabetically and linked to cross-references and to lists of relevant essences
—essence selection lists for each category, with a short description for each essence that distinguishes its particular use for that issue. Click on an essence name to go to its detailed essence profile page.
—essence profiles include the positive qualities, patterns of imbalance, in-depth description of the therapeutic uses of the flower essence and cross-references to the categories in which the essence appears
—beautiful color photographs of the flowers accompany each of
the profiles
—Flower Essence Theory and Practice, the 100+ page first section of the Repertory, is available for download as an Adobe Acrobat file. This in-depth essay includes the historical, cultural, and scientific context for flower essence therapy, as well as practical instructions for selecting and using flower essences for home care or in a holistic health practice."

Flower Essence Society Contact Info:

Phone 800/ 736-9222  or  530/ 265-9163

e-mail: info @ flowersociety . org (omit spaces when addressing)

 

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Bach Flower Essences

 

Green Hope Farm Flower Essences

Especially useful for CATS, as these products don't contain alcohol.

 

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Other Links for Dealing With Loss of a Beloved Companion