The Herbal Medicine-Maker's Handbook_ A Home Manual - James Green [71]
HERBS ON THE “35 HERBS AND A FUNGUS” LIST
THAT ARE WELL PREPARED AS HYDROSOLS
Chamomile
Elder blossoms
Fennel
Peppermint
Yarrow
Other common garden plants that present excellent hydrosols are:
Catnip (for the meowmaster)
Lavender
Lemon balm
Lemon verbena
Orange blossoms
Rosemary
Rose petals
And, of course, experiment with other aromatic plants.
In Chapter Three, in the section on harvesting, I suggested that the Earth’s plants are a perpetual source of unconditional love. That probably came over a little schmaltzy to some readers, and, at risk of losing any fragments of cool-’n-macho status that might remain in my account, I must avow that conclusion once again in this chapter, with a further assertion that this love is most luminously expressed by a plant’s flowers—sensual, uplifting communication with members of the animal kingdom is a flower’s essence. And as herbal medicine-makers, we can bring this pure positive energy into solution—a most subtle aqueous solution.
It has been my recurrent experience and observation that floral vibrations that have been infused in water that is sitting on the Earth in a clear glass bowl, floating blossoms in the warm sunlight of a clear blue sky, can profoundly affect the subtle disposition of an ailing (or even more promising, a pre-ailing) being. Like a music master’s hand tuning the eager strings of a perfect Stradivarius, the pristine clarity of a flower’s uplifting vibrations adjusts the tone of one’s thoughts and respondent feelings, bringing them back in harmony with the richness of one’s true nature. When our thoughts and feelings are in line with our spirit’s unique path, we resume our journey as a vital creator of a prosperous, healthful, joyous life—the intrinsic dynamics of a human being’s essence.
The life work of Dr. Edward Bach (1886–1936) pioneered understanding of the subtle energy and actions of flower essence medicine. Dr. Bach created a bouquet of subtle, water-infused floral essences, each of which embraced and treated a being’s subtle nonphysical nature, ultimately relieving manifested physical symptoms. More importantly, the essences helped individuals establish ease in their life, thereby preventing unpleasant physical manifestations entirely. Edward Bach’s vision was to develop a system of herbal medicine that anyone, when feeling out of sorts, could use to diagnose and prepare his or her own medicines, and treat himself or herself, thereby allaying illness before its physical symptoms are made manifest. In a short period of seven years, Dr. Bach succeeded brilliantly, and developed a system of herbal therapeutics the core of which is pure simplicity. I’m convinced that the principles underlying this and other forms of subtle energetic medicine will guide the practical course of mainstream medicine and the art of self-medicating in the very near future.
One can illustrate Dr. Bach’s insight and technique for treating an individual whose illness has progressed to the manifestation of physical symptoms by reprinting a short quotation taken from his book, The Twelve Healers and Other Remedies: “Take no notice of the disease. Think only of the outlook on life of the one in distress. The same disease may have different effects [varying states of mind or moods] on different people; it is these effects that need treatment, because they guide to the real cause … as one becomes well by gaining increased happiness and interest in life, the disease goes, having been cast off by the increase in health. Health and disease are caused by how we think, how we feel within ourselves. Health and disease are the consolidation of mental attitude.”
This chapter explains how to prepare a flower essence infusion for one’s personal use. At the end of the chapter, I will list the 38 essences, the flowers of herbs, trees, and bushes,