Flowers – a well-loved way to brighten up our home or someone’s day – are also the best remedy you’ve likely never even heard of.
We know from our own experience, that when we spend time in nature, we feel calmer and clearer, more in tune and aware of the world around us. In Japan there is even a practice called Shinrinyoku, or forest bathing, which consists of walking in the forest for periods of time to ‘bathe in,’ or absorb, the energy of the plants, as a way to rebalance our bodies and minds.
Researchers at the Nippon Medical School in Tokyo studied the effects of this practice, and found that bathing in the energy of the forest reduces the stress hormone cortisol and increases white blood cell production boosting the body’s defenses against disease. They discovered that a single hour spent in nature reduced cortisol and increased white blood cell production for an entire week. Furthermore, the de-stressing, immune-boosting benefits of spending a weekend in nature lasts for a whole month!
What happens, however, when we don’t have enough time to get out into nature? Most of us spend the majority of our days indoors and in front of computers, causing us to become distracted, overstimulated and fatigued. We have a hard time getting restful sleep, and our lives are so fast-paced that it has become virtually impossible to be balanced without regular, consistent practices that allow us to slow down and help us restore that balance.
And if we don’t have the time or ability to get out in the wilderness to absorb the healing energy of nature, how can we bring that power into our lives?
Aromatherapy is a great way to relax and enhance your mood.
That’s where it gets interesting. Flowers – a well-loved way to brighten up our home or someone’s day – is also the best remedy you’ve likely never even heard of. We’re not talking about bouquets, here, however. Special infusions of flowers have been used in healing for thousands of years, in cultures all over the world. Of any given part of the plant, flowers contain the highest concentration of life force. This life force, or ‘chi,’ can actually be captured, collected and infused into water. Doctors like Hildegard von Bingen and Paracelsus in the 14th and 16th centuries instructed their patients to seek out certain flowers growing in the wild and drink the dew from the top of the flower to enhance their mood.
In this modern day, we use solar infusion techniques, along with stabilization with alcohol and a dilution process similar to that of homeopathy, to create flower essences or flower elixirs, that can be used to enhance specific states of mind. Taken regularly over time, they also catalyze insights related to the qualities of that particular flower.
In simpler terms, a flower elixir is a liquid infusion of a fresh flower, so gentle you can drink it. This infusion is so packed with the ‘chi’ of the flower, that when consumed or applied topically, the energy travels throughout the acupuncture meridians of the body, resulting in specific shifts in state of mind, as well as enhanced vitality, radiance and youthfulness.
At a time in when culturally we are more distracted, fatigued and stressed than ever, flower elixirs help us feel calmer, happier and more balanced. With regular use, they help us access our full potential – free of modern day static. Taken consistently over time, flower elixirs dissolve self-limiting patterns and accelerate personal growth.
If it seems strange to consider that a flower has energy, imagine all the invisible waves coming to and from your smartphone or computer. It is because of invisible energy waves sent through space that we can livestream movies, music and the internet. Invisible waves everywhere in our daily life bring us messages, via emails, videos, phone calls. The information we have access to through invisible waves of energy seems limitless.
Like cell phones, plants and flowers possess communicative energy that is also invisible to the naked eye, but this energy is of a different quality. It is much more subtle, gentle and compatible with the human body and mind. This life force or energy also contains information and messages in a form that is effortlessly transmitted to and perceived by our bodies and minds. Imagine a huge, ruffly peony in front of your face right now. The feeling that it transmits to you is totally different than if it were a daisy. A sunflower affects you differently – and carries with it a different message – than a rose. Intuitively and instinctively, we know this – and may be surprised to realize it has nothing to do with scent. We’ve known this since childhood, without having necessarily articulated it before. The wisdom of our bodies and minds is designed to process, understand and benefit from the unique qualities of flowers, trees and plants. Even if we’re not fully conscious of it, we are processing the energy, vitality and messages of flowers and plants around us all the time, whenever we are in their presence.
