The mystic who discovered remedies from flower essences

Born in 1886, Dr Edward Bach studied medicine at the University College Hospital, London, and was a House Surgeon there. He worked in general practice, having a set of consulting rooms in Harley Street, and as a bacteriologist and later a pathologist he worked on vaccines and a set of homoeopathic nosodes still known as the seven Bach nosodes

Despite the success of his work with orthodox medicine, he felt dissatisfied with the way doctors were expected to concentrate on diseases and ignore the people who were suffering them.

He was inspired by his work with homoeopathy but wanted to find remedies that would be purer and less reliant on the products of disease.

So in 1930 he gave up his lucrative Harley Street practice and left London, determined to devote the rest of his life to the new system of medicine that he was sure could be found in nature.

Just as he had abandoned his old home, office and work, so now he abandoned the scientific methods he had used up until now.

Instead he chose to rely on his natural gifts as a healer, and use his intuition to guide him. One by one he found the remedies he wanted, each aimed at a particular mental state or emotion

His life followed a seasonal pattern: the spring and summer spent looking for and preparing the remedies, the winter spent giving help and advice to all who came looking for them.

He found that when he treated the personalities and feelings of his patients their unhappiness and physical distress would be alleviated as the natural healing potential in their bodies was unblocked and allowed to work once more

His life followed a seasonal pattern: the spring and summer spent looking for and preparing the remedies, the winter spent giving help and advice to all who came looking for them.

He found that when he treated the personalities and feelings of his patients their unhappiness and physical distress would be alleviated as the natural healing potential in their bodies was unblocked and allowed to work once more

The underlying premise of Dr. Bach's system of healing is that disease originates in the delicate, sensitive mind and emotions before it is manifested in the body, and we must focus on the healing of thoughts and feelings in order to effect healing at the physical level. 

.  Health consists in the harmony of the personality with the God within, which he calls alternately the soul, spiritual self, or higher self, as well as a variety of more creative descriptions.  Disease is caused by anything which interferes with this harmony between the personality and the inner Divinity and is a gift to show how we are out of alignment with our original purpose. 

Interference may take the form of being too easily influenced by others and not being true to oneself, or of being subject to inner states which block the flow of inner light into the personality: pride, cruelty, hate, self-love, ignorance, instability, greed, in addition to the seven types of emotional suffering listed previously. 

He repeatedly stressed the need to develop virtues which "flood out" these negative states, among them love; devoting  oneself to others; self-determination; humility; and seeking to learn in all ways, including learning well the lessons which suffering, as a corrective, points out to us; as well as self-knowledge.

Dr. Bach viewed the flower remedies as aids and catalysts to help in this process of developing virtues, awakening our inner assets and strengths, of which we are no longer aware, and thus bringing us nearer to the Divinity within. 

The basic purpose of the remedies, according to Dr. Bach, is to bring oneself back to an inner alignment with the higher self so that every action, every aspect of one’s life, is a reflection of the Divinity within, so that one is aligned with one's true purpose for being here on Earth.

Bach acknowledged the doctrine of "like cures like" in a different way.

Disease "is the natural consequence of disharmony between our bodies and our Souls: it is 'like curing like' because it is the very disease itself which hinders and prevents our carrying our wrong actions too far, and at the same time, is a lesson to teach us to correct our ways, and harmonize our lives with the dictates of our Soul."

"The pharmacopeia of the near future should contain only those remedies which have the power to bring down good, eliminating all those whose only quality is to resist evil."

Part of the art of prescribing the Bach Flowers involves distinguishing between the different types of fear or depression or whatever, and of course recognising which type of fear or depression you or your client is suffering from.

Just as an example, you can see that there are five different remedies for fear, and.So with the FEAR example, Aspen is for vague fears of unknown or unconscious origin; Cherry Plum is for fear of losing control; Mimulus is for known fears such as fear of failing an exam; Red Chestnut is for those who are fearful for their loved ones and Rock Rose is for extreme terror. This system of classification is very useful, but it's not all inclusive.

For example, there are two types of DEPRESSION which are very important, but haven't been grouped under the heading Despondency or Despair. These are Gentian which is classified under Uncertainty and is indicated for a reactive depression suffered after a setback, and Mustard, which is classified under Lack of Interest in the Present, and is for the deep endogenous type of depression, that feels like a black cloud and descends suddenly for no apparent reason, but lifts just as suddenly.

True cure is offered by the flower essences, which cure, "not by attacking disease, but by flooding our bodies with the beautiful vibrations of our Higher Nature, in the presence of which disease melts like snow in the sunshine. "

Dr Bach passed away peacefully on the evening of November 27th, 1936. He was only 50 years old, but he had left behind him several lifetime's experience and effort, and a system of medicine that is now used all over the world