Bach Flowers - A thousand and one uses for Rescue Remedy

Ok then, perhaps not a whole thousand, but I expect there may just be that many uses for this wonderful stuff.

Rescue Remedy is a Bach Flower Essence Blend, devised by Edward J Bach in the 1940’s. It is made up of the essences from Star of Bethlehem, Clematis, Cherry Plum, Impatiens and Rock Rose. These five essences address the main psychosomatic-symptoms arising from shock, trauma, distress etc. They fundamentally address our primitive mechanisms and the physical, mental and spiritual responses of ourselves to a real or perceived danger or threat.

So how does it actually work?
To understand how flower essences ‘work’, you need to have an inkling as to what ‘vibrational energy’ means. Simply put, it is the unique resonance of a particular thing. Think of a piece of music you love and feel what it feels like to remember it. Now think of a piece of music you dislike and feel what that feels like. The resonance differs with the feeling. Even though you are not physically ‘hearing’ the music being played, you still interact with the memory, it’s resonance, it’s vibrational energy. You may respond by getting relaxed, or by getting ‘goose bumps’, or by becoming happier; or if it’s the music you dislike, by getting agitated. You don’t have to physically hear/experience the music to respond to it’s vibrational energy.

With flower essences it is the message that the plant/leaf/blossom/etc., has, captured by floating the part of the plant in pure water. The vibrational message is then imprinted into the water itself. Masura Emoto proved scientifically that ‘water holds memory’ for us a few years ago. What flower essences do is capture the ‘memory’ of the particular flower for use in healing.

Importantly, the Star of Bethlehem essence in this remedy provides the necessary ‘comfort’ resonance, that has the enviable quality of not being able to distinguish Time in the process of healing. This means it will access hurts from Past or perceived threats from Future to relieve distress in the Self whether it will manifest (or has manifested) physically, mentally or spiritually.

The essence of Rock Rose specifically targets the primitive fight or flight mentality that usually manifests as ‘panic mode’. Panic attacks and anxiety in general are soothed by the use of Rock Rose, and it can be highly beneficial to have the picture of the flower in your mind’s eye when you are suffering from panic. The message of these flowers is not only accessible via the essence. The message is the flower’s vibration, and therefore when we view the flower itself on a page or in the Mind, we can draw that unique vibrational message to ourselves.

Cherry Plum is for when we are at the end of our limits and feel that we could explode or implode, depending on the situation. It to me is like the fishing line that can reel one’s Self back safely to shore. This essence used on its own is excellent for calming tempers due to exhaustion or overload of work and/or responsibility. It can allow a person to find the ‘anchor’ when it seems like the ‘ship of Life’ is floundering on a dangerous sea. (and that’s enough analogies for one paragraph….)

Clematis, the reality flower, brings a person into the Here and Now, making alert the Mind that has chosen to wander to a safer place. This can be nice sometimes, to wander to other worlds, but Clematis carries the message of being present fully, to address the situation at hand, and travel through the experience with an aware mind.
Impatiens is, I feel, the flower essence for this time period. It assists the slowing down process of the energy body, going from ’zing!’ to ’zahhhhh’. People who have the Impatiens negative state often manifest tongue/mouth chewing, rapid fire speech, indigestion, rashes that come and go, and generally as state of, you guessed it, impatience. They are always asking children to ’hurry up!’. They may be the ones who tap their feet when waiting in a queue. You’ll notice them picking at imaginary scabs on their arms while speaking quickly. That kind of behaviour is all down to built up distress in the energy body. It is often seen in victims of traumatic situations whether it is someone who is waiting to give a speech in public, or a person who has just been involved in a car accident. Impatiens soothes our concept of Time, allowing us to take appropriate rest and to recuperate, and to let things Flow naturally.

When and How do I use Rescue Remedy?
You can take RR as a drops under the tongue or added to water and sipped slowly from a glass. This latter method is best I think as the water helps the body assimilate the message quicker, whilst making one slow down enough to hold the glass and drink from it too!

RR is for any shock or trauma, distress or injury. You can take it before you have to visit the dentist, doctor etc., or before you have to visit someone who generally makes you uncomfortable. You can also take it before doing a task that usually makes you nervous or promotes an anxiety attack, like public speaking, exams, job interviews etc.

Give RR to someone who has had a fall or injured themselves. It is especially good at re-aligning the energy body after such minor incidents and by doing so, eliminating imbalances that can later manifest as colds/flu/aches and pains. Often we can trace back why a healthy person has become ill, to an incident a few days before where they had received a shock. This imbalance if not addressed naturally will cause an immune system imbalance.

RR should be used for anyone who is going to have any kind of surgery. It should be taken before, during immediate recovery and during convalescence.

RR is wonderful for Mother and Baby and Family before during and after birth. Even if the birth was good, it is still such a big event for everybody that it is a good idea to give everyone a little help to align after the excitement of it all. It is essential after a trying birthing as everyone will be involved in the energy present around Mother and Baby.

Rescue Remedy can be taken every 15 or 20 minutes until your symptoms have subsided and you are feeling more in control or more relaxed/relieved/comforted/at ease.

You can take RR with any medication as it does not contain any volatile constituents, and the brandy used to stabilise the water is of a very small amount.

Rescue Remedy is safe for children, but if you are concerned about them ingesting any alcohol, you can dab the essence blend behind their ears on the thin, soft skin and it will be absorbed effectively. This is often useful to do with bedridden or unconscious patients as well.

I keep a bottle of Rescue Remedy in the house and in my handbag as I never know when I’ll need it, but I know I want it in reach when I DO need it.

Rescue Remedy can be ordered from www.HolisticTherapyConnections.com.  ∞www.HolisticTherapyConnections.com