Depression and Bush Flower essences, part 2

Finding out what makes your life worth it, what ignites you, is kinda the antithesis of depression. Oh ok, I'll just write a to do list shall I? I don't mean to over simplify, especially where energy and motivation have often left the building. For me though, working with flower essences, indeed herbs, touch me, as I mentioned in the previous post. Bonus is, if needed you can often use them whilst also on pharma. It doesn't have to be either /or.

If you are drawn to work with them, I'd recommend mostly a single, or two, essences to start off with. So that you can feel out what, if any changes or shifts are occurring. As you get to know how that feels, you could introduce another. Some folks say 3-5 essences can be combined, I find that's a bit too much information for me.

Do know that things may become more challenging, or amp up before they ease, and allow for this. It just seems the way of things, like the death throes of ol shit, but hang in! The effects can be worth it.  

For most people with mental health issues, often our auras have been damaged by abuse or trauma, this is where I've experienced the Australian Bush Flowers, 'Fringed Violet' (Thysanotus tuberosus) can help. To reseal and mend these tears. It's a way of reweaving the energetic scars, or wounding caused. So, that's where my friend had started me off, with a mix of Fringed Violet, and 'Angelsword'  (Lobelia gibbosa). The 'Angelsword' can assist with releasing psychic entities that may have entered where the aura was open, or simply attached to us in daily life. As they do. Which is a whole post in and of itself. Without sounding like an infommercial, I found these flowers really helpfull. They quietened things down enough for me to begin to connect with local flowers. Perhaps you will have your own ways to do this, or be drawn to different flowers. Take what feels right, leave the rest eh.

Over the last few days I've been walking along the beach and  there growing in pure sand, blooming away is Wild Sea Rocket! She waved her low growing, succulent flower spikes at me :) Cakile maritima is the British Isles plant, and Cakile edentula the American. Both occur in Australia, seeds washed upon our shores. The main identifying difference being in the fruit. Lucky for me, she's covered in them, and the wee horns on her lower section tell me we have maritima growing here!

Now I knew Scotland's 'Findhorn' Flower Essences have their interpretation for this plant, but I wanted to feel out my own. So I sat with her, and listened for messages. Well, actually after sitting a whiles watching the waves and getting 'I ground you enough to witness emotions', I lay down. Surrounded by her abundant growth gazing at passing clouds, rather like the succulent groundcover herself does, laying low as needed. A few tears came. Saline stuff, wouldn't bother her. She grows where salt spray and sand are her nutrients. I made two 200ml bottles of mother essence ;)

Mental health is a process, this isn't a finish line type situation. It's adjustments and changes made with lifes ebb n flow. Diversity is however, something I experience plants seeing the beauty of, embodying and helping to emerge. Bush flower essences can hold some of that space for us, preserved in a wee dropper bottle o sunshine and a dram o booze. So too, it seems do those arriving by ocean from places far away, like Sea Rocket :).

Depression and Bush flower essences...

These words are slightly belated in their posting, but I'm popping them up anyways....

When a dear sister hit the road travelling to more southerly climes, she left her collection of Australian Bush Flower essences with me to baby sit, with the words work with them, simply replace what you use. It had been years since I had made or worked with these medicines. At the time I was in a quandry as to whether to go back onto the antidepressant medications I had not so long ago withdrawn from. I decided to try working with the essences first....

 Flowers are a plants spunky bits, the pollinator attracting, reproductive part. They also speak of the plants personality, their strengths, focus and character. This is the aspect I see flower essences connecting with. Not that the whole plant doesn't hold these messages for us, indeed they do, but flower essences can touch us in unexpectedly subtle, yet potent ways, for medicines which hold little of the 'physical' constituents of a plant. Perhaps they can effect emotional and spiritual challenges, particularly where other resources may have not touched the sides. Simply because, who doesn't look at a flower with wonder, and a little fascinated awe? They contain a concentrated imprint.

Drinking the dew, or indeed nectar of flowers, is a phenomena that has been going on for as long as passers by thirsted for cool drinks. Indigenous Australians drank the nectar of bottlebrushes, dryandras, grasstrees, grevilleas, hakeas, red-devils, tea trees and wild honeysuckles. Flower heads were shaken, or soaked in water. Other flowers simply tapped across the palm of the hand and then licked. There are many tales that involve the gifts, and symbolism, of native flowers like the Waratah. Medicine ways often arise from lore, and its not such a leap to personally listen to the messages of the plants, and then hear affirmations in these tales.

Dr Edward Bach, in modern times, a homeopath and sensitive who is known for his self named flower essences, apparently acknowledged that remedies would come, following his own, for and in different places and times. This has been shown to be true, with the Californian Flower Essence Society, Findhorn Flower Essences, Australian Bush Flower and Living Essences of Western Australia, amongst many beautyfull, go you, smaller scale makers :).

Recently walking in nearby bush, a dew covered flowering Styphelia plant, waved to get my attention, and whilst noticing the unusual greenish colouration of her flowers, I pondered. Taking note of where she was growing, and with permission having a beverage stop. Later on returning home, I pulled out Ian White's, Australian Bush Flower Essences books and there she was. Named 'Five Corners' for her fruit form, relating to building self esteem, love and acceptance of self and joyousness. Hhhmmm....

When I delved into the kit I was care taking, she was missing, so my partner, Miles, and I returned to her the next day with our medicine making gear :). Me with gear, he with feet, and phone camera.

   

There's some good resources online about making flower essences, so I won't go into the processes here too much, except to say it's not too hard, and a lovely process. If someone says don't touch the plant, use tweezers, go ho haa, its a dialogue. That by connecting with the plant, a healing relationship forms. You can make your own medicines. Again!!

Now, I'm not saying flower essences replaced an antidepressant, they work in compleeeetteely different ways. Firstly, I had to be out and about walking to connect with Styphelia, if only just making it there. The beauty of her forms, and colours, were enough to stop me in my tracks. She got my attention, and shifted it, to asking if I could sip her dew, and indeed make some medicine, to later share with others. She helped me identity dance. Reclaim :)