Nicotiana

Positive Qualities: Peace which is deeply centered in the heart; integration of physical and emotional well-being through harmonious connection with the Earth

Patterns of Imbalance: Numbing of the emotions accompanied by mechanization or hardening of the body; inability to cope with deep feelings and finer sensibilities

Definition: In the struggle to achieve balance, the soul needs to receive strength and stability from the Earth. However, if the heart is not sufficiently engaged in this process, the finer etheric sensibilities and feelings may be stymied. This soul disposition can be healed by Nicotiana, or Flowering Tobacco. The worldwide physical addiction to nicotine as a smoking substance is a remarkably rapid and pervasive phenomenon, occurring only since the European discovery of the Americas. During this same period of time, the soul's relationship to the Earth has changed dramatically. The Earth is now seen largely as a source for exploitation rather than nurturing, with its resources used to promote an increasingly technological and machine-based culture. A hardening has occurred in the physical bodies of most modern people, accompanied by a blunting of the emotions and reduced appreciation for that which is subtle and soulful. Those who are addicted to nicotine seek a way to stay grounded and to cope with the harsh forces they feel around them. Tobacco smoking is usually experienced as a sensation of relaxation and greater bodily ease, although more accurately this practice produces a numbing of the feelings. This reduction in the feeling life of the heart, accompanied by greater stimulation to the physical heart, enables the individual to adapt and even thrive in the harder, denser world of modern technology. While the flower essence of Nicotiana is strongly indicated for those who are healing their addiction to tobacco, it also has a much wider application, representing a soul condition which pervades the whole of modern culture. Nicotiana is a very important remedy for the heart, helping it to find true energy and sustenance which is not divorced from the life of feelings. It is very helpful for those who cope by numbing their feelings, hiding behind a tough or “cool” persona, or for those who seek stimulants of any kind that harden or falsify the body's experience of the Earth. The flower essence of Nicotiana re-instills the true spiritual teaching of the Tobacco plant, which is used reverently and judiciously in peace pipe ceremonies by Native Americans. This teaching is that real peace arises from being able to feel deeply with the heart, and that these deep feelings give us our true connection to the Earth and all living beings.