Comments on the MetaFlora System by Ricardo Mateos

Based on an interview with Ricardo Mateos

The relationship between the Bach system and the MetaFlora levels is interesting. Both Begoña, my colleague, and I have been elaborating on it in the last few years. We find that the Bach system has to do more with traits of character; that’s what we find; the three levels and those remedies have to do with character . The 7 Helpers address chronic ways of dealing with the world, and the Second 19 assist in overcoming blockages and situations that are difficult when we deal with life. Looking at it in this way, the Bach system helps to address how we behave and which are our mechanisms with which we face life. The FES essences are a very good combination and touch on wounds in the soul of a person.

For example, wounds may stem from a mother, father, rejection, or abandonment, and are “inside” people; they are wounds. Also, there are many other essences that have to do with attitudes that are a result of wounds, i.e., shyness, timidity; Pink Monkeyflower for example, for prudishness in regard to sexuality that comes from a wound from abuse. Some formulas can touch on attitudes and wounds at the same time, and seem to work well.

When a patient comes to see me, I try to determine the issue with which the person comes. Generally, I have in mind at what MetaFlora level a person is operating. Sometimes it is the Bach system that comes to mind, for example, someone with doubt, a woman trying to choose between her husband and her lover. That somehow brings to mind the Bach system and I tend to look at that and determine whether the person has attitudes in the 2nd group of the Bach system. But sometimes, a person comes who has a weakness in one of the MetaFlora levels, or an issue related to a particular level. An example might be someone who has a problem with “power” and how to handle power issues in their life; this brings my attention to the MetaFlora system. Another example is someone who has a problem with “beauty,” and that brings immediately to my attention the Venus archetype, the 5th MetaFlora level. Once, a boy came to see me and I asked him, “Why have you come?” He said, “I have no personality, that’s why I came,” so immediately, I thought of the 7th level, the Sun archetype, the ego. There are some with whom I start working within a particular archetype and I tend to automatically choose flowers that apply in that territory. When I look at the past, I now realize that many times I have worked in that way, even if not working consciously with the MetaFlora levels.

For some students of flower essence therapy, it’s not easy to work within the MetaFlora system: they’re used to the system of Bach, which is a closed system, and it’s somehow easier for them. On the other hand, to work within the MetaFlora levels, one must have a flexible mind, be more in touch with archetypes, symbols, and images. Also, some students find it difficult that the flower essences are not bound to one level; some students want “rules” with which to work.

Also, the ability to work with the MetaFlora levels has to do with a certain body of knowledge, which some people don’t have. But if one is acquainted with art, archetypes, and such, it is more in the mind and it’s easy to “see” them. Some people just have a wider approach, more flexible minds and the work with the MetaFlora levels is easier. For myself, I like working with archetypes, symbols, and images.

In actual practice, many people come with emotional troubles so I tend to work more with the 1st level, the Moon archetype. However lately, quite a few people have been coming wanting help going through their examination process. In Spain, there are quite difficult exams for civil service positions, so in those cases, we are working at the Mercury archetypal level where the weakness resides; working at that level has shown good results so far. Sometimes, another MetaFlora level may be involved at the same time, for example, the 7th level, within the Sun archetype.

If someone appears to have issues addressed by more than one of the MetaFlora levels, I first try to see if the two aspects have any underlying theme. It’s not easy, and there may be primacy to one although in the essence formulation, maybe I’ll use flower essences having to do with more than one level. Usually, whatever a person presents has an underlying theme. However, it is often not seen right at the beginning of the work.

Most people who come to see me need “guiding,” some come for depression. Quite a few of my patients are students and want to know more about themselves.

About Ricardo Mateos

Ricardo Mateos Sáinz de Medrano was born in Madrid in 1961 and has lived in Barcelona since 1977. He has a degree in History (University of Barcelona, 1985), a degree in Translation from English and French (University Pompeu Fabra, 1998), a High Diploma in Naturopathy (El Escorial, 2004) and is now a student of Psychology in Barcelona. As a historian, he is the author of seven books on European royalty and nobility in the 19th and 20th centuries, and has also translated into Spanish a number of books on flower essences and flower essence therapy. He is an FES certified practitioner and in partnership with Begoña Alias, runs his own flower essence school in Barcelona, the “Centro Gaia de Terapia Floral,” where he trains students in flower essence therapy. He has given lectures in flower essence therapy at several Spanish and international gatherings and has taught in regard to Dr. Bach’s flower essences, FES Quintessentials and Bush Flower Essences in Spain, Mexico, Cuba, Costa Rica and Argentina. His daily work is based on teaching and treating clients with flower essences.

Read The Eight MetaFlora Levels of the Human Soul—A Remarkable New Approach to the Work with Flower Essences