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Two master flower essence practitioners and teachers describe flower essences that can assist us in meeting the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mark Wells from Australia, and Ruth Altschuler, originally from Brazil and now in the USA, share their wisdom and experience in helping people cope with the stress, fear and disruption that have resulted from COVID-19 and the response to it.
Report One:
Reported by Mark Wells, edited by Jann Garitty
I have noticed three stages or phases during the pandemic, as people became accustomed to different lifestyle changes: First Stage: Cultivating Calm with YES, Red Clover and Garlic One thing I needed personally was Yarrow Environmental Solution ( YES ). I do use it often, not that I had any personal fears of the virus. I believe, as Richard Katz wrote in this article , that fear and panic only makes us more vulnerable and susceptible to not only COVID-19, but also any virus. Simply put: If we are stressed, our cortisol levels rise, and cortisol suppresses our immune system and can make us more vulnerable. However, it was very difficult not to be tempted by other peoples’ fear and panic. YES enabled me to keep focused and not be swept up by all of the hysteria, particularly the media sensationalism. It proved very useful for me and for many other people as well. In the initial stage, I was suggesting YES for others, particularly people who said it was very difficult not to get caught up in the hysteria and the panic around them.
Another essence I used often with my clients—sometimes with YES —to protect them from the hysteria, not get sucked into the panic was Red Clover . It lets people carry on with their lives and still have some autonomy in a sense, remaining a little calmer and keeping what they were trying to achieve.
Another very useful essence was Garlic , for a couple of reasons. It’s for the fear of the unknown, i.e., Where are we going? As a naturopath helping people with their physical health, particularly their natural immunity, I know that those fears can sap vitality and cause them to be even more vulnerable and susceptible to the negativity around them, even the pathogens, germs, and viruses. I often explain to people, if you know the herbal quality of garlic for the immune system, that gives you some insight into how Garlic flower essence may be useful for you. Many of the same qualities are found in the flower essence. It helps protect and enhance the vital force so we can stand back and be more resilient.
Stage Two: Managing Work & Family Conflicts during a Lockdown with Golden Ear Drops and Chrysanthemum There were quite a number of families coming back together 24/7; I likened it to family group therapy that was forced upon them. In particular, those in their late teens and early 20s—perhaps students that had gone to school, or just moved out—went back to their family houses for financial reasons, because courses were stopped, etc. All of a sudden, they were spending a great amount of time with their families. Many were reporting that childhood issues—some of the old hurts, and old issues between siblings, particularly—were re-emerging. Golden Ear Drops helped them better understand and process some very definitive early emotional experiences they had had with their siblings and parents. After taking the essence for a time, a few of my clients said that they didn’t realize how much these past experiences had been and still were affecting their lives out in the world away from their homes and siblings. These people worked through their issues. For example, one person said, “The person with whom I was sharing a flat turned out to be just like my sister, and I can’t get away from her; she keeps bobbing up everywhere!” There was a good finish to that; she was able to heal and establish a better relationship with her sister, something that she perhaps might never have gotten the opportunity to do otherwise. Most of the people with whom I work have taken some responsibility for their personal health and well-being. These are people who want to try to work with issues and in the end see it as an opportunity.
Another example of an essence that I have prescribed far more frequently during the lockdown than in previous times is Chrysanthemum . Both Golden Ear Drops and Chrysanthemum are essences that in the past I prescribed very infrequently—perhaps a few times a year—but they’re coming up almost weekly now. Chrysanthemum was of wonderful assistance to some of the people— particularly those in their 40s and 50s—who experienced a midlife crisis brought on suddenly by the circumstances of the pandemic. So much of what they had believed and followed everyday was being challenged, and any of the normal "external distractions" weren’t present to keep them from experiencing some deep soul searching! Chrysanthemum helped people clarify and align better with their real values in life.
Stage Three: Finding Equilibrium in a Changed World with Walnut and Bottlebrush A couple of remedies I’ve found useful in more recent times—putting a more positive spin on what you can get from such a challenging experience—are Walnut and Australian Bottlebrush .
Many people, including me, had to adapt in their work and undergo inevitable changes in their lives. Many of these changes will be permanent and for the benefit of the person. Walnut always supports people going through changes and transformation and is helpful for letting go of those things that don’t serve them as much or as well now in life. It’s an energizer, too; when people take Walnut , they seem to have more energy for doing, coping with and mitigating so many different new experiences in life. Again, it allows them to go through the transitions and keep to the right path for themselves.
Bottlebrush helps people mitigate major life changes, and helps with the overwhelm that goes with those changes. In particular, it helps people who have had to give up some of their old habits—ones that sometimes haven’t been useful—though they’ve been terribly dependent on them. In addition, Bottlebrush seems to have a connection to “mother,” unresolved mother issues, which are at the core of some of these. It helps people realize and confront that they are responsible to take care of themselves. Bottlebrush enables them to work through that.
Report Two:
From an interview with Ruth Toledo Altschuler conducted by Jann Garitty
I have to say, I tend to work with people who are already on the path. I usually say my clients are committed souls, because they've been doing the work and they're already in a place, for instance, where they’re not completely taken by the collective fear, though that can still enter their energy field. However, they've already done much work on many of these things. Clear Boundaries Most of the formulas that frequently come out of my office at this stage will have at least just the white Yarrow , but often times they also contain the Yarrow Environmental Solution . It’s very clear that everyone is needing the strengthening of their psychic boundaries and their energy fields.
Core Integrity For some, for core integrity, rebuilding with Echinacea has been a very important piece. Almost no combination goes out without some of this, unless people have already worked so much with this on their own and have become so resilient that this is not necessary.
Grounding The other piece that I see is the connection with the Earth and the ability to receive from the Earth with essences like Lady's Mantle or Green Nicotiana to really sync their energies with the energies of the Earth. This has been very, very present as well. The ability to release and discharge energy and then receive and be replenished by the Earth connection has been a fundamental polarity that we've been working with. This involves the nature connection, the Earth connection, and the Yarrows in different ways.
Spiritual Guidance Another thing is strengthening the sense of connection with spiritual guidance, using Angelica and Mountain Forget-Me-Not , especially during these times when we feel so much of the density of the collective energy. These bring the ability to be receptive and to feel the clarity, intimacy, and connection with our spiritual guidance.
Nurturing Resilience Even as we have strengthened our resilience, we still need nurturing for that resilience with the flowers for Earth and nature connection. For this I could add the Sierra Primrose or Cassiope , depending on the person. As much as we have had our practices and have built our resilience, we can all use some support and replenishment because we're having to use and exercise these faculties and abilities so much. We need to nourish our field to help us continue doing this even when we already do certain practices for health and have been doing them all along.
That brings me to another point, which is that everyone needs to continue doing their work and doing their service, and yet their system is saturated and they feel overwhelmed. Overwhelm is such a recurrent theme, especially during these pandemic times. Overwhelm was there before, and with the pandemic times, it has become magnified to a degree that we can't even describe. Working with Overwhelm Therefore, Madia , Cosmos , Rabbitbrush , Lemon and Shasta Daisy are in my formulas for clients all the time. Shasta Daisy is one that I liken to a Swiss Army knife that has many uses—there are many levels on which it plays, one of them being functionality in the day-to-day life: being able to sort through the overwhelm, have an organized mind and know where you are all the time. Also, it's been such an amazing support in helping people through the integration of even their own healing processes. All of these essences are constant presences in people's formulas.
An additional issue is that everybody's traumas and core wounds have become somewhat exacerbated. That takes us right into the core wound healing processes. Also, for many individuals on the spectrum of being ultra-sensitive resonant beings, perhaps on the autism spectrum, yet very functional, the overwhelm of what they're coping with now has magnified their resonance tendencies. With these people, we're actually able to meet the issues of their ultrasensitive, resonant, vulnerable parts with much more awareness now of what that was like for them from the very beginning as part of their journey, and how much they need to gradually develop this ability to become more resilient while being in incarnation. Using flower essences and voice dialogue to heal core wounds
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Most of the people with whom I’ve worked have been generally prepared to work through some of the difficult situations. I don’t want to understate how difficult it has been for them, but I’m always going to try to help people make something positive of the situation to help them grow.
Since the pandemic began, I've been finding that certain issues have shown up again and again and again, and almost all at the same time.
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