The Bach Flower Remedies work by balancing emotions. This in turn allows the body to heal itself. Dr Bach found that the energy held within certain divinely enriched plants, herbs and trees specifically related to human emotions.
Dr. Edward Bach: His life & work
- Born Sept. 24, 1886
- Died Nov, 27, 1936 – 50 years of age
Education / Work:
- Studied medicine at the University College Hospital, London, England
- House Surgeon / University College Hospital
- Earned Diploma of Public Health (DPH) at Cambridge
- Bacteriologist
- Pathologist
Early Years.
E.Bach was very much in touch with nature and people around him from a very early age, and knew he wanted to heal.
“He was a many-sided nature. Independent and positive from his early years, endowed with a great sense of humour and fun, he would at times become silent and meditative, roaming the countryside alone, or sitting and gazing at the wonders of a few yards of grassy bank or the bark of some tree for hours at a time.
Any human being, bird or creature in pain or distress aroused in him such compassion and desire to help their suffering that he determined, whilst still a boy at school, to be a doctor.”
“He would dream that he had found some simple form of healing which would cure all forms of disease. He would also dream that healing power flowed from his hand and that all whom he touched were healed; and these were no schoolboy flights of imagination, but the inner knowledge of what was to come to pass, for he found that simple healing amongst the wildflowers of the fields; and in after years he came to know he did indeed posses the power to heal, and many were the sick folk who were cured by his touch.”
Edward Bach had two great interests in life – an over whelming compassion for all who suffered, human beings, birds and beasts. – The love for Nature, for Her trees and plants. The one love helped the other, for he found in Nature’s storehouse the flowers of the fields, which healed all those in sickness and in pain.
Making History.
Dr. Edward Bach is one of the few figures in the history of medicine who have revolutionised the way we look at our health. He was a remarkable physician who was respected around the world for the great contribution he made to both orthodox and homoeopathic medicine. Yet his many discoveries were only stepping stones towards the final perfection of his life’s work: a system of medicine so safe and simple that it can be understood and used by every one.
Why just 38 REMEDIES? Example given on how to select a Remedy
The 38 Remedies cover every state of mind known to man. They are states of mind that can be caused by any manner of related problems, so it is all important to determine how or why any predominant condition of mind manifests itself. Anger is often associated with hatred and envy, which would immediately suggest “Holly” but that is by no means a final prognosis, because anger can be equally caused by frustration, worry, resentment or any other conditioned state of mind, so the final choice has to be determined by finding out the basic cause behind the anger.
Dr Bach wanted the remedies to be easy to use and accessible to all people, where ever they lived and whatever culture they were born into. In his public lectures in Wallingford in 1936 he explained the simplicity of his system:
Each of the 38 remedies is correlated to a specific negative state of mind, personality trait, mood or temperament, that so often prove to be the real cause in the break down of one’s physical and mental equilibrium.
‘They are only 38 in number, which means that it is easier to find the right remedy to give, than when there are very many. The method of choosing which remedy to give is simple enough for most people to understand.’
He believed the remedies would empower those who had a gift of healing within their communities;
‘Without knowledge of medicine, their use can be understood so easily that they can be used in the household. There are amongst us in almost every town and village some who have to a lesser or greater degree a desire to be able to help in illness; to be able to relieve the suffering and to heal the sick. (The Remedies) place in their hands the power to heal amongst their own families, friends and all around them.’
Dr. Edward Bach’s Philosophy:
Dr. Edward Bach based his work on a profound philosophy in which life is seen as a learning process and ill health – whether mental or physical – is intended to help us under stand more about ourselves and the purpose of our lives. “Diseasewill never be cured or eradicated by present materialistic methods, for the simple reason that disease in its origin is not material. What we know as disease is an ultimate result produced in the body, the end product of a long acting forces; Disease is in essence the result of conflict between Soul and Mind, and will never be eradicated except by spiritual and mental effort”. Health comes when we regain harmony between our physical and spiritual selves, leaving the body free to begin its own natural healing process. If emotional equilibrium can be maintained the mind and body will remain in a state of health.
It is the total and absolute focus on the mental state of the sufferer, alone which makes Dr Bach’s approach to health so exceptional.
No notice is taken of the nature of the disease’, he writes.
‘The individual is treated, and as he becomes well the disease goes’.
In his book Heal Thyself Dr Bach describes his vision of medicine in the future, when doctors will study human nature and hospitals will be sanctuaries of ‘peace, hope, joy and faith’. The medicine of the future, he says, will be given to restore these four qualities to suffering humanity.
“The dawn of a new and better art of healing is upon us. A hundred years ago the Homoeopathy of Hahnemann was as the first streak of the morning light after a long night of darkness, and it may play a big part in the medicine of the future.”
Dr Bach believed we could all heal ourselves if our body was in harmony with our soul.
“All we have to do is preserve our personality, to live our own life, be captain of our own ship, and all will be well.”
— Dr. Edward Bach