Flower Essences for Staying Calm and Collected in the Midst of War |
In addition to being the coordinator for Crown Heights Women for the Safety and Integrity of Israel, an organization promulgating the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s banner for Shleimus HaAretz – preserving Israel’s territorial integrity to protect Jewish lives – Pikuach Nefesh, I’m also a Flower Essence practitioner.
Like so many others after October 7th, I wanted to do whatever I could to support my fellow Jews in Israel. In November 2023, I launched the Rescue Remedy Flower Essence Project under the auspices of my group named above.
Setting up stations is Yerushalayim and in Tzfat, we made Rescue Remedy, known in Israel as Pirchei Bach, available, free of charge to anyone in need. Rescue Remedy is a combination of five flower essences renown for quickly calming down and restoring a person’s emotional and mental equilibrium when they are in shock, panic stricken, anxious and/or feeling overwhelmed.
Resonant and positively charged, flower essences are made from herbal infusions of blossoming plants and trees that, as flower essence practitioner Carla Savestsky has observed, “hold the “soul” of the plant and have an affinity or resonance for the emotional/spiritual body in a person.”
Their effect is harmonizing and lifts a person’s spirit “transporting the feeling we get when we’re walking through a beautiful garden or forest: of being at ease and inwardly still, meditative yet still very present.” (Merri Waters, Great Lakes Sacred Flower Essences)
Master herbalist and flower essence practitioner Lise Wolf has further observed that: “Just as the plant works out its experience, the flower’s essence message echoes through our body and spirit, showing us how to respond to our own similar experiences.”
Flower essences have long been proven to alleviate acute and chronic stress, foster a good night’s sleep and build up wellbeing and resilience. Gentle remedies, they are safe and easy to take, are non-toxic, non-allergenic and fragrance free.
Araretama Rainforest Essences https://www.araretamaoficial.com.br/ maker Sandra Epstein lives in Brazil where natural disasters of immense proportions often occur. She developed a simple method for giving out Rescue Remedy and other needed flower essences to many people at one time by preparing jugs of flower essence-infused water that can be poured into cups or drinking bottles for people to sip from.
This is an easy and excellent way to help people of all ages sheltering in safe rooms and bomb shelters stay calm and patient as they wait for the all-clear bell to sound.
To read more about Rescue Remedy and for instructions on how to distribute it: https://www.floweressencearts.com/terrorism-and-trauma
After the successful distribution of Rescue Remedy, I wrote Gifts from the Garden, A Handbook of Flower Essences from Dr. Bach and Around the World to offer a wider selection of flower essences more specific to the needs of people recovering from unimaginable trauma and injury, coping with loss and grief and/or dealing with the bevy of stressful on-going challenges since October 7th. The handbook is free and can be downloaded from my website Flower Essence Arts: https://www.floweressencearts.com/gifts-from-the-garden-handbook
Two additional flower essences from the book that can be helpful at this time are Red Clover and Fuchsia Gum. Like the Rescue Remedy Project, the flower essences listed in Gifts from the Garden are also available free of charge to anyone in need.
Red Clover Trifolium pratense – with an affinity for the heart and circulation, this flower’s magenta-hued red florets, suffused with purple tones, cluster together like a “tamed flame.” Red Clover calms our anxious heart and steadies our minds during times of upheaval and fright when mass panic threatens to engulf us. A good flower essence to have on hand, along with Rescue Remedy in bomb shelters and safe rooms where many people are huddled together waiting for the all-clear signal to sound. Red Clover is made by Flower Essence Services https://www.flowersociety.org/
Fuchsia Gum Eucalyptus forrestiana – its pinched scarlet-red buds are oblong from one angle, square from another with wide “wings” at each corner. Their caps pop off to display yellow filament-like flowers giving the impression of breaking free and escaping through the light at the end of the tunnel; the flowers point downward as if to illuminate the way back home. Fuchsia Gum is prepared by Living Essences of Australia: https://livingessences.com.au/
Fuchsia Gum is for those who were held captive in tunnels or confined spaces and for those who panic (the scarlet-red color of alarm) feeling trapped and claustrophobic (reflected in the shape of the bud) when they must go down into bomb shelters or stay put in their safe rooms or for anyone feeling like there’s no end in sight.
Fuchsia Gum’s filaments of light free our mind and racing heart from this type of fear, putting us at ease to think calmly and clearly.
Wishing everyone a Freilichen Purim filled with light and joy, gladness and honor