HOW THE REMEDIES WORK

1. That man has a Soul which is his Real Self. The body is the ‘earthly temple' that the Soul inhabits though it is but a small reflection of the Soul itself. The Soul which is the immortal spark of our Divinity, a manifestation of the Almighty, is our guide and protector, the watcher who leads us always for our utmost advantage.
2. That our personality, through which we act in this world, is down here to gain experience and knowledge so that we may advance towards the perfection of our natures by developing virtues and eradicating that which is wrong within us.
3. That this life is but a small part of the whole process of our evolution, a day in the endless time that our Soul experiences as immortality.
4. The just so long as our Soul and personality are in harmony we live in peace, happiness, joy and health. It is when our personality leads us astray from the path laid down for it by the Soul, either through worldly desire or through the persuation of others, that conflict arises.
5. That there is unity in all things. The One Creator who is Love manifests through innumerable forms and all things are unified by that Love. Any imperfection in a part affects the whole and every part of the whole must ultimately become perfect in Love.
6. The fundamental errors that bring conflict and then disease are dissociation between our Soul and personality and wrongdoing which is a sin against Unity.

This is only a précis of Bach's own statements concerning man's relationship to Creation and the Almighty. What he wrote, in turn, is but a brief outline of the great tradition of knowledge, wisdom and understanding that man has received by Grace concerning the nature of reality. Two points are of immediate concern to us here – that disease can be beneficent in that it points out to us the conflict that lies within us and that an essential part of the healing process is the work that we must do upon ourselves, the work of self-development. It is in this context that we should view the way that the Bach Remedies work.

Given that the remedies work upon the subtle world it is not surprising that conventional scientific. Thinking cannot be used to explain their operation. If we were to attempt a chemical analysis of a remedy we would not be able to detect the physical substance that is the healing agent. This is because is it not a physical substance. It is what may be best described as energy.

We have already seen that Dr. Bach found it essential to consider man as being composed of different levels or bodies, of which the familiar physical levels or bodies, of which the familiar physical body is the coarsets and the most dense. To express it very simply this physical body is animated and controlled by the Soul which acts through the psychological body. We may recognize the psychological body as the thoughts, feelings and emotions that together make up the pattern of our personality. The essential energy of life, which comes from a higher level, is ‘filtered' through this pattern so that it is coloured by the condition of the psyche before it is drawn into the physical body. Thus the psychological state of an individual will set up certain energy vibrations that will register in the physical body. Consider, for instance, how irritation, a psychological state, may cause person to frown. If this pattern is consistent over a period of time lines of irritation will develop into creases which permanently mark the face. Thus it is said that we make our own faces.

If this is not clear let us use an analogy. When a plant begins to grow it does so in a perfect and uniform way. The first leaves and shoots are identical in every plant of that species. But the prevailing conditions will slowly distort and condition that growth into a form which in time becomes characteristic of that individual. One tree is exposed to a westerly wind off the sea which bends it into a particular shape; another which grows beside a wall may become lopsided and misshapen. In both cases the tree is at variance with the balanced growth that would be seen in the ‘perfect image' of that type of tree.

So it is with human beings. The patterning of our psychological condition sets up a rhythm in the body that can distort its normal workings. A tree cannot reshape itself but it is possible for a man to actively change his physical condition by changing the psychological patterning of his life. If a person who has been constantly fearful is able to be free from that fear is has a very real and observable effect upon the physical body. The Bach Remedies can be instrumental in bringing about this change. If we suppose that every psychological state, as they are described by Bach, has a particular pattern to it and that the pattern acts as a distorting lens to the pure light that shines through from the Soul of man, then the remedies act upon that pattern to dissolve the distortion and allow the free passage of clear energy to the body.

This psychological pattern might also be thought of as an oscillating wave with regular peaks and troughs. The remedy that is its antidote would then be seen to have a wave pattern that was exactly opposite, so that the two put together produce a harmonious and balanced condition. Or to use another illustration the psychological pattern might be seen as colors. Then the make up of an individual psyche would appear as a combination of different hues that surround the body as a aura – a vibrating force field of colour. We know from the expression ‘it made me see red' how anger would affect such a pattern. Similarly we speak of people ‘green with envy' or ‘grey with fear'. In each case there is a Bach Remedy that would be appropriate. Holy for anger and envy (red and green are complimentaries) and Rock Rose for extreme fear. As the healing energy of the remedy worked upon the psyche the grey clouds of fear would be dispersed by the radiating sun of courage and joy which allows all things to be seen in their true light. But should the fits of anger be allowed to continue without any check then not only would their red colour the entire psyche, they would in time produce such a permanent distortion in the flow of the life force that the physical body would be damaged as extensively as if exposed to prolonged radiation.

At this point it is as well to note that the remedies are very beneficial when used to prevent illness, to balance the psyche before the disruption goes so far as to produce a recognizable physical complaint. For even a temporary condition can debilitate the body to such an extent that it is susceptible to those forces of disease that are constantly present in the environment. Virus infections, for instance, only take hold in the body when the normal defences are weakened. Thus when we are in a state of indecision (Scleranthus) or are undecided what to do in life (Wild Oat) we are prone to suffer from the mundane illnesses that afflict most people from time to time.

It will be appreciated that a minor affiliction will be healed more quickly and more readily than a deep-rooted condition. Disease, pain and suffering develop like a organic growth fed from the psychological state. If for instance we consider the remedy Beech which is appropriate to the critical, fussy, intolerant person who gets annoyed by the habits and mannerisms of others, then we can see that every time that person makes a criticism they add another branch to the tree of their own suffering. Every time they have a negative thought another leaf unfolds until the growth of the tree presses so sorely upon them that they are forced to recognize their own condition. Their suffering will be time bring them to ask the question “Why?”.

Often enough we refuse to see the link between our psychological outlook and our physical suffering. We may gain temporary relief from some form of medication but if the real cause if not recognized and eliminated then the suffering will inevitably return. This is one reason why drugs are often counterproductive: they give the appearance of a rapid return to normality when the cause of the ill health is as virulent as ever. We are lulled into a false sense of well-being and continue in the pattern that must result in more serious consequences.

It is important for us to recognize the link between our psychological state and our physical complaint. By recognizing the situation we are able to work with the remedy and hasten the change within ourselves. It is not a imperative part of the treatement, however. The Bach Remedies have been used with proven success in the treatment of children, animals and plants. Self-awareness is not a precondition for a cure.

It was said earlier that disease is beneficial since it points to the need for self-development and the resolution of internal conflict. It is an ifthe Bach Remedies show us the way in which we have to work upon ourselves and help us to overcome the habitual psychological patters that have developed within us. If we want to return to health we must expect to change. Many of us are resistant to change; we have almost grown to like our suffering and secretly prefer to indulge in our unhappiness (there is a remedy for that too). Sometimes there is an unwillingness to acknowledge a psychological imbalance – we insist that the malady is purely physical and do not want anything that may tamper with the personality: the ego works hard to protect its little empire! As it is said, you can take a horse to water but you cannot make it drink – nothing can be done if you do not take the medicine. As with all forms of healing it is important that the patient should want to improve his condition.

THE HEALING POWER OF NATURE

One of the most striking features of this form of healing is that it is entirely benign. It involves no physical discomfort and is associated only with the most pure and beautiful elements in nature. With a few exception (Vine, Olive and Cerato) all the plants used grow wild and free without the taint of human interference. When Bach was first looking for the remedies he discounted any plants that were poisonous, cultivated or closely associated with man. He sought only those that were growing in the most natural conditions where their powerful healing properties has matured undisturbed and uncontaminated. We can readily recognize the importance of this feeling of strength and purity. It is apparent as soon as one sees the remedies: tey have an aura of great lightness and clarity. Even the stock bottles themselves had a simple fitness and beauty that characterized all Dr. Back's work.

Conventional medicine, which today relies so heavily upon artificial drugs, points a strong contrast. The idea of preparing a chemical extract of the healing properties in natural substances is totally antipathetic to Bach's work. There is an extraordinary perversity in the man when he deliberately seeks such complex methods of working and ignores the virtunes of what is simple, natural and God-given. It is no coincidence that medicinal herbs are traditionally called ‘simples'.

This is no place for a polemic against the artifice of modern life. But in the context of the Back Remedies it is good to condiser the relationship between disease and the healing power of nature. Man is “a child of the Universe no less that the trees and stars” and yet we live in daily conflict with the rest of the natural world. Much of the disease to which we are prey at this time is generated by this conflict, in particular the nervous conditions that are so prevalent in urban life. Anger and fear which in their broadest sense are two primary conditions that colour our psyche are both eased and healed by contact with the natural world. We need only consider the effect of a seaside holiday upon the oppressed city-dweller to see the reality of this. Imitation,. Tension, pride or depression are not cured by aspirins – they merely deaded the receptors of the nervous system. But the recognition of man's true relationship to the created world can attune the disharmony of our life and release us from our suffering.

The Bach Remedies, which contain the pure energies of the natural world, help us to tune ourselves in this way. Yet their effect is not merely to soothe and calm the turbulence of our personalities. Through the action of specific energies they help us to tackle specific problems. The general impact of nature's healing power is not sufficient to counteract man's angle and greed; if it was we could not choose but to live harmoniously on this world. But by using the potentised energy from a particular flower, whose properties are exactly aligned to a particular condition, we have a concentration of that general healing power that can actually bring about a change within us so that hatred may become love, despair may find faith, indifference may become purposeful and the exhausted may find strength.

In the name of the One God may the gift of healing be given to all who seek to help those in need.

What we are Bach Remedies? They are a simple and natural method of healing through the use of certain wild flowers. The remedies, which treat the personality disorders of the patient rather than the individual physical condition, were discovered in the 1930s by Dr Edward Bach. After many years of practice in conventional medicine as well as homoeopathy Edward Bah was led to the realization that what characterized the physical disorders of different people was not so much the many categories of disease but the psychological conditions that generate them. Over a period of years he was enabled to recognize these psychological conditions and find in each case an appropriate remedy. The remedies were found in the flowers of the field and the trees of the countryside – in nature's God-given healing power.

Man has always made use of medicinal herbs. Until recent years all pharmaceutical preparations relied upon the use of natural substances. The Bach Remedies, however, do not use the physical material of the plant but rather the essential energy that is found within the flower. This healing energy is extracted in a particular way and stored in a preserving liquid. This subtle substance is used to treat the cause of illness at the subtle level. By this it is meant that while most medicine treats the physical complaint with a physical material the Bach Remedies treat the unseen or psychological cause with an unseen energy.

In the field of what is popularly called ‘alternative medicine' there are forms of healing that are more or less in sympathy with Dr. Bach's discoveries. And it is well to stress that no one from the healing has the privilege of being the best or the most effective; everything is appropriate in its own way. It is apparent, however, that Bach's discoveries represent a revolutionary approach to medicine. It may be summed up in his dictum: “treat the patient, not the disease”. For no matter what the patient is suffering from in the physical body – it might be asthma or athlete's foot – the prime cause of that condition can be eradicated if we can ascertain and counteract the imbalance that is in the psyche of the patient.

An example will demonstrate how this relationship works in practice. Suppose that tow people, in no way related, both receive a deep shock. One of them is involved in a car crash perhaps. She is badly shaken but not physically injured. In the weeks that follow she suffers from constant headaches and nausea. The second fictitious character is a banker who suffers a sudden and severe reversal of his financial fortunes. He has a stroke on hearing the news which results in the partial paralysis of his right arm. The treatments that might be given fro these two physical conditions would normally vary. But if we treat the patients' psychological state it would be apparent that they were both suffering from shock through its manifestation in the body was different. Following Dr. Bach's methods we would begin by prescribing Star of Bethlehem the remedy fro all kinds of sudden distress, upsets and accidents. When the shock is neutralized the physical effect will dissolve and disappear.

In a similar way a person who suffers from jealousy or fear, from self-pity or resentment may manifest that psychological state in a variety of ways physically. Jealousy may be the root cause of a cancer or pleurisy, self-pity may bring a person out in spots, cause migraine or backache. The physical complaint is not important: it is a psychological state that is to be treated.

It might be argued that this is a simplistic view of illness. To quote Dr Back “it is its simplicity, combined with its all-healing effects, that is so wonderful”. In a later section we can try to look at how the remedies work but at this point the necessary question is: “Do they work?” And the answer is quite clearly “Yes”. Inevitably there are some diseases which lie beyond the scope of this form of medicine and some conditions which are more suited to other methods of treatment but as we shall see the Bach Remedies can be usefully applied in almost all circumstances.