We are blessed to live in a time of Awakening. Though its opposite can sometimes feel like the more prevalent force, more and more of us are becoming aware everyday of our interconnectedness, and the fact that there is more to this world- and to us- than meets the eye.

There are many beautiful tools to assist us on our journey of Awakening, including flower and gemstone essences. Traditionally, these vibrational remedies have been used for personal healing, well-being and development- and as our individual consciousness impacts the collective consciousness, this in and of itself is an act of service to the world. But what if we were to take it a step further? What if we were to take essences for the world, or for others?

What if we were to use essences holographically?

Scientifically, a “hologram” is defined as a three-dimensional image created with photographic projection, or formed by the interference of light beams (as from a laser). Spiritually- and for our purposes here- a hologram is a blueprint of material reality constructed by the light frequencies of our thoughts and intentions. Whenever we use our desire and intent to manifest something, it exists first holographically- essentially as an etheric scale model.

Clairvoyants can often see these holograms, or incoming realities, in people’s energy fields. An example is when I was working on manifesting a romantic relationship. An entire year before my partner and I physically entered one another’s lives, two different psychics did a reading for me and talked about my “boyfriend” in the present tense- the energy of his hologram was so pronounced in my field that they were certain we were already in relationship! (They also described his appearance in remarkable detail, including that he was holding a guitar- all of which turned out to be true.)

Technically of course, whenever we use essences with deliberate intent- for instance to manifest healing of a physical malady- we are using them holographically, because on an energetic level we are fashioning a hologram of our desired reality (in this example, a body in perfect health)! However when taking essences consciously on behalf of others, we are projecting that hologram outward: making the “holographic” terminology that much more appropriate, and how I am choosing to define it here.

So how does one take essences holographically?

You can think of using essences holographically as simply an added dimension to the prayer and positive visualization you’re probably already doing for your loved ones and for the world.

Following is a suggested meditation you can use- and these steps aren’t strictly necessary. Ask for and listen to your own inner guidance. The protocol can be very simple or very elaborate. You can choose to invoke and involve whatever deity, angel, saint or other loving, evolved light beings are meaningful to you. You will develop your own process that is unique to you (and possibly unique to each focus).

Holographic Love Meditation:

1. Center and clear yourself, in whichever way works best for you personally- through breathwork, meditation, time in Nature, or sacred movement. It can be nice to spritz yourself with Star Essence’s Crystal Clear Spray.
2. Ask the higher self or overlighting deva of the person, place or situation you are making your focus for permission to send healing. You will intuitively feel, hear, see, sense or simply know the answer. (If it is no, honor that.)
3. If it is yes, set your intention and continue with the process. Remain open and flexible throughout for suggestions or guidance from the focus’ higher self or spiritual guardians, or from your own. Remember you are simply an instrument.
4. Focus on your heartspace and on love, until you can feel an expansive energy in your heart chakra (you may feel it in your higher heart, or thymus chakra, as well). It may feel warm, tingly, soft, or even like a rush of emotion. The experience will be unique to you.
5. When you feel fully in this heartspace, visualize a glowing energy vortex of love in front of you. It may look like a spinning chakra, or like a sphere or a disc- it may be green or pink or gold. However it wants to manifest for you is fine. Project the love from your heart into this energy field and feel both it and yourself continue to expand as if you are fed from the same stream of unconditional source energy (you are).
6. Now visualize the person, place or situation you are making your focus and place them respectfully into this love vortex.
7. Take drops of (or mist yourself with) the essence chosen for your focus, and intend that this energy is also going into the love vortex, and into them. Reaffirm or elaborate on your intention if it feels appropriate. Most importantly, send your focus the omnipresent love and support of the Universe, and envision them fully held in the space of their highest good, and embodying their greatest potential. Create a hologram of divine perfection and enfoldment.
8. Gently, like blowing a kiss on the wind or releasing a bird into the sky, send or project this love vortex/hologram to your intended focus.

Note that even if your focus’ higher self or overlighting deva has given permission for healing, they themselves may not be ready to fully receive it just yet in this dimension. That’s okay. So long as you have honored their free will and acted in service with the blessing of the divine, your love hologram will contribute to their highest good at the rate and level that is perfect for them.

Again, throughout this process, honor the universal law of Free Will. This means honoring Divine Will. It should go without saying that using essences holographically (and any other undertaking) should never be done with an intent to manipulate, control or interfere... Or with overly-specific prayers or visualizations (however well-intentioned) that try to dictate a particular outcome to a Universe with, let’s face it, far more infinite possibilities for good than we can imagine!

A good way to preface your intention when using essences holographically is the old stand by, for the good of all. Or, for the highest possible outcome. You can also close with: this, or something even better!

You can take essences on behalf of…

Individuals in government.
Countries or cities.
Groups, organizations, corporations or minorities.
Threatened species or habitats.
Gaia, our Mother Earth.
Loved ones, acquaintances or even strangers in the news you feel called to uplift.
Humanity as a whole.
Peace, Prosperity, Light, Love, or any other positive paradigms seemingly in need of more anchoring in this dimension.

Some tips:

Choose one person, situation or collective to make your focus, and one essence (or blend of essences) to use on their behalf. Ideally this is the only essence you will take for your chosen duration of service. If you feel guided to use another essence to support you during the process- or if you detect that something shifts with your focus and they require a different or supplementary essence halfway through- that’s okay. Your intuition is your best guide.

You can use essences holographically as a stand-alone practice, or commit to a daily practice over a number of days for a specific focus.

You should only use essences holographically as service when feeling clear, grounded, and energized. Select a time and duration for your service that is free of excessive scheduling, obligations, emotionally charged events or stress. (And if any extenuating circumstances should crop up, stop the process. You can resume at a more ideal time.)

Remember that often the things we are most triggered by or called to be in service to relate to something that we ourselves are working on or needing to balance. Always, you are both the healer and the healed, the teacher and the student. Stay open, aware, and fluid. Let yourself be surprised and delighted by the process.

The word hologram comes from the Greek: holo meaning “whole,” and gram meaning “message.” When we use essences holographically, we act holistically. We send a message of wholeness and love to the world, and to ourselves.

Arielle is a long-time Star Essence employee and practitioner who has been using Star Essences for over 15 years. She also creates her own essences and alchemical blends which can be explored at www.arielixirs.com.

by Kristine Haugh

When I was a teenager I was fascinated by the metaphor of the hologram; that no matter how many pieces you break it into or how small each piece is, there can be seen, in each fragment of the original whole, an image of that whole. Around this same time, one of my favorite high school teachers, Mr Roche, showed us how to turn over the hand we were using to point the finger of blame at someone else in order to see the 3 fingers there pointing to ourselves. Wow. 

These 2 metaphors do so much to help us take responsibility for our own personal environments, internal and external, before sending judgment and anger outward to others. Where, in our own lives are we careless with the thoughts and words we put out about others, releasing thought pollution into the environment? Where are we sending negative energy out that weakens our own ozone layer (aura)? What emotions are we refusing to love, embrace and process and instead dumping them into a collective ocean of unconsciousness?

We are of the earth, we are an integral part of her and what we do and feel and heal, so does she.

For those in the Santa Barbara area, I am offering an event on Earth Day called “Heal Your Self and Heal the Earth with Vibrational Essences.” This playshop will offer tools that will help us each take responsibility for our personal Global Climate Change, raise our own resonance and therefore assist with the transformation process of the Earth. Look for more for information soon at www.facebook.com/staressenceremedies or call (805) 965-1619.

The timeliness of new essences here at Star Essence never ceases to amaze me. That magical and quintessential "moment of bloom" that Star speaks about relates to seasons and cycles far above and beyond the physical world. Whether it's a flower, a gemstone, or another vibrational offering, it always seems to show up in perfect divine timing when its gifts are of heightened relevance and value, both collectively and personally. (For "energetic forecasts" of upcoming/incoming frequencies and themes, we could often watch the essence producers of the world just as effectively as the astrologers, channels, psychics etc.!)

The new Golden Bach Flower Essences Star of Bethlehem and Rock Water were an especially prime example of this. Having the honor of preserving the Mother essences and collaborating with Star on the descriptive information, I had tuned in and immediately resonated with their gifts on a personal emotional level. So when I was guided to take a bottle of Star of Bethlehem home over the weekend, and add Rock Water to that same bottle, I assumed it was for my own process.

The next afternoon while at his restaurant management job, my soul partner Marlon cut his hand deeply on a broken champagne glass and had to have stitches. We were waiting for over 2 hours to be seen by a doctor, and initially he was very agitated and upset- not just from pain, but anger and sadness that it had happened and concern about his hand’s mobility, as he is a guitarist and would be starting classes at Musician's Institute in less than 2 weeks.

I administered drops of the Star of Bethlehem/Rock Water essence to both of us every 15 minutes, in addition to some Reiki energy healing. Within a very short amount of time Marlon completely calmed down and felt peaceful and optimistic about the outcome of his injury (Star of Bethlehem). Though he had been planning a rigorous schedule of guitar practice, he was able to let go of these high expectations of himself and trust that recuperation time would not impact his ability to perform in his classes (Rock Water). By the time we got into the exam room he was joking around with the nurses and doctor. I continued to give him more of the essences throughout the examination and treatment, and he maintained an excellent sense of humor throughout the whole thing and was in high spirits for the rest of the day. He also had extremely minimal pain or discomfort and was back on the guitar within a week!

We are both deeply grateful that the injury was so minor, and that we had Star of Bethlehem/Rock Water to support us. The bottle I made of these essences has already needed refilling a couple of times and we continue to utilize it daily! It has additionally been of immense value seeing us through some shocking but ultimately positive changes and events in our extended family.

I will be carrying these beautiful allies with me for some time!

Arielle is a long-time Star Essence employee and practitioner who has been using Star Essences for over 15 years. She also creates her own essences and alchemical blends which can be explored at www.arielixirs.com.

by Kristine Haugh

“Synchronicity is an ever present reality for those who have eyes to see.”

- Carl Jung

It is said that Paracelsus, a physician and Alchemist from the turn of the 16th century collected dew from flowers to heal emotional disharmony in his patients. I’ve seen a film where indigenous peoples of the rainforest offer dew from plants and flowers to modern westerners who come to them for healing. While Dr Bach trained in Public Health and had a successful career in Homeopathy, he left it behind in 1930, at age 43, to research an even more subtle yet powerful healing modality. Our modern definition of Flower essences comes from his work of initially collecting the dew from the petals of flowers he felt supportive of emotional and thought transformation; eventually he found he needed more liquid and experimented with flowers floating in water in the sunshine. How did he happen to notice that emotional states created by thought patterns, had anything at all to do with illness in the body? What led him, I wonder, to hold his hand over a flower while he was feeling a certain emotion and notice the difference it imparted to his thoughts and feeling of well-being?

In a seemingly well known anecdote, Dr. Bach had a patient who was suffering from an acute attack of asthma. It turned out that her son had moved away and she hadn’t heard from him. When her son finally got in touch with her, a few months of continued asthma symptoms later, to tell her he had a job and was doing well, her asthma disappeared.

Coincidence? Synchronicity?

According to Wikipedia, “Synchronicity is the occurrence of two or more events that appear to be meaningfully related but not causally related. Synchronicity holds that such events are "meaningful coincidences". The concept of synchronicity was first defined by Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist, in the 1920s."

He coined the term as a direct result of working with a patient, at an impasse in her healing process, who had dreamt of a gold scarab the night before her session and had an emotional breakthrough when a golden scarab (not at all usual for that place or climate) flew into the office and made itself known.

In Star’s book Bliss and Blessings, she has an entire section on Synchronicities and she speaks about them in her Online Practitioner Certification Course as well. Synchronicity has a strong hand in the world of flower essences.

As I was pondering what to write for this month’s Starry Starry News, the word "Synchronicity" popped into my mind. That’s silly, I thought, how does Synchronicity fit into the education section of a spring-y March newsletter? I dismissed it and then went on to re-read my post from last month. And lo and behold, the first thing I noticed is the date that very first blog I ever wrote for Star Essence was published, which was February 3, 2015: which happened to be my 45th birthday! OK, I get it, Synchronicity it is.

My Journey to working here at Star Essence began with the end of a job I loved, at a graduate school of Jungian and Depth Psychology. It was an unexpected liberation from a self-inflicted grind so all encompassing that when my grip on it was freed all I could do was look at my hands in wonderment at the process of letting go, of surrender.

Later that week I was offered some Prosperity Alchemy Spray at my Dentist's office and as I was scared silly about my financial situation, I decided to act prosperous anyway and buy it with the wish that it would support me through the changes and allow me to have faith in the abundance of the Universe. The gal in the office who sold it to me (who just happened to be related to Star) asked me if I knew Star, in fact assumed I knew her. Then other people started asking if I knew Star, and making the same assumption. After the 3rd person said to me "You know Star, right?", I decided I was going to go and meet her. (I usually get the Universe's hints by the 3rd occurrence if not by the second ;)

So I went down to the Star Essence office here in Santa Barbara, which led to a part time job/internship which introduced me to Star and her incredible essences, and supported me on further journeys towards what I feel is my purpose and calling!

And speaking of calling, while in the midst of writing this blog, the Essence of the Month was announced and so I looked up the definition for the Golden Bach Wild Oat on the Star Essence website, which reads as: Clearly knowing and able to make decisions about life purpose and direction. Manifesting meaningful and fulfilling vocation, service.

The first time I walked into the Star Essence office the energy felt very bustling and busy so I introduced myself, made a little paper shot glass of essences at the Star Bar (pretty sure I remember choosing Divine Goddess, Radiant Sensuality, Prosperity Alchemy and Soul Purpose) and went on my way. The neighborhood that Star Essence is in, here in Santa Barbara, was always a place I had wanted to live, and about a block away there was a great deal for an apartment, indicated by a "For Rent" sign planted in the front yard. I knew of these magic apartments because of an acquaintance who lived in the building and told me, months before, they very rarely come about. As I had just lost my job I had immediately dismissed the idea of being able to move, so I passed it up. That was Friday, by Monday morning I realized I was crazy to give up the opportunity to live there and went back. The sign, of course, was gone with the apartment.

So, instead, I felt myself compelled to return to Star Essence, and as I did so I had the thought of asking them if they needed any help in their office. Actually, it wasn't a thought, it was a push, at least that's what I felt as I walked through the gate and into the office: Ask them, Ask them, Ask them! I interrupted a meeting/conversation between Aanjelae, the office Goddess extraordinaire and Star, whom I had yet to meet and who slipped away to other work upstairs as I walked in. When I asked the question, Aanjelae gave me the requirements and details of the job and it fit perfectly for my needs; so after she spoke with Star, I was hired. It turns out the conversation I interrupted was basically about getting someone in to help out as soon as possible. Ha ha ha :)

So many Synchronicities to get me into the office. How well my job history actually fit into what was needed, the timing, and effortlessness. I had already planned to attend a week-long workshop at Esalen the week after I started, so I worked for a week, went to the workshop (where I met people who eventually led me to my 3 journeys to South Africa in 2012 and 2013 which you will hear about in future blogs) and returned to attend my first Star Essence Certification Course. Perfectly timed and orchestrated by the Universe, and following the flow of my own heart and intuition, following what I love.

I am currently embracing the LAW OF LOVE and am SO GRATEFUL for SYNCHRONICITY. Trusting that the Universe, through my own heart, knows me and always leads me, via synchronicities and serendipities and “coincidences” towards what I want and need better than my little (albeit hardworking and intelligent) analytical mind could ever possibly plan or imagine. Learning to surrender, has been the most wonderful (and occasionally excruciating) thing I've ever done. Asking that brilliant organizer to let go, to trust, to allow; to surrender its plans ideas, intentions wants and desires in order to LOVE, to see clearly with my heart, has been, and continues to be POWERFUL. And funnily enough everything I ever thought I wanted, needed, desired, intended to make happen is now happening, or not, and I'm happy regardless. How the heck did that happen!

One last Synchronicity, as I was looking up Jung’s Synchronicity quote, the following quote caught me and wouldn't let me pass it by:

“Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.”

- Carl Jung

So, I trust if you are reading this that you are also taking your essences; this month add in some Wild Oat if it resonates for you. And please, remember to look inside and ask guidance from your heart, even if your mind doesn’t quite understand where you're going. It will all become clear eventually!

If you have remembered some of your own Synchronicities regarding how you found Star Essences or finding your own purpose, and are feeling INSPIRED, please POST A COMMENT BELOW! We would LOVE to hear from you.  :)

What do you want to be when you grow up?

This is a question we were all asked at least once as children. A firefighter? A ballerina? A secret agent? A teacher? A veterinarian for Ewoks on Endor? Hopefully your answer was allowed to be as wild as possible, without any imposed limitations or erroneous concepts of what is "realistic." (And if it wasn't, take a moment right now to rewrite the past: pop back into that moment like a knighted Fairy Godperson, embrace your Inner Child and exclaim, "What an absolutely brilliant idea!" ...Or whatever you need to hear...)

So now for the big question: what are you "being" now? Note that I didn't ask what you "do." And while we're on the topic, are who you are and what you do in alignment? If they're not at the moment, do you still have a strong sense of purpose or specific intentions for your life? (For the record, what you "do" can be serving food while what you are "being" is still a Wizard, Order of Merlin, First Class.) Perhaps you have lost track of yourself over time, and you keep riding that train to the end of the line with no idea where you're going, watching everyone else decisively board and disembark at their chosen place in the Universe.

This is where Wild Oat flower essence can be of assistance. It addresses personal fulfillment and life direction, offering potential for enhanced clarity and richness of purpose/experience. If one feels adrift with no trajectory it can reconnect you with your inner compass, allowing for expanded perspective and receptivity to opportunity. Likewise if one is overwhelmed by too many passions and possibilities, or at a crossroads, it can illuminate the pathway(s) that most serve your highest good, and that of the collective. After all, it is often not enough to merely have a function or purpose; it is meaning that brings true satisfaction to one's experience.

“We must earnestly learn to develop individuality according to the dictates of our own Soul, to fear no man and to see that no one interferes with, or dissuades us from, the development of our evolution, the fulfillment of our duty and the rendering of help to our fellow-men, remembering that the further we advance, the greater blessing we become to those around us.”

- Dr. Edward Bach

Wild Oat can move us from "survival" mode to "thrival" mode. As humanity and planet Earth collectively evolve during this pivotal time known- among other names- as Ascension, there may not always be certainty in our external experience. It is in the inner realm where Wild Oat can first help us to have that certainty, where we can align with a higher source and move in harmony to the unique rhythm of our personal drummer. The more that we cultivate and embrace this understanding and knowing in our inner world, the more that the outer world adjusts to match this beautiful new choreography that we're dancing!

Wild Oat can also be supportive in situations where one forgot to grow up, or is "sowing their wild oats" in perpetuity, stuck in a stunted or juvenile state of development. There may be fear around progressing to the next stage of life, or there may simply be inability to initiate change, if the individual was over-parented and didn't develop healthy self-will. In any case, Wild Oat can support the self-awareness and empowerment to gracefully progress along life's path with faith that there are always more delights to be had around the next bend.

In essence, Wild Oat reminds us that we are never done "growing up"- never done expanding, stretching, blooming, reaching for the light, taking in nourishment, enjoying the feel of a fresh breeze or a friendly pollinator. Thus, it is never too late to ask: "What do I want to be?"

Wild Oat is part of the Golden Bach Flower Essence Collection. It has recently been added to the Soul Purpose Constellation.

Arielle is a long-time Star Essence employee and practitioner who has been using Star Essences for over 15 years. She also creates her own essences and alchemical blends which can be explored at www.arielixirs.com.

*Child with unicorn photo by Kaboompics.com.

by Kristine Haugh

WE ARE HERE TO LOVE

To Love... Ourselves and Each Other...
And To Allow Ourselves to Be Loved...
And to transform and integrate the very definition of LOVE for the planet, the universe and all of CREATION.

These are the words that came to me the morning after I pleaded with the Universe­ / Love­ / God/dess­ / Heart / Mind /­ Creator to please please please let me know what my purpose is here on this sweet little beauty of a watery blue planet.

I was getting anxious; I had been through a veritable ringer of change and transformation and transition after transition until it seemed as if the very fiber of my existence was actually being re-purposed to allow, surrender, trust and be more and more grateful every moment. Recently when I'm thrown something that just seems impossible and outrageous, I have been able to laugh and look forward to seeing how the answer and the possibility is going to show itself, of its own accord and in its own timing. This used to be after I had given up trying to solve things, either in utter exasperation or a fit of laughter. As I quite enjoy the laughter I am practicing more often with that reaction, and its getting better and better and easier and easier every moment to live with that paradigm of love unfolding constantly. It feels like I'm being let in on the joke and LIFE IS BECOMING SO MUCH MORE FUN!!!

And so I've taken the hint that I need to settle in, get comfy and get out there (as well as in here) and LOVE. There is ALWAYS MORE LOVING TO DO AND BE AND GIVE AND RECEIVE and if that's my purpose, well, I am ON IT!

I used to think that I had to be aligned with organizations and work places that were "on Mission" for me... Helping the world, teaching, supporting, healing, myself and the world. The idea that MY MISSION, MY PURPOSE, is TO LOVE is so LIBERATING. Recently I have discovered that I have the ability and capacity to LOVE ANYWHERE ANYTIME ANYONE... no matter the business, the place, the people, whether I "agree" or not, whether I "like" or not, whether I am "resonant" or not... I can still LOVE. And I do, and have been... and I've realized that the one constant in my life has been the capacity and ability to LOVE.

Which Essences have you taken today? Which Essences do you want to support and raise your LOVE VIBRATION on Valentine's Day? What combinations of brilliant essence vibrations do you want to create and integrate into your life?

Let's get in there, and get out there, together, and LOVE! Join us on the Love Train! ALL ABOARD!!!

by David Jonas

I recently decided to go on a flower essence journey with 5 of the essences made by the wonderful Star, and I have called it A Journey to the Heart. Before I go into my experiences with the essences I chose, I would like to start by mentioning that, if you live near Santa Barbara (California), or if you are just passing through, I highly recommend visiting Star's pretty little cottage-office where you can sample all of the Star essences for free at her "Star Bar": it's amazing!

The essences I chose are: Emancipated Master, Doorway to The Heart, One Heart, Brave Heart and Radiant Sensuality. I was also sent a beautiful gift of the Body Spray, Love Lover Beloved, which I threw into the mix.

I started with Emancipated Master, because I felt that in order to really find my heart, the first thing I would need to do is let go of any addictions. Little did I know what was in store for me!! I thought that my main addiction was coffee; but the Emancipated Master drops, which are a combination of mostly Peruvian flowers, very gently made me aware that I had an addiction to the Internet! After taking them for less than 2 days, I both became aware of this addiction, and no longer had a compulsive desire to re-check my emails/baseball scores, etc. In fact, after just a few more days, I ceased my use of the Internet almost completely! I decided to give away my computer (which was getting old) and just go to a cafe twice a week. It was perfect. The Emancipated Master was, for me, really about freedom: the freedom to break-free from whatever is holding us back; or perhaps freedom from whatever "shadows" of which we are unaware.

Next up was the Doorway to The Heart.This is an intense and- some would say- difficult essence, which takes us deep inside our hearts. I felt that, before taking essences for relationships (such as the Love Lover Beloved spray, for example) it is important to go within.

I brought a bottle of the "Doorway" to my meditation group and we all chose to take a few drops before meditation. The effect was so profound that all 4 of us were drawn to lie down for the meditation - such was the power of the flower! It took us to a very quiet, still place; but it also helped to release any lingering sadness. Sometimes we delay going in to the heart because we fear processing heartfelt emotion: this essence goes straight to the heart of the matter! (In fact, we called the bottle Initiation of the Heartlight...).

Here is what I wrote in my journal about the Doorway to The Heart:

"Slowing down... going deep DEEP within... surrendering to the heart... knowing that coming from the heart is the only healthy way of negotiating with the outside world. Being in a quiet place where all wounds are healed by love. Letting go of the outside irritations as illusion... a Buddhic essence.... Like waves crashing on the shores of my heart. Raises our sensitivity to the love-vibration in music."

I suggest taking Doorway for at least a week.

Next up was One Heart. This lovely orchid opens our hearts to others, so that we feel connected to humanity and our soul-family. It helps us to realize that there is someone out there for us and it heals a sense of loneliness. It is a key essence for relationships - both intimate and friendships.

After taking One Heart for 4 or 5 days, I realized that I need to break through some old issues, so I started interspersing it with the Brave Heart essence. I felt that this essence helps us move forwards to the other side... go where we need to go and stand on our own two feet. Personally, I found it acting not so much on my heart, but on my solar plexus. It strengthens the will. Interestingly, during the week I took Brave Heart, I decided to move back to England!!

Next up was Radiant Sensuality. This is a fabulous combination essence which really helps open us up to new relationships. If you are feeling dis-connected from others, or unloved, or just that there is no-one out there for you, I can recommend Radiant Sensuality!

It's effects were immediate. I felt appreciated by others and open to intimacy in an exciting new way. It was like gentle waves along my body, especially in the tummy area, around the 2nd chakra. I noticed that I was attracting more women when I went out. (And I'm sure it works the other way around!) It opens us up to the delights and gentleness of a new relationship. Interestingly, I really noticed the Otter essence contained within it: perhaps this is why it is so delightful?

Around this time I had a dream in which the German film director Werner Herzog told me that I needed to take Divine Goddess essence to heal any lingering sadness. Luckily, I had a bottle in my cupboard...

Certainly the Radiant Sensuality is good to take when you are ready for a relationship - and to face whatever blocks you may have in that area. I am glad I took it after taking the One Heart !

After a few more days, I started the Love Lover Beloved Spray. Just the act of spraying it over my body after a shower really helped my sense of body appreciation. It has an earthy smell of patchouli and sandalwood. For me, it was really about loving my body and the way I look - and also appreciating the bodies of others. A perfect spray to take at the beginning of a new relationship... or when our sex-life needs some sparkle! The effects of the spray are more physical than the Radiant Sensuality bottle. It is a spray that you can take wherever you go, whenever you want to give yourself a dose of self-Love!

Love Lover Beloved certainly helped me acknowledge the importance of being in our bodies and of really appreciating the physical world. It was the icing on the cake.

David Jonas is a flower essence Practitioner living in England. He can be reached by email: davidjonas2@hotmail.com.

by Ronnie Williams

In the late 1970s when the emerging field of holistic medicine first exploded into my life (thanks to my Dad who gave me a copy of The Magic of Findhorn, by Paul Hawken), I began opening my mind to the vast mind/body/spirit arena.

I was comfortable with the notion that working with pressure on reflex points in my feet could have a beneficial effect on my body and might help a wide range of symptoms. On a weekend healing course at Runnings Park in West Malvern, Worcestershire, I met Christine Jones who had set up the Midland School of Reflextherapy. Trained as a physiotherapist she came from a medical background but through her own experiences had discovered the power of reflexology, and had widened her outlook to embrace the understanding of traditional Chinese medicine. Hearing her talking at dinner about how she would cup her hands around a patient’s ankles and, doing “nothing”, just allow the energy to flow through the body, I knew without doubt that I had found my teacher. I signed up with her for a practitioners course in 1984, gained my practitioner’s certificate, and became a member of the Association of Reflexologists in 1985. I’ve been in practice since then, adding flower essences, Reiki and EFT to my “bag” as the years have gone by. I’ve taught reflexology in adult and further education and it’s given me great pleasure to turn others on to the power of this popular complementary therapy.

The earliest documented records of what we now call reflexology were found in the Physician’s Tomb at Saqqara in Egypt where there are step pyramids older than those at Giza a short distance away. Wall paintings clearly show the feet and hands of Egyptians receiving some sort of treatment from dark-skinned Nubians. These depictions have been dated to around 2,500 B.C. From those times we can trace a continuing history of people in different continents- Africa, the Americas, China, Asia, Scandinavia and Northern Europe- understanding the benefits of applying what came to be known as reflex zone therapy to all areas of the feet.

It was Eunice Ingham, a remedial masseuse working with Dr. Joseph Shelby-Riley and his wife Elizabeth in their practice in America in the early 1900s, who came to be known as the Mother of Reflexology. She drew the earliest foot charts, devised a method of walking around the feet using thumbs and fingers to apply an alternating pressure technique, and went touring round USA to teach what she knew not only to Doctors and medical workers but also to people like you and me, eager to learn something natural that could be used at home to ease simple ailments and improve overall health. Through Eunice Ingham a “lineage” of teachers was established in the early 1970s, Christine Jones and the Midland School of Reflextherapy being one of these.

The theory of reflexology is really quite simple, especially if you have an understanding of yin and yang, energy flows and meridians. Imagine making yourself very small and placing yourself over your feet, the two big toes together representing your head. The instep of each foot, from heel to the base of the big toe, links with your spine. The map of the body is then laid out in similar very small areas in each foot - the liver on the right foot, the spleen on the left, with other digestive organs, small and large intestines, traversing both feet. The soles of the feet link with all the soft, internal organs, the fronts of the feet with the front of the body. The sides of the feet link with the limbs and joints- shoulders, knees, hips etc.

The key to a successful reflexology treatment is knowledge of the map of the feet, understanding how to apply the technique, and precision. The size of a reflex can vary from a tiny area, the size of a pin-head, to a larger area representing, say, the stomach, or liver. But to have any effect each reflex area needs to receive some pressure, or at least to be touched. Walking round each foot with the thumb or fingers, using a creepy-caterpillar movement, pressing and releasing, and observing the client’s reactions, may take some time. Wherever there is discomfort indicates imbalance in the related area of the body - not necessarily Disease- it could even be “echoes” of an illness or condition going back a number of years- and these areas need to be worked until the discomfort in the feet subsides. The feet will “talk”, and love to do so, once they realize the opportunity to communicate that is being presented. Change happens both during a treatment and afterwards: the most usual responses are relaxation, improved circulation, and de-toxification, benefiting a wide range of conditions. All age groups can be treated. There are some cautions/contra-indications to treatment - a qualified reflexologist will always explain these before giving a treatment.

So how might reflexology and flower essences work together in a treatment session?

Is it advisable, or even necessary, to combine the two? I have to confess I’m a bit of a purist, I’ve changed my treatment very little over 25 years and would say that less is definitely more when it comes to “extras” such as adding vibrational essences to a treatment. But the effects, which can be dramatic, can also be profound.

In 1998 I attended the first International Flower Essence Conference at Findhorn in Scotland, and went to a workshop combining Metamorphic Technique- therapy derived from reflexology in which the areas representing the spine are very gently stroked on the feet, hands and head- with vibrational essences. Drops of Delph Essence, a dolphin essence made by Andras Korte, an essence-maker from Brazil, were very gently stroked into the sides of my thumbs, from the heel of my hand up to the thumb-tip. Not only was it extraordinarily relaxing but that night I had a powerful lucid dream which I remember to this day, traveling inter-dimensionally through a doorway to who-knows-where. The next day I felt I’d undergone a huge shift, and it took me a while to get grounded again. I have to say that I have hesitated to try anything similar with my own clients, feeling that such an experience could overload someone unused to the energy shifts that might occur.

In astrology, the feet are seen as the realm of Pisces, a mutable water sign, sharing the connection with the water that we use to make vibrational essences. Working the feet is like working a pump, stirring up the mud at the bottom of a pond to clear the water and allow it to bubble freely again. Remember that we are more than 70% water! The realm of Pisces is also that of the subconscious mind, the repository of unprocessed feelings and emotions. In reflexology we talk about our feet being our UNDER-STANDING, and through our feet we connect with the Earth. We can absorb energy through the chakras in our feet - indeed, the therapeutic properties of crushed garlic, spread on brown-paper insoles and worn inside socks, will quickly be drawn into and through the body - the garlic will be out on the breath within about half an hour. Rubbing a well-known de-congestant preparation - essential oils in Vaseline - over your feet will have a similar effect.

So if you feel drawn to using vibrational essences on the feet or hands and have not done so before, I ask you to be sure you can explain what might happen to your “client” if they have a powerful response. The book Floral Acupuncture - Applying the Flower Essences of Dr. Bach to Acupuncture Sites by Deborah Craydon and Warren Bellows (The Crossing Press) is also very helpful. With this in mind here are some suggestions:

• Drops of appropriate essences can be chosen on the basis of the consultation with the client, and added to creams or oils, to be massaged into the feet or hands at the beginning or end of a treatment. A rescue/emergency formula would work well, or a customized formula.

• The spinal reflex, running along the instep of each foot from inner-heel to the base of the big toe, or from the heel of the hand along the edge of each thumb up to the thumb-tip, is a particularly receptive area - the cream or oil, or even liquid drops, can be lightly stroked along this area using a “feathering” technique.

• The solar-plexus reflex, located centrally under the ball of each foot, is another receptive area: pressure here can help regulate breathing, soothe anxious states, and improve sleep patterns. Using a rescue/emergency formula here can be very effective.

• Using drops of essences placed with a little water in a small bowl, cotton wool swabs or q-tips can be soaked with the liquid then held in place over particular reflex points - this would work well over the kidney or adrenal reflexes, for example, for stress relief, or held under the shoulder reflexes to relieve tension.

• Make up a spray with appropriate essences, misting lightly over the feet and leaving to dry naturally at the end of the treatment. Also mist the room before a treatment with your own formula to create a relaxing and peaceful environment.

• Apply some cream or oil infused with appropriate essences to the area at the back of each ankle, then “cup” your hands around each ankle and just allow energy to flow - do nothing, just allow. After a while you may begin to feel the gentle pulse of the cranio-sacral system - stay with it while the energy and essences do their work. This can be a time of profound relaxation and realisation for the client.

• Just invite the energy of an appropriate flower or tree to join with you and flow with the treatment.

To conclude

• Keep it simple!

• Be prepared for a response, be able to explain what you’re doing and why.

• Try these techniques on yourself or a good friend first, and use with awareness.

The Chippewa medicine man Sun Bear had a phrase: “Walk in Balance on the Earth Mother.” When we are in balance and harmony within ourselves we can literally tread light, peace and harmony into our beautiful Earth with each step.

Ronnie Williams, M.A.R., B.F.V.E.A., Reiki Master, A.A.M.E.T.