Create a Vibrational Remedy for Grief
Do you mourn the loss of a loved one? Perhaps you've lost a child, or mate, or parent, or your 'best friend' of the human or animal variety. Grief can strike deep and hard.
I have found a rather unconventional helper to ease the way during a sad time. I first learned about floral essences in the eighties while taking herbal classes in Mendocino, California. To me, the idea of floating a handful of flowers in a big bowl of water and then ingesting drops of the diluted and preserved fluids to ease worries, emotional upset, fear, or grief seemed a bit suspect. But aha, taking the drops was accompanied by reciting affirmations, so perhaps a placebo effect was taking place.
And then, I met Steve Johnson and Jane Bell, founders of the Alaskan Flower Essence Project, and discovered their range of floral, gemstone, and environmental essences.
It made sense to me that a strong tea of chamomile flowers in water could yield a water-based remedy with calming properties. But healing effects from a quartz crystal immersed in water? Or a bowl of water infused under northern lights? Or a highly diluted floral solution?
My doubts dissolved after witnessing how drops of essence affected my dog. Max was a ten-year-old rescue Doberman who'd been rehomed because he was 'too friendly.' The owners wanted a watchdog, and Max was a 'wag' dog who readily welcomed visitors. When Steve Johnson visited me at my cottage on Blueberry Court in Homer, Alaska, I asked Steve if he would do a flower essence remedy for Max. Steve was puzzled. "Why?" Steve commented on Max's extreme friendliness. "I'd rather not say," I told him. "But will you do a reading for Max?"
Doing a reading can involve questions to help pinpoint the most effective remedy for a situation. But I was playing my cards close to my chest. I knew that Steve could also meditate and 'tune in' to the underlying issue. I wanted to see what surfaced from Steve's attunement with Max. Steve inhaled deeply to quiet his mind, one hand resting on Max's back. I sipped my tea and observed the process. Expressions drifted like clouds across Steve's face, and then ah, a look of recognition. "Max feels it is his job to protect his home from other dog intruders. His link with you goes back to prior lives. Wolves sometimes attacked sheep on your farm. Max also has issues socializing with peers. In that same lifetime, as Max aged, his role was displaced by a younger farm dog."
All sounded pretty 'woo woo' to me—dogs with past lives. But what was undeniably true is that Max's issue was dogs. Dogs, big or small, that came near us triggered an attack. Max furiously bowled the visitor over. Sometimes the visitor would fight back. It was embarrassing and could be expensive. The reasoning part of my brain thought it absurd that some drops of flower or rock-infused water could change Max's decade-old pattern. But what harm could it do to try?
I've no recall today of the exact combination of remedies chosen. Steve blended a few drops of several essences into a dropper bottle. Salt (instead of the usual brandy) was added as a preservative to keep the water from becoming an algal pond. Steve instructed me to add drops of the liquid into Max's water bowl and onto his food daily. If I bathed him, I was to add the remedy into the bath fluid.
The test came a fortnight later. A male dog (the worst of all in Max's mind) accompanied his owner to the cabin we called 'Gardensong.' Max, as usual, greeted the owner with vigorous wiggling of tail and body. What astounded me was Max's response to the mongrel. Max crouched, inviting the dog to play, and the two bounced away wagging, lips relaxed in what I dubbed Max's smile. Really?! At first, I suspected it a fluke, too good to be true. But the flower remedy proved to be a lasting solution to Max's lifelong dog-based aggression.
Even stranger was the story Steve recounted to me concerning a couple with an adopted infant rescued from a garbage container in a third-world country. Ever since the adoption, the parents had not had an uninterrupted night sleep. Whether a light was left on or not, as soon as dusk descended, the baby wailed. Doctor checkups revealed nothing wrong. Ten exhausting months later, the family was desperate. Someone recommended an Alaskan Flower Essence consultation. Like me, the parents thought the whole concept was gibberish, but some water drops certainly couldn't hurt. They were ready to try anything. Steve meditated. He rested his hand gently on the baby. He revealed the child's profound fear of the dark and of abandonment. Steve formulated a remedy of flower, gem, and environmental essences. He instructed: rub drops of the solution on the baby's skin before bed. Add drops to her bathwater. Put a few drops under her tongue three times daily. To the parent's delight and amazement, the infant began sleeping soundly at night.
Though not all remedies yield such a dramatic effect, in my experience, they can ease anxiety, stress, and grief. Rescue Remedy is one five-flower remedy commonly sold in pharmacies worldwide. This preparation is one of the Bach Flower Remedies and one I keep in my first aid kit. Rescue Remedy and the Alaska Flower equivalent Soul Support are the first remedies I turn to after accidents or trauma. I've used these with people, animals, and even with birds that smack into a window or are injured by a cat.
I seen songbirds that I was sure were 'goners' be restored to life by a few drops of rescue remedy.
Success using vibrational remedies with people and pets led me to create essences myself, both for personal use and gratis, for the Alaska Flower Essence Project. I became a close personal friend with Jane Bell, creator of the Alaskan product line of gem essences. While living at Rocky River in Alaska, surrounded by 25,000 acres of wilderness, I attuned with flowers. I created both flower and environmental remedies for inclusion in their kits. The dramatic story of creating Tidal Forces is detailed in Steve's classic book, The Essence of Healing.
Remedies can assist the relief of grief from the passing of a dear friend or pet. When Ed Schofield, and my close friend Marsha Million, passed, waves of grief drove me to my knees. I had vials of their ashes inert on my shelf. I wondered what would happen if I created a vibrational remedy to honor them? The perfect locale, I decided, was a wilderness setting. Both had been highly independent characters. Ed, who'd grown up near Walden Pond, was a Thoreau-like Yankee. And Marsha was a Chicago-raised woman who'd escaped the rat race and became a commercial fisherwoman, a self-taught custom bootmaker, and a self-taught home builder. I missed both profoundly, and rescue remedy was insufficient for the loss.
So, I joined friends Ellen and Wendy on a flight into the Talkeetna Mountains for eight days of camping amidst migrating caribou. The Talkeetnas were an otherworldly setting. No roads. No traffic. Just hundreds of miles of 'no-thing' around us but pure nature. Absolute silence was disturbed once when two friends flew in by bush plane to join our expedition. What a setting for creating the remedy.
I poured wild snowmelt water in glass bowls that I'd flown in specifically for this purpose. I steeped one tablespoon of Ed's and Marsha's ashes in separate containers. Unique rock mounds served as altars. I placed bald eagle feathers collected from the tundra on the hillocks, together with fossils, tundra-found caribou bones, and other artifacts. I danced, drummed, prayed, meditated by the water bowls daily. Before leaving, the remedies were strained, put into individual glass containers, and filled with 40% brandy as a preservative. I'd intuited these remedies would not be taken internally but would be 'spritzed' into the air whenever I needed comfort.
And now, my good friend Susan tells me of the deep and ongoing grief she and her husband are experiencing. Their beloved Great Bernese Mountain Dog, Piper, passed away at Christmas. I know how a pet who has lived with you in-house 24-7, brightening each day with a wagging tail and comic relief, can leave a hole that feels like the Grand Canyon. Tsunami-style waves can set you awash at any moment. Piper had been buried, Susan tells me, so there are no ashes for creating a remedy. But ah, there are Piper photos aplenty, as well as Piper's collection of toys. Create a raised place on which to place the image and mementos of the loved one.
"Gather Piper's toys and any other mementos around her photo. Light a candle. Share Piper stories with Allan. Allow yourselves to laugh and cry. Speak to Piper, encouraging her to move freely to the light. Let her know that it's ok if you cry now and then. You'll be ok, and she is free to move on. If aligned with your belief system and wishes, invite Piper to return in the body of a new pup or send you the perfect dog for this next stage of your life.
When your ceremony is complete, extinguish the candle. Place the remedy in two spray bottles with a teaspoon of salt crystals in each. Shake well. Hold the remedies and be still for ten minutes. Write down any insights you receive. These may come as pictures, words, a song title, a feeling, a phrase. Put drops of the remedy on your wrist 2-3 times a day. Spritz your home, car, Piper's former sleeping place. Since this remedy does not include 'ashes,' feel free to take internally as well, adding a few drops to your drinking water bottle or cup of tea."
Susan kindly shared her process and results. She and Allan gathered photos, flowers, Piper's show items, special toys, favorite plants from walking places (including rosemary for remembrance), and tasty foods and treats.
With lights off and candles on, they spent a couple of hours sharing Piper tales. Tears alternated with laughter as memories danced. As they held the essences, "Allan felt gold lights from the candle. He felt Piper sitting by his chair (her favorite place to roll on her back for tummy rubs). I got a clear image of us together amidst bush, trees, and stream and felt arms around my shoulder. I was almost immediately able to breathe freer than I had for months – like my heart/chest suddenly unblocked. While gazing at her photo, I felt Piper run across the room to me and leap up; she lay on me as she did as a baby." We felt immersed in feelings of peace and joy. The process with the essence left Susan and Allan "feeling a greater sense of peace and connection than in the last six months." They now felt Piper was ok and that they would be too.
If you are experiencing grief, perhaps a floral, gem, or environmental essence might also help you bring peace to your suffering soul. Essence consultations are available via the web. Or check your local area for an in-person consult.
Flower Essence Resources:
https://janebellessences.com https://alaskanessences.com
http://www.bachflower.com/original-bach-flower-remedies
https://simplygreathealth.co.nz/bush-flower-remedies
http://www.firstlightfloweressences.co.nz https://ausflowers.com.au
Alternately, use this post as an impetus for creating your personal essence. I look forward to sharing your results. I now have my own Kai essence that continues to remind me of his joyous, loyal, loving spirit.