There are always flowers…

… for those who want to see them’, as the great artist Matisse said.  He was the creator of fabulous flowers.

But there are other flowers around us: those in people’s hearts.  If we don’t see them, this is not because they are not there, but we simply have to look harder.  A young woman once sought guidance from a wise man.  She just couldn’t get on with someone in her workplace – really disliked her.  He said that is fine, we are human, you can’t like everyone.  Then he took her outside to where the Japanese Cherry Blossoms were in full bloom.  They are so beautiful, she remarked. Yes, he replied they are, but if you look at the trunks they are gnarled and twisted.  You can choose to be a person who recognises the unattractive aspects or the beauty in another person.

Sometimes flowers are well hidden and we have to really look to find them, but they are there.

Get four pairs of hands….

Ever felt you needed two pairs of hands or four ?!  This has just popped into my Inbox from one of our customers: ” I often feel I could do with being an octopus – having 8 arms to juggle everything that I need to during the course of the week.  I was feeling over-whelmed with the amount of things I had to do and that I would never be able to cope with it all. Taking Octopus essence gave me the 8 arms to juggle things, I also felt the calmness of the deep ocean and the sound of the sea being very soothing as well. A great essence for busy Mums and Dads with young children!”

These animal essences are made in a ceremonial process in a wilderness area of the Blue Ridge mountains in Virginia by meditating and attuning to the archetypal healing quality of the animal. No animals are harmed or touched in the making of the essences and these essences may be used in the same way as flower remedies.

Do you want to Shine ?

I had a lovely experience recently with my daughter, who is clearly a performer at heart and knows some snazzy dance moves for a 7 year old. She was asked to dance in the school show and was absolutely terrified: she really wanted to do it, but was really upset by the ‘butterflies dancing in her tummy’. She was having such an internal struggle: she loves to dance, but was so paralysed by the fear of getting on stage that she was stuck – stage-stuck. So I grabbed a bottle of Shine which she misted all over herself, especially on her tummy and the next thing we knew, she was up on the stage, plaits flying, strutting her stuff. She came off and buried her face in my tummy and was so happy… not just to have got over her stage-fright, but to have had such a fun time.   She did a second performance the next day and even felt confident enough to take a bow.  She is now stage-struck !

Creating the life we desire….

….looks all the more possible after our workshop with Steve Johnson of Alaskan Essences last weekend. He explained that the field of energy around us (vortex) contains everything we’ve ever asked for. We just need to manifest it in the physical realm. Easy peasy. Except that we resist this integration because of blockages we have taken on during our lives (belief systems, trauma, pain, bad experiences). Our thoughts are fast so they may not be resistant, but emotions may well be. Flower essences are attracted to pockets of resistance and can disperse them and re-balance the emotions.

Gratitude, focus and discipline lead to alignment which allows our desires to manifest. We need to focus on what we want as if we already have it – to really feel what it will be like. We have to trust that it is there and then we will start to sense it. Each step we take from Wanting, to Hoping, to Planning, to Believing, to Knowing, increases our vibration and brings it closer to manifestation.

The Alaskan flowers, gems and environmental essences are particularly helpful in guiding us through all the stages of manifesting our desires and Steve highlighted particular Alaskan essence combinations in a vibrant slide presentation, alongside this we could take the essences we were drawn to.

I certainly found this a really inspiring workshop and have already started on my new approach to making my dreams come true.

If you are interested in more information from this workshop, please email us at: belinda@universalessences.com – that will encourage me to finish typing up my notes !

Sound Baths

Sound Healing with Crystal Bowls

This November brings round once again our regular Crystal Bowls day with Anne Fleming. Belinda and I particularly look forward to this workshop because we get to play. Imagine a shower of pure sound energy that washes away toxins, aches and blockages from the energy body and leaves you in a place of gentle peace and calm – that is a sound bath with crystal bowls; it is blissful.

Anne has 20-30 bowls of various sizes made of several different metals including the 5-metal Tibetan sounding bowls and chimes. She has the huge quartz crystal bowls finely tuned to the vibration of the human chakras plus some special bowls, one of ‘other-worldly’ moldavite and mother of pearl.  Anne ‘plays’ the bowls in sessions lasting about 20 minutes and each workshop will include three – four sessions. The sound is primal and yet highly spiritual and permeates the whole body. We struggle to receive the healing whilst sitting on a chair as the desire is to surrender completely into the sound, so most people lie down. At the end of this workshop we feel we’ve had a glimpse into a different dimension; one that we’re always very keen to return to next time!

After one of our crystal bowl workshops one attendee said, “I felt completely transported. It is the first time I have been physically moved by sound. Thank you”.  Another said, “I could feel the sound resonating through my cells – it was wonderful!”

If you would like to come along to this workshop, just click this link: Crystal Bowl Healing

Which flower essences would help your Pets

Animal Care is the perfect remedy for animals and pets who are spooked, upset, ill at ease or aggressive – whether it be through abuse or abandonment. If your pet is left alone in the house all day or is cut off from contact with nature, this essence will help restore them and it comes in drops which can be popped in their food or water. Also there is a lovely Animal Care Spray which can be used to mist your animal’s bed, cage or sprayed on your hand before you stroke them. Steve Johnson who makes this remedy has had some remarkable successes with Animal Care through his links with Animal Rescue Centres around the world. These are two of the flowers used in the Animal Care – click on the links below for a full list of the flowers and gems: Chiming Bells, the purple flower, is for sadness and despondency. It helps to lift the heart, giving hope, courage and trust. The white Cotton Grass flower works on renewal and healing from a trauma. Flower and gem essences work particularly quickly with animals. Click here if you would like to try the Animal Care drops or Animal Care Spray. Happy animals mean happy homes.

Flower Essences: Where to Start

Always start with yourself and that means Self-Heal. How are you feeling ? Want to feel better ? Self-Heal does exactly what it says on the bottle: it encourages the Self to heal from within and take responsibility for our own healing journey. We could tell you loads of wonderful things about Self-Heal, but your experiences are much more telling, so….

“The greatest challenge in my practice is to get clients to actually believe in their ability to be well. The Self-Heal essence is the most basic in your Repertory and the one which I use for nearly every client.” Dr. Rowena Toomey, Hawaii

“We use your Self-Heal essence quite frequently in our animal shelter. For example, we recently helped a litter of abandoned kittens to recuperate. The essence seems to instill vitality, or the will to live.”  A.B., Australia

“I had a challenging medical condition which required my utmost spiritual forces. Almost from the moment I took the Self-Heal essence, I seemed to be able to hear my own voice speaking amidst those of doctors and worried friends and family. I had a renewed ability to make personal choices and changes that ultimately led to my recuperation.” C.G., Roseville, California

The lovely company who makes this essence has also put it into a delicious organic cream (Self-Heal Crème) which is light enough to be used as a daily moisturiser and a much nicer price than all those ‘beauty’ creams.  Click here if you’d like some more information on: Self-Heal

Which flower essences would help with Jet Lag ?

The first essence which springs to mind is Travel Ease. You get jet lag because you are squeezed into cramped conditions (except those lucky souls who travel first class – but even they get jet lag), surrounded by strangers and their germs, bombarded by radiation from the plane and, most importantly, you become disconnected from the earth, especially when moving through different time zones.  Travel Ease helps you to arrive at your destination, energetically as well as physically.  Just put a few drops in a glass of water – the bottles are very small, so will go on a plane.  It is best to start taking it a couple of days before (5 days for long haul), during and then for a few days after your flight.  The other suggestion is Travel Moisturiser.  This is a flower essence cream and I am reliably informed by an Aussie that if you put it on your feet, it stops them swelling up – and none of us like puffy feet !  For more details or to buy these essences click on Travel Ease or Travel Moisturiser.