FLOWER ESSENCES, HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES,
AND CELL SALTS: NATURAL TONICS
FOR HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
©1999 by Gretchen Lawlor

IMPORTANT NOTE: This information is given for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prescribe actual medical conditions. Flower essences, homeopathic remedies, and cell salts should never be used as a substitute for competent medical attention when a disease condition is present, so be sure to consult a qualified health care practitioner with any persistent health concerns. The remedies described here are natural substances with a profound tonic effect--to prevent disease and maintain good health.

WHAT ARE THE FLOWER REMEDIES?

Explaining the flower essences--also known as flower remedies--can be a real challenge. We are well beyond the limits of modern scientific thinking--into the realm of vibrational medicine. Yet, your ability to describe what they are and how they work is a cornerstone to using them successfully. Clients' progress depends in some part on their confidence in the treatment. Additionally, their willingness to persevere in treatment may require having a simple understanding of the essences that they are able to share with significant others. Otherwise, their mate, family, best friend, or a skeptical mother-in-law can sabotage the work with critical comments or ridicule.

Many people have heard of the Bach remedies, as they are the best known. I often compare the remedies--also known as essences--to homeopathy, because many of my clients are acquainted with homeopathic remedies. Both are composed of common substances in a highly diluted form; both affect the subtle energetics of body mind and spirit.

Of course, each practitioner has a different perspective on the essences and thus a different way of explaining them. Different definitions appeal to different people. Those who have had experience with meditation or alternative medicine are often more receptive to the spiritual dimensions of the remedies. Very conservative people or those with no exposure to the field may need you to communicate in a more scientific mode and in greater depth.

A survey of writers in the field revealed some helpful approaches to explaining the remedies. In her book, Energy Medicine, Sabina Pettitt says,

"It is the energetic imprint of the life force of a particular plant...An essence may be primarily physical, emotional, or spiritual. When it enters the body (usually as drops under the tongue), it plays a pure harmonious frequency. The aspect which is out of harmony is drawn to this healthy frequency like a magnet and begins to vibrate in harmony with it. At one level, the role of the essences is to introduce a pattern of harmony into a system where there is discord. At another level, essences can provide a frequency that is missing." (pp.3-4)

For hard-core skeptics, I like to refer to Richard Gerber's Vibrational Medicine or even to loan them a copy of the book. He is a medical doctor who has done much to establish the credibility of homeopathy, acupuncture and other forms of vibrational medicine. He says, "Vibrational medicines are usually essences or tinctures which are charged with a particular frequency of subtle energies."

More accessible to the general reader is Donna Cunningham's Flower Remedies Handbook. She says, "For the totally uninitiated, you might say that the remedies are made from flowers and other plants, prepared in a very diluted form, and that they help people mobilize to change destructive patterns in their lives." (p.37)

WHAT IS HOMEOPATHY?

Homeopathy is a system of medicine developed over 200 years ago, and now used in every country. You might ask "Why haven't I heard about it before?" Widely practiced throughout much of the world, homeopathy is becoming increasingly popular in the United States. It has proved itself in many settings--from pregnancy, where it is one of the only safe forms of medicine, to epidemics and viral conditions, where antibiotics and the modern "arsenal" of western medicine have little influence.

Homeopathic remedies are made from minute amounts of minerals which are highly diluted and processed in such a way that they become highly energized. They activate the body's own natural healing force. They are compatible with most conventional medications and have no side effects.

Homeopaths believe that the natural state of a human being is one of health and that human beings, like plants and animals, possess the ability to heal themselves. The body's efforts in this respect--the defensive forces the body uses--are what we call symptoms. To effect a cure we should not suppress the symptoms of a disease: we should reinforce them. Doing so stimulates the body's own natural healing process. It helps the body to heal itself.

The fundamental law upon which homeopathy is based is the "law of similars." It states that a substance which in large doses given to a healthy person will produce specific symptoms, but when given in a minute amount will stimulate the body's own natural healing process to relieve these same symptoms. One example is Ipecac. Given in large doses it produces vomiting; given in minute, homeopathic doses it cures vomiting.

HOW TO TAKE HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES: Shake four tablets or pellets into the cap of the bottle and tip directly into the mouth--do not touch the tablets with hands. Take the remedies at least 20 minutes away from food, drink, tobacco or toothpaste. Tablets are sucked slowly, or can be dissolved in water and sipped.

For external use, dilute one capful in 1/4 cup water (preferably boiled and cooled), use to clean wounds, soak dressings. Store away from heat, light and strong smelling preparations, because homeopathic remedies can be nullified by camphor, menthol, or peppermint. Never return to the bottle any tablets which have been handled, as they can contaminate the remaining stock.

The standard dose is four tablets every two to four hours, but decrease frequency with improvement. In severe discomfort, give a dose every 20 minutes, then decrease with improvement. As the patient improves, the doses get further and further apart. When improvement is well established, discontinue the remedy. If symptoms persist for more than 3 days or worsen, consult your physician.

HOW TO TAKE CELL SALTS: The tablets come in several sizes--depending upon the source. The number of pellets also varies--generally two to four pellets per dose. They dissolve almost immediately in the salivary juices of the mouth. They are best taken without water, and need to be taken at least 10 minutes away from any other food, because of their high purity and potency.

For babies, very small, soft pellets can be obtained. One pellet tucked gently into the inside cheek will dissolve before it could possibly cause choking. Otherwise it can be dissolved in a small amount of water and given by spoon.

The optimum frequency for a chronic or long-standing condition would be to take one dose four times a day. In our busy world this is often impossible, so I suggest clients take them twice a day--morning and evening, at least ten minutes away from food or toothpaste. Toothpaste has been known to antidote homeopathic medicines in some people. If you feel you are not benefiting from your regime of cell salts, consider using baking soda or salt as a toothpaste for a few weeks, while you are using the cell salts.For an acute condition, repeat the dose every two hours for two to three days, and then reduce the frequency to four times a day to support the resolution of the problem. In acute conditions, people are more likely to find the time to take their tablets with greater frequency, at least for a while.

The response to the cell salt tonic can be nearly immediate, or it may take weeks to see a significant change. If you are dealing with a condition that has taken a long time to develop, it will take time to return the body to its healthy state. Unlike other homeopathic remedies, the cell salts can be taken for weeks or months at a time, in a manner similar to a vitamin.

While taking only one of the major homeopathic remedies (potencies of 30C or more) at a time is the wise practice, it is perfectly acceptable to take more than one cell salt at a time. Some practitioners will recommend the use of both the cell salt of the sun and of the sign opposite to strengthen a fragile constitution. In such a situation, you would take standard dose of each cell salt, together. You may instead choose to alternate--first one and then the other during the day.

TO CONTACT GRETCHEN: Gretchen Lawlor, an astrologer and naturopath of many years experience, can be reached at P.O. Box 753, Langley, WA 98260. For consultations, call her at (360)221-4341 or e-mail to light@whidbey.com.

DESIGN CREDITS: The question mark and the book come from Animation Factory. The animated dropper comes from 2Cool Animations. The animated magnolia comes from Dream Artists. The baby comes from AMAZING WORLD OF ANIMATION. The runner comes from Clip Art Connection. The cherry blossoms come from Art Mix Flower Web. For other sources, see Lost Art.

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