Jacky Frampton

My own journey with Flower Essences started in the 1980s when I was trying to find solutions to the side effects of long-term steroid use, including lowered immunity, hormonal imbalance and digestive issues. The essence of flowers has been used for healing by indigenous peoples for millennia. Thousands of years ago for examples the Aborigines sat among the plants in the wild inhaling the intoxicating scents while being dazzled by the beauty and intricacy of the flowers. Perhaps they had more time than us. Moving into the twentieth century Dr Richard Bach was the first to bottle flower essences with his well-known series of 38 remedies that he created for easy-use. His mission was to find medicine that was natural, simple, affordable to all and without harmful effects. After the long-term use of steroids, which reduce ones natural immunity, I struggled to find medicine that worked because it had little to work with, despite trying both conventional and alternative. It was only when I tried the flower essences that I noticed positive responses. Even then the ones that I found worked the best were those made from the flowers of the Australian bush. Owing to the hot sun in this part of the world these essences are known to be particularly powerful, as amply illustrated by their vibrant colours and often flamboyant appearance. However, since the flower is the highest, that is most spiritual, part of the plant, their effect may be powerful but it is always gentle and subtly profound.

I was so impressed with these essences that I went on to take the practitioners? course. Prior to this I also completed a course in Emotional Therapy because I had come to see that illness often has its origin in the mind and emotions. Again, the flower essences impressed me in this context because they are a form of holistic energy medicine that works on the whole person, body, mind and emotions. When I've worked with both therapies simultaneously, I've tended to find that the essences produced the most positive results. As no physical part of the plant is present there are no side effects and the remedies can safely be used with other medicines because they don't compromise or disrupt them. Indeed, it's more likely to be the other way around and they should ideally be taken separately. It should be noted however that a small amount of alcohol is included in the preparation as a preservative.

I take my lead from the client, responding to their need at the time. This is crucial because illness isn't static, it can change as time goes on and the treatment may need to be adjusted to reflect the change happening. In other words, recovery can occur in stages and for this reason I don't charge separately for the essences, they are included in the consultation fee. Usually, the drops are taken under the tongue but they can also be added to bath water if someone is concerned about the alcohol. The dose is very low and their action is that of water on a stone ie. gentle but persistent. For a long time, it wasn't understood why they worked at all, until a scientist discovered that water has a memory.