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 ©2003 by Donna Cunningham, MSWOne of the ways I came to know the essences in my collection in the early days was to meditate on one each night. I would put a dropperful of an essence into a glass of water, stir thoroughly, and sip it slowly while noting the thoughts or impressions that came into my mind. All these years later, the experience of meditating on Sunflower essence is still quite vivid. It brought a gentle, mellow sense of self-love and a very clear message from my friends in spirit. The message was, "The sunflower is the biggest and the showiest flower in the garden. AND the only thing that really matters about it are its seeds." At first I thought these invisible allies of mine were speaking in symbols, as they so often and so eloquently do. "But of course," I beamed, "they mean that the show we put on isn't what establishes our worth, it's what we nurture and bring into being through our efforts." 
My later research on the sunflower plant showed that the seeds are, in fact, quite
valuable. They are high in nutritional content, especially protein
and minerals. Not only do birds, animals, and people eat them,
The tribes of North and South America that first cultivated them found many uses for other parts of the plant, too. They brewed a kind of coffee from the hulls and used the stalks to make cloth and a substitute for tobacco. These sun worshippers loved the plant so much that they made golden images of its flowers, but relied on the seeds and other more humble parts of the plant to serve many practical needs. That perspective on the sunflower plant, to me, sums up the core lesson of this commonly-needed essence -- how to maintain a balance between self-love and humility. The essence seems to help bring about a mature self-worth, in which we appreciate our own gifts and contributions while giving equal recognition to the gifts and contributions of others around us. We come to feel good about ourselves without conceit or an excessive need for attention, and we can also accept our flaws without shame. That is, we get to that well-balanced state after we have taken Sunflower for a while! From observing myself and the friends and clients I eagerly suggested Sunflower to, the first stage in the process is not always so smooth and gentle, although it can be a useful corrective. Many of us who take Sunflower seem to go through a phase of being really indignant with people in our daily lives whom we feel put us down. Touchy, touchy, touchy! 
Ultimately, I came to see that 1) I was overreacting all out of proportion to what the people really said, and 2) those around me were basing their treatment of me on the low opinion of myself that I projected so strongly. By and large, from the teen years onward, we teach people how to treat us. If you don't think much of yourself, people read that and take it as an accurate estimate of your worth, but if you are confident and believe that you belong, they accept that as well. As your self-esteem improves, so, usually, does the response you get from others. The teen years are the stage when our identity is solidified. Thus, Sunflower is helpful to teens and pre-teens during that painful stage of shyness and of finding fault with everything about themselves. My first year of junior high school, I existed in such a miserable blur of self-consciousness that I could scarcely be present. My frame was larger than most of my classmates, I was frightfully gawky, I was an early bloomer and was more developed than the other girls. Thinking about sunflowers before writing this, I recalled being virtually addicted to sunflower seeds at that age. I even ate them surreptitiously in class all day and was more than once -- to my utter humiliation -- called down to the principal's office for absent-mindedly leaving the shells behind. 
Reflecting on that time, I now suspect that I craved sunflower seeds because something in my being was intuitively seeking the confidence that Sunflower essence can impart. The flowers, foods, or gemstones we are drawn to are often clues to essences we need. What a difference it would have made if I had taken Sunflower at that age! I would have faced my adolescent and young adult years with much more self-worth. Everything from friendships to dating to proving myself in a career would have been less of a struggle. If a teenager in your life is suffering from a painful lack of self-confidence, do offer them Sunflower essence! Editors' Note: See an article on introducing essences to teens here. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Donna Cunningham, MSW, is one of the editors of Vibration and has many years of experience in both flower remedies and astrology. For links to more of her articles, visit her Frequent Contributor's Page.ART CREDITS: Art Today.
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but oil can be pressed from them for cooking and margarine, flour can be ground from them, and soap can be made from them.