By Patricia Kaminski ©1998
Note: The following is an excerpt from Patricia's
Flowers that Heal,
New Leaf: Dublin, 1998, p.124-7, and is used with her permission.
Children have a special need for the mothering forces of nature that are found in the flowers.
We can think of them as a kind of "milk" for a child's soul. In our modern, technological
culture, many children receive a shock as they enter
an earthly environment where many qualities of nature are distorted or disturbed.
The mother language of the flowers allows them to develop the full expressiveness
of their souls and helps calm the agitation and over-stimulation of fast-paced society.
Parents who have used the flower essences extensively for their children report that they notice a difference between these children and others they may have raised before discovering flower essences. They have a greater range of emotional expressiveness, are more curious, and seem to have more courage for and interest in the world.
Children will not be able to conceptualize or express their need for essences; instead we need to listen to the emotional clues they give us. Often children will tell us what is happening in their souls through artistic expressions. For instance, a child who needed Buttercup for low self-esteem drew a picture of herself and the rest of her family members in which she was very insignificant and lost in the picture.
We need to see past the more obvious presenting behaviors to what is
really troubling a child. For example, a four-year-old boy reverted
from his toilet training not long after his younger brother was born.
When he saw his mother holding and cuddling her new son, he felt there wasn't enough love for him and subconsciously wanted to be like a little child too. The essences of Holly and Mariposa Lily helped him to accept his new brother and feel love from his parents. In just two weeks, his toilet habits were back to normal functioning.
Very often children will somatise their feelings into physical ailments. A young girl who grieved for the sudden death of her young friend developed severe stomach problems, which were not alleviated until Bleeding Heart was given. The Bleeding Heart helped this girl to express the sorrow and sense of loss she felt for her playmate.
Creating a Context for the Essences
Be careful not to administer the essences in a hurried or mechanical fashion. It is better to give the essences less frequently, but more soulfully. Making them part of a bedtime ritual is very beneficial. You can even choose bedtime songs or stories that emphasize the basic themes the flowers are also addressing... such as sadness or fear.
Many parents have created little prayers or affirmations for use in conjunction with the essences. For example, one mother wrote the following affirmation for Buttercup, which she recited each night with her six-year-old daughter as she applied the Buttercup topically in a cream base on her heart. (She also gave the essence in liquid form in the morning.)
I am special.
God is seeing me.
God's love is shining out of me.
Many children like the idea of taking "flower drops" or "flower fairy drops".
We can give them the general idea that the flowers are helping them, without
emphasizing psychological complexities that create too much intellectual focus
for young children. Most children like to take the essences orally or sip them
in a glass of water. Children also respond very favorably to topical applications
of the essences. Children often don't need to take the essences more than twice a day.
A month is still a generally good cycle for essence use, but sometimes children
have completed their need for the essences sooner.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: This has been an excerpt from Particia Kaminski's Flowers that Heal,
New Leaf: Dublin, 1998, p.124-7, and is used with her permission.
Patricia founded The Flower Essence Society
along with her husband Richard Katz in 1980. Through the Society they organize and inspire many educational,
research, and publishing efforts throughout the world
Richard and Patricia are authors
of numerous articles and books about flower essences, including the best-selling Flower
Essence Repertory, now in searchable form online at their site for members. They also manage Flower Essence Services,
which produces flower essences and herbal products at Terra Flora,
their 17-acre biodynamic/organic garden and wildlife sanctuary in the northern
Sierra Nevada foothills of Nevada City, California.
ART CREDITS: Our featured artist for this issue, Lesa Motz created the yellow-orange tiles.
Children's photographs from Photos.com and from a
clip art disk by MicroGrafx.
The World Wide Essence Society does not mean to imply any recommendation of nor give certification to any individuals or companies above. This article is provided purely for informational purposes. We ask consumers to make their own determination as to quality of the services and products offered above. This article is not meant to be advice, and the information is not meant to replace medical or psychological treatment.
