Hornbeam and Chestnut Bud

"The flower is made of non-flower elements.  When you look at the flower you see non-flower elements like sunlight, rain, earth – all the elements have come together to help the flower to manifest.  If we were to remove any of these non-flower elements there would no longer be a flower.”  ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

The same is true of all life forms, including humans, because everything is composed of atoms that are just whirlpools of energy.  Thus we’re affected not only by the sun and the rain, but all the vibrations around us, physical, emotional, psychological, and mental.   Being bombarded day and night by these energy streams, it’s unlikely that we will suffer from just one isolated emotion that has no relation to all the rest.  With the flower remedies this can often mean several essences are required.

Two essences I should have been taking for the past week are Hornbeam and Chestnut Bud.  They might seem unrelated to each other, but I’d been putting off a small chore and when I eventually got it done, I realised that “I never learn!”  The number of times I’ve procrastinated over something (maybe sometimes through anxiety or lack of confidence – yes, Mimulus and Larch required) only to find once it’s over that it was never as difficult or time-consuming (Impatiens) as I thought it would be.  Why don’t I remember this, the next time I’m putting off a simple job?   Answer – because I’ve forgotten to take Chestnut Bud!

If one part of us is out of balance, it’s almost inevitable that other elements will be out of sync as well.  After all, that’s how ill-health arises, something apparently simple occurs, for example  we become dehydrated; then the brain is impacted, so its routines of  producing certain hormones are affected, and the whole ‘internet’ of the body starts to suffer.

Of course, the dehydration may have occurred because we’re in a state of stress and drinking too much caffeine and not enough water.  Which reminds us that all energies are interdependent.   All things affect all other things.  All life is interconnected.

Fuchsia by Ally Matson

Another of my books, Turning to the Light

Five years ago this month - during the worst stages of Covid worldwide - I launched a book, Turning to the Light.

Calling on mythology and literature, folklore and philosophy, this commentary shows how the skilful use of Dr Bach’s flower remedies can increase our self-knowledge and wisdom, helping us to develop compassion and understanding of others. 

“This will be a boon to the serious self-helper who cannot see a practitioner 
for one reason or another.” Mike Cassidy

"This is lovely - with some wonderful similes, metaphors and 
stories." Tessa Jordan, BFRP

"Your descriptions offer a refreshing perspective to the remedies, explaining 

them in such a way that is both informative and entertaining - all of which 

gives the reader an opportunity to really think and understand." 

Judy Howard, The Bach Centre

64 pages, it explores all 38 remedies in alphabetical order.

Available from bachcentre.com/shop/

Or direct from me - my email is under my Profile, to the right of this screen. It costs £8.95 including postage to UK addresses.  For destinations outside the UK, please enquire.

If you prefer a downloadable pdf, click on my website (under my Profile) and the link will be listed there.

For my latest book, Space to Reflect, published July 2025, see my blog here

For my booklet, A-Z of Emotional Resilience, click here .