A trip to India
by Bronwyn Carson
All packed with passport, travellers’ cheques, tickets and visas I had one final task to do: pre-select any possible remedies I might require for my two week visit to see my daughter and son-in-law in India. This was proving to be a difficult task. I had no idea what was in store for me and, as I was travelling light (I would be back-packing with my daughter in Rajastan) I knew I would be unable to take my complete set.
I took two drops of Scleranthus (good for travel sickness, too) and made my selection of just three remedies: Walnut for protection against feelings of vulnerability within the changing atmospheres of this new environment; Honeysuckle if I felt home-sick and missed my husband and son back in England and, of course, the crisis formula for any emergencies and associated stress.
I have to say I used all three at various stages of this wonderful experience. Nevertheless I need not have bothered taking them with me, because when I visited my daughter in Lucknow, where she was attending the University, I met Dr. Singh.
Dr Singh is an MD in Alternative Medicine and practices from his Alternative Therapy Centre in Lucknow. Our daughters had met by chance and, in conversation, had found we shared a common interest. So they set up a meeting for us.
We spent a delightful evening in the company of Dr Singh and his family. We discussed the work and philosophy of Dr Edward Bach, and Dr. Singh enlightened me with the work and philosophy of spiritual guru Bhagaran Sri Ramana Maharshi, whose principal beliefs were the same as Dr. Bach’s, both believing that if we strive to obtain the best within us, guided by our higher self, health and happiness is possible.
The effervescent Dr. Singh had found the Bach remedies a wonderful tool for his work, both practically and spiritually. So here I found myself across the globe in the splendid company not only of Dr. Singh and his family, but of Dr. Bach and his remedies as well.
Later that night I reflected on the way of things, that here in a country of many millions I should come to meet a fellow Bach practitioner. I think Dr. Bach and Bhagaran Sri Ramana Maharshi must have been smiling down on us.
On combinations
Why are combinations of mixed remedies not available from the Centre? Why is it you avoid mixing remedies, given that mixing them together could produce new compounds?
We don’t avoid mixing remedies together – in fact most people require a mix rather than one alone. We recommend no more than six or seven at a time for everyday purposes, although Dr Bach on two occasions (out of many thousands) gave nine remedies together, so this could be taken as the ‘absolute’ maximum.
What we do avoid is creating ready-mixed combinations. This is because the aim when using the remedies is always to treat the individual person, and not some pre-defined stereotype of what a person in a particular situation will feel.
For example, imagine a group of people preparing for an examination. Some will feel sure they will fail. Others will be scared of failing because of what their parents will say. Others will feel so sure of success that they will not bother to revise properly, and may fail for this very reason. Others will be daydreaming and will not take in what they read. Others will rush through revision without taking time to actually learn anything. And so on and so on. It would be nonsense to pick four or five remedies and give them to all these people, because they all need different mixes.
The obvious objection to this is that there is one combination remedy we use and recommend, i.e. the traditional ‘rescue’ formula. And that is true – but the crisis formula is quite specifically an emergency remedy, in other words designed not to resolve the underlying mental state of the person taking it, but simply to help the person over a crisis.
Any of the above people could use the crisis formula to help them cope with their nerves as they go into the exam room, but their personal mix would be the best way to help them revise more effectively in the weeks beforehand.
In any case mixing the remedies together does not result in ‘new compounds’, since the remedies are not like standard drugs. Mix three together and you don’t get a new compound with its unique properties, but a mix of the three remedies, each addressing the emotional building block it is aimed at.
Retired and unwaged practitioners
We have long run an unofficial scheme whereby practitioners who have retired from work and are no longer seeing paying clients can stay on the Register without having to pay the registration renewal fee. We thought it would be helpful to explain how this works.
Basically, you can stay on the register free of charge if BOTH the following conditions apply:
- You are aged 65 or over on the day that your renewal fee is due;
- You are no longer seeing clients for any therapy, including Bach.
If you are retired and take advantage of this scheme you will receive all the normal bulletins and other communications from us, but you will not be listed on our ‘active’ list on the website.
Practitioners who are in financial difficulties for any reason can also apply to have the registration fee reduced. Typically this means that we will waive the fee for the first year and then ask you to pay the full fee the following year, which means over two years a reduction of up to 50%. This is designed to help practitioners who are between jobs, or studying full-time, or who for any other reason are unable to pay the full fee.
There is no need to do anything now if you want to apply for a reduction or retire. Just wait until you get the next renewal form and write back to then explaining what you would like to do. And of course if you have any questions on registration fees or any similar subject please contact us in the usual way.
Bach Flower Remedies for Animals
It’s out now! (At last.) Get in touch if you want a copy, and see the last Bulletin for an excerpt from what we hope will be seen as the standard work in its field (pun intended).
Welcome to…
Since the last (March) issue was prepared, 18 new practitioners have joined the register:
- in Argentina, Ana Maria Giuliano;
- in Brazil, Merci Salete Schmidt, and Angela Mauro I. Peixoto;
- in Canada, Lieve Perneel, Carol Sartoretto, Diane Blais, and Christine Hollender;
- in Japan, Kimiko Hayashi;
- in the Netherlands, Gerda van Willigen;
- in Spain, Mercedes Martinez Albaladejo, Gloria Rodrigo Juan, Inmaculada Gutierrez Rubio, and Manuel Jose Gil Paz;
- in the UK, Lynn Rivett, Ingrid Lewis, Eva Cole, Monika Karrenbauer, and Sacha Barlow;
- and in the USA, Alicia Sirkin.
There are now 572 practitioners on the register.
Your letters
I have just started voluntary work for autistic children, orphans and the old people in senior houses. I am open to any kind of contribution and support.
Thank you in advance for your help.
Igor Pietkiewicz, Poland
(The Dr Edward Bach Healing Trust is donating remedies to Igor to help him with this work. If anyone has any other ideas or skills to support him, then please contact him direct or through us. – Ed.)
I am determined that my adult education course will come to pass, so I am doing my own promoting. I feel the college’s own advertising only extends to a limited section of the public.
I targeted a local chemist (next door to the medical centre where I provide weekly treatments for the practice nurses). They had only just begun to stock the remedies, and I got a positive response in as much as they were happy to display my poster. They also asked if I had any leaflets on the remedies, as none had been provided! This is why I have asked for quite a large number of leaflets…
I was also able to tell them that they were missing four remedies off the shelf, and left them my phone number in case they should want further information. I’m hoping this interest will extend to patients coming into the chemist for prescriptions – I’m sowing seeds!
Frankie Boyes, England
We want you to use the Bulletin to keep in touch with each other. If anything wonderful, funny, interesting or just plain typical has happened to you in your work with the remedies, or if there are any questions that have been nagging away at you, or if you simply want to say hello, please write to us at the Bach Centre, marking your letter clearly as being ‘FOR PUBLICATION’.
We can’t promise to print every letter in the Bulletin, but even if we don’t use your contribution we always love to hear from you.
Two case studies
All personal details have been changed to preserve anonymity. However, all the main facts including the remedies given and the outcomes are true, and based on letters held at the Bach Centre.
Wendy
Wendy had undergone a masectomy. For the first two weeks her recovery went well, but then all of a sudden she seemed to lose her appetite and her resistance to pain. She also felt lethargic and weak – she couldn’t even keep her eyes open to read a book.
When Wendy next visited her doctor the nurse who was changing the bandages noticed her blacking out. She told Wendy not to give in and said that there were some drops that could help her. She recommended the crisis ‘rescue’ formula. Soon after taking them Wendy felt a little better.
She continued to take the remedy on and off for the next 48 hours, whenever things seemed to be getting worse, and every time only a few sips were needed to calm her and help her come back to herself.
Tom
Tom worked in a stuffy office with very little ventilation. As a result the windows were often left open, even in winter. Tom sat with his back to the window and seemed to have little resistance to the draft. He was forever suffering from vague head colds, with tiredness, heavy eyes and catarrh, but the doctor told him there was nothing wrong with him.
He was given Olive for the tiredness and lack of energy and Crab Apple because he felt contaminated and full of sickness. Soon the vague symptoms faded, and he reported that instead of collapsing in an armchair at the end of every day he was able to keep going for longer and get more things done.
This archive material has been edited to remove some out-of-date advice and information.
