Blueberry cactus (Myrtillocactus geometrizans) flower essence, this is one of my favorite essences that I have co-created. I prepared this remedy in March of 2006 shortly before leaving San Diego, I feel like it is a treasure I got to take with me. The cactus I prepared the essence from is about 80+ years old, it has a towering yet gentle presence. The cactus gets its name from the small fruits that resemble and taste similar to blueberries.

The flowers are a soft white with a sweet fragrance, they open to the sun and close at night, protecting the delicateness within. The day I set out to make this essence I intended to only make one essence that of echinopsis, which I also prepared. But I could hear this plant calling to me so I obliged and I am ever so happy I did.

This essence carries such a wonderful relaxing and joyful energy to the user. My initial provings were such a joy to watch. Literally I could see the shift in people immediately. The first time I shared this essence with a friend was on a curb outside of the Farmer’s Market in Hollywood. I handed her the bottle and told her to take 3 drops. I just sat there and watched as she gazed into the distance commenting how she never noticed how lovely everything looked. I said to her “who do you think could benefit from this essence?” Then a friend of hers ran up to us, clearly in hurry, we asked him to sit with us but he had to run . . .

Two other provings revealed this essence’s ability to bring relaxation to the body. The first involves a female friend. A very well put together woman who maintains perfect posture and is seemingly relaxed. I went to her house with a bunch of essences and tested her for which ones she might need, Blueberry cactus came up. We were sitting and talking she took 3 drops and within minutes she was literally draped over the chair in a relaxing reclined position.

The third proving involved a male friend who always struck me as rather laid back, looking back I think this was a front. I was at his house, were he could always be found moving around from one room to the next laptop in hand, checking emails, sending emails, generally keeping busy. I gave him 3 drops and he immediately sunk into the couch and fell asleep shortly afterwards.

What I have found over the years with this essence is that it relaxes the mental body, this in turn brings relaxation to the physical body. It has proven useful for folks dealing with isomnia and disrupted sleeping patterns as well as general stress related to living in a type A society.

This essence brings lightness, joy and more uprightness to the body, enhanceing the vertical flow of energy in the body. It helps us slow down and take a more compassionate approach, helping us feel a joyful sense of presence. Gentle knowing and trusting develops, the ability to handle stress increase thus leading to greater sense of vitality and energy.

Late winter and early spring often brings blankets of wildflowers across the deserts of the Southwest; rain permitting of course.  This winter we have had a good amount of rain spread throughout the months of December, January and February.  This steady amount of rain has brought much green to many areas of Southern California and this green has led to yellow, orange, blue, purple and white flowers blanketing the the landscape.  These blankets of flowers fill the air with ‘The fragrance of the desert’; the sweet smell of nectar from all the blooming flowers.

I always try to make it out to the desert during this time of year to catch the spectacle of color before it fades.  This past week I headed out to the Chuckwalla Mountains; which are about 200 miles east of Los Angeles.   Last year I made it to Joshua Tree and Anza Borrego a desert east of San Diego near the border with Mexico.  Anza Borrego is a low desert with Joshua tree being more of high desert; Anza Borrego is part of the Colorado desert where as Joshua Tree is part Mojave desert in the upper areas and Colorado desert in the lower areas.   The famed Joshua Tree favors the Mojave as it is cooler and moister than the Colorado.

While out in the Chuckwalla Mountains I saw many common desert wildflowers including gold cup, apricot mallow, California poppy, creosote, brittlebush,  phacelias and many others.  There were a few flowers I saw but not many of these definitely peeked my interested.  I saw two families of Bigelow Monkey flower, three ghost flower plants and one yellow/tarnished gold colored nightshade; I was drawn to these less populous wildflowers.  I prepared three remedies from these flowers and will be researching them over the next year; at which time I hope to have a definition of their actions and make them available.

During my visit to the deserts in 2008 I prepared essences from Desert Canterbury Bells, Desert 4 O’clock, Arizona Lupine and Desert Dandelion.  I have preliminary definitions for 3 these essences and hope to make them widely available by 2010.  Now I know it is not right to pick favorites but my favorite out of the four mentioned is Desert Canterbury Bells; it is an eye catching deep blue flower and grow in communities amongst rock out crops.

Preliminary Definitions:

Desert Canterbury Bells- enhances vertical alignment; relaxes the upper and lower chest, shoulders and throat; lightens a tense heart and throat; good for those who are burnt out unhappy and destitute.

Arizona Lupine- this essence helps us harmonize with community; helps heal divisions with others in community by fostering feelings of allowing others to be themselves and helping us feel comfortable being ourselves in groups. Helpful for group unity and acceptance.

Desert Dandelion- relaxing to overly tense musculature; helps us take a more relaxed approach to life; good for those who are tense and high strung.

Desert Alchemy is another producer of flower remedies from the desert region of the Southwest; they are based in Tucson, Arizona and many of their remedies come from the Sonoran Desert.

Deserts are magical places it has been a place of solitude, mystery and spirituality for many cultures around the world.  It is a vast place that challenges the ego to quite the feeling of solitude and quite is enveloping making it a great place for spiritual retreat.  It is a place that is seemingly inhospitable and lifeless but with a touch of water the desert comes to life reminding us of the potential for life and growth of the organism and soul.

Please contact me through this website if you are interested in any of our desert flower essences.

Recently FES has introduced a line of 12 combination remedies in spray bottles.  These combination essences address a broad spectrum of conditions and are beneficial for temporary use.  We will now look at the Active 8 combination.

The Active 8 combo contains the following flower essences:

Blazing Star- This a new essence to released by FES as part of The Range of Light collection. This essence carries a fiery quality into the will helping to boost overly listless ‘watered down’ will forces. This essence helps us connect with  fiery solar masculine emotional energy.

Blackberry-The tenacity of this plant lends this quality to its flower essence,  empowering the will to overcome lethargy and inertia.  Blackberry flower essence is also used in the assistance of translating goals and ideas into to concrete action

Cayenne-The fiery essence of this hot pepper plant lends its self to overcoming sluggish phlegmatic attitudes and states of being.  Cayenne imparts fire to the personality helping us break through and move forward past resistance.

Dandelion- This bright yellow ubiquitous springtime flower adds the qualities of relaxation and ease in the pursuit of goals.  It is indicate for the overstriving tense personality, helping one take a more relaxed approach to the work at hand.

Madia- The addition of this flower essence aids in the quality of focus, helping one to contract in a clear and direct manner.  Madia helps center scattered energy and is helpful for dull and listless states of mind.

Red Penstemon- The addition of this essence assists with the qualities of tenacity, completing projects and tasks it boosts determination to overcome challenges and obstacles.

Red Larkspur- The addition of this essence brings a quality of radiance to the personality helping with catalyzing a magnetic quality which aids in leadership and inspires others,

Sunflower- A member of the daisy family, Sunflowers are known to turn their heads and follow the sun as it crosses the sky.  This sun seeking signature , translates to us following our own sunny nature, turning towards the positive life empowering feelings necessary when aiming to create and work on new projects.  Sunflower is used to help get us in touch with our positive masculine solar forces of manifestation.
Active 8 also contains the essential oils of cinnamon and cardamon.

Cinnamon Essential Oil- Has a potent and powerful warm, sweet, spicy aroma used in small amounts it is great for enhancing physical energy. This oil increases bioelectrical forces in the body.

Cardamon Essential Oil- Has a rich spicy scent with notes of citrus, camphor, it also has a slightly floral, woody tone.  Cardamon is stimulating to the conscious mind.

An interesting note about this combo is all the flowers are either red or yellow and a few are from the Asteraceae family, Sunflower, Dandelion and Madia.  Three of the essences in this combo are from the new Range of Light kit, Blazing Star, Red Penstemon and Red Larkspur.

This dynamic collection of flower essences is great to use at the outset of a project or goal or anywhere along the process of task complete and goal achievement.  I find this combo to be useful when feeling dull at work and need a boost to my overall physical, emotional and mental energies.

When talking with folks about flower essences it has been my experience that many people often confuse flower essences with essential oils.  It is such a common occurrence that I always expect to give them a short primer on what flower essences are and how they differ from essential oils.  While essential oils and flower essences can complement each other they are each unique in there therapeutic applications. And, they are different in how they are made and how they are used.

Essential oils are aromatic compounds found in plants.  They are found in the roots, leaves, bark, berries, resins, fruits and flowers of  plants.  They are extremely chemically complex containing hundreds of compounds. It is the unique chemical make up of each oil that gives them distinct aromas as well as their therapeutic actions.  The compounds in essential oils can be used to fight bacteria, fungus, microbes and parasites.  They are also beneficial for reducing inflammation, soothing troubled skin, relieving stress and supporting the body in many ways.  They can also be used to treat many emotional problems.

The use of essential oils extends back to the most ancient of civilizations from the Egyptians to the Greeks and Romans as well as the cultures of ancient India and much of the Middle East.  In theses cultures essential oils were used for spiritual purposes and for physical health and hygiene purposes.  The bible has many references to oils some notable oils mentioned int he bible are frankincense, myrrh, cassia, aloes wood, calamus and galbanum to name a few.  These oils were believed to enhance spiritual connection to god, I suspect due to there ability to still the mind open the psyche to higher inspiration.  The antiseptic qualities of these oils also made them useful for cleansing and purification.

The modern resurgence  aromatherapy has heightened the public awareness of essential oil.  Overall I see this as a good thing, though this term has been co-opted by the marketing department of major soap companies who are erroneously making claims as to the benefits of their products.  Because large soap manufacturers are not using therapeutic grade or even real essential oils in their products. They are using synthetic fragrance oils which have no therapeutic benefits what so ever.  Only true plant derived essential oils offer health benefits.

Essential oils’ influence the body due to their interaction with the nervous system.  When the various oils interact with body we get a wide range of effects.  Lavender produces a calming effect where as Rosemary and Lemon are both mentally stimulating etc.   Combining essential oils and flower essences is a delicate procedure and their complimentary effects offer great benefit when properly understood.  Cayenne flower essence combined with cinnamon essential oil is one example.  Lavender essential oils with white chestnut flower essences would be a nice night cap for the restless mind.

On a final note we should mention how to use essential oils safely.  Dilute strong oils with a base or carrier oil if you have sensitive skin.  For best results apply the oils to the soles of the feet as the circulatory  system will carry the oil throughout the body quite rapidly.  Another good area for application is behind the ears.  Be safe, be smart and eat the oils straight, they have the potential to burn the sensitive mucus membranes.  Also keep the oils out of your eyes and other sensitive areas.  Use common sense.