On Sept 24, 1886, Edward Bach was born in the village of Moseley, England, to a family of modest financial means. From an early age, he showed great interest in botany and music, especially singing in a church choir.
He studied medicine at University College Hospital, London, and obtained a Diploma of Public Health at Cambridge. Dr Edvard Bach worked as a dispensary clerk at the Royal Southern Hospital. Later he transferred to duty in the eye department at St Mary’s Hospital, spending his free hours collecting and experimenting with herbs.
In 1906 Dr Edmond Kent introduced him to homeopathy, and six years later, in 1912 he became a member of the British Homeopathic Society and worked at the London Homeopathic Hospital. He combined homeopathy with what he saw as spiritual healing – says a lot about homeopathy – during the revolutionary times of World War I; his work with hospitals in Birmingham helped soldiers to recover from mustard gas attacks and led him to recognition by the War Office.
What is homeopathy? “Homeopathy” derives from the Greek words “homoios” (similar) and “pathos” (suffering), literally translating to “like suffering.”
The aim of Dr Edward Bach’s life was to find the curative power of natural remedies for physical and mental health problems and use them to enrich the individual’s life. He decided to search for a new healing technique because he was not satisfied with modern medicine options.
“The main reason for the failure of the modern medical science is that it is dealing with results and not causes. Nothing more than the patching up of those attacked and the burying of those who are slain, without a thought being given to the real strong hold.” Edward Bach
Dr Bach believed that we all aspire to live in harmony with ourselves and our environment. In order to achieve this, we must have no conflict within us or about us, which could disturb our vital balance – emotional, mental, physical, spiritual – with the surrounding world. Because illness is created by disharmony between body and mind, our symptoms are an expression of negative emotional states.
In 1928 he began work on his own remedies made from plants. He went on to develop a complete therapy based on 38 flower essences that are still Dr Edward's original 38 flower remedies, based on 22 clinical observations, are powerful yet gentle remedies designed to treat the emotional causes of illness. These premier flower essence homeopathic solutions can be used alongside western medicine, and work with the heart, mind, body, and spirit to support the journey towards health and well-being. The most popular collection is Rescue Remedy, which has helped people with stress, phobias, and other emotional issues.
"The real primary diseases of man are such defects as pride, cruelty, hate, self- love, ignorance, instability and greed; and each of these, if considered, will be found to be adverse to Unity." Edward Bach
The value in Dr Bach's work is that it helps you use the power of your own inherent resources for your healing. You are only as sick as your secrets, and can only be as emotionally well as you are willing to be truly honest with yourself. As long as these memories remain repressed and unexpressed, so does the potential for illness or disease in an individual's life. They can manifest after generations of being passed on from generation to generation. By bringing them into consciousness and remembering what happened, you are being released from the bondage of past experience.
His way of helping patients to a high level of health is called Bach Flower Remedies. With millions of users around the world, Bach Flower Remedies are becoming known to many as the natural therapy that can complement other medical treatments without side effects. Bach Flower Remedies have been proven effective for many illnesses in hospitals and clinics worldwide. Their success depends upon us being able to purify our emotional feelings and physical conditions.
The father of modern herbalism, flower essences, Dr Edward Bach, died Nov 27, 1936. His legacy is still very much alive today. It has never been more relevant as people face the challenges in the medical field, and issues about lifestyle, our stressful environment that we all face on a daily basis.
The 38 Flower Remedies of Dr Edward Bach have come a long way since the 1930s. For a while, they were in danger of being forgotten, but thankfully have enjoyed a resurgence in recent years and are practiced all around the world.
