FEATURE | FLOWER ESSENCE THERAPY
surprised by their inhumane and confusing treatment that they either became aggressive, enraged, shut down, depressed, or stubborn, making them unpredictable and dangerous to others or themselves.
Dramatic behavior improvements took place that seemed impossible considering the history of the animal or the circumstances, which today includes surviving hurricanes, week-long firestorms, tornadoes, and court-ordered animal seizures, including hoarders. Their positive behaviors appeared no less than miraculous. You can actually see a“ PAUSE,” allowing the animal to make a new, positive decision whereas there was nothing but immediate, reactive, and negative behavior only minutes earlier. Essences address the current trauma and equally as important, address the past by replacing old, negative memories with healthy, positive thoughts creating all-around good results. This change affords the opportunity to learn, to accept, to cooperate with, and trust human intervention and companionship. Essences re-set normal and at times, they establish it.
In the Blink of an Eye What is change? It is miniscule. It is inches and ounces. It is an exhale, a twitch of an ear, a blink, a swallow. These are all signs the brain is working. It is being present enough to see these things. It is being part of the present, the present being either the moment or the gift, being actively a part of the process of change.
Every choice( and every change) has a consequence; the ideal is to make it a positive reward. After choosing and giving a remedy, change will start to happen. The biggest deal is often getting the human to notice the subtle differences. We are used to big deals, and unless there is drama, flair and a bit of the unnatural, we are not satisfied that enough has happened. We are in the animals’ world, their arena if you will, and should be viewing their world without prejudice. Maybe that is where some difficulties begin, namely: in our perception.
Flower essence remedies are so subtle and work so gently that their effects often are overlooked and we credit something else. No matter who or what gets credit, the proof is in the change of the personality, the emotions, and / or their thinking process. Every situation and every animal is unique. Blends can be administered once, the desired result obtained and human and animal are fine thereafter. Usually though, there is a process that takes place during the transformation. The process and its length depend on the individual or the situation.
Challenges Use apparent setbacks to your advantage because they could simply be a pop quiz. When the animal is“ tested” and holds firm to the new identity, the new way of handling situations, reacting with calm acceptance and knowledge rather than the old way of fight, flight, fright, or freeze; then you have a mark, a touchstone of your progress. Your animal will emerge from each of these testing episodes more convicted and integrated into their new self.
Setbacks can be helpful in convincing us that change has indeed occurred. Challenges will arise and you may think the essences aren’ t working. Use these opportunities to gauge where you and your animal exist on the“ improvement scale.” Often, I find my own expectations were too high and they actually exceeded the goals.
A highly accomplished agility dog, after years of competing, decided to not finish the last half of the course no matter what enticements or punishments were offered. His M. O. was to just jump over the small fence after finishing half the course and run away. First time he got these remedies – impatiens for patience and clematis for focus – at a national competition where the handler had little in the way of expectations that the dog’ s behavior would be any different here than at her training facility.
Surprise. This dog did complete the first half and then, as expected, jumped over the short fence and ran away. The handler was un-nerved and started to go after him when the dog, by his own choice, jumped back into the agility ring at the exact same exit spot and finished the course perfectly – without its handler.
Folklore, Folkmedicine: So Old It’ s New Folklore tells us people observed animals choosing certain plants used at time of birthing, injury, or seasonal changes, and people then chose remedies based on what the animals chose. For centuries, herbalists, folk doctors, and caretakers have chosen local plants for the well-being of those in their care. Now it is our turn to choose remedies for our domesticated animals.
When I started using flower essences 40 years ago, I studied and experimented with these remedies for 15 years prior to suffering a terrible horseback riding accident where afterwards the horse and I were given the same flower essences from the same pipette. We both quickly recovered from the shock of the incident. That was 1990 and ever since that time, I have devoted myself to helping difficult animals, both confused and frightened. This has led me to success with 24 different species exhibiting hundreds of behavior and training problems exposed to extreme conditions and disasters, both natural and man-made. Following are seven of the flowers, weeds and trees I often use for their effectiveness, accessibility, and broad applications.
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