"If we follow our own instincts, our own wishes, our own thoughts, our own desires, we should never know anything but joy and health."

"Health depends on being in Harmony with our souls."

Dr. Bach says very clearly in Free Thyself that the union of soul, mind and body is health and that health is our heritage. He also says that not all of us are in touch with our higher selves. It would be ideal if everyone could attain the peace and joy as described by Dr. Bach.

Difficulties in life often deter people from their true purpose. They get lost in the complexities of living on a day to day basis. They lose touch with their soul and cannot communicate within themselves. Before long the mind and emotions are being pulled in several directions. Dr. Bach indicates that this 'interference' in the natural order of our lives implants 'doubt, fear and indifference'. As we lose touch with our own desires, the separation of the mind soul and body creates an opening for disease. Dr. Bach suggests that we can free ourselves from the confusion of life today by strengthening our character and getting back on track. Each of us has a task to perform.

These statements provide the backdrop for the service of the Bach Flower Practitioner. For those who have chosen to help others with the simple use of the Bach flower Remedies it is important to ensure that we facilitate the ability of our clients to determine their own destiny through free will and choice. This can be done by observation and discussion. Clients need the opportunity to discuss their concerns before essences are chosen. Feedback allows the client to review what he/she sees and says in a different way. Telling people what to do serves no purpose except to continue to make those people, already having difficulties, continue to be dependant upon others.

When assisting clients to choose remedies, it is important to help the client chose remedies that they feel will benefit themselves. The client is, of course, searching for the way to good health, and in this respect, the Practitioner should provide a light for the client. Dr. Bach wished for his remedies to be considered simple, natural and available for everyone to use.

An opportunity should be provided for the client to discuss his/her concerns in a non judgemental atmosphere. The current state of mind should be explored allowing the client to express the priority needs. Discussion of the client's habits and practices should give an indication of the personality and whether there is an out of balance state that needs a remedy to support emotional issues. The mood of the client should be addressed. In very stressful states this may need to be done immediately before a complete and thorough assessment can be done.

If appropriate, the clients physical health should be discussed to ensure that proper medical attention is sought by the client. Reassurances can be given that the development of a positive frame of mind will enhance all other treatments by bringing the body, mind and soul into harmony.

Julian Barnard in his preface of The Collected Writings of Edward Bach describe him as a man whose working life was in constant change. Barnard claims that Dr. Bach was not restless but "more that he was unwilling to rest with accepted truths. He was always searching for a deeper understanding." In Dr. Bach's last lecture at Wallingford in 1936 he states at the outset that there are only 38 remedies. He says that it is easier to find the right herbs to give when the number is fewer. Today it is recognized that the numbers of combinations are virtually endless.

Dr. Bach was a Homeopath. He understood the need to treat the person and not the disease. In the development of homeopathic remedies the Physician would look at the character of the person, the mood and the emotion and how the person responds to disease. Initially Dr. Bach defined the 12 healers that address the character of the person. In addition he observed with a keen and sensitive eye the seven states of emotion and moods that impact on the ability of the body to heal itself. Through these observations he gradually developed the 38 remedies. He knew that treating the symptoms would not yield the same results as treating the mood of the person because each person is an individual with their own response to disease.

In 1934 the original 12 +7 remedies were complete. It was at this time that he moved to the home in Sotwell. Nora Weeks describes this time as a respite where Dr. Bach was able to make furniture and enjoy physical activity leaving his mind clear to think. By March of 1935 however, Dr. Bach knew that there were more remedies. During that summer he suffered through many symptoms that generally presaged the discovery of another remedy. Even a threat to remove him from the medical register did not deter his determination to develop this simple yet effective treatment for all to use. From January 1936 onwards he devoted his time to training his lay helpers, then revising and simplifying the manuscript for the book 'The Twelve Healers and Other Remedies."

Since his plans included a series of lectures to inform and educate the public it would seem that he was entirely satisfied. Based on his intuitive findings, successful practical and clinical applications and the love and support of his friends and colleagues his work was complete. He was already training people to carry on with the work, while he prepared himself for the next task. Nora Weeks is very clear in her biography that Dr. Bach would continue on whatever plane His Maker determined for him.

People don't change. During the 1930's, the era of great depression preceding the war, life may have been simpler than today, but in 1997 we are still troubled, hurt and fearful. We are driven to crises and ill health through the complex and demanding needs of a global village. Some of the terms used by Dr. Bach may sound old fashioned or inappropriate. The clematis child of 1935 may be described or referred to as a 'space cadet' today for example, but these words are fads that come and go. Insufficient interest in present circumstances never changes and the space cadet will still have difficulty relating in day to day life, day-dreaming, living in the lives of TV characters or not attending well in school.

Had Dr. Bach been concerned more with diseases than with humans and the human character, his remedies may be of little use in todays hi-tech environment. There is in the world today, the new age movement with its desire to get back to natural methods of living, eating and healing. In 1936, the remedies met the needs of the poor through its simple, inexpensive application. Today the remedies meet the needs of a growing population who welcome the simple, inexpensive healing of nature.

We should be as we are created and yet few pass through life without having events that alter those courses. We are born to a certain destiny that is our birthright. Believing in destiny or fate or free will is a matter of choice but I believe that we pick the family to which we will belong. Here, in the family of our choice, we are given an opportunity to grow and learn hopefully within the love and support of our family. Dr. Bach writes in "Free Thyself" that "all we have to do is to preserve our personality, to live our own life, to be captain of our own ship and all will be well."

This lesson does not come easily to many. As an example, the person born with a cheerful and pleasant personality, may be put in circumstances where their graciousness is taken advantage of by others. For example, a helping child may be useful to the mother, but if the mother became ill and unable to carry out her role, she may come to depend on the child. Even after recovery the Mother may still depend on the child and expect continual obedience and service. Consider that the child may respond by becoming rebellious and resentful, or meekly follow instructions expecting little praise.

How would this child grow and respond into adulthood? Eventually the adult may become a doormat for others, or retreat into loneliness to avoid being used. The child may have felt unappreciated and grow building within itself a smouldering anger and resentment. How much ill health would ensue because the true self had to be suppressed in fear of abuse or misuse. What would be left of the generous and giving child?

This child, then, as an adult may ask for help. Through counselling or discussion, many different pictures may surface that would require help. Fear, resentment, bitterness, guilt, despair may emerge during skilful questioning. As a practitioner, it would be imperative to listen carefully and try to find the generous and giving child who, initially, was so helpful to the mother. This is the basic personality that must be supported with the appropriate remedy as well as addressing the other emotional baggage that impacted on the development. The adult will gain an understanding of self and yet also find the strength for self protection from similar patterns of behaviour. In the long run this could have positive consequences on any potential for physical ill health. Certainly the counsellor would encourage a full medical check-up. If there were any problems, the client would know that the remedies could aid and support the effects of allopathic therapy.

Dr. Bach writes that ill health is caused when we are out of harmony with ourselves. We cannot harmonize our bodies until we have a clear understanding of who we are and what we (as individuals) hope to achieve. The practitioner's role is to facilitate this process through client consultation and continual feedback.