Positive Health Online

Most famous of all flower essences is the combination originated by Dr Bach called Rescue Remedy which is now sold globally in many tens of millions of bottles and pills each year to bring peace and stability during shock. Ian White's Bush Remedies www.ausflowers.com.au too are sold in enormous quantities and his essence combinations, such as 'Travel Essence', have become popular. Living Essences of Australia's www.livingessences.com.au 'Body Supple' is used in SW Australian hospitals for pain, Flower Essence Society of California produce a combination for returning fire ravaged land to health, etc. www.flowersociety.org/scientific.htm .

Despite this success, the healing power wielded by the vibrational properties of the flower kingdom and their great mandalic beauty is still very much underestimated. They input colour, dynamism and indeed restore order and vibrancy into our energy bodies, denuded as they are by contemporary living, in ways which are not easily measured by 'science'. According to Don 'hundreds of thousands of people around the world swear by the benefits of flower essences'.

Flower essences are made as co-creations with the primary elements. After earth, water, fire(sun) and air in making a flower essence, the quintessential element, the fifth is our human consciousness, the quality of awareness we bring to the process. In Don Dennis's book this quintessential element is superbly described. Whilst not providing exacting research, it nonetheless serves to give us many insights into how each flower can reveal the special meaning and purpose it has within Nature's abundant pharmacopoeia. Don's team are sensitive to listening to the plants in different ways; this makes for an enlightening and entertaining read. This book is also guide to a set of essences made from one plant family - the Orchid family - which is unique because it has by far the most varieties and has even evolved to imitate animals and in the flower essence world it is seen by some as the most 'advanced' plant family on the planet.

Don begins by describing how there is a rapidly increasing range of essences across most of the world; how they are not homeopathic and offers us terms to describe the active ingredient such as etheric energy, bio-electricity and Ch'i. He asks "How can a miniscule charge of bio-electricity stored in liquid have any effect on us? and responds - "The point is of course that our brains and nervous system clearly operate at the same level of subtlety as that found within the plant kingdom." He goes on to compare the bio-electric charge of both the human cell and that of the plant which can theoretically both be measured and compared in picowatts, sometime. This is a potential scientific avenue into the nature of vibrational medicine - how essences work through minute bio-electric charges, much like thoughts do. It is through the medium of water that these bio-electric charges are carried and no-one really knows yet the full mystery of water, although we can refer to the work of Masuru Emoto and other modern theories of its molecular structure. See also http://homeoinst.org/material/Newsletter/HRI%20Newsletter%20Jan%202008.pdf  and their edition of the qualities of water. 

In the section Bach and Before Don describes some of Dr Bach's forerunners. Judy Griffin's ancestors would pack rose in frozen snow and the grandfather of and Austrian friend of Don's would make essences from the waters of healing wells and flowers. Tanmaya of Himalayan Flower Enhancers too knew nothing of the Bach Remedies. Dr Bach is nonetheless appropriately honoured, in particular for the technical insight of adding brandy to stabilize an essence indefinitely and, very importantly, systematizing and communicating his understanding of just how emotional disturbances could be helped.

Why orchids? He describes how Shabd-sangeet Khalsa was the first person he met who made orchid essences in a greenhouse. He headed her affirming statement that the Orchids wanted to be there. I'm not surprised since he has spent 10,000 hours taking care of them, to date! Don describes the active ingredient of an orchid essence as "consciousness of a very high order" and compares the botanical admiration which orchid growers have without taking their essences to reading written music rather than hearing it. Shabd-sangeet Khalsa has made her own set of orchid essences, see her website http://www.orchidessences.com and Don's own wonderful website is http://www.healingorchids.com .

In What's in a Name Don illustrates the important differences in the terms remedy, essence and enhancer revealed through kinesiology testing with an interesting Venn diagram. This also shows mineral and gem essences, animal and sea creature essences as remedies. In Further Notes for the Scientific Sceptic he bemoans the way that political contexts of scientific research has meant that the field of bio-electrics has been neglected. It is a generous book with Technical Notes, a useful table indicating which essence to use with what meridian (and its secondary resonances). Another table lists the body chakras and those in the Causal Body with their appropriate orchid essences.

Don bemoans the limits imposed by the scientific mind's inability to credence what it cannot measure, ...  "to imagine that the large Hadron Collider will somehow be the ultimate tool for analyzing the pieces of the universe would be perverse". Research into the nature of intracellular activity has focused on measuring mechanics rather than weak electro-magnetic fields. Bridges of understanding need to build between the scientific world and the world of flower essences through finding a common language. The flower essences could be shown to work in the same way that "only minute bio-electric charges can have an effect on our thoughts and feelings". He feels that "two other tenets should be capable of being verified" - that water is capable of. even so briefly. holding an electro-magnetic charge and that alcohol is capable of holding this charge. He is optimistic that there could be sensors capable of measuring this.

Don went from running a sawmill business in southern England and moved to Gigha, an island 6 miles long and one mile wide in the inner Hebrides. It's easy to see why from the beautiful photographs! The need to hold educative seminars taught by prominent flower essence makers and the necessity for residential accommodation dictated the move. This bold step has proved very successful for many reasons including the fact that students can meet with this exceptional plant family, the orchids, themselves, as well as local dolphins!

Many people were involved in this story. Shabd-sangeet Khalsa was a major inspiration. He also enlisted the help of clairvoyant Peter Tadd and soon he had a collection of more than eight hundred orchids. Then Heather DeCam joined him and a line in Orchid Essences was born. Natalie Shaw also shared her talents and Dominic Jones, Rose Titchiner had some input and then Dr Adrian Brito-babapulle who has developed a deep form of kinesiology to work with the orchids.

In Making Orchid Essences Don describes how essence makers very often don't cut the blooms and describes, with illustrations, how you can make an orchid essence yourself. 

Don describes how he helps newcomers to get to know the Living Tree Orchid Essences seminars by trying them out, working experientially with their properties on the physical, sexual, heart and emotional and mental levels; how they can be used to help us protect ourselves; and how moving in progression towards the higher centres, there are essences which support meditation. It is at this finer level of meditative awareness that the orchids, in my own experience, they really shine.

Nearly sixty pages of this hundred and twenty-eight page book are filled with exquisite photographs of the individual orchid essences in Don's pharmacopeia. Their descriptions are based on meditational insights, clairvoyant perspectives, Don's own experience and applied kinesiological work and feedback from users.

I've used Don's essences for many years but often felt that the essence indications and descriptions on the back of the set of cards accompanying the Orchid set were rather dry and difficult to apply clinically.  (These are included towards the end of the book). I am glad therefore to have further writings about the therapeutic properties of each orchid telling the inspirational qualities of the plant which drew someone to make the essence. I'm enjoying reading this section very much as each essence turns up for use. There are a fascinating pages about the evolution of eighteen combination essences, one of which is Being Present, which brings the body into harmony with the cycles of nature of the travel zone you are in. It's very effective. Angelic Canopy, Being Present, Clearing & Releasing, Gentle Sleep describe the use of four of LTOE's beautiful sprays which combine essences with aromatherapy oils and Don has produced a set of greeting cards from eight of his most gorgeous photos.

There is advice on choosing essences; labels and claims and BAFEP British Association of Flower Essence Makers; The Orchid Growers; tips on growing orchids; EM radiation challenges and two therapists describe how they work with the LTOE. Dr Britto-Babapulle describes his system of Therapeutic Energy Kinesiology TEK which 'tests for energetic imbalances which may be a barrier to healing' with a useful diagram of The Healing Centres & Essences.

Don Dennis and Peter Tadd offer us A Few Words about the Higher Chakras and describe how "the orchids became the central focus of our dialogue regarding the higher energetic structure of our existence". Peter tells us that "orchid essences are certainly one way to wake us up" and wishes for us all that we "become as powerful, free, beautiful and blissful as our orchid friends". We are given some paragraphs on Orchid Conservation; the debate between Tropical vs Native.

The gardens which surround Achamore House are a stunning environment upkept by the Isle of Gigha Heritage Trust volunteers and home to a collection of rhododendrons and azaleas which are also being explored for their therapeutic value.

There is a list of useful contacts; technical and production notes, plans for a larger orchid sanctuary followed by Don's most appreciative acknowledgements and an Afterword inviting us to stay in Achamore House and see the Isle of Gigha and it's exotic inhabitants for ourselves.

I am touched by this beautiful little book: - clairvoyant talents, lovely places, beautiful flowers, theoretical musings, the interweaving descriptions of people their and underlying this, a powerful passion for an exotic plant family and its cornucopia of healing energies. I look forward to the day when we have 'scientific' equipment which can even begin to match the sensitive levels of perception recorded here. Meanwhile we are our own laboratories and these orchid-beings give us reason to be aware of and develop our capacities for enhancing our own powers of awareness.