Flower Essences and Healing Thoughts from Mama Love Organics

Orange Flower Essences and the Second Chakra

2026-04-07T20:38:00.000-07:00

One of my ongoing interests combines flower essences, my joy as an artist in using vibrant colors, and my curiosity about how specific colors affect us on every level. This also intersects with my interest in eastern philosophies and spirituality—specifically the chakra system that also uses color to represent different aspects of consciousness. In the system I learned, a specific color is used for each chakra. The question I like to explore is whether the color of a flower gives you an indication of its use and does that line up with the well-documented psychology of color and the chakra system.

Now keep in mind that, even though there are some universal associations, there are many cultural differences in how color is perceived due to learned associations. Also, when it comes to flowers, many flowers exhibit more than one color at a time and others change color in different seasons, showing hidden colors that show up when another fades away. Plus there are a myriad of other factors to consider related to how the plant grows, where it grows, its basic form, etc. And when it comes to chakras it is very rare that only one is out of balance at a time as the condition of one can affect several others. So this is FAR from an exact science!

However, indulge me a little here. My working hypothesis is that flower essences bring forward qualities that help balance something in us that is out of balance. I think that it is possible that they bring forward the strengths associated with chakras that are out of balance and that the predominant color of the flower may be an indicator of that.

The second chakra is on my mind today because I am working with chronic deficiencies there that have been present for some time. And interesting enough the color orange—the only color I never wear except in the variation of rust—is the color associated with a vibrant 2nd chakra. So let’s take a look.

The Second Chakra

The second chakra (Svadhishthana) is located in the lower abdomen and is thought to be the center of emotions, creativity, pleasure, and sexuality. Unlike the first chakra that keeps us rooted in basic survival (literally being fed in the womb and after birth by your mother or other primary caregiver), the second chakra is more associated with the flow of life and how we interact and develop in relationship with others. Svadhishthana is translated as “the abode of the Self” because it is at this stage that your conscious awareness of self and your individual identity with your own desires and personality is thought to emerge.

The family and cultural environment we experience at this early stage of development, however, is so important that it dictates what we believe about relationships and how safe we feel about being ourselves. Trauma and especially repeated trauma can have a huge impact on our lives. The habits we develop because of this can last a lifetime—shaping who we are but not what we are capable of evolving into. When I work with emotional healing I don’t think that our set point can’t grow and change. But we have to start where we are today given all that has happened to us. So be kind to yourself, acknowledge what has happened, and—if desired—consider new approaches and make changes step by step. Emotional safety is a healthy second chakra’s claim to fame, so to speak. Everything flows from there!

Strengths of a Balanced Second Chakra

Creativity and playfulness comes easily to you. You don’t lack for creative ideas and you have a joyful enthusiasm for life.
You feel comfortable in your body and have a healthy, balanced, and enjoyable relationship with sensuality, sex, and intimacy.
You can express your feelings, releasing them when needed with ease and without being overwhelmed, making it easier to adapt to change. You feel emotionally stable more often than not.
You can set healthy, firm boundaries in relationships without being overly rigid. You have a solid sense of your own needs in relationships and can respect others' limits.

Signs of an Unbalanced Second Chakra:

It can be deficient, blocked or overactive, (or might swing between extremes). Depending on what’s going on you might struggle with:

Challenges managing emotions, high sensitivity, feeling needy or overwhelmed or, conversely, feeling numb and out of touch with your emotions.
Challenges with emotional connection such as shyness, fearing or feeling reluctant to trust other people, pushing people away.
Struggles with creative blocks, feeling stuck, or uninspired.
Fear of intimacy, repressed sexuality, or conversely, excessive dependency, addictions, or hyper-sexuality.
Codependency and challenges with setting boundaries because of too much focus on other people or looking outside yourself for personal validation.
Challenges with distinguishing your own feelings from those of others (being a psychic sponge).
Emotional disconnection to physical embodiment and pleasure, preferring intellectual activities, being stuck in your head.
Fear of change such as having a rigid attachment to routine or deep fear of losing control.
Physical issues such as lower back or hip pain, kidney or reproductive or urinary system issues.
A tendency to feeling guilt, shame, envy, or a general feeling that life lacks joy.

Orange Flower Essences to Heal the Second Chakra?

When it comes to addressing the above issues, any number of flower essences could be used of every color! In fact, a blockage in a higher or lower chakra could be the cause of second chakra problems. I have frequently found that bringing in the strength of a higher chakra is essential for balancing the needs of a lower one and vice versa. Seventh chakra faith can balance first chakra fear, for example. Enjoyment of embodied physical experience on the first or second chakra level can balance and help ground inflated spirituality or an overly intellectual approach to life on the seventh chakra level. To have the healthy emotional expression needed for positive second chakra function, you also need a healthy fifth chakra which assists with self-expression.

So, personally, in flower essence work I don’t focus on one chakra at a time as a general rule. However, for the sake of this discussion, I need to note that all the orange flowers used as flower essences that I know about seem to bring forward the strengths of the second chakra. So to bring forward those strengths, you might choose an orange flower from the following list:

Nasturtium: This flower essence helps when you are too much in your head, too intellectually focussed, and not having enough fun, sensuality or enjoyment of physical life. It brings more vitality and joy. It might even bring more passion into your life.

Sticky Monkeyflower: Helps address insecurity about relationships and sexuality and fear of emotional vulnerability. Many people say that it helps with having safe loving boundaries which is probably essential for relieving fears. It also seems to bring more joy and ease with intimate self-expression.

Canyon Dudleya (Not currently allowed in my shop because it is now an endangered species due to succulent poaching. I still have the flower essence on my shelves from before it became endangered. You can ask for it here.) This flower essence is used for a much more grounded approach to emotional and spiritual life. It is used to balance extreme emotional reactivity, grounding individuals prone to intense or hypervigilant survival-mode responses, or for those with overly intense psychic experiences.

Alpine Lily: Orange and red so it is working with both the first and second chakra, this flower essence mostly helps women who feel disconnected from their female physical form, including your sexuality or reproductive functions. It helps you feel more embodied as a woman if you are overly focussed on spiritual aspects of life.

Wallflower: This yellow-orange flower might embody aspects of both the second and third chakras. It eases shyness and social isolation due to fear. It can help you come out and join others with more confidence, feeling more optimistic and more emotionally secure, and more able to enjoy getting to know other people.

Calendula: for bringing a compassionate and receptive spirit into your communication when distrust and anger and the resulting bitter words are causing division and misunderstanding in your relationships.

Tiger Lily: Also used for bringing more cooperation into relationships where there is hostility. It helps with building bridges and creating mutual trust where polarity currently exists.

––––––––––––––––––––––––

Flower essences are used to assist with mind-body-spirit interactions and individual results may vary. They are extremely dilute which makes them quite safe. But because so little physical substance can be detected in a flower essence solution, these products are presumed to work on an energetic or vibrational level—something that cannot be adequately tested by western scientific methods. Claims made by me, therefore, are based on personal experiences and the evidence of the combined multiple decades of case notes by Dr. Edward Bach as well as Healing Herbs and Flower Essence Services (the companies who make the ingredients I use in my products). This is not, however, accepted medical evidence or substantiated scientific evidence from a modern allopathic point of view. I am not a medical doctor or licensed healthcare practitioner.

Statements made have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. The information provided on my blog, websites or by this company are not a substitute for a face-to-face consultation with a health care provider, and should not be construed as individual medical or mental health advice. Consulting with a health care provider is a must for anyone taking medications or working with a medical or mental health condition, and highly recommended before using any herbal product. Please consult your doctor or health care provider for any possible contraindications and/or interactions with current medications. I trust you to seek the medical guidance you need to use any of my herbal products healthily at your own risk.

The Safety to Navigate Change with Walnut Flower Essence

2026-04-05T14:04:00.000-07:00

I've noticed an uptick in sales of Walnut flower essence lately. That's a great flower essence to use if you need a sense of internal safety from negative outside influences while you are attempting to make a change in your life. The change could be anything from something you dearly want and are looking forward to doing to unwelcome changes forced on you by something that has happened in the outside world. You can also use it as a support flower essence when taking another one for an emotional change in your life. It helps a person break out of hardened patterns like breaking out of a too-tight shell. Maybe that shell was meant to protect you but it's not appropriate anymore. Walnut can help provide that inner sense of protection while you go forward.

I notice that when I have used it that I feel a clearing in my head and then a sense of grounding that is centered in my 2nd and 3rd chakras, maybe a little in the 4th. That means that, for me, it is addressing emotional insecurity and use of will with a touch of doing what my heart needs now. My heart wants to rest after several years of working full-time for a workaholic boss while also trying to do a business of my own. But my 3rd chakra (the seat of will-power) is too used to being in charge and is driven by a very deficient 2nd chakra that has rarely felt safe.

So I have started to use Walnut along with my Letting Go of Perfectionism formula but not at the same time. I've been experimenting with Letting Go of Perfectionism since identifying that issue as the main one I want to address now in semi-retirement. But, as I mentioned a few times before, part of my healing process has brought up old fears. That formula helps me relax a lot more but now I have fears about relaxing too much. Walnut, I hope, may address my need to feel safe as I navigate new ways of being in the world. Sometimes I just don't feel like doing anything productive! And that freaks me out. What's the worst that could happen? Well, if I don't stay on top of things my business might fail! Probably not, but there's a traumatized part of me that has been so focussed on survival for such a long time that it's hard to just let go.

What does that part need? To feel safe while I rest and to feel safe to do less. Or to accomplish the same things but in a less workaholic mode. For someone like me, that's a big enough change for now.

Learn More About Walnut Flower Essence:

Flower Essences for Protection from Negative Outside Influences

What to Do if a Pattern Keeps Returning when Using Flower Essences

––––––––––––––––––––––––

Self-Esteem without Narcissism Using Sunflower Flower Essence

2026-04-02T11:44:00.000-07:00

One of the themes I've been exploring lately is how flower essences can help you reconcile opposites that conflict in yourself or between yourself and other people. Carl Jung thought that this was so important it became a key feature of his style of psychotherapy. When we say this extreme is me and the opposite is not me we wind up in a polarized position with a piece of our potential in what he called "the shadow" (where it might trip you up later). It's far better to resolve the tension between extremes than to push pieces of yourself away.

Sunflower flower essence is a great frame to talk about this in. Sunflower is often used for people with low self-esteem who are too self-effacing. They hide their light under a bushel, holding back from sharing their talents and true self with the world. Chances are they just don't want to be that visible. Perhaps they experienced a lot of rejection in their childhood. Or maybe, just maybe, they grew up with someone who acted in the exact opposite way and there is no way in hell they want to be like that!

What is the opposite of low self-esteem and self-effacement? A narcissist who wants ALL the attention all the time, thinks they know everything and is better than everyone else. "I'm king of the world!" Yikes! We don't know anyone like that, do we?

The Sunflower itself is often the largest flower in the garden. It stands tall. It has a very large flower head. And it loves being in the spotlight of the sun. But in another phase of its development, when its head is at its largest and full of maturing seeds, the flower head will bow towards the ground. That's one of the signs that show the seeds are ready for harvesting.

Sunflower flower essence can be used for both people with low self-esteem and for those with too big a head. It helps reconcile those two extremes in behavior. You can shine like the sun and share what you have to offer without arrogance and narcissism. Both behaviors, by the way, come from fear of not being good enough or rejected. The narcissist compensates for that and demands adulation while the person who hides their glory is giving in and shuns the spotlight altogether. The healthy stance Sunflower Flower Essence provides is to balance your ability to be your full self without having to claim it in a fake, exaggerated, and unconscious way.

Find Reiki-infused Sunflower Flower Essence droppers or unscented sprays in my Etsy Shop.

Add an essential oil scent to my Sunflower Flower Essence spray.

Learn more . . .

Flower Essences, Polarity, and the Interplay of Yin and Yang

Learn more about Sunflower Flower Essence

––––––––––––––––––––––––

Is it Safe to Be Yourself?

2026-03-26T19:49:00.000-07:00

I have been continuing on with the Rock Water, Larch, Zinnia and Mariposa Lily experiment I am doing to address over-perfectionism, and the thought I had before bed when I was taking that formula and first thing in the morning was to “be myself.” And my first fear-inducing thought after that was “No! I’ll screw things up!”

That fear, actually, is what the Rock Water and Larch are for! So apparently that concern is being made conscious . . . because I don’t think of myself as a person who is afraid to screw up! I think of myself as a person who works tremendously hard to NOT screw up and spends a lot of time trying to find and fix mistakes (and feeling mortified if I miss one). In other words, I AM a person (or I have been a person) who is very afraid to screw up, I just don’t acknowledge it! Lol. I wish it actually felt funny.

So, I am exactly the type of person who needs these flower essences. But right now I am also taking Emotional Recovery (my Reiki-infused version of Rescue Remedy) and another formula with Nicotiana for more grounding and inner peace, Mimulus for addressing everyday fears, and California Valerian for fears about the future. I actually have a lot of fear of making mistakes and fear of failure for a lot of reasons.

Starting with the absurdly mundane:

Yesterday was a day when I made a number of mistakes. I spilled food on my white t-shirt while eating and then spilled on the T-shirt I changed into after finding two more stained T-shirts in my drawer. They just needed to be spot pre-treated in my next wash and they’re clean now. But something this mundane upset me because it’s happening more often. Apparently, I haven’t gotten used to my post-menopause-sized breasts and that’s where the food spills! But so what, right?

But I also started a new painting— a small one and I’m not used to working small. And I have made some mistakes because I’m learning. And I will need to paint over those parts.

Again, so what? I’m just “playing.” I’m just trying something out.

But there is an inner part of myself (I want to say “inner child” but that part takes offense) that is REALLY upset by this!

I give her a voice: “I CAN’T get dirty—mom will be mad. I CAN’T make mistakes! Daddy will be mad and Mom will be disappointed. Wahhhh!!! I’ll have to crumple up my art and throw it away so they can’t see it. And I really wanted this one to come out good so bad! Wahhhh!”

And another older voice warns me that I have made BIG ungrounded mistakes about making a living because I wanted to go my own way so much despite warnings not to. And then that business failed because of the Great Recession, I ran out of money and wound up working for a series of demanding bosses, jumping through hoops to please them the way I did in my family. Yes, I was able to do what needed to be done and yes, I can be proud of that because my retirement account got filled. But did I do a good enough job of saving money? Can I finally relax? Have we covered all our bases? I think so. But what if? What if? I don’t know for sure, especially with this president. So that part is still scared. And my younger self doesn’t want to have to be—she wants to finally get to have some fun!

Wahhh!!

Okay then. That was revealing! Should I even share this on my blog for other people’s benefit?

Whatever. I do it all the time. But there you see my inner state again: is this safe? AM I being grounded enough to plan for whatever could go wrong?

Fear, fear, fear, fear, fear.

And that’s what was underneath the lifelong pattern I’ve had of being over-perfectionistic. So now I’m working with that, which is how working on lifelong patterns often goes (whether you use flower essences or therapy or whatever). You use your healing tools for what appears to be your problem and then up pops the reason you adopted that way of being in the first place!

And none of that was your fault.

Defense mechanisms are a perfect solution for a situation (as a child) when you had no other apparent recourse. And does it work? Of course! At least at first. In my case, I didn’t get yelled at so much. I got good grades in school. I succeeded at a variety of jobs and got rewarded for that defense mechanism throughout my life.

Which is why it is so challenging to get rid of. The truth is I learned a lot by adopting that pattern, but it didn’t help me feel safe and more relaxed in the world. It just made me think I couldn’t be myself, I always have to be what other people want me to be, and “failure isn’t an option" so I work too hard at everything, especially when making big life decisions.

Commitment, perseverance, and dedication to getting things right to achieve a goal can be useful—especially if your life is at stake. But what about trust, faith, banding together with other people, getting to have help, being able to say no, and having a lot more fun? What about knowing that you learn important things by making mistakes that can help you succeed even better in the future? And what about knowing that a great life doesn’t even require “success” in the way our current society defines it?

So, for those following along, I am still using my Letting Go of Perfectionism formula (Rock Water, Larch, and Zinnia) with Mariposa Lily added for my specific life history. It still feels appropriate to continue. But my intention has shifted not to “getting rid of the pattern” but to using what I have learned in a flexible, less fear-driven state of mind to achieve my goals without being rigid or by swapping rigidity for lack of grounding. That’s the other side of the polarity: rigid adherence to rules and plans vs lack of grounding and ignoring the demands of daily yet fluidly changing physical life. You get to have a dynamically changing balance of both—flowing like water around and over obstacles, moving wherever you can go, going with the flow AND being solid as a rock when circumstances demand it. Water can shapeshift from solid ice to flowing water to water vapor and then condense and be flowing water or ice again.

Imagine that as a metaphor for how it could help you approach your life.

You don’t have to pendulum swing from firm rules and boundaries to having no boundaries at all. Water needs boundaries such as a riverbed to shape its experience and direct its path. But when caught in too tight a container with a cap on it, it doesn’t move or change at all. It can’t express its full nature. Rock Water can help you work with the actual realities of your life with its boundaries, obstacles, and restrictions while allowing yourself the freedom to think more flexibly and find a different way forward if desired.

So I think the Rock Water, Larch, Zinnia, and Mariposa Lily message to me is to not ignore the fearful smoke signals about whether I’m going to have enough money. Instead I intend flexibility AND the wisdom gained from life experience (positive and negative).

More about working with polarities with flower essences.

––––––––––––––––––––––––

When Flower Essences Bring Up Unexpected Feelings (Video)

2026-03-21T20:38:49.935-07:00

My latest video!

Or read my script below:

One thing that people don’t expect when they are working with flower essences is that sometimes feelings you didn’t expect come up when you’re using them. And that’s always a shock because you probably hoped the flower essence was going to help you get over your bad feelings!

And they often DO seem to work that way for something that’s very current and where you already know why you feel the way you do. But sometimes the feelings you feel are a cover or a defense mechanism for something else. So you deal with the feelings on top and up pops what’s underneath. And this is especially true if you decide to tackle a problem that’s been around a long time.

So, for example, I have had a long time struggle with over-perfectionism that makes me anxious and gets in the way of me enjoying my life. So I decided to use Rock Water (which is great for that issue), Larch (for having more confidence and more positive outlook), and Zinnia (for being able to approach life more playfully and with a sense of adventure). And that was helping me feel a lot more relaxed at first but then up popped all these early memories about feeling rejected by my parents for not being good enough and a lot of grief about what that has meant for my life.

So what do you do in a situation like that? What I did was let myself cry because that’s the best way to release grief. But I also added Mariposa Lily to the formula because I wanted to address those feelings of rejection left from my childhood. So that’s what I did and what came up after that was the realization that my parents weren’t rejecting me at all. They were treating me the exact same way they were treating themselves and how had been treated by their own parents. And all of a sudden I saw things differently because I was looking at the situation from my adult’s perspective instead of from the perspective I had as a child, which was something I had been holding in me all this time because it wasn’t conscious.

So in a lot of ways flower essences are a tool for self-awareness. You might want to bring in the help of a therapist if you’re not used to working on yourself like that. But otherwise you do what you normally would do: you grab a journal, grab a friend, let yourself cry or pound a pillow, and that’s not enough add in or switch to a flower essence to specifically address what’s coming up.

Find my Letting Go of Perfectionism flower essence formula.

––––––––––––––––––––––––

Pink Yarrow—Empath Flower Essence Support in Challenging Times

2026-03-18T13:19:45.700-07:00

Hello Fellow Empaths! Something happened with me about a week ago that I feel I really must share for others to benefit.

I had one of those really bad, awful nights of feeling anxious and not sleeping that happens every so often (but especially this past year). And because it's happening more often in our current political times, I assumed that's what was keeping me awake. I took a couple of flower essence formulas I make for anxiety, and it helped somewhat but I still wasn't sleeping. I took a Chinese Medicine herbal formula that usually works and that did nothing. So I turned to a flower essence aromatherapy oil I make called "Restful Nights" because often that will help me sleep. Again, it helped me relax more but sleep wasn't happening.

So what was going on? I had no idea but, while attempting to entertain myself, I came across an invented image of a girl with Pink Yarrow that I created years ago and thought, wait, is THAT it?

Pink Yarrow is the best flower essence I know for empaths who inadvertently take on other people's emotional distress. It tightens up the aura and helps it let go of what isn't yours, especially when it is affecting you on the emotional level. So I tried it, and I felt a visceral tightening in my chest which was perhaps too wide open. I then used intention to deliberately release what wasn't mine. That was interesting. I had a distinct sensation of energy leaving my chest area and suddenly felt MUCH better. I went back to bed and slept well the rest of the night.

What had I taken in? Well, I did do a couple of things late in the evening that were probably the problem. I watched The Daily Show and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (which I do most nights). But this time they weren't funny. They were visibly and audibly upset but trying to reach for the joke anyway. I also read Heather Cox Richardson who can sometimes be a very grounding influence, but she was definitely concerned about the news and history she was reporting that night, too. So I didn't just take in the news, I took in how upset and worried the people reporting it were. And that's where I got hooked in and vulnerable. If those people couldn't do their jobs without intense emotions in their way, did that mean we were in serious danger? That thought connects with my own life history of bad things that I couldn't do anything about that negatively changed the trajectory of my life, so the outside world energy had a place to stick to in me and that almost sent me into a panic.

Now it's a week or more later and we have apparently survived so far. I've been using Pink Yarrow 1-3 times a day, especially when I've been exposed to upsetting news, and that seems to be doing me a lot of good. I still need to process emotions that originate in me, but at least it isn't magnified by other people so much now, and that makes it much more manageable. So I thought I'd pass that emotional self-care tip on to you. Maybe the intense emotions you are feeling don't just belong to you!

Find Reiki-infused dosage strength Pink Yarrow flower essence in my shop. I usually recommend people try the spray version of any of the Yarrow flower essences, but this time I actually found the dropper version most effective.

––––––––––––––––––––––––

The Pressure to be an "Olympic Athlete" in Everyday Life

2026-03-15T11:05:00.000-07:00

Ilia Malinin came to me in my dreams earlier this week. In case you somehow missed this, Ilia is a figure skater (from a family of Russian Olympic figure skaters and coaches) known as the "Quad God" for doing incredible quadruple jumps nobody else can do in competition. He was expected to blow all his competitors out of the water at the 2026 Olympics and did perform well except for one important event where he fell multiple times. Later at a demonstration performance he did a powerful skate set to music about overcoming great fear.

In my dream, Ilia was following right behind me as I walked up a steep hill and sat across from me in a coffeeshop booth in order to tell me something. With great gentleness and kindness and with quite a bit of hesitation as if trying to find the right words, he said,

"Girl, it's not just 'stress.'"

I woke up and knew exactly what he meant. You see, earlier this week I decided to tackle a lifelong pattern I've had with hyper-perfectionism and feeling like I have to be a super-achiever just to survive. I've worked on this before with significant success but backslid terribly because of pressures on my last job. I quit that job a couple of months ago because of a sudden escalation of abuse that I received no support on despite speaking up multiple times. Some co-workers understood (which was extremely supportive), and I tried to fight for myself with HR, but in the end I had no legal recourse so I just said "no" anyway and left. Paul and I did the financial math multiple times, and I think we're going to be alright, but things have felt challenging at times as I go through the transition of reorganizing my life.

But it's not "just" stress. The emotional project I just took on goes back to early childhood in my family of origin. It probably even goes back to pre-birth as my mother had trouble with all her pregnancies, and I was half-starved in the womb. My parents are the children of Russian pogrom survivors, the "Fiddler on the Roof" style oppression which was extremely softened in the play and movie despite being somewhat accurate. They were actually much more violent. My parents grew up with a lot of fear they passed on both inadvertently and purposely to their children in an attempt to teach us what they believed was necessary to survive. Super-achieving and perfectionism was a big part of that when it came to me, their oldest child and the "good girl" of the family. I was "smart" (or learned how to fake it well) so I was always expected to do great things, but I have a history of not quite being able to succeed as much as desired, frequently needing to leave conventional jobs because of illness. I am proud that I walked away from this last one without getting sick and with my head up. But, damn, that wasn't the outcome I really wanted. (Or the job I would have wanted for myself if I'm really being honest.)

Ilia might know something about that kind of family pressure and expectation although it came from a different place. So he didn't really have to say more in my dream than what he said. I got the message. We're not just talking about "stress." It's an entire approach to life meant to teach you how to succeed but causing fear that trips you up terribly in the end.

I would have much preferred to be Alysa Liu, who somehow broke free of the childhood pressures that drove her early in her career by retiring and prioritizing her mental health and happiness. She won Olympic gold with confidence, happiness, and while having a lot of fun in stark contrast to almost everyone else I've ever seen in Olympic competition.

So that's my goal right now: to prioritize my mental health and happiness and win a life fueled with joy.

The flower essences I'm using right now are Rock Water (for letting go of unreasonably high perfectionistic standards), Larch (for more positive expectations and confidence), and Zinnia (for approaching life with joy and a sense of adventure). That's my Letting Go of Perfectionism formula. The evening before Ilia showed up I had added Mariposa Lily to my personal bottle for dealing with early childhood parenting issues.

A lot of memories, insights, and grief came up because of that addition the first night and most of the next day—the reasons why both of my parents taught me to behave like this, how hurtful it felt to me when I didn't understand why I had to be perfect to be good enough, how much anxiety and illness resulted from it throughout my life, all the ways I have held myself back to avoid getting sick throughout my life, and damn, that last job! People don't tend to expect that flower essences could toss up old experiences and feelings. But when you're dealing with a chronic pattern, they certainly can. I know that if you let the tears out or the anger or whatever needs to be released, in a day or two or three you always get to a place of relief and greater wellbeing. But it can be a shock if you don't expect it, and if you don't have a lot of experience in working with your emotions and past history in this way, you may want to grab a therapist, a good friend, or at least a journal for support.

But for me, after a couple of days and the visit from Ilia, the grief piece feels over. Now the combo brings me the desired feeling of relief and greater wellbeing I wanted as I continue to use it. I feel more hopeful about what might come about as a result.

––––––––––––––––––––––––

Flower Essences to Counter Worst Case Scenario Thinking

2026-03-13T12:30:00.000-07:00

You know this happens all the time. You’re staying positive, keeping your head above water, and you suddenly come across something online or on the news and all your alarm bells go off. WTF!!! They’re doing what? Why?!!! This could mean . . . don’t go there! Too late, I know you did. We might have different versions of worst case scenario depending on our life history or what we just heard or read, but we’re all susceptible to going there, especially these days.

Okay, so you imagined your worst case scenario and for the moment you’re terrified it might come true. “Catch it, check it, and change!” Those are the “three C’s of cognitive behavioral therapy. The idea is to cope with anxiety by first catching yourself in a catastrophizing mindset and then stopping the anxiety by turning things around.

Catch it. You’re not just imagining the worst case, you believe it’s likely. You feel overwhelmed and helpless and you can’t stop thinking about it. No doubt you learned to do this to try to protect yourself from danger or prepare for it when you were younger, but it's really not working.

Check it. You may be magnifying the danger. So the next step is to challenge that. Is that the only potential outcome? Name as many other outcomes as you can imagine. Is your first worst case fear really the most likely outcome? What’s more probable? (This step is often easier done with the help of a friend or therapist who can think outside of any boxes you might be in.)

Change it. Reach for a more balanced perspective. Yes, the worst might happen, but if there are other possible scenarios, it’s not as likely to go the way you fear. It is far more likely that there could be as many possible solutions as there are perceived problems. In fact, you could probably come up with a few positive possibilities right now.

Having used this approach myself many times, I can say that it works. But in the midst of wide-eyed, heart pounding panic, it’s a little easier said than done. The news might also be causing grief or numbing hopelessness or depression. So I use flower essences to support the process (especially in the Catch and Check it stages).

Flower Essences to Consider

If you succumb to worst case scenario thinking often, you most likely need support for anxiety and pessimism so we’ll focus on flower essences for that here. If there is life history trauma in the background feeding these reactions, I also recommend seeing a therapist or at least grabbing a journal to help you gain clarity.

Rescue Remedy (or my Reiki-infused dosage strength version called Emotional Recovery): This is always my first choice for dealing with panic. It's very calming and grounding.

Releasing Worry and Fear: This flower essence formula combines Rock Rose (the same essence used to calm panic in Emotional Recovery) with Larch (see below) and White Chestnut (to calm obsession that keeps you spinning those scenarios in your head all night). It's the most popular combo formula in my shop!

Elm: Great for calming overwhelm!

Larch: Is the worst case scenario you imagine based on lack of confidence or fear about how people will respond to something you want to do? Larch can help you have a more positive outlook and increased self-confidence.

Willow: "Oh me, oh my." Are you like Eeyore in always expecting the worst and feeling hopeless or resentful about it? Willow flower essence can help you have more optimism and faith.

Gorse: If you're truly feeling hopeless, Gorse can help you accept the life experiences that have led to you feeling that way and gather the faith to face a new day and try again.

Borage: This flower essence is quite effective if you are deeply disheartened or discouraged. It helps you "take heart" and have more courage. It's very uplifting.

Healing a Broken Heart: This combination of Bleeding Heart (for healing grief), Star of Bethlehem (for soothing shock or trauma), and Walnut (for coping with traumatic change) can be extremely helpful if you have received (or watched) heartbreaking news.

Personal Sharing:

I recently found that my usual choices for calming fear and anger were not sufficient when it came to my reaction to the United States going to war in Iran. That's because the first news out of there was about a girl's elementary school being destroyed with 165 children killed. I've been using Healing a Broken Heart combined with Elm for that, frequently followed or preceded by Emotional Recovery. If one of those combos doesn't seem like enough, adding the other afterwards seems to do the trick.

––––––––––––––––––––––––

Flower Essences, Polarity, and the Interplay of Yin and Yang

2026-03-10T13:00:00.000-07:00

My latest video! Or read the script I wrote for this video below.

Today I’d like to talk about polarity and the interplay of Yin and Yang (and what that has to do with using flower essences).

From a Chinese philosophy perspective, everything in nature is about the dynamic interaction of opposites on a continuum. They call that Yin and Yang and it’s easy to understand if you think about the cycles of nature. Night turns to day and back to night again. Winter turns to Spring to Summer into Fall and back to Winter again. There is a time for activity — that’s Yang — and a time to rest —that’s Yin. And everything in between. The extremes of Yin and Yang are like polarized opposites. Winter- Summer, Night-Day. Being in one polarity for a short period of time isn’t bad. The trouble begins if we get stuck there.

Too much Yin which is cold and dark, still and quiet will eventually kill you because you won’t move and you’ll freeze to death. But too much Yang which is hot and bright, active and loud will also kill you because you’ll burn to death or from inflammation. And the idea of being stuck in a polarized position being bad holds true whether we’re talking about our physical condition or emotional health, our relationships with other people, our society, or the health of the planet itself. We’re supposed to change and adapt and grow from working effectively with all parts of the spectrum.

In nature that tends to happen, at least over time. But unfortunately humans frequently do get stuck in a polarized extreme and that’s when all hell breaks loose. A person who gets stuck in a Yin state is too still, too weak, and too cold. A person who gets stuck in the Yang state is too forceful, hot, and angry. And both extremes, when it goes on too long, can lead to illness and undesirable ways of interacting with other people and the world.

Where flower essences come in, is that you can think of them as helpers to help balance unbalanced states. Plants hold inside themselves different aspects of their particular nature in dynamically changing balance through the seasons and through their life cycle. And by studying plants in their natural state you can get clues of what they might help you with on a healing level by noticing how they express themselves in the wild.

That sounds weird but let me give you an example.

Let’s talk about dandelions because most people are familiar with them. You know what they look like: They have bright yellow sunny Yang-like flowers and jagged tooth-like leaves which is where it gets its name. Dent-de-lion which is Dandelion in French means teeth of the lion. And Dandelions are very strong and hardy, maybe even a little fierce in terms of how intensely they claim their space, say, in your lawn. In one part of their life cycle Dandelions very aggressively and quickly put down long thick tap roots that make them hard to get rid of. If you pull them up without getting all of that root out, it just sends out shoots and pops back up. They have great staying power. But in another part of its life cycle it’s the exact opposite. The flower turns into an airy white puff ball with seeds that just blow away and gently land wherever they fall. You could think of that as the Yin let go, let God section of its life. It just "makes a wish" to spread its seeds and allows the wind to just blow that wish into fruition without any effort of its own at that point at all. Then, when the time is right the seeds puts down roots and takes over that section of your yard!

So the person who needs Dandelion flower essence is somewhat similar but they have gotten stuck in the Yang expression of its nature. They work too hard and too aggressively, they grab on tight to what they are trying to accomplish, and never relax. Dandelion flower essence helps such a person lean into the full capacity of their Dandelion-like self. They stay strong and capable but they can also allow themselves to let go, let God, and get some rest. They are still themselves but in balance and that means they are less likely to burn out.

And that is just Dandelion. As far I can tell that’s how all flower essences work. They let you be who you are but in a more balanced, healthy, and flexible way.

Find Reiki-infused dosage strength Dandelion Flower Essence in my Etsy shop.

––––––––––––––––––––––––

Reconnect with Life Purpose and Find The Energy to Follow Through

2026-03-09T19:20:00.000-07:00

Changing your life at any age can feel hard. But at mid-life or beyond, just the thought of it can be exhausting! Ask how I know. Or don't, I'll tell you.

I am unexpectedly semi-retired now—so far with no regrets! But going from full-time employment plus self-employment to suddenly having the time I need to do other things was a bit of a shock. And even more shocking was how my time was suddenly taken over by one thing after another related to the kinds of decisions a person retiring from the job market would ideally make many months ahead! Plus my family back east is needing my attention. And then when I took a break to scroll through my Facebook feed I saw people fighting for the sanctity of their communities being hit with less lethal bullets and tear gas for peacefully protesting and some were being killed, the Epstein files hit the news hard, and now we're at war with Iran for who knows what reason. It felt like the attention I really wanted for my own life was just being sucked away along with my energy!

Even though I had ideas of what I would want to do with my time once I had it again, the overwhelm of all of this has been quite the distraction! And I must admit I have been having to take a hard look at whether what I wanted before is still what I want now! Sounds like a job for Wild Oat (choosing between various directions) . . . except that's not quite right for me.

I know what I wish I could do. I have been wanting to find more time for being an artist again for years but now I'm worried about it because, as I said, the timing was unwanted. And before I can do much art—or even explore how I feel while doing it—I need to do a lot of clutter reduction and re-organizing of my art studio space so I have room! And that makes me TIRED! (Maybe it's better to be distracted.)

No, it isn't!

A flower essence formula selling well in my shop this last week gave me a clue of what to try: Re-Connect and Energize. This formula combines Elm (to calm overwhelm), Explorer's Gentian (for people later in life who have suffered loss and need to re-connect with their life purpose enough to be willing to try again), and Rock Fringe (for the energy and enthusiasm to take on the challenge). I say it's perfect for me because I don't know whether I can succeed as an artist enough that the paintings don't just stack up in my house or in a garage somewhere. And will I even enjoy painting again? I don't know, so the overwhelm and tiredness comes from that.

The last time I tried this formula I had new ideas of what I wanted to do right away. This time I did not—I already have ideas for paintings and I know I want to at least try doing one. Instead I felt more grounded and then my head cleared and I felt joyful. Sometimes the weight of the world and a person's doubts and fears is like a veil they wear over their heads. I had the sensation of that veil lifting within a minute or two of when I tried this formula again, and it felt great!

––––––––––––––––––––––––

White Chestnut Flower Essence for Soothing a Worried Mind

2026-03-03T10:49:00.000-08:00

I like to check the mood of the nation sometimes in my shop. What my customers purchase sometimes gives me a great indication of that. Right now though, the flower essences being chosen are all over the place. It's as if people are trying hard to put their attention somewhere else. And that might be true because the only repeated pattern I see is the sale of White Chestnut.

White Chestnut is for when worried thoughts are keeping you up at night or making you miserable during the day. Maybe you're grappling with a problem and your mind just won't let it go as you try out different scenarios over and over. Or you're obsessing about something that happened during the day, maybe going over a conversation you had over and over. You'd love nothing more than to turn these thoughts off! The mental anguish is awful.

I asked for guidance about a problem I've been grappling with in my life last night and it was to "stay in the present moment." Aggh! I hate the present moment! I'd rather be thinking about just about anything else instead! Except not. The desire to use my mind to solve problems that really can't be solved completely without more information or time is an addictive tendency. What's underneath that? Oh, you know: the constant sorrow, chaos, and anxiety in our current times combined with decisions I'd like to make in my own life that might be impacted by that. But earlier in my life it might have been something else.

Paying attention to benign aspects of the present moment isn't bad advice though. Currently, the sun is shining in my location. Someone is making noise cutting the grass at the apartment complex. I don't like that but, hey, at least someone else is doing that! That part is nice. I just had breakfast. One of my cats is curled up beside me. I'm in my favorite soft fuzzy bathrobe. Now the mower has moved to another location so it's actually pretty quiet. I know there are things happening in the wider world but right here, right now, in this moment . . . there isn't really anything I have to do.

So let me finish this post by telling you what White Chestnut does. I took some right now. It's very calming and grounding. It makes it easy to be in the present moment and just be quiet. And that is a great relief.

I use White Chestnut in my popular "Releasing Worry and Fear" formula. If you prefer to use one flower essence at a time, you can find Reiki-infused White Chestnut flower essence dropper bottles and sprays in my Etsy Shop. You can also find it as a spray with option to add a scent.

Learn more about Chestnut flower essences.

––––––––––––––––––––––––

Flower Essences for Soothing Controlling Behavior

2026-03-01T22:14:00.000-08:00

A lot of times people who engage in overly controlling behavior aren't aware of the impact of their actions on others so they don't even think to look for flower essences for those problems. Other people, however, are often VERY aware of their behavior because they might be the target and it drives them crazy. On the other hand, there are also those who may not be trying to control others so much but are desperately trying to control themselves or anticipate and control outcomes. In that case, your behavior might be driving YOU crazy.

In both instances, the desire to control too much tends to come from insecurity, fear or anxiety, and is often due to past trauma. The behavior is basically a coping mechanism to manage uncertainty and pain or avoid failure. It might look like perfectionism or a need to constantly try too hard. Other people wind up attempting to predict the future too much. We all probably wish we had a crystal ball about certain things happening in our world these days. But, in reality, the future generally isn't in cement. As spiritual counselors, Paul and I were extremely aware that people wanted us to predict the future and tell them what to do. But as healers we soon learned that what they really needed was to be able to face the future with less fear and to have more confidence about their ability to handle it. And that's especially true when other people are involved.

Some of us learn to be secure in this way as children. We were encouraged to run and jump, try new things, and have no fear of failure—there would always be someone who lovingly had our backs and would encourage us to try again. Others of us learned the opposite. Our parents were either overprotective and frightened us out of trying things or were harsh disciplinarians who had no patience for mistakes and reacted with punishment. A controlling person quite often grew up in a family of controlling people.

I mention all of this because if you are on this blog looking for help for yourself, you may have been called "controlling" by someone who was not so nice about it. (People hate to feel controlled.) But I want you to start your healing process by recognizing that you are not to blame for having these behaviors. You learned them the hard way and are worthy of being loved.

Flower Essences to Consider

Rock Water: This flower essence helps those who are overly strict with themselves and are too rigid in what they consider to be acceptable behavior in themselves and others. It fosters flexibility and adaptability in situations while softening the need to always do things perfectly in order to avoid failure.

Beech: If you find yourself intolerant of other people's behavior, overly judgmental, or criticizing, Beech can help you find more compassion and empathy for other people, develop the ability to accept differences, and to let go of overly perfectionistic expectations.

Chicory: Chicory helps if you are trying so hard to take care of other people or make them love you that you wind up trying to control people by "helping" too much. This flower essence can help you let people make their own choices without always trying to intervene or telling them what to do. It helps you feel secure enough inside to love unconditionally without manipulating or guilt-tripping others to return your attention because of "all you do for them."

Vine: The classic description of the person who needs Vine is someone who is bossy, domineering, or bullying, thinks they know better than anyone else, and attempts to force people to do what they want. You know, the quintessential horrible boss. But even if you never act this way, you might find Vine helpful if you try so hard to control the outcome of situations that you are being a bit of a bully to yourself. It will help you be kinder and more relaxed, more interested in motivating yourself and others than controlling their behaviors in an authoritarian way.

––––––––––––––––––––––––

Organic Rosehips Are the Tea Ingredient of the Month!

2026-03-01T13:02:00.000-08:00

Rosehips are the organic tea ingredient of the month! They add a tart note to a cup of whatever you want with vitamin C, antioxidants (polyphenols, vitamin E), and anti-inflammatory compounds that are thought to support immune function.

Dried rosehips should be steeped covered for 10-15 minutes to allow the hard shells to infuse properly. Use 1-2 teaspoons of dried, crushed rosehips per 8 oz of boiling water or add a smaller amount to your favorite tea blend.

I use Rosehips in my Pink Goddess and my Elderberry Licorice Spice blends. It adds a citrusy flavor, a bit like Hibiscus but not as strong. Alone, it makes a great herbal hot or iced tea mixed with rose petals, green tea, or other ingredients. They can also be used to make jams or jellies, syrups, or used as a baking ingredient.

Shop my sale: 25% off all March 2026.

––––––––––––––––––––––––

Feeling Safer on a Planet in Turmoil

2026-02-26T11:22:00.000-08:00

Lewisia Photo by Keir Morse, shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 license

The morning after the State of the Union (which I did not watch except for snippets on the late night comedy shows), I woke up anxious with minor physical symptoms I recognize from my childhood and early adult years. I was a very sensitive child, berated for being overly so, and wound up with serious stomach and intestinal issues that I eventually healed myself. That's the Mama Love way-back story because it sent me onto the path of learning everything I could to accomplish that feat and opened up my interest in the mind/body connection, healing herbs and flowers as well as energy healing and other modalities.

So I was disturbed to have even minor feelings like that return. I turned to the affirmation I used to finalize my healing years ago: "Anyone who had been through what I've been through would have similar difficulties." Forgiving myself is what I've always assumed was the missing piece. But this time it didn't work! I tried other variations until I hit on: "Anyone who had been through what I've been through, living in this country at the present time, would have similar difficulties." That's what did the trick—my symptoms disappeared immediately!

So Paul and I had a conversation about how people in the trenches in a war-torn country take care of themselves and I had a sudden vision of WW2 soldiers smoking cigarettes. Which was a strong message because I was thinking I ought to use the flower essence Nicotiana (flowering tobacco) last night. So this morning I did and it had a very grounding peaceful effect. People think it works by connecting the human heart more strongly with the heartbeat of the earth, and I did feel that energetically my heart was connected to the ground.

I later decided to add that to a combo of Mimulus (for known fears) and California Valerian (for calming fears about the future). I was already using that combo before and I thought it would work better. And it does, although I believe Nicotiana had a stronger effect on its own. What I like about the combo though is that it had a similar effect with the addition of a lightening up of my mindset. It depends on what you want—a deeply grounded heart or a grounded heart combined with a more spiritual mindset.

I should mention that both Nicotiana and this formula brought a feeling of relaxation and then up popped the grief I appear to carry underneath. I shed a few tears and felt better. Sometimes that's what has to happen. If you're another person something else might come up. Or not. Maybe nothing will come up at all.

Supporting Very Sensitive People

One thing that came up for me was frustration that I can be so sensitive that even watching my favorite late night comedy shows has made it harder to sleep at night because they are both news-driven programs. And my Facebook feed becomes an absolute nightmare these days because so many people are posting about what they're upset about! Hanging out there used to be a simple pleasure and way to connect with friends.

"Why do I have to be so sensitive?!!" I brushed that thought away but I knew it was there.

But that very morning a customer wrote to me about similar issues with sensitivity and described a life somewhat similar to what I lead. Only they had a much more loving attitude about it and was happy I had Lewisia flower essence in my shop. That's Lewisia in the photo above and I found myself attracted to it as soon as I saw it! It's very starlike and low to the ground, with tiny white flowers with pink veins or stripes. But look at its crystalline glittery appearance! I love that! Lewisia is a really useful remedy for people who have a very sensitive nature, including people with autism or other conditions that make a person feel raw and overstimulated easily and, therefore, struggle with physical embodiment. (Almost every flower essence I need starts with grounding me first before moving into other aspects of what it's supposed to do.) I decided to try Lewisia for myself and found it similar to Nicotiana in effect for me—meaning it connected heart to earth. I'll be experimenting with it some more as I know it helps a person have a more loving acceptance of their sensitive nature, more capacity for spiritual experience and more embodiment.

Except for the pink stripes, Lewisia reminds me very much of Glassy Hyacinth. They are not related in any botanical way that I've been able to find. But they both have a crystalline look to their petals which makes them look like they hold light. Glassy Hyacinth is not typically recommended for very sensitive people that I know of—it's used for grief and trauma, especially when combined with horror, for people who have been through something so horrible at the hands of other people that it has shaken their faith in humankind. But as highly sensitive spiritual people, my partner Paul and I are often processing what is happening through the lens of horror. "How can people be so heartless? How can people be so cruel?" (Old song that came to mind right now.) I'm sure a lot of highly sensitive people feel that way throughout their lives, but doubly so now.

Thinking about this, I think I would rather be a person who is horrified by insensitive and cruel behavior than not. But that means we need to take the time to recover and take care of ourselves without condemning ourselves for being who and what we are! If you've read this far, maybe you do, too.

You might also try Star of Bethlehem, another small starlike white flower that is low to the ground. It's great for deeply soothing comfort for grief and trauma of all sorts. I use it in my Support for Troubled Times formula. That could be really helpful, too!

––––––––––––––––––––––––

Flower Healing's Place in History

2026-02-24T12:21:00.000-08:00

One of the things that bothers me in doing flower essence work is that modern people have greatly lost touch with their connection to the natural world so sometimes it seems like flower essence enthusiasts are talking about magic potions or, worse, like outright nonsense. And I completely understand that! I've been there myself. But I know that a lot of what flower essence practitioners talk about is very similar to what has been noted for centuries, no actually, for millennia! Dr. Bach has been credited with making flower healing famous and for his particular approach to making them, but knowledge of how plants affect people on all sorts of levels—including the emotional level— has been around since ancient times in the earliest recorded writing and was probably around long before that.

And it just makes sense. If you are living a totally nature-based existence, you would have to be really attentive to all sorts of clues that would tell you how to survive. When it comes to things to eat, you’d be paying attention to the aroma and taste and how it makes you feel, but you’d also want to know what else is good to eat? What else might make me feel better? So you’d pay attention to what certain plants have in common such as the color of the flowers or berries or the plant structure, you’d be noting how it grows, where it grows, and how other animals interact with it. And you’d tell your kids things like “Leaves of three, let them be” so they could avoid poison ivy or poison oak or “Berries of white, run in fright” because most white berries (about 90%) are poisonous.

But you’d also make note if a flower, like a rose, made you feel happy in your heart, maybe more loving or open to love. And you might say the rose is the emblem of the goddess of love, Aphrodite, and put that in your mythology. And thousands of years later people would be giving roses to people they love on certain occasions and not even remember why.

Today people who study plants in a comprehensive way might be called botanists. If they had an interest in health and healing they might be called herbalists. But back in ancient times, having a least one person in a tribe who paid attention to such things would be how you survived and what they learned would become common knowledge.

So a lot of times you’ll find that the names people gave to flowers reflect what they might be used for. For example, in the world of flower essences there is a flower called Impatiens and guess what that’s for—impatience. And the reason, they’re called that is because the plant seems to be impatient to distribute their seeds. Some plants just drop their seeds on the ground or let the wind or other animals carry them away. But an Impatiens seed capsule is very sensitive and explodes at the slightest touch and shoots the seeds out. And the person who needs this flower essence also might have a tendency to be sensitive and touchy themselves and might even have explosive outbursts due to frustration about how long something they think they need is taking. It’s almost as if they think their life depends on it, which is how the plant acts. The flower essence helps them calm down, relax, and have more of a sense of ease about how things happen in the world. In the world of traditional herbal medicine, this same plant is used on the physical level for people who have sensitive irritable angry skin, to calm down skin rashes.

And that’s just one example! There are so many and I think it’s really interesting.

––––––––––––––––––––––––

A Trio of Products for Traumatically Challenging Times

2026-02-15T18:38:00.000-08:00

I didn't sleep at all last night, maybe a couple of hours after the sun came up. Paul and I are going through stressful times around his health. I am transitioning from more than full-time stressful employment to retirement(?) a couple of years earlier than I planned. The country is going through traumatic-feeling times and we are very caught up in that. And in the way back of my mind I know the planet is in the throes of crisis-level changes as well.

So this afternoon I took a nap with Itsy, my very large, fluffy and affectionate cat. It felt luxurious to do so and I slept well, although it was probably just for an hour or so. During that time I dreamed that I was telling a large round woman who was lying on a couch holding a sleeping puppy about how my favorite comedian wasn't funny anymore because the news he makes jokes about is so horribly not funny. She got up and said, "I think you need a hug. Would you take one from me?" I said yes and it was wonderful! Then I woke up and thought that I really could use a hug like that. A big strong comforting Earth Mama hug.

Then I realized that this is always how I have described the ingredients in my Mama Love for Troubled Times formula—the first formula I ever made and the one that launched me into business. Funny how a person who makes products for emotional well-being could forget her signature product(s) in a challenging time of her own!

I actually made three products in my first month of business that I sometimes used all at the same time—Mama Love for Troubled Times (now Support for Troubled Times), Releasing Worry and Fear, and Restful Nights. They were all spiritually guided and all combine Reiki-infused flower essences and essential oils in oil form. I think they smell wonderful. And they really worked for me and for people I gifted them to before I even started in business. I currently offer them as a set, priced at 15% off the individual prices.

Today, after my nap, I put Support for Troubled Times on my heart, belly and mid-back and felt that old lovely sense of relief come back. So soothing! But, as in the worst of times earlier in my life, it addressed the feeling of trauma and grief but not the fear as much as I would like. So I put Releasing Worry and Fear on my legs, low belly and low back—very grounding and nice. But I was still not done. I REALLY want to sleep tonight and I know my Restful Nights formula is best used twice in the evening—early to start the process of relaxation and then a few hours later just before bed. In the case of long-term issues, you might need to do this several days in a row to shift the emotional patterns involved. So I put Restful Nights on my feet and legs, my lower back, belly, solar plexus, and at the base of my neck. Then I really relaxed!

Do keep in mind that these products are not drugs that will just put you down like a pharmaceutical medication might do. But for me, they are immediately soothing and effective. In fact, Restful Nights has a side effect for me: if I fight the feeling of deep relaxation and try to keep doing whatever I think I "ought" to be doing instead of going to bed or at least putting my work down and resting, it will make me feel slightly nauseous. Don't fight it! GO with it and that side effect won't happen (or it will go away). Why fight the feelings you're using it for, right?

These three products are available in unscented flower essence-only form; however, I can't recommend the combination of flower essences and aromatherapy strongly enough. All my flower essence aromatherapy oils were designed to have the ingredients work synergistically for the greatest effect.

UPDATE NEXT DAY:

I used my three oils again before going to bed and slept so much better last night! I got up for a couple of hours in the middle of the night but probably had 8 hours of sleep overall. And the difference in how I feel today is like night and day!

––––––––––––––––––––––––

Letting Go of Perfectionism with Mama Love Flower Essences

2026-02-13T22:23:00.000-08:00

“In Heaven there is no beer. That’s why we drink it here. And when we're gone from here, someone else will be drinking all the beer!”

That silly drinking song came to my mind earlier this week when I was working way too hard and fretting way too much while researching and trying to decide between all the Medicare options and choices I want to make about retirement finances. It all felt so serious and fraught with danger. What if I made a mistake? I was pretty much in misery.

But some other part of my psyche decided to speak up: "Lighten up! Have more fun! Drink some beer!” Beer? I can’t remember the last time I had one. But when I was younger I loved going out with my friends after work or on the weekends. We’d go to a neighborhood pub in Boston, drink some Sam, make each other laugh, and dance to some good feminist punk rock. It was fun and so long ago and far away.

Which reminds me that an old favorite singer of mine, Karen Carpenter, was a bit of perfectionist, way too much of one as her perfectionism about her weight eventually killed her. She was on my mind this week, too, because Paul was reminiscing about having had a crush on her when he was six years old.

Perfectionism can be quite the curse. Trying too hard at EVERYTHING, being hard on yourself for insignificant failings, and trying to avoid mistakes at any cost. Or, conversely, it can make you so afraid to take a chance of being rejected, humiliated, or failing that you procrastinate for years on things you want to do or never follow through at all. It makes you really anxious and stressed out, and over time it equates to seriously not enjoying your life.

The pattern might have come from having a domineering or authoritarian parent who demanded straight “A”s or punished you harshly for even small infractions. It might have come from having experienced a disaster from previous mistakes and desperately wanting to avoid that again. It could oddly come from incredibly great success and being afraid to embarrass yourself or let people down by not being able to do it again. Or it could come from societal oppression, especially if you are a member of a discriminated against group or have personality traits like introversion or neurodiversity that marked you as outside the expected societal norms.

One of the earliest flower essence formulas I created using dowsing and spiritual guidance was intended to address this. I called it "Comfort and Joy" because it eventually helped me feel much more comfortable and joyful in the world. In fact, it had the profound effect of helping me be a lot less anxious. I even stopped using my "Releasing Worry and Fear" formula because without perfectionism ruling my life, I didn't need that one anymore. Unfortunately, the name was a mistake because it sounds like Christmas, and it almost never sells even though it was one of the most effective formulas I have ever used for myself.

But I just started using it again because I am apparently revisiting old patterns visited on me in my last job. I knew that job was pushing me back into the old perfectionistic distress I spent years healing myself from. Acting the way I used to act is what got me most rewarded (as it did earlier in my life, too). Straight "A"s. Teachers and parents like that, as do certain bosses. And along with feeling like I had to please the boss, the old anxiety came rushing back in along with the old behaviors.

So I've decided to put this formula back out into the world with the name "Letting Go of Perfectionism." It contains Larch for more positive expectations about how your actions will be perceived and increased self-confidence; Rock Water for letting go of an overly harsh inner critic with ridiculously high standards; and Zinnia for letting yourself enjoy life with the joy and enthusiasm of a toddler lurching forward with a sense of adventure despite falling a lot. (That's how you learn.)

Good enough is good enough! Toddle into the future if you want! You can relax and have a sense of humor about making mistakes and still put great work out into the world. Most importantly, you can enjoy giving things a try and have a good time seeing how it works out, knowing you can always try again later. There are many people succeeding in the world making far more mistakes than you do and with far less talent. (We all know that now, don't we? 😏) You don't have to be an Olympic athlete to be alright.

If you prefer a scent in my sprays you can choose an essential oil from my list for scent and added aromatherapy effects to Letting Go of Perfectionism here.

Additional Choices for Perfectionism

Flower essences are not a one size fits all approach. We human beings can be complex! Thinking about why you are stuck in this pattern and how this might relate to personality might suggest additional flower essences to add to this formula. You might consider:

Beech: for when perfectionism leads to intolerance for the behavior of others.

Crab Apple: this is especially useful for people who turn their perfectionism on their physical selves and immediate environment, scrutinizing and worrying about every mark or blemish, minor physical ailments, feeling unclean or anxious unless things are just right.

Filaree: for perfectionistic obsession with tiny details of a problem and losing track of the big picture.

Pine: for self-forgiveness when you blame yourself intensely for things that have gone wrong or mistakes you have made.

Vervain: over-striving to live up to your ideals (or trying to get other people to do so) to the point of being obsessed, unable to sleep or fully rest.

Vine: usually thought of as a flower essence for those who try to bully or dominate others to bend them to their will, this also applies to those who perfectionistically try to control outcomes by beating themselves up. (Not usually people's first choice but control patterns are often part of perfectionism, so you might be surprised.)

––––––––––––––––––––––––

Purple and Violet in Color and Flower Essence Healing

2026-02-10T18:15:00.000-08:00

Violet and purple are sometimes thought of as the same color but in reality, violet is a color you might see in a rainbow or with a prism, while purple is a color that mixes red and blue. Violet is more blue in tone and purple tends to be more red. Why does this matter?

Well, the short answer is that there is a difference in how these colors affect people. Violet tends to be more calming, spiritual and meditative. Purple is more intense and is considered more creative or dramatic. But it can also be a bit unsettling for some people, depending on the context. I actually cringe when I see too much purple on a “spiritual” website, especially the pinkish mid-tones and lighter shades—it looks intensely ungrounded to me. The more bluish violet, on the other hand, does not affect me like that.

Violet is often associated with the Crown chakra, wisdom, Higher understanding or thought, spirituality and creativity. Lighter shades such as lavender are often used for reducing stress; however, a more intense violet or purple shade can have the opposite effect for some people. Both dark violet and purple shades are associated with strong spiritual connections. Although I don’t wear it often, I often find dark violet soothing to wear. But violet and purple are also widely associated with magic or mystical experiences, with the darkest shades sometimes associated with either hidden knowledge or dogmatic religious points of view. Some people find too much of the dark shades depressing or dislike it because of a fear of witchcraft, or occult spirituality that appears scary or mysterious.

My personal opinion is that without trust, morality or love, spirituality is often subverted in our world—leading to a bit of a schism when it comes to the effect of this particular color depending on your early childhood training or life experience.

Purple or Violet Flower Essences

I think of purple and violet flower essences as ones that either heal your relationship with spiritual aspects of life or those that bring creative spiritual inspiration down to earth. Faith, trust, and a broader more spiritually open mindset enters into the picture with these essences as well as healing for those who are very open spiritually and feel overly sensitive as a result. I talked about a few violet and purple essences in the lavender range of the spectrum in my last blog post. Let’s talk about more essences made from violet and purple flowers today.

Fiesta Flower: If you were brought up with strict dogmatic views on religion, choosing to explore a different spiritual path could feel like doing something “against the law.” Fiesta flower could help you develop more flexibility while staying inwardly strong enough to relax and be open to following your own path.

Purple Monkeyflower: For some people, new spiritual experiences, such as might be experienced in meditation or a yoga or Reiki class, feel downright scary. This might be especially true if you who grew up in a religious organization that put the “fear of God” into you or taught you that outside practices are the work of the devil. Purple Monkeyflower can help you have courage to follow another path and feel more calm around spiritual or psychic experiences. I use it in my Trusting Inner Guidance Formula.

Sage: This flower essence helps a person, especially later in life, draw “sage wisdom” from the experiences they went through at an earlier time so they can see a higher purpose or take deeper meaning from those experiences to help themselves or others.

Lilac: People on a healing path from early life trauma often push away the good life experiences they had along with the bad. Lilac can help you access and take nourishment from positive memories, which can have a rejuvenating effect if you are stuck on it all being bad.

Iris: Especially good for artists of all kinds, this flower essence helps you feel creative inspiration if you lost it along the way. But it also can help anyone who wishes to bring more passion and creativity into their life’s path. It helps a person bring more beauty into their lives and into the world.

Lupine: If people spend too much time in a dog eat dog environment, we tend to lose touch with spiritual perspectives that link us all to the common good. Lupine can help you feel part of the larger community and might even inspire you to want to make a positive difference in the world.

Violet: This flower essence is for sensitive souls who long to interact more in groups but hold back due to great shyness. Already prone to being quite open spiritually, it can feel hard to maintain a strong sense of self when bombarded by the energies in a group. Violet can help break the spell of being “fragile” so you can allow yourself to share yourself more with others.

Explorer's Gentian: This flower essence addresses the world weariness that can set in when a person needs to start over again, especially later in life. Explorer's Gentian helps you connect with spiritual inspiration. It helps you feel enthused about what you could do with your life again (especially if it's something that you feel is new), to have faith in the journey, and renewed strength and energy to continue on.

––––––––––––––––––––––––

The Color Lavender and Flower Essence Healing

2026-02-07T17:47:00.000-08:00

I didn’t sleep well last night after staying up too late trying to help a friend. And today the troubles continued until I suddenly felt overwhelmed, chilled, and depleted. I looked for a sweater in my drawers and my heart leaped up when I saw my old lavender sweatshirt that I had not worn for a while. That would be perfect I thought and I’m wearing it now.

Lavender and light purple are considered gentle yet powerful healing colors in color therapy, primarily associated with calming the mind, reducing stress, and fostering emotional balance. On the physical level, it is associated with supporting the central nervous system and improving sleep.

The shades of lavender I like combine the calming aspects of blue with mildly transformative aspects of violet. Violet or purple are often associated with the Crown chakra, the seat of higher guidance and spiritual awareness. Blue is associated with the Throat chakra. That chakra is often thought to be about communication in terms of self expression, but true communication is a two-way street. This chakra also has to do hearing your inner truth and receiving divine guidance and intuition.

Feeling drawn to the color lavender also made me think about flower essences in this color spectrum, and the following ones caught my attention:

Lavender: The obvious one to start with, Lavender flower essence is for emotional balance and soothing sensitivity due to an overload of excess input. This can take many forms: worrying about other people, watching the news (and getting worried about what you heard), taking in too much psychic information. Basically, taking in too much, especially if it triggers turmoil in yourself for any number of reasons. Lavender helps turn down the volume on mental, psychic or spiritual input so you can sleep better and feel more capable of taking things on again.

Gentian: This is one of the classic Bach Flower Remedies for resilience, confidence, and the ability to persevere after setbacks. It helps when you feel so discouraged after a setback that you fear the problem might be insurmountable. It's very powerful when you need it. It seems to bring in renewed faith and perspective on what is possible, but my first impression tends to be grounding and a feeling of inner strength.

Self-Heal: This flower essence brings forward your inner healing forces when your emotional or physical well-being feels rocked to the core. It can help you tap your own healing guidance or trust it when that might be of use. It is especially helpful when whatever is going on feels like more than you can handle. It brings forward a welcome feeling of inner strength and relief.

All of these involve a belief system shift that turns your despairing feeling of “this is just too much” to "I've got this." The three together might assist with being able to rest and recover, reset, and find the strength and renewed enthusiasm for taking up the battle once again.

––––––––––––––––––––––––

Aging Gracefully with Flower Essence Support

2026-02-03T17:20:00.000-08:00

Aging brings real emotional challenges. We grow up steeped in cultural messages that prize youth, beauty, and physical vitality, making it difficult to adjust—emotionally and spiritually—to a changing body.

Years ago, when I first created a formula about aging, I focussed on women because I was thinking mostly about the pressures women feel about their looks throughout their lives and how unrealistic expectations and definitions of physical beauty hit us particularly hard as we age. In my family, the joke is that we don't go grey, we go blonde! And I was definitely following that path 20 years ago until I decided it was silly for organic nature girl here to be doing that. And then I learned some life lessons about how challenging it can be to navigate the world of finding conventional work once a woman lets her natural aging process show.

Men, on the other hand have often been given more social leeway. But since I made that original aging formula, I have come to see that times are changing. Men are targeted for how they look more often now and face their own struggles around vitality, grey thinning hair, and identity. Plus, for all of us, aging can stir worries about health, mobility, independence, and—inevitably—our mortality. As the saying goes, old age is not for sissies.

So I now have a new flower essence combination called Aging Gracefully intended for both men and women. It was created to support the emotional side of aging with greater ease, acceptance, and grace. At its heart is a gentle shift in perspective: What if this stage of life could be meaningful—even freeing? Many people discover that letting go of the expectations of our earlier lives can open the door to deeper authenticity, wisdom, and enjoyment.

This formula is designed to help you accept your aging self, release obsessive concern about changing looks or bodily functions, and more fully inhabit and enjoy your later years. It supports emotional peace around the natural processes of aging and dying, encouraging a broader, more spiritual outlook that transcends over-identification with appearance and material concerns.

Paul and I are both using this one now. So far I feel a real sense of relief every time I do, which was surprising. I wasn't actually aware of how much aging concerns were weighing on me—I thought I was making this one for Paul (lol). But no, it's helping us both feel more at ease. I'm having flashes of a sense of humor about getting older now. And even new feelings of looking forward to what this stage of life could bring back into our lives.

Find Reiki-infused flower essence dropper bottles and unscented sprays of Aging Gracefully.

Find Aging Gracefully sprays with the ability to add an essential oil for scent and added aromatherapy effects.

––––––––––––––––––––––––

Organic Elderflower is the Tea of the Month -- On Sale Now!

2026-01-31T23:30:00.000-08:00

Organic Elderflower is Mama Love's Tea of the Month. That means it is 25% off all of February and you don't need a coupon. Just go to my Elderflower listing and you'll find it already marked down.

Why did I pick Elderflower for February? Probably because the almond trees that surround Chico burst into bloom a couple of weeks ago, the horrific manure spreaders started tossing vile-smelling dust into the air, and my eyes and nose started itching and running nonstop. Yes, it's allergy season for me right now and I started craving Elderflower tea.

I am not actually a fan of Elderflower in terms of taste. Other people like it but I usually mix it with something more flavorful. But this time I wanted to be able to more clearly judge whether it did me any good so I mixed it with nothing and didn't add any sweetener.

Intellectually, I know that Elderflower is thought to support immune system function and herbalists often suggest it in cold and flu season along with other immune support choices. But it is also often recommended for seasonal allergies because it is thought to soothe swollen nasal passages and support respiratory health. And that is what it did for me. It didn't stop the allergy symptoms completely, but I definitely felt like I could breathe more freely and my nose stopped running.

I also felt much more relaxed! I had forgotten that Elderflower had that quality on its own because I often mix it with other relaxing tea ingredients like Chamomile and Rose petals (sometimes with Rosehips to add more vitamin C). It didn't make me feel like I wanted to go to bed, but it was very enjoyable.

Elderflower is generally considered safe but if you take diabetes or blood pressure medication, be cautious as it could enhance those effects. And definitely consult with a doctor if you take medications for other conditions or have allergies to Elderberry, Honeysuckle, or grasses.

––––––––––––––––––––––––

Can Our Extreme National Polarities be Resolved?

2026-01-28T17:24:00.000-08:00

I fear that this blog post might come across as a little tone deaf, given the obvious need for people to be defending their neighbors and communities from abusive government over-reach. On the other hand, I am also starting to hear despair from those who grew up in both left or right wing families about how gut-wrenching it is to be in such fierce conflict with people you love. I admit to wondering how this will be ever reconciled myself. But let’s go there anyway, okay? Someday, hopefully soon, we will have to work with these polarities if we are to have any hope of national unity ever again.

“That’s what is so grievous about civil strife. You often find yourself in opposition not to some hated, distant foe, but rather in opposition to people you’ve loved your whole life — whom you still love.” That’s conservative author David French writing in the New York Times recently. He was arguing that American politics has moved beyond ideological disagreement into "ideological animosity," where the goal is to oppose and defeat the other side, regardless of personal ties. He believes the answer to this division is reconciliation rather than domination, and I hope that is possible. His commentary stems from his experience as a conservative who has faced intense, personal opposition from within his own political and religious circles due to his anti-Trump and anti-extremist stances. This has even taken the form of feeling ostracized from his church and receiving direct threats from people he does not know.

But this experience is not confined to people on the right. As a person who was raised Jewish in the United States, I related to French’s point of view. The last few years have been devastating for progressive Jews as long-held beliefs and the words used to describe those beliefs have been co-opted by non-Jews and re-defined to fit a very righteous yet one-sided anti-Israel ideology. It’s even harder when you agree with the intent behind the new narratives because you don’t agree with what has been happening in the Middle East yourself, but you vehemently oppose the style of rhetoric and the enormous rise in attacks on Jews worldwide directly attributed to anti-Israel sentiments (as much as 400% higher in some locations). Many of my Jewish friends have felt pushed out of their progressive communities simply for stating for the record their truth of what they have personally experienced or heard from older relatives about the reality of anti-Semitism in and outside of Israel. We KNEW that rise in attacks was going to come if there was no ability to have rational discussions about the rhetoric being used because we or people we love lived through it before, and then it happened again. If you never have found yourself in debate with someone who will not listen to you and your actual lived experience when your potential safety or wellbeing is at stake, the sense of betrayal is hard to describe.

And that is what has been happening in this country around race, feminism, abortion rights, gay rights, and the left-right divide for quite a long time. Still, I do feel glad to see the topic of reconciliation opening up without the polyanna "can't we all just get along" simplification.

My Etsy Shop is Reflecting this Change

Because flower essences are used for healing distressing emotions, I often see trends in my shop that seem to reflect trends in the greater cultural climate or mindset. Lately, I have started to notice the glimmerings of what might be a significant shift.

Not long ago a surprising number of people started ordering Joshua Tree flower essence and that is still happening. Joshua Tree is for breaking free of cultural and family patterns. It helps you gain insight into how those patterns have affected you so you can more easily move beyond those that hold you back from living an authentic life. I thought it was selling well because many people are having to cope with holding political beliefs that are quite different from those they grew up with now. But in the last couple of weeks I have started to see more sales of Saguaro and Tiger Lily and that’s an interesting trend.

Saguaro is often used to help a person reconcile their relationship with abusive authority, particularly in their family of origin. But, while it might help you stand tall in your own authority, it can also help you see those authority figures in a different light, perhaps recognizing benefits they are trying to offer and not just the abuse. That’s an important shift as it indicates a desire to somehow go beyond divisive animosity.

Tiger Lily takes this much further though. This flower essence is for shifting overly aggressive or openly hostile modes of expression to ones that build bridges and find common ground. It’s not about giving up your own strength, but it adds the ability to allow in other perspectives and find greater inclusivity and harmony with the greater goal of creating peace.

We want strength and power to be used for the common good, but too much of the time people on both sides of our current political divide think the common good couldn’t possibly include the egregious beliefs and actions they attribute to the other side. If domination is part of the picture, and it is, it will be hard to get beyond this. But there are many other visions of human behavior that have been presented in recent weeks: expressions of grief and love for friends and neighbors and the coming together of many different factions of society in mutual support and creativity.

Personally, I have found myself wondering how those of us on the left could find any common ground with members of ICE—seriously wondering if it was possible, not just assuming it was not. What immediately popped into my mind is that many of the people working for ICE today probably never imagined they could make so much money from a job. They get more money than I have ever been paid! In fact, many of them may have felt like life had handed them a raw deal in the past and that the current administration is the savior they have always wanted. I remember feeling the same way about Bernie Sanders. Different ideology but the same perception of the potential benefits of what he says he wants to do: lifting people up out of hopeless-feeling situations. (Universal healthcare, for example? Yes, please!)

If I could choose a flower essence to infuse our country with I think I would choose Star of Bethlehem for healing the pervasive feeling of trauma, grief and loss so many of us live with every day. You know that American Dream so many of us grew up with? Surveys show that this feels out of reach for more Americans today than ever before. And the horror we have been witnessing this past year and before that? Yeah, there is a lot of trauma and PTSD going around.

But then I think that Tiger Lily really would be an excellent next choice as well as flower essences for getting beyond feelings of victimhood (Willow) and hate (Holly).

Just a little food for thought tonight. I don't have a lot of answers but I thought considering the topic might help.

––––––––––––––––––––––––

Could Flower Essences for Joy Help Soothe an Artist’s Heart in Very Challenging Times?

2026-01-27T04:37:00.000-08:00

A couple of artist friends this past week have expressed how hard it is has been for them to even think about making art in recent weeks. One who makes handmade jewelry put it like this:

"It’s hard to see the value of running a jewelry business in the face of all the atrocities happening here and abroad. I am a firm believer in the power of art, handmade items, color and the love I put into my work, but I am having a hard time going on as usual. We must stand up for humanity and justice, this violence must stop!”

Boy, did I relate to that! In addition to Mama Love, I am also an artist but the desire to do art has suffered on and off through the years because of a loud voice in my head that says not to fiddle while Rome burns! That meant in recent years, when I needed a full-time job I wished I didn’t need to have, I told myself to choose a job in a field that would support one of the biggest issues I cared about in the world. I hoped that the motivation of contributing to helping to solve that problem would take the sting out of needing to return to full-time work. There were two top issues I cared about most at the time—climate change and income inequality. I chose climate change because income inequality seemed too depressing.

Now, seven years later, I have left that job and know that my choice didn’t really take the sting out much at all—mainly because I know now that climate change can’t be solved unless income inequality is addressed at the same time. That's because rampant unchecked capitalism with government in the hands of those who want to enrich themselves at the expense of everyone else has included ripping up all the regulations we need to address the factors that contribute to a planet heating too fast.

So now what? I’m free from that job and, theoretically, could put more time into art. And I still feel like getting a job or volunteer work trying to address income inequality instead would be depressing as hell. But what kind of art would I want to do now?

And what role does art play now? If I lived in Minnesota I know I wouldn’t be able to think about art in the normal sense at all. Although there are artists there and elsewhere using their art in the service of political theater. Artists in Ukraine painted art on bombed out buildings and walls. But art for sale? It feels incongruous.

Some people, myself included, responded to my artist friends by saying that we need art and beauty and moments of joy more than ever. And I do know that I have not stopped sharing works of art and music online at all. There has to be a balance!

But do I have to do political art? That’s not what I share online. When I think about a career in the arts, that's not what I want to sell and not what I think most people would buy (although I know someone in San Francisco doing very political pieces). And again, selling art??? I suppose I could bring canvasses to a protest . . . but at the moment I’m not inspired at the thought of that at all.

This is a blog about flower essences so I thought I might try looking at this through a flower essence lens. What flower essences would my inner dowser lead me to on this? (I dowse to pick flower essences.)

Hound’s Tongue came up first. I am actually already using that one but not necessarily in regards to art. It’s in a mix I’m using because it lifts up the heart and points a person in the direction of a more spirit-filled holistic perspective. That can help with inspiring creativity and having more imagination about options available as an artist. But I think it’s helping me hold the horrific events of the day in a better (more hopeful) manner.

I was also pointed to a flower essence formula I call “Joyous Heart.” That contains three flower essences—Cassiope (for grateful appreciation of life,) Lemon (for dispelling negative thought patterns that drag you down, more mental clarity, and inspiration), and Daffodil (for uplifting the spirits, providing hope, inspiration, and light in challenging times).

Okay, I see a theme happening here, and my inner dowser says I am done.

Interesting. I’ll have to experiment with that and see what happens. Will it make me want to do more art again? Or put my attention somewhere else (for now)? My artist mom, if she was alive, I think would tell me to do art to make myself happy, not that I know what art that would be at the moment. Maybe if art helps inspire and bring joy to other people, artists need to find their joy and inspiration for themselves! I’ll have to try this flower essence combination and find out.

UPDATE: It's a few days later now. First, this flower essence combo does make me feel better. Joyful? Maybe not yet . . . but headed in that direction. More hopeful, for sure. And then I did have an impulse to do art again with an unusual (for me) concept. An old lullaby I loved as a child came to mind, specifically the lyrics "when you wake, you shall have cake and all the pretty little horses." And I had a clear image of a painting idea including a white but colorfully decorated carousel horse leaping over flying cake. (I used to love carousel horses as a child as well.) So apparently my inner child spoke up. She likes the idea of cake for breakfast and wants to believe in a lullaby that represents waking up to a better day.

I'd say this experiment is off to a great start!

––––––––––––––––––––––––

When Horror is the Mood of the Day

2026-01-24T18:53:00.000-08:00

Well, my first day of semi-retirement today started with great joy that quickly turned to horror as soon as I saw the news in my Facebook feed. It's not every day that you see videos of a person being beaten and murdered in broad daylight after trying to protect a woman from similar treatment. And it didn't used to be every day when the very first statement by the federal government on the topic is a bald-faced lie. (Sorry if you don't like me saying that—watch the videos for yourself.)

"What can I do? What can I do?" I have already done what I can think of at the moment. I imagine I'll think of more later but what I really needed most today was to calm down my anger, bordering on rage. There are lots of flower essences that can be used for that, but they didn't work. So then I tried to identify the feeling beneath my reaction. As luck would have it, an Etsy customer ordered Glassy Hyacinth from my shop today—the best flower essence I know for addressing horror. I use it in my Healing Political Stress formula and it works extremely well.

When I first made that formula I did not use Glassy Hyacinth. It already had great flower essences like Sweet Chestnut (for hope and strength in the midst of despair), Beech (for the ability to cope with what feels intolerable), Willow (for regaining strength when you're in resentful misery), and Impatiens (for the patience and faith needed for events to play out and things to heal). But when I added Glassy Hyacinth, it was a game-changer!

This flower essence is deeply grounding and supportive when you feel like you just witnessed something that is pure evil, something you never imagined seeing in your life! When I used it today I felt that feeling of overwhelm and powerless disappear. I felt more resolute in my heart and calm. The panic of needing to do something NOW was replaced with knowing we will do something if it takes the rest of our lives. And that's real power.

––––––––––––––––––––––––

Forgiving Yourself on the Healing Path

2026-01-19T20:48:00.000-08:00

I've talked about this before but up it popped again so it's worth revisiting. I recently had a series of conversations with a person who had gone through a really tough struggle of doing what they felt they had to do to survive over a period of almost two decades. It started with a disaster outside of their control and then progressed into one unfortunate experience after another. This set the stage for them getting a series of awful part-time jobs until, after years of this, they finally got a full-time professional level job that paid a lot better. That one wasn’t a healthy fit either but there were some good parts and it had great benefits so they hung on to that for dear life even though it really wasn’t a healthy place to be. Then, when they least expected it, that job came to an end as well. Again, for reasons beyond their control.

So they were talking to me about the folly of having believed in the advice they used to live by of doing what you love and the money will follow. They tried that just before the first disaster and they believed that everything that happened after that was the “unfortunate” outcome of choices made way back then. I put “unfortunate” in quotes because eventually their prime objective became making the best financial decisions they could figure out in order to get out of poverty. Through the choices they made, they actually managed to save enough money that the average person would think they're likely to be okay. But like I said, they have that scary past history, the future is never in cement, and fear is making them distrust themselves. They keep looking back and blaming themselves for what happened because, after all, they were big believers in the magic of manifestation. Couldn’t they have done better than that?!!

So that’s when I saw two quotes in my Facebook feed that I decided to share just for them:

“Forgive yourself for not knowing earlier what only time could teach.”

“If you want to grow, then you must forgive yourself for the decisions you made in survival mode.”

A person who has a lot of money in the bank can afford to turn down jobs that aren't a good fit. A person who is wealthy can afford to make decisions a poor person could never imagine being able to make. And when money is the prime objective sometimes a person grasps onto a situation that turns out to be a mistake on other levels because, damn it, the dictates of the heart often take a back seat to the need to pay the rent. That’s a really common experience, perhaps the most common of all in our culture. Until you can rise to another level, it’s hard to find a long enough view to imagine a healthier, happier outcome.

So in helping this person, we discussed the need for Holly for dealing with anger and the need to forgive this situation, Star of Bethlehem for the series of traumas that led to this job and the trauma of losing it as well, plus Cherry Plum for the terror of thinking that everything that was built could fall apart. And it seemed to help, at least at first, until the idea that we should add Pine for self-forgiveness came up.

“I should have known! I knew that job wasn’t a good fit right from the start! Why didn’t I [do this]? How could I have put up with that? And why didn’t I do [such and such a thing] way back when all this first started?” Every bad memory or presumed mistake led to self-recrimination and blame, even for things that were not their fault.

So we added Pine and things started to go in a different direction. The formula was actually abandoned fairly quickly after that because it didn’t seem to be needed anymore and more positive thoughts about what they might LIKE to do next started to come in. And now Larch is being used to aid their self-confidence in going in that direction.

––––––––––––––––––––––––