Although Homeopathic Medicine is different to Flower Remedy Therapy, they both use the stored energy signature or, what’s commonly known as; ‘vibration’ of a specified plant to unlock the healing potential of that living material. With Flower Remedies this is done by means of a phenomenon called ‘Water Memory’. The rationale for proponents of this phenomenon is that water is capable of retaining a memory of the vibration of particles or flowers that have been placed into it for a specified period of time and by a specified means.

Therefore the ‘source material’ could, for example, be a Verbena officinalis flower that, using Dr Bach’s traditional method, is first submerged into fresh spring water and is then left in the sunlight for a few hours to ‘infuse’. Once the water has collected the memory of Verbena officinalis its’ unique ‘energy signature’ will be stored forever within that spring water. The next step is for the infused spring water to be preserved (usually using brandy) and thus it becomes a Flower Remedy that is used for the unique emotional or behavioural problems that Verbena officinalis is understood to address; in this case – fanaticism or intensity.

The notion of water having the capacity to retain a ‘memory’ has proven to be a controversial one amongst many members of the scientific community (and often an inconceivable one to the layman!). However, recent studies by some eminent scientists have shown that, although still not fully understood, there is some validity to this ‘concept’. When studying the water that it has been placed into: each flower (for instance) imparts a unique ‘fingerprint of energy’ into the water – these subtle, yet distinct changes can be observed through a powerful microscope, and, when frozen, can be seen as thousands of beautiful and identical geometric crystals (similar to magnified snow flakes); all totally unique to that particular plant. And therefore, as one would expect, microscopic photographs have also shown that the molecular structure of water changes when infused with particular particles, however, much more significant is the fact that these changes can still be observed after the water has been diluted so extensively (by thousands of percent of the original concentration) that logic and science would predict that there would be no trace whatsoever of the added particle.

In such studies the water behaves in a way that is not fully understood and is apparently in contradiction to the laws of known science. However, despite any conclusive scientific explanation, many, many people who have used the Remedies over the past 75 years have reported positive effects from taking them. Some may say that this could simply be the ‘placebo effect’ (in other words: a sense of benefit felt by the patient that arises solely from the knowledge that treatment has been given), however, many practitioners and pet owners have also reported some amazing results when the Remedies are given to animals, so there can be no question of the placebo effect being at work in those cases. Therefore, we don’t really know how they work but we know that they do!

To learn more about this subject and to read the arguments please click here for the WATER MEMORY articles.

By a steep, cobbled slipway that leads to the beach, sits a row of tall Victorian terraces inhabited by artists, holidaymakers and fishermen. Nestled amid the row is an unremarkable dwelling with a dark green, iron door. There seems nothing extraordinary about this house except that, unknown to most, it was once, during the 1930s, the residence of a very special man. A man who has influenced thousands worldwide; someone who has inspired hundreds of books, written in many different languages, and myriad websites, articles, leaflets, brochures and journals. An inspirational, some say visionary, doctor, homeopath and surgeon who - through great personal sacrifice and dedication - pioneered a new, alternative system of treatment that went-on to be revered around the world by those seeking a different, natural way to heal emotional problems.
His name was and is Edward Bach and, whilst living here in the Norfolk coastal town of Cromer, he began his ‘journey of research’ into what became known as The Bach Flower Remedies.

Having used, made and prescribed Flower Remedies, for the larger part of my life, I feel extremely privileged to live just a 15-minute walk from Dr Bach’s former residence and in the town he inhabited when discovering many of his Remedies. A quaint, traditional seaside town; to the casual observer there’s nothing particularly remarkable about Cromer. It has the obligatory pier, a modest promenade and a few (formerly) grand hotels. In wintertime it’s quiet, sleepy and windswept (or gale-swept), in the summer it’s all ice cream, windbreaks and holidaying families, probably just as it was in the 1930s when Bach lived here.

But there are some fine places to be found in and around this town, on the wild, sandy cliffs and grassy green hills. Places that Dr Bach himself walked whilst looking for plants and flowers to add to his growing range of remedies. I’d like to take you to one of those places, a special one, just over the way from my home.

The delightfully named ‘Happy Valley’ (see the scene at the start of this page) is an area of mown park and wild scrubland, watched-over by an elegant lighthouse and bordered by the open sea to one side and woodland to the other. A favourite place for dog-walkers, it’s where I take my dog, Simba, early each morning. If you climb the steep ridge, out of the valley, you’ll be met by a wonderful view overlooking a wide expanse of sea. Sometimes the sea is bluey green – tropical looking, other times it’s dark, rough and angry. But it is here, during the late summer, that the cliffs are blanketed in a profusion of Clematis, as far as you can see. There’s a nicely positioned bench nearby and a perilous long, windy path, cut out of the cliffs, leading to the beach. So, although this is a public place, this little patch still feels secret and special – the flowers positively inviting you to make a remedy from them.

It is well documented that Bach made his very first Remedies in and around Cromer and that his Clematis was made from the flowers on these banks, but could this be the precise spot? Perhaps, back in the 1930s, this is where the first ever Clematis Flower Remedy was made? Perhaps those very plants I use to make my Clematis are the descendents of those that Bach himself used? It’s impossible to know, but it’s nice to wonder or even daydream; as those requiring Clematis are prone!

The Birth of Rescue Remedy
Being that Bach's home was situated at a good vantage point overlooking the sea and lifeboat station, he, like his neighbours, would often have seen the boat going out to rescue those in peril. The story goes that one stormy day, during the winter of 1933, the lifeboat went out to rescue a man who, for over five hours, had been clinging to the mast of a wreckage. When the boat returned the man was delirious; foaming at the mouth; almost frozen – his life despaired of. With that, Edward rushed to his kitchen and hastily mixed a concoction of his newly discovered remedies which he dabbed on the “helpless” man as he was being carried up the slipway. Before the man had been stripped of his clothing and wrapped in warm blankets he was sitting up, in his right mind, and asking for a cigarette. It is said that that seemingly impromptu concoction was the birth of the now famous Rescue Remedy.  Seventy five years later that little bottle of magic – Rescue Remedy™ (yes, now with trade-mark symbol) – is advertised in glossy magazines; is on sale around the country in Boots the chemist; is espoused by celebrities who exclaim: “I can’t be without my Rescue Remedy”; and is even used as the answer to general-knowledge questions on TV quiz shows! Quite remarkable when you think how it came into being. (For our product - made the same way and with the same ingredients as Dr Bach's Rescue Remedy mentioned above - please click here for the Comforter Essence).

This otherwise fairly ordinary town of Cromer is a place that inspires me like it inspired Edward. A place where many of the first discoveries were made, and the sequence of unplanned events happened, that helped enable Edward Bach to create something very special – a gift to the world.

© Copyright 2010 J Stevenson and A Digby

Cromer today