Edward Bach (1886-1936) was a British physician and well-known pathologist, immunologist, and bacteriologist. His discoveries in these areas of medicine were pioneering, and his innovative bacterial vaccines have found a permanent place in homeopathic medicine under the name “Bach nosodes.” Despite his medical successes, he still felt unsatisfied. For him an illness was not just a “dysfunction of the human machine” but an effect of disharmony between body and mind. The symptoms of an illness were the external expression, the bodily manifestation, of negative emotional states.
His postulate was, “Treat the person, not the illness.” He assumed that the causes of disease were negative emotional states such as sorrow, fear, dissatisfaction, impatience, sadness, and so forth. Therefore, he started looking for soul remedies that could influence the causes of an illness. A great nature lover, Edward Bach was also extremely sensitive. In his quest for new remedies he would go into the countryside, pick the petal of a single flower, and lay it on his tongue. With the help of his immense sensitivity he was able to feel the effect of a plant on the human body and psyche. In this way he found the plants he thought were useful for the treatment of negative emotional states. He used not only the blossoms of wildflowers but also the flowers of wild shrubs, bushes, and trees.
Dr. Edward Bach, born in England in 1886, practiced orthodox medicine from 1914 until 1918 and served as a homeopathic practitioner from 1919 to 1930. As a pathologist and bacteriologist, Dr. Bach developed vaccines from intestinal bacteria that helped many people suffering from chronic diseases. During the fall of 1928, Bach visited Wales and acquired his first two flowers, Impatiens and Mimulus. Using both essences for natural remedies, he received excellent results.
It is important to mention that Bach was in part influenced by the spiritual researcher, Rudolf Steiner. In the 1920’s he visited England several times and gave lectures before groups of physicians. He predicted that flowers would be discovered to be of great healing value sometime in the future.
From 1930 to 1936 Bach lived in rural areas of England and completed his 38 flower set. The Bach remedies were developed during the Depression and some people have noted that they seem to reflect the climate of that time: remedies for depression, discouragement and fear.
Dr. Bach stated that the real diseases of man are pride, cruelty, hate, selfishness, ignorance, instability and greed. His flower remedies have a strong impact with toxic emotions like resentment, guilt, hate and the feeling of being a victim. The flower remedies heal by rising the vibratory level of consciousness, therefore allowing us to perceive our superior nature. The flowers allow us to infuse our being with the particular virtue we need and automatically erasing the negative cause of the disorder producing pain. Dr. Bach passed away m peace in 1936. To this day, Queen Elizabeth II uses his flower remedies.