When healing from an illness or disease, it’s been observed that the speed and degree of a patient’s healing is directly related to his or her attitude. My experience as a Certified Wellness Doctor shows this to be true. For example, if two patients start treatment at approximately the same time with similar problems, the patient with the best attitude heals the quickest. No matter what the prognosis, the patient with a positive attitude responds the best to any type of treatment. The patient with a poor attitude tends to fail, while denying any responsibility for his or her failure. Trying to get patients to really, truly comprehend the importance of their attitude when it comes to healing is not easy. A question always asked in my profession is, “How can we help people change their attitudes in order to have the most positive outcome?”
Healing practitioners from different cultures throughout the world have tried many different methods to influence their patient’s attitude. Have you ever thought about what would change your attitude? What do you believe comes first – your attitude about life, or what actually happens to you in life? And if you were to become ill, how much do you believe your attitude would influence your healing?
The Western world has a reputation for advocating drugs to manipulate how a person views the world. Antidepressants, stimulants, and painkillers are all examples of drugs that are taken into the body to attempt to change one’s attitude. Although these drugs have the ability to treat sadness, anxiety, or pain, the side effects generally offset the benefits. Another problem is that unnatural drugs inhibit healing and compromise health.
The best way to change and improve one’s attitude is to work with the natural, physical energies of the body. Besides having a high success rate, there are no negative side effects. The monks in the Tibetan Himalayas referred to “whirling fields of energy” in the body as “Chakras.” It appears that when these energy fields are not flowing in the right direction, or when they stop rotating altogether, the health, vitality, and life force of a person will be compromised. I believe that understanding and acknowledging these energy fields, as well as doing specific exercises to keep these fields flowing in the right direction, is very helpful in maintaining and developing a positive attitude. (We teach these exercises in the Advanced Exercise Class in my office.)
Healing modalities such as meditation, Reiki, herbal medicine, homeopathy, and acupuncture also work at an energetic level in the body. According to Dr. Richard Gerber’s A Practical Guide to Vibrational Medicine, Bach Flower Essences are included in the category of vibrational medicine. This is “based upon modern scientific insights into the energetic nature of the atoms and molecules making up our bodies, combined with ancient mystical observations of the body’s unique life-energy systems that are critical but less well understood aspects of human functioning.” Dr. Gerber explains that “Bach believed that his flower remedies would not only neutralize negative emotional and mental energy patterns but also infuse positive vibrations associated with specific virtues into an individual such as the virtues of love, peace, steadfastness, gentleness, strength, understanding, tolerance, wisdom, forgiveness, courage, or joy.”
I received training in the use of Dr. Bach’s Flower Remedies when I first became certified as a Wellness Doctor in 2004. Since then, I have found these Essences to be incredibly useful, as well as extremely safe, in helping my patients. I also use them when doing an A/SERT (Allergy /Sensitivity Elimination Reprogramming Technique) in the office.
Dr. Edward Bach was a brilliant man who lived in England from 1886-1936. Trained as a conventional allopathic physician at the University College Hospital, he later specialized in immunology, bacteriology, and research at the London Homeopathic Hospital. After reading “The Organon,”
written by Dr. Samuel Hahnemann (the founder of homeopathic medicine), he developed oral vaccines called nosodes, which are homeopathic remedies made from pathological specimens. Published in medical journals and recorded by the Royal Society of Medicine, Bach’s Seven Nosodes are still used today to treat chronic intestinal diseases.
When Dr. Bach used these nosodes to treat patients, he observed that he could select the appropriate curative nosode based on the patient’s emotional state, and that certain types of people reacted similarly to different illnesses and treatments. This experience provided the foundation for his work in treating the emotional state of the patient rather than the disease.
In 1928, Dr. Bach discovered the first of 38 Essences that became known throughout the world as Bach Flower Remedies or Essences. Each spring, he would go to the countryside to search out what he knew to be hidden there among the flowers. In the later part of the year, he would return with his new remedies to treat his patients. He became so excited by the results with his patients that he left his lucrative practice as a renowned physician in 1930 to continue searching for the specific nonpoisonous plants and flowers that would help his patients.
Dr. Bach observed that by tapping into the natural energy of these flowers and plants, his patients regained harmony, and healing soon followed. He believed that negative states of mind are the true cause of all disease, that life is a learning process, and that ill health occurs to help us understand more about our life’s purpose. Throughout the last six years of his life, Bach identified 38 basic negative states of mind and created a plant or flower remedy for each one.
Dr. Bach was exceptionally dedicated to serving humanity. He was like a comet that flew into our world, lit it up brightly, and then moved out just as quickly. Bach passed away quietly at Mount Vernon in Oxfordshire, England in 1936 at only 50 years of age, leaving behind an incredible system of healing that I use with great success in my office.
Remember, instead of resorting to drugs to cover up physical, mental, or emotional problems, plan to find what you need through nature’s bounty, perhaps with the help of Dr. Bach’s Flower Essences. If you suspect that you have emotions that may be interfering with your health or well-being, plan to schedule a free consultation with me (within Medicare guidelines) to help you get started in the right direction. Thanks to Dr. Bach, we have the benefit of 38 natural substances designed to help us restore our physical and emotional health. If you are interested in learning more, join me at the “Festival of Enlightenment” at Henry Ford Community College in Dearborn on Saturday, May 30th at 3 p.m. where I will be speaking on the topic of Bach’s Flower Remedies.
Disclaimer: This information is not intended to replace medical advice. We suggest seeking guidance from a qualified healthcare professional when making decisions regarding your health.
By Dr. William H. Karl, D.C.
