FLOWER ESSENCE THERAPY FOR ANIMALS
This article appeared in the December 1995 issue of Natural Pet Magazine

      Extraordinary music such as Bach's "B Minor Mass", Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata", or Vaughn Williams "Lark Ascending", are known to have an uplifting and healing effect on the human Soul. This effect has been experienced across cultural boundaries, as the soul responds to harmony and beauty regardless of its temporary resting place.

     I have found that animals, too, respond to beautiful music, and their souls are touched and uplifted by the same music that touches and uplifts the souls of human beings. Over the years I have noticed that my animals get up from wherever they happen to be in the house to come close to the speaker when I play particular pieces of music. They become blissful and elevated just as I do. I have often used music to soothe an ailing animal or to assist in an animal's transition from this life. So when I learned about the healing properties of flower essences, it seemed natural to give them to my animals, too. Animals respond more quickly to flower essences than adult humans do, and often with greater results. Animals don't have a complex mental overlay to their functioning that gets in the way by questioning and doubting, and they are closer to flowers both physically and energetically than humans are.

     Observing my own pets over time, I have become aware of the profound relationship of animals and flowers. Animals are intimately attuned to the world of devas and fairies...those very beings who hold the archetypes of flowers, bring them into form, and maintain their form during their short stay in the three dimensional realm.

     Because of their size, small animals are face to face with many flowers, and have a natural rapport with them. On some sunny summer day, try getting down at cat's-eye level and observing your garden. This will give you a small taste of their perspective. The relationship of animals to flowers often shows in their physical form as well. Look at a pansy or a violet, and then look at the face of your kitten! Stroke the leaves of a pansy or violet, and the stroke the face of your kitten!

     Animals are intimately attuned to the music, or vibration, of nature....the flowers and trees dancing rhythmically in the wind, the murmuring of the breeze, the whistling of the wind through rocks and mountains, the harmony of sun and moon, the movements of stars and planets, the rhythm of the days months and seasons. In their essential state, animals, birds, and plants communicate by means of the music of nature. So it is natural for flowers and animals to work together.

     Animals attune on a soul level to many herbs and flowers because of their spiritual and healing properties. Animals in the wild will seek out and eat these medicinal herbs and flowers, or simply rest among them absorbing their energy. When my cat Shoji grieved for me during a long absence, he could be found, each afternoon, in a far corner of the yard napping beneath the low hanging branches of a Bleeding Heart. The signature, or vibration, of a flower is often evident in its name: Forget-me-not, Angel's Trumpet, Love-lies-bleeding, Self-heal, Passion Flower, Heart's Ease.

     With close observation, one can perceive an overlapping quality in the Divine Creative Impulse that generates the morphic fields or vibrational holograms of many plant and animal species. This gives animals an instinctual understanding of various plants, regardless of whether they have ever been in contact with the particular plant before. This ability in domestic or caged animals may diminish or disappear over time because the animal is no longer in intimate contact with nature. It then becomes our obligation, as guardians, to facilitate the use of herbs and flower essences with our companion animals, and other animals that we as a species have confined to artificial environments.

      Because an animal's entire being is a subtle energy receptor, it is easily disturbed by the tiniest fluctuation of energy in its personal environment; this is particularly true of cats. By the same token, an animal's subtle energy attunement makes it very responsive to re-alignment through the use of flower essences.

     A wide range of common physical disorders in animals as well as many mental and emotional disturbances brought on by grief, loneliness, abandonment, trauma and negative thought forms, can be eased and often eliminated with Flower Essence Therapy. In addition, the tendency of companion animals to absorb the emotions of the humans they live with can be greatly relieved by the use of flower essences. Animals suffer acutely from situations that they are incapable of understanding such as human relationship difficulties, job worries and financial stress. The suffering of domestic animals is, to a great extent, a result of contact with "civilization".

     Essences are available to assist at every stage of an animal's development: birth and bonding, spaying and neutering, training, aging and the transition from this life. Flower essences are an invaluable aid during times of uncertainty, such as traveling, changing residences, adjusting to other animals or grieving the loss of a companion, to name just a few.

Animals that come from abusive or neglectful backgrounds, as many animals do, often require assistance to clear negative past patterning. With the use of appropriate essences, the memory of deep despair can be relieved and the animals life can move forward in joy.

     Sensitively chosen essences can produce profound and lasting changes in an animals behavior. These changes are significant, because they cannot be attributed to the placebo effect so often sited by skeptics to dismiss the effectiveness of flower essence therapy, Animals have souls, emotions, feelings and karmic influences that affect their health and well being, just as humans do. This can be easily seen and influenced by using flower essences.

     In my work I have chosen to use many of the more esoteric spiritual essences, either singly or in combination with traditional flower remedies. Animals are evolving toward enlightenment just as we are, and spiritual essences encourage their soul growth in the same way that beautiful music does. Just as a musical solo on the violin, cello or flute may touch the soul on a deeper level than a whole symphony, a single flower essence can at times touch the soul more deeply than several together. For this reason, when addressing deep soul issues, whether man's or animal's, I often treat with just one essence at a time. Once these deep issues have been addressed, essences in combination are quite effective and can provide an invaluable and ongoing addition to an animals life process.