Floral Acupuncture: Applying the Flower Essences of Dr. Bach to Acupuncture Sites [Paperback]

"The color and light encoded in a flower essence,
when applied to its corresponding acupuncture point, create an exponential effect that revivifies your life force and lifts it to a new octave."

Floral Acupuncture is an aesthetically pleasing book, both visually and tactilely, which presents ground-breaking research in the field of flower essence therapy. It is succinctly and clearly written in language that makes it accessible and understandable to all readers, even those unfamiliar with flower essences or Traditional Chinese Medicine. The book provides an overview of the work of Dr. Bach, as well as specific information regarding the Five-Element Theory, its relationship with acupuncture and the twelve meridians present in the human body.

Craydon and Bellows present a hypothesis, explaining the mechanism through which the topical application of essences on acupuncture points operates, based on the works of Dr. Masaru Emoto, Dr. Shui Yin Lo and Lynne McTaggert. Dr. Imoto's work illustrates the ability of water to record vibrational and energetic information, while Dr. Shui Yin Lo (The Biophysics Basis for Acupuncture and Health) hypothesizes that both meridians and acupuncture points are made up of "water clusters." [A] "water cluster is defined as approximately 'ten to the ninth' water molecules combining to form a `cluster' that is a dipole, i.e., negatively charged on one end and positively charged on the other. When these clusters are stimulated by acupuncture needles, heat, sound (light in the case of flower essences), electromagnetic waves, electric fields, and or sound waves are generated. These waves travel through the meridian to various organs that resonate with similar water clusters in that organ." Lynne McTaggert in her book The Field, addresses related concepts in the area of quantum physics, one being that "water acts as the conductor of a molecule's signature frequency." In conclusion, according to Craydon and Bellows, "The perfect harmonics of the floral template contained in the memory of the water will, through electromagnetic resonance, stimulate the water clusters in the receptive acupuncture point and communicate this information through the meridian system. In this way, the whole body receives vibratory communication and realigns itself to match this template. Profound healing occurs when inner and outer nature harmonize with one another."

"What makes for a correct fit of flower essence to acupuncture point is a harmonic resonance between the vibrational structure of the essence and the vibrational structure of the water cluster in the acu-point. It is this harmonic resonance that stimulates the point into oscillation."

The applications of essences on their corresponding acu-points as presented in the book are the result of fourteen months of clinical research with flower essences, specifically those made according to the indications of Dr. Bach. The essences were systematically tested on the body to find specific acupuncture points that matched the frequency of each particular essence. The authors began by applying an essence to the various meridian source points to test which meridian each essence was most compatible with. To match fully a flower essence to a meridian, they set the requirement that "it had to flower through the entire meridian, opening the cranial plates in the head." They did further testing to find a flower essence's "most fully resonant acupuncture point. ... We were always rewarded by a tremendous renewal of vibrant energy when we found the most resonant site."

An overview of application methods is presented as well as an explanation of the synthesis between each of the essences and corresponding acupuncture points. Photographs showing the location of the points accompany each one. There is an additional section addressing special treatments which evolved as the authors conducted research for the book.

An informative original model for working through emotional states following progressive stages of healing with flower essences is also introduced. It was developed by Deborah Craydon through her own observations working with clients. It is comprised of six transitional stages-Denial, Anxiety, Depression, Anger, Fear and Release-correlated with the essences applicable for each one. This model is a valuable tool in and of itself, irrespective of its relationship to the book as a whole.

Simply stated, this is an exciting book that invites both practitioners and individuals to explore a new territory and understanding of the topical application of flower essences.

As an acupuncturist I found this book to be a really lovely synergy between the Flower Essence indications and the properties of the Chinese Qi Meridians. The design of the book itself is beautiful; the little green corner at the top left of the cover is inspired. Although I enjoyed reading the book I was dubious about clinical applications, but have been more than pleasantly surprised. Using essences on the prescibed sites as an adjunct to needling has yeilded quite good results in some sticky cases. The method is also a wonderful and convenient way to work on oneself. I await Volume II.

Craydon and Bellows' "Floral Acupuncture" attempts to combine the time-honored tradition of acupuncture and the seventy-year old flower therapy founded by the Welsh physician, Dr. Edward Bach. Beginning with an overview of Bach's flower essence treatment, the authors proceed to summarize some essentials of the Five-Element style of acupuncture. Application methods are then explained, and the book concludes with its longest chapter discussing the relationships between the flower essences and their corresponding acupuncture points.

As both of these treatments fall under the umbrella of "vibrational" or "energy" medicine, it would be natural to ask if they could be combined to produce a therapy with the advantages of both. Indeed, one of the authors (Craydon), asked just that question in the course of her work with the topical application of the flower essences and their possible correspondence to the locations indicated on the Eastern acupuncture map.

What followed was a fourteen month collaboration with the acupuncturist and co-author, Warren Bellows, which involved testing the flower essences on various acupuncture points to see which would yield the greatest energy flow, as evidenced by the opening of the cranial plates. When an "exponential flowering" of the cranial plates was achieved, this served as the criterion for a match between the flower essence and the acupuncture point.

While both the motivation and the research seem well-founded and sincere, what is lacking are the usual case studies which most authors of healing texts bring to their work. There is no mention of any research trials except on the authors themselves. This is unfortunate, as even a modest number of case studies, such as the ones compiled by Philip Chancellor in his "Illustrated Handbook of the Bach Flower Remedies", would have lent considerable weight to the research trials performed on the authors.

Let's hope a subsequent volume of case studies will be forthcoming, as without it, we can only speculate whether this new treatment modality will prove its merit.

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