Flower essence mindful gathering

It seem a breakthrough year to me. I didn't involve in any group deeply neither speak in public before. However, there were some chances coming to me to introduce flower essence therapy and also mindfulness practice. As a shy person, it was torture to me indeed to bear such feeling to be looked at. I aware the habit energy rising from the past trauma. I tried flower essence and mindfulness breathing to help me transform this and realized the whole process was my deeper mindfulness practice.

Today, I was invited to university in a mountain to share flower essence with international students ,which invitation made me nervous for many days. I would take the challenge to see how I use the tools to help myself, the tools of mindfulness breathing and also flower essence such as Mimulus(for fear and shy),Buttercup( for inner light) and Columbine(for confidence & leadership).In the beginning, I invited these young friends to join me, touching, feeling, smelling and being with the flower in their hand, enjoying the present moment with the nature. It was a treasure the flower essence, the vibration remedies, taught me behind the function as medicine . Though I could recognize different emotions and types of these young friends showing during gathering from practitioner's training, some of them were daydreamer as Clematis and CA wild rose type, some had deeper issue with motherhood and fatherhood, the most important thing I wanted to show to them was they could enjoy and appreciate the natural elements, asked help from the nature around them when they felt suffering.

I was enjoying the moment with them, looking at my habit energy and said HI,

 "I knew you were there, and I transformed it a little bit again! "

I like guide meditation from Thay, the Zen master of Thich Nhat Hanh. 

He is the great teacher to show me how to practice with the nature, particularly with flowers.

Breathing in, I see myself as a flower.

Breathing out, I feel fresh.

Flower, Fresh

***

In touch with the flower, I breathe in.

In touch with the scent and the beauty of the flower, I breathe out.

Flower. Beauty and scent

***

In touch with the sun in the flower, I breathe in.

Knowing that without the sun there would be No flower, I breathe out，

Sun in the flower. 

Without sun no flower

***

In touch with the earth in the flower, I breathe in.

Knowing that without the earth there would be no flower, I breathe out.

Earth in the flower. Without earth no flower

***

In touching with the air in the flower, I breathe in.

Knowing that without the air there would be no flower, I breathe out.
Air in the flower. Without air no flower

from Thich Nhat Hanh

Does Buddhist need Flower Essence?

Last week, I visited a temple for few days where is my first Buddhism temple introducing me Buddha's wisdom. There were some interesting situation for me to look deeply how I integrate mindfulness and flower essence together. My personal spiritual practice could be explained from the dark of of 2007-2008 I had lots of suffering though everything looked normal outside of me. Buddhism practice and flower essence therapy came to my life and uplifted mindful awareness to refresh the life direction from wider perspective. However, there are some principles in Buddhism (or I should note it as "Taiwanese Buddhism") I felt the principles were such different from the therapy which I need to obey as a Buddhist. People may say Dharma is perfect understanding, so should I need other therapy to resolve suffering? The struggling in me kept going deeper silently.

Till I learned from the Zen master, Thay Nhat Hanh. His understanding and teaching gave me thew way to integrate the natural energy and Dharma.

Breathing in, I see myself as a flower.

Breathing out, I am fresh.

The rigid doctrine inside me were melt through the gentle mindful practice with the nature, the Mother Earth. I realized how wonderful I could learn Buddhism and flower essence as the gift to the living being. Though I am practicing such beautiful dharma, touching the earth with my feet as flower connecting with the soil, my cultural habits arose sometimes to bother me. The habit forced me to make a boundary: I won't provide any flower essence to Buddhist, which I think it safer way for me not having chance to break the principle in my Chinese Buddhism culture.


Nevertheless, there ware challenge coming to me soon. I met a female roommate in the retreat in Plum Village, France. On afternoon, she got some shock and lost her consciousness. It seemed no doctor nearby int he countryside and my intuition told me the Rescue remedy could help. I was trembling to break my decision- not giving flower essence to  SOMEONE especially in the Buddhism retreat. After few drops on the female roommate's neck and mouth, she recovered her consciousness few seconds later. How magical experience it was, and OH ! NO! I broke the rule ! Would I punish by monastery, or worse, by Buddha!?


During the latest two years, the deeper I practiced mindfulness with the Nature, it brought me more understanding about inter-being of Buddhism with the Earth, birds, ocean, wind, trees or flowers. I realized how narrow mind I had stock in the doctrine. So it was fine to provide flower essence to Buddhists if it is emergency for such support. It seemed I  made a wider boundary.




Another challenge appeared again. I visited the temple as I wrote in the beginning last week. My roommate was a lay person who are preparing to become Buddhism nun in the near future. I talked about my work and flower essence therapy. The lay friend became so exciting to know more about the therapy. Her interest made me think more:  "why she want to try if she is practicing the perfect Dharma in a temple? Can't she rely on Buddhism to solve her suffering?" The lay friend even introduced me to other nuns who wanted to try flower essence too for their insomnia and unknown fear (White chestnut, Angelica and Aspen are flower essences I will recommend). I felt little panic inside and wanted to refuse them at first since I set rule - not provide flower essence to nuns who suppose to solve the problem through Dharma. During the days staying in the temple, I had terrible dreams every night with hesitation, fear for my rigid thinking. It seemed the time to transform again if I would look at the people in front of me closely. They are the messenger to teach me how to become a practitioner with open heart and free mind, no matter what the position and religion the client had. It was already wonderful moment we meet when we were both happy to communicate with flower essence as mindful energy from the Mother Earth. Can flower essence therapy be mindful practice, I think of course it can, if I open my heart and mind to embrace all without fear.
 

Thank you, dear flower,

Breathing in, we give thanks to the flowers in our garden. 

we know we have much to learn from their presence. 

Returning to our breath reminds us to appreciate their radiant beauty alive in their simple being.

for making life so beautiful.

Breathing out, we are thankful for the grace flowers add to our life. 

With our breath we share our thankfulness with our roses, orange blossoms, 

and our passion vines. they add so much joy to our lives.

In your pure presence

Breathing in, we notice the stillness of the flowers. 

Lying there in the belly of their petals lives pure presence. 

We breath this presence into our very cells.

I see my true self.

Breathing out, we experience a deep resonance with the flower's simple being. 

The harmony we feel in witnessing a flower's essential nature is a clear mirror of our own true self.

-Zachiah Murray, Mindfulness in the Garden

Taiwan Flower Essence - refresh & open minded experience and insight

I went to the store belong to local Taiwan flower essence maker. They have unique way to take the message from Asia flowers, particular from Taiwan, Japan and East South Asia. It was pity that I had bias for their work. I had judged the local maker who used his own equipment and spiritual approach to make essences which it was not the original way Dr. Bach used. So, during these years since I has started to use flower essence (Bach and FES) in 2007, I  refused to know more about local maker's effort and their flower's energy, not even try to experience their essence in person. However, something changed my mind. One was the experience I traveled in the West and realized there were various essence makers who has used different way and natural material such as orchid, uncut flowers and even mushroom. Also, when I studied in CIIS of SF, some students wanted to know more about essence and they asked me: " what is your local Taiwan essence for healing work?".  I realized my judgement avoid me from opening mind and heart to my journey to touch the energy of  Earth. I need to break the boundary the definition I built before.



So I come back to Taiwan, trying to know more about local herbs and Taiwan flower essence. I am curious how do the local maker do as maker and practitioner? How do they decide essences for their client and how is the influence. To practice to open my mind and heart, I invitied a senior friend using local flower essence for years to share her experience in our flower essence gathering. I was surprised the power of each local flower when she shared flower affirmation cards with us. These flowers were so beautiful with vital energy, just as the Taiwan'es personality who have struggle to survive under the complicated context of cultural, geographical and spiritual situation in Asia.Though flower essence is spiritual tool and media for my spiritual practice, the work to embrace and integrate various cultural and energetic message is also my expectation to contribute to the world connecting England, USA and Taiwan (will include more systems gradually I wish).  I had a very good time talking with the local maker, taking Taiwan Banana flower essence as personal experience. The energy flowed in my body and comforted the comflict that I couldn't ground to the land well.  They will be more deeper insight when I open my mind, my hear to listen the soul deeply

know more about Flamma Flower Essence of Taiwan http://www.fe-tw.com/index_e.aspx

The local maker has their way to read the flower affirmation card. Firstly, to pick three cards I like and another tree card I dislike most. Then they array the cards as pyramid to check client's emotions and sub-consciousness state. Next, they put the cards on the matrix of 4 rows x 4 colums. Client have to pick one card to present self and another one for the issue client want to discuss. Other cards can show the relationship between client and the issue. The local maker also provide professional course to teach how to read the relationship from the matrix.

Flowers, transform my suffering

Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva in Daan Park in Taipei, Taiwan

This morning, I heard the news the police confirmed that a couple's bodies they found last month were murdered by their neighbor for money. The couple were my friend's family. My heart felt hurt and fear at the moment to know they were murdered. I went to park to practice mindfulness walking, taking Rescue remedy and Aspen. The bright sunshine didn't bring me peace in the beginning. I even blamed the sun was too hot without tears for such tragedy. I stared to have the feeling not being able to live on the Earth safely. When I went into the park, walking slowly with mindful breathing, feeling the feet to touch the Earth and asking for comfort and help. Few minutes later, I saw the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva in this park with stillness and compassion. I prayed for her to guide me to pass through such emotions with wisdom. I kept practicing mindful walking and enjoyed the whisper of wind, birds and children. I was comforted by the grass, flowers and trees. These virtue from Nature and Divine brought me happiness to transform my sorrow to understand deeply for the tragedy, as emotional disease to melt away like snow in sunshine quoted from Dr. Bach. I felt, I still arrive.

I still arrive, in order to laugh and to cry, 

in order to fear and to hope. 

The rhythm of my heart is the birth and 

death of all that are alive.

- from "Call Me by My True Names poem" by Thich Nhat Hanh

Flower Essence Process as mindful practice

Redwood in FES garden


Before coming back to Taiwan, I made some decision to build an experiential gathering, to invite the connection of different flower essence systems since I absorbed the spirit of inclusive discussion in San Francisco and tried to practice to integrate with various spiritual groups of friends.


I didn't expect it is such hard to invite people to open heart and mind to listen mindfully. I also became "please others" carefully but not challenge the each boundary of each group/ system. I was suffering for the boundary I had effected by habit energy and the society. Also, there was the question following, when and how I should provide flower essence to friends and clients as practitioner in the near future. I didn't feel support in the local area but I keep in touch with my intuition, my guided High Spirit, the Buddha nature to lead me to the proper way, the way I can use flower essence to practice and provide support for other's practice.


It took me some to realize how flower essence process as user and practitioner is also the practice of mindfulness. Flower essence can be used as medicine called therapy, or people can use it as spiritual practice. I was thankful that FES don't provide any rules for practitioner but suggestions and requirement of paper. I didn't know why they didn't provide this as other system did. On the way experiencing the process to be practitioner, I encounter lots of obstacle getting stuck by definition, principle and expectation from habit energy. I pass the test every time when I realize the root of suffering of attachment and craving for something (eg. successful reaction and relationship). Though flower essence do have practical benefit to client and to myself, the most treasure thing I learn is to free myself from habit energy from myself, society and culture. To make the connection with flower essence becoming a beautiful present moment between the nature, human, sunlight, soil, water..everything interbeing. That's the process I appreciate the chance to meet flowers, flower essences, and the Higher spirit.