Opening the Doorways of Remembrance
The first time I’d ever heard about flower essences was on an episode of Healing Wednesday (now known as Wednesdays with Kryon) in which Ian White, founder of Bush Flower Essences, was a guest. While I had always enjoyed hearing the guests speak, I didn’t typically resonate to the point of going to the person’s website and browsing their offerings—least of all wanting to buy everything on the site!
Soon after watching Ian White’s interview, however, I found myself practically salivating as I browsed the myriad of flower essences and blends on his website. Eyes wide, I couldn’t believe they were all geared toward gently healing many of the issues I had faced or was currently facing. He had also crafted blends specifically geared toward helping humanity raise our consciousness and vibration. I hadn’t yet gotten into herbalism or plant medicine (a huge part of my life now), and still, there was no question in my mind as to the effectiveness and validity of this flower magic.
There seemed to be a flower ally for practically everything! And I just kept feeling more and more enthralled by the prospect as I browsed. Even though my journey into plant medicine would come later, the idea that flowers could impart such profound healing, upliftment, and wisdom was instantly accepted by my consciousness. At the core of my being, I just knew it was true.
While browsing the healing qualities of the many bottles across the screen, my spirit soared in excitement and remembrance over this safe and effective method of healing. Taking something as simple and easy-to-use as a tincture to restore feelings of strength, optimism, and hope (when we are struggling to pull them in ourselves) was just the most exciting thing I had ever heard in my life!
At some point, I actually became overwhelmed with the amount of options on the screen and decided to take a step back. I had a big trip coming up and couldn’t invest in all of these essences at the moment (knowing me, I had already added a ton to my cart 😂). More than that, I had no idea where to even start. The opportunities for healing seemed endless, which also made it feel daunting (though still exciting!) And so I closed the website, choosing to put it on the backburner.
Still, I knew this modality of healing was calling my name, and knew I would eventually come back to it.
The Flow of Memory
And then… I kind of forgot about it. At least, for a little while.
About a month or two after my trip (which I know served as a catalyst to further my remembrance), I began having urges to go into the herb shop near my apartment. This urge, however, was also colored by a strange, indiscernible fear. I began having a series of dreams about herbalism and the fear around practicing it (there were hints to having been persecuted for it, or having watched others be persecuted). The dreams were indirect, but also precise at the same time.
At some point, I did venture into the herb shop near my apartment. And then I visited another… and another. I recall reaching out for herbs I had never even heard of before, such as oatstraw, and literally hugging the bags to my chest, as though experiencing the warmth of a homecoming. I was also deeply drawn to a bottle of hawthorn tincture, and had a feeling of remembrance and knowing as I picked it up. I honestly had no idea what was happening to me, but I followed the thread. I was undergoing a deep process of remembrance, a reclamation of my soul parts, though I had no idea where it was going or where I was being led.
As I began taking herbalism classes at a local shop, I had a profound dream that mentioned the honeysuckle flower. I had heard of the honeysuckle flower before, but only in a distant and general way, and I wasn’t very familiar with it (at this point in my journey, I was familiar with very few.)
Following the Thread & Finding Your Tribe
In the dream, I was roommates with a woman of Asian descent. We were in the kitchen and I was cooking something on the stove. I guess I had been talking to her for a while, as she suddenly got annoyed and said that she wanted to concentrate as she drank her tea and told me to stop talking. I got upset and fell silent, but harbored worries and feelings that maybe she didn’t like me. Then, a moment later, she was up and smiling and standing near a large table. There, she handed me a box of tea labeled “Let Go” tea. When I turned it over, I saw it contained Orange Honeysuckle, Popcorn, and a few other sweet-sounding ingredients—ones I wouldn’t expect to be in a tea—and thought to myself, “Well, that’s not very healthy.”
A few days later, I was back at Remedies Herb Shop for another class—this time focused on heart healing herbs. As I stood up out of my seat and gathered my things, I thought about how I had perhaps talked too much during class. Worries about how I didn’t want to exasperate the teacher danced in my head and I intuitively got the word “blabbermouth.” It is only in hindsight that I can see how clearly this harks back to my dream about the honeysuckle flower and the “Let Go” tea and being told to be quiet by the woman.
I shopped a bit after class and went to purchase my herbs, silently beating myself up over having to ask where the soap was located (as it was right there on the shelf.) My teacher, a lovely and funny Green Witch herbalist who I have come to greatly admire, told me not to be sorry. I had been saying “sorry” quite a bit before then and was feeling self-conscious and insecure. This type of social interaction where I truly cared about what the teacher thought of me was new for me, resulting in awkwardness and insecurity. I had been bullied as a kid, which imprinted onto my subconscious a thought that people automatically “won’t like me”—a core issue of mine that I have greatly healed since then, but am still continuing to heal.
I recalled the dream about the honeysuckle and asked my teacher if they sold any honeysuckle tea or flowers. They did not. On my way out of the shop, I passed by an array of Bach Flower Remedies, and even though I had already checked out, decided to see if they made a honeysuckle flower essence. Other than briefly browsing Ian White’s website months before, I wasn’t very familiar with the concept of essences, but I just followed my intuition. Some part of me knew there was honeysuckle in this shop.
Much to my surprise and delight, I spied on the shelf a bottle labeled “honeysuckle” with a picture of the plant on the front. I was overjoyed and deeply excited in my soul! There was no information on the bottle about what it is for, but I had trust that I had gotten the dream for a reason.
My teacher asked if I knew what the honeysuckle essence was for and I said, “No, but I saw it in a dream.” Then she smiled at me and said, “That’s all we need to know!” I hurriedly added, “I know it sounds a bit odd…” because I wasn’t used to being around people who understood these things, but she shook her head, still smiling, and said “Here, it doesn’t!”
I softened at her comment with a deep realization that these were my people. I knew I didn’t have to beat around the bush or hide this part of myself next time I came in here. I didn’t need to feel insecure or self-conscious or worry about how I am being perceived. I felt a deep understanding that I never needed to do that. The conversation left me feeling seen and understood and it provided me with a wave of warmth and safety to know that she understood the same as I. I didn’t have to explain, or justify my words, or back it up with scientific data. She just knew, as I did.
Then, I understood: this is what finding your tribe feels like! It was a feeling I hadn’t truly felt in its fullness before, as I have always been a bit of a social wallflower and struggled with forming deep friendships.
As I would later realize the honeysuckle was trying to tell me through my dream: it was time to let go of all that!
Full Circle Understanding – The Magic of Synchronicity & Active Co-Creation
As I walked out of the shop, I immediately looked up the purpose of the honeysuckle flower essence on the Bach website and found that it had basically described exactly what the dream was about. The dream had labeled the box of tea with the words “Let Go” and that is exactly what the honeysuckle flower essence is for: letting go of the past and living fully in the present.
I was amazed and awed at how accurately the description of the flower essence had matched the words in my dream. I even found myself laughing and smiling in the street, as I stood there with my bottle, thinking I shouldn’t have doubted it! In a way, I had almost expected this, because if you have ever experienced a synchronicity such as this one, you cannot help but trust and be amazed at the way Spirit communicates with us. And so I just shook my head, smiling, and thought of course.
Of course the description of the essence aligned perfectly with my dream. And of course the context of the dream (fear of speaking and worries over how people perceive me) matched exactly to my self-conscious thoughts about talking too much in the shop. Of course, because dreams are a gateway to our soul. Even so-called ‘negative’ dreams have meanings and messages for us (though we can work with Spirit to receive this information in a gentler way – more on this in a future post!)
In my case, remembrances about herbs and flower essences and the healing energy of Mother Gaia… wounds asking to be healed and glimmers of my soul path… were all starting to emerge. As Spirit cannot communicate to us as a human would, this guidance is often brought to us through dreams, intuitions, sudden urges, inspirations, synchronicities, and more.
It might start small. In fact, it has to start small, like a little inkling of an idea, but everything has a purpose. I had no idea what was to come when I first had that dream about herbs, or the first time I picked up the honeysuckle flower essence, but I followed the thread of this intuition, this remembrance, and it is only in hindsight that I can see how much of this ancient knowledge had been bubbling to the surface before my conscious mind had any idea what was happening.
My human self may not have understood, but on an emotional level I was experiencing a remembrance. Because how excited—how thrilled—did I feel as I explored the idea of flower essences on Ian White’s website for the very first time? How enthralled was I when I first heard him speak? How inexplicably drawn was I to that bag of oatstraw, enough to bring it in for a hug? Some part of me, some part of my soul, knew exactly what I was doing. And it knew what I was about to embark on, without my conscious, present-day human mind even being aware. All I knew was that it made me happy and it made me excited and that is often the very first sign of the thread.
When inexplicable urges to study something or immerse ourselves in something emerges, and we just “feel it” and “know what to do” (even if it doesn’t make sense, like when I suddenly started pouring herbal teas into my baths), it means we are just remembering. We already have the knowledge and experience inside of us; we are just allowing it to flood back to us and express itself in the world, now that the time is right.
Sometimes, this means peeling off the black spots of trauma like in my initial herb dreams about the worry over being persecuted, or my fear about walking into the herb shop, but oh my gosh has it been worth it! And we don’t have to resist so much or take the long way round (like I’ve sometimes done) or stay lost in states of confusion — we can co-create with Spirit to bring the messages and intuitions from our Higher Self to the forefront with sacred and loving intent.
For example, we can call on our Spirit Team to bring us messages in our dreams and to make these experiences as calm, loving, benevolent, and peaceful as possible. The same goes for synchronicities and intuitions. You can ask for them, set the intent to notice them, and feel the awe and amazement and bewilderment of how Spirit works when they actually come to manifest!
It’s a wonderful experience to create your own prayers and affirmations (and have fun doing it!), but I wanted to provide a couple here that you can use to strengthen your communication with Spirit.
Affirmation for Intuition: “I am deeply connected to my divine intuition and innate wisdom. I am joyfully guided by my Higher Self, who always brings me exactly what I need. My life is filled with magical synchronicities.”