One of my favorite present-day folk singers is Jesse Welles. He’s been singing the news for a bit now and has very cogent, sometimes surprisingly insightful, points to make about current events. He also does it in a creative clever way, sometimes weaving in spirituality, humor, or more than one seemingly unrelated insight that makes a person stop and think. Mostly that’s a good thing. But sometimes the news (or who knows what) will throw him off his horse and he’ll express the most heartbreaking emotions that lurk underneath. One of those songs threw me off MY horse earlier this week and I had to work to regain my footing and figure out what happened.
At the same time—and this is the clue I needed—I noticed a mild uptick in sales of two flower essences in my shop. One was Shooting Star. That’s for healing alienation from the human race so profound a person might wonder why they’re here on the planet or if they should be. The other was Scotch Broom which is for addressing depression about the state of the world when a person doesn’t know what they can do about it. I have used both of these in the past with profound life-changing effects.
In the case of Shooting Star, it helped quell the desire to live too much of the time in daydreams (a habit that started during an unhappy childhood). The daydreams were better than the life I was leading, but I didn’t have the help or knowledge I needed to change things or the nerve or strong enough desire to commit suicide. On the other hand, I definitely did not want to be here, but I kept telling myself that when I went away to college things would be better (and that was true). Unfortunately, sometimes doubt creeps in and I don’t know whether things can change enough and be alright because of the way humans act with each other so, for me, Shooting Star shows up as potential helpmate. I currently have Shooting Star added to a custom formula I’m using to cope with current events because I noticed the tendency to daydream too much has returned. The formula also includes Beech for feeling like the news is intolerable at times, Willow for being miserable and resentful about it, Star of Bethlehem for soothing the feeling of being traumatized, and Water Violet for being a person people typically come to for advice but who otherwise tends to holds back from involvement with others. I feel a desire for community but don’t wanna—I’d rather write or do art or chill—and then feel bad about that because I can be a terribly absent friend and sometimes need one myself! Water Violet wouldn’t ordinarily belong in this formula but it goes along with the wanting to distance myself from the human race piece. In reality, community is most likely the main weapon we have if we really want to improve things.
Scotch Broom can also really help if you are in despair about the state of the world and your ability to do anything about it. I’ve used it twice in my life with wonderful results. Both times I wound up with great clarity about what part I could play. Once I went back to school to get a degree in Transpersonal Psychology and wound up with jobs helping family caregivers for people with Alzheimer’s Disease and other forms of dementia. “Transpersonal” means issues that go beyond personal identity, and family caregivers, spiritual seekers, and world change-makers all fit in that category. The second time I identified climate change and income inequality as the two issues I was most concerned about and wanted to find work doing something about. I decided income inequality was too depressing for me and got a job combating climate change. And that’s what I do as a day job today (regenerative agriculture). We’re doing good work that can help farmers manage climate-related weather extremes. But I have my doubts about it being adequately able to address climate issues without addressing income inequality and all the other inequities and crimes against humanity that go along with that.
So do I need Scotch Broom again right now? I feel too busy to take on anything else! But that makes me feel bad so that’s probably a great reason to give it a try. It’s not just about “jobs”—it’s about optimism and clarity about how you could make a difference (or already are). I just took some. Energetically, for me, it seemed to connect my third chakra (clarity about use of will) to the ground. Grounding but in a particular kind of way. A little heart seems to be involved, too. We’ll see what happens.
Bach Flower Remedy enthusiasts might be thinking that Gorse could take the place of Scotch Broom. Maybe. I wrote about the similarities and differences between Scotch Broom and Gorse here.
UPDATE AUG. 10: I feel more hopeful and had new thoughts to add to this post so I did. I’ll continue to work with it and see what happens.
More about Shooting Star on my blog.
More about my introduction to Scotch Broom.
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Flower essences are used to assist with mind-body-spirit interactions and individual results may vary. They are extremely dilute which makes them quite safe. But because so little physical substance can be detected in a flower essence solution, these products are presumed to work on an energetic or vibrational level—something that cannot be adequately tested by western scientific methods. Claims made by me, therefore, are based on personal experiences and the evidence of the combined multiple decades of case notes by Dr. Edward Bach as well as Healing Herbs and Flower Essence Services (the companies who make the ingredients I use in my products). This is not, however, accepted medical evidence or substantiated scientific evidence from a modern allopathic point of view. I am not a medical doctor or licensed healthcare practitioner.
Statements made have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. The information provided on my blog, websites or by this company are not a substitute for a face-to-face consultation with a health care provider, and should not be construed as individual medical or mental health advice. Consulting with a health care provider is a must for anyone taking medications or working with a medical or mental health condition, and highly recommended before using any herbal product. Please consult your doctor or health care provider for any possible contraindications and/or interactions with current medications. I trust you to seek the medical guidance you need to use any of my herbal products healthily at your own risk.