Note: The following is an excerpt from David Vennells' book, Bach Flower Remedies for Beginners, 2001, used with permission of the publisher, Llewellyn Worldwide.

There are two parts to meditation: contemplation and placement. Contemplation is the mental process of considering the benefits of abandoning negative thoughts and actions and of adopting positive ones. When, as a result of this reasoning a strong wish arises in your mind to change your behavior for the better, then this is your object of placement; hold it, experience and feel it for as long as possible.

For instance, if you are taking Holly and Wild Rose for envy, jealousy, and apathy, contemplate how these thoughts and feelings have caused you many problems and unhappiness in the past. Consider how wonderful it would be to be free of these heavy, negative mindsets. Then when you feel a strong wish to release these feelings and develop the opposing positive qualities, stay with and encourage these positive intentions.

If your mind wanders, simply return to the contemplation until that strong wish to develop your good qualities arises again, then stay with that. You are actually training and encouraging yourself to eventually think and feel this way naturally. By regularly developing these deep wishes to change for the better, you will definitely become more positive, happy, content, and considerate.

The meditations will be most effective if you apply them to your own life based on your own life experiences. There is no point meditating every day on a vague wish to stop worrying about others (Red Chestnut) or to have less self-pity (Willow) if in your heart you are not interested in changing or if these meditations are not directly relevant in your life. You have to mentally make the meditations come alive and then carry your good intentions forward into the rest of the day. You do this by remembering the good qualities that the flower remedy promotes and the positive feelings and determination that arose during the meditation and then use this motivation to guide all your actions.

Whenever you become aware that negative thoughts or feelings like worry (White Chestnut) or impatience (Impatiens) are about to arise in the mind, you can prevent them from influencing you by recalling your earlier good intentions. In this way, your wisdom and happiness will gradually increase and your daily problems will steadily decrease.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: David F. Vennells, a qualified reflexologist and Reiki teacher, has used the Bach Flower Remedies for ten years as a complement to his work, creating a system of healing for the body and mind. He discovered the effectiveness of the remedies while suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome. He currently resides and practices in northwest England. To order this book or his other books, Reiki for Beginners and Reflexology for Beginners, contact the publisher, Llewellyn Worldwide at 1-800-THE-MOON. For more information about meditation classes and books, go here.

ART CREDITS: Border and graphics based on clip art from Micrografx, Art Today and Crystal Cloud.

The World Wide Essence Society does not mean to imply any recommendation of nor give certification to any individuals or companies above. This article is provided purely for informational purposes. We ask consumers to make their own determination as to quality of the services and products offered above. This article is not meant to be advice, and the information is not meant to replace medical or psychological treatment.

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