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  One question we editors of Vibration often get from readers is how to become an essence practitioner. We usually reply that there isn't just one route, there are many, and they range from self-study to apprenticeship to formal study. Each has its strong and weak points, and no single one is best...a combination of all is preferred if possible. When I started experimenting with the remedies in about 1981, there weren't all the great learning tools there are for students now. There were no repertories, no week-long seminars by the essence makers, no internet with the wealth of material now online. There weren't even that many books. Today, of course, you should avail yourself of all these treasures. However, I thought it might help to share some of the simple ways I learned, for you might enjoy applying some of them to your less formal studies.  Shortly after I was introduced to the remedies in an adult education course on herbs, I got a new social work job. The person I rode to work with "just happened" to be a remedy practitioner, so she became my informal mentor. A mentor is a great asset in these studies. 
Before long I had the whole Bach kit and started trying them out. I kept detailed notes in a blank book about what remedies I took and why, then basically journaled my response. I especially noted what emotions came up in the first few days, any significant dreams or insights, and, for contrast, how I felt about the issue a couple of weeks later. When I started using friends as guinea pigs for my essence studies, I did the same. Over a couple of years, I filled several of those blank books and referred to them constantly. I had learned the Tarot by meditating on one card a night, and it seemed that this would also be a good way to learn the remedies. I picked one remedy a night and meditated in front of a candle. I put a dropper of concentrate into a glass of water and sipped it during the meditation. At that point, I didn't know about attuning to the plant's spirit. I didn't even have photographs of the flowers for a visual connection. Today I would use photos and attunements to enhance the experience. (See Cherrie Corrie's Botany of the Bach Flowers for links to photographs and our Making and Testing Essences booklet for several articles on how to attune to plants.) 
Even without those aids, the meditations gave me a strong sense of the emotions and conditions a remedy was intended to heal and what the end result would be. I have an especially vivid memory of attuning to Bach's Oak, for those who have had a long, hard struggle. Suddenly my torso seemed as solid as the trunk of the tree, and I felt so good, so grounded and rested. I didn't do the remedies in order, just intuitively picked one, but the ones in several days' sequence always wound up having important connections or comparisons. I didn't read about the remedy until after the meditation, as I didn't want what I read to influence my perceptions or to limit my intuition. These are some ways I started learning about the essences, but I learned much more from day to day use of remedies with healing clients once I included them in my practice. My small flower remedy classes were one excellent way of observing the remedies in action. We covered remedies for a single issue each week, and from the remedies I taught, each student would choose a single essence to take and observe the result. 
At the beginning of the next session, each would report what they observed--their emotions, dreams, thoughts, and insights, as well as seemingly "coincidental" events that turned out to be very much related to the remedy in question. The reports were fascinating and often unexpected, but we all learned so much. By taking one essence at a time, it was possible to isolate its effects and observe the process of healing it catalysed. (If you aren't ready to start a class, you could get a group of friends or other essence students together on a regular basis. Read about essences in the various books and then try them one out one at a time as my students did.) Vibration's Offerings for Essence Practitioners Vibration's back issues contain a wealth of information from experienced practitioners about the various ways essences are used in professional practice. Read our Practitioner Education Booklet, a collection of articles on a variety of practitioner training issues. 
Also, have a look at the editorials on education issues in the September, 2000 and December, 2000, editions. The whole of the December, 2000, issue is a sampler of excerpts from books about flower essences. If you are already trained in another discipline like counseling, Reiki, or massage, the September, 2000, issue is a collection of articles about how the essences fit in with other forms of healing. EDITOR'S NOTE: We'd love to hear how you got your start. We may pass along the tips from various readers in a future article. Go to our message board and tell us your story! About the Author: Annabeth Meister is new to the Vibration Magazine staff but is a long-time essence practitioner and teacher of essences, now retired from practice.Art Credits: The flower painitngs and the old poster the border is based on came from a clip art disk by Micrographx.
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