Edward Bach was born in 1886 in England. When he left school at the age of sixteen, he was determined to become a doctor. Because he felt that he could not ask his parents to pay for the costs of the long medical training, he first decided to work in his father’s copper foundry. He worked for three years in the Bach factories in Birmingham, which were very difficult years for him. Edward Bach – Heal Thyself But precisely in this difficult period of his life, in the midst of his fellow workers, he gained insight into the human character that would later form the basis of his future work. The workers in the factory always had the fear of getting sick. Getting sick meant a loss of work and income for them, they often continued to work because being sick also meant a heavy burden of medical expenses. He also saw that the complaints of the people were not done much more than suppressing the symptoms and it became clear that his way would be to find a way of healing that would heal the body and mind. Dr. Edward Bach was already convinced then that a simple cure had to be found, one that would cure chronic diseases.
At the age of 20 he finally started his medical education. As a medical student, he discovered during his observations at the hospital that not all patients who had the same disease were cured by the same treatment. The same drug, which apparently was able to cure some of them, had no effect on others at all. He realized at the time that patients with a similar personality often responded to the same medicine, while others, with a different personality, needed a different treatment, even though they had the same ailment. For example, he discovered early on that the personality of the individual was even more important in the disease than the body. In his practice on Harley Street, there were many patients with chronic symptoms who did not benefit from any treatment. Modern medical science failed. According to Bach, they focused too much on the physical body. Hoping to find an answer to his many questions, he began to study bacteriology and homeopathy. He discovered that certain intestinal bacilli had a lot to do with chronic diseases. He developed seven oral vaccines, called Bach nosodes, which are still prescribed by allopathic and homeopathic doctors today. When Edward Bach read the works of Hahnemann, a German doctor from the 18th century who became known as the father of homeopathy, he came to the conclusion that there was a big agreement between him and Hahnemann, namely that the principle of true healing lay in the treatment of man and not his illness. Edward Bach assumed that the cause of illness had to be negative states of mind such as fear, sadness, insecurity, loneliness, impatience, etc. And this was the very beginning of his new work.
The urge in him grew ever greater to move into the nature of Wales, the land where his ancestors came from. In the early 1930s, Edward Bach gave up his practice in London, left for Wales, and spent all his time searching for medicines in nature. Dr. Sensitivity Bach was enormously developed and through his strong connection with nature he felt the healing power of blossoms on his body and soul. Until 1936, Bach developed 38 essences, each of which referred to a certain state of mind. The first 19 essences that Edward Bach discovered were prepared according to the “solar method”. A very simple method. Hereby blossoms, which grow in their natural environment, are picked early on a clear, sunny day. The blossoms are placed in a glass dish filled with water from a natural source, so that the surface of the water is completely covered. The sun transmits the vibrations of the blossoms into the water. The blossoms stay in the bowl for about three to four hours. Then the blossoms are taken from the water with branches or leaves from the same plant. This solution is mixed with the same parts of brandy – this i.v.m. the shelf life. Suppose there was half a liter of water in the bowl, which is topped up with half a liter of brandy, so you have a liter of “mother tincture”. Two drops of this are used to make a “stockbottle”, this is supplemented with brandy. Because not all trees, shrubs and flowers bloom in a season in which a lot of sun shines, the other blossoms were prepared according to the cooking method: the blossoms are cooked for 30 minutes. When these have cooled, everything is filtered and mixed again with the same amount of brandy and handled in the same way as the solar method. The great thing about Edward Bach, in my opinion, is not only the discovery of the essences, but that these 38 essences are the archetypes that have to do with feelings, e.g. jealousy, lack of self-confidence, fear or deep gloom for no recognizable cause. Everyone in the world has these feelings whether you live in the Netherlands, South Africa or Alaska. These states of mind are typical of all people. The same also applies to animals and flowers, trees, etc. Animals also have fear or jealousy or want constant attention, plants that you place in a different angle may, after a while, e.g. even if they get the same amount of sun and water. They may also feel disadvantaged or unable to change places.
Edward Bach is often depicted in stories as a kind of half god. He was just an ordinary person in my eyes, liked to have a drink in the pub, smoked more than might be good for him, liked to help the fishermen to land their boats and take walks in his beloved villages in the countryside, but due to the characteristic feature of his work, namely his unselfish desire to help humanity has left us a great legacy. –
Madeleine Meuwessen
Shortly after Edward Bach had developed the 38 essences, he died in his sleep at the age of 50. After Edward Bach’s death, his work was continued by his two most dedicated assistants – Nora Weeks and Victor Bullen. They have handed over their work to John Ramsell and Nicky Murray, brother and sister, who became the managers of the “Bach center”. It is a shame to see that the name of Nicky Murray is nowhere mentioned!
Edward Bach assumed that the 38 “virtues” serve as a connection between your personality, as you manifest yourself here on earth and the higher self or your soul. If you do not act in harmony with your higher self, “virtues” turn into negative states of mind, for example: Out of faith: deep gloom with no recognizable cause, Out of hope: despair, Out of bravery and trust: fear.
The blossoms restore contact with the higher self through their vibrations and help those involved to further develop virtue. “The negative state of the soul is not” fought “as symptoms, because that would maintain them energetically. Rather, they are flooded with higher energy vibrations, so that, as Edward Bach calls it,” melt away like snow in the sun
