Do Flower Essences Really Work? A 4-Week Test with Lotus Wei (Part 2)

Red Bird of Paradise is one of five flower essences in the Inspired Action elixir.

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Last week, I began my 4-week test of the Lotus Wei Inspired Action elixir, a mix of five flower essences designed to inspire creativity, enhance motivation, and foster spiritual insight.  
 
I noticed the effects after the first day, and began to wonder exactly how flower essences are made and how they affect the body. So I turned to Katie Hess, organic alchemist and founder of Lotus Wei, for some answers.
 
"Flower essences are made when flowers are infused in water by sun or moonlight, then further diluted, potentized [sic], and preserved with alcohol," she explained. "In holistic healing, flower essence therapy is viewed as vibrational healing. Just as every herb has a specific function for the physical body, every flower has a specific benefit on an emotional and mental level. The flower essences work on the body’s meridian system balancing the same energetic pathways used in acupuncture."
 
Hess added that with all the modern-day distractions out there—constant emails, IMs, a cell phone that never stops ringing—it’s easy for us to become imbalanced. Stress, diet, and not enough time outdoors only amplify our internal chaos. Flower essences are designed to bring us back to a natural, balanced state of mind. "They make you more you," she said.
 
Week 2 Results: Prior to the test, I’d heard about some of the dramatic changes experienced by a few of Katie’s clients: an introverted teen who always wore black began to open up and integrate bright colors into her wardrobe; a woman suddenly realized she was on the wrong life path and made a huge career change; and a man who hadn’t cleaned out his garage in years finally rolled up his sleeves and stopped procrastinating.
 
I kept waiting for something to happen to me. Would I quit my job, travel to India, and join an ashram? Or would I just finally get around to unpacking the last five boxes left from my cross-country move? By day six of week two, I was feeling a bit impatient. Nothing was happening. Sure, I was still getting everything done on my to-do list, but that would happen even without the flower essences—wouldn’t it? Where was my big dramatic change?

It was then that I thought about the conversation I had with Katie. Flower essences are designed to bring us back to a natural, balanced state of mind. “They make you more you,” she said.

I stopped obsessing about a life-altering occurrence and forced myself to focus on the little changes that had happened so far: I was getting everything done on my to-do list without feeling tired. I was actually making it to the gym every other day. Last Tuesday after dinner, I even found time to vacuum. I also developed a new relaxing habit. Every weeknight, I now spend an hour or two before bed sitting on the living sofa in my jammies with a cup of peppermint tea and a book. After a 9-hour day at the office, I used to be too exhausted to bother with a book. But for the past two weeks, this tea time has become my “me” time. Maybe the flower essences are working after all.