Rock Water is an unusual flower essence—it is not technically an actual flower essence at all as there are no flowers in it. And that makes it the weirdest of the original Bach Flower Remedies. And to make it even more unusual, Edward Bach instructed that the water should be taken from a flowing spring that is known to have healing properties but not from one that has shrines or any human impediments. What?!! I wouldn’t even know where to find a place like that where I live now . . . but where Bach lived there are more than 50 such springs to be found to this day! It was (and still is) quite common for indigenous pagan communities to revere and ascribe healing qualities to water that bubbles up and flows out from underground or from rocky places. (I actually do know of a sacred spring like that in Vermont where locals fill gallon jugs to take home with them.)
What Rock Water is for . . . I’ll put this in my own words . . . is addressing energy constriction that comes from overly self-restrictive or ascetic behavior. Bach talked about it in terms of attempting to be overly religiously upright. “Overly” meaning that, while very well-meaning, the person is hurting themselves by having overly rigid standards. That’s the “rock” part of Rock Water. Instead of being in touch with one’s inner guidance and natural inclinations, the person is attempting to live by “the book” (whatever book that happens to be). They’re living by rules and intense strictures they were taught or adopted at some point in their lives.
And this doesn’t just apply to religious ideals. People who go all-in on healing regimens sometimes fall prey to this mindset. And if the reason you’re going all-in is because you fear for your life if you don’t, then it’s almost a foregone conclusion that you might become overly tight about sticking to what was prescribed or seems to work.
That’s happened to me lately! I’m trying to get my blood pressure and cholesterol numbers down and the medication prescribed is only taking me so far. My doctor suggested a variety of lifestyle changes (less stress and more sleep, for example) and told me about vitamins and dietary changes that might help. So I’ve been trying as hard as I can to do everything I can, but even though I have seen great success at times, I also have seen things get far worse. So then I just tried harder and learned that that does not work for me AT ALL.
My inner guidance suggested Rock Water but then my inner sceptic totally went off. “Ha!,” I thought to myself. “Rock Water is just spring water left out in the sun and preserved with brandy!” But I am a flower essence enthusiast and it’s not like any flower essence has ever hurt me! So I tried it (I’ve tried it before but not alone) and I was amazed at what it did by itself. I had to stand still for awhile to take in what was happening on an energetic level. It felt like my 3rd chakra was being connected deep underground—which was VERY grounding. But then energy would come up from the ground, through my legs, through my torso, and out the top of my head—which felt very lightening. And then the same sequence happened again. And again. And again for 4-5 minutes and then left me feeling like my 3rd chakra was grounded to the earth. Not exactly my normal experience drinking spring water or brandy! And it felt very good, very relaxing, so I’ve continued with this experiment by taking Rock Water (sometimes in combination with Larch and Zinnia) several times a day.
The first results involved finding it easier to sleep at night. Yay! Getting more sleep as a prescription from my doctor hasn’t gone well for me. But Rock Water has helped me sleep the last few days. And today, a few days into this experiment, I found myself craving foods that are forbidden on my diet to lower cholesterol and blood pressure: bacon, eggs, melted cheese, white bread, and sugar! I haven’t even tasted bacon in years! So Paul and I went out to our new neighborhood cafe because they had bagel breakfast sandwiches and sweet lemon cream croissants. They were delicious! I enjoyed it. And when I came home, I did not want to do anything! I fell asleep on the couch with my laptop on my lap. When I woke up an hour later, I tested my blood pressure and it was 20 points lower than it’s been in weeks!
So I’m not telling you that using Rock Water and going off your diet is a cure for high blood pressure or anything else. (I don’t even know if this effect will hold for me at this point.) But I have to admit that a different doctor did once suggest that, in his opinion, the best cure for high blood pressure is lightening up and enjoying your life.
So I’m going to continue using Rock Water, and I’m pondering what has been happening energetically. One thing I can tell you is that if your 1st and 2nd chakras are deficient or blocked in some way, you might learn to use your 3rd and upper chakras to compensate. The 1st and 2nd chakras are very associated with physical and emotional safety. The 3rd chakra is related to will-power. So if your feeling of physical and emotional safety is impaired, you very likely might be tempted to power your way through life using will-power alone. You’re certainly not relaxing, knowing you are supported by the bosom of Mother Earth! I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next.
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By the way, I woke up this morning (now a day later) realizing that the combination of Rock Water, Larch, and Zinnia was one of the first formulas guided to me for my personal use almost 20 years ago. I offer it in my shop under the name Comfort and Joy — where it rarely sells! I just continue to offer it because I’m stubborn and because it used to be one of my personal favorites. But it didn’t have the kind of energetic effects I described above back then, probably because I didn’t need it as much. I didn’t have high blood pressure then and my life was completely different. I lived walking distance to the beach in a location I loved, I had a garden, I had completely different work, and had a life I liked much better in many ways (but not others). But the emotional seeds of what I’ve been going through in recent years were certainly present then. As I use this combination this week, I notice that the surprising energetic effects have subsided but the grounding effects have not. And, after reading what I wrote about Comfort and Joy in my shop description, I am reminded that this combination had a profound impact on my life once before. If it has that effect on me again, it would be exactly what the doctor ordered!
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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.