A Flexible Mind and Open Heart

In the current divisive and polarizing climate, we may feel at odds with our friends, family, community and political leaders. When we feel as if our values and ideals are being threatened, we often default to our natural coping mechanisms, such as defending our position or withdrawing to avoid confrontation, but if we ignore what is happening outside of ourselves or cling rigidly to our own perspective by avoiding people and ideas that are different from our own, we miss out on an opportunity to learn and grow.

These six essences help us honor the truism that the only person we can change is ourselves. They cultivate a place of inner calm and neutrality so we can consider and respond to our own needs and fears first. They provide the insight we need to take an honest inventory of our perspectives and values, so we can align our thoughts and actions with our highest self. These essences help us stay open and genuinely curious about the needs of others. They encourage mental flexibility and empathy while providing the clarity we need to hear and understand the truth and essence of what others have to say.

Twinflower - communicating from a place of inner calm and neutrality
The essence of this tiny, delicate flower projects a focused and calm energy to help us identify and release the distractions that keep us from being present during a conversation. In any kind of communication, we must be present for the other person before we can truly hear what they are saying. When we are agitated or distracted, we aren't available to receive their words or understand the information contained within them. Twinflower essence supports the creation of heart centered objectivity, a quality that helps us maintain our neutrality when we receive an emotionally charged communication from another person, especially when they try to elicit an emotional response from us. This inner presence, calm, and neutrality, helps us choose words with a focused intent, and project them with clarity so others can hear and understand the essence of what we have to say. Note: this flower essence is also in our Beyond Words 'Communication Formula'

Foxglove – transforming the thoughts and beliefs that cause fear
Foxglove flower essence empowers us to live without fear. It encourages us to take emotional risks in our relationships and helps us strengthen our hearts so they can remain open in response to conflict or challenge. This essence helps when we have lost all perspective and have no idea how to proceed. It is particularly useful when we experience fear that is so strong our perceptions close down and we don’t know what to do or which way to go, and the more we identify with the predicament, the stronger these feelings get. Foxglove relieves the energetic tension around the heart that accompanies this kind of experience, while restoring clear breathing and energy flow. This flower essence expands our perspective to see past fear into the underlying thoughts, feelings, and belief systems that are responsible for it. Foxglove provides the insight that while fear is real, love is bigger — and the quickest way to move through any kind of fear is to open our hearts to love.

Wild Rhubarb – opening the channel between the heart and mind to increase mental receptivity
The essence of Wild Rhubarb promotes mental flexibility and creative problem solving by clearing and expanding the channel of communication between the higher self, the heart, and the mind. Wild Rhubarb helps the mind move into and occupy its true position — in service to the heart and open to the guidance of the higher self. The mind is designed to be of service to us, but we often allow it to become subordinate to the ego. When the ego mind has control, the result can be a life that runs along chaotic lines far removed from higher purpose and joy. This flower essence also supports a change in how we perceive our surroundings, enabling us to see and know what is truly there. It helps us see through the lens of our heart and higher self, opening us up to so much more than what is perceivable by the intellect alone.

Pyrite - remaining true to our values when pressured by others
Pyrite gem essence helps us determine what has value to us and then encourages us to align our choices and actions with this inner truth. Values are the basis for living our truth, and when our values are aligned with our choices and actions, we are living with integrity. This is a helpful essence when we are easily influenced by others and find it difficult to make decisions by ourselves, or when we're involved in relationships that are not in our highest good and we find it difficult to stand up for ourselves. Pyrite gem essence is especially useful when we need to deactivate a value system that we took on from our ancestors or society, to activate values more in alignment with Earth and Spirit. Overall, this gem essence strengthens our self-esteem and self-trust so it is easier to be true to ourselves.

Jadeite Jade – staying centered during intense experiences
Jadeite Jade gem essence offers an energy of ease and simplicity. It brings a quality of protection that enables the heart to be in peace and at rest. It also works on the mental level, helping us open to and experience the timelessness of the present moment. This gem essence brings us to our center. It helps us understand how anxiety, stress, and struggle move us away from our center, and how relaxation allows us to move back. In more extreme cases, Jadeite Jade can help reverse an over-identification with chaos and addiction to drama, by penetrating through our tendency for striving, busyness and confusion. Jadeite Jade also reminds us that we can rest in our center because there is really nowhere else we need to be. When we are centered, our soul, personality, heart, and mind are all resonating together in a symphony of being that is uniquely beautiful, and we are content with where we are.

Stinging Nettle - reconnection and grounding when feeling overwhelmed
Stinging Nettle flower essence is for sensitive individuals who tend to become overwhelmed with information overload, especially when it is compounded by the stress of integrating current events. This flower essence also addresses the stress of having too much to do and the tendency to work until your brain melts. When the automatic response to sensory overload is overwhelm, and there is a tendency to shut down, disconnect or get angry or upset, Stinging Nettle essence promotes re-connection and grounding. It helps us process the information coming to us so we don't become overstimulated. This flower essence is also helpful when we feel defensive and alienated because of unresolved trauma and emotional injury. It addresses alienation by making our psychic boundaries more flexible, especially when we have been hurt deeply and have a tendency to repel those we want to be close to. Note: Stinging Nettle is also in our Easy Learning 'Focus & Integration Formula'