Issue of the Week - Dec 1 - Dec 7

Self-acceptance

Has anyone ever said to you, "You're too hard on yourself" or "You are your own worst enemy" ? What does that mean? Sometimes is means that we expect more of ourselves than other people do (which is okay in a way), or it could mean we expect more of ourselves than is reasonable (which means we might be overdoing it). Either way, we might be causing ourselves undue suffering.

Being motivated, inspired and ambitious are not good or bad in themselves, but if they come with judgement of ourselves or others, they are moving in the wrong direction. Finding the balance is ideal. Staying in a heart felt space is best.

Interesting that for the month of December, The Herbal Rituals book I wrote about last month, has designated Pine to represent the month. Next post I will write about uses for Pine. For now, I will write about the flower essence Pine.

The Flower Essence Repertory has this to say:

Pine Pinus sylvestris

Positive Qualities:

Self-acceptance, self-forgiveness; freedom from inappropriate guilt and blame.

Pattern of Imbalance:

Guilt, self-blame, self-criticism, inability to accept oneself.

Objective knowledge of one's faults is an important soul virtue; when taken to an extreme, however, one can be wracked with undue guilt and misery Those who need Pine get stuck in self-blame. At times a real circumstance from the past may result in deep feelings of regret and remorse; however, the Pine type often feels guilt which is entirely disproportionate to the actual events. These feelings may arise from childhood, when the person learned to internalize blame for dysfunction in the family system, or they may stem from a religious background which emphasizes sin and error more than salvation and grace. Pine helps the Self to learn true forgiveness by quite literally being for giving: learning to give oneself nourishment rather than withholding love from oneself; learning to release rather than retain energy The individual is encouraged to move forward rather than stay entangled in self-deprecation and emotional paralysis. At it highest level, Pine teaches self-acceptance and inner esteem as a pathway to the soul's realization of its own sacredness and divinity.

Pine is one of Bach's original 38 remedies

He said about it, "For those who blame themselves. Even when successful they think they could have done better, and are never satisfied with the decisions they make. Would this remedy help me to stop blaming myself for everything?" - Dr. Edward Bach

To read about and order you can go to this website.

Edward Bach devoted his life to this mode of healing, sacrificing everything because he trusted his intuition despite 'how it looked on the outside'. His story is inspiring and his legacy is profound. Read about Bach.