An Interview with Dr. Griffin
COMMON SENSE BECOMES FLOWER SENSE Interview by Sri Dimond Reprinted with permission from Lifescape Magazine Flower essences are no longer a natural health secret, and deservedly so. The work of experts such as Dr. Judy Griffin shows that if you think the science is woolly and the practice hippy and all in the mind or heart of the believer, you may miss out on profoundly effective catalysts for pain relief, cancer remission, Crohn's Disease and much more. AN EXPERT IN THE POWER OF PETALS Dr. Griffin has been using flower essence remedies as part of treatment programmes in psychiatric hospitals in Texas for nearly forty years, pioneering this with seriously disturbed patients, not the "worried well." She provides the blends to Baylor Medical centre at Dallas, Texas to reduce pain, nausea, anxiety and stress, amongst other symptoms. She is well known for her many books on organic gardening, herbs and diet, most recently, MOTHER NATURE'S HERBAL, and she lectures worldwide. She has researched and cultivated rare plants and distils her own oils with the kind of devotion rare in a chemist's lab, for her own Petite Fleur range of essences. I met her at a professional flower essence seminar she gave in London recently where she focused on the immunology and brain chemistry. She later talked with me about the vexing question of research in order to establish validity. She explained: "Validation in the orthodox sense would take certain kinds of studies and I couldn't do them because of the fact that I produce the essences myself. For example, studies have been done on individual essences like lavender but these don't necessarily relate to my own essences, as the lavender varies. Baylor Hospital has done studies on how my essences affect blood pressure, breathing time, pain and so on but the results will not necessarily be placed in the public domain. One can observe similar reactions in people who are generally responsive to natural remedies, but others might not feel anything. Of course, that's not to say there could not be profound changes and there often are - as with other medication and breathing exercises, people may say they don't feel any different but in fact they are different and they do change." Dr. Griffin is not fazed by any of this and as someone who has cured herself of Crohn's Disease, and her two young twins of acute health problems, including being born with immune deficiency disease that threatened their lives, she is no stranger to battles. She says: "It's ok. Like 'organic,' little by little things have changed. I know medical doctors who only use flower remedies. However in the United States you always have to consider the American Medical Association and their approach to regulation. We must also remember that so many healers and remedies have lots of shakti or healing energy - once it is made by a machine it is different. It is about an electro-magnetic exchange and relationship with the plant." IT DOESN'T ALL SMELL THE SAME Quite often people merge their thoughts on aromatherapy and flower essences and think they have much the same effect. Dr. Griffin disputes this: "That's why I use topical treatments and have been able to work in hospitals for so long. I place remedies on key points on the skin. They kick-start the immune response and this is what affects brain chemistry. It is 250 times more powerful than what we smell - scent plays a part but these are about more than scent - they are not working in the same capacity because of the immune response. Scent affects the endocrine response and this can then affect the psychological one." Working in this way Dr. Griffin has helped huge numbers of severely depressed people recover, as well as cancer, cardiac and sickle cell patients. She knows she works very intuitively but her respect for the work the flowers do is sobering. I was curious to know about her extensive work with roses as they are known as the most evolved flower on the planet and have such a wide appeal. She agreed they were, although she does not work with hybrid varieties, "Yes, they have an ability to survive extremely tough conditions, but roses need us too." Her range of Antique rose Essences support the neurological system. On the question of who inspires her most, she paused and asked me if that mean past or present, flower or animal before saying: "Being out there with the plants in nature. When the roses bloom I go nuts. I love wisteria - anything that blooms. I have this incredible feeling of joy - completely unannounced." Lifescape focuses on complementary and integrated health and I was inspired that she refers to her work in this way rather than "alternative." "Yes, something inspired me to move from an alternative medical position and it was in the main due to the new kind of therapists, nurses, doctors and occupational therapists that I started to encounter. The fact that they work one to one, using integrated modalities, made a difference to me. I have had many cancer patients who didn't want to be well, whatever they said. It made me realise that it is their programme and their choice. But it also made me realise what complementary care is: I have to be on the same level as the physician and in union, in terms of focus. If I separate myself in some way it is no good. I am not concerned what part my intervention plays. We work together for their wellbeing." USING FLOWER ESSENCES ON OURSELVES Dr. Griffin has worked with the strangest and hardest of illnesses to cure, but she finds that the work people do on themselves can be incredible. She helped a patient with no stomach and acute addiction problems, and like many whose lives are wrecked, he finally recovered using flower essences. She says: "I never see people as sick. We are actually beautiful, but somehow we lose the script. We are in the matrix playing a human game and I don't know why we put ourselves through such pain at times. We have become heads walking round on sticks! The connection with touch is also critical as our bodies are holograms and placing the essence on key points affects the whole body." She readily emphasises, "we could all use more touch." Flower remedies reach the pleasure centres in the brain which is one of the reasons why they work so well. To Dr. Griffin, the power of flower essences is that they look simple and have no side effects at all, but by using them, people feel they have made a noticeable improvement to their health, on their own. VISIT: www.aromahealthtexas.com or call 1-800-496-2125 Crohn's Disease: Petite Fleur Flower Remedies that can help: Snapdragon and Yarrow - to balance out the auto-immune response Abate Anger - for inflammation Inner Strength - for inner will and bone health Recovery Essence - for overall support Kolancho - for that blind side we all have Onion - for prejudices and prejudgements