- Edward Bach
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Edward Bach (pronounced 'Batch',
/ˈbætʃ/; September 24, 1886 – November 27, 1936) was a British physician,[1][2] homeopath and spiritual writer, best known for developing his titular Bach flower remedies, a form of alternative medicine inspired by classical homeopathic traditions.Contents
Biography
Bach grew up in Birmingham, studied medicine at the University College Hospital, London and obtained a Diploma of Public Health (DPH) at Cambridge.
In 1917 Bach had a malignant tumor removed from his spleen. It was predicted that he had only three months left to live, but instead he recovered. Bach died in his sleep on November 27, 1936, at the age of 50.[3]
Bach nosodes
Starting in 1919, he worked at the London Homeopathic Hospital, where he was influenced by the work of Samuel Hahnemann.[4]p. 186 In this period, he developed seven bacterial nosodes known as the seven Bach nosodes. Their use has been mostly confined to British homeopathy practitioners.
These Bowel Nosodes[5] were introduced by Bach and the British homeopaths, John Paterson (1890–1954)[6] and Charles Edwin Wheeler (1868–1946)[7] in the 1920s. Their use is based on the variable bowel bacterial flora associated with persons of different homeopathic constitutional types.[8]
Bach flower remedies
Main article: Bach flower remediesIn 1930, at the age of 43, he decided to search for a new healing technique. He spent the spring and summer discovering and preparing new flower remedies - which include no part of the plant but simply what Bach claimed to be the pattern of energy of the flower. In the winter he treated patients free of charge.
Rather than being based on medical research, using the scientific method, Bach's flower remedies were intuitively derived[9] and based on his perceived psychic connections to the plants.[4]p. 185 If he felt a negative emotion, he would hold his hand over different plants, and if one alleviated the emotion, he would ascribe the power to heal that emotional problem to that plant. He believed that early morning sunlight passing through dew-drops on flower petals transferred the healing power of the flower onto the water,[10] so he would collect the dew drops from the plants and preserve the dew with an equal amount of brandy to produce a mother tincture which would be further diluted before use.[11] Later, he found that the amount of dew he could collect was not sufficient, so he would suspend flowers in spring water and allow the sun's rays to pass through them.[10]
Rather than recognizing the role of germ theory of disease, defective organs and/or tissue, and other known and demonstrable sources of disease, Bach thought of illness as the result of a conflict between the purposes of the soul and the personality's actions and outlooks. This internal war, according to Bach, leads to negative moods and energy blocking, which causes a lack of "harmony," thus leading to physical diseases.
See also
Notes
- ^ Matthew Wood Vitalism
- ^ Frankie Hutton Rose Lore
- ^ Mechthild Scheffer (2001). The Encyclopedia of Bach Flower Therapy. Rochester, Vermont: Healing Arts Press. pp. 13–5.
- ^ a b Wood, Matthew (2000). Vitalism: The History of Herbalism, Homeopathy and Flower Essences. Richmond, Calif: North Atlantic Books. ISBN 1-55643-340-9.
- ^ John Paterson The Bowel Nosodes
- ^ John PATERSON (1890-1954) PHOTOTHÈQUE HOMÉOPATHIQUE Homéopathe International
- ^ Charles Edwin Wheeler PHOTOTHÈQUE HOMÉOPATHIQUE Homéopathe International
- ^ Prescribing on the basis of Nosodes & Bowel Nosodes Homoeopathy Clinic website
- ^ Graham, Helen (1999). Complementary Therapies in Context: The Psychology of Healing. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. pp. 254. ISBN 1853026409.
- ^ a b Larimore, Walt; O'Mathuna, Donal (2007). Alternative Medicine: The Christian Handbook, Updated and Expanded (Christian Handbook). Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan. pp. 293. ISBN 0-310-26999-7.
- ^ Robson, Terry (2004). An Introduction to Complementary Medicine. Allen & Unwin Academic. pp. 184–185. ISBN 1-74114-054-4.
External links
Categories:- 1886 births
- 1936 deaths
- English spiritual writers
- Homeopaths
- People in alternative medicine
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