Despite the success of his work with orthodox medicine he felt dissatisfied with the way doctors were expected to concentrate on diseases and ignore the people who were suffering them. He was inspired by his work with homoeopathy but wanted to find remedies that would be purer and less reliant on the products of disease. So in 1930 he gave up his lucrative Harley Street practice and left London, determined to devote the rest of his life to the new system of medicine that he was sure could be found in nature.

Just as he had abandoned his old home, office and work, so now he abandoned the scientific methods he had used up until now. Instead he chose to rely on his natural gifts as a healer, and use his intuition to guide him. One by one he found the remedies he wanted, each aimed at a particular mental state or emotion. His life followed a seasonal pattern: the spring and summer spent looking for and preparing the remedies, the winter spent giving help and advice to all who came looking for them. He found that when he treated the personalities and feelings of his patients their unhappiness and physical distress would be alleviated as the natural healing potential in their bodies was unblocked and allowed to work once more.

In 1934 Dr Bach moved to Mount Vernon in Oxfordshire. It was in the lanes and fields round about that he found the remaining 19 remedies that he needed to complete the series. He would suffer the emotional state that he needed to cure and then try various plants and flowers until he found the one single plant that could help him. In this way, through great personal suffering and sacrifice, he completed his life's work.

Dr Bach passed away peacefully on the evening of November 27th, 1936. He was only 50 years old, but he had left behind him several lifetime's experience and effort, and a system of medicine that is now used all over the world.

How to use the Bach flower remedies:
Only one remedy can be taken, but if necessary you can choose to take six to seven remedies. See below for other remedies.

You can take the remedies in several ways. For the treatment of a short-term mood or problem the easiest way is to put two drops of each selected remedy in a glass of water and sip as required, but at least four times a day, until relief is obtained. If using Rescue Remedy, put in four drops instead of two. For the treatment of more chronic problems you should make up a treatment bottle, as this is more economical and will make the precious stock remedies go a bit further. Simply get a 30ml bottle with a dropper in the lid (try the local pharmacy), and then add two drops of each selected remedy (four drops of Rescue Remedy) to the bottle. Top this up with still mineral water and from this bottle take four drops four times a day. If you keep them in the fridge, treatment bottles will last two or three weeks. If you can't keep your bottle in the fridge but have to keep it in your pocket or handbag then you can add a teaspoon of brandy to the treatment bottle - this will help to keep the water from going off. If you don't want to use brandy, cider vinegar is an alternative, although it isn't quite so effective.

Links:
Agrimony - mental torture behind cheerful face
Aspen - fear of unknown things
Beech - intolerance
Centaury - the inability to say 'no'
Cerato - lack of trust in one's own decisions
Cherry Plum - fear of the mind giving way
Chestnut Bud - failure to learn from mistakes
Chicory - selfish, possessive love
Clematis - dreaming of the future without working in the present
Crab Apple - the cleansing remedy, also for self-hatred
Elm - overwhelmed by responsibility
Gentian - discouragement after a setback
Gorse - hopelessness and despair
Heather - self-centredness and self-concern
Holly - hatred, envy and jealousy
Honeysuckle - living in the past
Hornbeam - procrastination, tiredness at the thought of doing something
Impatiens - impatience
Larch - lack of self confidence
Mimulus - fear of known things
Mustard - deep gloom for no reason, dark cloud
Oak - the plodder who keeps going past the point of exhaustion
Olive - exhaustion following mental or physical effort
Pine - guilt feelings most of the time for no reasons
Red Chestnut - over-concern for the welfare of loved ones
Rock Rose - terror and fright
Rock Water - self-denial, rigidity and self-repression
Scleranthus - inability to choose between alternatives
Star of Bethlehem - shock - trauma
Sweet Chestnut - Extreme mental anguish, when everything has been tried and there is no light left
Vervain - over-enthusiasm
Vine - dominance and inflexibility
Walnut - protection from change and unwanted influences
Water Violet - pride and aloofness
White Chestnut - unwanted thoughts and mental arguments
Wild Oat - uncertainty over one's direction in life
Wild Rose - drifting, resignation, apathy
Willow - self-pity and resentment