Edward Bach
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Edward Bach (commonly pronounced "Batch" ([bætʃ]), but actually a Welsh surname whose correct pronunciation has a guttural ending similar to the German surname "Bach")[citation needed] (September 24, 1886 – November 27, 1936) developed Bach flower remedies, a form of alternative medicine inspired by the classical homeopathic traditions.
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[edit] Biography
Bach grew up in Birmingham, studied medicine at the University College Hospital, London and obtained a Diploma of Public Health (DPH) at Cambridge.
Before turning to alternative therapies, he was a House Surgeon and a casualty medical officer at University College Hospital; he was in charge of 400 beds during World War I; he worked at the National Temperance Hospital and had a successful practice at Harley Street.
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.[1]
[edit] Bach nosodes
Starting in 1919, he worked at the London Homeopathic Hospital, where he was influenced by the work of Samuel Hahnemann.[2]p.186 In this period, he developed seven bacterial nosodes known as the seven Bach nosodes, which have received only limited recognition. Their use has been mostly confined to British homeopathy practitioners.
These Bowel Nosodes[3] were introduced by Bach and the British homeopaths, John Paterson (1890-1954)[4] and Charles Edwin Wheeler (1868-1946)[5] in the 1920s. Their use is based on the variable bowel bacterial flora associated with persons of different homeopathic constitutional types.[6]
[edit] Bach flowers
In 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[7] and based on his perceived psychic connections to the plants.[2]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[8], 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[9]. 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.[8]
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 that of illness as the result of "a contradiction between the purposes of the soul and the personality's point of view." This internal war, according to Bach, leads to negative moods and energy blocking, which causes a lack of "harmony," thus leading to physical diseases.
Bach advertised his remedies in two daily newspapers, but since his practices did not follow any scientific protocol, and his methods were not understood, the General Medical Council disapproved of his advertising. For example, in his treatise Heal Thyself he wrote:
- "Disease will never be cured or eradicated by present materialistic methods, for the simple reason that disease in its origin is not material . . . Disease is in essence the result of conflict between the Soul and Mind and will never be eradicated except by spiritual and mental effort."
In 1934, he moved to Mount Vernon in Brightwell-cum-Sotwell, Oxfordshire. He died two years later, only seven years after starting his search for new medicines.
[edit] Bach Centre
The Dr Edward Bach Centre, Mount Vernon, located in Brightwell-cum-Sotwell, Oxfordshire, and commonly known as the Bach Centre or Mount Vernon, was the home and working place of Bach during the latter years of his life. Here he performed research into the 38 flower remedies that still bear his name.[10]
The trustees and helpers at the Bach Centre continue to make and provide the mother tinctures for the Bach flower remedies, according to the specific instructions left by Dr. Bach.
In the 1980s, when increasing worldwide sales and new regulatory requirements made it impractical for the Bach Centre to continue producing the remedies in-house, they invited Nelsons to take over full distribution. This was initially through a dedicated bottling plant in Abingdon and later moved to Wimbledon.[11] The relationship between Nelsons and The Dr Edward Bach Centre continues to this day.[11]
The Bach Centre is open to visitors and offers help to the public in the form of education, publications and referrals to practitioners.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Mechthild Scheffer, The Encyclopedia of Bach Flower Therapy (Rochester, VT: Healing Arts Press, 2001), pp. 13-15.
- ^ a b Wood, Matthew (2000). Vitalism: The History of Herbalism, Homeopathy and Flower Essences. Richmond, Calif: North Atlantic Books. ISBN 1-55643-340-9.
- ^ THE BOWEL NOSODES - BY John Paterson
- ^ Dr John PATERSON (1890-1954) - PHOTOTHÈQUE HOMÉOPATHIQUE présentée par Homéopathe International
- ^ Dr Charles Edwin WHEELER - PHOTOTHÈQUE HOMÉOPATHIQUE présentée par Homéopathe International
- ^ Prescribing on the basis of Nosodes & Bowel Nosodes @ Homoeopathy Clinic website pioneer in homeopathy, alternative medicine & health care!
- ^ Graham, Helen (1999). Complementary Therapies in Context: The Psychology of Healing. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. pp. 254. ISBN 1853026409.
- ^ a b MD, Walt Larimore; O'Mathuna, Donal (2007). Alternative Medicine: The Christian Handbook, Updated and Expanded (Christian Handbook). Grand Rapids, Mich: 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.
- ^ Bach Centre
- ^ a b The Bach Centre page about Nelsons
