Shift negative moods with Mustard

Shift negative moods with Mustard

In Bach’s own words, the flower essence of Mustard is for “those who are liable to times of gloom or even despair, as though a cold, dark cloud overshadowed them and hid the light and the joy of life.”

by Linda Crider —

As far back as the early 1900s, Dr. Edward Bach was aware that depression can present in various forms, such as anxiety, mood swings, personality changes and feelings of despair. When he created his 38 remedy botanical healing system, he included several flower essences to deal with emotional imbalances that can prompt these mental states. For one of these remedies, he was drawn to the cheery, yellow mustard flower.

In Bach’s own words, the flower essence of Mustard is for “those who are liable to times of gloom or even despair, as though a cold, dark cloud overshadowed them and hid the light and the joy of life.”

Those in need of this remedy usually are not given any notice until a deep gloom has set in. It can come on rather suddenly, with no apparent catalyst. The person may even be aware that he or she has no cause to be depressed and may go to great lengths to look for reasons to be happy. However, the person still feels powerless to shake off the clutches of pessimism.

Mustard is especially helpful to those who suffer unexplained bouts of melancholy on a frequent but irregular basis. It can also dispel the passing low moments that we can all fall prey to. Mustard is a good remedy to use for young children who appear unhappy but are unable to express what is bothering them. Along the same line, it can be effectively given to animals exhibiting symptoms of depression, such as changes in appetite or behavior that cannot be linked to any known physical or environmental cause.

Taking the Mustard remedy can help to diffuse the heavy, dark energies that have overshadowed the affected individual. After one or several doses, a negative mood can shift as quickly and mysteriously as it first appeared. Achieving a positive Mustard state has been described as being released from an unpleasant, murky dream state. The path is then cleared to let in the more uplifting feelings of peace and joy that before seemed so out of reach. The bleak realities are still out there and acknowledged, but the clouds do not overcome the individual as they did before.

Bach scholar, Mechthild Scheffer, writes that the Mustard remedy is especially useful for those who are of a sensitive or creative bent who tend to absorb the energies around them. These would include the negative vibrations of the collective human consciousness that has manifested from all manners of unresolved emotional pain and sorrow. Suffering and then overcoming each single gloomy mood becomes a positive and productive experience as “with every dark Mustard day conquered, a little more light is brought to our planet.”

Linda M. Crider, BFRP, has been a promoter and educator of botanical healing practices for 15 years. She specializes in flower essence therapy and is a Bach Foundation registered practitioner and founder of Blooming Vibrations, LLC. bloomingvibrations.com or 602-774-2382.

Reprinted from AzNetNews, Volume 33, Number 4, August/September 2014.