In an increasingly chaotic world, many of us are looking for ways to slow down and lead a more balanced life.
The simplest way to achieve harmony is to tune into the natural rhythms of nature. Just to become aware of the call of a bird or the appearance of a wildflower demands our presence and a still mind. To be in touch with nature is the most innocent and fulfilling way to make a personal connection with the sacred. Unconsciously, this is what we are doing each time we go into a garden and linger lovingly over a particular flower or plant. Most sensitive gardeners would admit their wish to be in touch with the plants they are nurturing in their desire to provide the best conditions for the plants to grow.
For thousands of years, man has harnessed nature's healing powers in herbal medicines. More recently, essential oils and flower essences have been developed with great success for all manner of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual healing. What is not so well known is that there is a vast, invisible part of the natural world that is readily available to us if we dare to look a little further.
An invisible world
To enter the world of nature and flower spirits calls for a huge leap of faith, because we need to abandon the widely held assumption that we can only believe in what we can see. As part of the angelic realm, nature and flower spirits are rarely visible to the human eye.
There are many definitions of nature spirits or ‘devas', as they are sometimes called; it is simplest to understand them as tiny etheric beings who manifest all the qualities of a plant. As we look at a flower, what we can see also has an inner counterpart, pulsating with life; it is this inner life force that we access when we work with flower spirits. Here, we find a new level of consciousness and understanding that connects us with all life and with the Creator. Each plant and flower has an individual spirit; there is also an ‘overlighting' spirit for each family of flowers; for example, for all lupins.
My own connection with nature deepened when I became a garden photographer. Once I began to focus my camera on a perfect bloom to capture its essence, I entered a new world. Whilst I was captivated by the extraordinary beauty in front of me, I became increasingly aware of a feeling of joy and bliss as I worked. Catching many of these flowers at their dewy best, in the early hours of the morning, I found myself in a heightened atmosphere, as if I had entered a sacred place such as a temple or a church.
My own first experience of seeing a plant spirit came as I was driving through native English woodland at dawn in early summer. As I approached an arch of trees, a fast-moving ball of white light came out of the trees and moved around in front of me, before returning into the woodland. I instantly felt within me that an etheric fairy being or nature spirit had shown itself to me, as if in proof of their existence.
Gradually, I have become more sensitive to the invisible world of nature spirits and now I connect with the spirit of the place I am photographing as well as with the individual flower spirits. From these sacred, private moments I now dare to share the intimate, healing messages I have received from these extraordinary plants. I feel shy about doing this, although the flower spirits are delighted to have a voice of their own and to be acknowledged in the wider world.
Working with nature spirits
Nature and flower spirits working in gardens pay little attention to humans, but they respond to harmonious and loving thoughts. Talking to and nurturing your plants is the simplest way to communicate with nature and the flower spirits around you, letting them know that you are happy to work with them. You can do this with one pot plant in your home, a window box on a sill or in your garden, however small. You don't need to be a seasoned gardener to feel a connection.
It is so important for us to suspend disbelief and allow ourselves to imagine all the nature spirits working on our behalf in the world around us, in cities and countryside alike. The more we acknowledge that they are there and send them loving thoughts, the more they will make themselves available to us. More and more, they are deserting land that has been treated without respect. If we send love to plants whilst we are gardening, or even fully appreciate the beauty of the cut flowers we buy to bring joy into our homes, we are inviting nature spirits into our lives.
Each different flower spirit brings with it an atmosphere and energy all of its own that you can incorporate into your life in a more permanent way. So, for example, if you want a little more calm in your life, turn to the flower spirit of the Nigella and grow it from seed as an annual. Sprinkle seed into a window box or flower border in the autumn or spring, cover with compost or soil and water in. Once it is established it will self-seed every year and you will have an exquisite swathe of celestial blue annually reflecting back its healing essence of calm and tranquillity. In this simple way you will invite the nature and flower spirits to enter your life, instantly creating an oasis to nurture your own sensitive nature.
From Flower Spirit Cards, copyright 2004 by Melanie Eclare, published by Quadrille Publishing Ltd.
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