The Wisdom of Dr Edward Bach
“Rest assured that in whatever station of life we are placed, princely or lowly, it contains the lessons and experiences necessary at the moment for our evolution, and gives us the best advantage for the development of ourselves.” Dr Edward Bach quote from Heal Thyself.
Dr. Bach’s Philosophy
One of the questions many of us ask when life feels difficult is, "Why is this happening?" Had you asked Dr Edward Bach this question, he might have offered a very different answer from the one we’re used to hearing. Rather than seeing our life circumstances as random events, he saw that every part of our lives contained the experiences our soul most needs for its own growth and evolution.
What shines through in Dr. Edward Bach’s philosophy is the gentle reminder that we are spiritual beings having a human experience, and that we are here to grow, learn and evolve. And that while many of us have ‘forgotten’ consciously that we are each a complete and indivisible part of the whole, our soul presence is always there guiding our lives and our evolution.
Every Experience Has Something to Teach Us
This quote comes from the book ‘Heal Thyself’ and is perhaps one of Dr Edward Bach’s most profound observations, and it offers us the chance fundamentally change the way we think about our life circumstances.
Rather than seeing life as something that just happen to us with no rhyme or reason, Dr Bach opens the door for us to see the bigger picture that life happens for our inner growth and evolution. Every situation we find ourselves in, whether joyful or difficult, privileged or humble, contains exactly the experiences we need to develop the qualities our soul is trying to express.
The Importance of our Soul
Another way of understanding Bach’s philosophy is to see life as a partnership between our personality and our soul. Our personality experiences the events of everyday life, while our soul gently guides us towards the lessons that help us become more fully who we really are.
As Dr Edward Bach understood it, our true identity is our soul rather than our personality. Our soul is the aspect of ourselves that remembers we are a complete and indivisible part of the whole. It has a full overview of our lives, and what we are trying to learn, and helps to create the circumstances and experiences that will best help us to grow and evolve.
The closer these two aspects of ourselves work together, the greater our sense of harmony, purpose and wellbeing. The more separate they are, the more that we lose that alignment and we are less in balance as a result.
The fundamental truth at the heart of Dr. Bach’s book ‘Heal Thyself’ is that true health and happiness come from living in harmony with the purpose of your soul.
Our Lives Uniquely Reflect What We Most Need
Dr Bach’s idea that "whatever station of life we are placed, princely or lowly" is particularly important. Bach understood that each of our lifetimes will be a unique reflection of what we most need for our soul growth. We’re each here to learn and to evolve in the way that most benefits our soul’s evolution and that there is deep soul growth in all of our life choices.
A king and a labourer have equal opportunities for evolution because each person’s life presents its own unique lessons, neither better nor worse. The external circumstances may differ dramatically, but the inner work remains the same, regardless of wealth, status, education or outward success. In Dr. Bach’s view, the important thing in life, regardless of our circumstances, is that we simply work in harmony with our soul purpose.
What am I learning?
What quality is life inviting me to develop through this experience? Perhaps, the most interesting part of the quote is Dr Bach’s idea that our present circumstances "give us the best advantage for the development of ourselves." This can feel like quite a challenging statement when looked at in the context of our own lives. Maybe it can even feel hard to accept, especially when life feels painful or unfair.
In the quote though Bach isn’t suggesting that suffering is good, nor that we should resign ourselves to difficult situations. Instead, he’s suggesting a different way of looking at what is going on in our lives. So rather than asking "Why has this happened to me?" he’s encouraging us to wonder:
"What inner quality is life inviting me to develop through this experience?"
A difficult relationship might be teaching compassion or healthy boundaries. Illness may encourage us to slow down and reconnect with ourselves. A period of uncertainty may help us discover trust instead of fear. Even the ordinary aspects of our daily life and our responsibilities can be opportunities to develop greater patience, peace or love.
Signposts on the Spiritual Path
The quote also reflects one of the messages that Bach’s often returns to in Heal Thyself, that what can feel like our biggest obstacles in life are often also the signposts to our deepest soul growth. The emotions that we struggle with in life are not signs that we are failing, but are signposts pointing towards the virtues our soul is trying to help us awaken within ourselves.
There is also a wonderfully reassuring message hidden in the opening words: "Rest assured…" Dr Bach is saying that we don’t need to worry about our life’s situation, or our life purpose, or where our next lessons will come from, because all that we need for our evolution and spiritual growth is already present in the life we are living right now.
Dr Bach’s Inspiration – Bach Remedies to Help
And one of the hall marks of Dr Bach’s life was his blend of philosophy and practical solutions. It was all very well to have the philosophical understandings, to see the signposts of life, but how were people to work with the emotions that they were struggling with?
This was one of the inspirations behind Dr Edward Bach’s creation of the Bach Flower Remedies. Each of the 38 flower essences supports a particular emotional state, thought pattern or state of mind, and Bach intended them to be as simple to use as recognising how you feel and choosing the appropriate remedy. As he said, "I am hungry, I will go and pull a lettuce from the garden for my tea; I am frightened and ill, I will take a dose of Mimulus." This beautifully illustrates how straightforward he believed the remedies could be. By helping to restore balance to the emotional states that take us away from our true nature, the remedies support the inner changes that life is inviting us towards, bringing us into greater harmony with our soul and our life’s purpose.
What is Life Inviting us to See?
In essence, this lovely quote reminds us that our spiritual path doesn’t begin when our circumstances improve. It begins exactly where we are right now.
Whatever today brings, it already contains the opportunities we need to step more into our wisdom, to feel more love in our hearts and to connect more fully with who we really are. To deepen our spiritual connection and to remind us of our wholeness and connection with Source.
For Bach, progress wasn’t measured by what we achieved in the world, but by the qualities we developed within ourselves. Perhaps that’s why this short passage from Heal Thyself still feels so relevant today. Whenever life becomes uncertain, Bach gently reminds us that we don’t need to have all the answers. We simply need to ask what this moment and experience might be inviting us to become.
Sam is co-owner here at Crystal Herbs and has been working professionally with Bach Flower Remedies and flower essences since 1996. Sam is passionate about all aspects of flower essences and the potential they have to help us with our inner journeys of personal and spiritual growth. He is a trained flower essence practitioner, energy healer, writer and teacher and loves sharing knowledge and information about flower essences and any other tools that help us to re-connect with our hearts and the true essence of who we are.
