What The Flowers You Love Say About You
By Rachel Nichols
Many of us feel a deep sense of connection with nature, whether we are walking through the forest or enjoying a bouquet of brilliant pink peonies sitting on our kitchen table. We may feel more grounded and calm after taking a walk in nature or feel deeply inspired by the bright blooms that catch our eye at the farmers market. Did you know, though, that the type of plant or flower that you are drawn to might say something about you?
For example, if you are attracted to jasmine, you may be shy and want to express more confidence; if you're attracted to roses, you may need some extra love and comfort; if you love peonies, you may be overextending yourself or overworking. The list goes on, and Katie Hess, flower alchemist and founder of Lotus Wei, is coming to San Francisco on July 25 to share her wisdom gained from her more than 15 years of working with plants and flowers.
At her upcoming “Flower Lounge” gathering in SF, she will be teaching us how to tap into the magic of plants and flower essences through flower readings, stories, reflections, meditations and rituals designed to wake up our connection to flowers, plants, ourselves and others. By using flowers as teachers, Katie believes we can discover how to accelerate personal growth and delve into new insights about ourselves. Taking flower essences can also help us tackle everyday things that we face, including quieting the mind, relaxing tension and feeling more creative.
“In meditation we aren't trying to quiet our minds; we are really just trying to have more awareness about our thoughts, and once we see them they transform their quality. Flower essences are similar in that they help us see our own potential and see where things are tripping us up or where we have patterns,” Katie said.
But What Exactly Are Flower Essences?
Consuming flower essences is another way of receiving the nourishing properties of plants. Flower essences are created by harvesting the “life force” from a flower or plant through a solar process and then preserved in a mix of water and alcohol. The body is made up of 75 percent water, and the tiny little sparks of electricity from the flower moves through the water in your body when consumed. This liquid energy can transform your mood and mind through your acupuncture meridians. “You could call it almost like an energetic transfusion,” Katie said. “Life force recharging you.”
Flower essences have both short- and long-term effects. “If you use them four to five times a day, in about three days you notice a difference. Some people notice immediately. Your mood shifts, the edgy parts of life get softer. It's like removing a whole level of static and makes us really clear,” Katie said. When taken long-term, flower essences can be used as a personal growth accelerator. “What happens in about four months after regular use, the changes that you feel on the inside start reflecting back to you in the outside world. Their whole external reality starts shifting and changing because the internal static has been removed.”
Learn More: The Flower Evolution
There are many brands of flower essences, but Katie makes her own, under Lotus Wei. She goes on collection trips a couple times a year, including to places like Iceland, Montana and South Dakota. “We are actively seeking out what we need next,” Katie said. “That is what makes us interesting and different from some of the flower essence companies. Mother earth is alive....that is billions of years of wisdom. I am tuning in and asking the Earth to show me what it is that people need right now.” Lotus Wei offers more than 75 different remedies that Katie feels are essential to our modern-day lifestyle.
Katie’s mentor told her: If even just 3% of the population were to take flower essences , it would be enough to change the outcome of the future in a very positive way. That fact had such an impact on her that she wanted to share flower essences with as many people as possible. One of the ways she is doing this is through her new movement, flowerevolution, a community of people who incorporate targeted, specific flower elixirs to wake up certain qualities in themselves. Every month, each person in the program is taking the same flower elixir, which is designed to wake up specific energies and catalyze personal growth not only for the flowerevolutionaries, but also their family, friends and anyone their energy touches.
Additionally, Katie just published her first book last fall, Flower Evolution. The interactive book, created in collaboration with fellow plant admirer and photographer Louie Schwartzberg, is packed with information about flowers and their healing power as well as offers exercises reflective questions and other action steps you can take to help you connect with flowers. There are also DYI flower projects and recipes to inspire your daily life with flowers and more. I already bought a copy of the book for myself and my mom who is a huge flower admirer and we have been loving all the information and wisdom, as well as the gorgeous photos, that fill every page.
Meet Us At The Flower Lounge In SF!
If you’re interested in learning more about your own connection to flowers, come to Katie’s event in SF on July 25, and in the meantime check out her super cool interactive website with a flower quiz that can help you find which essences might be good for you.
Sign up for the Flower Lounge event in SF here. For inspiring videos from her Flower Lounge events in other cities, click here.
