Holly for the Heart

It seems that lately I have been having a lot of conversations with people about the heart chakra and healing of the heart. There is even new research out there that suggests the heart may be sending signals to the brain instead of the other way around. Without a doubt the heart has been central to many healing arts, so a "sad or angry heart" is real cause for concern and discomfort.

The Bach Flower essence Holly shares a connection to the heart. Although it is often described as the essence for envy, jealousy or feelings of anger or hatred, it goes a lot deeper than than. It more about the shock that these intense negative emotions have on the person- a sense of disconnection and imbalance- a very unpleasant state.

In "Bach Flower Remedies Form & Function", Julian Barnard explains that Dr. Bach choose Holly as a remedy to be used when people felt they had been violently affected by very negative emotions. Dr. Bach felt that anger was the result of an absence of love and that anger is a reaction to an invasion of an individuals sense of self. When in a Holly state, one is in a foreign pattern, not in a homeostatic or balanced state and therefore feels "taken over" by feelings not within their control. Like the spiny prickly leaves of Holly, the essence can be a catalyst that provides a stab to the heart so that the person looks inward to their source of discomfort rather than blaming an external source for the anger or imbalance.

The positive affects of Holly can be as dramatic as the negative emotions and connect one to a sense of inner harmony and universal love- indeed back to the balance of loving oneself. Dr. Bach wrote, "Holly protects us from everything that is not universal love". Holly can help you open your heart to receive love and regain balance and a sense of self.