We know that in humans, mental and emotional upset can have deep and lasting physical effects, far beyond what used to be referred to as "psychosomatic illness". Animals too, have an active mental and emotional life. Therefore, they can similarly manifest not only behavioral but physical problems that have their roots in emotional trauma. Essences correct a negative emotional state by "flooding" the patient with the opposite, positive quality that is the particular essence of that flower, animal, or other energy.

For instance, the essence of the flower Holly is love. Therefore, you would use Holly in situations where there is a lack of love: anger, jealousy, rage. Similarly, the essence of Rock Rose is courage: it is used in cases of deep fears, panic and terror. Since essences act directly and not homeopathically, they are completely safe and non-toxic. They cannot be overused or misused, and they cannot interfere with any other treatment, conventional, alternative, or otherwise. Even if you give the wrong remedy, it will not have any negative effects, but it will simply have no effect.

Flower essences have been made the same way since Dr. Bach developed them in the 1930s. Blossoms are picked at the height of perfection, early in the morning, and set in a bowl of pure water in the sunlight for several hours. This transfers the energetic signature of the flower's life force to the water, without taking in any potential harmful qualities of flowers such as lilies, or other toxic or irritating plants.

Non-flower essences are prepared energetically and do not use any physical part of the substance or entity. In this way they are somewhat like homeopathy, but completely unlike herbs, aromatherapy, or essential oils. In the case of animal essences, no animals are ever harmed in the making of these products, and essences do not contain any animal parts of any kind.

For our own Rocky Mountain Essences, more than 33 years of intimate familiarity with the Tetons allowed Dr. Jean to "channel" by intuition the energies and messages that entities such as Grand Teton, Lodgepole Pine, and Leigh Lake wished to convey to humanity. We then made the mother essences using an energy transfer process similar to radionics.

Essences are very easy to give! They can be given by mouth, added to your animal's food or water, applied topically (usually around the head and ears, where the animal is most sensitive to the energy vibrations of the essences), or used with our new optional spray top to mist problem areas such as the carrier, car, crate, house, trailer, or stall. We've also had reports from creative clients who put a few drops of essences on a favorite toy or treat!

Flower and other essences are readily available in your health food store, and with a little study from one of the many excellent books on the subject, it is a simple matter to create your own formulas. We encourage you to acquaint yourself with these resources! Spirit Essences' formulas are unique, though, in several respects.

First, our essences have been specially energized by a unique process to be far "stronger" energetically than the stock essences found in stores or from other companies. We make our own Rocky Mountain Essences, but we do not restrict our formulas to any one line or even to just the Bach remedies. Spirit Essences draws from many of the finest essence lines in the world: Australian Living Essences; Aum Himalaya Essences; Flower Essence Society's Healing Herbs (Bach Flower Equivalent); Flower Essence Society; Kaua'i Starmen; Masters Essences; Pacific Essences; Rocky Mountain Essences; South African Flower and Gem Essences; Green Hope Farm and Watersong Sanctuary.These include essences of not only plants but also animals, gems, butterflies, and some very unusual ethereal essences.

Spirit Essences uses only pure Eldorado Natural Spring Water from a local artesian spring. The water is then enhanced with Reiki energy, Full Color Spectrum Light, and Michael's Energy Water Elixirs,  unique homeopathic preparations of minerals that enhance the formulas. SpiritEssence uses up to 20 essences in each formula or prescription, and for you to purchase these essences individually would cost at least $60, depending on your source. Add the cost of the book or books you would need to study, to select the remedies, the time it would take you, bottles, water and other materials, and it will end up costing you much more than Spirit Essences charges for your animal's prescription.

It takes extensive study and experience to understand the subtle applications that these essences have in the treatment of animals. We will apply this knowledge and experience in the treatment of your animal. We do encourage you to look at some of these books and learn more about essences! They can help you, your family members, and your friends, as well as your animal companions.

Yes! Additional flower essences, as well as animal, gem, earth, and ocean essences, have been developed by others since Dr. Bach. The foundation of Spirit Essences formulas began as the English Flower Essences of Dr. Bach. However, over time we have added other unique and powerful essences, such as "Lunar Eclipse" and "Ascension" by Watersong Essences of Boulder, Colorado. Currently, we are developing our own brand new essences. We are also creating new formulas to address very specific conditions, such as Feral Cat and Declaw Remedy. And we are exploring totally new ways of using and combining essences for multiple animal households.

In most cases, one course of treatment of up to 6 weeks will be needed. Occasionally, animals need long-term, low level maintenance of Spirit Essences therapy. Most animals will show improvement within the first two weeks of treatment. No treatment is 100% effective in all cases, but it is a very rare animal that does not respond at all to Spirit Essences therapy. It is important to remember that we are not treating a specific behavior, but rather addressing the underlying emotional imbalance. Essences are not drugs. They do not have a physical effect on the body, nor will they directly alter or eliminate a particular behavior. What they will do is gently change the animal by encouraging positive emotions and responses, which in turn result in beneficial effects on behavior.

In many cases, just one course of treatment of 2-6 weeks will be needed. Occasionally, animals need a longer treatment period. Most animals will show noticeable improvement within the first two weeks, although if you do not see changes, that does not mean the essences are not working--they are--just on a deeper level.

Over time, we have also found that continuing low-level treatment of a maintenance Spirit Essences formula like Healthy Helper can be beneficial for long term health and well-being. No treatment is 100% effective in all cases, of course, but it is a very rare animal that does not respond to SpiritE ssences therapy.

Spirit Essences has many standard formulas for cats, dogs and horses. You can read through the descriptions of the formulas listed under each species. Many times, people can easily select a Spirit Essences formula by matching their animal's characteristics to the formula. Sometimes, though, no single formula seems to fit the animal or situation perfectly. For these situations, Spirit Essences offers personal consultations by telephone with Jackson Galaxy. With the information gained from this personal interview, Jackson will select an individualized set of essences specifically for your animal companion.

We'd like to find the perfect fit for your pet! Please feel free to contact Jackson with any questions toll-free at (877) 85-SPIRIT or E-mail him at jackson@spiritessences.com.

Yes! Spirit Essences are non-toxic and natural. They are not drugs. They do not have a physical effect on the body, but rather change the animal by encouraging positive emotions and responses. There are no "side effects."

Edward Bach was born in 1886 in rural England, where he completed his medical training at University College in London in 1912. Dr. Bach worked in public medicine and private practice until 1914. During the war years, Dr. Bach became ill from overwork. Upon his recovery, he then began the study of homeopathy and bacteriology.

Dr. Bach published his findings on the treatment of intestinal toxemia with homeopathic nosodes in 1920. Interestingly, he found that certain types of bacteria would be overgrown in certain types of individuals. He came to be able to predict from the patient's personality what species of bacteria would be cultured, and what the patient's response to treatment would be. This may have been the beginning of his interest in the psychological or emotional causes of illness.

Dr. Bach became the Pathologist and Chief Bacteriologist for the London Homeopathic Hospital. In 1930, however, he gave up medical practice and devoted himself full-time to seeking non-toxic herbal remedies. This led him to the discovery of the flower essences that bear his name. Initially, Dr. Bach prepared the flower essences homeopathically, but later developed a method of energizing them through sunlight. He published two books on flower essences. When he died in 1936, Dr. Bach felt that he had completed his life's work by elucidating the 38 Bach Flower Essences.

Dr. Bach was a deeply religious man whose spirituality was reflected in his work. He believed that each of us has a divine mission on earth that can be discerned through listening to our own instincts, wishes, thoughts, and desires. He also believed that all disease is the result of disharmony between the soul and the mind. This occurs through allowing other people to interfere with the true course of our lives. It is not that such interferences are in themselves evil or bad, but it is our response to them, the "permission" we give them to disturb us, that causes the problem. He holds as examples of the true causes of disease, such emotions and mental states as fear, doubt, indecision, indifference, impatience, and grief.

In terms of Dr. Bach's philosophy, it is easy to see how animals are similarly diverted from their "true course". Animals are abruptly weaned, taken from their families, and trained to exist with their human companions by altering or suppressing natural behaviors, even to the extent of surgery, such as spaying, neutering and gelding. Certainly, we are not being mean or arbitrary when we insist that our animal companion use the litter box or refrain from biting, scratching, bucking, or flying out the window. These are necessary accommodations that our animal companions must make in order to share our lives. It is, however, not entirely natural.

Yes! Spirit Essences are not a substitute for adequate veterinary care. All animals undergoing Spirit Essences therapy must have access to a primary care veterinarian, and in the case of cats with litterbox problems or animals who lick or chew themselves excessively, should have a thorough physical examination and appropriate medical tests to make sure the problem is not physical, such as infection or parasites. If a physical disease has been diagnosed, the Spirit Essences formula for that condition (for instance, "Happy Tummy" for animals with intestinal issues, or "UR-Fine" for animals with urinary tract problems) will provide energetic support for healing.

Spirit Essences remedies contain pure artesian spring water, alcohol (or alternative preservative), and a variety of flower and other essences.  For a complete list of the essences we use in our formulas, just click here. Each product contains between 12-20 essences. We list the specific ingredients on every product page.

Red Shiso

Essences are traditionally made with spring water using brandy as a stabilizer to prevent growth of pathogenic organisms in the product. We considered several other options including glycerin (which is very sweet and sticky because it is made from sugar), and vinegar (which has a strong odor to which animals may object). Ultimately, we decided to go with plain ethanol as our primary preservative. If, as is often the case with animals, the essences will be given by spraying the air or topically applied, we recommend an ethanol-preserved formula because the ethanol will rapidly evaporate without leaving a residue.

However, many people prefer not to take or give their animals anything containing alcohol of any kind. After more research on the subject, we discovered a wonderful alternative. Spirit Essences now offers a choice of stabilizers: ethanol (standard) or Red Shiso.

Red Shiso is a Japanese mint used by Green Hope Farm of New Hampshire in their extensive collection of flower essences. Red Shiso is a pink liquid with a mildly tart taste; it is not minty at all. It does have a very slightly sticky texture. Green Hope Farm grows its own organic Red Shiso and prepares a decoction in vinegar, which is now available from their catalog. Here is what Molly Sheehan, founder of Green Hope Farm, says about this herb:

"Red Shiso, when taken into our system in any form, helps us to become 'superconductors,' able to easily and comfortably hold greater light energy. Red Shiso helps every part of our energy system resonate with and accommodate the higher vibrations coming to Earth. With Flower Essences in Red Shiso, you get three vibrational boosts at once. First, the Flower Essences bring their own healing vibrations. Second, the Red Shiso matrix in which the Flower Essences are stabilized amplifies the healing energies of these Flower Essences. Third, the Red Shiso does its own healing work on your energy system . . . Occasionally the Red Shiso in our decoction will cling to the tip of the glass dropper of your Flower Essence. This is an edible, organic residue of Red Shiso and will not interfere with the strength and purity of your Flower Essences."

Essences made with Red Shiso contain no water but are created using the herb in a mild-tasting decoction. There will still be a tiny fraction of ethanol in the bottle because most of our master essences are in an alcohol base. This can easily be evaporated off by leaving the bottle uncapped for 15 minutes.

Green Hope Farm suggests that before you begin working with essences, that you specifically declare your intention to keep the essences pure and powerful.

When using essences in Red Shiso, before you put the dropper back in the bottle, squeeze out all the liquid and allow air to fill the glass tube and bulb. This keeps the liquid from getting back into the dropper, and prevents problems that could occur from the herb sticking to the inside of the glass tube or bulb. With ethanol-stabilized essences this is not necessary, though it is helpful to squeeze the dropper bulb a few times to help mix the essences before administering.

You can add these essences to your animal's drinking water, but never add water to the essence bottle, since this will cause it to lose potency quickly. As with all essences, try not to touch the dropper tip to anything outside the dropper, including fingers, lips, fur, counter, or even the outside of the bottle. If you accidentally touch something, run the dropper under cold water for 10 seconds before putting it back into the bottle. With ethanol-stabilized essences, hot water is recommended. Store essences upright and away from direct sun.