With all that's going on in the world, many are struggling to stay grounded, find perspective and feel a sense of stability. It's a crucial time to maintain centeredness and peace so no matter what we're doing and what we choose to do, our best selves can show up. Kathleen and Rochana bring in ancient and powerful plant allies that have a long history of helping humans on this planet. These flower essences and gem elixirs help us cultivate resilience, perspective, and heart connections with the ...
Jun 25, 2025•51 min•Season 1Ep. 77
Nicholas Pearson returns to the podcast after the release of his latest book, Crystals for Psychic Self-Defense. Starting with a grounded understanding of the sources of psychic and energetic harm, we discuss the importance of good energy hygiene including grounding, centering, and cleansing. We explore a host of techniques for protecting and shielding ourselves and our spaces with the use of physical gemstones, gem elixirs/waters, and flower essences. Join us for this in-depth download from our...
May 31, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 76
Kathleen Aspenns and Rochana Felde are joined by Ruth Toledo Altschuler to embrace the energy of creativity as a lifeline that sustains us with aliveness during challenging times. We discuss: How flower essences and gem elixirs can be used to spark and nourish creativity whether or not we think we’re creative How the creative process itself can be liberating and an integral part of healing because it's connected to the vital life force within us How using art, writing, and creative acts as thera...
Apr 01, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 75
In this episode Kathleen and Rochana dive into the current energy of overwhelm that so many are feeling. We bring in our favorite tried and true flower essences and gem elixirs for not only managing the onslaught, but also strengthening our fields and building resilience. Whether the overwhelm comes from too much information, energy, emotions, sensory signals, environmental factors, or all of the above, Nature helps bring us back into balance. Full show notes and transcript on the Flower Essence...
Mar 04, 2025•53 min•Season 1Ep. 74
In this episode, Kathleen and Rochana welcome back our partner in the School for Flower Essence Studies, Ruth Toledo Altschuler. During these times of progressive overwhelm, we believe that Nature is here for us, and we have the capacity to take in new information when we attune to the plants. In light of this, we’re excited to embark on a deep exploration of nine more Bach Flowers in our upcoming study group, which is more like an “experience group”. We discuss the value of having a solid found...
Feb 03, 2025•39 min•Season 1Ep. 73
In this episode, we explore herbs, flower essences, and homeopathy through a shamanic lens with celebrated herbalist, author, and teacher Matthew Wood. He's been a practitioner of these modalities for forty-five years and teaches at the Matthew Wood Institute of Herbalism. Matt shares stories from his life's journey with the plants and from his most recent book, A Shamanic Herbal - Plant Teachers and Animal Medicine. In this wide-ranging conversation, we touch on fascinating connections between ...
Dec 21, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 72
Recorded during the liminal time of year when the veil between the worlds is thin (Halloween, Samhain, Day of the Dead), Rochana and Kathleen discuss how we connect to the unseen — plant devas, our dearly departed, ancestors, angels, and spirit guides. Animism, a belief that spirit is alive in everything, is a basic principle of making flower essences as we view it as a co-creative activity between ourselves and the spirit of the plant. We don't need to turn to psychedelic plant medicines to con...
Nov 11, 2024•53 min•Season 1Ep. 71
In this episode, Katheen and Rochana navigate the nervous system responses when triggered or emotionally activated. How do we recognize when it’s happening and what are some things we can do immediately to cope? How can we work with these deeply embedded reactions that at minimum feel uncomfortable but often are painful and uncontrollable? We discuss the importance of releasing emotion from the body and using flower essences to assist in creating a safe container for this work, as we strive to i...
Sep 10, 2024•51 min•Season 1Ep. 70
In this episode we dive into the concept of life purpose, what that means, and how to uncover and pursue it with support from Nature and the flower essences. We talk about the Japanese concept of Ikigai to look at the different pieces that come together to inform an overall sense of purpose, how to center ourselves, listen to our inner wisdom, and embody the guidance coming in from higher realms. We bring in essences to help with that, to give us the strength to forge ahead and permission to spa...
Jul 29, 2024•43 min•Season 1Ep. 69
This episode is an excerpt from an upcoming course we’re working on, Foundations in Flower Essence Therapy, which will be available from the School for Flower Essence Studies in early fall 2024. We talk about the importance of using calming and centering essences when beginning to use essences for ourselves and others. It’s a really good first step, and sometimes all that’s needed. There are times we may want to skip over this and go right to essences that work with deeper challenges, but we’ve ...
Jul 10, 2024•30 min•Season 1Ep. 68
Lindsay Fauntleroy joins us in exploring creative methods of formulating potent flower essence blends. Lindsay is a medicine maker, acupuncturist, author, educator, and founder of The Spirit Seed. This recording was excerpted from a live community event held for students of the School for Flower Essence Studies and students of Lindsay's school. We had a fascinating discussion about various approaches for creating potent blends, including formulation frameworks borrowed from eastern and western h...
May 30, 2024•54 min•Season 1Ep. 67
In this episode, Kathleen and Rochana discuss what it's like on the business side of being a Flower Essence Practitioner. We share our stories and some of the common challenges when setting out on your own as a service entrepreneur (hello imposter syndrome, overwhelm, and undervaluing!), and offer some helpful essence ideas for working through them. We've found that participating in masterminds, group coaching/mentoring, and community forums are incredibly helpful to this process. The value of h...
Apr 19, 2024•48 min•Season 1Ep. 66
Sara Artemisia returns to the podcast in this illuminating episode about money consciousness. Sara is a Plant Spirit Wisdom Teacher, Flower Essence Practitioner, Financial Coach, and Host of the Plant Spirit Podcast. We talk about identifying the source of our beliefs concerning money, addressing our blocks in allowing abundance, and viewing money as an ally and energy to partner with. The plants and essences offer powerful support on this journey of embodiment and learning to accept nourishment...
Mar 20, 2024•43 min•Season 1Ep. 65
Kathleen and Rochana address misconceptions about flower essences and how they work. Get answers to these common questions and concerns: Will they take away my stress? Are higher doses more powerful? How long will it take them to “work”? Why does an essence stop working? Can they help me endure an intolerable situation? Why can’t they fix all my problems at once? Can I take an essence if I’m allergic to the plant? If I feel resistance to an essence does that mean I should take it? Have more ques...
Feb 20, 2024•46 min•Season 1Ep. 64
Misinformation, Disinformation, Propaganda, Artificial Intelligence, Deep Fakes, Brainwashing, Phishing, Spam, Scammers, PsyOps, Cults, and sleazy Marketing, oh my! There’s a war at play for our attention, our thoughts, our beliefs, and of course our money – whether it's just an advertisement to buy a product or something more complex with higher stakes. It’s crucial now more than ever to cultivate skills of discernment, to be able to listen to that voice inside that raises a flag on what we see...
Jan 15, 2024•54 min•Season 1Ep. 63
Meet Australian Flower Essence Practitioner Tracy O'Meara Smith! Tracy combines Flower Essence Therapy with a gentle and holistic form of bodywork (Bowen Therapy), and through this integration guides clients through periods of profound inner transformation, crisis, and pain. She empowers individuals to trust their intuition, act on newfound insights, and discover effective ways to cope, live, and ultimately be. Well-versed in the Australian essences, Tracy was recently certified by the Flower Es...
Dec 06, 2023•52 min•Season 1Ep. 62
Ever wonder how we got from Dr. Bach’s research to where we are today? In the late 1970s and 80s there was a simultaneous explosion of new flower essences being discovered, researched, and produced around the world. Yet, this “second wave” of producers didn’t initially know about one another until the first international conference was held. Ruth Toledo Altschuler came on the scene just as these gatherings began to happen, and she became a major importer of essences into Brazil at that time. In ...
Nov 15, 2023•47 min•Season 1Ep. 61
In this episode, we welcome Lindsay Fauntleroy back to the podcast! Lindsay is a medicine maker, educator, acupuncturist, and the author of In Our Element — a self-help guide that integrates acupuncture theory, flower essences, yoga and ancestral spirituality. We talk about the naturally rising levels of stress and anxiety during this time of year and the corresponding elemental forces. Exploring the way stress and anxiety manifest with different elements, we offer our favorite flower essences f...
Oct 09, 2023•52 min•Season 1Ep. 60
We went to the movies! And saw Barbie! This was a rare treat for us, as we live on opposite sides of the county. We laughed so hard, then had a great chat about it during lunch, and we knew right away we wanted to discuss some of the themes in our next podcast. We address some typical challenges experienced by those of us not at the top of the patriarchy: constant feelings of not being enough and having to work twice as hard to get less feeling obligated to do more for others than for ourselves ...
Sep 11, 2023•56 min•Season 1Ep. 59
Have you ever thought about the co-creative act of making a flower essence as a spiritual or self-development practice in and of itself? It requires surrendering to the moment, really listening to Nature, and going with the flow to accept all parts of the experience. The lessons the plants impart in the process may continue long after the essence is bottled, so an awareness must also be cultivated to notice, interpret, and work with what comes up. Kathleen and Rochana reflect on how years of ess...
Jul 24, 2023•41 min•Season 1Ep. 58
In this episode, Kathleen and Rochana explore the relevance of the classic Bach flower remedies in today’s increasingly complex and overwhelming world. How do they compare to the more modern essences available? Are people different now than they were in the 1930s? Have our needs changed? It’s interesting to reflect on the world events of Dr. Bach’s time and his personal evolution as a physician that led him to become the creator of these famous remedies. We also share our thoughts about blending...
Jun 05, 2023•52 min•Season 1Ep. 57
We welcome Ruth Toledo Altschuler back to the podcast as we record a session for our upcoming Flower Essence Alchemy event! The three of us share our early life experiences in trying to access emotional sanity by connecting to the plants, animals, and the elements of Nature. Using the analogy of “reforesting ourselves” after processes of internal deforestation have happened, we explore the concept of re-bonding with the earth so that we can become more fully whole and embodied beings. And we sha...
Apr 03, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 56
In this episode, Kathleen and Rochana speak to expert Locational Astrologer, Moses Siregar, who combines western and Vedic astrology in the unique field of astrocartography. With a love for and background in flower essences and vibrational remedies, Moses continues to use these in conjunction with his astrology practice. We chat about the big astrological transits of March 2023 (Saturn moving into Pisces and Pluto into Aquarius) and flower essences that can support us during this time. Full show...
Mar 20, 2023•56 min•Season 1Ep. 55
Trauma therapist Maureen Clancy joins us on the podcast to chat about supporting mental health with flower essences. Discover Maureen’s favorite essences for anxious states vs. depressed states, and how she incorporates them in her practice in conjunction with other therapeutic modalities such as EMDR. We also talk about how to know when flower essences aren’t enough on their own and further mental health services are indicated. Join us for this illuminating look into flower and tree essences fr...
Feb 27, 2023•51 min•Season 1Ep. 54
Rather than setting New Year's resolutions and diving headfirst to start smashing goals on January 1st, Kathleen and Rochana talk about a more Nature-based approach of first letting go, going within, and going with the flow during the dark days of winter here in the Northern Hemisphere. True to form, Nature reinforced that lesson for us with the California storms (hello water element) that brought flooding and extended outages, testing our ability to literally go with the flow as this recording ...
Jan 30, 2023•51 min•Season 1Ep. 53
Join us in an enchanting exploration of the Artemisia plants—Mugworts, Wormwoods, and Sagebrushes—as we share stories and experiences of working with the flower essences, herbal preparations, and strong energies of this unique subset of the Aster family. 🌙🌿🧙♀️💚🧚✨ Full show notes and transcript here: https://thefloweressencepodcast.com/ The Flower Essence Podcast is available on: YouTube iTunes Spotify Our Website or your podplayer of choice Find us on Social Media: Instagram Facebook 💚 Li...
Nov 21, 2022•42 min•Season 1Ep. 52
Are you feeling weighed down by the energy of others, the constant bombardment of information, or the emotional drama and violence that pervades our media in these times? Mental stress and anxiousness are especially common during this time of year as the energy of the fall season is one of pulling in. Kathleen and Rochana talk about helpful flower essences to clear the mental and emotional clutter that has accumulated in and around us — to discern what’s not ours, to release what’s not serving u...
Oct 17, 2022•47 min•Season 1Ep. 51
Ruth Toledo Altschuler joins us for our 50th show! As a returning guest of the podcast and partner in the Flower Essence Conference , you'll most likely be familiar with the incredible depth of insight Ruth has in Flower Essence Therapy. She has been a practitioner and educator for over three decades, and has a unique combination of experience unparalleled in the field. In this episode, we talk about understanding flower essences in the context of their botanical families . When we are able to g...
Sep 07, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 50
We are absolutely thrilled to have Lindsay Fauntleroy as our guest this month! Lindsay is an educator, acupuncturist, director of The Spirit Seed, and maker of Elementals Essences. Our conversation centered around the five element system as a process for understanding our own cycles, as well as where we are collectively in this moment and what beautiful flower essence is coming forward. We talk about Lindsay's new book, "In Our Element: Using the Five Elements as Soul Medicine to Unleash Your Pe...
Aug 08, 2022•46 min•Season 1Ep. 49
This month we are joined by Sara Artemisia — a Flower Essence Practitioner, Plant Spirit Wisdom Teacher, and host of the Plant Spirit Podcast and the Plant Spirit Herbalism Summit. Our discussion is a rich exploration of soul purpose and the re-emergence of the divine feminine, with deep wisdom and powerful activation by the Wild Roses and Queen Anne's Lace. Honoring the wisdom embedded in traditional fairy tales, we delve into the symbolism of Sleeping Beauty/Briar Rose and how it relates to th...
Jul 05, 2022•53 min•Season 1Ep. 48
