mimulus flower essence

Melinda
Jun 7
14 min read

Updated: Jul 29

A yellow Mimulus flower — Photo credit: Image by Annette Meyer from Pixabay

Mimulus flower essence

"Fear of worldly things, illness, pain, accidents, poverty, of dark, of being alone, or misfortune. The fears of everyday life. These people quietly and secretly bear their dread, they do not freely speak of it to others." ~ Edward Bach, The Twelve Healers and Other Remedies

A Mimulus blockage:

fear of known things

shyness

overly-cautious

constantly afraid

easily falls ill when scared

oversensitive to stimuli

speech difficulties

wants to be left alone (chronically)

blushing and/or excessively sweating from nervousness

Positive expression of:

trusting

courageous

sense of humor

refined character

inventive

determined

full of faith

sympathetic

compassionate

Mimulus guttatus

When I first decided to launch into this thirty-eight part series on the Bach flower essences, I thought for sure that I'd kick things off with Mimulus. After pondering my long-term plan for a hot second, however, I instead chose to move along (mostly) in order of discovery and that bumped this essence down—but, thankfully, just a little bit.

Why, you might be wondering, am I so relieved that this particular flower essence remains at the head of the pack? Because I think Mimulus is hugely relevant when it comes to being a human. I was originally going to end that sentence with "in these tumultuous political times," but then I realized that we're always going to be dealing with something that frightens us. Like it or not, the world can be a big and scary place (admittedly, some four years are worse than others), and Mimulus is an essence that could support so many of us—sometimes on the daily.

fear of known things

Fear. What just flashed into your mind when you read that one-syllable word? For some, that fear might reference dogs. For others, heights. For still others, the possibility of on-street parking (she says, sheepishly raising her hand). When you know precisely what it is that frightens you, Mimulus is your essence and is always indicated for fear of known things. We're not talking about that vague, uneasy fear that sometimes crawls up your spine (in that case, you'd reach for Aspen), but the tangible, nameable fears of everyday life.

It's irrelevant how silly or insignificant those fears might seem to you, or even how long you've tried unsuccessfully to shake them. You probably have your own personal phobias to add to this list, but I'm talking about things like: fear of failure; dentists; thunderstorms; meeting new people; losing your job/home/family/dog; thunderstorms; germs; nuclear weapons; corrupt politicians; monkeys; disease; public speaking engagements; tsunamis; rapists; clowns; the inevitability of death...

That list could go on and on into eternity, which is precisely why I wanted so desperately to begin with Mimulus. In my 50+ years of living, I've never once met a human being that isn't afraid of at least one something. The fears will always vary, but the essence that addresses them remains the same: Mimulus to the rescue.

the mimulus type

While we can all experience a fear or two in an otherwise fearless life (and Mimulus will always be applicable), there are certain individuals who have an overall Mimulus personality. Bach identified an even dozen of these personality types, and I'll talk about this more after I've made it through all twelve, but for now let's talk specifically about what the Mimulus type looks like. For starters, they're typically very peaceable folks who dislike arguments.

But lurking under that peaceable surface, we quite often find that there's more than one fear present. And while—as a general rule—the Mimulus folks don't openly share their host of anxieties, if you can get them talking you'll quickly realize it isn't just snakes that spook them. Harboring multiple fears, this apprehensive energy can become manifest in their demeanor as frailty or perhaps timidity. Neither is it uncommon to find speech impediments, stuttering, stammering, nervous laughter, and/or excessive sweating or blushing.

On the other hand, there's also the possibility that a Mimulus individual becomes excessively chatty, rambling on in the hopes that their mindless chatter will steer your attention away from their many anxieties. While introverted on the inside, they present an extroverted façade, but underneath runs a steady stream of fears and first chance they get, they're off in search of the solitude that they seek.

With something to be afraid of lurking around every corner, the Mimulus individual is easily overwhelmed by stimuli. Things like loud noises, bright lights, strong smells, and crowds can be highly unnerving. As Bach says, the Mimulus person has "a marked desire for quietness, aversion to talking, and to being questioned." Faced with even the thought of their fears, they easily fall ill. I can't help but wonder if it's because chronic fear weakens the immune system, or it's simply a means of self-preservation (i.e. If I'm sick in bed, I can't possibly make it to the party...); either way, once ill they often seemed equally scared to recover. Their convalescence can stretch on into forever because they fear set-backs or further injury.

the flip side

On the flip side of Mimulus, we find beautiful courage and a renewed (or perhaps, newfound) faith that life can be trusted. Instead of falling ill in the face of their fears and/or circumstances, the Mimulus soul can now look at the same anxiety with fresh eyes, humor, and equanimity. There's a resilience and acceptance available to them now that had previously been obscured by overwhelming nervousness.

The energy of the Mimulus flower essence is able to break through the fearful blockage(s), which then allows reason to surface. Instead of hyperventilating and wishing they could bolt for the hills, the brave Mimulus soul now takes a deep, steadying breath and with determination finds a way through the obstacle. While their introverted soul may always desire tranquility and quiet, now time spent alone is a means of self-care and not simply a matter of running away from what frightens them.

Having lived with and triumphed over their fears, the Mimulus soul often develops a deep reservoir of inner peace and sense of compassion. This empathy makes them want to reach out and help others who may be dealing with the same issues as they previously did.

not gonna lie

I'm not gonna lie, Mimulus is a fan-favorite in my home. From big fears to small ones, someone is always reaching for the bottle. I've read—and noticed it in my own life—that when one anxiety is addressed, others simultaneously melt away. Like with one of my girls, for example, who used to have a serious problem with spiders. Classic, right? Interestingly, she found jumping spiders absolutely adorable, but everything else lived in the realm of her (spindly) nightmares.

While she would study and hold bugs of all kinds, spiders made her act in some irrational sort of way, and her encounters with them were never pretty. She'd dream about them. She's hallucinate them when she was tired. When we'd take a family kayaking trip, she'd stay as far away as she possibly could from the reeds lining the shore, knowing full well that that's where the arachnids lie in wait. And while she never wished them any harm, she also would never be the one to relocate them from her bedroom if one were brass enough to invade her personal space.

I don't think that she's ever taken Mimulus specifically for spiders, but she's taken it repeatedly for other far more pressing issues. And within the past several months, we've all noticed an interesting and welcome thing: spiders no longer bother her. The dreams have ended. Ditto on the hallucinations. She cohabitates peacefully with the ones who choose a corner of her bedroom for their webs. And just recently, while floating in a tube on a reed-infested river with bare feet dangling in the water, nary a fearful thought crossed her mind. Now just imagine if we could eradicate all of our unfounded fears this way... (insert Mimulus commercial).

"Thirdly, we must realize that the short passage on this earth, which we know as life, is but a moment in the course of our evolution, as one day at school is to a life, and although we can for the present only see and comprehend that one day, our intuitions tells us that birth was infinitely far from our beginning and death infinitely far from our ending. Our Souls, which are really we, are immortal, and the bodies of which we are conscious are temporary, merely as horses we ride to go a journey, or instruments we use to do a piece of work."" ~ Edward Bach

(Because I'd like these flower essence posts to function all on their own, the next parts will be a repeat of things you've already heard if this isn't the first post of mine you've read.)

where to buy

If you don't already have the essences on hand (and you're thinking that Mimulus might be just the essence for you!), there are two options I would recommend you explore. I buy my bottles through Flower Essence Services and the essences are prepared by Julian Barnard exactly as Bach prepared his. Barnard's line of essences is called: Healing Herbs Bach Essences and the reason I choose them is because they're prepared with organic ingredients. The preservative used is organic brandy but even if, like me, you don't consume alcohol, there's another way besides consumption to use them if you wish.

The second option is the original Bach line, still made by Nelsons which is the company Bach originally gave his essences to. These are prepared with either alcohol or vegetable glycerin if the alcohol concerns you and you'd prefer to avoid it. I'll just add here that if you make a dosage bottle as outlined below, the amount of alcohol will be minuscule, having been diluted multiple times. Alcohol is considered a Group 1 carcinogen, however, so do what you feel is best for you and your health.

how to use

There are several ways in which you can take the remedies, and all of them are simple! Remembering that even if you choose the wrong essence they can do no harm (they simply won't have an effect), you can experiment and choose the avenue that suits you best. I have my preferences, but I encourage you to play around and see what works most effectively for you :)

No matter which brand you purchase, you'll use it in exactly the same way. The small bottles you purchase are called stock bottles (diluted from the original Mother Essence), and the first method involves making yourself a further diluted dosage bottle. This is the most cost-effective method and the one I typically recommend, especially for chronic issues. Once the dosage bottle is made, it's extremely easy to add it to whatever you're drinking throughout the day.

Stock bottle: The bottle that you will purchase; this bottle is more concentrated. If you take the drops by mouth, you'll taste the preservative.

Dosage bottle: The bottle you will create, using the specific essences you need; this bottle will be much, much more diluted. If you take the drops by mouth, there won't be much, if any, flavor unless you add an additional preservative.

Dosage Bottle

Fill a 1 ounce glass dropper bottle with clean spring water. Distilled water is not recommended, and I have found that this "dead" water doesn't seem to work nearly as well. It will preserve the essences for longer if you aren't using any additional preservative, but it doesn't pack nearly the same (gentle) punch. For whatever reason, the essence doesn't seem to be able to impregnate distilled water.
To this spring water, you will add 2 drops of your Mimulus flower essence. There is usually no need to add any preservative if the bottle will be used with 2 or 3 weeks, especially if you store it in the refrigerator. Make sure the dropper never comes into contact with your mouth or fingers, and it should keep fine. You could, however, replace 25% of the spring water with either brandy or vegetable glycerine to preserve it for longer. If you're using multiple essences (up to 6), add 2 drops of each of them to this bottle as well.
Add 4 drops of this diluted dosage bottle to whatever you're drinking throughout the day. The energetic vibrations will imprint on the water, so essentially you're getting a hit of Mimulus with every sip you take. This method is great for children, adults, pets, or even plants. You will continue on with this until the fear, anxiety, or other symptom passes. In the case of an acute flare-up, this may only be for an hour or a day. In the case of a chronic condition, I'd take the essence for 3 weeks and then reevaluate. If you feel the need to continue and aren't using any preservatives, I'd prepare a fresh bottle at this time.
You can also drop 4 drops from the dosage bottle directly into your mouth as needed. I tend to prefer adding the drops to my drinks throughout the day when using the dosage bottle, especially for chronic emotional issues. This is mostly because I get in more of the essence(s), but this is entirely up to you. You can always pop your dosage bottle into your purse/pocket and carry it with you, taking drops throughout the day.
Making a dosage bottle is my preferred method when you're working with multiple essences at the same time (which happens frequently) or when you anticipate the essences will be needed long-term. It'll save you the time of having to sort through all of your essences and drop them in individually whenever you need some support.

Stock Bottle by Mouth

Take two drops of the stock bottle (the original bottle you purchased) and drop directly into your mouth. I have experimented with both myself and my family, and I find this to be one of the two most effective ways to approach an acute emotional flare. Usually within minutes I can feel a shift, and then the mood begins to blessedly lift. This lifting will almost always expose new emotional issues underneath, and I continue working with the revealed emotional blockages until I'm feeling better.
If, after 15 minutes or so you haven't felt any change (or enough of a change), take another two drops by mouth.
If, after another 15 minutes you still haven't felt any kind of shift, no matter how minute, it's quite possible that the wrong essence has been chosen. Sometimes it's difficult to differentiate between moods and there is definitely some trial and error involved. If you're certain that it is the correct flower essence, I would then switch over to a glass of water with 2 drops of the stock bottle added and sip it throughout the day (see below: Stock Bottle in Drinks).
This way most certainly isn't the most cost-effective method, but it is easy and works well, especially short-term. The bottles preserved with brandy will taste like alcohol and the ones with vegetable glycerine will taste sweet.

Stock Bottle on Skin

You will do exactly as described as when taken by mouth, except now you'll drop them onto your skin. I generally drop the essences onto my wrists and rub them together, but you could probably apply them anywhere. Remember, they're energetic in nature and the rules are far less rigid than what most people are accustomed to.
Some flower practitioners may disagree, but so far I have found this method to be as effective as dropping into the mouth for acute negative moods. I think taking it by mouth makes one think of a traditional medicine and so the mind has an easier time accepting what it (most likely) can't understand, but your energetic field surrounds your entire body; thankfully, the flower essences can work with it in a number of ways.
This is an excellent approach to use with children. Just the other day, my young niece wasn't feeling well—dizzy and light-headed. I pulled out the appropriate essence and without thinking, went to drop it into her mouth. She recoiled with a "does it taste bad?" so I instead applied it to her arm. After the first dose she felt better, so I gave her another. After the second, the next time I saw her she was smiling, chatting, and eating again :)
I would recommend this method only with the essences preserved with brandy. They'll dissipate quickly and leave no residue whereas those with glycerine will leave a stickiness behind.

Stock Bottle in Drinks

Instead of the mouth or the skin, simply drop 2 drops of the essence directly into the drink you're drinking.
One of my girls likes to make up a fresh glass each morning to address the moods that she feels pressing on her when she wakes; she calls this her Trauma Cup ;) She'll sip from it periodically, making it last for the entire day. If the glass runs low, you can leave some of the essence water and refill; I've found the essences will impregnate the fresh water and continue their work. You can also simply make up a fresh glass with fresh essences.
This method would be helpful if you feel as though your emotions are continually shifting. Daily, you'll peel back fresh layers of emotions to be dealt with. Eventually you'll almost certainly reach a chronic personality blockage that will require more than simply a day to work through, but you can continue on with this method for chronic issues if it's most convenient for you.

patience, diligence & time

I think it's important to note that your response to the essences won't always be immediate. I can almost always, quite quickly, find relief to the acute moods that strike, but chronic deep-seated issues usually take longer. I've been working with someone on their guilt issues for several months now (they add drops from a dosage bottle to their water throughout the day) and just recently they've begun to feel a welcome shift.

If you know your emotion (for example, I've had to work a lot of frustration as of late!), then keep on keeping on with the essences. Give them time. I personally believe that some of these blockages are carry-overs from other lifetimes and won't disappear overnight. With time and patience, however, I've seen some remarkable shifts that make your diligence well worth it. In the end, does it really matter whether it takes an hour, two weeks, or four months if you can finally shake an emotional blockage that saps too much of the joy from your days? Continually addressing my emotions has given me a lightness and newly focused clarity that only enhances the hard work of living life as a human. And all it took was a commitment to sipping water ;)

Additionally, I think it's very important to add that I anticipate needing the support of flower essences for the duration of my lifetime; I don't think of them as a tool to use and then discard, but to continually reach for in times of emotional distress. People are generally a seething bundle of emotions—often negative ones—and I think that's just part and parcel of being a human. While souls may be universally "good," not all people are. And because we're social creatures and require at least a modicum of interaction, we'll get plenty of chances to work on those negative emotions that we struggle with most. While flower essences are excellent at helping us tackle our chronic issues, they're also invaluable for supporting us with the day-to-day struggles. In my home, my essence kit is kept in a spot that is available to all, day or night, and there's always someone rummaging through the bottles in search of just the right helpmate!

working with infants

Flower essences are safe to use, even with the smallest of babies. I wish desperately that I'd known about essences when my girls were young because they would have been such an awesome tool to have in my mama tool-belt! Upon reincarnation, I think some souls have a much more difficult time re-acclimating to the human body and struggle with being so helpless and restricted again. I believe flower essences would have made a world of difference for some of my girls (and definitely myself!).

Obviously, though, babies can't speak. In this case, it's up to the caregiver to assess the baby's behavior. It's often easy enough to tell when a baby is irritated, scared, weak, or in pain. Look to what their body and face are showing you. This would also be helpful with anyone unable to speak. Are they feverish and restless? Irritable with being unwell? You can apply the essences directly to their skin, knowing that they can do no harm. Hardworking mamas could also benefit greatly from the support of flower essences, both during pregnancy and then for those challenging days (and sleepless nights) beyond!

And that'll wrap it up for Mimulus! Next on tap is: Agrimony. Below you can find my cheat sheet that should tide you over until I get through all thirty-eight of the flower essences :)