mimulus flower essence

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

where to buy

For a detailed explanation of how to take the Bach flower essences and where to buy them, please visit my post here: Flower Essences: How to Use. And before I leave you for today, I will reassure you that I'm still slowly but surely working through each and every one of the flower essences! You can find them all conveniently located here: flower essences. Individually, this is what I've managed to accomplish so far:

• impatiens

• clematis

• agrimony

• chicory

• vervain

• centaury

• all about Bach flower essences

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 :)

flower essence cheat sheet.pdf

Download PDF • 555KB

Truly hoping that your day is a fear-free one :)

Much love & thanks for reading,

Melinda

Bach Flower Practitioner