Upcoming Live Chat 💬 Cultivating quiet power in a frenzied world As leaders and power structures continue grabbing money and power-over, amidst the aggressive noise of politics and media, we can be left feeling disempowered and resigned. In this month's live chat, let's talk about essences and practices that can help us access our inner authority and personal power — that inherent quiet force, resilience, and potential that originates within us. How can we remain firm, calm, and capable when...
1 day ago • 1 min read
Before I make a flower essence, I create a container. I call the directions, connect with spirit and the plant, and begin the work within a space that feels intentionally held. I’m bringing that same practice into Sovereign Ground. We’ll be looking at difficult history, inherited patterns, and the possibility of conscious change. And I don’t want to begin by asking us to push through patterns that may have been trying to protect us. I want to begin with support. The first ally I’m calling in...
5 days ago • 1 min read
Flowering Reader, Years ago, when I worked in the corporate world, I had a strange little habit. I kept yellow file folders nearby. I was just beginning to learn about energetic protection, and I’d read about the solar plexus as a place where we both project our own energy and take in the energy of others. So before difficult meetings or sometimes just walking through the office — I would hold a yellow folder in front of my solar plexus. It may sound funny, but it was my way of creating a...
7 days ago • 1 min read
Hi there Reader, Each month, students have ongoing opportunities to connect with us and with each other. Here's what's happening in October: Live Schedule — October 2026 All times are Pacific. 🏵️ Bach Flowers in Contemporary Practice 4 with Kathleen and Ruth Thursday, October 1, 8, and 15 @ 10:00 am (Sessions 2-4) Open to registrants 💐 Client Care with Ruth and Kathleen Wednesday, October 7 @ 10:00 am Open to Client Care mentoring and Essence Deepening members 💬 Live Chat: Cultivating...
12 days ago • 1 min read
Reader, do you ever notice yourself holding back? Maybe you have something meaningful to say, but hesitate to say it. You trust your intuition, until someone else disagrees. Or you find yourself masking, minimizing, undervaluing what you do, or waiting until you feel just a little more ready. I’ve become deeply interested in a question underneath these patterns: What if some of what we carry didn’t start with us? Over the past year, I’ve been researching inherited trauma, patriarchal stress,...
14 days ago • 1 min read
Bright flower greetings Reader, It’s Monday morning. You know what you need to do. It may even be written down in a tidy list in front of you. And yet, somehow, you cannot get yourself to begin. Hornbeam is famously associated with the “Monday morning feeling”—that sense of looking at the day ahead and wondering where you’re going to find the energy to get into gear. Hornbeam Carpinus betulus Photo: Ruth Toledo Altschuler But what kind of “I can’t” are we actually experiencing? Is there...
22 days ago • 1 min read
With heavy hearts and also profound gratitude, we’re taking a moment to honor the life of our friend, teacher, and mentor, Julian Barnard, who has crossed the threshold. Julian was a speaker for the plants and their healing gifts. His creative generosity illuminated the Bach essence plants in ways that are vividly rich and bring the qualities of each essence to life. No other teacher has offered this in such a comprehensive and generous way: his books, especially Bach Flower Remedies: Form...
27 days ago • 2 min read
View this email in your browser Dear Reader, Here's your monthly flower essence nourishment: Upcoming Events 🌀 Open Circles Receiving and sending out Holly's healing light Attune to the archetypal qualities of Holly during this month's Open Circle Plant Attunement. 📅 Wednesday, September 16, 2026⏱️ 5:00 pm West Coast | 8:00 pm East Coast 🌸 Open to all Holly Ilex aquifolium - photo by Ruth Toledo Altschuler 👉 Read Ruth's Open Circle Invitation (Zoom Link within) Open Circles are hosted by...
29 days ago • 2 min read
Dear Reader, You may already know Holly. You may have reached for Pine dozens of times. Clematis and Honeysuckle may have been sitting in your kit for years. So why spend two hours with each pair? Because one of the things we’ve learned from decades of working with flower essences is that familiarity can sometimes hide as much as it reveals. We learn the indications. We recognize the patterns. We develop our shorthand. And then a plant, a client, or a conversation shows us something we hadn’t...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read