Dr. Edward Bach's Life Story

Medical Professional, Medical Doctor, Bacteriologist, Botanist, Surgeon, Vaccine Researcher, Homeopathy

“And may we ever have joy and gratitude in our hearts that the great creator of all things and his love for us has placed the herbs in the fields for his healing. "

As a young boy, Edward Bach was no mere dreamer. His certainty, his intensity of purpose, and his interest in all things, however small, combined to make a character of great genius; Though, as is usual with genius, he was destined to stand alone, for few can follow and understand the determination of one who knew his life’s work from the start and would allow nothing to interfere with that great aim.

There were two significant interests in his life overwhelming compassion for all who suffered, whether human beings, birds, or beasts, and love for nature, for her trees and plants. These two things combined led him to the knowledge of the healing that he sought. The one love helped the other, for he found in nature's storehouse the flowers of the field which heal all those in sickness and pain.

Bach started his studies as a student at the University College Hospital of Medicine in London, England, His enthusiasm and intense desire to find true healing filled his life to the exclusion of all else. He had no love for city life. He loved the country and all its nature. Financially school was hard for him. The money he had saved from working in the factories with his father from age 18 to 20 was running out. His parents had little money to help, so he helped to substitute himself for money by correcting tests of the students for the teachers. After he graduated from medical school and started his practice, he noticed that many doctors had little opportunity to study their patients. They were taught the orthodox treatment of medicine and surgeries for long-standing chronic cases. Many of his patients improved, and many were cured, but their health was not always maintained.

The apparent failure he felt, was because the majority of medical men had little opportunity to study their patients. They were kept too busy to think of the human side, concentrating too much upon the physical body and so forgetting that each individual was not in any respect built to a specific pattern. They were taught to be so concerned with a disease that they ignored the personality of the human being, and he was convinced that in this way, they were neglecting the most important symptoms of the patient.

This made him look around for other methods of healing, and he became interested in different branches of medicine, like the immunity medical school. He became the assistant bacteriologist at the University College Hospital and hoped for bacteriology to find the answers to his problems. He discovered that certain intestinal germs, which up to now had been considered of little or no importance, were closely connected with chronic disease and its cure. These germs were present in the intestines of all persons suspected of suffering from chronic illness and were also present in healthy individuals. Still, in the first instance, they increased in numbers; in the latter, they were present in smaller proportions.

Weeks and months of investigation followed, and as his research progressed, he became convinced that a vaccine made from these intestinal bacteria and injected into the patient’s bloodstream would have the effect of cleansing the system of the poison causing the chronic disease. The results he obtained by so doing were beyond all expectations. Not only did their general health improve, but also the patients remarked that they had never felt so well before and headaches, arthritis, rheumatism, etc., had disappeared. He and his colleagues were so thrilled with this discovery. These important discoveries revolutionized the treatment of chronic diseases.

A few years later, and another school of medicine, the Homeopathic Hospital of Medicine, he continued his research upon improving and simplifying his discovery with added success and even better results than before.

Dr. Edward Bach worked so many long hours that his own Health at this time was not good. The great war had started, and much to his sorrow, he was refused again and again for service abroad. However, there was much for him to do In London. He was in charge of over 400 War soldier's beds at the University College Hospital in addition to his research work in the bacteriology department, and he was also a demonstrator and clinical assistant of bacteriology at the hospital medical school. He worked unceasingly, giving himself no rest until he felt so ill that he fainted on the laboratory bench.

His great determination was not to give in to his disabilities while there was so much to be done as so many needed help, so he kept himself going for a time, but in June, he had a severe hemorrhage and became unconscious. He was immediately operated on because of the hemorrhage caused by cancer. He survived the surgery but was still very gravely viewed by his colleagues. They told him he had three months to live as he woke from the anesthesia.

After his operation, he lay in bed for weeks in excruciating pain from the surgery in an agony of body and mind. Those few weeks were almost beyond bearing for one who was so active and of a sensitive nature, with the burning urge to live and accomplish his purpose in life. Three months left in which to finish the work he knew had barely begun!!

Gradually he became reconciled to the thought but determined that if he were to leave his work unfinished, he would make as good use as possible of the few weeks of life remaining to him. Still very weak, just able to walk about, he returned to the hospital laboratories, where he took entire charge of the department for some weeks. At once, he became so immersed in his experiments that he lost all count of time, working day and night until the light shining from his laboratory windows was called the “Light that never goes out.”

As weeks and months slipped by, he forgot His disabilities and found himself growing stronger, and when the three months had elapsed, he suddenly realized he was in better health than he had been for some years. The men who had seen him at his worst were astonished at his recovery, so much so that one medical friend who had attended his operation and then left immediately for the war, on meeting him suddenly sometime afterward, exclaimed, “Oh my goodness, I thought, but you would be dead!" This made Bach pause to consider the reason for his marvelous recovery, of his return to life, as it were. He concluded that an Absorbing interest, a Great Love, and a Definite Purpose in life were the deciding factors of man’s happiness on earth and were, indeed, the incentive that had carried him through his difficulties and helped him in the regaining of his health.

In his later work, this great truth was emphasized, for the herbal remedies he discovered held the power of soul revitalizing, of the mind and body, that they wish to live and do one’s work in life is regained, and with that desire good health returns.

All he had done so far, he considered, was but a step towards this new healing, and he was impatient to begin seriously upon the fresh theories. He told his friends that he was about to give up his work in London and devote himself to the task of finding world types and searching for the future remedies that would heal these types and, by so doing, heal all the diseases from which they might suffer. This took his colleagues by surprise, but they had always looked upon him as a leader of scientific research, a genius who had made and would make, further discoveries in that branch of medicine.

His Harley Street practice was bringing him an income of over $5000 a year, the work of preparing Vaccines to send to medical Doctors all over the world was in itself a full-time occupation, and, in addition to this, he was looked upon as an outstanding genius as a Physician and scientist, with an even bigger future before him. What concerned him most in his life at this point which became stronger as the days passed, was that his work lay in other directions and that he would find what he sought among the trees and plants of nature, which were already prepared for men by nature herself, and were only waiting to be discovered.

Dr. Edward Bach, then 43 years old, was preparing to begin his work all over again, in an entirely different line. His great intellectual powers led him to make many scientific discoveries, the use of which brought and is still getting, through orthodox medicine and homeopathic, relief and healing to many suffering. Still, he felt within him that divine inspiration, intuition, the true wisdom. Guided by this, he was ready to forsake all scientific and artificial healing methods and return to nature's simple ways. Dr. Edeard Bach decided to leave London and devote all his time to new work and the finding of future herbal remedies. He divided his existing practice among his medical friends and closed down his laboratory.

The evening before he left London, he was greatly encouraged by the words of one physician Dr. John H. Clark, who said to him, “My lad, forget all you have learned, forget the past, and go ahead. You will find what you were seeking, and when you have found it, I will welcome you back and give you my support. I have not long to live, but may I live to see the day of your return, for I know what you find will bring great joy and comfort to those for whom we, at present, can do so little. And I will, instead, set up as a practitioner of the new and better medicine you’ll find.”Dr. Clark lived to hear of the findings of the herbal remedies called the “12 Healers,” and before he died, he published the first account of them in his journal, the “Homeopathic World Journal.”

During the years that followed, Dr. Bach walked many hundreds of miles, wandering all over the country, in Wells, the southern and eastern countries of England, by river and sea, watching people and nature, observing and gaining an understanding of both which led to the findings of the new system of herbal medication. Dr. Edward Bach had always looked upon healing, not as a profession. But as a divine art, he had grown more and more to feel that those who have the privilege of doing this work of healing should be prepared to give their services, for help was not a commercial commodity but something that was the right of every individual, therefore from the time he left London to the end of his earthly life he charged no fees for his advance and his help either, to the rich or the poor. His big-heartedness would never allow him to see others in need or go without; out of his little, he would always find enough to share with them. It was said of him he gave away more than he had. With contributions from grateful patients and gifts from understanding friends from time to time, he could continue his great work, and whenever he contemplated a fresh journey or some new departure in the work he found he always had enough for what he might need. This confirmed that he believed he was on the right track and that all he had to do was go ahead with complete trust in the Divine Source of all, Which he knew as God and Jesus Christ.

Bach eventually settled down in a small Welch Village to work out his theory in the search for new remedies. He had no idea which plants held the medical properties he sought beyond the fact that he knew they would all be beneficial and would have a very high order, for he was convinced that poisonous substances in plants could have no real function in the healing of the human body. He felt the right remedies would cause no severe reactions either. Nor would they be unpleasant to take. They would be gentle and sure, healing body, mind, and spirit. He also felt that a new method of preparing these remedies would have to be discovered, a simpler process than had already been used.

Doctor Bach’s botanist background helped him as he spent many long days examining the great variety of plants, noting where they grew, what soil they chose to expand upon, the color, shape, and number of their petals, what they spread by, tubers, or route of seed? He sat for hours by a single plant, also wading through bogs and marshes, climbing to the mountain tops, and tramping 4 miles along the lanes and through the fields in search of fresh specimens, learning all he could of the habitat and characteristics of each flower and plant and tree.

Not finding what he was searching for, Bach concluded that the plants he needed would be found later in the year, they would bloom when the days were most prolonged and the sun was at the height of its power and strength to obtain their medical properties to the full he would need to use the flower heads alone, for the life of the plant was concentrated in its flower, that held the potential seed. The plants chosen would be the most perfect of their kind, with blooms and beautiful shapes, and, as nature was always lavish in her gifts to men, they would grow in profusion. One early morning in May, as he was walking through a field upon which the dew still lay heavily, the thought flashed into his mind that each dewdrop must contain some of the properties of the plant upon which it rests for the heat of the sun, acting through the fluid, would serve to draw out these properties until each drop was magnetized through the water. Then he realized that if he could obtain the medical properties of the plants he was seeking in this way, the resulting remedies would contain the plants' full perfect, uncontaminated power. They would heal, surely, as no medical preparations had been known to heal before.

He decided to test his theory by collecting the due from certain flowers before the sun caused evaporation and trying it out upon himself. Through trial and error, none of the flowers contained the healing properties he sought, but he found out that the dew from each plant held a definite power of some kind. The important fact he gathered from this experiment was that the sun's heat was essential to the process of extraction, for the dew collected from plants in shady places was not as potent as that from the plants in full sun. Having proved that the sun-warmed dew absorbed the properties of the plant upon which it rested. So he set himself to perfect the new method of preparing healing remedies. By doing this, he found great satisfaction, for the water had been impregnated by the power of the plant and was very potent.

He had now discovered the new method of preparation of medical remedies, which he had hoped for some years earlier in an address he had given at the British Homeopathic Society saying, “Perhaps at some future date a new form of potency may be discovered.”

The first 19 of the herbal remedies he would later find were all prepared in this way. Bach was overjoyed at the discovery, for this method entailed no destruction or injury to the plants used, the whole process was carried out in the open air in the field where the plant itself group and the few flowers picked were at their freshest and in the perfection of their bloom lost none of their power during the process of making the tinctures.

He was convinced that true knowledge was to be gained not through man’s intellect but through his ability to see and accept life's natural, simple truths.

Dr. Bach kept journals of everything he did, and as he found flowers that he could use, he would document them, write his reports, and send them to medical journals to be read by medical professionals. In Dr. Bach’s journals, it has been made clear that disease of the body is not primarily due to physical causes but to certain disturbing moods or states of mind which interfere with the normal happiness of the individual, and how these moods, if allowed to continue, lead to a disturbance, of the functions of the bodily organs and tissues. The mind is in absolute control of every human's mental and physical condition. Thus any disturbance of mind, such as continued worry, fear, or depression, would not only result in a loss of peace and security but would be communicated to the physical body through the nerves, causing disorganization of the property of the proper functioning of its organs and loss of tone and vitality in its tissues. But so soon as the mind regained its normal peace and happiness, it would also regain its wise and perfect control over the body. Which would automatically be cleansed of any disease or complaint from which it suffered. These disturbing moods, then, are the actual indications for the treatment of illness, and the function of the remedies of the new farm-a-copia would be to assist the patient in ridding himself of the state of mind that was causing his ill health. As Bach wrote in his papers, the herbal remedies stated that the herbal powers would help elevate our negative vibrations and thus draw down spiritual power, which cleanses the mind and body and heals...

At this point, Dr. Bach had written a book called “Heal thy Self” Bach stresses the importance of happiness in life, for not only does it bring help, but it indicates that the individual is living his life on earth to the fullest, and un-influenced by others, in so doing, bring the greatest help and service to his fellow man. From his own experience and through watching others closely, Bach realized that man, if he did but know it, was endowed with all the wisdom and knowledge necessary to guide him through his earthly life in the utmost happiness, joy, and health. This wisdom was imparted to him through his intuition and instincts, this was the means of communicating between man’s higher self (Spirit) and his earthly personality (physical body) and, being of divine origin, should be obeyed and trusted implicitly. True happiness, then, resulting from opening the Communication of our soul, or higher self, which we learn through instinct, is not only man’s birthright but brings with it all the qualities he strives to attain during his life on earth, the rates of gentleness, strength, of courage, steadfastness, wisdom, peace, and love. Unhappiness attracts the reverse side of these qualities: greed, cruelty, self-love, instability, ignorance, pride, and hate, which are the underlying causes of disease.

The final paragraph of “Heal thy Self” again emphasizes the importance of happiness, which follows man’s dependence upon the wisdom of his divinity, for Bach wrote, “So come out my brothers and sisters into the glorious sunshine of the knowledge of your divinity, and earnestly and steadfastly set to work to join in the grand design of being happy and communicating happiness...

The principles of the new healing method are now clearer in his mind, and he knew his immediate work was to classify the moods or states of mind of all types of individuals and find the remedy corresponding to each of these moods. The disease is a kind of awakening.

The disease is a kind of consolation of a mental attitude, and it is only necessary to treat the mood of a patient then, the disease will disappear if it is in the early stage. Bach welcomed the chance to study the healthy, normal individual, for he found it gave him even greater insight and understanding of the difficulties of human nature than the years he had spent in the hospitals amongst the sick. Every individual belongs to a definite group or type. Having essentially the same kind of personality, character, or temperament as the others in that group. The members of each group are recognizable by their behavior, moods, or attitudes of mine, for instance, the nervous type was fearful of the first plunge into the sea, and the hesitant, undecided group took some time to make up their minds to go in, the impatient people walked straight in, the over-concerned tried the temperature of the water first and so on each behavior according to his type. The same thing would occur in times of sickness. The nature of the element or disease, therefore, need not be taken seriously into consideration, the moods were the indication for the treatment required, for bodily health was entirely dependent upon the state of mind. The remedies he was seeking would assist in the removal of these moods and so affect the cure. The remedies used in medicine relieve the physical symptoms of disease, but they do not remove the underlying cause, the -mood -and the patient was left without help to rise above his mental problems. For most, this was not easy, and for some, almost impossible, hence the long-continued suffering of so many. With acute disease resulting from violent or quickly passing moods, the organized effects upon the body were soon over. (Such as a car wreck or a must-have quick surgery.) These physical things happen quickly and then are over...

But when the mood was not so rapidly dispelled, the disorganization continued, gaining a stronger hold on the organs and tissues. The after-effects might become permanent, resulting in chronic disease.

Because of years of nonstop looking for all the remedies he needed, he finally formed the 12 healers and other remedies and declared his work was done. He trained his team with great care, for now, that his work of finding the herbs and perfecting the new method of the treatment of disease was completed, he wished to leave its application in their hands and in the hands of all those who scattered throughout the world and who were ready to use his system of herbal medication.

On November 27, 1936, his 50th birthday, Dr. Edward Bach died peacefully in his sleep at his cottage in the country, knowing that his work was done. Years of his life had been short, but during those 50 years, he had worked without ceasing to find a pure and simple way of healing the sick. Then, having accomplished all that was possible for him on earth, he gladly laid down his physical body to continue his work in another sphere, content that those who had been with him would be unceasing in their efforts to spread the knowledge of these healing herbs.

Those of us who had the privilege of being closely associated with Dr. Edward Bach during the latter years of his life can never be sufficiently grateful for the experience. In this healing work that he gave us, which we continue in his name, we gratefully acknowledge his inspiration and help.

The keynote is "HAPPINESS." Dr. Bach believed happiness leads to good health, while unhappiness can cause disease. He identified fear, anxiety, and other negative emotions as happiness destroyers. 

Dr. Bach discovered certain natural herbs and trees that can alleviate these negative emotions and help restore joy and health. By addressing the patient's state of mind first, physical ailments tend to fade away. Patients often feel better mentally and then physically after using herbal remedies. 

Dr. Bach's herbal healing system focuses on restoring physical and mental health, ultimately bringing happiness and healing to individuals.

A Friendship Forged in Healing: A Tribute to Dr. Bach

"My first encounter with Dr. Edward Bach at the 1929 International Homeopathic Congress sparked a lasting friendship. We shared each new discovery, united by his selfless dedication to humanity. Dr. Bach found immense joy in each new remedy, viewing himself as a conduit for this knowledge.  In a letter discussing a remedy's healing properties, he wrote, "This work is not mine. All credit goes to the one who grants us knowledge for the betterment of mankind." Though gone, Dr. Bach's legacy lives on, a testament to his unwavering pursuit of healing." (F. J. Wheeler, M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P.)

My thoughts;

Bach Flower Remedies offer insight into the unseen healing powers naturally present on Earth. These remedies address our fears, anxieties, and depression, which are increasingly prevalent today and affecting the lives of our children. I am grateful for this knowledge and firmly believe that nature provides us with healing. Dr. Edward Bach followed his gift wholeheartedly, guided by the wisdom of his soul.

Debra Rudd