“It’s a joy to make our products. The only challenge is the number of hours in the day, and the amount of people that we want to reach,” says Katie Hess owner of Lotus Wei.     

For the last 12years Hess has worked with flower essences and experienced the benefits firsthand through more insight and wisdom. What makes flower essence different from most homeopathic medicine is it completely safe with no side effects and doesn’t claim to cure anything. However with daily use flower essences can help you reach a better state of mind by becoming  more in tuned with yourself and what your body needs. 

The Green Stylist recently had the pleasure to ask Katie Hess a few questions about her company and the benefits of using flower essences. 

 

Can you tell me a little about your company?

Lotus Wei is about catalyzing a huge ripple effect of positivity. In the last 12 years, we’ve seen so many incredible transformations occur within people’s lives due to the regular use of flower essences. Each and every one of those transformations tangibly affects their family members and the community around them.

How long have you been working with flower essences and gems?

12 years. The first five years I worked with my teacher’s flower essences and then after that I began making and working with my own flower essences. 

What attracted you to this practice?

I was searching for a way to help people reach their full potential. I was studying different kinds of natural medicine and energy medicine, and this is the modality that really resonated with me. I saw a huge potential in the healing power of nature–it’s mind-blowing to think about every flower on this planet having a very special and unique quality that supports personal growth. It’s natural, gentle, fast-acting, effective, and there are no side effects. In a world where everyone has stress or suffers in some way at some time, they are a force for goodness in anyone’s life.

How has using your products helped you in your daily life?

They help me be at my best. When I’m taking them regularly, I notice that more insight and wisdom arise. They have been a really powerful tool for helping me accomplish any wish in the moment. More specifically, at work they help me stay on task, creative, and efficient. In my personal life they make sure I’m operating out of a loving, soft place, and protect me from getting too stressed, overwhelmed, or irritated. They help me sleep better, balance my physical body, cheer me up when I’m too serious, calm me down when I get nervous, or speak my truth when it’s difficult. Those are just really simple every day life examples. They’re always there to bring me back into my natural balance, dissolve non-constructive patterns, and speed up personal growth.

For the skeptical readers that might question the effectiveness of using flower essences, how effective are your serums, mists and essences? 

I think being skeptical is positive in the sense that you need to try and experience things for yourself to know if they work or not. I can only talk about what I’ve seen in the last 12 years, working very closely with clients, meeting every month in one-on-one consultations. I’ve watched the effects of the flower essences in the lives of many different kinds of people with various lifestyles, and they are surprisingly fast-acting and effective.

I’m sure that when cell phones first came out, people were skeptical of the idea that there were little waves emanating from the phone, traveling all the way through space to cell phone towers and to the person on the other end of the conversation. But now we all accept it as a normal part of our daily life. For some reason it’s easier for people to accept that little waves of energy can emanate from their phone, but it’s harder to believe that waves of energy emanate from a living plant or flower, or a person for that matter.

In our modern lifestyle, it’s virtually impossible to be balanced, because of the immense workload, lack of time spent in nature, tendency toward multi-tasking and amount of radiation we are exposed to from cell phones and wireless networks. 

With regular use of flower essences, people generally feel a tangible difference within 3-5 days, and within 3-6 months usually notice some significant positive change in several areas of their live, including career, relationships, love life, personal goals, or general well being.

Short-term use of flower essences brings you back to your natural balance, which means peaceful, happy, fulfilled. Taken long-term, they bring out hidden strengths and talents. If you use them regularly and keep a short journal or track your experiences over a three-week period, you’ll be able to see for yourself how effective they are. (There are two kinds of free journals that you can download from the lower right-hand corner of our website.

Do you feel the use of flower essence is still a new practice to most people?

In the U.S. yes. In Europe, Mexico, South America, and Australia, they’re more readily understood and accepted, but the U.S is lagging behind. I estimate that Americans’ awareness of flower essences is about where it was with aromatherapy and essential oils in the 1980’s. And because of social media it will not require us another 30 years to get up to speed. I think that within the next 5-10 years flower essences will be more readily used by Americans.

Why is it beneficial?

Flower essences are fast-acting, have no side effects, come from nature, are the most sustainable form of natural remedy, help people get to know themselves on a deeper level, and catalyze personal transformation.

In the beginning when someone starts using your product what are some changes they can expect to see?

There are many things you might experience. You notice a greater sense of happiness and peacefulness. Things don’t ruffle you as much. Things that used to irritate you no longer do. Life seems a bit softer, gentler, kinder. Sometimes other people respond to you differently, with more engagement. You sleep more deeply, and it’s easier to focus as the mind is quieter. You notice that a level of negative self-talk dissolves. The specific benefits you experience really depend on the flower essences that you’re taking.

Most people say that the flower essences create more space between themselves and their usual reactions, thoughts, or emotions. They feel as if they’re more like an observer to their internal world, that things don’t trigger them as much emotionally, and if they do, there’s a greater sense of freedom and choice in how to respond.

What is the difference between a serum, a mist, an elixir, and a perfume?

A serum consists of flower essences and essential oils in an organic oil base,that can be applied to the face and hands like a moisturizer.

The mist is a water-based spritzer that you can use to mist yourself, your loved ones, your space, your car, and your pillows and sheets.

Elixirs are taken internally–they have no scent and consist of five flower essences suspended in water, organic grape alcohol, and vegetable glycerin or honey. You can take them under the tongue, in your beverages, or in your water bottle throughout the day.

The perfumes are the essential oils and flower essences in an organic grape alcohol base. They are in roll-on bottles so you can apply to your pulse points.

The elixirs, mists, serums, and perfumes are all equally as effective if you use them 4-5 times each day. 

How important is it for you to use organic oils?

Organic is typically a marker for higher quality oils, because you know the oils, the plants, (the earth and the environment surrounding the plants) have not been negatively affected by chemicals. However, there are also some companies that create really high quality oils that cannot afford organic certification. Ultimately it comes down to trusting your suppliers. If you’re not sure, going with organic is the safest. The most important thing is that you want to make sure essential oils have not been cut with synthetic fragrances.

And with carrier oils, it’s important to use organically grown oils, because you are applying it to your skin, the largest organ of the body, which will absorb everything you put on it right into the bloodstream. You want to make sure that there are not pesticide residues in the oils that you are putting on your skin.

What’s in store for the future?

We will reach greater and greater amounts of people with our products. When you see the statistics of the tremendous increases of very young children taking anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications, a strong desire arises to do something about it–to offer another solution that will not have harmful side effects. Also, statistics show that 30% of all Americans experiences insomnia, and because we have helped so many people improve their quality of sleep, I would love to get the word out there to more people.  Also, you may see some wonderful new products being launched in 2012, along with new workshops and retreats to help people catalyze personal growth. 

 

Image Courtesy: Lotus Wei