The Bloom Book: A Flower Essence Guide to Cosmic Balance

Description

"Every flower holds a unique consciousness. To connect with their essence is to return to cosmic balance." -Heidi Smith Recent years have seen an exponential rise in plant healing. The newest remedies on the scene are flower essences, and Brooklyn-based Heidi Smith is one of their most popular advocates. With The Bloom Book, Smith has created an invaluable resource for using flower essences to bring harmony to both ourselves and our world. A somatic psychotherapist, flower essence practitioner, registered herbalist, and longtime student of the Egyptian mysteries, Smith not only demystifies flower essences as a potent form of vibrational healing, she explores how we can use these modalities to usher the divine feminine back into our collective consciousness. Filled with gorgeous illustrations by artist Chelsea Granger, The Bloom Book serves as both an information-rich resource and interactive guidebook. Highlights include: an exploration of vibrational healing from ancient alchemists to modern-day medicine women; a materia medica of select flower essences; rituals and recipes for protection, grounding, and other needs; how to work with the cycles of the moon; and much more.

Heidi Smith has a master's degree in mental health counseling, as well as a degree in herbalism. She's one of only 15 registered herbalist practitioners in New York State. Her private practice, Moon & Bloom, incorporates her knowledge of plant medicine and somatic psychotherapy to help people heal at the source of their imbalances. Since the launch of her practice, she's been featured in Vanity Fair, Bon Appetit, and mindbodygreen. She lives in Brooklyn. For more, visit moonandbloom.com

"The Bloom Book offers a vision of a new future and then helps to walk us there with flower essences as an intermediary. With equal parts evidence, faith, and personal experience, Heidi clearly lays out a path of personal healing connected to collective and planetary healing. This book was not what I expected; it's much more than a primer on flower essences and a glossary of how to use them. Heidi ambitiously and thoroughly spans the origins and histories of vibrational medicine and social justice theory, as well as herbalism, to make this a contemporary, relevant, progressive, and beautiful resource." --Kimberly Ann Johnson, author of The Fourth Trimester "Heidi champions a voice for the flowers that is at once intelligent and intuitive, deeply heartfelt, and immensely insightful. Her knowing is authentically experience-based as she shares the journey of her own soul transformation as well as those of her clients. She also reaches widely into the network of practitioner research in flower essence therapy, distilling and synthesizing information into her own unique and credible approach. The Bloom Book is not a book you will read once and store on your shelf; rather it is a living source that you will return to again and again for inspiration and practical application." --Patricia Kaminski, founder of the Flower Essence Society, author of Flowers That Heal and Flower Essence Repertory "Until I sat down with this book, I had not ever really considered what soul work is and how it could help others. Like many people, I've sometimes dismissively associated a lot of aspects of self-care and psychic healing. I was surprised to immediately connect with her ideas not to understand everything exactly (that would be the journey, right?), but to want to understand even more about myself and our world on psychic and cosmic levels. And yet that makes the end goal sound self-serving, which it is not. What Heidi presents is a story of how the world, and all of us along with it, got so out of whack. She is worried and passionate about inequity, imbalance, and the interplay of misogyny, racism, and privilege with the innermost aspects of individuality. Her writing is transportive but still accessible, even on the most mind-blowing of notions (quantum reality, vibrational medicine). Her learning, which she invites you to use as your own teaching, is deeply personal and duly engaging. And her book, best of all, is a work of hope." --Claire Howorth, executive editor of Vanity Fair "The Bloom Book offers a pathway to healing that could lead to our collective transformation. Heidi Smith makes flower essences accessible through clear and engaging prose that grounds what could be a very esoteric topic in relevant history and the urgency of now. This gorgeous book should be read and returned to again and again by anyone interested in evolving through this present moment to manifest a world that is more just, whole, and interconnected." --Aimee Meredith Cox, PhD, anthropologist at Yale University and author of Shapeshifters "A wild ride. This book was written with a conscious mind. It is innovative and informative as well as enthralling and provocative." --Patrick Fratellone, MD, RH (AHG) "In these very turbulent times, Heidi's book is a clarion call for us to return to our essential nature through plant medicine and a realization of the wisdom of divine feminine energy. The Bloom Book is a wonderful offering to everyone who is working to bring their life back into balance. It guides us from ego to heart center--a vantage from which we can really show up for ourselves and for our fellow humans on this planet." --Raghu Markus, executive director of the Love Serve Remember Foundation "Heidi Smith has written a verbal and visual masterpiece. She writes from a perspective of guiding the reader toward the energetics within and around us and how to identify, accept, and positively affect them for ourselves and those we seek to heal. For laypersons and practitioners alike, Heidi digs into that which we cannot see, but most certainly can feel, sense, and imagine in a way that teaches and guides. This book offers a depth of understanding and resulting confidence that will leave you wanting to add flower remedies to both your personal healing kit and that of your patients." --Dr. Penelope McDonnell, ND "Flowers are gentle yet powerfully restorative--containing the highest healing vibrations of all plants, having a subtle, profound effect on our health and well-being. Heidi Smith's beautifully written The Bloom Book is an invaluable guide for those of us who wish to explore the process of self-discovery through the vibrational healing of flower essences in a clear and accessible way." --Julie Elliott, creator and founder of In Fiore "Heidi Smith has created an invaluable resource for personal and spiritual growth in The Bloom Book. She demystifies the intricate world of flower essences--steeped in ancient wisdom stretching from all corners of the earth and various healing modalities, yet accessible and approachable. It reads as a warm, open invitation back to a world in balance with the plant kingdom." --Alison Carroll, founder of Wonder Valley "The Bloom Book is a deep and profound offering of healing in collaboration with Mother Earth. With a truly holistic, honest, in-depth, and beautiful layout, this book will act as an ongoing ally to readers as they grow through the wisdom, practices, and rituals offered. The historical and social context is refreshing given our current political, environmental, and social climates. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is ready to enter into new levels of consciousness and heal in relationship with themselves, their communities, and the Earth." --Vanessa Chakour, herbalist "This is the book on flower essences that I've been waiting for! Heidi Smith emphasizes the importance of setting intention with plant work and letting your intuitive force guide you in the process. These words, alongside those charming illustrations, have resonated with me more so than any other book on flower essences that I have come across so far." --Spencre L.R. McGowan, certified herbalist, author of Blotto Botany, and creator of Gingertooth & Twine "Heidi focuses on flower essences as a way to work through ingrained traumatic familial and societal imprints that lead to destructive belief systems. These belief systems can become psycho-spiritual conflicts embedded in the physical body as expressions of unresolved wounds. With her practical and deeply thoughtful book, Heidi draws us back to the power of plants and flowers to transform us--to be subtle partners in healing not only our own personal wounds, but the larger collective and societal ones as well." --Jon Keyes, LPC, NCC, herbalist "Heidi Smith's transformative practice-oriented book marries a deeply holistic and self-actualized approach to personal healing and growth with an incredibly thoughtful understanding of the power plant medicine offers us. Her intuitive and inspiring methodology is sure to help us all dive more fully into the pursuit of cultivating collective well-being through more immersive explorations as to how we integrate flower essences into our own practices. The intention and expression of this book is as engrossing as it is enriching, a must-have for anyone seeking to deepen their understanding of the healing power right outside our doorsteps." --Gretchen Jones, strategic business advisor and Neuro-Linguistic Programming practitioner "A provocative and thoughtful book that will inspire the next generation of herbalists and individuals looking to bring the art and magic of flower essences into their everyday lives. It's a wonderful offering for those looking to live with a deeper connection to the intricate energies of the universe, a love poem to this mysterious life in all its glory." --Jovial King, founder of Urban Moonshine