Gentian is the Bach Flower Remedy for releasing feelings of doubt, skepticism, uncertainty, and pessimism that stop you from taking your first steps towards your goals and also the disappointment that can surface when things don’t work out as well or as quickly as you had hoped.
Taking Gentian increases self confidence, positive expectation and certainty in your ability to do whatever you put your mind to.
These feelings of doubt can be a general attitude that you have to everything in life, or it can be a temporary state that you encounter when you start something new, it can also surface at any time that delays or setbacks are experienced.
Has this ever happened to you?
In a moment of peace and clarity, maybe when you first wake up or after meditation or while taking a walk, an inspired idea pops into your head and you just know what you want to do. Later that day however your peaceful state has left you and you are now left with feelings of doubt and pessimism as your mind presents to you reason after reason why this idea will not work! If you are sensitive to how you feel and you try to push through these negative feelings with action you then start to feel so bad you become convinced that this must not be good for you after all, and then the inevitable happens and you give up. This is the Gentian state, and it is just that, a state.
When you feel like this, remember how you felt when you first received the idea. If you felt elated, joyful, excited, any type of good emotion then this is a good idea that will lead you to good things, so don’t let this temporary state of doubt faze you. In fact, you can actually be happy for these thoughts that negate what you have decided to because they are not the big problem they appear to be, they are in fact very helpful guidance. Those negative thoughts are showing you the beliefs that you hold that will stop you in your tracks until you find a way around them and are attempting to guide you towards another way of thinking that will lead you to your goal.
So the first step for me in this situation is to make up a Bach Flower Remedy containing Gentian and get sipping.
The next step is to get to work on building a way around those limiting beliefs, and the way to do this is to amplify the wanted and to play down the unwanted.
Take a pen and paper and write all the reasons why you believe this is a good idea, the ways it will improve your life and the types of feelings you expect to feel. Focus on why you want what you want. Keep writing until you feel just a hint of negativity and then stop. At this point, it is a good idea to change the subject and get on with something completely unrelated. In other words, distract yourself, and then you can come back and repeat this later. In a very short space of time – a few days to 30 days tops, you will strengthen your belief in what you want and your doubts, well, they are the ones that end up giving up due to your lack of attention.
Gentian can also help in some cases of depression where the cause is clearly known.
Gentian is very helpful in cases of depressive feelings evoked by a known circumstance. Examples are the death of a marriage partner, continuing unemployment, children torn to and fro between divorced parents, loss of a loved pet and old people shoved into a home.
Mechthild Scheffer, Bach Flower Therapy – Theory and Practice
In cases such as these, Gentian can give much-needed courage and strength during difficult times as well as hope for a brighter future.
You must be logged in to post a comment.