Peach Flower Essence: “The Selfless Mother”

Qualities:

Unselfishness

Message of Self-Mastery: 

Concern for the welfare of others; empathy; maturity; nurturance; consideration; compassion; sensitivity to the needs of others; giving from wholeness instead of neediness.

Pattern of Disharmony: 

Selfishness; self-involvement; thoughtlessness; “looking out for Number One”; constrictiveness; exploitive nature; inability to relate to other’s realities; a tendency to smother; those who sap the energy of their listener; inability to receive love.

AFFIRMATION

With friendship and compassion, I embrace my fellowman. In Spirit, I am one with all!

POSITIVE EXPRESSIONS

NEGATIVE CONDITIONS

TESTIMONIALS

“I am a nurse in a small rural East Coast clinic and just started Peach. One night last week, the doctor called. Usually when this happens, he asks me to do something that is his responsibility, something I really don’t want to do. I tend to shut down to him as a result and don’t extend to him the same servicefulness I do to others. This time, though, I answered cheerfully, ‘Yes, Doctor, what can I do for you?’ being somewhat amazed at my own response. The doctor said that the work had been done, and would I like to come over for brownies!”
—SP, Bristol RI

“I want you to know that I felt the wonderful effect of the Peach drops within a few hours after taking them. I became a different person with much less concern for myself that helped me to focus on so many other things. What a wonderful feeling it gave me!”
—MR, Scottsdale, AZ

“I took Peach somewhat reluctantly. I didn’t notice changes, but my boss commented that he was more pleased than ever with my work.”
—MC, Boulder, CO

“On Peach, I noticed that 1 wrote better letters to my friends and communicated more clearly.”
—RH, Santa Fe, NM

“I took Peach at 730 a.m. two days ago. I felt very accepting. I got on the train to work, sat down beside this person and started talking to him and shared things that were personal to me—this was not like me! Then at work, I called my parents just to say ‘hi,’ called a business friend I hadn’t spoken to in months and even called my ex-wife! It’s like, I really wanted to step into other people’s shoes and see how it felt.
—LK, Seattle, WA

FAMOUS QUOTE

“Men resemble the gods in nothing so much as in doing good to their fellow creatures.” —Cicero

FLOWER /FRUIT/FOLKLORE

The peach is 4,000 years old. Its native home is China where it was venerated as a fruit of immortality. In his writings in the fifth century B.C., Confucius refers to the “tao,” the Chinese word for peach. The tree—small, deciduous and short-lived—grows in warm, temperate zones. The blossoms of the peach tree are either small and rose pink, or larger and pale pink. The fruit itself may vary considerably in size and color. Peaches are high in vitamin A and are easily assimilated by the body. They are alkalizing to the blood, stimulating to the digestion and moisturizing to the skin.

SPECTRUM PLACEMENT

(see explanation of The Essence Spectrum Chart)

Placed in Quadrant I’s fifth and last house, Peach embodies the qualities of wonder, newness and untiring energy in early bloom. Whereas its Spinach predecessor epitomizes the child whose needs are honored and met, Peach now directs that energy outward from its own sense of wholeness toward nurturing others and is called the ‘’mothering essence.” The Peach mother has a light touch and a refreshing energy, much like a breeze in springtime, characteristic of Quadrant I’s youthful qualities. Peach sports no heavy-handedness. Also the last of the feminine essences, it gives birth, in a sense, to the masculine half of the Spectrum and Quadrant II, beginning with Corn.

POSITIVE APPLICATIONS

Expansive love and thinking of other’s needs before one’s own are the hallmarks of Peach. Here we see the mother who feeds her children before sitting down to eat her own meal. Her nourishment is derived from nurturing others. In the positive Peach state, we discover a love that is given freely without condition and with no strings attached.

Some years ago, a young man we’ll call Jon who had recently started a jewelry business, came for a consultation. He explained that he’d been struggling financially and was basically frustrated by the numerous difficulties involved in being self-employed and beginning a business. It seemed that he needed to get more in touch with his true motives for the work that he had chosen, and so I suggested Peach. A week later, Jon called to say that his business had picked up, along with his interest in genuinely serving his customers.

Peach is excellent for teachers of students of all ages, for caregivers of the young and for mothers. It is also of benefit to people starting out in business, for individuals who are self-employed and for those in managerial or leadership roles. People in sales professions who are good at their jobs have an abundance of Peach traits. They understand that their success is dependent upon befriending their clients, holding their best interests in mind and helping to meet their needs.

NEGATIVE INDICATIONS

The negative Peach state expresses itself in an unmagnetic and unpleasant manner. It embodies the qualities of giving with selfish or ulterior motives that pollutes an otherwise pure energy. An individual manifesting negative Peach traits is more concerned with “what’s in it for me” than in offering quality work and truly helping others. Self-involvement, egocentrism and a basically selfish nature are all symptomatic of the negative Peach state. These unflattering qualities repel others and tend to create a sense of loneliness through the inability to cultivate enduring and endearing friendships.

Depression is the fruit of negative Peach’s “poor me” attitude. Focusing on the unfulfillment of one’s own needs to the exclusion of the larger picture is a guaranteed source of unhappiness. “I was sad that I had no new shoes,” the story goes, “until I saw someone without legs.”

THEME CHARACTERISTICS

(see explanation of Theme Flower Essences)

I consulted only yesterday with Tara, a Peach theme. When asked to share any information about herself that she felt was pertinent, she volunteered that raising two children had been an important part of her life and that she did not breast-feed them. “Why did I say that?” she later commented. Probably because it was a clue to her theme essence. Tara is a third-grade teacher who pays special attention to creating a warm, nature-filled environment in her classroom. She had chosen to intellectually nurture her students rather than be demonstrative. After her own children left home, she remodeled her bedroom and painted it a pale shade of—what else—peach. Tara loves peaches but, true to the theme characteristic of particularity, only the Freestone variety at their peak of ripeness.

Peach themes are easily spotted by their gentle smiles and a certain fluidity to their gait and movements. Their body language is graceful with a somewhat slow rhythm. Calm and gentle, their energy seems to constantly ask, “What can I do for you?” You may find that you feel accepted, cared for and at ease in their presence. They evoke within us the desire to think of the needs of others before our own.

Peach themes help us to expand our own consciousness. If you find yourself too caught up in your problems, or if life isn’t going the way you’d like it to, spend time with a Peach theme. Their company can provide a perspective that your problems are possibly not as looming or lasting as they may seem.

FAMOUS THEME PERSONALITIES

• Cinderella
• Audrey Hepburn
• Mother Teresa of Calcutta
• John Denver
• Florence Nightingale
• Donald Walters
• Paul Newman
• Sally Struthers
• Jimmy Carter

In the realm of best-loved fairy tales, Cinderella exemplifies the perfect Peach theme. This gentle-spirited woman possesses an inner beauty born of selfless loving that remains unmarred by the hearth ashes in which she is forced to sleep— thus her name, Cinder-ella. She also emanates the Peach theme’s ability to commune with nature, evoking a response from animals and plants alike. In the original version of this fairy tale as told by the Brothers Grimm, it is “white pigeons, doves, and all the birds under heaven” who help Cinderella complete her stepmother’s endless tasks designed to keep her from the prince’s ball. And it’s not a fairy godmother, but a white bird who creates her magnificent wardrobe for the gala event.

Giving equal love and selfless service to both her pet mice and cruel step-family, it is easy to understand her just reward in the form of the charming prince. (Plus, she got a great pair of dress shoes.) The moral of the story: if we give love, that love is magnetically drawn to us in return.

We may credit Cinderella with a strong Raspberry sub-theme for not harboring bitter or vengeful thoughts toward those who treated her so poorly. Alas, even fairy tales offer no shelter from the abuse of dysfunctional families! Selflessly loving, with accents of Raspberry’s unconditional forgiveness, this make-believe character models for us the most beautiful of human qualities.

CONFESSIONS OF A PEACH THEME: GEORGIA SPEAKS

“I never wanted children, not even in the slightest. I never liked playing with dolls—it wasn’t part of my thing to do. But I like children a lot, actually. I always had really close friends as a child and I have a strong loyalty streak.

“I am very concerned for the welfare of other people. Very. I think I’m fairly sensitive so that when people hurt, I hurt too. I’d like to be able to alleviate their suffering in whatever way possible. Mostly, it takes the form of counseling, empathizing and sympathizing. I am mothering. I like to nurture. It’s broader, though, like a world nurturer. I just always have this sense that I have so many, many children to help.

“Selflessness is something I’m really working on. I think it’s a great idea. And next to my meditation, service is the most important thing in my life.

“I love animals and everything in nature—animals and plants. I particularly love plants. I feel when I’m around plants and animals that they give me back energy, just lots of healing. When I work in my herb garden, the plants talk to me and I talk to them. It’s how I am fed. I discovered in life that I’m very much happier if I have an herb garden. It makes me feel safe, grounded, calm. There’s a patch in my herb garden where I can go and lay down right in the middle of all of my herbs—a very sweet, pure energy.

“I love peaches. But I never have found peaches to suit me quite as well in California as when we could get Georgia peaches back in Tennessee. My mother used to peel them and feed them to me. They were really juicy. I never have been able to get enough peaches. I just was thinking the other day how sad it is in the winter when you can’t get peaches. All you get is apples, bananas and oranges. Peaches are luscious; peaches are juicy; peaches are pretty.”

WRAPPING IT UP

Certainly we would all agree that we are living in hard times— economically, environmentally, and politically. Clearly, our world is suffering.

More than ever, we see the need for the nurturing love epitomized by the archetypal mother. Isn’t it the responsibility of each of us, then, to emulate this quality’ “In giving, we receive,” echoes the essence of Peach. Through sharing, we become peacemakers.

I am fortunate to live in a spiritual community that, if we were to assess its theme essence, would be Peach. Our country was founded on the noble principals of freedom and equality. Similarly, Ananda World Brotherhood Village is based on the striving for inner freedom. This same spirit fosters an attitude among its residents of willingness to help others. Modeling Peach-like ideals, we share with others the joy that we experience on a daily basis through lives dedicated to compassion, cooperation and service.

ESSENCE ENHANCERS

Do volunteer work, especially helping those less fortunate than yourself.

Work with children. If you have friends who are single mothers, offer to spend time with their children.

Donate money to worthy causes and tithe on a monthly basis.

Have pets and learn to sensitively care for their needs.

Give gifts to family and friends, not only on birthdays and holidays. Give for the sake of giving in ways that stretch you.

VISUALIZATION

Springtime is only a day—no, a breath—away from blossoming into summer. You are standing in the middle of a sparsely populated forest with patchwork sunlight scattering across the underbrush.

Begin to watch your breath. Become each breath. As you inhale, you find yourself growing in height. As you exhale, your feet become transmuted into roots, drawing in nourishment from the rain-drenched earth. Your hands are now many branches, housing both bird and squirrel. Imagine your body as a tree—sturdy and well-formed.

The earth, the sun and the rain have all treated you well. How can you thank them in return? Simply by being the most loving, caring tree you can be. Any deer seeking shelter from the wind will find it by nestling at the base of your trunk. Any bird needing rest will discover it in your leafy arms. Why, the very sun itself reserves a resting place in your highest branches when, at dusk, it wearies.

Inhale this attitude of selfless love and loving concern for others. And now, repeat the following affirmation.