 |
| Photo Credit: Richard Katz |
Positive qualities: Loving others unconditionally, with an open heart; emotional freedom
Patterns of imbalance: Forming relationships based on fear or possessiveness; emotional co-dependence
(from The Flower Essence Repertory by Patricia Kaminski and Richard Katz)
Planetary Influences: Venus, Moon
Elemental Alchemy: Earth, Fire
Bleeding Heart is by far one of the most used flower essences in my practice. Why? Because so many of our wounds- and much of our personal evolution- comes through our intimate relationships! The flower actually looks like a little heart. Read on to learn more about this amazing flower essence and it's role in relationships...
We are often under the false belief that by finding our 'better half', we become whole. Many of us yearn for the special someone, that relationship that will finally complete us. But the truth is, we have to be whole unto ourselves before and during our connection with others. Rather than two haves coming together to make a whole, the true creative power of the universe is represented by two wholes coming together. With our wholeness in tact, we are in a position create something that is greater than the sum of its parts- which can be a child, a project, or even the relationship itself. In fact, many argue that the purpose of relationships is to inspire each partner to heal their wounds and evolve towards a new wholeness (um yeah, that would be why relationships are so much WORK). Bleeding Heart Flower Essence is indicated when that sense of wholeness is lacking in one or both partners.
The person in need of Bleeding Heart might be excessively needy, pulling from their partner what they may have never learned to get from a higher source. And when the love they desparately seek is not reciprocated, the jealousy and possessiveness can come out! Its important to understand a Bleeding Heart's jealousy is based on an extreme fear of not having their own needs met. What happens next? The partner inevitably pulls further away, making the Bleeding Heart feel more desperate for attention and connection.
Bleeding Heart flower essence helps us tap into higher sources of nourishment and connection, so that we do not become overly dependent on our partners for making us feel whole.
Emotional Containment
I love this clip from the movie The Celestine Prophecy, which shows what happens when energy in the form of love is exchanged between two people:
The problem with someone in a Bleeding Heart state is that they are pouring love into another, but it is not being reciprocated. This could be for so many reasons.... The other person could be emotionally involved in another relationship. Divorces or separations, even when agreed on by both parties, can result in one person sending love to another without an equal return. And especially the death of a loved one can cause us to send love without receiving it back in a physical form. In all of these cases, Bleeding Heart provides soothing for the soul and helps the heart to heal.
Though Bleeding Heart is often indicated for dissolved relationships, I most commonly see the need for Bleeding Heart within relationships. Its need can emerge in relationships troubled by alcoholism or substance abuse. In such cases, the partner of in need of Bleeding Heart can exhibit co-dependent tendencies, sacrificing his or her own needs to please the other person. A Bleeding Heart state can also emerge for those who are in relationships with someone with varying degrees of narcissism. In these cases, Bleeding Heart flower essence helps to teach the lesson of emotional containment, allowing one to find nourishment from a true source rather than another person. It supports them in defining appropriate boundaries so that their love is not depleted. In other cases, it can support us in navigating the difficult decision to terminate one-sided relationships.
Cutting Energetic Ties
These lyrics from Alicia Keys' "Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart" perfectly describes an aspect of Bleeding Heart:
"Even if you were a million miles away
Near me, touch me, feel me
And even at the bottom of the sea
I could still hear inside my head
Tellin' me, touch me, feel me..."
Bleeding Heart helps us sever with those emotional ties that we have a hard time cutting. Its that relationship that ended (usually badly) 5 years ago, but you just can't shake. Or for that Ex that you still have as a friend on Facebook, even though you still feel a pang when you see their new engagement photos. It empowers us to cut the final cords of energetic ties to relationships that have served their time, helping us to learn the essential lesson of that relationship so that we can move on... in peace and freedom.
In all of these cases, the Bleeding Heart flower essence teaches us how to love another by first learning how to love and honor ourselves. And who doesn't need a little of that?
No comments:
Post a Comment