What I learned in my Flower Essence training that has had the most impact on my life is David Dalton’s theory on Lyme disease (as well as his treatment plan). As you may know, when we are working with Flower Essences, we are looking at the personality and childhood trauma. Certain traumas and personalities are prone to certain illnesses and diseases. David discovered a Lyme personality profile. A person with Lyme tends to be: Type A, Martyr/scapegoat, pleaser/peacemaker, oldest/only child, and/or perfectionist. The overall energy pattern is too much energy going out, not enough coming in. For instance: someone or something is always more important than oneself. (Now, if you fit one of these categories, it does not mean that you have Lyme, but you may be prone to getting it. Also, it is possible to have Lyme and not have these traits.)
I contracted Lyme years ago. So, this profile was particularly interesting to me. I am a pleaser/peacemaker, only child, and I can be a perfectionist. I definitely put more energy out than I take in, after all I am a mother and a healer. I will admit I was a Type A in High School and possibly in College, but have worked really hard at changing that and so I didn’t classify myself as one.
However, that changed when I had the flu in March. Anyone who has studied Waldorf philosophy or Anthroposophical medicine will tell you that fevers are soul changing and growth inducing. In my family, we try not to fight fevers because when you come out of one, you have a sense of clarity and see things in a new way. (Often kids get a fever right before a big growth spurt.) I awoke from my fever and looked around. I had a stack of about 9 books next to me, which I was trying to read while I had a fever! All of them were non-fiction. Most of them were herb books, also had a parenting book (Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne, I highly recommend it), and a couple gardening books. I figured that since I was stuck in bed, I should put my time to good use: learn more about herbs (they weren’t to help me with my illness) and plan a forest garden. That was when I realized that I am a Type A!
Now that I know these things about myself and the connection to my Lyme disease, I understand how incredibly important it is that I take time for myself, relax, do something I enjoy, ask for help, etc. Lyme is my teacher and will remind me when I continue to ignore my needs. For anyone who matches the Lyme personality and has not developed Lyme disease, I recommend making changes for yourself now. Lyme may be a great teacher, but there are much easier and more enjoyable ways of learning the lesson.