What's in a name? Oddly enough, the two historical figures who have been most important to me in recent years both had the same surname - Bach. After leaving my career as a medical doctor I studied natural therapies and became a Bach flower practitioner, using the series of remedies discovered by Edward Bach. And, as a very amateur singer and pianist, I became strongly drawn to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. Did these two men have anything in common except their name? Though they were born 200 years apart in different countries, and worked in different fields, both were concerned with the use of vibrational harmony to uplift the human spirit.
Johann Sebastian Bach was born on 21 March 1685 in what is now Germany. In German, the word 'bach' means 'a brook' and is phonetically pronounced 'bahk'. He is widely regarded as the greatest composer who ever lived, and was described by Beethoven as 'the immortal god of harmony'. Musical harmony, which involves the combination of simultaneously sounded notes to produce chords with a pleasing effect, can be regarded as the 'vertical' component of a piece whereas melody is the 'horizontal' one. Bach himself is quoted as follows: 'The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul'. Most people find that listening to Bach induces positive feelings such as joy, peace and the sensation of 'flow'. Along with those of other classical composers, the works of Bach are often used in music therapy and can bring many mental and physical benefits including reduction in anxiety and pain, and improvements in cardiovascular physiology and in various measures of endocrine and immune function.
Edward Bach was born on 24 September 1886 in England. His ancestry was Welsh, and 'bach' in Welsh means 'little'. He pronounced his surname 'batch'. After some years as an orthodox physician, he gave up his successful practice and devoted his life to natural healing. He was among the pioneers of the 'holistic approach' and the short books in which he describes his philosophy, Heal Thyself for example, have become classics. Bach believed that harmony in mind and spirit was key to physical wellbeing, and wrote 'Health depends on being in harmony with our souls'. His series of 38 flower essences have no chemical content, but are believed to carry the energetic imprints of the life force of different plants each corresponding to a positive quality of mood or personality. Unlike the vibrations of musical sound, the vibrations of flower essences cannot be measured by conventional scientific instruments, and their mode of action is not known. All the same, the Bach flower essences have been used all over the world for 80 years, and the responses observed in my own practice have left me in no doubt that they work. Clients say they feel calmer, happier and more in control of their lives, and their physical symptoms frequently improve.
Jennifer Barraclough is a graduate of Oxford University Medical School and practiced for many years as a medical doctor in England before moving to New Zealand and becoming a Bach flower therapist and life coach. She has authored or edited several previous books including 'An Outline of Modern Psychiatry' 'Cancer and 'Emotion' and 'Enhancing Cancer Care', and published a number of research papers. She lives in Auckland with her husband and cats.
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