Featured in this article
Featured in this article
As I near the completion of my first teaching trip to Europe and Japan in four years, I decided an appropriate theme for this update would be some of the highlights of my trip, as well as introducing you to many of our teachers and distributors in the countries that I visited.
Belgium
Belgium was the first port of call and meeting in person for the first time our distributors there, Yves and Karen. Unfortunately, after our first dinner before the workshop, Karen ended up in hospital. A theme that was repeated when Jorg, our Swiss distributor, had to take his wife Renate to hospital after dinner with us. I thought if word gets around, Jane and I would be eating by ourselves for the rest of the trip! Thankfully, both recovered quickly, though Karen did miss the workshop which she was really looking forward to being involved in. Fortunately, they were able to meet up with us in France, later in the trip for a wonderful time exploring the food and wine around Beaune.
The Belgian workshop was held in the middle of the countryside in a beautiful historic house with stunning grounds and some of the best cloud formations I have ever seen. We thought of the famous Belgian painter, Rene Magritte, whose paintings certainly understood and captured the clouds in this country. When you looked up in the sky, it was as if you were looking up at one of his paintings.
We also had the pleasure of meeting Ilsa, who is the main salesperson in Belgium and a vital part of the company. She really is a whirlwind tour-de-force. Her passion is the Bush Essences but in particular our Rose Hydrating mist. Anyone who comes near her is sprayed thoroughly and left smelling like a rose. After the workshop we spent an afternoon together filming promotional clips of all our products. Isla moonlights filming rock bands and has an amazing swooning style behind the camera. 
Netherlands
The Netherlands was the next stop and teaching with Bram and Miep at their centre which has the most stunning garden. I ran my first workshop with them at this venue, which is also their home, thirty years ago. We met at the first International Flower Essence Conference in Autrans, France in 1990. Miep has always done the catering at the workshops and proudly boasts that she has never repeated any of her amazing vegetarian recipes that she creates for the workshop lunches for the participants. She is getting a little soft in her old age because she allowed me to photograph her this time, something she has never allowed before in all the years that I have known her. Miep and Bram stayed with me on their honeymoon, which included us all travelling to the Top End. It was certainly good to be back catching up with our friends on this trip after years of travel restrictions.
An amazing healer, Piet Nendels, lives not too far from Bram and Jane and I were able to pop in and each have a session with him. I have bought Piet out to Australia twice in the past, as I wanted my friends, family and Bush Essence people to have access to his amazing gift. His ability as a medical intuitive to see what is going on in the body is mind boggling, but he is also able to correct and heal what he detects. It has to be seen to be believed. Hopefully you will hear an announcement from me about a third visit in the near future.
Ireland
The Irish workshop was in Limerick, where I have never taught before. It was my first time back in Ireland since the tragic loss of my dear friend Mark Cullen, who managed New Vistas, the homoeopathic company, that distributes our Essences and organises the workshops. I also had the opportunity of catching up with Martin Murray, the founder, who is always good value and very funny. Limerick is close to the Aran Islands and the Burrens. The latter is one of my favourite wilderness areas and teeming with nature spirits. We had a great time visiting both places. 
UK
Since covid, we also gained a new UK distributor, Living Planet. It was great to meet Ben and Graham who own the company in person after all the zoom calls. We also got to meet their sales team who are all incredibly passionate about the Bush Essences, especially our good mate Karen Santamouris. Originally from Australia, she has been working with the Bush Essences for a number of companies in both Australia and the UK for decades. Karen is just completing her ABFE teacher training and we’re very grateful she was headhunted by Living Planet once they took on our distributorship. My Level 1 workshop was held at Regent’s Park University in London. An unexpected highlight was bumping into my old mate Ian Watson, who was also teaching a workshop there that weekend. Ian was running the Lakeland Homoeopathic College many years ago when, in London at a bookshop, my ABFE book fell off the shelf and hit him on the head. Ian decided that he should buy this book and, on the train back north, he read it and duly shared my work with all the college’s teachers, which quickly led to the Bush Essences being used in the student clinic. This in turn led to me regularly running workshops over many years at the College. Our UK practitioner distributors, Angie and Adam from Healthlines, stem from this time in the Lake District. Ian is another European friend that has been able to come out and stay with Jane & I in Australia. 
German part of Switzerland
After our workshops with Jorg and Renate in Stein am Rhein in the German part of Switzerland, we were able to go with them to one of our very favourite places, The Rhinefall, the only waterfall on the Rhine. They have built platforms right on the edge of the waterfall where you can feel the power of the water as it surges past you. The water nature spirits, the undines, are in abundance here and their energy is palpable. A few years ago, when we did the White Light Essences workshop nearby, we all took the Water Essence and walked along the gentle flowing Rhine up to the Rhinefall where we could experience this sudden transformation.
Corsica
After all the teaching and travelling, a trip to Corsica was scheduled for a little bit of R and R. It was so nice to finally experience some sunshine and to swim in the Mediterranean. The flowers there were stunning, though driving there was not for the fainthearted! 
Italian part of Switzerland
What followed was three Level 3 workshops in a row. The first was in Arzo, in the Italian part of Switzerland. We experienced heavy rain the day before whilst checking out the essence-making site and the forecast was the same for the weekend. Lo and behold, we had sunshine all the next day to make the essence! I also had 60 people singing me Happy Birthday, on the Sunday. If you must work on your birthday, this is the way to do it! 
Italy
For the Italian Level 3 we intended using a field that the venue told us they owned. We were inspecting the field with Erica, the General Manager of Green Remedies, our Italian distributor, when an irate man appeared telling us to get off his land. A new site was quickly sought, only for us to arrive the next day, at the beginning of the workshop, to find that the whole area had been mowed a few hours earlier. The venue management was very apologetic and closed off a large section of their golf course, which contained fields of flowers, which allowed us to make the essence together as a group.
This year was my twentieth anniversary of running workshops in Italy with Green Remedies. Anna, the owner, does things in style! She hired a famous castle on Lake Garda, and that evening bussed all the workshop participants and their partners - approximately 250 people, to celebrate there. The amazing views were supplemented by wonderful wine and food. A great night was had by all. 
France
The next weekend saw us making Bouton D’Or, Buttercup, at the third and final Level 3 workshop, organised by our teacher Nadia in Autrans, France. Fortunately, there was only a minor hiccup regarding access to the essence-making site this time. It is wonderful watching all the participants, scattered far and wide, tuning in to the flower that we are going to make the essence from. There is always an incredibly strong spiritual and energetic presence when we hold the Level 3 workshop due to the essence-making component.
Afterwards, en route to Beaune we had a Champagne stopover in Reims and a quick check to make sure that Paris had not lost any of its charm. A highlight for us in any city is the nature and art. Taking in all the fabulous impressionist paintings of L’Orangerie and Musee D’Orsay is such an intense and nourishing experience. 
Czech Republic
I am writing this on my last day in Prague before heading off in the morning to Tokyo to finish this teaching trip. The workshops here in Prague were an utter delight with so much laughter and joy with Martina, our Bush Essence teacher and distributor here, leading the way. Another great mate, Seamus Murphy, a Bush Essence teacher from Ireland came across for the workshop and certainly added to the level of humour and good fun! Once more, I was so glad to be free to travel, teach people, make new friends and catch up with old ones. 
Much Love, Light and Respect
Ian
