Mindfulness with Flowers

By Jessica Danforth

 

What exactly does it mean to relate flowers to mindfulness? Mindfulness is being in a state of conscious awareness in the present moment. “Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) includes skills for mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness” (Linehan, 2017). According to Linehan, mindfulness is a psychotherapeutic approach in DBT. Linehan states the core skills for mindfulness include: observing and paying attention to how your mind and body is feeling, being able to describe or giving attributions to what you have observed, and then, most importantly participating or letting go, and going with the flow. Mindfulness can be a way to view our physical and mental well-being through a different lens by using our observing, describing and participating skills while using flowers.

Integrating mindfulness can be done by evaluating your senses when interacting with flowers. Our senses are composed of touch, taste, smell, sound and sight.

 

 

Touch

When you touch a flower this activates the body’s sense receptors that provides information to the brain. The soft, delicate, gentle touch of the flower releases the hormone oxytocin which is responsible for trust and cooperation. When you touch a flower this can enhance the feeling of safety and pleasure. How I try to assimilate mindfulness with flowers is first by being nonjudgmental as you touch a flower. Allow yourself to feel the textures, there is no good or bad, what senses does it bring to your hands? How is the rest of your body reacting as you touch the flowers? Pay attention to each moment you are interacting with flowers, imagine as if nothing else exists, and embrace each moment as it comes. How are you feeling? There is no right or wrong way whatever is effective for you? Being mindful with flowers goes beyond just purchasing them or picking them.

  

 

Taste

There are Flowers that are edible, so as you eat them you are using your tasting senses. Flowers can give off a soothing and sweet taste as rose petals, or there are flowers, such as Anise plants that produce a licorice like taste. Flowers: marigolds, nasturtiums, and pansies are often used in food to decorate. Edible flowers can be added to plates of food to add a pop of color, or simply to make the dish appear elaborate and elegant. By doing this it can provide people a sense of satisfaction for what they have created. This can reinforce and encourage their own confidence and self-expression, being able to create  and become captivated by its looks, all while fueling and providing nutrients to their bodies. Mindfulness, while eating flowers can be done by being nonjudgmental throughout the experience of trying flowers. Pay attention to how the flowers might taste. Is there any taste, is it sweet, spicy, can your taste buds tell? How did you like taking a bite of food with a flower in it? This can be one way to utilize your mindful practice with flowers.

  

 

 

Smell

My favorite part about flowers is their intoxicating fragrant smell. I could inhale the fragrance of flowers all day long. The act of smelling flowers activates nerve cells that induce brain activity related to memory, retention, and emotion. Memories of earlier pleasures are stimulated after smelling flowers, which release hormones that produce contentment. Smelling flowers  before bedtime can promote in positive dreaming. The scent of vanilla gives off a calming fragrance, so it can be used for stress, or even insomnia. Each flower elicits a scent that triggers an area in the brain. The Lavender scent releases  hormones, and enhances happiness. The smell of roses can lower blood pressure, while the smell of eucalyptus can improve alertness. Being mindful with flowers via  scent is absolutely part of what I love most about being mindful with flowers. Regardless of the situation flowers are received, whether after a car accident, wedding, funeral, newborn, surprise, etc., there is always a pleasant delight when you smell flowers. Focus on the intoxicating aroma of each flower bursts throughout your nose. It is almost as if nothing else is around, it is just you and the flower as one, inhaling and exhaling in synchrony. Do what works best for you. Floral arrangements do not have to cost money, people can go out in nature,  look around, and find flowers. It helps to pay attention, you may even notice or smell them in places you never knew were possible.

  

 

Sound

Our sense of sound can also be focused on flowers. Flowers require pollination to bloom, which bees and birds flock to. We hear the bees buzzing and the birds singing and chirping around the flowers. Nerve cells in the inner ear send signals to the brain which reacts by creating positive feelings. These pleasant sounds can relax the nervous system, and help us to maintain physical and emotional balance. Some people might not appreciate this aspect of being mindful with flowers because it attracts insects and other critters, but I tend to love seeing the natural life interact and enjoy the same things I love. It is as if we can share this special common bond that we both really dig flowers, and can grow from interacting with them. As you pay attention to the critters that are around the flowers, notice the environment around you is it arid, temperate, or tropical? How does the surrounding match the flowers you are looking at? What about the insects, or even the birds that are being drawn to them? Are they bringing any sounds along with them? Buzzing, flapping, running, climbing, notice each sound as if you are hearing nothing else but the noises emerging from nature. I see flowers everywhere from coffee shops, cracks in the ground, interstate highways, grocery stores, and of course botanical gardens. If you just look all around, you will be amazed at the beauty of the floral community on earth. There are so many different types, each flower attracts different insects, as well as birds that pollinate, and eat the flower for survival purposes. This use of sense widens your scope when being mindful with flowers.

  

 

 

Sight

Having sight or vision provides us with the ability to see flowers and focus on texture and detail. Each experience sends information to the brain. Our eyes can perceive textures, form, movement, and color which elicits different reactions to our brain. The sight of beautiful flowers activates pleasure centers in the brain, and stimulates emotional reactions of contentment. As a result of feeling contentment, the suffering from stress related matters are reduced. Flowers bring positive energy promoting people to feel happier, less stressed, and more relaxed. Hot colors like red, orange, and yellow give off cheerful, and excitement energy. Whereas cool colors like blue, green, mauve, and pink encourage feelings of calmness, relieving stress, and lowering blood pressure. When being mindful with flowers, sight is one of the things I would never want to take for granted. I feel the way flowers display colors is like nothing else. The vibrant, yet tender way they look, so fragile, yet filled with so much strength. Pay attention as you look at flowers. How does it make you feel? Do you feel as if you are mesmerized by their loveliness? What does each specific flower look like? Notice each petal, wilted, full bloomed, or beginning buds. Perceive each flower no matter the circumstance that promotes you to get them. By doing this, and however you choose can help you to become more mindful with flowers. Even simply noticing a flower that was not bloomed yesterday, and today it is bloomed, shows you that growth can happen with patience, and the right timing. As you begin to notice flowers around see if they change with the season, notice if they bloom differently next season. We can appreciate so much by simply embracing ourselves and being mindful with flowers.

  

 

 

Floral Symbolism

Flowers grow from seeds, to plants, to forming buds, into full on blossoms. While the flower is in a bud it is in a period of darkness before the petals open up to bloom. The flower stem is supporting the bud, but also waiting patiently for it to bloom. As it blooms the stem holds the weight, and allows the flower to open and shine to all. Each flower has specific needs that are addressed to make sure that it is properly being taken care of. For example, making sure it is getting enough sunlight or if it’s being watered adequately, not too much or too little. Each flower is going to require meeting its own specific needs to make sure that it is preparing and capable to bloom.

 

I use this metaphor of the growth of a flower in comparison to people. We might go through a period of darkness in our lives, where we see no light coming, or have no idea what needs to be attended to so that growth can occur. While we sit through this period of darkness, our needs are being recognized, altered, and implemented to encourage growth. When the time is right, we have enough strength and courage to blossom and open ourselves up to the world around us. As we blossom we can pour out beauty, and light to all as each petal is opened. It is a slow process, but each stage you can find the beauty. It is going to take time to get there, but it is a part of the growing process. With the metaphor of flowers with our own growth, and being mindful of our senses when interacting with flowers this is just one approach to diving deeper into your emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual wellbeing through a different outlet.

 

Working with flowers has helped me to heal in many ways I did not know was possible. I have even ventured into starting my own business doing floral design. With each piece I make, I have an intention in mind. Each flower I pick out, I am thinking about the colors, smells, and textures. When I create an arrangement, as I peel the excess leaves away from the stems of the flowers, I am envisioning letting go of any attachment, or negative mindset I might be holding on too. As I rip the leaves off,  I am in turn ripping it off. Being mindful with flowers has unlocked this creative side to myself. Flowers have become an outlet I feel free to express myself, and being mindful while working with flowers has helped me handle the growing process. I know that one day this growth will lead to immense beauty just as the bud of flowers promise as they blossom.

 

As you incorporate mindfulness with flowers, remember to integrate the core skills. Observe how your mind and body is interacting with flowers while using your senses. Which senses are heightened as you observe, and pay attention to each detail? Describe your experience when you are using your senses to relate what you are observing. Imagine as if nothing else exists and you and the flower are united. Remember to participate this means letting go of any feelings you might have, this is your own mindful experience to help express yourself in your own fashion. Dress it up, and go with the flow as you please. Become one with your mindful experience with flowers, and you will begin to see your own insights open and become more aware. This is one approach to mindfulness that I found helpful in my growing process.