Olive: Running on Empty

There are times in everyone's life when just the thought of doing anything physical induces a feeling of exhaustion, when we wish that, like bears, we could hibernate for several months.

This feeling, usually temporary, can come after physical illness, a long period of ignoring the five basic food groups, sleep deprivation (the parents of young children are especially familiar with this state), overwork, or intense inner emotional/spiritual work.

This is the Olive negative state, and although it seems inevitable that anyone who has gone through one of the above conditions would experience, this state, like all negative ones relating to the Bach Flower Essences, is caused by a blockage of energy between the higher self and the personality. In the Olive state this is literally the case.

There is an analogy here with Reiki. Although there are many naturally gifted healers in practice, they often find that channeling healing energy depletes them because they are to an extent drawing on their personal energy. In practicing Reiki one draws on universal life force energy. After I give a Reiki treatment I feel, among other benefits, physically revitalized.

In a similar manner Olive benefits those who have drawn solely on their personal physical and emotional resources for prolonged periods of time. I've often found with clients that this pattern of behavior is a disguised form of pride.

This can mean simply going beyond's endurance just because one wants to prove something. It can also mean not asking for help. This help can mean asking other people, for example, if you've been primarily responsible for taking care of someone else who's sick, or if you are the one who's ill or recovering from illness and you need help.

It can also mean not asking for help either from higher powers or from your own higher self, from that part of yourself which is connected to infinite energy and possibility. One way of not asking is to be fearful, to not have faith and trust that all will be well.

Olive is the antidote, both for physical and for mental/emotional exhaustion . It teaches us to listen both to our bodies' needs and to the voice of intuition and inner guidance which can tell us how to solve problems. It renews and revitalizes us so that we can face even the most difficult task with acceptance and cheer.

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