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Why We Need Flowers In Our Lives
Since time
began, human beings have depended on the plants around us to provide
food, clothing, shelter, medicine and oxygen. Now, research is
increasingly revealing that plants and flowers can also contribute to
better physical, mental and emotional health.
Think about it. When you enter a room filled with flowers, how do you feel? Do the words "pleasure", "contentment", "satisfaction", and "comfort" describe the effect that flowers have on you? For 98% of the population, they do!
In fact,
just the presence of a beautiful floral arrangement can brighten your
mood, relieve tension, and even change the course of your day.
Increasingly, the scientific and medical communities are presenting
surprising research revealing the many ways plants and flowers can
affect our health and happiness.
The Gift of
Oshibana
For centuries, the Japanese have given special attention to the flowers and plants around them, honoring the earth source that connects all living things. But the Japanese went even further. They created Oshibana, the art and craft of pressing flowers to retain the benefits and beauty of the living plant. Such pressings are called "pressed flower art". Over the centuries, enthusiasm for this craft has spread from Japan to Victorian England, through Europe, and now, to the United States.
Today,
Oshibana offers us even more than simply retaining the beauty and grace
of living flowers. By working with pressed flowers to create enduring
designs, we are stimulating the memory of our connection to nature. And
when this occurs, the benefits are impressive.
Modern
research has begun to reveal that when the nervous system is stimulated
by creative expression, such as working with flowers to create works of
art, our life force, or energy, begins to flow more easily through us.
Oshibana is a powerful means of opening up these channels of energy and
promoting an enhanced state of health and well-being.
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