Dr. Audun Myskja is a medical doctor whose life path and inner experience resembles Dr. Edward Bach. He has learned that true healing involves the transformation of the soul, not merely the repair of the body. Like Dr. Bach, his own healing journey took him through the gates of ill-ness into a life of service dedicated to healing others. He is a renowned author, teacher, and researcher in Norway who champions holistic therapies and educates mainstream medical practitioners. His work with music therapy for the elderly was awarded recognition by the Norwegian Medical Association in 1998 and 2002. His first flower essence book, Blomstermedisin til vekst og helbredelse (Flower Essences for Growth and Healing) is a recommended text in the advanced education for nurses and social workers at Hogskolen i Oslo (the regional University in the Oslo region). It is a three-hundred page hard-bound book, replete with in-depth case studies for each of Dr. Bach’s flower essences.

A Connection with Nature    

Born in 1953, in Trondheim, Norway, Dr. Myskja describes his youth as “turbulent” and “marked by illness.” He found strength and solace in Nature by opening to the healing qualities of plants: “I discovered that specific species of flowers and trees seemed to have different effects on me: in a certain type of turmoil, mountain birches would have a soothing effect that I could never get from contacting other trees. I started being interested in herbal medicine, and would notice that Yarrow seemed to give a specific protection when I felt vulnerable, enabling me to keep my balance in a city environment, while Iris would strengthen inspiration when I felt dull.”

A Calling to be a Healer

At the age of 21, a friend gave him Dr. Bach’s Heal Thyself. Dr. Bach’s treatise gave voice to his own experiences and yearnings. During this time, he underwent what he calls “an Edward Bach-like experience.” He describes his illness worsening until it, “culminated in a near-death experience that gave me my life’s calling: to become a doctor and work to integrate spiritual and natural dimensions in medical practice.” After volunteer work in several countries, and university studies in philosophy, psychology and comparative religions, Myskja began his medical studies in 1975 in Bergen, Norway. He did his clinical training in Trondheim, Norway, receiving his medical degree in 1981. During his medical studies, he was already practicing as a naturopath. “Doing what I was meant to do filled my life to such an extent that I found myself having no time for illness,” he reflected. “I do not intend this to sound facile, but this is actually what happened: it was as if the contact with others’ suffering consumed my own. From the experience of being a miserable youth, I have basically been a happy adult (assisted by the flower essences).”

Music as Therapy

Devoted to music from the time of his youth, Dr. Myskja sang and wrote songs, and played guitar and harmonica, the latter on a professional level. Music became a healing modality for him after studies in toning from Anne Parks, and meditation and energy studies with Bob Moore. During the 1980’s, he developed music therapy with his patients to address lethargy, depression and anxiety, with seminars integrating meditation, toning, voice work and music as self-healing tools. During the 1990’s, Dr. Myskja designed music therapy for use in health services, particularly in geriatrics and palliative care. While medical director of Hospice Lovisenberg in Oslo (1998-99), his first book Den Musiske Medisin (Musical Medicine) was published. He now develops music therapy programs for a number of nursing homes in Norway, trains medical and dental students in music therapy, and is conducting scientific research to document the healing effects of music therapy in the elderly population.

A Phenomenological Approach to Flower Essence Therapy

Since 1976, Dr. Myskja has included flower essence therapy in his clinical practice, including Dr. Bach’s original remedies as well as new essences. At least 10-20 of his patients daily receive flower essence therapy as part of their healing program. Dr. Myskja has been teaching flower essence therapy since 1989, reaching many Norwegian naturopaths and holistic practitioners. Since the publication of Blomstermedisin til vekst og helbredelse in 2000, flower essence therapy has attracted the attention of mainstream medical professionals.

Dr. Myskja describes his therapeutic approach as “phenomenological,” taking into account flower essence published research, information given by the patient, body language, and energetic expression. All of these phenomena form a fuller gestalt, leading to the selection of appropriate flower essences for each individual client. Dr. Myskja previously selected remedies via pendulum and kinesiology, but has reached the conclusion that this method can be problematic, leading to “spiritual laziness” and avoidance of the “necessary relationship with the person.”

Groundbreaking Case: Treating Severe Eczema with Flower Essences

Flower essence therapy achieved greater public awareness in 2001 when Norway’s largest weekly family magazine Hjemmet, read by over one quarter of Norway’s population, published an article about one of Dr. Myskja’s cases. This case involved a young girl who developed severe eczema and asthma after a protracted birth. Treated in hospital, by specialists in pediatrics and allergies, she was prescribed cortisone in large doses. Her mother was concerned about the adverse effects of cortisone, and attempted alternative measures such herbal medicine, homeopathy, and reflexology. None of these modalities were effective until Dr. Myskja developed an intensive flower essence therapy program, utilizing Rescue Remedy cream, Rock Rose, Crab Apple, Aspen, Walnut, and Star of Bethlehem, supplemented by daily reflexology and massage by the mother. The essences addressed the child’s hypersensitivity and originating birth trauma, as well as the effects of her mother’s anxiety and stress after her birth. Within three months, the child’s eczema was barely visible and did not produce irritation and itching. Her mother was highly impressed by the success of this natural approach, after expensive and cumbersome treatments with potential side-effects had failed to help her daughter. She reported her case to Hjemmet magazine, and the article was widely read throughout Scandinavia.

While flower essence therapy in Norway has grown steadily, it remains predominant among natural health practitioners. Only 7% of Norwegian  doctors  are  open  to  alternative medicine (with only 1% actively involved) compared to 30% in Denmark and Bavaria (southern Germany). With the emphasis on “evidence-based medicine,” credible research in flower essence therapy is crucial. Dr. Myskja feels the situation will change when enough health professionals:

✩ have personal experience with the positive effects of flower essences,
✩ meet enough colleagues who have documented their successful cases,
✩ encounter patients who have clearly benefited from flower essences,
✩ have access to professional literature that specifically addresses flower essence phenomena.

Developing Professional Flower Essence Research

Given his goal of reaching skeptical medical professionals with the benefits of flower essence therapy, Myskja is concerned about a lack of interest in quality control or evaluation procedures in the flower essence community. He describes a prevalent attitude as “I am a humble, egoless, pure channel of God, therefore no one can in any way question my methods or decisions. Thus, by definition, I am always right.” This emphasis on subjective “inward guidance” often obscures the need for objective observation and conscious methods of evaluation.

Dr. Myskja has been impressed with the research objectives of the Flower Essence Society. He regards Dr. Jeffrey Cram’s double-blind studies with stress to be among the most persuasive when he is asked by colleagues for scientific backing for flower essences. He comments that randomized double-blind studies are the most persuasive with the medical profession, but that clinical studies are more likely to have successful outcomes, given the importance of individualized treatment and personal relationship in flower essence therapy.

Treating the Elderly

Dr. Myskja intends to collaborate with the Flower Essence Society and other institutes to develop research protocols for elderly populations. He believes there is an urgent need for alternatives to standard treatments for the elderly, particularly for agitation and depression. He comments, “It has been documented that drugs for agitation don’t work (beyond placebo level) in therapeutic doses with the elderly. The drugs have to be given in larger doses (up to 4 or 5 times therapeutic dose) to reduce agitation significantly. In reducing agitation, one may then also reduce vitality and well-being. It is therefore important to combine pharmaceutical treatment with non-pharmacological measures. Music has been shown to be effective. I would like to do serious research on flower essences in this context, since I have seen them work in single cases.”

A solid foundation for flower essence research has been established through Dr. Myskja’s research in music therapy and extensive contacts with nursing homes. For example, he has collaborated with the five nursing homes of the Kirkens Bymisjon (Inner City Mission) in Oslo. This 150-year old charitable organization seeks life-affirming therapies for approximately 500 elderly, infirm and incurable patients.

Health practitioners interested in a clinical research program using flower essences with elderly clients, are invited to contact the Flower Essence Society or Dr. Myskja at info@livshjelp.no.

Current Activities

Audun Myskja lives with his family in Oppegaard, a suburb south of Oslo, 20 minutes away by car or train. His house is at the edge of a forest — “as quiet as it gets this near Oslo.” His wife Reidun is an experienced homeopath, reflexologist, counselor and specialist in natural products.

Together with his wife Reidun, Dr. Myskja runs the “Senter for Livshjelp” (Tools for Healing) nearby in Ski, a clinic where he has a small practice and conducts workshops in flower essence therapy, toning, meditation and self-healing. He has made several musical recordings, is a prolific lecturer and writer, especially on music in medicine. He is currently leading the following projects:

✩ Music as an aid in palliative care in nursing homes — 3-year project in Oslo, 2002-4,
✩ Rhythm as an aid for Parkinson’s Disease patients — 3-year project nationwide, 2003-5,
✩ Music as an aid in palliative care in nursing homes — 3-year research doctorate project in Bergen, 2004-6.


Read Three Typical Cases Reported by Dr. Myskja