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October 23, 2017
I was tickled with delight when I saw Grevillea for the first time in a garden north of San Francisco. The little flowers looked like red snails to me—and they looked like they were giving me the middle finger!
I later saw them in the beautiful Bay Area nursery, Flora Grubb, and was finally able to identify the flower with its proper name instead of calling it “red snail flower.” I have since found many beautiful versions of it, in different colors and varieties, on Australian Instagram profiles.
If you’re attracted to the Grevillea flower, you may have a tendency to hold back your words for fear of hurting someone’s feelings. You may have clear insights that don’t get expressed for fear of appearing too brash or direct.
In most cases, this kind of hesitation or repression of speech keeps situations stagnant and prevents learning. To constantly hold back in an effort to appear “nice” or be politically correct can keep relationships stuck on a level that lacks compassionate honesty.
Alternatively, there may be a situation in your life in which you are experiencing dread, anger, aversion, or even disgust. You may be unable to voice how you really feel or get to the bottom of why you feel that way.
"Red snail flower," the name I had given Grevillea, fits the action of the flower, as it helps us come out of our shell and express ourselves, without fear of how someone else will feel about it.
Grevillea gives us the courage to speak up and say directly things that we would usually hold back. It eradicates the habit of hesitation, and we find ourselves with the ability to deliver a clear message and shoot straight from the hip.
With Grevillea, we no longer fear losing a relationship as a result of something we say, and we’re able to speak calmly and honestly. In turn, people around us respond well to our frankness. It helps us understand difficult situations quickly and not obsess about the details.
When we’re able to freely communicate and express our truth without fear of hurting another person’s feelings, we can cut to the chase, evolving our relationships faster, and feeling more authentic in everyday interactions.
Once we learn to be direct and honest in our communications, people trust us more. Oftentimes, they actually don’t respond in the negative way we imagine they will; our sheer transparency is refreshing and creates more elasticity and spaciousness in our exchanges with them.
Grevillea is native to Australia, Indonesia, New Guinea, and New Caledonia—areas that have both rain forests and wide open habitats. In the U.S. I’ve seen Grevillea growing in both Northern and Southern California.
Australian Aborigines traditionally loved this plant because the flower is filled with sweet nectar that can be shaken out into one’s mouth or hands; the nectar was mixed with water to make a sweet drink. Grevillea flowers are still known as “bush lollies,” or lollipops of the wild bush, in Australia. As fun as it sounds, nowadays it’s not recommended to drink the nectar directly from the flowers, as some of the cultivars contain toxins.
"After several weeks working with Grevillea I feel comfortable publicly speaking my truth. Whether on social media platforms or in my blogging, it’s no longer [scary] to speak my truth. And I deeply appreciate that. While I have always been to the point about my beliefs, I haven’t always felt comfortable doing so. And now I am." —Deadra Morrison
"I wasn't sure why I was attracted to this elixir: I'm already a loud and fearless truth-teller. Grevillea's surprise for me was how it caused me to become externally quiet, and hear what I really had to say to myself. In my Aries-style daily quest for action and a desire to provide leadership to others, I learned that I had become quite good at ignoring my personal inner voice. I knew things but wasn't listening to me! What a change to pull back from a lifetime of endless networking/interfacing/integrating other's thoughts to hearing myself speak up inside me!" —Anonymous
Magnifies: Fearless speech; coming out of your shell; expression that enhances engaging with others
Dissolves: Fears around speaking your truth; suppression of anger and frustration; apathy, dread, resistance, aversion, disgust
Infused with a bouquet of the most powerful flowers for speaking your truth, this powerhouse blend helps us be more confident to ask for exactly what we want, without fears, hesitations or insecurities about whether or not you "deserve" it. It allows us to be driven by our conviction + wish to benefit others and go after the things we've been "just thinking" about going after. It strengthens our ways of expression that enhances engagement with others and gives us courage to speak freely about what's inside of us.
Love + flower petals,