Disclaimer: the following is not medical advice. For the full T&C please refer to the link in the footer.

Just like other herb and flower extracts, passion flower can help you get in touch with your spiritual side by:

  • Improving sleep quality
  • Improving your mood
  • Relaxing body and mind

Scientifically, passion flower extract has been shown to affect the nervous system, which in turn can help with anxiety and some forms of pain.

The passiflora plant grows in South America, Mexico, and the US, and there are hundreds of known species, all very colorful and beautiful.

The one that’s commonly used in supplements is passiflora incarnata (picture below).

Passion flower: my experience

I used to take passion flower pills daily, years ago, when I was suffering from severe anxiety and panic.

I still take passion flower from time to time, whenever I feel my stress levels are higher and interfere with sleep quality.

As you may know, passion flower is a sedative — but it’s definitely a mild one. Even at higher doses the effects were subtle in my experience.

Specifically, when taking passion flower (the recommended daily dose) I usually experience the following:

  • Mood is better and I seem to have more positive thoughts than usual, and negative thoughts don’t affect me as much
  • Sleep is more or less the same but it does help with staying asleep (it’s harder to wake up in the morning, too)
  • Stress and anxiety are reduced; stressful tasks aren’t as intimidating and I don’t “react” as much
  • As with other mild sedatives, I may not perform at my absolute best and I occasionally get the “lazy Sunday” feeling

With sleep, there is one possible side effect you may want to be aware of, and that is weird vivid dreams (no nightmares, just weird).

It only happened to me a few times, but still. It’s a common side effect of quite a few supplements, actually.

Plants and flowers for spirituality

Some people who are into spirituality and wish to connect with the higher self or other parts of the Mind like to experiment with plants.

And no, I’m not necessarily talking about plants that trigger altered states of consciousness, visions, or even mystical experiences.

Those would be the most powerful and naturally the most controversial. Personally I’ve never experimented with them but to each their own.

Luckily, Mother Nature has a lot to offer and most plants and flowers used to treat e.g. mental health issues are actually mild are have no major side effects.

Passion flower is one of them. Then there is chamomile, valerian, lavender, ashwagandha…

And I’m sure you’ve heard about flower essences (such as Bach flowers or Californian and Australian flower extracts).

They are commonly used in holistic energy therapy and their benefits are now well known. By the way, flower essences are 100 percent risk free.

With plant and herb supplements, you may notice side effects depending on dosage, but they’re still very safe for most people (again, please refer to the disclaimer).

Extracts such as that of passiflora can affect not just the body and the nervous system, but also the unconscious mind.

For example, flower essences can work on repressed emotions, lack of vitality, limiting beliefs, anger etc. purely with their “energy”.

This is why we call it energetic healing — there is no mechanical, cause-and-effect process, but simply a form of energy that resonates with us.

Spiritual benefits of passion flower

At first glance, the following are not actual spiritual benefits but simply changes in mood and physiology.

However, the holistic point of view knows that all elements are interconnected, even more so if it’s our elements — body, mind… and spirit.

Passion flower could definitely help you get in touch with your spiritual side through…

1. Relaxation

Life is stressful. There is pain, there is tension. There are challenges. However, what if a huge part of that pain was self inflicted?

This isn’t a provocative theory but the realization you come to once you become more aware of your own mind and behavior.

Yes, there is stress and all that. However — and this is the key point — you don’t need to add any by inflicting pain on yourself!

And over time you can also make conscious choices in your life so that all the tension and anxiety are reduced naturally.

So, how does something like passion flower help? It won’t help you reach enlightenment and it won’t teach you psychology or mediation or any of that…

But it can show you a version of yourself you may not be used to — more relaxed, calmer. For example, you may notice that passiflora helps you…

  • Take life less seriously
  • Stop overreacting all the time
  • Have a different perspective
  • Live the present moment
  • Accept and see reality as it is

2. Shift in focus

Don’t make the mistake of focusing on what you don’t want. You get what you focus on, regardless of your positive or negative feelings toward it.

This is one of the great spiritual truths I wish more people would wake up to. It’s simple, yet powerful.

The second major change I’ve noticed with passion flower supplements is that I naturally tend to focus on positive things — what I like, what I want.

Mind you, these are very subtle changes in mood (and I’d personally avoid anything that triggers strong changes).

But it helps, whether your goal is personal growth, a better mood, living more consciously, manifesting your dreams…

Or falling asleep at night without an endless stream of anxious thoughts about the past and the future. Speaking of which…

3. Better sleep

Lastly, passion flower can trigger deeper, more continuous sleep and in turn make you feel refreshed, new, and ready to live to the fullest.

Remember those mornings when you woke up after eight hours of solid uninterrupted sleep and everything was just wonderful and you had more peace of mind?

Not sure if it counts as a spiritual experience, but if not that’s pretty close! Besides, passiflora can also affect your dreams and visions at night.

If you are into lucid dreaming, dream interpretation, or even just keeping a dream journal (many spiritual people do), then passion flower can help.

As mentioned earlier, it can trigger strange vivid dreams from time to time. These could be…

  • Precognitive dreams
  • Manifestations of the unconscious
  • Symbols and metaphors
  • Messages from your spirit guides

Wrap up

If you are into spiritual growth and like to experiment with plant and flower extracts, then definitely give passion flower supplements a try.

Don’t expect anything life changing, but do expect something. It could be mostly changes in mood, or mostly physical relaxation.

Personally, I wish I had discovered passion flower sooner as it helps with relaxation and in my experience it’s been totally safe (no drowsiness or any of that).

Thanks for reading, and as usual feel free to share your own thoughts/experience with a reply below 👇