Planets in Retrograde -- The Basics
By
Rebecca Brents

Astrology Coaching
Live Your Life by Divine Design

Astrology Coaching puts YOU in control of the life you were born to live!!

Take a journey through your birth chart as never before.

Real Astrology ...
for people who take
their lives seriously.

Enroll in
Astrology Coaching
TODAY!!

More Kind Words
from the Mailbox

Thanks! I'm hooked.

A visitor to Enchanted Spirit

Tired of insipid, canned astrology reports full of white space and mysterious jargon?

We specialize in useful, practical, plain English information ... and lots of it!!

The difference between real astrology and the "daily horoscope in the newspaper" will amaze you.

Join our
Astrology and Tarot
Premium Membership
TODAY!!

Recommended Book from Amazon

The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life
By
Twyla Tharp

You arrived in
this life with

Karmic gifts and talents

Karmic responsibilities

Karmic challenges

Karmic work to do

Order a
Karma and Destiny
reading

Learn what life is
asking of you.

Our acclaimed Beginning Tarot Classes ... now available on CD.

	Introduction To Essential Oils: What's Aromatherapy? by
Astrology, Tarot, and Self Improvement for the New Age.

    Email This Page to a Friend    

Introduction To Essential Oils: What's Aromatherapy?

Want to See the
Blueprint of a Soul?

Learn the spiritual
language of Astrology

Begin the most fascinating journey of self-discovery you will ever take

Beginning Astrology Classes online now in our Premium Members section

When I first heard the name aromatherapy, I thought it was just another California new age thingamabob. (I live in California, so I can make fun of us.) I should know, though, that when I sneer internally, I'd better watch out. Something important is about to happen.

Five years later, here I am, nose deep in essential oils. That's what aromatherapy is -- smelling essential oils. The oils are picked up by the olfactory bulb (a zillion nerves in your brain) and within 20 seconds, every nerve in your body has delivered the message contained in the essential oil.

What is this message? Essential oils can support your body while it heals from physical and emotional conditions. The body does the healing, the oils do the supporting. Essential oils are the life blood of plants. They are what keep plants healthy -- free of infection and robust.

For centuries, maybe since the beginning of time, plants have been man's medicine. A rich oral history has kept knowledge of their properties and usage alive. Since the earliest hieroglyphs, plant medicine has been recorded. The Egyptians used essential oils in most aspects of their lives, from healing to gifts to the gods. Vats of oil have been discovered in ancient tombs and those oils were not rancid, they still have their healing properties!

Essential oils have many health-promoting uses: disinfecting, reducing inflammation, increasing circulation, speeding the healing of wounds and burns, relieving headaches, reducing pain, and relieving congestion - to name just a few of their magnificent properties. They also improve mental function such as calming mind chatter, refreshing the mind, increasing concentration, promoting inspiration.

Some of the most interesting studies show that combinations of oils have emotional characteristics like increasing joy, promoting forgiveness, creating harmony and hope, and grounding the user of the oils. When you use essential oils, expect to be amazed by their effectiveness and moved by their gentleness and power.

Possibly the most important action of essential oils is their ability to increase the oxygen available to the cells. The oils also increase antibody production and the release of endorphins and neurotransmitters. Each oil has a frequency which is higher than the frequency of the body and therefore, raises the body's frequency.

How the Oils Work

Essential oils contain many chemicals such as alcohols, terpenes, and aldehydes. This is pretty esoteric stuff; but, it does help to know that the chemical makeup of the oil determines its exact activity in the body. For example, terpenes are antibacterial and work as diuretics and decongestants, whereas aldehydes are anti-infectious and calm the nervous system.

Regardless of the complexity of the chemical makeup, you can begin learning oils simply by memorizing a few correlations. Use lavender for burns and birch for bones. Marjoram is good for muscles and lemongrass for ligaments.

As either a beginner or an expert, you can accomplish great things without understanding why essential oils work. It is just like knowing that a cold compress takes swelling down without understanding anything about the physiology of swelling and inflammation. All you need is to know that a lot of the health-promoting properties of essential oils have been verified and understood by biochemists and other scientists.

Gas chromatographs verify the exact constituents of an oil. Other studies show how oil added to a petri dish kills off the bacterial colonies more effectively than the pharmaceutical antibiotics. All of this adds to the body of knowledge that can give essential oils validity in the scientific and medical community. The most important verification is your own eyes and ears. Trusting your mind, heart, and intuitive abilities is the most valuable asset you have!

Using Essential Oils

How you use essential oils depends on what you want to accomplish. The three applications / methods described below are most commonly used with essential oils.

Diffusion

Diffusing essential oils is what is called aromatherapy. A diffuser disperses the oil in tiny droplets that remains suspended in the air for several hours. This method reduces bacteria, molds, and fungus in a room and its furnishings as well as releasing the oxygenating particles and negative ions. Don't use dispersing methods that heat the oils because heat changes the oils' properties, reducing or eliminating their effectiveness.

Contrary to common thought, aromatherapy involves more than associating scent with memories. When the droplets of essential oils come in contact with the hairs of the olfactory bulb, the whole nervous system takes part in the action. Endorphins and neurotransmitters are released and antibody production increases, to name a few of the actions.

Most oils work well when diffused. Sometimes diffusion is the most effective method. For example, if someone has a cold, inhaling vapors is the most direct way to support the upper respiratory system.

Direct Application

You can apply the oils directly to the skin and the lipids in the oils will carry it through the skin and into the body. For example, if you have a sore elbow, applying the oil directly to the elbow and surrounding areas would be the most advantageous.

A few oils can be very hot when applied directly to the skin. Such oils should be diluted with vegetable oil (never water, it only makes them hotter). Cinnamon oil and combinations that contain cinnamon oil are often too hot to use straight.

Sometimes the best application is to apply oils in layers, add vegetable oil, and finish with hot wet compresses to drive the oils deeper into the body. Always be aware that the heat can become quite intense when a compress is in place.

Reflexology

The structures and organs of the body are connected by the nervous system to the feet, hands, and ears. The nerve endings in these extremities are called reflexes. The reflex points in the feet, hands and ears are perfect places for treatments. You apply the oil and pressure from your fingers and fingernails to create electrical stimulation to the reflex points. There are wonderful charts that show locations you can use to support the health of organs and structures in the body.

When would you use reflex points? It is effective almost anytime. If you want to support the kidneys, it would be difficult to apply oils directly because the kidneys are protected by the spine and ribs in the back and the organs from the front. So treating the kidney reflexes in the arch of the foot might be the most direct access to those organs.

Other Uses

There are many other ways to use essential oils. They can be added to paint to minimize the impact of the fumes and add the health supporting properties of the oils to the newly painted rooms. You can mix a few drops of oil with water and spray yourself, your animals, furniture, or rooms for disinfecting, adding scent, or repelling insects.

Oils can also be used for acupressure and massage, in the bath or shower, in sitz baths and hand or feet soaking.

How To Get Started

You don't have to do anything or learn anything extraordinary to begin using essential oils! Get a few high quality oils (they're rather expensive) and start playing with them. This is serious play! They smell good, they feel good, and they are good. Try a few basics:

Lavender This oil is first aid in a bottle. Use it for burns, headaches, bruises, insomnia, itching, hair loss, cuts, skin irritation, stress, PMS. It's calming and relaxing and brings balance.

Lemon In Europe, hospitals use lemon for disinfecting surfaces and instruments instead of harsh chemicals. Lemon oil also increases lymphatic function, purifies water, removes gum and grease, increases white blood cell production, and promotes a sense of well-being.

Peppermint It improves mental accuracy. Try using it when you are driving and feeling a little mesmerized by the monotony. It also soothes the respiratory system, improves digestion, reduces fever, and regenerates nerves.

Use them in any way that gives you pleasure. Be creative and you'll love the adventure!

Enchanted Spirit assumes no liability for health care recommendations or treatments discussed by individual authors whose work is published on our website.

The information here is offered to help in your research and investigation of possible ways to manage your own health care issues. Common sense as well as solid professional advice from your own trusted medical care specialist or personal holistic health care practitioner should always be part of managing your health care choices.

The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis.
~ Dante Alighieri ~
Born May 9, 1265

Please click on the titles to visit these fine areas of Enchanted Spirit

---

	PO Box 1080 Sandia Park · NM · 87047

Enchanted Spirit is a non-denominational spiritual center of healing, support, self-improvement, personal guidance, education and writing. We publish multi-media works of New Age thought and information to encourage serenity and growth in individual life choices, advance the universal search for life's meaning, and promote tolerance for positive ideas from all philosophies and religious traditions, believing as we do that truth is where you find it.

---

This site is hosted and maintained for Enchanted Spirit by

Catweasel Ink

Copyright © 1999 - 2008 by Enchanted Spirit and Catweasel Ink.
Contributed works copyright by their respective authors. All rights reserved.
Unauthorized reproduction specifically prohibited.

Last updated July 14th, 2004

Rebecca is not available
right now.


Please check back
later
CLICK HERE FOR
MORE INFO

Cut through the confusion.

See clearly

Think better

Make informed choices

Discover why the Tarot has intrigued, informed, and interested spiritual seekers for centuries.

What is your life''s biggest question?

Get a reading on Your Situation

Join our
Astrology and Tarot
Premium Membership
TODAY!!

Our Premium Members get

Readings ~ Classes

Lectures ~ Articles

Ezines ~ Oracles

And More!!

For people who take
their lives seriously.

Join our
Premium Membership
TODAY!!

The Self-Aware Universe: How Consciousness Creates the Material World
By
Maggie Goswami, Richard E. Reed, Amit Goswami