Essential Oils

I love essential oils for their many benefits, none less than that they nourish the soul and enchant the mind.

Nourish the Soul

The Egyptians are thought to be the first (as early as 2000 BC) to use aromatic extracts for spiritual purposes as well as for beauty care and physical well-being. It is believed that essential oil-like extracts were being used in China and India at about the same time.

In Egypt, temple priests employed a variety of aromatic balms, resins, and powders in many different ways for both religious and medicinal purposes. In India, basil is a sacred plant, believed to open the heart and mind, bestowing the energy of love and devotion.

Sacred to Vishnu and Krishna Indian deities, it is said to strengthen faith, compassion, and clarity. And of course the spiritual and religious use of essential oils in the Judeo-Christian tradition is well-attested in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.

Enchant the Mind

Essential oils have many functions: they support our physical systems (e.g., the immune system, the respiratory system, and so on); they caress our skin with their healing balm; they deepen our spiritual practice. They also smell darned good!

In humans, the sense of smell is unique in that there is a strong neural connection to older, emotional parts of the brain. This connectivity explains the strong emotional reaction we instinctively have to aromas. The emotional underpinning of fragrance is what makes aromas a strong attractant (or repellant).

Since fragrances are emotional in nature, they can affect mood positively and quite remarkably. A number of essential oils directly support spiritual practices by grounding us, turning us inward, nurturing our sense of trust in a Divine or Higher Power. Others — indeed most — essential oils support our practice indirectly by providing an emotional “steadiness” or mood balance.

And they perform all this magic easily and gently. Just breathe and enjoy. That’s all it takes to benefit from essential oils.

Contact me if you want to know more. I love to talk about these oils that I’ve come to love so much!