Powerful, Penetrating, Therapeutic Aromatherapy

There are many dimensions to the use of Essential Oils for "medicinal" purposes and these uses have been documented for thousands of years. There is a wealth of information on the subject and hundreds of texts that have been published. It is not our purpose here to rewrite a comprehensive text on Essential Oils and Aromatherapy. We really want to concentrate our brief efforts in two general categories - the direct application of essential oils for specific physiological results and the inderect results that arise from the connection between Aroma and Emotion. Essential Oils are derived from plants. They are extracted and distilled using a number of methods, low temperature methods being the best (when they can be used) because it produces the purest product with the least damage or contamination to the oil. For those who cook, the best olive oil is the Extra Virgin Oil - First Cold Pressing. High temperatures damage the oils. And each essential oil, Rosemary for example, is a complex mixture of chemical compounds that are separated as a group in perparing the essential - they are not single compounds. The list of therapeutic applications for essential oils is longer than my arm. They have been used as natural cures, preventatives, and treatments for many conditions and ailments. They are rarely ingested, and they are typically applied to the skin diluted in a "carrier oil" such as apricot or jojoba where they are absorbed and circulate throughout the body. Sometimes and for certain conditions, one or two drops of an essential oil might be applied directly to a problem area of the body to increase local potency. Unfortunately we live at a time where FDA regulation forbids me from reporting any of this as more than historical and anecdotal information as that agency will not recognize the documented results unless specific research guidelines have be followed and appropriate fees paid. It's a shame really.

Aromatherapy - The Gateway to the Emotions

There is a very strong and powerful connection between our sense of smell and the Limbic System - the part of the brain where we experience our emotions. The little diagram on the left show the general mechanism but more importantly the proximity of the sensory neurons, the olefactory bundle, and the limbic system in the brain. The fastest route to unlock emotions in a person is through the sense of smell - let's all remember that the next time we're thinking about not using deodorant or not brushing out teeth or using mouthwash. Nothing can bring up old memories faster than a smell. So I guess that would make "favorite smell" a much more productive discussion for a first date than favorite movie. That's right guys, finding out her favorite men's cologne fragrance is an important piece of information; and ladies, the same goes for his favorite perfume fragrance. It's all linked - smells and memories; good and bad; romantic and terrifying.

Of course there's more to it than just dating because memories do not reside exclusively in a portion of the brain, they also reside in the other body tissues and organs. People tend to have a negative reaction to that "hospital smell" because it may be a reminder of a time that they were ill or when a loved one was ill or perhaps passed away, but the reaction goes beyond emotional to physical as we will discuss below. We talk about memories in terms of what "we" remember; our bodies also remember and will react accordingly.

The Physical Emotional Connection

We have already stated in several places throughout this website that we hypothesize about the human body as a perpetual stimulus response machine. We have called it the most complex organism on the planet (and we suspect beyond that). Our understanding of exactly how the human body functions has barely scratched the surface. We keep trying to disect ourselves smaller and smaller when what is called for may be stepping back further and further to see a bigger picture. Our being functions on a holistic level - I would maintain on a holographic level. We are not going to learn more by breakin ourselves up into smaller and smaller pieces.

So when an odor or fragrance floats our way and we have a moment of recognition, what happens? Sure we conjure up pictures of some past experience - a memory that sometimes we cannot determine specifically. We are flooded with emotions. Perhaps we close our eyes and a collage of images cascades before us - a slide show of instances in no specific order. We react physically. Our posture might change; we might feel pain for no apparent reason. We might feel tired or energized. We might feel ill or faint. Our entire body reacts in a way that it has reacted before, only because we sense a familiar smell.

Essential Oils and Aromatherapy represent a controlled and concentrated stimulus to the body primarily through the sense of smell. We use this tool to unlock holding patterns stored in the mind and in the structure of the body. We use this therapy to promote a better flow of energy through the body so that the organism can take care of itself and heal itself. When the body is at EASE, there is not room for DIS-EASE. Truly remarkable.