I use essential oils and have in
the last years come to rely more and more on them because I believe
they are extremely potent and that there is vibrational integrity
in the oils that is more concentrated and stable than in most natural
remedies.
 The
photographs taken by Dr. Emoto and published in Messages from Water
suggest that the oils retain the image of the flowers in crystalline
structural form long after surrendering the ephemeral beauty of
the flowers. It's quite amazing.
The medicinal potency of oils is almost beyond imagination, certainly
far superior to antibiotics or other drugs . . . so while oils
may be "different" from herbs, the fact is we process
what we consume, information and nutrition as well as medicine.
Dr. Vasant Lad used to say, "In the end, all food is cooked." By
this, he meant that the transformative power of fire is applied
to everything we ingest, this whether on the stove or in the gastrointestinal
tract where the hot chemicals of transformation separate what will
be used as nutrition and what will be discarded.
If you have ever watched steam distillation, you know that something
truly amazing occurs. Loads and loads of plant material are place d
into a still in a manner that allows for movement of steam through
the plant parts. It's like a fine art of basket weaving just to
place the plants in the still. Then, in a matter of 20-30 minutes,
the plants surrender their essence and little drops of oil collect,
usually on the top of the hydrosol (or water) but some oils are
heavier and go to the bottom. A separation of oil and water occurs
and the oils are siphoned off. The still is opened and what is
left is bulk plant material, completely odorless. The plants have
given up all of their essence and only the fiber mass is left.
It's a fascinating tragedy that one can only accept if the spirit
of the plants can live on the form of consciousness in the person
who uses this gift.
Is it right or wrong to do this? I was very influenced by various
environmental opinions until I saw this as a method of extending
the reach of inspiration and the incarnation of the flowers. Flowers
celebrate God like nothing else in Nature. They are either completely
dependent on Nature to provide for them or they have us people
trained to promote their survival through the arduous work of gardening
and farming. It's very clever how plants have orchestrated us into
this slavery and it's intriguing that so many are willingly devoting
themselves to plant fertility and propagation. Plants can only
achieve this grip over us through the seduction of their beauty
or practicality. Why else would we fuss so much over them if they
didn't give us something in return that we valued enough to exert
ourselves.
Flowers, however, have a moment of perfection and then, sorry to
say, it's all downhill. We disrupt this downhill process by harvesting
at the moment of perfection and storing that perfection in a concentrated
form that lasts for a very long time.
 There
is much more to this, however. All the while flowers were basking
in the Sun, they were storing Divine Inspiration for future use
by us mud-minded people who can't stand the Light as much as flowers.
We sit indoors and busy ourselves with senseless tasks and entertainment.
Flowers bring us to our senses, literally and figuratively. As
aroma, flowers work predominantly on the first chakra. They do
this ever so much faster than anything else known which says that
they have the power to revitalize the life force and reshape our
faith since it is trust in the Divine that ultimately stabilizes
our first chakra.
In my opinion, the rest of the "chakra effects" are different.
For instance, the effects on reproductive hormones are mainly chemical,
not inspirational.
As many of you know, I really appreciate the work of Sonya Fitzpatrick.
One dog told her that the professional dog walker was rushing him.
She tried to explain to his "owner" that this was like
ripping the newspaper out of someone's hands. Dogs sniff for information
and until they have explored the neighborhood with their noses,
they haven't brought themselves up-to-date on what is going on.
The trouble with people is that the chakra that is most sensitive
to aroma operates below the threshold of consciousness, which is
why your dog knows more than you about allergies and old karmic
enemies and so forth and so on . . . and why your ignorance is
profoundly confusing to your better informed companion.
However, we have no choice about whether or not to breathe so conscious
or not, scent transforms the functioning of the first chakra more
efficiently than any amount of psychotherapy. It also neutralizes
odor so to the extent that "bad" smells bad, "good" overcomes
it . . . and this affects utilization of energy by all systems
of the body, especially the parts of the nervous system that also
operate below the threshold of consciousness. In short, synapses
and communication are directly impacted.
Moreover, I feel flowers enjoy this spirit work. Just as I like
to see patients get well, I think flowers like to know that they
are luring people into alignment with God, but it is spirit work
because the flower can perform this service intradimensionally
. . . which is a very interesting reminder to us also.
Oils are very potent. Most people will see remarkable changes with
as little as one drop every day or two. So, while the oils are
expensive, they are really not so expensive when we realize how
little is needed.
From an environmental perspective, I am not worried about flowers
because the plant is not sacrificed. However, I do worry about
sandalwood and some other oils where there is more environmental
impact from unconscious harvesting. I also worry about popularization
of aromatherapy outside the environmental context . . . pesticides
can be concentrated through distillation so be warned that almost
no oils in stores are suitable for medicinal use.
When it comes to mixing oils, I really feel each batch will be
different so one almost needs the nose of a perfumery expert to
achieve the result sought. I don't see the need to combine 20 or
30 or 50 oils. Obviously, it creates mystery and no one can imitate
the formula, but to me it's like trying to talk on the phone and
hear the music at the same time. I need to do one or the other.
This said, some oils synergize really well with others so I leave
it to each to figure out what works and in which circumstances.
Personally, I do not have any tonics with more than three oils
or any ointments with more than five -- most have just one . .
. and I like it this way, but that's me.
Copyright by Ingrid Naiman 2003
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