Originally published in Energy Magazine: The official Publication of the Healing Touch Program May Issue. How to Use Essential Oils For Self Healing By Linda L. Smith, RN, MS, HNC, HTCP, CCA
Self-care has always been a major underlying philosophy in Healing Touch. In fact, Janet Mentgen said on more than one occasion that Healing Touch is really all about self-healing. As one of her early students, I often pondered what she meant by that — I thought we were learning energy work to be of service for others. How was taking care of myself going to help others?
That was in my early days. Twenty years later, I am still discovering the task of self-care and self-healing every day. On my spiritual journey, I have realized the importance of integrating many different
modalities not only for me but for my clients, as well.
Energy healing, whether it is Healing Touch, Healing Touch Spiritual Ministry, Reiki, or Therapeutic Touch—is all about vibrational frequencies. Under lying prayer and intention — we find vibrational frequency and beneath the chemistry of essential oils vibrational frequencies as well.
How Can Essential Oils Aid in Self-Care? Essential oils are the life-blood of plants. Just as we have blood in our bodies that carry nutrients, oxygen and heat to all the cells of our bodies, the essential oil in a plant fulfills the same responsibility in the plant. These essential oils are often antimicrobial in nature. They protect the plant from invading bacteria and viruses, and help heal traumas. Thousands of years ago, man first used living plants for food and medicine. Somewhere in history, someone discovered how to extract this living essential oil from the plants. Steam distillation is the most common method used today – with cold expression being used for citrus oils.
What About the Quality of Essential Oils? An unsuspecting person might think that the Health Food Store is the best place to look for “quality” essential oils and that is actually the LAST place one should look. Why? Because the processes involved in obtaining pure unadulterated quality oil is very expensive and will be reflected in the price. What is available in stores may only be perfume grade at best. Perfume grade oils may in fact come from organic plants but not necessarily be therapeutic quality. They may smell nice but may have little or no healing quality to them at all. In the United States there are no set standards. You can have one drop of the real oil in a bottle with alcohols and other extenders and still be able to put “100%” therapeutic on the bottle. Where can you find true therapeutic oils? You will need to do your homework and search the internet. But don’t stop there—call up the providers of the essential oils and ask some very important questions such as, do you grow and distill your own plants? Do you use fertilizers and pesticides? (These will poison the plants.) Is every single batch of oils tested by using gas chromatography (a process where by every single compound is identified)? Do they abide by the standards set by the French who are the masters in the art of essential oil distillation? You may need to find a friend who can direct you to the company with the highest standards and who ethically is responsible for every bottle of essential oil sold.
Using Essential Oils for Self Care. Essential oils can be used to support every system in the body. There are specific oils helpful for the respiratory, circulatory, muscular-skeletal, genitourinary, nervous, endocrine, and reproductive systems. There are specific oils helpful for the skin and to improve immune function. Essential oils are lipid soluble and can penetrate cell membranes. They have been measured to bring an increase of 21% oxygen to the cells within 20 minutes of application. This allows cells to function normally and release their chemical toxins in an oxygen rich environment. Many essential oils are high in antioxidants; in fact, clove oil is the highest antioxidant found in nature and is 10 million times higher than blueberries, raspberries or even pomegranates.
Essential oils high in sesquiterpenes can cross the blood-brain barrier. Can drugs do that? Some essential oils can relieve physical discomfort and pain. Some can help combat the spread of disease. In fact, many were used in ancient times to counteract plagues of all kinds. Essential oils have the ability to release emotional traumas stored in the limbic system of the brain. Essential oils have been used to treat everything from lice and warts to brain damage and cancer. Essential oils have formed the medicine chest of people around the world for thousands of years — until we discovered in the 18th century how to take apart an essential oil and mass produce certain chemical compounds found within the oils. This, by the way, was the birth of the pharmaceutical industry. Any essential oil that has been “doctored” by man by either removing a component or adding to it so as to improve upon nature, destroys the therapeutic healing property. Where is the research to back up these claims? Actually, there is no money to be gained by doing research on things that come from nature—you can’t patent it. Fortunately, there is substantial research to back up everything I have said in this article. This research has primarily been done by Europeans and particularly by the French. Some of the more famous French doctors conducting these studies have included Dr. Jean Valnet, MD, Dr. Daniel Pénoël, MD, and Dr.Claude LaPraz, MD. In a research summary produced by Dr.Carolyn DeMarco, MD (Canadian) in 2006, a number of essential oils were identified as important in destroying disease-causing bacteria, molds and viruses.
What Are Some Self-Care Uses for Essential Oils Today? We use essential oils as first aid for cut sand scrapes, relaxation, to help prevent colds and flu, pain management, depression, to support immune function, as a natural antibiotic, for restful sleep, natural pet care, natural cleansing products, to enhance nutritional supplements and personal care products, and to eliminate unwanted odors. Essential oils are not just “nice-smelling” additions to self-care. They can be an integral part of keeping yourself healthy. Educate yourself. Learn how essential oils can improve your health and well-being. As you improve—your vibrational frequency will rise and whether people are aware of your changes or not—at some level they will sense your higher vibration and will be attracted to your light!
To find out more about aromatherapy education, go to www.ISHAaromatherapy.com and to http://EssentialOilEducation.com
To find out more about using essential oils or to purchase them go towww.healingtouchprogram.com/shop/essential-oils 1Dr. Carolyn DeMarco MD, The Ultimate Antiseptics, published by Essential Science Publishing, 2006.
About the author:
Linda L. Smith was one of Janet Mentgen’s first Healing Touch instructors. She has gone on to create the Healing Touch Spiritual Ministry program and a Certification in Clinical Aromatherapy program. Her institute of Spiritual Healing and Aromatherapy promotes the integration of prayer, hands-on energy healing and anointing with essential oils in an educational process. She is the author of Called into Healing: Reclaiming Our Judeo-Christian Legacy of Healing Touch and Healing Oils Healing Hands: Discovering the Power of Prayer, Hands-On Healing and Anointing. She is a Certified Clinical Aroma therapist and a Certified HTSM Practitioner and Instructor.