Just like the art of journaling, the art of health is another art that plays an important role in my life and the life of my company.

Recently, I happened upon a conversation regarding the worth of using essential oils to achieve holistic healing, rather than relying on pharmokopeia (mind you, we are talking therapeutic grade, properly distilled from organic sources, properly processed, and properly packaged - these comments do *not* apply to essential oils of lesser quality - to that end, I suggest that you know about the essential oils you use or plan to use and make sure you are getting the best available!). The comment was made that this person hadn’t experienced any “miraculous healings” from the use of particular essential oils. While I have seen many incredible results from using essential oils, I replied with the following:

(important disclaimer: The information in this article is not meant to diagnose, prescribe, or substitute for professional medical assistance - (remember, I am a holistic health coach, NOT an allopathic medical doctor). It is provided as information only for your better understanding of holistic health. In case of medical need, please consult the appropriate professional for your situation.)

Now, what I’m about to say may anger some people, but, I think it’s important for this to be said. The oils, while truly amazing, may not heal everything.

We are triunal (3 part) beings. Illness of the mind can affect the body, illness of the spirit can affect the body, illness of the body can effect mind and spirit - they are all connected. The oils *can* heal - they were given to us for a reason, and I believe that reason is to bless us with health.

However, just because they *can* heal, if we have illness in other areas of our beings - they may not heal - not to mention that we need to make sure we are treating the root cause and not just the symptoms. This is a tricky thing, because I’ve seen the oils produce amazing results even when the person had a condition other than health in another area (mind, spirit) - but, they are all interrelated.

The oils do work, but, they can not counteract everything - and we must also avoid the allopathic model of treating only symptoms - and not ever getting to the root cause of the problem. Possibly there is more going on than a “simple” physical ailment or a few colds - there may be (and probably is) a larger thing going on here, and getting to the root cause and working towards healing that will give you the results you are seeking.
What I usually look at, and recommend others look at is what is going on when you are actually catching the colds or experiencing any plethora of symptoms. What is your life like? Are you getting sleep, water? Are you overly stressed? Are you feeling spiritually full or lost?

This is where the art of journaling gets involved in the art of health.  You need to make sure that you are looking at the “big picture”, rather than treating each symptom or ailment as an individual, separate from anything and everything else.

When you are journaling, you can note particular things in relation to any ailments you seem to be having (particularly recurring things):  Does it seem to get better and worse? What is happening when that happens? Is there a common thing happening in your mind, spirit, or physical surroundings? Is there something in your diet that is triggering it? Emotionally? Physically? Spiritually?

The point of this questioning is to see where the root lies - typically, the symptom is only a signal of something larger that needs addressed. The final answer as to whether you choose to use high quality therapeutic grade essential oils to treat yourself in a holistic, natural manner, must come from you.

You have a decision to make in your own mind whether this is something you can trust, whether it’s (like a good friend used to say to me) “really real”. Until you are absolutely sure that this is “real”, your doubt (or unbelief) may hinder the effectiveness of a sound natural treatment because their unconcious mind is blocking some of the potential healing.

I’ve used oils for things and it didn’t work, from a scientific perspective - that happens quite frequently - there are many allopathic treatments that work for some and not all. Possibly with your body chemistry, that particular oil wasn’t what the cause needed - every person is similar in many ways, but, we all have our own flora and chemistry that is slightly different.

Mind and spirit will also effect this individuality. If one doesn’t work and I get a feeling I should try something else (it may not even be recommended or listed in the EODR), I usually have the desired results from that.

Finally, I just want to mention that *everyone* has instincts that will lead them in the right direction. I know where these come from, but, different people believe differently. There are people that have learned to “drown out” that small still voice that speaks to us, but, that doesn’t mean it’s not there - it’s just been overridden. Even in that case, it’s possible to return to listening to your instincts…it just takes a conscious decision and carefully watched action.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 20th, 2006 at 2:56 pm and is filed under Health, Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.