diffuser

Hey, hey, my friend! 

Question for you...When you are at the end of your life, you will come face to face with your regrets. All the things you wish you had done differently. What will yours be? 

 

According to Google, the top five regrets people have are wishing they had lived a life that was true to themselves, not one that others expected them to live; they hadn’t worked so hard at their job; that they had expressed their feelings; they had stayed in touch with their friends; and that they had let themselves be happier.

What if I shared with you one thing Dr. Edie from Life Mentoring School says will change your life? Would you be interested? Would you be up for the challenge, so you don’t face the same regrets?

 

Any guesses what that one skill is that will change your life?

 

It’s Love. Did you think unconditional love was a skill?? 

 

Every beautiful thing you have created in your life has been from love. Friendships. Your home. Your environment. Your family. And, loving others even creates more love in you.

 

Love just doesn’t happen, but you can create it just by making the decision to love and to get better at it. 

 

C.S. Lewis said, “Do not waste time bothering whether you 'love' your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him. If you injure someone you dislike, you will find yourself disliking him more.”

 

What would you do if you felt unconditionally loving? Practice those things. All the time. No matter what. It takes courage to love unconditionally. 

 

How would love show up? What would it say? What would it do? How would it act? How would it think? Remember…you get what you think about…so what if all you focused on was love?

Do you know anyone who is a master of unconditional love? That loves no matter what? How do you feel when you are around them? What about after you have been with them? That feeling of love lingers, doesn’t it?

 

Is loving unconditionally hard? Absolutely. You will still struggle because we all see things differently. You think you are right and they are wrong. They aren’t doing their part, or they aren’t doing it right…It’s all in your perspective

 

What about those people who are a bit harder to love? They are your teacher…your assignment…your curriculum. God gives you those difficult or hard people because He knew committing to loving this person would bring up sooo many unlovable things in you that need to be worked on…I’m sure you can think of a few people in your life that are here to teach you lessons, to teach you how to be a better person, where you need to grow, where you need to let go.

Learn to receive love. Open your heart and be receptive. Stop listening to the negative stories your brain wants to tell you. 

 

Love is what makes things beautiful, and magical. Choose love. It’s a skill to practice. Are you up for it?

 

If you are up for a little more emotional work, mark your calendar and join us for our next “Second Sunday” event, March 12 at 2pm. We will be talking about and exploring emotions and learning about some great tools to help you on your journey. Again this month, space is limited, so simply hit “reply” and let me know you would like a spot. If you are like me and feel better with an adventure buddy by your side, feel free to invite a friend who could also use this information.

 

Let’s talk Light and air as we continue our trek through part of Dr. David Stewart’s book, The  Chemistry of Essential Oils Made Simple.

 

Essential oils should always be kept in opaque or dark colored transparent bottles.  In ancient Egypt and Biblical times, oils were kept in alabaster boxes or jars of limestone, marble or fired ceramics, and usually sealed with a translucent or opaque layer of wax. 

 

Today most properly packaged oils are in dark amber (brown) or dark blue glass bottles. If you should see an oil for sale, claiming to be “essential” and it is in a clear white bottle, it is either not a true essential oil, or the packager simply didn’t know any better. Sadly, whatever essential oil may have been there has been long since destroyed by light.

 

The tiny size of the molecules are responsible for the aroma and therapeutic value of an oil. These tiny  molecules are aromatic because they are light enough to evaporate, get into the air, and enter our noses so we can smell them. Small molecules are therapeutic because they can penetrate the skin and muscle tissue, pass through the blood-brain barrier, and even through cell membranes, working right at the cellular levels and right down to your DNA.

 

If your oils are exposed to light for a long time, the small molecules join together to make larger molecules. These large molecules don’t easily evaporate and they have no aroma at room temp, nor can they penetrate body tissues or enter into your cells. They have no therapeutic value like those small molecules do.

 

Basically, light will eventually destroy an essential oil, chemically altering it into a substance that is no longer of any value aromatically or therapeutically.

 

But don’t worry if your bottle tops are off while if you blend one oil with another, or if you get into doing Raindrop or Neuroauricular techniques. A few minutes, or even a few hours exposure won’t substantially change the composition of your oils….we are talking about exposure to light over days, weeks and months. That will destroy an essential oil.

 

Now let’s talk about air and what it will do to your oils. Dr. Stewart tells us that extended exposure to air will cause an oil to oxidize – the molecules of the oil will take on extra oxygen atoms, which will change their chemistry and therapeutic actions, maybe even destroying it all together. For example, the main ingredient in all citrus oils is d-limonene – it has a very faint fragrance of “citrus”, like orange or lime…it is not strong. But when limonene is exposed to air for a long period of time, what doesn’t evaporate can oxidize into another compound called limonene oxide which smells like turpentine… D-limonene is thought to be a cancer fighter (I have hinted before that you are given hints to research when you read the descriptions of the oils!!) but the benefits of limonene oxide are dubious and unknown and certainly not the same as d-limonene.

 

Most essential oil bottles have airtight caps along with non-reactive plastic or Teflon dropper caps that make it extremely difficult for any air to circulate into and out of the bottle even when the caps are off – even for an extended period of time like overnight.

 

 

That “under the weather season” is fast approaching, too. What are you doing to stay above that wellness line?? Ready for something different?? Ever tried elderberry syrup? How about a foot detox?? Or a Raindrop session? All incredible body support at the cellular level for so many things beyond immune support…Booking here at my house, at  a local salon and I can even come to you. You will be amazed at your energy level, how much better you sleep, that brain fog might dissipate, hormones may balance out…overall body support is always the answer, my friend. What’s holding you back from feeling your best?? Message me and let’s get your session booked. 

Hey, hey, my friend!! Thought we'd learn together from Dr. David Stewart’s The Chemistry of Essential Oils  Made Simple, and talk flames, candles, hot beverages and what if your oils freeze…

 

You already know that the temp inside your car on a hot day won’t damage your YL oils, but the heat of a candle will damage any oil. We are talking about 300-400F, which is well above distillation temps, and causes much of the oil to decompose or even burn completely.

 

Diffusers that work by putting oils on a ceramic or metal tray with a candle flame or other heat source underneath will vaporize some of the oil intact, but will actually destroy most of it, including any therapeutic value it had. You may get a smell, but you won’t get much therapy. Let candles and flames be recreational aromatherapy, not a means for serious healing. If you want to fill a room with a smell and candle light, burn scentless candles while diffusing your favorite oils,  or grab some battery operated candles. My answer?? The Lantern diffuser on candle flicker mode, right??

 

When it comes to fire, you should also keep in mind that all essential oils will burn. They are not explosive or highly flammable, but in the presence of a flame, they can catch fire. They become dangerously flammable only if they have been diluted with an alcohol, like methanol, ethanol or propanol as is done in some countries like Taiwan. Another reason it is so important to know your source and the purity of your oils...

 

So, what about using oils in your favorite drinks? I love using them in all my drinks! I use grapefruit and lime, vitality of course, daily, and now that tea and cocoa season is coming back around, we will be using the peppermint, orange, lemon, cinnamon, clove and others…

 

Remember, one drop of oil can represent the concentrated essence of a large volume of leaves or plant matter. It has been said that a drop of peppermint equals the flavoring potency of more than 20 peppermint tea bags…that's more than a box of tea bags in most cases...so use it sparingly! You can always add more…but you can’t take it out…

 

But the question we are answering is if the heat of your tea or other hot drink will destroy the qualities of the oils and the answer is no. The rule is simply that if it is not too hot for you to drink, then it is not too hot for the oil either. However, when you add oils to a beverage in a pot heating over your stove, try not to let it come to a boil, but don’t worry if you forget and let it boil, just drink it anyway. No harm done.

Using oils in your drinks benefits your digestive tract; you get to enjoy the flavor and smell; and they are absorbed directly into the sensitive tissues that line your mouth as well as through your nose, going straight to your lungs, brain and emotional center. This time of year is a perfect time to add a drop of cinnamon or cassia vitality to your hot apple cider…you can thank me later…

 

Always make sure the oil you want to use is GRAS – generally regarded as safe – for internal use. Read labels or look at your desk reference. Common sense and moderation are key. The white vitality labels make it super easy, but not all oils that are safe for consumption are in our vitality line yet, so hop on google or grab your desk reference and look them up!

 

We’ve talked heat. Now let’s look at cold. If you live in Maine like I do, some of your oils are delivered in the freezing cold of winter and have been outside in the back of an unheated truck all day. I have received some that are a little thicker than usual or even partially frozen. 

 

No worries! Even in the extreme, cold never hurt any oil, regardless of whether it is essential, expressed, absolute or a carrier blend. If your oils are ever chilled to the freezing point, don't apply any heat to thaw them out. Just keep the lids on and let them warm up gradually to room temp and they will be just fine!

74 days. What happens in 74 days? Yup...you guessed it. LOL Are you a "shop early and get it all done" type of person, or a "scrambling at the last minute" one?? Next week, YL will be having a week long sale full of favorite products, bundles and I'm even hearing talk of a new diffuser like you've never seen before...so mark your calendar and be watching your email and in Intentional Wellness for updates and products! Not sure what to get "that" person we all know and love? I do offer gift certificates! These can be used for Ionic Foot Detoxes, Raindrop or Vitaflex sessions, Wellness plans, or product. One size fits pretty much anybody! LOL 

Ready to schedule your session so you know what a blessing it will be for someone else?? Hit reply and let me know!