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Essential Oils
Essential
oils are the highly volatile essences of plants extracted from the
blossoms, leaves, twigs, fruit, bark, roots, or resins. They are
not technically 'oils' at all since they are not fatty by nature, and
they evaporate quickly which true oils do not do.
Some
may say that essential oils are the heart, soul, and spirit of the
plant. Essential oils are held in pockets between the cells of
approximately 20% of all plants. They are released by the plant in
response to stressful situations, i.e. drought, to attract bees and
birds for pollination, and to ward off pests. They act as the
plant's immune system and are the essences that a plant uses to protect
and heal itself.
For
human use, these concentrated extracts are harvested from the plant by a
number of different methods: distillation, maceration, pressing,
extraction, and enfleurage.
Current
scientific research has confirmed the beneficial effects of essential
oils. These oils are 75-100 times more concentrated than dry
herbs. Each drop of essential oil contains natural hormones,
vitamins, antibiotics, antiseptics, as well as trace elements not found
in medical preparations and synthesized oils.
Various
oils have been found to be antifungal, anti-inflammatory,
anti-neuralgic, anti-venomous, anti-depressant, sedative, and much
more. Plus they are all natural and smell divine!
It
is speculated that early man began his use of aromatics after noting
that when twigs of certain bushes or trees were burned, the smoke had a
specific effect: people became more animated or more sedated or
felt better if they had been ill. some also noted that they were
even more likely to have vivid dreams or visions of a mystical
nature. It is historically recorded that the use of special smokes
have been used in all primitive religions and also as one of the
earliest forms of medicine.
We
have come a long way since the early history of Man in technical
advancement, but there is no synthetic chemical formulation that can
duplicate these ancient oils. Synthetic drugs are created for
specific usages, and can treat only one level. One essential oil
however may work on a variety of levels at the same time. The
mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual needs of a person can be
addressed simultaneously.
Oils
do not remain long in the body, taking from 3 to 14 hours to be excreted
in manners dependent upon the oil used. This lessens the potential
for toxicity. Furthermore, the natural chemicals that are found in
aromatic plants are derived from the same naturally occurring chemicals
that form the building blocks of our own bodies.
For
this reason, we can be sure that essential oils are non-intrusive to the
human species since we share the same natural chemicals. Not so
with synthetic preparations.
We
are living in a time of history when more time and money are spent on
research into more synthetic drugs to deal with the symptoms of
disease. The world of plants has much to offer us. It offers
a chance to reclaim and then to maintain a state of balance in our
lives: a state of health. We have the power within ourselves to
use the plant world for our own healing and also the healing of our
planet Earth.
Midi 'Butterfly Fairies' by Geoff
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