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Aromatherapy Newsletters by Shining Sun
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L
ve Notes ...Words of Love from the Plants & Trees!
September, 2009
Welcome to Love Notes...the e-news from Audre Gutierrez of Shining Sun Aromatherapy.
Announcements!
Expo: I will have a booth at the Sept. 12-13 Whole Expo in Durango Colorado. Hope to see those of you who live in the area!!
Fearless Aromatherapy Blog: I launched my aromatherapy blog in the Spring, and just named it a few weeks ago! Fearless Aromatherapy is appropos because my goal in this blog is to challenge "mainstream" views of medicinal aromatherapy, share knowledge and insights, and get to know others who are passionate about the plants & trees! Take a look!! www.fearlessaromatherapy.com
I have been blogging about the essences in our Wisdom of the Earth line of essential oils for a few weeks, now. Please stop by and visit the blog, and offer a comment to further develop and extend the dialogue!
Upcoming Level 1 Class:
I will be offering the Wisdom of the Earth Level 1 Certification class in Medicinal Aromatherapy November 21 & 22 at my home in Santa Fe, NM. This class is for anyone desiring to connect more deeply with the plants and trees and bring their healing essence into their life. Some students are individuals who want to live a healthier life, and are drawn to the essences as a wonderful way to do that; others are learning so that they can bring simple, powerful natural medicines to their families; others wish to integrate the essences into their practices or businesses...yoga instructors, massage therapists, Reiki practitioners, meditators, psychologists, acupuncturists, hypnotherapists, etc.
Whether you have just found out about aromatherapy, or wish to move from the "dabbling" stage to one based more upon knowledge, intuition and hands-on experience, you will deeply benefit from this class. Tuition is $475, which includes two texts and many handouts; there is a $25 discount if you sign up by October 20.
Featured Article:
The Blame Game...OR...How Strong is YOUR Belief in the Plants & Trees??
I came to this topic via a conversation I had with a student a month or so ago, and then, with discussions from the two Level 1 classes I recently taught still processing in my mind and heart, I realized THIS is what I wanted to do this newsletter about. OUR TRUST IN NATURE FOR OUR HEALING.
First...a few brief minutes on the original conversation. I was discussing (ok, gently complaining about) a recent client exchange with a student of mine. It went something like this: "I was following up with a client yesterday who had purchased Basil (True) and Peppermint (US) for her migraines. She has had them for years, and was really desperate to find a natural remedy that would reduce or eliminate them. When I called and asked how she was doing with the oils, she said that her headaches were much better..in fact she hadn't had a "full blown" migraine in weeks. But, she wasn't sure if it was the oils that had brought this about or if it was something else" (though she hadn't done anything else different except substitute the essence for the medication she had been taking).
I can substitute three or four other conversations for this one (i.e., same stuff, different day), and, I don't have the time/space here to go into my reply to this particular conversation...but, I think you get the idea.
Fast rewind to an experience from several months ago. A friend's aunt was visiting her from out of town; the aunt found several Wisdom of the Earth essential oils stored in the bathroom, and tried a few drops of one or two of them. Later that evening, the aunt was eating at a restaurant and shortly thereafter, experienced severe hives and called the EMTs. She kept stating that it was the essences that had given her the hives, while the EMTs kept asking her what she had just eaten, as they advised her that such a strong reaction typically occurs almost immediately after the allergen comes in contact with the body. The important thing is that my friend's aunt completely recovered from her hives episode, with no lasting ill effects, in 24 hours. However, to this day, she believes that the hives were a reaction to a few drops of essential oils applied 5 or 6 hours earlier.
First, a disclaimer. Perhaps my client's migraines were alleviated by something else. Perhaps the essences did trigger the allergic reaction in the aunt. I cannot purport to know exactly what transpired in either event. However, these stories represent examples of what we aromatherapists frequently hear.
What I would like to point out is that:
When something positive/beneficial/healing comes about after using the essences, many people are extremely reluctant to believe the essences had anything to do with it.
When something negative/harmful comes about after using the essences, many people are convinced beyond a doubt that the essences caused the problem.
This demonstrates to me that many people, even those involved with aromatherapy, still do not TRUST the plants and trees! Stephen Harrod Buhner tells a wonderful story (actually, he tells MANY wonderful stories) that demonstates this sad truth in his exceptional book The Lost Language of Plants. It's called the Story of Wild Water.
In this section of the book he recalls how his grandfather, an old-fashioned country doctor, taught him the ways of the wilderness...and how they first drank wild water (i.e., water from a stream in the forest) together. I remember his childish observation "my body liked it!" He talks about how these experiences made him human. He then decribes how, when his mother learned that he drank water in the forest, she became terrifed and told him it would kill him. Some time later, when his grandfather died, he spent less and less time in nature, and more and more time in front of the TV. And his connection with nature was severed...until his adulthood.
I resonated deeply with that story. In fact, I think it is so important that I read it as part of the introductory section of all of my Level 1 classes. My mother, too, greatly feared nature...my sister and I could not sleep outside in our tent at night, as something "would carry us away"; we could not eat anything we found in nature, as "it would kill us." It has taken me years to become aware of this deeply ingrained belief, and I will admit that I am not totally over it. But, working with the plants and trees via medicinal aromatherapy has definitely made me "more human" and has supplanted that fear with a deeply held and cherished belief and trust in the plants and trees for my well-being.
This issue is important for a couple of reasons (at least). First, this unconscious fear or distrust of nature...or, to put it a little differently... a high degree of skepticism that plant and tree essences can have beneficial health effects keeps thousands of people from experiencing the healing that essential oils bring. Every day my husband and I express our gratitude for the incredible blessing these prescious substances are in our lives...and at the same time...lament for those who live their lives without the peace and well-being the esences give.
The second issue, which is not inconsequential, is that the propensity of many people to immediately and strongly "blame" essential oils for anything that goes "wrong" causes many aromatherapists to not suggest essences for conditions that they know would improve with their use. Or, to take the "safe" approach and just use essences for calming and for their wonderful smell. This propensity also causes many people who are interested in becoming aromatherapists to have second thoughts, as they worry about being sued by a disgruntled client.
In both situations, the result is that the plants and trees are not able to help as many people as could benefit from them. As I contemplate this truth from the perspective that all is unfolding exactly as it should, I trust that those who are meant to connnect with the essences WILL DO SO, and that those of us who do choose to go out on that "aromatherapy limb" (no pun intended) will continue to attract people who take responsiblity for their own health and do not engage in "The Blame Game" at any level.
I will end this month's newsletter with the request that you take a minute from your busy lives and give a heartfelt thank you to the plants and trees for their incredible wisdom and generous and loving nature. May you all feel their love.
With love from the plants & trees...
Audre Gutierrez
Shining Sun Aromatherapy
"Written with Lve"
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