Did you know...

• Our sense of smell is the first and the most sensitive of your senses; it peaks during adolescence and then begins to gradually decline and is responsible for 80% of what we taste.

• Our sense of smell influences 75% of our daily emotions, mood, and desires and is heightened during the warmer seasons as a result of the additional moisture in the air.

• We have five to six million odor detecting cells, which are renewed every 28 days. Interestingly, dogs have 220 million odor detecting cells.

• A woman’s sense of smell is much stronger than a man’s.

• When you are asleep, your sense of smell shuts down and you can only smell the coffee and bacon once you've woken up.

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Getting Started: Rosebud Meditation

In the "Rosebud" guided meditation, from Fragrant Heart, you will visualize a rosebud in your heart center and as each petal opens you are drawn deeper and deeper into experiencing love, joy, and compassion. Opening to love creates awareness and consciousness that is reflected back to us as we live our lives. Greater self-love manifests as integrity, honesty, kindness, and compassion for all living beings. It enables us to let go of destabilizing emotions such as anger, greed, jealousy, and hatred. Living in loving oneness we can be more present in each moment, rather than lost in the past or anticipating the future. Listen here.

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Lesson: Healing with Scent

In this lesson, examine and explore the scent of your flower and discover its essence or strengths and gifts in your healing situation.

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The Science and Art of Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy is an ancient practice of distilling essential oil from the leaves, stems, flowers, bark, roots and other parts of the plant for use in cosmetics, perfumes, medicinals, and spiritual practices. Aromatherapy, as defined by The National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy, is the art and science of utilizing naturally extracted aromatic essences from plants to balance, harmonize and promote the health of body, mind and spirit. The word “Aromatherapy” consists of the Greek ‘aroma’ or fragrance and ‘therapy’ or treatment. The word “Aromatherapy” was first used by French chemist René Maurice Gattefosse who accidentally discovered the analgesic properties of lavender oil.

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One way in which the essential oils used in aromatherapy can be classified is based on how quickly they evaporate and fall in to classification identified by their “note”, based on the musical scale. The notes are commonly referred to as the top notes, middle notes, and base notes. Essential oils also have a color which is largely dependent on the part of the flower from which the essential oil is derived, the origin and quality of the flower, and the manufacturing process.

• Base note scents fragrances have a rich and heavy scent; they are generally red and orange in color and associated with the Root and Sacral chakras.

• Middle notes scents take time to emerge; they are generally yellow, green, and pink in color and associated with the Solar Plexus and Heart chakras.

• Top note fragrances have a light quality as a result of their quick evaporation; they are generally blue, violet, and white in color and associated with the Throat, Brow, and Crown chakras.

• A mix of the Base and Top notes balances the human energy field.

 

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"Perfumes are the feelings of flowers."

Heinrich Heine

 

Essential oils are uniquely beneficial in helping to release emotions as the sense of smell links directly to the limbic lobe of the brain which stores and releases emotional trauma. When we inhale essential oils, the odor molecules travel through the nasal cavity and trigger electrical impulses to the olfactory which then transmits the impulses to the amygdala, the part of the brain where emotional memories are stored.

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Smell has a direct route to the limbic system and often can mobilize long forgotten memories and emotions often stored since childhood. In fact, of the five physical senses, smell is the only one that is directly linked to the limbic lobe of the brain – our emotional control center. Anxiety, depression, fear, anger, and joy all physically originate from this region. All other physical senses are routed through the thalamus, which acts as the switchboard for the brain, passing stimuli onto the cerebral cortex, the conscious thought center, and other parts of the brain. This strong connection between smell and the emotional center of the brain may explain why a particular smell can evoke powerful memories and emotions.

 

Essential oils enable us to access stored or forgotten memories and suppressed emotions so that we can acknowledge and integrate or release them. This emotional energy actually works at a higher speed than thought. Thought and images can take seconds or minutes to evoke a memory while smell can evoke a memory in milliseconds. Forgotten memories and suppressed emotions can wreak havoc in our lives; often being the unsourced causes of depression, anxiety and fears. Essential oils can help us release these emotions wherever they are stored in the body or energy field.

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​Put into Action - Discovering Your Gifts and Strengths

Now, it’s time to retrieve your Flower Guide. Sit with your Flower Guide and set the intention to have it reveal its scent and meaning of its "essence" in your healing situation. Keep in mind that some flowers do not have a physical scent and that you may receive this information as a physical scent, image, symbol, word, or sound. Ask your Flower Guide to sing you your personal flower song. When you are done, reflect on your experience and insights.

1. How did you receive this information?

2. What was the scent - floral, fruit, sweet, pungent? What feelings, thought, feeling, and emotions were invoked by this scent?

3. What is your essence - your gifts and strengths?

4. Is there something that is holding you back from emanating your essence? If so, what is this fear, barrier, obstacle? What one (very) small step can you take to coax out this essence to embrace, inspire, and empower your life?

5. Using all your sense, visualize how this essence will manifest your healing intention?

When you are done, record your experience and insights in your journal.

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Case Study:

Steven discovered through his initial contact with the bluebell that it had no scent. His Flower Guide revealed its scent as white, a reflection of all colors. Its healing message to Steven was as a "spark of revelation" and the knowing that continued self-care practice his energy system was being re-balanced giving him life force energy to find and follow his passion in life.

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Taking It Further:

Have you identified a fear that is keeping you from your qualities?

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"The Work" by Byron Katie is a powerful tool to open your heart without trying to change your thoughts. The Work is simply four questions that, when applied to a specific problem, enable you to see what is troubling you in an entirely different light. At that point, you can gain the clarity and energy to act in a compassionate and loving way even in situations that had previously seemed impossible.

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Here is the process...Be still and state your belief, then ask:

1. Is it true? (Yes or No. If no, move to 3.)

2. Can you absolutely know that it's true? (Yes or No.)

3. How do you react, what happens, when you believe that thought? With this question, you begin to notice the internal cause and effect. You can see that when you believe the thought, there is a disturbance that can range from mild discomfort to fear or panic. What do you feel? How do you treat this belief or yourself when you believe that thought? Make a list and be specific.

4. Whom would you be without the thought? Imagine yourself in the presence of belief without believing it. How would your life be different if you didn't have this belief? Which do you prefer—life with or without the thought? Which feels kinder, more peaceful?

5. Find the Turnaround. Turn the belief around and then find at least three specific, genuine examples of how each turnaround is true for you in this situation. The "turnaround" gives you an opportunity to experience the opposite of what you believe. Once you have found one or more turnarounds to your original statement, you are invited to find at least three specific, genuine examples of how each turnaround is true in your life.

6. What's possible for you now that didn't seem or feel possible before?

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Visit Byron Katie’s informational website, click here.

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Closing Thoughts

Did you know that the chakras are associated with musical notes, too.

The musical notes related to the chakras are:

• Root relates to musical notes C.

• Sacral relates to musical notes D.

• Solar Plexus relates to musical note E.

• Heart relates to musical notes F.

• Throat relates to musical notes G.

• Brow relates to musical notes A.

• Crown relates to musical note B.

 

Take some time this week to enjoy this 30 minute Life Healing Sound Medicine Session with Stephanie HeartSong. This quartz crystal bowl and world instrument chakra tuning soundscape with native-like chants. 

 

 

 

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