The minute Merri and I reach the Blue Ridge, we get out and dig and plant. Sunflowers are planted first.
The sunflowers are simply for beauty. We love their looks and their brilliant sunshine color that touches our souls.
We plant our beans and peas close to the house so our two hounds can easily remind rabbits and raccoons to stay clear.
And of course there is the food. We can know that dinner has not been GMO’d, sprayed, picked early or packed with poison preservatives. Plus the food just tastes better when it’s personally planted, grown and picked. This year we planted peas, beans, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, squash of many types, plus we have blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, apples and grapes.
There is the exercise and change of pace. Plants provide a counter balance to whatever else we do. Getting in the earth, hauling, stooping, squatting, hoeing and digging all help mitigate the sedentary nature of sitting behind a computer screen.
Also there is the miracle of connecting with nature and contemplating the reality of intelligence. How in the heck does this seed know how to become this plant?
ginseng pods.
Some of our advanced ginseng.
We can never ask and contemplate enough questions like that!
However, plants can help us maintain balance in even more ways.
A recent article entitled “The Deep-Rooted Intelligence of Plants” (1) by John Douillard at www.lifespa.com shares an insight about another important benefit we gain from plants. John wrote that scientific evidence is emerging showing how plants know more than we think!
He explains that research at the University of Western Australia reveals that plants can actually learn, change their behavior and remember. Plants can shift into protective or competitive states and create chemical warfare as a defensive maneuver. Plants can produce chemicals that stop them from being eaten. They even communicate their knowledge with other plants. One experiment showed that damaged sage brush plants put out signals that they were under attack. This signal potentially alerted all of the sage brush plants in the area, triggering them to emit over 100 defense chemicals to protect from further attack. These defense chemicals warded off insects for an entire growing season.
Other studies have shown that when attacked, plants can “cry for help” by producing volatiles and chemical signals attracting carnivorous predators of the attacking herbivores. What’s more, it has been scientifically shown that sound waves elicit changes on the plant’s molecular and physiological levels, affecting the plant’s gene expression.
The important implication is that when we eat plants, genes from the plant are transferred to us through a process called horizontal-gene transfer. This is a transfer of intelligence that affects our microbes and our health.
John’s article ends with: “So, next time you accidentally touch the petal of a gardenia and it turns brown, or notice how a vine climbs its way up an arbor towards the sunlight, tune into the secret life of plants and their many intricacies and idiosyncrasies. Plants, when left to do their thing, naturally help us do our thing better. The nature of plants is a primary contributor to the nature of us.”
Wherever we go, Merri and I carry the intelligence of plants with us in the form of essential oils. We use a pack of essential oils that our friend, Candace Newman, created called the “Good Medicine Tin”.
(Click on image to enlarge)
The fastest way to get chemicals into the bloodstream is through the skin and lungs. Since each plant has a form of intelligence, we can use each’s oil to deliver balancing information to our body. Lavender for example knows how to be calm. Whenever I find myself angry, I quickly put some lavender on my wrist and under my nose. Orange works in the same way when I am feeling anxious.
These quick balances help me remain steady and stop any destructive emotions from getting out of hand.
Candace shares the following ideas about her five oil Good Medicine Tin.
True Aromatherapy is the therapeutic use of pure and genuine essential oils. Nature provides us with these highly concentrated, volatile liquids in the form of extractions from certain parts of plants and trees. In order to receive the real benefits of the essential oils, it is important to use high quality essential oils. The two main attributes of Aromatherapy are the instant ability to relieve stress, and the ability to support the immune system. This is due to the nose-brain connection and skin absorption properties.
Since the beginning of human interaction with plants, essential oils have helped protect our physical, mental and emotional health; assist us through transitions of all kinds; and celebrate the joys of life with us. They were among the origins of medicine due to their naturally powerful chemical constituents, as well as the origins of perfume due to their pure aromas.
Essential oils are a microcosm of holistic medicine. The liquid affects the physical body with its natural chemistry of medicinal properties, such as antibacterial and antiviral, anti-inflammatory and analgesic, warming or cooling, and stimulating or calming. The profound aroma shifts the mental and emotional state, as it connects through the olfactory nerves into the limbic system, the emotional seat of the brain. This is why smell is a language of thoughts, memories and emotions. The way we feel shifts instantaneously and corresponding brain chemistry is created. This new “biochemical messenger” is sent to cells throughout the body.
There are well over 400 essential oils. Five of the top ones that can positively affect our life on a daily basis are: Lavender, Tea Tree, Peppermint, Eucalyptus and Orange. See the color chart for some of the main properties of each essential oil.
Here are some simple ways to comfort to the body, calm the emotions, and soothe the mind. Use essential oils in their pure state for inhalations, in base oil for rubbing on the skin, and in a mist form for a breath of fresh air … to bring balance into your life and increase your whole sense of well-being.
1. Keep a bottle of pure essential oil in your pocket, purse or on your desk. Take 5 to 7 deep breaths periodically to clear your head and emotions. Put one drop in your palm, rub hands together, cup nose, close eyes and breathe deeply. Peppermint will lift you up; Lavender will calm you down.
2. Put 1-2 drops of the appropriate essential oil on a cotton ball. Keep it in a pocket close to your lungs. Lavender and Orange are for stress relief; Eucalyptus is the # 1 Oil of Respiration. Lavender and Peppermint are top oils for headache relief.
3. Put pure essential oils in your healthy liquid soap (1 to 2 drops per ounce) for the bath and shower. Tea Tree is among the top immune boosting oils.
4. Keep a diffuser in your home and office, to cleanse the air with pure essential oils for you, your family and friends. Travel with one for your hotel room. Choose the aromas you love for this.
5. Take several essential oil baths per week. Baths are an ancient healing art of Good Medicine, a great immune booster and tension reliever. Fill your tub with water and get in first. Then make a Palm Blend by pouring base oil like Organic Golden Jojoba into the palm of your hand. Add 1 to 2 drops of pure essential oils. Rub hands together and apply the blend to your nose, temples, neck, chest and belly. Put a wet warm wash cloth over your chest. Close your eyes, reflect and enjoy the quiet time. Combine Lavender with one of the other oils of your choice.
6. Make a Palm Blend as in #5 for simple self massage. Rub your hands together and cup your nose. Close your eyes and breathe deeply. Then apply some of the blend to your nose, and gently rub the temples, and back of neck.
7. Make a steam tent for respiratory or sinus difficulties. Add 2 to 4 drops of pure essential oils into the water. Eucalyptus, Tea Tree or Peppermint are good choices. Stay in the steam tent 20 minutes for maximum benefit. Add 1 drop of oil every 5 minutes if needed. Wonderful for your skin too.
8. Use a Lavender Mist as often as you like to wash away the stress and lift the spirits. Add 1 drop of essential oil per 1-2 ounces of water. Make big circles around your head and face and closely mist the back of your neck. Shake each time before use; essential oils do not mix with water. Good in the car too!
9. For sweet sleep at night choose Lavender, the #1 Balancer for the central nervous system. Put 1-2 drops on your pillow or on a cotton ball to tuck in your pillow. Lavender Mist your face and pillow. Make a Palm Blend (see #5) with Jojoba and 1 drop of Lavender. Apply the blend to your nose, temples, and back of neck. Do slow and gentle belly rubs for sweet dreams.
10. Take a moment to create your personal way to use essential oils that brings you comfort and peace. Choose the oil whose aroma really makes you feel good. This can be a different one at different times of day. Make your personal way something you can easily do daily to help you balance the stresses of life. In a quiet setting, breathe deeply. The aromas of pure essential oils speak to that silent part of you that knows what you really need. This is great self-care for handling the mental and emotional stresses in a world full of complexity and noise. Take charge and empower yourself with Nature’s most precious liquids.
Safety Note: Use straight essential oils for inhalation and diffusion. Mix them in a base oil or lotion to apply to the skin. Do not massage the pure oils directly into the skin or take them internally. Due to their concentration, they can burn and irritate the skin. Keep away from eyes and children.
Candace
You can order the full Good Medicine Tin here… a simple system for the therapeutic use of pure essential oils with a 12 page Guide Booklet. This is the ultimate home, self-care, and travel tin.
Order Good Medicine Tin here $46.
You receive five essential oils, plus Jojoba, and Lavender mist in an attractive white tin with 12 page Guide booklet and quick study in the lid.
Lavender pure essential oil 4 ml
Tea Tree pure essential oil 4 ml
Peppermint pure essential oil 4 ml
Eucalyptus pure essential oil 4 ml
Orange pure essential oil 4 ml
Lavender Mist 1 oz
Organic Golden Jojoba 10 ml (1/3 oz)
Order Good Medicine Tin here $46.
(1) The Deep Rooted Intelligence of Plants