AROMAPROFILES

HYACINTH - Floral - Hyacinthus Orientalis

CHARACTER

Gentle, Trusting, Soothing, Enlightening

Use To Counteract These Negative Attributes

Instability, Stress, Repression, Apathy, Lovesick, Dejection, Distress, Grieving, Sorrow, Powerless, Regret, unforgiving, Naivete, Dependency, Apprehension.

Use For These Positive Attributes

Calming, Forgiving, High self esteem, Perseverance, Trust, Faith, Courage.

Hyacinth Personality Profile

The Hyacinth personality is forgiving and trusting, and this personality's gentleness and good nature is apparent in everything they touch. They love beauty and beautiful things and can decorate a room exquisetly simply by using their ingenuity and artistry and a few pots of paint, taking immense trouble over every little detail.

When you come for lunch the table will look fablous with little pretty touches to catch the eye. Of course, there will be flowers! That goes without saying. Indeed, Hyacinths are happiest when they are tending gardens and plants and taking care of animals (who don't talk back).

Having an unshakable belief in people, Hyacinths think that good will always triumph over evil. Nedless to say, they are often disappointed. Their faith is in the human race is a virtue that is easily taken advantage of, particularly by those with no scruples.

Time and time sweet Hyacinth will be drawn into plans with which they don't really want to be involved and schemes that are detrimental to their well-being. Relationships are just the same, and Hyacinth is just the personality to choose the wrong man or woman to be their life partner- one who will strip them of all their emotions, and their money! They try to make the best of it because that's how they are!

Hyacinth's are very mindful of other people's feelings and love to be privy to their secrets. They donn't mean to pass them on, but do, sometimes thinking other people won't repeat what they say. Hyacinth never seems to understand that some people live vicariously through others and need interesting titbits of information to keep their lives exciting, and Hyacinth likes talking too. So, innocently, Hyacinth inadvertently passes on secrets, not realizing that they may be the subject of discussion at a dozen social events before running out of steam!

Hyacinths never have any trouble talking about their own problems, usually to do with the opposite sex and no matter how naive and caring they are, they can drive the nore assertive types, like Bergamot, to distraction. Hyacinths can take on almost any job provided that the circumstances are right. For example, they make good sales people only so long as they have faith in the product; they make good secretaries and assistants so long as the boss is honest with them and the job doesn't entail any underhand dealings.

They'd be marvellous at animal breeding and any job involving flowers and plants. Although they love music, dance and theatre, these professions, even on the administrative side, are much too cut-throat for Hyacinth.

Negative Hyacinths often emphasize their fragile, delicate nature to get sympathy if all else fails, creating the illusion of a tragic personality, and can act out this role to the full, particularly if they find it working to their advantage. However, tension, stress, and stress-related disorders are invariably genuine, common to this personality type.

Hyacinths make good Samaritans - listening to people in troubles and, being basically very charitable, would be happy working in any capacity in the charity field. Being very intuitive and known as 'sensitives', these are nice, gentle, soft people who need space to breathe and be who they are - without any interference.

Reference: The Fragrant Mind: Valerie Ann Worwood.

Emotional Healing Introduction

'A journey of a thousand miles must begin with one ste,'Lao TSE -Chinese Proverb.

THE BRAIN DRIVES EVERYTHING; EVERY WORD IS PROJECTED FROM IT, EVERY mood emanates from it and every feeling passes through the brain at some point. But the brain and body are one, they work together all the time, part of the same system. The brain say 'get up' and the legs swing out of bed. But also, as discussed in Chapter 3, The Modern Mind, there are receptors throughout the body which are directly connected with the chemicals we also find in the brain.

It is no longer possible to discuss neuorology, immunology and endocrinology as three diffferent fields because they are all related, like bits of a telephone system. You can't have one without the other, Psychoneuro-immunologists are now telling us that, scientifically, body and brain are one and the same.

What happens in the brain decides whether you're going to be happy or sad; it decides whether or not life is worth living. But we are very passive about the brain, we don't pay much attention to our emotions unil something goes wrong.

We don't take our brain to the emotional gym for a work-out, like we exercise our body to feel it and stay well.

But, with a strong mind, we can do anything, even cure disease in our body, and with a weak mind, we can't do a thing. Some people do, of course, control their brain, or at least attend to its well being: meditation, yoga, and tai chi are just three practices which are carried out by millions of people each day around the world. And no doubt it has a beneficial effect on the emotions of them all.

Other people go to counselling or therapy of some sort, and clearly this is extremely helpful to many people.

Essential oils have a different approach, (that is clearly complementary to the others) which is to help a person obtain emotional equilibrium - which allows the happiness and joy, our birthright, to come out. Essential oils are facilitators, balancers and, at the risk of sounding poetic, drops of pure positivity They can put the sparkle back into life.

Essential oils are a chest of goodies you can dip into at any time. Got a tough interview ahead? - just put a drop of bergamot on a tissue and take a deep sniff before you go in. Feeling really vulnerable?  but got to get through the day as usual? - sniff some rose otto - it will help,  Just want to feel bright and on top of the today? - have a grapefruit shower. The variety of essential oils are there to dip into, for a variety of different emotions and feelings, rich treasury courtesy of mother nature.

This chapter explains how essential oils can help us keep in tip-top emotional condition, under the headings Alertness, Assertiveness, Concentration, Confidence, Contentment, Creativity, Focus, Happiness, Joy, Memory enhancement etc. Then comes a much larger chapter concerned with the negative emotions which exist in this world.

The A-z of Emotional bproblems. Under 'A', for example, you'll find A, Addictions, Aggression, Amnesia, Anger, Anxiety and Apathy. There are so many entriesunder this negative emotion section because there are so many problemsouut there in the world, and at home. And, as we need all the help we can get , in Chapter 9 I briefly discuss Auto-Genic Training, Breathing, Massage, Meditation, and Relaxation and Visualization.

In an ideal world, happiness would be the norm. We'd all go around smiling. As it is, we sit on an underground train each morning with our heads hung low, like everyone else! There is so much to worry about, Rapists stalk the streets; jobs can go; people get ill; and war is ubiquitous.

And here comes the post man with another bill in his hand. How is one suppose to find happiness in all this? Ironically, it is those who have been through a near death-experience who usually have the answer to this question, and we read their stories in magazines and newspapers every day.

For example, There's the man who had a hear attack and realized he was wasting time taking an antagonistic approach to people close to him. he realized he loved them, and that they were more important than his job. From that moment he lived life to the full; before he was walking aroud saying" How is one supposed to find happiness in all this? Now he knew, you look to your loved ones, and treat them right. This is happiness.

Love is the most important formula we have for solving problems - it dissolves them away like mist in the sun. Love is an energy that radiates from every person, young and old, and lifts the darkness. It is instinctive, the blossoming flower within, the opener of hearts, the bringer of joy.

The vibration of love is the greatest we can bring to life, if we contribute a good share of that, our life has purpose.Ideally, none of us would be emotionally damaged in our youth, and our hearts would be open to love - love of our neighbour as well as our family and friends. But it is not an ideal world and many of us arrive damaged in some way. Essential oils can help a person recognize and repair this damage, allowing the love to recover, and strengthen the soul.

The problem with love, of course, is that it opens us up to emotional pain. To love is to hurt. Children are hurt by their parents they love; and children hurt parents in return. Lovers hurt each other, with a careless word or more.

We are all vulnerable to emotional pain and sometimes we hurt. That is unfortunate, but our pain is not unique, it is part of the human heritage, something we know and, to a certain extent, something esential oils can help deal with.They can assist us as we repair the damage, and get us back on our feet . Their job is not to numb, but to put us back into feeling selves.

Being alive is to feel - to feel sad watching a sad movie, or feel a rush of adrenaline with fear. These are the feelings of life, they are to be expected now and again. But to be overcome with a negative feeling a lot of the time, this is not good.

Reference: The Fragrant MInd: Valerie Ann Worwood

Emotional Healing Introduction - 2

We seem to have got in a mind-set which says 'being miserable is normal, life is so hard, if only I had this -orthat I'd be happy'. Happiness is normal to babies and children and normal to many poor people, and rich people around the world. What is it exactly that stops us, too, being happy? I don't think it is the number and severity of life's knocks that makes the difference, from my experience of people, rather the attitude they take towards life. Those who realize that life is short and precious, see the good things in life - of which there are many.

Each day people set off to do voluntary work for people less well off than themselves, in terms of money, physical health, or whatever Each day people pull out their check books and send money to charity. We all do each other 'favours' all the timeIf we can see this as norm - people being kind, people showing love, life going on, then the bad episodes can be put in perspective - small windows in the long wall of happy normality.

It does sometimes seem indulgent to think about oneself and do something for oneself, and it might seem althogether easier to use essential oils, for example, to help make a friend feel better. Ourselves, we forget. But we deserve attention too. The fact is, we are born alone and will die alone, and must take care of ourselves in between.

Only we can find the purpose in our lives; only we can make sense of it. We have the right to deal with problems in our own way. If that involves sitting on a sofa for three weeks, hugging a cushion and crying, so be it. If that involves three weeks of cleaning the house from top to bottom, so be it, just be yourself, and you will be beautiful. Indulge yourself, be good to yourself.....it is not a crime! You could say it's your responsibility to make yourself happy, because when you're happy, those around you are not.

It helps to have a philosophy of life, and some people have religion. But anyone can have a reverence for the beauty of nature- the design of a flower, the call of the birds, the wind in the trees, or clouds on a hill. How magnificent it all is, there, a constant reminder of the beauty in life. And nature is full of surprises, and lessons too.

I remember on dat driving In Europe- a long and tiring haul towards a destination and meeting i didn't want to reach - fed up, when I saw a huge, perfect rainbow ending right there, in the grass between the road and the wood. I pulled the car over and leapt out, looking up at a huge miracle reaching across the sky above me.

It was so close and real I could jump into it, I thought, and did. But the rainbow moved away, again and again, and then I realized the rewards are not the goal - if one seeks the ultimate, it will elude you. The reward is life itself, in its richness, in its sadness and joy. Humbled, but happier, I continued my journey and did what I had to do.

All experience is good because that is the truth, the reality of our life,. We must embrace it and make it work for us, transmutate the bad experiences into lessons for the future, wisdom for our soul, compassion for others, and understanding for the world. Good experiences are the icing on the cake, the bits that makes life sweet. But it is all real, and ther is purpose in it all, even if we canmnot see it now.

If we ccould expect nothing more than to be happy, we would be happy. But we expect too much. Some of the happiest people I know have nothing, or have lived and worked among people who have nothing. Every small thing then becomes a gift, not an expectation. Let us stop and thank our lucky stars for what we do have, for the people we love(and tell them), for our humble home, our memories

We can't expect to go through the hurdle race of life without getting a few knocks - that's what it's about. All we can do is appreciate the people around us, be kind to them and ourselves, and hang on tight during the rough patches.Essentials oils appreciate the drama of life - they have been there, so to speak, they are part of it. We're all in this together, and essential oils are there to help.

It is our birthright to be spontaneous, joyful, confident, loving, trusting and free - free in mind and spirit, free to soar and create and laugh. And it is our human responsibility to be compassionate, sympathetic and aware. Deep inside us, there is a spiritual connection which we can find if we just stand still long enough, quietly absorbed, that spiritual connection is the reference point we should take as 'normality' that quiet, reassuring wholeness, more soothing than a mother's breast.

If this could be our normality, rather than 'depressed', 'anxious' or 'stressed' how much happier our lives would be.It is not a question of how many knocks one has because those who have had more than anyone, are often the first to say that thye knocks are not what's important - the good is what we should focus on.

The mind comes with certain gifts - like intuition . Our intuition says of someone 'not aura friendly' - so we keep away, to protect ourselves. Our mind gives us individuality, to approach things in our own unique way. That is good. By contrast, co-dependency, relying on others for gratification a form of vicarious living, is a bit of a cop-out, like hitching a lift through life on the back of somebody else's lorry.

Patience is a gift we often ignore mand even feel contempt for, calling it passivity. But impatience causes frustration and anger. Patience is the better quality, along with positivity, hope, enthusiasm and the capacity for enjoyment. These are the gifts within us that essential oils seek to bring out, philosophically, deeply, naturally. And, by seeking a solution to our problems, we show our awareness - that we are alive and kicking, confident and optimistic.

Reference: The Fragrant MInd: Valerie Ann Worwood

Memory Enhancement, Mental Clarity and Efficiency

As we saw in Chapter 2 in The Sense of Smell, when an aroma molucle hits the oilfaction receptors on the cilia of the olfactory bulbs, they are actully connectin with a part of the brain. The olfactory bulbs are imbedded in the 'limbic system', a part of the brain that deals with, among other things, memory.

Usually we experience this connection Passively, when an aroma reminds us of something that happened in the past.
in aromatherapy we use this connection in an active way, by stimulating the memory to recall information we previously studied.

Basically, what happens is this: while you study, and your mind is absorbing information, you use a particular essential oil nearby - in a diffuser or on a tissue or hanky from which you can occasionally sniff. The information thus becomes associated with this particular aroma. When the exam comes along, you use that same aroma nearby - this time not in a diffuser, but again, on a tissue or handkerchief.

You can discreetly sniff the aroma, an action which transports you back to the time when you were studying, and this helps your memory recall the information. There are several rules to follow in this process:

1) Try to use a fragrance you have never used before because an aroma used previously may have associations that probably have nothing to do with the subject being absorbed. Make a unique formula especially for each subject.

2) If possible use one fragrance (or formula per subject, and then not too much.

3) Only inhale the aroma when you need to remember the studied information - in a test exam for example, and not at other times. If you use it all the time, your memory will get confused . Be very precise about this.

4) Be discreet. There are no rules, as far as I know , forbidding the use of essential oils during exams, but it could be construed as an unfair advantage!

5) Do not rely solely on this method. The aroma-memory connection is meant to be an additional aid, not a replacement for hard work. Don't just scan your textbooks expecting everything magically to go in. Sorry, it's not that easy. You'll have to put in the time and read your material thoroughly, and check with your tutors that you have understood.

The memory has a horrible habit of slipping away . you can listen to a general knowledge quiz on the TV, merrily shouting out the answers but, if you were actually in the studio, in front of the TV cameras and glaring lights, aware that millions of people were watching, the same information you know, slips away. You go blank! Essential oils wont make you remember things you simply don't know, but they'll help you bridge the gap between knowledge and recall.

This advantage can be a difference between pass and fail. As I have said, you can use essential oils to do this but good choices , for example, would be Basil, Bergamot, Lemon, or rosemary - or a blend of two of these . Basil gives the mind tremendous clarity while Bergamot is terrific for giving confidence . Rosemary is renowned for memory and Lemon is great for concentration.

Years ago I heard a young man being interviewed on radio. He'd just passes fifteen 'O' levels in the school year - the highest number passed in Britain by one student. The interviewer asked him how he'd done it. Apparently, he'd put a pile of books and papers reklating to all his home work on his right, on the desk, and took the first book off the pile, opened it, and worked at it until he got to the point where he couldn't continue.

Without wasting time worrying about his inability to finish, he moved that book to the left of him. He then took the next book/papers and carried on with them until he got stuck, immediately putting them to the left, and so on. So he worked through the pile on the right, actually finishing a couple of homework projects, leaving him with the pile on the left. He moved the whole lot to the right, and continued the process again.

By the time he'd gone through the process a few times , he was left with a couple of subjects he was truly stuck with on the next day he referred to the teachers for help. The npoint was, when he came to looking at the sticky subjects, either on the second look, the third, or fourth or fifth, his mind could approach them slightly differently - The 'lateral thinking' effect I supposed it would be called-and on these subsequent looks he could grasp the point, solve the problem , or whatever. When you're completly overburdened (as I have been myself on occasions) his advice comes in really handy. Try it.

Reference: The Fragrant MInd: Valerie Ann Worwood