I began working with essential oils over a decade ago. I had already removed everything from my home and beauty routine with “fragrance” included in an effort to recover from debilitating migraines and, as I began looking for alternate products, found that often the best solution was a natural or DIY product that called for essential oils. I did what most of us do when we start using oils and would pick them up wherever I would see them – the grocery or health food store most often.
Over time I started noticing a distinct difference between brands. I started asking…how come some lavender smells JUST LIKE lavender and others is like….meh. And then I tried Young Living oils and said….wait a minute…these don't just smell amazing, they actually WORK BETTER! How do they do that?!
As I began researching more, I found that they had many oils whose specific purpose was spiritual growth.
Wait, really!? They can do that too?? And thus began my trip down the magical rabbit hole to the land where I now live (did you actually just envision me falling down a swirling hole Alice in Wonderland style or was that just me?)
Anyhow, after some experimentation (which is wayyyyyy safer to do with essential oils than other….ahem…substances), I've gotten the hang of working with these little plant spirits on a spiritual level and wanted to share the secret! I mean, it's not really a secret at all, but sometimes you just want someone to write it all down for you so you don't have to figure it out for yourself.
You're welcome.
First of all, you have to understand how our energy bodies work. Our bodies are vibrating balls of energy. Encompassed in that vibration is our physical body. That's the part that makes us….us (physically anyway). Then, our spiritual body is made up of our spirit and soul (two distinct things that's another subject for another day), and then there is our energetic body.
Our energetic body is the main core of who we are. Our physical and spiritual bodies are both part of our energetic body and can affect it. But our energy body is the main way that we interact with the world (stay with me here…)
This energy body has an outer field that we call our aura, and an inner field, which includes our chakras and meridians.
It is our first layer of protection in the world and is often the “dirtiest”, picking up the energy of others. It also holds physical pain, fatigue, depression, old stories and beliefs, you name it. These things live in our outer energy field and then can slowly penetrate into our inner field over time, ultimately affecting our physical body.
We have to be mindful of the energetic body and clean and clear it regularly – just like we take a shower to clean our physical body – to remove anything that doesn't belong before it starts affecting our physical body. There are many ways to accomplish this and, as it turns out, essential oils are incredibly supportive in this role! They can help us ground and clear our energy. And also shift many of the other things happening in our energetic field including our emotions.
Our bodies typically vibrate at a pretty consistent frequency – 62-72 MHZ when we're healthy. When we're sick, our vibration drops. Plants and trees, on the other hand (and Mother Earth in general) vibrate at much higher frequencies. When our energetic or physical bodies interact with their frequencies, it can increase our vibration. For instance, Young Living's Idaho Blue Spruce frequency is 428 MHZ and Rose oil is 320 MHZ (put a drop of either of those on your crown chakra and WOWZA! it can change your mood in an instant). Even Peppermint at 78 MHZ and Lavender at 118 MHZ will shift your vibration.
But why do we care?
Well, my guides told me when I asked them that question that every opportunity we have to raise our vibe will let us experience the world differently, manifest more easily, and just operate….differently. Good things happen to us when we're in a high vibe state – the earth, plants, and trees want to help us get there and stay there. I'm getting a lot of messages lately about this. Mother Earth is on a mission to raise the collective vibration and the essence of plants and trees will work with us directly to do that.
Happy, high vibe people will change the world!
So why does it matter where we get our oils from? Aren't they all the same? In a word, no. Not even close. Sadly, most of the brands we see in the grocery stores are cheaper for a reason. Without any real government oversight on how oils can be labeled, pretty much anything can be labeled “therapeutic” and “pure” with the tiniest amount of actual essential oil.
Many companies cut their oils with fillers or distill the same plant material over and over again, significantly diluting the product you're purchasing. This is why some oils SMELL like they're supposed to and some just like a faint memory of the plant they once were.
Furthermore, how they are harvested and handled are imperative. If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you know the earth spirits have one main request….ALWAYS ASK PERMISSION. And don't forget to say thank you.
If the plants and trees are not complicit in the harvest of their materials for oils, you will not get a product that you want to work with in any way, but especially not spiritually. When the plants are respected and included in the process, they offer their gifts to us freely.
These plants and trees also offer their essence to us as a way for us to work with their helpful and healing nature without visiting every corner of the earth where each of these varieties are grown. We would never be able to reach them all, so they are coming to us to work with their innate gifts.
If you want to learn more about how Young Living handles their products with love, from the sourcing and planting of the seeds, all the way to distilling and bottling, overseeing every step of the process, visit seedtoseal.com. It's literally the reason I choose to work with this company.
So, now that you know what essential oils are and how they can work with our physical and energy bodies, how the heck do you actually work with them spiritually?
First, pick an oil you want to work with. If you're quiet and listen, they will call you. Whether while you're trying to decide which oil you should order next or which one in your drawer you need to work with right now. Take a deep breath, relax, and ask for what you need.
Ask: Which oil will support my meditation today? Which oil would best raise my vibration at work today? Whatever you would like some help with, ask who would like to work with you. Then, reach (or order) whatever you feel called to. I do it on impulse. If my eyes land on it first or feel drawn to it or if I feel like one is shouting at me, I don't ask questions, I just grab that oil.
You may not enjoy the smell of certain oils. That's okay (and very likely to be the case). I've heard it said that if you hate the smell, your body needs the oil and if you love the smell, your spirit needs the oil. Experiment a bit and see what you find to be true for you.
When you want to work spiritually with an oil, find a quiet place to sit for 10 minutes or so (or however long you'd like) with a journal and pen. Put one drop of oil in your non-dominant hand then rub your hands together to activate the oil. Cup your hand over your nose and mouth and take a few deep breaths through your mouth (it's a totally different experience than your nose).
Sit quietly with your eyes closed.
Where in your body can you feel the oil going? Any one place in particular? Is it giving your heart a hug or shooting rainbows out of your crown? Grounding your feet to the earth or blasting gunk out of your solar plexus? Give it time…it may do a few things for you.
Inhale the oil already on your hands a few more times.
Ask if it has a specific message for you. Write it down (you'll forget otherwise). Ask for anything you'd like the oil to help with. Don't be afraid to ask for what you want. It's here to support you. Sit quietly for a few more minutes. Let the messages come.
This is just like speaking with any other form of nature. Remember, the messages are usually slower and quieter. We need to give it time and trust what we get – a memory, a vision, a voice in our head (that usually just sounds like our own voice). Don't question it, just write it all down.
If you really want to have a deep relationship with an oil, do this practice every day for a month. You and that plant spirit will be BFFs for-eva!
Also, know that if you've never used essential oils on a regular basis, it takes time to learn how they work for you. It's a bit like learning a foreign language – remember that the products we use in our house every day, whether it be cleaning supplies or cough syrup, we've learned to use over a lifetime from tv commercials, health professionals and our friends and family. We take for granted that we just know what product we need for a given situation and it will take some time to get to that same place with essential oils.
Oils can support us physically, mentally, and spiritually, we just need to learn how to work with them and as soon as you do, I promise you will kick everything else to the curb for your beloved plant angels.
They are gentle, but profound helpers, making little shifts in our bodies that add up to big changes in our lives. They're like a friend who can help you to see the things we can't see for ourselves, or the support we need when we're down. Sometimes, they're the low maintenance friend just helping us out in the background while we continue on with our crazy busy day.
When I asked the plants what they wanted to say about all of this, they answered with “Let us help you!”. And I think that's the perfect way to end this post.
If you can't wait to get these oils into your life, check out my oil page and sign up here. If you'd like a sample of Young Living oils to compare against your current oils, send me an email and let me know what you could use some support for in your life.
