“They tested me for everything-heart attack, stroke-I had tests all day and they couldn’t find anything! I think it must have been the essential oil”, she said and indeed it was the essential oil!

She proceeded to tell me  while on her way home that she had a pimple on her solar plexus and began  treating  it  three days ago with a drop of undiluted cymbopogon citrates-lemongrass-directly on the pimple three times a day.   After applying the undiluted essential oil on the morning of third day she was stricken with breathlessness and overall feelings of severe illness. When I did not return her call that morning, she headed for the emergency room.

When I asked her why she applied the essential oil undiluted,  she replied, “I thought you could apply it undiluted or was that lavender?  “Lavender” I said “and only in an emergency such as a burn.”   Thank goodness she was much better the next day and recovered without any residual symptoms but the incident caused  excessive  stress on her body, mind and spirit.  In addition, she lost time at work and  I did have the courage to ask what the Emergency Room charge was!

At this writing she is fine but I remain quite concerned.  It seems to me that one of the first concepts I teach is ‘do not apply essential oils undiluted to the skin, except lavender angustifolia and ONLY  in an emergency such as a burn or  bite’ but worry that I have not made the danger perfectly clear .  So let me make it very clear now—DO NOT USE ANY ESSENTIAL OIL UNDILUTED ON YOUR SKIN!

In the past month I spoke with one of my graduates, a nurse who uses lavender angustifolia almost on a daily basis with her patients and has for the past three to four years. She places one drop of undiluted lavender on a cotton ball for diffusion or mixes it in oil for body rubs.  She has developed a sensitivity to lavender and I suspect it is because the undiluted oils touch her finger tips daily. ( It is best to wear gloves when working with essential oils and please, dilute all of your essential oils in a carrier and  use only diluted oils.)    Currently she is mixing lavender with  other essential oils which helps with the sensitivity.

Both of these incidents have left me feeling greatly concerned for those who use essential oils and have challenged me to heighten reinforcement of  diluting all essential oils before use.

This past weekend I have heard repeatedly of people putting undiluted essential oils on their cats for ticks.  Let me say this—DO NOT APPLY ANY ESSENTIAL OILS ON CATS! And DO NOT APPLY UNDILUTED ESSENTIAL OILS ON DOGS. FYI-Cats are not small dogs and cannot be treated as such and dogs and not small humans and need essential oils diluted before application.

Having said that, let me say this—CHILDREN ARE NOT SMALL ADULTS AND REQUIRE DIFFERENT DOSING–You cannot give your child the same dose you give yourself!

Essential oils are incredible healing gifts from our aromatic plants but they are chemicals and cannot be used  without directions and caution.

So please, dilute your essential oils and ask questions before you use them if you are unsure.  You can call me or email to ask questions, no matter where you’ve purchased your essential oils.

If you have never taken an aromatherapy class, you may want to think about that. Please see class offerings and call me to schedule a time that suits you, your friends or family.

Be safe, be happy, be wise.

Blessings,

Cheryl

Several months ago a client gave me a little poem which I found delightfully amusing as well as true in many ways.

What do you think?

We have two ends

With a common link

With one we sit

With one we think

Success depends on what we use

Heads we win

Tails we lose.

I would qualify that with ‘it depends on why we are sitting and does it involve our head?’

Don’t you think that sitting for a class that expands your knowledge, stimulates your brain, fascinates you, gives you information to save you money and time, and increases your joy is a win/win situation?

So come and sit on your tail and open up your head to the wonder of essential oils!  Primal Hints Aromatherapy has many education classes to choose from with varying topics, costs and flexible scheduling.  Whether you want to study aromatherapy to become a therapist, learn to care for you skin with non toxic products, deepen your spiritual connection, or just do something ‘fun and different’—I guarantee you we have a class for you!

Take your tail and head to www.primalhints.com and win!

Blessings,

Cheryl

February 17, 2010

Think of it this way–you spend $20 on a dinner out and it’s gone. Spend $20 on a class and you may change your outlook and consequently your outcomes. It is yours forever!

Upcoming Classes

Is There Anything We Can Change?!

Now that I think about it, it was those darn fairy tales that my mother used to read to me that ended with ‘and they lived happily ever after’ that really messed with my mind and life perceptions. I realize that for much of my life I have been looking for that “I have made it place” where everything is in order and life goes just as you plan.

That clearly is not going to happen and I am finding that the longer I live, the more complicated and chaotic life becomes! What’s with that? I must confess that this past year ranks up near the top of my ‘All Time Terrible Years’ with regard to life events!

As I was on the verge of throwing one of my best ever pity parties, I was reminded by a dear, sweet woman and friend of the fact that in spite of all that comes and goes in our lives, what we have power over is our attitude.

We may feel powerless over the current economic situation, illnesses and all of the other events and people we love that come and go in our lives. We cannot maintain our grasp on these things or change the flow of life. Like the ocean tide, things come and they go, come and they go-we cannot change the tide and do we really want to?

We can however change our attitude.

My friend also invited me to ‘expect a miracle’ , why not? A miracle is really a shift in perception from fear to love. When we make this shift, that is a miracle!

Lastly she said, “Isn’t life a dance of emotions? Being depressed, fascinated, scared, fine, exhausted, sad, accepting, enraged, grateful and amazed?”

The events of our lives are catalyst to express these emotions of our life’s journey and then to allow us to experience the grace of acceptance, love and knowing that ‘it will all be OK.”

Embrace life and all it’s nuances and you will find, it really will be OK!

Blessings,
Cheryl