How to Help Aromatherapy Help You

However, if you have had a bad experience near a flowering jasmine bush, then the scent of jasmine's essential oil will elicit that bad memory instead of the positive effect Bluelady would expect!

1. Trust Your Self

The beliefs and memories you hold in your own mind will overcome the "established" uses of any aromatherapy oil every time.  Trust yourself, and don't try to force yourself to heal with a scent that causes you mental or emotional distress. Until you separate the aroma from the distressing memory, its aroma will not benefit you.

If you find that a certain scent causes you discomfort, it is a good idea to find out why. You may already know why. If so, using that scent to recreate the situation with the purpose of healing is a great idea - if you're ready to heal it. Listen to your spirit. When the time is right to heal, you will know.

You may find a certain aroma discomforting and not know why. Sometimes, we effectively block a memory from our conscious minds to protect ourselves. However, it is almost impossible to suppress every bit of a memory - especially the bits related to scent.

If you have hated the scent of pine for as long as you can remember, and it starts to bother you that you hate the scent of pine, then that is a sign that you are ready to remember what you have suppressed. Ease yourself into the memory a little bit at a time by meditating with essential pine oil. Your spirit will reveal only what you can currently handle and accept.

2. Determine a Starting Point

Aromatherapy can be a powerful healing method if you prepare for and use it responsibly and with consistency. If you are just beginning to use aromatherapy, then you must determine a few things in your own mind.  By answering the following questions, you are setting up your mind and body to accept the healing powers of scent.

What do you hope aromatherapy will help you accomplish?

You may be looking for relief of physical discomforts, to enhance your communion with spirit, to overcome mental blocks, or any number of other useful actions.

How will you know that aromatherapy is working for you?

Pre-determine the outcome you are seeking. Evaluate your progress at regular intervals to see if your current aromatherapy treatments are having the desired outcomes.

Who can you go to for support or answers to questions that arise along the way?

Seek out reputable guides before you have questions or problems so you have somewhere to turn in times of crisis.

Find web sites, aroma therapists, and fellow aromatherapy users if you have specific questions about an essential oil's benefits. Bring your friends on board in case your aromatherapy treatment elicits emotions that you didn't expect. Develop a support system.  Bluelady's Message Boards are a wonderful place to start.

3. Set Your Intent

Pretend that you are the scent of an essential oil.  You are attempting to reach a specific area of the brain by car to do your job. You have been inhaled for a specific purpose, but the road has not been cleared for you! You meet with road blocks the entire way; by the time you reach your destination, you are late, tired, and you do not feel like doing your job.

However, if your avenue of approach has been intentionally cleared, you are able to drive directly to your destination and perform your job without a hitch.

Make your aromatherapy oil work for you by creating a clear path for it through your intent. Setting your intent for aromatherapy (or any other purpose) is as simple or as complex as you desire to make it. So long as you know what results you want, there is no wrong way to go about setting intent.

How to Set Your Intent

4. Inhale!

Now it is time to inhale your chosen aroma. Simply opening the bottle and placing it in front of you is enough, but you may want to heat the oil in a diffuser. Be aware that some aromatherapy oils are NOT intended to go on your skin (always read the label for safety precautions).

Close your eyes, and allow your mind to wander. Stay focused on the scent, repeat your intent, and allow the aroma to nurture your body and mind.