Distraction Discipline
​
This is something I began to talk about at the end of this last year, and am continuing to cultivate.  That small computer in my hand takes up so much more time and offers much more distraction than is healthy.  I am a firm believer that to some degree, the majority of us are addicted to our phones. I am. And while I often need it for my work, I admittedly spend a lot more time scrolling and browsing than is necessary.  

For me, I am realizing more and more that I must balance my consumption with my creation.  Our phones give us this false sense of relief without realizing that we are continuing to consume and consume and consume, thereby depleting our own inner resources and attention.  Instead, it is my mission to be continually mindful of how much I am creating vs. how much I am consuming. So, I am setting hard boundaries on my social media and screen time and making sure that I have more to to both create and put out into the world more than what I take.

Cultivate Community
​
In all honesty, this is something I have not been very good at in my life.  It’s not that I don’t have friends or people I love, but I am extremely comfortable being alone.  However, the older I get and the more I think about what I want for Audrey and for our family, I truly want a community of friends to surround ourselves with in the best of times and the hardest of times.  My effort in reaching out has always been something I struggle with, so this year I am being much more concerted in my efforts to both make new friends and continue to be in contact with old ones. I am just now at 36 beginning to understand that none of us can do this on our own and that we all need each other to be in regular contact with one another so that we can learn from one another.  

Justin and I have specifically set aside time each month for each of us to have friend time as well as a time to gather with community.  Two Mondays each month are dedicated to an evening where one of us goes out to hang, as adults only, and with a friend. So...expect a call!  

Open Sky Mind
​
This is another takeaway from Elena’s Practice You webinar.  The idea that once or twice this year, we will take time to travel alone, to cultivate open sky mind where we are with ourselves and only ourselves for a while.  This ties perfectly into both diligent studentship and my entire reason for doing all of this work. We must be able to fill ourselves up from the inside, readily, lovingly and wholeheartedly.  For a long time, the thought of leaving my family for even a weekend to go explore on my own, or attend a retreat, was just too scary. My heart truly longs to be with them each and every day for as long as my life exists.  However, I am now realizing the clarity that this kind of daring will bring me and it is now one of my top priorities to, within the next few weeks, book a solo trip somewhere. Likely it will be in the form of a retreat, perhaps starting with just a weekend in time, but it will a place that I travel to and from alone and give myself the freedom to have an open sky mind.  

With all of this in my sights, my work this year is in aligning my head with my heart and to continually fill my cup, over and over and over again.  One of my friends said recently “Humanity is an experiment and we can make it beautiful”. I am choosing to make mine beautiful by experiencing the joy of my own inner beauty, so that I may better share it with the world.  This is my new year, this is my work.

For Adults: 

Passion - Inspiring Blend
balances spice and herbal essential oils. Included in the blend is Damiana, a very rare essential oil rich in 1,8-cineole and alpha pinene, which is renowned for its renewing properties. Combining Cinnamon Bark, Ginger, Cardamom, Clove, and Damiana creates a chemical profile with high concentrations of phenols and ethers to provide warming and renewing benefits. Diffuse doTERRA Passion at your work desk to help spark creativity.

Passion is a blend formulated to assist individuals who are lacking inner passion and perhaps need to find the motivation to take risks and confidently face their fears.  We often feel a lack of passion when we feel limited in our work and creativity.  This blend helps to ignite the heart and the spirit towards moving for what uplifts and inspires creativity and joy, both in work and in life.  

Ingredients:
Cardamom - The Oil of Objectivity
Cinnamon - The Oil of Sexual Harmony
Ginger - The Oil of Empowerment
Clove - The Oil of Boundaries
Sandalwood - The Oil of Sacred Devotion
Jasmine - The Oil of Sexual Purity & Balance

How to Use:
* Diffuse in the morning to start the day feeling energized and enthusiastic
* Apply to pulse points and heart throughout the day to feel inspired and passionate
* Diffuse at work to spark creativity, clarity and wonder


For Kids:

Stronger - Protective Blend
Stronger Protective Blend evokes feelings of wellness and vitality when needed most. Featuring Cedarwood, Litsea, Frankincense, and Rose in a gentle and convenient format combined with Fractionated Coconut Oil, this uniquely supportive blend is perfect for sensitive skin and provides a sense of resiliency when needed most. Litsea, one of the main ingredients in Stronger, helps to keep skin healthy looking and clean while promoting positive feelings. The bright and uplifting aroma of Stronger is refreshing to the senses and works as the perfect blend for daily resiliency or when you are not feeling your best. With the powerful rejuvenating benefits of wood and floral oils, Stronger works as the perfect every day skin health essential oil blend.

Ingredients:
Cedarwood - The Oil of Community
Litsea - The Oil of Manifestation
Frankincense - The Oil of Truth
Rose - The Oil of Divine Love

How to Use:
* When environmental threats are high, use Stronger to promote feelings of wellness and vitality.
* Roll onto hands, knees and feet after a long day of activity
* Soothing to occasional skin irritations, Stronger is a great blend to have on hand during play and extensive activities.
* Because of the Rose and Frankincense oil in it, Stronger is great to help soothe and comfort distressed skin.

​Both of these blends are available HERE

Hands down, one the most important things to me as a mother is helping my child navigate her own emotions, intelligently, honestly and lovingly.  It has taken me a long time to come into my own emotional awareness, and while I wouldn't change anything about my experience, I would love to be a steady guiding force for my daughter when it comes to cultivating her ability to be with her emotions in a healthy way. 

It is my belief that we don't think or speak about emotional integrity and intelligence enough in our culture.  We often regard feelings as secondary or attatch shame to emotions that are, in reality, incredibly human. How we feel is always changing of course, and it requires a ton of work to stay present with ourselves in this way, but I believe it is necessary work.  In 2018, several studies showed that depression and anxiety are on the rise, often in teens and young adults. According to a report by ABC News, "The CDC says one in five children ages 3 through 17 — about 15 million — have a diagnosable mental, emotional or behavioral disorder in a given year. But only 20 percent of them get diagnosed or receive care."

Emotional Intelligence is the "capacity to be aware of, control, and express one's emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically". I am on a mission as a mother and as a human to help all people of all ages become more Emotionally Intelligent. 

For me, essential oils are one option and tool to help create that intelligence.  Since our emotional state has the power to affect how we perceive the world, I believe in the importance of having tangible tools and techniques on hand to help navigate our emotions. Having the ability to take action, reach for a specific blend of essential oils and take the time to do some deep breathing is a seemingly small act of self-care with big impact. 

When we do this, we say to ourselves
A. I am having some big feelings right now
B. We take a moment to name those feelings and
C. We can take action. 

Perhaps we take a few deep breaths and utilize the aromatherapeutic benefits of an oil or blend, or combine the act of reaching for an oil with another act of self care such as yoga, meditation, exercise, journaling, etc.  By even taking the time to do any of this, we are saying to ourselves that our own emotional awareness matters and is important. What and how we feel is integrative and directly connected to our physical health. 

So you can imagine my joy when doTERRA came out with a collection designed specifically for children and young adults.  My daughter is only 3.5 years old but has her own Kids Collection already.  She knows which oils are for calming down at night, which are for when she feels sad and which ones help her body.  She is now beginning to say out loud when she is sad, or angry or frustrated or happy.  We celebrate all of her feelings with her and we help her take action when she is able to articulate what she needs and wants.  My hope as her mom is that she will grow up with the freedom to be aware of, control and express her emotions so that she may be able to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically...aka have strong Emotional Intelligence.

So this week, I will be featuring the Kids Collection in my Free Online Oils Class, this Thursday at 11am EST.  I will also be posting each day about two different Emotional Aromatherapy blends: One for the adults, one for kids.  I hope that you follow along with me this week.  My hope as a wellness advocate and as a human is to help each of us, myself included, cultivate our own emotional intelligence so we may be stronger for ourselves and stronger for each other.  

 "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly.  What is essential is invisible to the eye" - The Little Prince

This quote perfectly sums up how I feel about using essential oils for emotional support.  While often as humans we look for the things that can be seen and measured, I am a true believer that so much of what matters in life is in what cannot be seen or measured.  I also believe that our emotional health is of the utmost importance, as most of our actions, whether we realize it or not, are taken based on our emotional state.  When we create clarity around our inner workings within ourselves, we create clarity in the vision that we have for our life.  

I look at essential oils as the tool that we can reach for to 1. Name our present emotional state and 2. Take a solid steps towards inspiring action for how we want to proceed.  It matters what we reach for.  We can reach for our yoga mats or our meditation cushions.  We can reach for drugs and alcohol or even food.  For me, essential oils are my tool of choice and what I reach for to ignite action in the form of self-care led by self-love.  

So in today's class, I spoke specifically about emotional support during the winter months and how to use essential oils as tools to keep ourselves well and uplifted.  Having some personal experience with what this time of year can do to our inner worlds, I have experienced dramatic and profound results from using oils in this way.  My hope is that I can help to support any of you who find yourselves struggling emotionally this time of year as well.  

Below I am going to list the top four oils for this season.  These are the ones where if you having nothing else, they will powerfully carry you through the season and help to support positive emotions.  You can also join my Facebook Group HERE and watch the class and ask questions.  

Here are the top Oils for Winter: *Note all of this comes from Emotions & Essential Oils*                                                            

Lavender - The Oil of Calm and Communication

Lavender aids verbal expression and calming the mind.  Specifically, it calms the insecurities that are felt when one risks their true thoughts and feelings.  Lavender addresses a deep fear of being seen and heard.  It encourages emotional honesty and insists that one speak their innermost thoughts and desires. It is through open communication that an individual has the potential to experience unconditional love, acceptance and peace of mind. With Lavender, one is free to share their True Self with others.
​

Lemongrass - The Oil of Cleansing

Lemongrass is a powerful cleanser of energy.  it dispels feelings of despondency, despair and lethargy.  Lemongrass assists individuals in entering a healing  mode or cleansing state.  In this state, one easily lets go of old, limiting beliefs, toxic energies and negativity.  Lemongrass teaches individuals to move forward without hesitation.  It asks them to commit to a healing path where change is a regular occurance. 


Peppermint - The Oil of a Buoyant Heart

Peppermint brings joy and buoyancy to the heart and soul.  It invigorates body, mind and spirit and reminds individuals that life can be happy, and they don't have to be controlled by fear.  It lifts an individual out of their emotional trials for a short reprieve.  When individuals use peppermint, they feel as though they are gliding through life.  It assists in staying on the surface of emotional issues like floating on top of water.

Rosemary - The Oil of Knowledge & Transition

Rosemary assists in the development of true knowledge and true intellect.  It teaches that one can be instructed from a far greater space of understanding than the human mind.  It challenges individuals to look deeper than they normally would and ask more soul-searching questions so that they may receive more inspired answers. It invites individuals to trust in a higher, more intelligent power than themselves.  It supports them in feeling confident and assured during times of great change in understanding and perspective.  Rosemary roots them in the true knowledge that surpasses all understanding.  

"What is essential is invisible to the eye".  I cannot give you facts and figures about exactly how and why these oils work the way they do.  If you are only looking for black and white answers, then perhaps these are not your tools, and I respect that.  However, if you believe and work with the understanding that it is with our hearts that we we can truly see things rightly, then I invite you to explore using these tools even further.  I believe wholeheartedly that what we reach for when  it comes to caring (or not) for our emotional selves, matters immensely.  That small action of choice has a big impact, which cannot be seen and measured, only felt.  I wish you health and happiness this winter and immeasurable loving support.