Essential oils to clear the mind
The mind, like the body, can be polluted by recurring and unpleasant thoughts and require a moment of detoxification.
The holistic vision considers the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of man as an indispensable prerequisite for maintaining health. Within this system, essential oils are an indispensable tool: in fact, they not only benefit the body through the various physical properties determined by the active ingredients, but, thanks to the subtle properties of aromatherapy, they have a great influence on the individual's mental and emotional predispositions.
At every moment, one hundred thousand receptors react to odors, sending signals to the primordial brain. Every smell brings you a mood, an emotion, a memory.
We recall that the sense of smell is the oldest and most primitive sense we possess. Unlike the other four senses, it is the only one that does not undergo the filter of the thalamus before reaching the cerebral cortex. According to Ayurvedic medicine, the nose is the gateway to the brain, which is precisely why nasal cleansing is one of the most widespread and consolidated practices.
Essential oils, made up of odorous molecules of completely natural origin, actively interact with various parts of our brain, highlighting certain aspects of personality, improving reaction to stress or rebalancing certain emotional aspects. In phytotherapy, essential oil is considered the soul of the plant: usually distilled by steam, it carries with it the most subtle and ethereal part of it, its energy.
For a minimum yield, a high quantity of raw material is required: for example, about 1,600 kg of Lavender are harvested to obtain 2/3 liters of essential oil. Thus, a true concentrate of active ingredients is obtained, a warm and very active, volatile element, comparable to spirit as vital fire. This matter can help move stagnant energies, the emotional blocks that arise when we undertake a project. We can compare the subtle energy of an essential oil to a fuel that moves our emotional engine.
Let's therefore look at some essential oils that, outside of meditative practices, help us in everyday life to cleanse the mind of the dross of worries and superfluous thoughts, favoring greater clarity. These plants help us maintain the path we decide to undertake, to cultivate high thought and to maintain a positive predisposition.
Mint, Thyme, Rosemary and Basil are plants with a strong cephalic action: neurotonic and stimulating for the nervous system, they promote concentration and memory. They are indicated to promote a more rational and lucid, but also open and courageous attitude. These oils are particularly recommended in cases of mental fatigue and stress, to lighten the load of tension and clear ideas.
White Fir, Pine and Eucalyptus tone and invigorate the mind from states of apathy, stimulating dynamism and will. They restore the freshness of thought given by a walk through the forests, leading us to look up to higher ideas.
Lemongrass, as well as Ravensara, helps to overcome somatizations related to stress, to get out of situations of stagnation and closure, to remove recurring thoughts. Rebalancing the nervous system, these plants increase psychic power in a direction of well-being that also has a great influence on the physical.
Clears the mind, and induces precision. Gives clarity for sciences and calculation.Peppermint
Awakens the mind, brings clarity and promotes concentration.Thyme
Energizes, strengthens, heals. Helps to get up, gives appetite and dynamism.Scots Pine
Balsamic, emollient, regenerating. Gives positivity, optimism and a desire to live.Rosemary
Strengthens, consolidates, separates rationality from emotionality.
Nonconformity, freedom, anti-stress. Frees from constraints and conditioning.
Awakens, creates mental space, promotes memory and purifies the environment.
How to use oils to clear your thoughts
Environmental diffusion is certainly one of the most advisable tools for this purpose.
If this is not possible, a handkerchief with a few drops of essential oil to carry with you is certainly an effective remedy. However, it is strongly discouraged to directly smell the bottle containing the oil, as in this way only the top notes of the plant, i.e. the most volatile, would be perceived.
Another valid method is to apply it to certain parts of the body: after diluting the essential oil in a carrier oil, massage the wrists, chest, forehead and temples, and the nape of the neck.
Joyful thoughts,
Barbara Pozzi and Olfattiva staff*
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