Clean Air and Insect Spray

Clean Air

Clean, clear air of good quality is important to me. 

• I like fresh air. 
• I like sea air.
• I like forest air.
• I like crisp, cool air.

I like the air in my house to be fresh and clean and free of chemicals. We live near the sea and have our windows and doors open most of the time. 

How do Chemicals get into your Home?

You may wonder how chemicals can get into the air in your home. 

Do you you use any of these products?

• toilet freshener
• air wick
• room freshener, even the ones that send out a spray every 30 seconds
• hairspray
• underarm deodorant
• cooking sprays
• insect spray - surface or air
• ant killer
• kitchen cleaning sprays
• oven cleaner
• laundry detergent
• laundry spray
• shoe polish
• dry cleaning
• Glen 20
• scented toilet paper
• perfumed rubbish bags
• those little blobs that stick onto the inside of the toilet

These and many more products are continually advertised to us on our televisions as products that we 'must have' to have acceptable homes. If we don't use them then we are not good housekeepers.

Insect Invasion

Recently some ants invaded my laundry. They were marching up the door jamb and around the windowsill. Usually I will get rid of them by other means like using boiling water or lemon aromatherapy oils to deter them. 

Insect Spray

However they arrived on a day when I did not have much energy and I reached for a can of insect spray. This can of spray had lasted about five years so you can't accuse me of keeping the shops in business. 

I gave a quick spray, much as I hate to kill off the little creatures. If they are outside I will leave them alone. But they should not come into my home. 

The smell of the spray was overpowering. I opened the window and closed the inside door for the rest of the day. The next morning when I went into the laundry the smell was still overpowering.

Do you mean to tell me that the chemicals in that product would not affect me? It could kill the ants and blow flies. Surely it must be having an effect on me too. 

Well, the can of spray was empty and it went into the recycling bin. Good riddance. 

It's clean air for me!

No more chemicals.

Amethyst Crystal for Healing

 

Amethyst Crystal for Healing

Amethyst
Amethyst is a quartz crystal. It is in the same family of crystals as Clear Quartz crystal. Real amethyst crystals do not grow as big as clear quartz crystals therefore it is more difficult to find large crystals of these.

Chakras
The amethyst crystal resonates with the brow chakra and crown chakra. These chakras are centred in the middle of the forehead and the top of the head.

Chakras are centres of energy unseen by us. It is in these areas that energy comes in and goes out of our body. These areas may become unbalanced. We know that they are unbalanced when we have pains in our body.

Chakras are a bit like the wind. We cannot see the wind but we know it is there by what happens when it is present. The wind can be a soft gentle breeze or the powerful energy of a cyclone or hurricane. It can blow in one direction or seem to gust and swirl in many directions unable to make up its mind about which way to blow.

However, when we have a pain in an area of our body, the unbalanced area is not always directly there. It may be referred from another chakra centre.

For example cramps in the legs may be treated at the Solar Plexus, the energy in the centre of the body in the stomach or middle of the waist area. Headaches can also be treated in this area. It depends on each and every person which energy centre of their body is unbalanced at that time.

Crystal Healing
To give yourself a lovely crystal healing, put on some soft, beautiful, calming music, lie on your bed or the floor. Place an amethyst crystal on your forehead and a clear quartz crystal on the solar plexus, the centre of your waist. Close your eyes and drift off into Quiet Land for as long as you have time. This is a very soothing and healing experience.

To incorporate other healing modalities, you can put a drop of My Heartsong Survival Essence on your forehead before you place the crystal there. When you have finished your healing experience, place another couple of drops of this Survival Essence on your crystal. It is a great cleanser for your crystal.

Aromatherapy
You could also place some lavender oil on your forehead before placing the crystal there. Apply the lavender oil with your finger. Do not hold the bottle above your forehead to let a drop fall from it. You do not want lavender oil or any other aromatherapy oils getting in your eyes.

Amethyst crystals can vary in shade from light to dark purple. Amethyst is probably my favourite crystal. I love its purple colour.

How Flower Essences Work

 

The depth of a flower

Flower Remedies

'Flower essences provide support in maintaining or regaining physical health.' They also enhance awareness, support and assist personal growth and facilitate spiritual development.

They are completely different to aromatherapy, having no smell. They work on energy alone, however they are still from flowers as are aromatic or aromatherapy oils.

The Subtlety of Flower Essences

Flower essences work on a more subtle level than the aromatic oils and are more similar to homeopathy.

Flower essences do not block feelings but work to align us with our higher self so that we may respond  increasingly in the way that is best for us under the circumstances.
  Flower essences harmonise imbalances in the body - mind connection to mobilise our body’s own health-creating forces.
 

Flower Essences Help Healing

The mind, through the nervous system, is able to make physiological changes in the body’s immune system. Flower essences facilitate healing on a physical level by addressing the mental, emotional and spiritual  imbalances that leave us vulnerable to accident and illness.
  They do not act directly on the body’s biochemistry though some imbalances bear a more direct relationship to physical conditions and so some essences impact more on a cellular level.
 
Others operate more on the level of the chakras – energy centres in the body, -  meridians – the energy channels upon which the ancient practice of acupuncture is based, - and in the aura, our etheric energy field.

'It is by balancing and harmonising the vibrations of the body’s energy systems that the well established disciplines of acupuncture and homeopathy operate.'

Flower essences also work in this vibrational medicine working in the energy field where they operate.

The following links go to earlier posts about Flower Essences:

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The Benefits of Lavender

 

Lavender smells beautiful and has healing powers

Lavender is a flower that many people think of when they think of the old days.

Long ago the washer women used to dry the ladies' washing by draping it over the lavender bushes. The clothing would be imbued with the scent of the lavender.

Lavender bags brought the scent into the linen closets. The heads of lavender were collected and put in a little bags then hidden between the sheets or underclothes in the cupboard. You may think of your grandmother when you think of lavender bags.

When the distillation process was established one of the favourite flowers to distill was lavender. People already liked it and had found uses for it.

Today lavender oil is one of the favourite essential or aromatherapy oils. People still like the perfume - or most do anyway.

The Benefits of Lavender Oil

Lavender aromatherapy oil can help ease headaches. Dab a little oil on your temples and massage it in. Take a rest while it works. You will find yourself calmer.

Lavender can help you drift off to sleep when you are restless at night. It soothes and calms. Put a few drops on your pillow when you get into bed.

Lavender can help relieve anxiety. Place a few drops on a tissue and keep it in your pocket throughout a stressful day at work, home or traveling.

Lavender can help relieve burns. The French scientist, when he was experimenting in the laboratory one day, burnt his hand then accidentally put it in a vat of lavender oil. To his amazement the burning and stinging eased quickly.

I always use lavender oil to kill off bacteria. Whenever I cut myself I always put a couple of drops of lavender oil directly onto the cut. It usually only needs to be done a couple of times for the cut to heal quickly. I find this useful whenever I have forgotten to wear my gloves in the garden. I always seem to get cuts and scratches easily and they usually get infected. However my beautiful lavender oil heals these for me quickly and pleasantly.

Lavender Hydrosol or Lavender Water

Lavender water was in use in the olden days as well as a perfume. Today, the water left over from the lavender distillation process is called a hydrosol. It can be ingested in small quantities for medicinal purposes but mostly it is used as a linen water or air spray. The linen water is sprayed onto the clothes before ironing, sprayed over the bed sheets to have them smelling pretty or sprayed around the room for a lovely fresh smell. This is much better than the chemical laden air fresheners bought in the supermarket.

It can also be used as a personal aura spray when we feel stressed. It is very calming.

The perfume from Aromatherapy oils and hydrosols does tend to evaporate. This is how you know that is the real thing. When the smell lasts for days and will not go away then you are much more likely to have a Fragrance oil. These fragrance oils are made from chemicals. I would not use these. They have no healing benefits.

Safety

Lavender oil is one of the safest aromatherapy oils and can be applied directly onto the skin. Do not use too much though. Always dilute it to use for a massage.

Allergies and Perfumes

 

Perfumes are mostly made from chemicals

People with allergies are often affected by perfumes. Perfumes may once have been thought of as the scented waters that women applied to themselves to make themselves smell pretty.

With the growth of the Perfume and Cosmetic industries there is now a vast array of perfumes.

Once perfumes were made from real flowers. These sweet smelling flowers were then able to be distilled and the oil of the flower was collected. This is now used as aromatherapy oil. It can be used to make perfume, but most perfumes today are made with chemicals. So probably the perfume you adore has been made in the laboratory with chemicals.

Where Perfumes can be Found

Perfumes can be found throughout our society today. They abound in the workplace, wherever people gather, and especially in the home. They are in

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deodorant after shaves personal hygiene sprays Household cleaners dishwashing liquid laundry powder fabric softener sun cream car fresheners hair conditioner hair gel wet wipes flowers

air fresheners toilet paper wool wash toothpaste anti-bacterial sprays baby powder talc cosmetics soap hair shampoo hairspray hand sanitisers liquid soap in public washrooms

Places to Avoid

Super market aisles near laundry powders and cleaners, cosmetics and sugar.
Groups of people early in the morning.

I know you are going to you are going to say 'What? Has she gone mad?' But here's the reason.

What do most of us do when we get up in the morning? Have a shower with nice smelling soap, wash our hair with perfumed shampoo and conditioner, dry ourselves with fabric softened towels, use deodorant. Ladies may put on perfumed face cream, sun cream or cosmetics and perfume. Men may apply shaving cream or after shave lotion, maybe some hair gel.  When they they walk out of the bathroom they are fresh and FULL of chemicals. When a group of these people get together it can spell disaster for the chemically sensitive.

Where would these people be? At church, on trains and buses and at work.

What to do about it?

Find out my suggestions in my next article.

Inflammation and Essential Oils

 

Plant oils can ease the pain of inflammation

What is Inflammation?
Inflammation is a reaction of the immune system to infection, injury or disease. It involves pain, swelling and redness of the area.
Inflammation can occur on the inside of the body where the internal organs are involved or the outside of the body where the reactions are noticeable on the skin.

Inflammation can affect the joints or muscles and tendons in our body. When
joints are inflamed it is called arthritis.

Muscles are important to us. The skeletal muscles hold the body together and the soft muscles are those of the stomach, intestines and other parts of the internal workings of our body.

When muscle mass is increased, there is more power to fight infection. The more muscles you have the higher is your metabolic rate. The metabolic rate is how fast your body works. The stronger your muscles, the less fat you have.

Healthy people in China
Last year we travelled to China. We went to places where people had not seen Westerners before. We spent quite a bit of time in the country and I noted how muscular the people were. They were small, thin and what I would call 'wiry', an old fashioned word. I suppose it means that you can see the muscles like wires beneath the skin. Even the young people were strong with lots of natural muscles. They were energetic. We do not see that in the Western society I live in. People go to the gym to build muscle. They have forgotten how to work physically to build muscle naturally.

Aromatherapy Oils Can Help Ease Inflammation
Many medicines used to relieve inflammation and pain have what is called COX-2 inhibitors. Many aromatherapy oils have these same inhibitors plus they also have nitric oxide inhibitors. A Japanese research study found that the oils that contain these inhibitors decreased COX enzymes by as much as 75%. Lemon and lemongrass are in this group of oils.

Many plant oils contain these inhibitors. The following aromatherapy or essential oils all centre around the lemon fragrance

Lemon
Lemon Balm
Lemon Verbena
Lemongrass also called Citronella

Lemon oil helps relieve inflammation of the joints. Caution: After you
massage lemon oil into your body, do not expose that part to sunlight as it may
burn. 

Lemon balm or Melissa officianalis relieves muscle spasms and arthritic and joint
pain, fibromyalgia and soreness or pain from exercising. It has antioxidant properties and stimulates the immune system and so is good for people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and allergies.

Lemon verbena extract has been shown in a study done by a University in Spain to decrease the signs of muscular damage in people who do lots of exercise. It helps in ways that antioxidant supplements alone did not do.

Lemongrass, also called citronella relieves tired, aching legs. It also eliminates lactic acid which builds up during exercise.

The National Library of Medicine says that lemongrass has analgesic properties which help reduce pain from inflammation of muscles, joints, tendons and other  parts of the body, It is being used in Asian medicine for depression and fatigue or malaise. muscular spasms and acts as a painkiller.

Try some of these oils in a massage oil to relieve pain from inflammation and see how they can help you.

Cheers

 

Reference: www.allergiesandcfs.com 

Massage Oil for Arthritis

 

Australian Essential oils can ease aches and pains

Aussie Massage Oil for Aches and Pains
Aussie Massage Oil for Aches and Pains has been made especially for the relief of muscular and joint aches and pains. It includes Eucalyptus oil, Lemon scented Tea Tree oil and grapeseed oil. 

All these oils are anti-inflammatory. This means they help ease inflammation. I have written a lot about inflammation. Its symptoms include heat and redness causing pain. 

Eucalyptus oil is the most typical oil for Australia. The aboriginal people were already using the eucalyptus tree for healing when British settlers arrived on the shores. Eucalyptus oil contains tannins which are believed to help reduce inflammation.

Eucalyptus oil is used by athletes for muscular aches and pains as well as by people with Arthritis. 

Lemon scented tea tree oil (Leptospermum petersonii) is also an anti-inflammatory. It smells nicer than Tea tree oil. It is not the same plant as tea tree oil.

Grapeseed oil also has anti-inflammatory properties and helps reduce pain. 

Multi Purpose Oil
Although this oil is suggested to be only for muscular and joint aches and pains, it is really a multipurpose oil as each of the oils have other healing properties.

Eucalyptus oil is also wonderful to help relieve coughs and colds, nasal and bronchial congestion, it helps heal wounds and fungal infections and kills bacteria, some viruses and fungi - moulds.

Lemon scented tea tree oil is also multi purpose. It prevents moulds, is anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal. It is a powerful insect repellent and also helps kill off some lung infections.

Other articles on the same subject
Inflammation and Essential Oils
Natural Supplements for Inflammation
Is there a Connection between Potatoes and Arthritis?
Is There a Connection between Potatoes and Arthritis? Part 2

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University of Maryland Medical Centre

This oil is available only at my Ebay shop Click image to go straight there

Photo and design by Therese Vahland