Christmas Scents
By Kelli Nelson, Editor and Co-Publisher, Zia’s Essential Connections

Originally Posted Christmas 2004

One of my favorite things during this time of year is all of the wonderful scents. Whether it be from special meals we have prepared or greens we have decorated with, the holiday smells are everywhere. I love the way the scents welcome me as I enter a room. There is no question in my mind of the therapeutic value of aromas. While I diffuse all year round, there are certain oils I like to diffuse in the Christmas season. Among my favorites are Christmas Spirit. Citrus Fresh, and Evergreen Essence. Diffusing essential oils during this time of year is crucial because this is also the time of year that viruses and bacteria are rampantly invading our environment. Nobody wants to be sick, especially during the holiday season. When we diffuse essential oils, we greatly reduce the risk of catching and spreading these ugly little bugs. Christmas Spirit is a beautiful blend of orange, cinnamon bark and spruce. The aroma reminds us of the spices and evergreens associated with the holidays which brings about a sense of joy and happiness. Orange is rich in the powerful anti-oxidant d-limonene and supports the respiratory, digestive, and circulatory systems. Cinnamon bark is highly antimicrobial, anti-infectious, and antibacterial for a wide spectrum of infections. It is also antiviral and antifungal. Spruce is anti-infectious, antiseptic and helps the respiratory system. So, you can see that diffusing Christmas Spirit will do much more than just spread good cheer. Citrus Fresh is a blend that is usually not associated with the holidays. I like it because this time of year tends to be the most stressful time for me and Citrus Fresh is a very calming, relaxing blend. It is also a fantastic air purifier. Evergreen Essence is a seasonal blend that is not available year round. This combination of a variety of pine, cedar, and spruce trees refreshes your senses while taking you back to nature.

For hundreds of years essential oils and other aromatics have been used for religious rituals, ceremonies, and celebrations. Doesn’t it seem fitting to include it in our Christmas holiday traditions?

Twenty Trillion Possibilities
by David Stewart, Ph.D., D.N.M.

When God crafted the molecules of essential oils he kept it simple. Basically, He used only three types of builiding blocks: Carbon (C), Hydrogen (H), and Oxygen (O). Traces of a few other elements are contained in aromatic oils, but only traces. Yet, every plant produces is own unique blend of hundreds of compounds that comprise its oils–all composed of just three kinds of atoms: C, H and O. Scientists have yet to completely analyze even one essential oil, such is their complexity. And what’s more, every year, the same plant or species produces variations on its oils that are different than any previous year’s crop. How can such limitless variations be possible from only three elements?

Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen are God’s Legos. They are the elements of all life as we know it on earth. Consider them as God’s Legos. He plays with them like children’s building blocks. To appreciate the possibilities, consider if you had only sixteen Legos: 5 yellow ones (call these Carbon atoms), 8 red ones (call these Hydrogen atoms), and 3 blue ones (call these Oxygen atoms).

If you were in a room with, say, 10 people, each of whom had a set of sixteen Legos in three colors as just described, if you were each asked to build something without looking at anyone else’s work, would any two of you build exactly the same arrangement of Legos? The answer is NO. In fact, if there were 1,000 of you in the room, no two of you would build the exactly the same thing. For sixteen Legos in three colors, as described, there are an incredible 20,922,789,888,000 possibilities. That’s more than 20 trillion!

The chemistry of essential oils consists of simple hydrocarbons, oxygenated hydrocarbons, and their isomers. Unless you have had a course in chemistry, that sentence may seem a little obstruse, but buried within its meaning are only three elements: Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen. That, in a sentence, is the chemistry of essential oils made simple. Yet, within the simplicity of this elemental trinity are unlimited possibilities, not only for essential oils, but for all the living lifeforms we know, including our own bodies.

Part of the incredible compatability between human bodies and essential oils has to do with their compositions being mainly of the same basic elements. That would be a scientific explanation. But there is also a spiritual explanation. According to Genesis 1, God created plants (and their oils) on the third day, but he did not create human beings until the sixth day. For there to be such a perfect fit between the molecules of essential oils and the receptor sites of our human cells, one can only conclude that God thought of us and loved us before he ever made us.

As an expression of his love for his son, Jesus, whose birth anniversary we celebrate this season, God inspired wise men from afar to bring gifts to the manger, gifts of his most precious oils–frankincense and myrrh–healing ointments he had crafted with forethought, long before either we or the baby christ were born.

How about that for a thought to carry through the Holiday Season.

NOTE: The above excerpt is paraphrased from Dr. Stewart’s new book, The Chemistry of Essential Oils Made Simple (God’s Love Manifest in Molecules), 800 pages, Hardback, $49.95., intended to be released by the end of January 2005. It will be available through the CARE Website, http://www.RaindropTraining.com, as well as through Abundant Health at 888-718-3068. Its actual publication date will be announced in the January 2005 issue of this newsletter.