Aromatherapy: Mind & Emotions

Aromatherapy makes use of Essential oils. This the second part of this 3-Part article will discuss the way essential oils effect the mind and emotions.

b) The Way Essential Oils Effect the Mind and Emotions
The Mind and Emotions, or rather the way we think and feel, are effected by essential oils via our sense of smell, as are all the odors we consciously and UNCONSCIOUSLY detect.

The Sense of Smell forms the greater part of our Sense of Taste (note how your sense of taste and smell is affected when you have a head cold or blocked up nose. The sense of smell is also affected by pollution, smoking, trauma to the nose itself and a mucous forming diet).

The sense of smell of our ancient ancestors was far superior to ours. They identified one another by smell as well as sight, and could even detect the usefulness of a plant by its smell. They also tracked animals by smell.
The sense of smell helps us to distinguish between 'good' and 'bad' odors, which tell us if food is fit to be eaten or if there is disease or hygiene present.

ODOURS & DISEASE
A couple of hundred years ago, physicians would use the sense of smell as a diagnostic aid. Arthritis and rheumatism have an acid smell, a good midwife could tell a post-partum haemorrhage by the smell of blood passed, diabetes gives an acetone smell to the breathe and the urine, perspiration can give us clues as to the health of the kidneys and lymphatic system, the smell of faeces also can tell us the type of disease in the digestive tract. Natural medicine still uses this method of diagnosis.

The human nose has the ability to distinguish many thousands of different odors, and the memory of these odors is stored deep in our sub-conscious minds. (See R. Tisserand 'The Art of Aromatherapy" pages 60-73).

When we inhale air molecules which, are carrying the