All About Lavender Oil

As I still try to figure out exactly where my blogs are going, I decided that maybe I should start with things I know about.  Things that I am passionate about.  One of the things I am most passionate about are Essential Oils and the many different things for which they can be used. 

Over the next several weeks, I am going to be sharing what I know about Essential Oils and provide you with the information that you need in order to maximize their use in your life.  I know that there are still so many people who don't believe in the benefits of using Essential Oils, but I hope that by my sharing my knowledge, those skeptics may be willing to give it a try.

I am going to start this series off by discussing Lavender oil.  First, I want to talk about the different companies out there that sell essential oils.  Sadly, not all of them are therapeutic grade; which means that you may not get the benefits you are hoping for if you don't purchase the right oil.

I personally use Purely brand essential oils.  Not only because I am a Purely Consultant but because they are the best value that I have found for therapeutic grade oils.

Now, let's talk about Lavender Essential Oil.  Purely uses the Lavender flower from France to make their Lavender Oil.  The aroma of Lavender Oil is refreshing and clean.  As an aromatherapy, it can be used for relaxation and helps to provide a sense of calmness.  If you have never used essential oils before, this should be your first oil.  The benefits that it provides are simply amazing.

Here is a list of some of its benefits and uses:

• Can be used for bathing, cooking, and in perfumes
• It calms and soothes the body & mind
• Calms skin irritations and aids in accelerating skin recovery
• Minimizes scarring
• Eases muscle tension
• Aids in sleeping
• Reduces the appearance of wrinkles and acne
• Lessens muscle stress 
• Helps to relieve allergies, anxiety and appetite loss
• Heals bites, stings, blisters, boils, burns, chicken pox, cuts, diaper rash, hay fever, inguinal hernias, herpes simplex, impetigo, poison ivy/oak, rashes, skin ulcers, thrush, and wounds. 
• Helps in treating agitation, concentration, depression, convulsions, dandruff, diabetic sores, exhaustion, fever, gangrene, gas/flatulence, grief/sorrow, hyperactivity, inflammation, insomnia, itching, jet lag, menopause, mental stress, mood swings, muscular paralysis, pain, Parkinson's Disease, Phlebitis, physical stress, Postpartum Depression, Rheumatoid arthritis, dry and sensitive skin, seizures, skin ulcers, stretch marks, sunburn, tachycardia, teeth grinding, teething pain, tension, vertigo, withdrawal, worms and wrinkles

As you can see, Lavender is a universal oil that has been used for many ailments and is traditionally known to balance the body and it works wherever there is need.  

There are three ways that lavender oil can be used: topically, diffusion and by ingesting.  When applying lavender topically it can be done "neat" (use in its pure form, without diluting with a carrier oil) or it can be applied diluted in shea butter, coco butter, or carrier oil.  Diffusion is the most common way all essential oils are used as an aromatherapy.  You can purchase an oil diffuser in which you put water in a dish attached to an electrical unit and put a few drops of neat oil in the water.  The diffuser produces a mist that allows the fragrance of the oil to enter the air.  Lastly, ingestion of lavender order can be done several ways.  You can place 1-2 drops of oil under the tongue, take in capsules like a pill or put a few drops in beverages or as flavoring for cooking and baking.  

It is an analgesic, anticoagulant, anticonvulsant, antidepressant, antifungal, antihistamine, anti-infectious, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobal, antimutagenic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, antitoxic, antitumor, cardiotonic.  It can be used as a sedative and it also contains regenerative properties. 

In my opinion, Lavender oil is the only oil a person needs to have on hand at all times. If you would like to purchase your Lavender oil to get started with the wonderful world of natural, homeopathic remedies, stop by my site by clicking below 

Purely Lavender Oil

Download a copy of the product information sheet here. 

I want to here from you!  Comment below and let me know your thoughts.

Losing Ourselves in a Social Media World

Laying in bed trying to think of topics to write about and share with the world; I suddenly realized that I think I might be losing something about me and I blame it on this new world of social media.  Don't get me wrong.  I LOVE using social media to keep in contact with old friends and long distance family.  I even enjoy being able to share inspiring photos and quotes while also seeing the latest picture of my best friend's kids being silly.  However, I am starting to realize that I am losing my creativity.  I am losing something inside of me.  I used to be able to write about things that mattered to me without much thought at all.  I wish I still had all those spiral notebooks with the short stories and essays that I wrote sitting at home alone without anything to do.  I can't even remember what I would write about.  

Even though social media has allowed us to stay connected in ways that we never imagined even 10 years ago, are we too connected with one another?  Have I started sharing too much information on my Facebook news feed?  I have started to pay attention to what I am sharing with my Facebook Friends and I am making more of an effort to censor what I post.  I do think that having so much information at our fingertips 24/7 is in fact changing who we are as people.  For example, while standing in line at the polls waiting to vote on the Presidential Primary, no one was talking.  nearly everyone in line was glued to their smart phones.  I am sure that most of those people where engaged in some sort of activity involving social media.  Four years ago when I was standing in line to vote for president, no one was looking at their cell phone, we were making conversation with our neighbors who were also in line to vote.  

It makes me sad to think that because of all of the "great" ways that we can keep in touch with each other, I am losing some of the fundamental things that make me  - well - me.  Are we creating a world of anti-social, tech-dependent human beings who can't carry on an intelligent conversation without staring needlessly at our computers or smartphones?  Then I think about my teenaged daughter.  All she does is stay in her room doing one of may 4 activities:  she is either watching netflix, completing her home school lessons online, listening to music so loud that it drowns out everything else around her or she is texting, snap chatting, or posting selfies on Instagram.  I don't think I have had a meaningful conversation with her in at least a year. 

Now, I know that social media isn't fully to blame, but it sure plays a huge role in the way our lives have changed.  My husband and I sit next to each other watching TV while we each play games on our iPhones.  We go out to a restaurant for dinner and instead of talking to each other about our day, we occupy ourselves by surfing the internet while waiting for the server to bring our meals.  

When I think about how much my life has changed after the advent of social media, I know that I am not the only one.  The majority of people my age and younger build their lives in this Facebook and Twitter world.  How do we find a balance?  How do we stop being so dependent on our social media accounts and get back to the simple pleasures of life like reading books & magazines and sitting at a dinner table, telling each other about our days and sharing our hopes and dreams with our voices, not our fingers.