Many think that therapeutic grade essentials oils are a new and recent development in the new age of alternative medicine, but they have been used medicinally for thousands of years.  When I was recently told that my mammogram showed  “abnormal” cells growing on my right breast, Frankincense was the first oil I reached for….along with a few herbs from my Ayurvedic pharmacy.  I guess I will never know what actually worked or didn’t but there was no cancer when doctors performed the biopsy.  For 15 years I have witnessed the healing power of therapeutic grade essential oils, in my own life and with my clients. 

Now as a part of my daily self care routine I apply Frankincense oil to my shoulders, arms and breasts, after my shower, just before sitting for meditation.  When the skin is warm and moist the oil is easily absorbed into the tissues, blood, and lymphatic system.

The following information comes from the BBC.

“The gift given by the wise men to the baby Jesus probably came across the deserts from Oman. The BBC’s Jeremy Howell visits the country to ask whether a commodity that was once worth its weight in gold could be reborn as a treatment for cancer.

Oman’s Land of Frankincense is an 11-hour drive southwards from the capital, Muscat.

Most of the journey is through Arabia’s Empty Quarter – hundreds of kilometres of flat, dun-coloured desert. Just when you are starting to think this is the only scenery you will ever see again, the Dhofar mountains appear in the distance.

On the other side are green valleys, with cows grazing in them. The Dhofar region catches the tail-end of India’s summer monsoons, and they make this the most verdant place on the Arabian peninsula.

Warm winters and showery summers are the perfect conditions for the Boswellia sacra tree to produce the sap called frankincense. These trees grow wild in Dhofar. A tour guide, Mohammed Al-Shahri took me to Wadi Dawkah, a valley 20 km inland from the main city of Salalah, to see a forest of them.

“The records show that frankincense was produced here as far back as 7,000 BC,” he says. He produces an army knife. He used to be a member of the Sultan’s Special Forces. With a practised flick, he cuts a strip of bark from the trunk of one of the Boswellia sacra trees. Pinpricks of milky-white sap appear on the wood and, very slowly, start to ooze out.

Boswellia sacra produces the highest-quality frankincense

“This is the first cut. But you don’t gather this sap,” he says. “It releases whatever impurities are in the wood. The farmers return after two or three weeks and make a second, and a third, cut. Then the sap comes out yellow, or bright green, or brown or even black. They take this.”

Shortly afterwards, a frankincense farmer arrives in a pick-up truck. He is white-bearded, wearing a brown thobe and the traditional Omani, paisley-patterned turban.

He is 67-year-old Salem Mohammed from the Gidad family. Most of the Boswellia sacra trees grow on public land, but custom dictates that each forest is given to one of the local families to farm, and Wadi Dawkah is his turf.

Camel train

He has an old, black, iron chisel with which he gouges out clumps of dried frankincense.

“We learnt about frankincense from our forefathers and they learnt it from theirs” he says. “The practice has been passed down through the generations. We exported the frankincense, and that’s how the families in Dhofar made their livings.”

Salem Mohammed: Young people prefer careers in oil or government

And what an export trade it was. Frankincense was sent by camel train to Egypt, and from there to Europe. It was shipped from the ancient port of Sumharan to Persia, India and China. Religions adopted frankincense as a burnt offering.

That is why, according to Matthew’s Gospel in the Bible, the Wise Men brought it as a gift to the infant Jesus. Gold: for a king. Frankincense: for God. Myrrh: to embalm Jesus’ body after death.

The Roman Empire coveted the frankincense trade. In the first century BCE, Augustus Caesar sent 10,000 troops to invade what the Romans called Arabia Felix to find the source of frankincense and to control its production. The legions, marching from Yemen, were driven back by the heat and the aridity of the desert. They never found their Eldorado.

Oman’s frankincense trade went into decline three centuries ago, when Portugal fought Oman for dominance of the sea routes in the Indian and the Pacific Oceans.

Salalah’s Haffa souk: The place to buy Omani brands such as Royal Hougari

Nowadays, hardly any Omani frankincense is exported. Partly, this is because bulk buyers, such as the Roman Catholic Church, buy cheaper Somalian varieties. Partly, it is because Omanis now produce so little.

“Years ago, 20 families farmed frankincense in this area,” says Salem Mohammed Gidad. “But the younger generation can get well-paid jobs in the government and the oil companies, with pensions. Now, only three people still produce frankincense around here. The trade is really, really tiny!”

Cancer hope

But immunologist Mahmoud Suhail is hoping to open a new chapter in the history of frankincense.

Scientists have observed that there is some agent within frankincense which stops cancer spreading, and which induces cancerous cells to close themselves down. He is trying to find out what this is.

The Catholic church mostly buys Somalian frankincense

“Cancer starts when the DNA code within the cell’s nucleus becomes corrupted,” he says. “It seems frankincense has a re-set function. It can tell the cell what the right DNA code should be.

“Frankincense separates the ‘brain’ of the cancerous cell – the nucleus – from the ‘body’ – the cytoplasm, and closes down the nucleus to stop it reproducing corrupted DNA codes.”

Working with frankincense could revolutionise the treatment of cancer. Currently, with chemotherapy, doctors blast the area around a tumour to kill the cancer, but that also kills healthy cells, and weakens the patient. Treatment with frankincense could eradicate the cancerous cells alone and let the others live.

The task now is to isolate the agent within frankincense which, apparently, works this wonder. Some ingredients of frankincense are allergenic, so you cannot give a patient the whole thing.

FRANKINCENSE FACTS *Boswellia sacra grows in Oman, Yemen and Somalia *Other Boswellia species grow in Africa and India *The tree may have been named after John Boswell, the uncle of Samuel Johnson’s biographer *In ancient Egypt frankincense was thought to be sweat of the gods Source: The Pharmaceutical Journal

Dr Suhail (who is originally from Iraq) has teamed up with medical scientists from the University of Oklahoma for the task.

In his laboratory in Salalah, he extracts the essential oil from locally produced frankincense. Then, he separates the oil into its constituent agents, such as Boswellic acid.

“There are 17 active agents in frankincense essential oil,” says Dr Suhail. “We are using a process of elimination. We have cancer sufferers – for example, a horse in South Africa – and we are giving them tiny doses of each agent until we find the one which works.”

“Some scientists think Boswellic acid is the key ingredient. But I think this is wrong. Many other essential oils – like oil from sandalwood – contain Boswellic acid, but they don’t have this effect on cancer cells. So we are starting afresh.”

The trials will take months to conduct and whatever results come out of them will take longer still to be verified. But this is a blink of the eye in the history of frankincense.

Nine thousand years ago, Omanis gathered it and burnt it for its curative and cleansing properties. It could be a key to the medical science of tomorrow.

Jeremy Howell reports for Middle East Business Report on BBC World News.

TO LEARN MORE OR TO ORDER FRANKINCENSE OIL VISIT: www.MarthaGesegnet.com

This has been a saying that I adotped many years ago.  I can’t honestly remember when or where I first heard it.  When a colleague sent me this article by one of the leading experts in the field of clinical aromatherapy  I felt it an important reminder for any one wishing to heal illness with a bodymind approach.

Release the Emotion and the Disease Disappears
~~ by David Stewart

There are many books that connect physical diseases, illnesses, and conditions with unresolved emotions buried in our body and psyche. These books include “Feelings Buried Alive Never Die,” by Karol Truman, “A More Excellent Way,” by Henry Wright, “Heal Your Body,” by Louise Hay, and “Releasing Emotional Patterns with Essential Oils,” by Carolyn Mein. There is also a DVD entitled, “Emotional Releasing With Oils,” by David Stewart.

The idea is this. When we face a stressful emotional issue that we are unable to handle, our mind saves the memory for us to access at a later time when we will be more mature and better able to deal with it. Experiences that result in buried feelings tend to happen more often in our childhoods when we are less able to cope. They may be forgotten, consciously, but they are not lost. Instead they lodge as cellular memories, lurking in our bodies, only to come back to us as teenagers or adults resurrected, but disguised, as physical maladies. How does this happen?

Your Body as a Digital Library

Each cell of our body has 6 gigabytes of memory and we have an estimated 100 trillion cells. This provides each and every one of us an almost unlimited capability to store memories of forgotten traumas in our cells. When we face a situation we can’t handle, we don’t get to avoid it. We can postpone it, but we can’t avoid it. Stressful situations are opportunities to learn spiritual lessons we need to learn. So if we don’t handle the situation and resolve the feelings now, in present time, our minds do not forget and erase. They just postpone us having to deal with the crisis until we are more ready at some future time.

At the instant of the unbearable experience, your emotional (limbic) brain acts as a librarian with your body as the library. Your mind will choose a place to store that memory for future reference. If, say, the chosen place in your bodily library is your pancreas, then that tramatic memory will lodge there and you won’t even know such a memory is there, perhaps, for years. Eventually you develop hypoglycemia or a pain in your left side, which is your Pancreas’ way of tapping you on the shoulder to say, “There is an issue here you need to deal with.” If we don’t understand that the pancreas is attempting to communicate a message to us and we keep misunderstanding and postponing the taking of appropriate action, the hypoglycemia develops into diabetes or the pain just gets more severe. If we still don’t understand the message and respond, the condition can get worse and worse until we die.

Diseases as Coded Messages

Most bodily diseases are coded messages from our subconscious minds to remind us that unresolved issues, stored in our tissues, are seeking to be resolved. They are saying, “Now is the time. Fix it now.” You don’t need to wonder if you are ready and able to deal with the buried issues at this time or not. Your body’s wisdom knows when you are ready and chooses the right time for you. So any time you suffer from any physical condition, chronic or acute, ask yourself what happened in the past, perhaps even the distant past, that is the root cause this condition and then attempt to decode the message and take action to resolve it.

It takes a lot of honest introspection, prayer, and inner spiritual effort to succeed, but it is what we have to do. An emotional issue resolved is a spiritual lesson learned. When the emotional root of a physical condition has been resolved, the physical condition will disappear because it was only a message, a message no longer needed. It may not disappear overnight, it may take time, but it will disappear and, sometimes, literally overnight.

The rewards for engaging in dialy efforts to clear our emotional baggage are many. Our physical disabilities can disappear. Our happiness level increases and a sense of peace comes over us. We feel closer to God and a greater sense of security. We become more stable, more focused, and a more pleasant person to be around. Working on ourselves to throw out our emotional hitchhikders is one of the most rewarding things we can do for ourselves and for everyone around us.

A Case in Point

I recently was witness to a near-instant healing from an emotional release that dramatically demonstrated that “When the underlying emotion is cleared, the overlying malady disappears.”

I was doing a free public program on emotional releasing. 40-50 people had come. Before the meeting began I noticed a lady seated beyond the back row with her legs proped on a chair. I went back to tell her that she wouldn’t be able to see or hear as well back there and there were plenty of seats closer to the front. She replied that her legs and feet were severaly swollen and she had to keep them up on a chair in order to sit through the program without too much discomfort. She said that she did not know anything about essential oils and had come out of curiosity.

I returned to the front of the room and began the program. About an hour into the program I was talking about how certain physical conditions correspond to certain emotions. I asked the audience to name me some physical problems and I would look the roots in one of the books I had on hand. The lady in the back raised her hand and asked me to look up “edema or swelling in the lower limbs.” I did, and the answer was this is symbolic of “hanging onto things you need to let go of.” She nodded in agreement with that finding.

Later, during the last 45 minutes of the program, I called for a volunteer to be the receiver of a facilitated emotional release to be done on a massage table a the front of the room. Since many raised their hands as willing volunteers, we took names and drew one from a hat. The person with edema in the back of the room was the one drawn.

We went through the emotional releasing protocol, using a number of oils, as a teaching demonstration for the audience. Oils were applied to her feet, neck, and head while she was given oils to apply to her abdomen and heart at certain times during the demonstration. After the preparatory stage, releasing stage, and concluding grounding stage, all of which took only about 30 minutes, she was ready to sit up. She commented that she had let go of a lot of “stuff.” But that was all she said. She was given a bottle of water to drink and the program was concluded. That was in the afternoon.

“My Edema is No More!”

That evening I was giving a public program on “Healing Oils of the Bible” at the same community hall. An even larger group showed up for that when in walked the lady who had had the swollen legs and feet.

“Dr. Stewart,” she said, “Look at my shoes. They are brand new but I have not been able to wear them for months because of the swelling. But look! My edema is no more!” she exclaimed. “Today, within an hour after the program, my edema completely and totally disappeared and I can wear my new shoes again.”

It was quite visible that her extremities were no longer swollen. She was very happy and her face appeared to be years younger. That afternoon she had not been planning to return that evening for the Scriptural Oils program, but she did. And she was able to sit comfortably in a chair for a program lasting two-and-a-half hours without needing to prop her legs up, as had been necessary just a few hours earlier.

This is a good illustration of the dictum: “When emotions are resolved, the corresponding body condition disappears, because it was only a message which is now understood, acted upon, and no longer necessary.”

As summer winds down and we begin to transition into a new season, it is a
perfect time for cleansing our body,mind, and spirit.  In Ayurveda this
is done with Panchakarma.

It is commonly perceived as only an internal cleansing routine, but Panchkarma
is also a time used to meditate, journal, and get grounded and centered from within,
preparing for the more inward cycle of nature….Fall and Winter.

In Ayurveda, “Detoxification” is not just a physical regimen but also a
break from the often hectic pace of our external worlds, to focus on our
inner landscape, cleansing the mind and spirit, creating a feeling
of lightness, and a clear and calm mind.

Essential oils hold great benefits when used in conjunction with meditation or
guided relaxation.  One that I recommend to clients regularly
is “Magnify Your Purpose”  from Young Living.

It assists with algining your inner and outer purpose.  So many times we find
we have a strong inner passion, yet it can be a challenge to bring that into alignment
and live it with integrity, as an outer passion in our families, work, and communities.

We best serve our selves when we can align our inner
and outer purpose by “shining the light” that we are. 

Maginify your purpose is a specially crafted blend of essential oils that stimulates
creativity, desire, focus, and motivation.

Whether your challenges are physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual this oil
helps foster a positive attitude, encouraging you to rise above adversity,
seize the initiative,overcome procrastination, and magnify your life’s purpose.

Live the life you were meant to live. Maginify Your Purpose and move forward
to it.  Find your passion, find your health.  You came here with a purpose, to live
a happy, healthy, and vibrant life.

So many times people assume that using “holistic” medicine means they  have to spend a lot of money on all sorts of supplements and organic foods, and in these “lean” times they see it as an added expense with little long term benefits.  Not True.  Using an truly INtegrative approach to health can save you money.

Let me give a recent real life example on how holistic medicine saved about $900.

I broke a tooth.  There was no pain, and it was not sensitive to hot or cold.  I did not go running to the dentist.  For a few weeks I brushed and flossed diligently and put a dab of lavender essential oil on it 3 times a day.

Forward two weeks, listening to my intuition it was time to get the tooth fixed. the dentist took an x ray, patched the tooth and sent me on my way.  Three days later I had a toothache and abscess.  The dentist was convinced the tooth was “dying”, and assumed it was time for a root canal.  Yet, when he took another x ray he said he could not do a root canal based on the results.  He sent me home on an antibiotic.

I was happy to take the antibiotic if it meant no root canal, I know plenty of things to do and take to counter the damage the antibiotic would do to my intestinal flora and immune system.  I loaded up on omega oils, beneficial bacteria, and smoothies with lots of enzyme rich fruits, and vitamin C. 

After two weeks, all fixed, all better, all healed…..I’m a happy camper.  Still financially way ahead of the game versus a root canal, and saved several hours of my time not sitting in the dentist chair….not to mention pain.

I continued using Lavender essential oil but also added Thieves Oil,  Thieves mouthwash, and Thieves toothpaste.  (for more info on Thieves www.MarthaGesegnet.com )

Fast forward three weeks, I woke up with an abscess in the same area, now it’s painful.  Off I go to the dentist.  Now he is REALLY pushing for a root canal.  He states that this is an indicator, the repeated abscesses.  He takes yet another x ray, but doesn’t charge me for it.

He is puzzled, he doesn’t see what he expects to see. This is when it pays to really tune in to your intuition.   My experience as a nurse and holistic practitioner, for 20 years, has shown me that when modern medicine can’t find a reason for your symptoms, this is the best time to emply principles and techniques from energy medicine.  Your body-mind has not “cemented” the physical symptoms into your energy field yet!

This is when you have the best chance of changing the “vibration” of the illness, and preventing it from becoming permanent.  ( that’s also why energy medicine is for preventing illness, it can break up congested areas before it turns into a serious illness).

I resisted my dentist’s urgings for a root canal.  We scheduled an in depth cleaning on that side of my mouth for two days later.  I continued with the essential oils and increased their use to every 2 hours.  I also got out my Louise Hay book, “Heal Your Body”.  I looked up abscess, gum disease, and teeth.  The metaphysicalal suggestions were very close to what I was currently experinceing on an EMOTIONAL level in my life.

I began repeating the corresponding affirmations every hour and continued with the essential oils.  I returned to the dentist for the cleaning.  He again urged that despite the “inconclusive” x ray, the tooth was mostly likely dying and I needed a root canal.

Being aware of your own health and body is very important.  I was very aware that this second abscess was not located around the original broken tooth, but rather the one next to it.  This would again lead me to believe that from an energetic perspective, the infection/ abscess was mobile, not locked in to the same tooth.  When I questioned the dentist he had no real explanation.  I inquired, “then are both teeth dying?  Which tooth needs a root canal? “ 

Trust yourself. Listen to your intuition. If you don’t know what that sounds like, learn. Find a holisitc practitioner that can help to reconnect you to your own inner healer.  Find a team of practitioners that can reconnect you to the language of your higher self and your body.

Until the dentist could show me definitive proof, or I was in constant excruciating misery, I was not willing to let him do a root canal.  Let’s remember , that is how he supports his family and life style.  He was very familiar with Thieves products, some of his hygenists use them at home.  He said he could not consciously recommend them to his patients because there are no proven clinical trials.

It is prudent to remind everyone reading, Aspirin was never approved by the FDA in clinical trials, no one really knows how it works, yet it is taken by millions every day.

Fast forward 3 months my tooth is fine, no more problems.  By combining good dental cleaning,  xrays, antibiotic therapy, essential oil therapy, energy medicine, and mind/spirit affirmations I was able to heal two dental abscesses and avoid a root canal.

A savings of about $900.  I already had all those oils on hand, but they cost about $75.  The antibiotic, x rays, cleaning, and office visits were about $215.  Had I let him do the root canal, $1200.  Cost of trusting yourself and working with your own inner healer? PRICELESS.