Aromatherapy & Acupuncture: Shifting Consciousness to Change Our Lives.
Aroma-therapy is an empowering, consciousness-shifting modality. I was taught through my Chinese medicine training to construct essential oil blends like herbal formulas. In my own experience, they are surprisingly effective in treating both body and mind.
The practice of Chinese herbal medicine encompasses many things, including botanicals as expected, but it also consists of working with essential oils, and even stones and crystals. Most of these substances are discussed in the oldest of materia-medica textbooks, including the Sheng Nong Ben Cao originating from the 1st century.
It is popular modern practice to use herbs and oils on their own based on scientifically discovered abilities. However, herbs and oils were classically combined into formulas, with the belief that it’s the synergy amongst substances that creates the greatest healing effect.
Within all herbal formulas, there are strategies employed to achieve a particular effect.
A recent essential oil blend I created for a patient contained 9 oils. She wanted a blend that would help shift her consciousness regarding wealth and creativity. She had underlying struggles with a sense of purpose, willpower and self-worth. She also felt somewhat impoverished, feeling she never made enough money to feel secure.
I used this classic Chinese medical strategy to treat this patient:
- Nourish and move blood (to help her feel she has more material resources),
- Tonify Yang Qi (to boost willpower and sense of purpose),
- Harmonize the Heart and Kidneys (to empower a deeper sense of self),
- Open the Portals of Perception (so she could break through confusion and negative thought patterns.
Moving the blood helps a person deal with trauma; opening the portals helps dispel phlegm causing confusion. Dispelling phlegm also implies eliminating parasitic elements, including habits and negative self-talk. Harmonizing the Heart and Kidney implies calming the mind and spirit for deeper ease within oneself.
Within a formula, there are the chiefs, the assistants, the envoys and harmonizers. This is based on classic herbal medicine theory. The chief substances address the major intention for the patient and their condition. In this patient’s case: to feel better about herself regarding abundance and self-worth. The assistants help support the chiefs and the main intention. They will address the physiological and psychological imbalances leading to the main issue. The envoys direct the formula into a specific area of the body or mind: her heart (emotional center) and mind. The harmonizers help the body to digest and synthesize the formula, to minimize reactivity or side-effects.
I always ask my patients to state their intention. What do they want to work on or explore? Intention is very powerful, directing the treatment or formula.
The patient wanted to work on certain themes in her life. She complained of feeling a loss of willpower, confidence and purpose. When we explored deeper into this, she discovered much fear, especially around money. She felt she didn’t have enough – she had an impoverished state of mind. But more seriously she also felt she wasn’t good enough intrinsically as a person. She feared she didn’t have what it takes to be successful in life. There were aspects of her past that “haunted her,” elements of trauma, but also “stinking thinking” manifesting behavior that was counter-productive. She said her head felt full, heavy, cloudy and confused. She was often in a state of anxiety that sometimes turned into panic and dissociation. Her menstruation was also irregular and painful.
She wanted a “spiritual” formula that would help her manifest more success in her life.
As the chief oils we used Vetiver, assisted by Carrot Seed. Vetiver has a nourishing effect on blood, while also moving blood. Carrot Seed also nourishes the blood and harmonizes digestion especially related to the relationship between the Liver and Spleen-Stomach: the building and storage of blood. Carrot Seed is said to be related to spiritual cultivation relating to the concept of “wealth” and feeling a sense of completion: that we have enough. Vetiver works with fear, calming the mind and regulating (balancing) the drive to create: making sure we are in the process, not depressed or constrained, yet also not overly driven to the point of exhaustion.
The chief intention was focused on material resources, which is associated with blood in Chinese medical thinking. We needed oils that effected blood- both the generation, movement (circulation) and storage of blood. The ability to create wealth, utilize it and save it. She needed to begin feeling she could both generate and hold onto wealth. She also needed to go beyond fear of using her (inner) wealth to generate more. She needed greater confidence in herself. We also needed oils that would help her understand what inhibits blood building and storage: ways she was sabotaging herself. But the chiefs first had to support her ability to connect with her issues around abundance.
The next set of oils promoted a balancing between action and engagement. Cinnamon Leaf and Fennel both “warm the interior” of the body to strengthen the Yang energy of the Kidneys. This has a boosting effect on willpower.
Cinnamon Leaf helps empower a greater sense of purpose. Fennel boosts the willpower while also support the interactive communication between the Kidneys (self and willpower) and the Heart (spirit and animation – desire and curiosity).
These two oils helped address underlying fear and lack of willpower relating to her issues.
I chose the oil Narcissus to support the Fennel in Heart-Kidney communication, so she could root her willpower and sense of purpose in deep self-love and self-regard. Narcissus and Vetiver both have a calming effect on the mind and spirit. Many teachers say fear is essentially fear of oneself. The combo of these oils focused on this.
We came to see that underlying her sense of impoverishment was a lack of self-love, and fear of her own power. The Narcissus, Vetiver and Fennel combination would help address this.
Styrax and Niaouli were used to support the Cinnamon Leaf.
Niaouli strengthens the Qi (active vitality) of the Kidneys and the Lungs to break through vulnerability and isolation. Not only was she afraid of herself, but also of outside judgement. We wanted her to gain a sense of boldness in relating to the world.
Styrax has an opening effect on the consciousness, to break through confusion and fogginess.
These two oils also help “kill worms” – parasitic elements that can include addictions or things that haunt us and cloud our thinking. Styrax is especially helpful for hyper-vigilance or feeling overly reactive to the world, usually based in a sense of vulnerability. Fight or flight. In her case her hyper-vigilance was causing her to retreat from the world. The Niaouli helps break through obsessive-compulsive behavior and addictions, which she spoke of as her reaction to fear: she not only hides, she also distracts herself to avoid having to face her fears.
Petitgrain was added as a harmonizer, to regulate the energy of the chest. It treats “rebellious energy” – reactivity often due to fear. In this case her tendency to hide. It is another oil that is very calming for the mind. It also treats stubbornness and difficulty changing.
Spikenard was added to harmonize the ability to let go of the past, and mediate difficulty that can come with change. It deals with “Liver wind” – reactivity usually based on fear, especially in relation to change of behavior and thinking.
The envoys in the formula were Styrax to focus the formula into the head: the perceptive portals; and Petitgrain to bring the formula into the chest: the center of the emotions. Within Chinese medicine, the mind is rooted in both the chest/Heart and the head/Brain, with the chest being more immediate consciousness and the brain more stored consciousness.
With this formula we wanted to help shift her thinking (and feeling) about material wealth relating to her own self-esteem. This is why we directed it into the head and heart/chest.
The formula consisted of 9 oils, which is a classic Daoist number relating to the spirit. A “spiritual” number. The total effect of the formula was to nourish blood and a sense of inner resources. (Again: Blood is related to wealth in Chinese medical thinking). To help her identify and rectify her feelings of impoverishment and how they were manifesting in her life.
Underneath the blood- building effect of the formula is a warming quality to boost her root capacity to create: her willpower and sense of inner purpose, which is addressed through strengthening the Kidney energy as both the fundamental Yang (the primal power) and the everyday day energy (the Qi – transformative vitality). Balancing that are the building blocks of self-esteem and sense of self.
Focus on relationship between Heart and Kidneys rooted this formula in helping the patient further develop a stable sense of self: who she is and what is she doing with her life. Heart-Kidney communication allows a sense of calm, but also a sense of self. We come to feel that everything we do in life is a spiritual expression of self.
There is a mild detoxifying effect to this formula. The Styrax and Spikenard both promote the patient to open her mind and get rid of old attachments. This is assisted by Niaouli which boosts immune function to expel old parasitic material that may be causing negative thoughts and behavior. The Pettigrain also assists this process, regulating her active energy and behavior in a calming manner. The Spikenard is supporting easy transition through moderating the Liver as it generates “wind”: reactivity to letting go and change. It is the harmonizer.
The main organ systems being addressed with this formula are the Kidneys and Liver primarily, the Heart and Lungs secondarily. We wish the deep empowerment organs of the Kidneys (self and willpower) and the Liver (stored resources and vision-action-achievement) to be strong, and the expressive organs of the Heart and Lungs to be clear and open.
I suggested the patient apply the oil blend on certain acupuncture points. The points act as meditation centers which awaken insight and levels of consciousness. The acupuncture points are classically understood by the ancient Daoists as places where we can receive deep spiritual insight. Meditation caves as they were classically called. This is an empowering way to find the answers we seek from deep within ourselves.
After the patient began using the oil blend she reported many interesting experiences. I advised her to apply the oil blend before her morning meditation. And then observe her thoughts and feelings throughout the day. She started observing the world in a different manner. Things looked and felt differently.
The points I suggested were located along the acupuncture channels of the Liver, Gallbladder, Bladder and Triple Heater.
I told her to begin on the legs: at the points GB-37 and BL-58 on the lower leg, and LR-8 on the inner knees. The lower leg points address the areas where she is stuck mentally: the anxiety and sense of vulnerability about expressing herself. The sense of confusion, overwhelm and loss of willpower relating to fear.
The area around the knees is a very blood building and stabilizing area for harmonizing thought and feeling. The name of this point (LR-8) is “the spring at the bend” or “the crooked spring.” A spring is a place where new resources can “sprout” to nourish us. The bending or crooked image helps us find a way around difficulties.
The points on the lower leg: GB-37 is called “Bright Light” with an image of the eyes, often used when we feel exhausted, isolated or despairing, unable to see new possibilities in life. BL-58 is called “Flying Away,” which addresses anxiety and reactivity, usually to fear. Both of these points have a strong effect on the head and the sensory orifices.
I also told her to apply the oil blend under her breasts and along the ends of the 11th and 12th floating ribs at the points LR-14, GB-24, LR-13 and GB-25. All of these points are “Mu” points which means points that collect essence. While the two points on the lower legs are called “Luo” points which means connection.
It is a common classical combination to use Luo and Mu points together. Mu points collect essence (our essential core energy-manifest) to create our personality. Luo points move blood to affect thought, feeling and consciousness. The combination of these two types of points helps change thinking and feeling patterns so we can re-organize our core-vital essence. This is the way we either amplify and strengthen our personality, or change. In many cases, we try to “free” the original intrinsic personality from the inhibiting effects of socialization.
We are focusing on the Mu points for the Liver, Gallbladder, Spleen and Kidneys in this treatment. The relationship between her social self (Spleen), her essential core self (Kidneys) and her creativity, choices and interaction with life (Liver, Gallbladder).
The final point I suggested was located on the hands: TH-4 – the source point for the Triple Heater which is a channel associated with a concept that can difficult to understand. The Triple Heater is the pathway by which our personality gets organized. It is what manages the Mu points. It is what distributes our essential energy to create our lives and express our nature. The point TH-4 is called the Pooling of Yang. The meaning of this word evokes a gathering of vital expressive energy: the Yang. The way it pools affects how we approach life.
The patient’s intention is to bring more willpower into the creation of her life. Yang is the core energy of potential and action in our body. It is the energy of life at the deepest level. It powers the will. Using TH-4 sends the message that she wants to bring her conscious intent into shaping her life. She wants to manifest her internal power and will to deal with issues around wealth and purpose. She wants to be in more in alignment with this – with herself.
She is using the Yang to expel her “demons” – her insecurity and negative thoughts: her parasitic delusions about herself and life. She is also utilizing the Yang to break through traumas from the past that continue to hold her in fear.
We are not using this formula and treatment to change her into something she is not. Rather we are trying to help her connect more deeply to who she is essentially – her core self. From that her sense of purpose and the willpower and excitement to express and manifest that naturally springs forth. She will find her own sense of wealth – her own spring to nourish herself and her life. This is the process of establishing Heart-Kidney communication.
We are bringing the energy of the Luo-connecting points and their regulation of blood (consciousness) into the Mu-collection points so she can reflect on who she is at this moment. She can assess what is her true nature and what is “blood and Yin stagnation” (habituated and socialized behavior, maybe due to influence or trauma). She can see what she might have accumulated, and detox it. We are amplifying this through “opening the portals” of perception through the points on the legs with the Styrax oil.
The ongoing effect of the treatment was reported as notable increase in her desire to clean up and “detoxify” her living and working space. I said this was probably an outer expression of “cleaning up and detoxifying” her mind. She also said the change from anxiety and depression into excitement and enthusiasm was instant and ongoing. She began writing and creating on a daily basis. The congestion in her sinus also reduced greatly. She felt calm yet motivated, as if she could “take on the world.” Her menstruation also began to regulate, which was something she was very happily surprised about.
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