Nickie’s Nook: Oils and Books

It’s my belief that we all have an inner light, something within us that can shine and bring light to others if we only nurture the spark and believe in ourselves. We must also allow the authenticity of who we are show into the world. For lack of a better description, we must not filter out the unique type or “color” of our light. Maybe your light is a tallent for music, but if you decide “no one will ever like my music”, and you never share it with the rest of the world, you’re filtering out your unique “color” of light. For me, my passions are many, essential oils, concern for and desire to help others with chronic pain and other physical and mental illnesses, accessibility for people who are blind or have other disabilities, and love of creating through writing, making essential oil blends, beading and other crafts. For the longest time, I didn’t see those as strengths. I saw how those things could be offputting to people who didn’t share my interests or my way of talking about them. Finally, I had to stop looking at my strengths and passions as weaknesses and stop allowing myself to put inclusion in certain groups over being myself. It’s still a journey, but I’m finding that I’m much happier seeing my unique qualities as strengths. As with many of my journeys, I decided to support myself with a blend of essential oils. Of course, the oils cannot do the important work of making changes, but they can support us as we engage in the work ourvs.

I created “shine” to encourage the user to feel a brightened mood, and also to feel free and encouraged to let their authentic self shine forth brightly into the world. The blend contains a lot of citrus oils which are always bright and encouraging, mints which can be energizing, lavender which provides for a sense of calm, and the Balance blend which is grounding.

Besides the overall smell of the blend which is uplifting, encouraging and energizing, my guide for the oils I chose was the book and app “Essential Emotions”. It’s available in print and also on Kindle. You can also find it in the app store and probably the Google Play Store.

Below, I’ve listed the oils and drop numbers I’ve used. I’ve also included a link to most of the oils in the blend. The only oil this post does not include a link to is osmanthus because it’s only available from Doterra during special sales. The link to the oil is a heading for easy navigation with a screen reader. The heading contains the link to the oil on the Doterra web site. Below each heading for each oil is a description of why I’ve included it in the blend.

1 Drop Balance

Balance is the oil for grounding. As we’ve already discussed, Balance is a combination of flower and tree oils. It’s both soothing and grounding. It’s hard to shine if you’re not grounded. When I think about the most authentic people I know, the quality that I feel they all have in common is that they’re down to earth. They’re also grounded in things that are important to them and in who they are.

10 drops Osmanthus

Osmanthus is a floral oil, and all floral oils tend to be soothing to the emotions and many times, the skin. Osmanthus is a fruity smelling floral oil and it’s included in some of my favorite oil blends Doterra sells. Essential Emotions states that the emotional property of osmanthus is gentleness. I included it partially for the smell, and partially because I personally need gentleness when making changes. Some people make changes best when pushed hard, but I’m not one of those people. I believe in the power of kindness and gentleness to motivate and make changes easier.

10 Drops tangerine

Tangerine is a citrus oil. Citrus oils are uplifting. Their sunny aromas make it hard not to smile. Tangerine essential oil is a bit more gentle than some oils like grapefruit when it comes to their aromas. Its emotional property is spontaneity. Honestly, I added it mostly for the aroma,

2 Drops Melisa

Melissa is also referred to as Lemon Balm because of its citrusy smell. it’s not my favorite essential oil if I’m honest about the aroma, but it has some great benefits. Its emotional property is that of light. It has uplifting properties, but it’s a very strong oil. Even with as many drops of other oils as there are in this particular blend, I can definitely pick out the smell of Melisa in “Shine”. I wanted the uplifting benefits of Melisa, but also the reminder to let my own light shine. There’s something about this oil that makes me think of a lit candle (it’s not the aroma, just some feeling I get). I really feel that melisa is a vital ingredient in this blend.

10 Drops Green Mandarin

Green Mandarin comes from the unripened fruit of mandarin oranges. According to Essential Emotions, it’s the oil of pure potential. I put it in this blend to remember that we all have pure potential. Of course, as a citrus oil, it’s uplifting and can also be calming.

5 Drops Wild Orange

Wild Orange is the oil of abundance. Keeping a mindset of abundance, especially when remembering that we have gifts and light to shine is a good idea. Wild Orange is, of course, a citrus oil so it’s also uplifting.

1 Drop Lavender

If you’ve read my blog, you probably know that Lavender can promote a calming atmosphere. But according to Essential Emotions, it’s also the oil of communication. This makes sense to me because I find that I don’t communicate well if I’m not calm. The more stressed or anxious I am, the harder it is to get my point across. Equally, I don’t listen when I’m angry or anxious. Shining our inner light includes communication. Maybe we do that by telling our story or maybe we communicate non-verbally, but either way, shining our lights communicates who we are to others.

10 Drops Lime

Lime is the oil of Zest for Life. I notice that the people who seem to shine the brightest seem to have the most zest for life. I can simply feel their joy in life and it’s attractive. Also, as another citrus oil, lime promotes a positive atmosphere.

5 Drops Spearmint

I love spearmint. It’s minty, but it’s a gentler mint. According to Essential Emotions, spearmint can promote confident speech, which I felt was important to encourage me to shine. The less confident I tend to feel, the more I tend to hide the parts of me that make me, well, me.

1 Drop Peppermint

Peppermint tends to be an energizing oil. It’s also beneficial to the digestive system. According to Essential Emotions, it’s the oil of a buoyant heart. When I saw that, I knew I had to add a drop of it. A heart that’s buoyant is able to stay afloat even in rougher waters. I wanted that sense of resilience and joy in the blend.

Directions

Add all drops to a 10ml roller bottle and top with a carrier oil like fractionated coconut or jojoba oil. Top with the roller and lid and shake well. Enjoy!

A caution About Citrus Oils

Citrus oils are known as photo-toxic, meaning that when they’re applied to the skin and not very heavily diluted, they can cause the skin to burn when in the sun. it’s recommended that you don’t wear this blend for at least 12 hours before going into the sun. If you do want to wear it, make sure it’s on skin that’s covered by clothing. I’ve been okay wearing it when just going to the car and back inside, but your mileage may vary.