Essential Oils:
Humanity's First Medicine
by Rev. Eleanor Fleming
(February, 2004)
"Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of
trees used for food. Their leaves will not wither, and their fruit...will be
for food, and their leaves for ‘medicine.’"
(Ezekial 47:12)
How often in Unity we affirm the Truth that God has already provided
everything we would ever need for our journey through life! In the
introduction to Dr. David Stewart’s book, Healing Oils of the Bible, he
writes that the "purpose of this book is to educate and inspire you to realize
the infinite care and detail to which our creator has gone to provide for us
the medicines we need to heal and maintain our health." Naturopathic doctor
and renowned international aroma therapist, Dr. Gary Young, believes that the
creator knew the healing challenges we would face on earth and provided plants
for our medicine as well as the intelligence and ingenuity needed for humanity
to transform plant life into concentrated healing substances.
It is easy to look back in history and see that essential oils were humanity’s
first medicine. Although the ancient Babylonians, Chinese, and Indians of the
Vedic culture all used essential oils, the Egyptians were the first to
discover the full potential of fragrance for healing, embalming, beautifying,
and raising consciousness. From Egyptian hieroglyphics, we can see that
priests and physicians used essential oils for thousands of years as remedies
for many diseases with great success. Egyptian temples were dedicated to the
production and blending of the oils, and recipes were recorded on the walls in
hieroglyphics. When King Tut’s tomb was opened in 1922, 350 liters of
essential oils used for embalming were found, perfectly preserved in alabaster
jars.
What are essential oils and what healing benefits do they provide? Essential
oils are the life essence of trees, herbs, leaves and plants. They are defined
as volatile liquids that are distilled from all parts of the plant. When
processed properly, the oils, being highly concentrated, are more potent in
their ability to promote emotional, physical, and spiritual healing than dried
herbs or flowers. Since God created the plants for humanity’s use, the oils
perform many of the same functions in humans as they do in the plants, such as
bringing nutrition and information into the cell, carrying away waste
products, regulating growth, aiding metabolism, and strengthening immunity.
Essential oils are anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, antifungal, and
anti-parasitic. Essential oils can balance and support all systems of the
body. An essential oil can be applied anywhere in the body and reach the
entire body in less than a minute. There is a growing body of clinical
research showing that essential oils can quickly raise the vibrational
frequency of the human body, restoring it to a level where hostile bacteria,
viruses, and parasites cannot live. In addition, essential oils are powerful
anti-oxidants which destroy free radicals, thus retarding the aging process
and preventing many diseases.
Essential oils were an integral part of the Hebraic culture in Biblical times.
Most households used essential oils for medicinal and therapeutic purposes.
Oils were also used as an expression of hospitality to soothe the feet of
visitors who had traveled long distances. They were used for rites of
purification and anointing of priests and holy objects. They were used for
embalming. Altogether Dr. Stewart found throughout the Old and New Testaments
of the Bible, over a thousand references to essential oils, the plants from
which they were derived or their application, including a recipe in Exodus for
a holy anointing oil. Twelve of the most significant oils of ancient scripture
are frankincense, myrrh, myrtle, cedarwood, galbanum, sandalwood, cypress,
cedarwood, hyssop, onycha, spikenard and rose of Sharon.
The people of Biblical times had evolved a technology for extracting the oils
through steam distillation, the method still in use today to produce oils that
retain their healing properties. Today, aroma therapy is prominent in holistic
health care. However, in an effort to reduce the costs of oil production and
increase profits, methods of extraction are used that adulterate or in some
way compromise the healing potential of the oils, leaving them fragrant but
without their healing properties. Dr. Gary Young believes that essential oils
are the missing link to modern medicine and has made it his mission to follow
the Biblical traditions in producing oils with the same healing potential as
those of the Bible.
On Sundays, Feb. 22 through March 7, we will be offering a workshop before the
service entitled Healing Oils of the Bible. In addition to a general
understanding of how and why oils can heal and methods of extraction and
application, the workshop will include a discussion of the meaning and purpose
of anointing and an exploration of many passages in both the Old and New
Testaments and their relevance to healing for us today. Samples of the oils
most commonly mentioned in the Bible will be available for sniffing and
sampling as we discuss them.
Copyright 2004, Eleanor Fleming
Used with Permission.
Messages from previous months
|