Experiment

Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart;

~Doctrine and Covenants 59:18


Formulated Question:
Do the 100% Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade essential oils from doTERRA really work, or are they just good smelling liquid hokum?

Hypothesis:
Essential oil benefits are definitely plausible. This conclusion was arrived upon after gathering copious amounts of information from numerous separate sources; observing empirical results of oil use by others; listening to numerous testimonial stories of the oil effectiveness; and reading documented studies on essential oil health benefits. Also the historical use of oils is quite vibrant, and spans centuries.

Prediction:
Result of using the oils will either be a complete epic fail - or an overwhelming success

Test:
This morning I topically applied a citrus blend oil in the manner previously instructed to help alleviate stress, anxiety and elevate mood (things much needed in a life with clinical depression). Note that at the time I was not cognizant of freezing rain weather conditions outside (an extremely rare occurrence in this state).

I then spent 2-hours driving to work on a sheet of ice (normally takes maybe 30-minutes), surrounded by other hapless commuters attempting to obtain the same goal. Taking the bus and allowing another person to brave driving on my behalf is not an option for a plethora of reasons. There were numerous observed accidents and slide-offs the entire length of the journey.

Analysis:
The essential oil citrus blend WORKED!! I felt zero amounts of anxiety while on the road, and none for the rest of the day either!! My mood overall was incredibly peaceful, calm and upbeat. Body and mind reactions to previous similar driving experiences provide indisputable proof to me, that the essential oils used this morning were indeed effective!!

Conclusion:
Today was an unplanned test by fire (thanks to mother nature), and the doTERRA essential oil benefits passed with flying colors! Increases my faith in the stated effectiveness on health and well being their other oils can be in my life!!

Ultimate Goal:
Set aside the man-made synthetic elements (along with all the inherent side-effects) found in prescription anti-depressant medications... and instead make use of the natural elements God has provided for healing and health!!

Run away!

Yesterday I read an amusing blog post by someone I admire... What to put in your "runaway" bag. Brought back memories of my own childhood - and the times I would get angry at my parents, or my brother, or simply the unfairness of childhood stuff. In that state of mind I would resolve to just "run away"!!!

Where would I go? Even at a very young age, I knew that creature comforts like food and shelter were very necessary - preferably provided by someone I was familiar with (mostly because I was actually quite shy, and didn't trust many people). Therefore the runaway plan inevitably included the final destination of my grandparent's home... I knew they would never turn me away!

This in turn brought up problems, other than the ones being experienced in the anger of the moment. Namely the fact that my grandparents lived 200 miles away, in another state, and I wasn't nearly old enough to drive!! Not being able to reach the pedals and see over the dashboard at the same time can easily dissuade thoughts of driving. Even if I was old enough (or tall enough) to drive, I did not own a car - and the thought of stealing one never occurred to me (hummm... wonder what I would have done if that thought had popped into my head back then?).

Here is where the "meticulous-planning-in-advance-gene" that I am blessed/cursed with, kicked into full gear. Excessive travel distance definitely took walking out of the picture! Decided I wasn't one of the pioneer children crossing the plains, and therefore did not need to walk, and walk, and walk, and walk. This then lead to thoughts of other transportation possibilities - namely taking a bus! But bus rides required money, of which I did not have much. Again, stealing was not found in the myriad of thoughts running through my head (I was actually a very good girl - with only one candy theft on my record from years earlier - which I repented of and won't go into the details right now).

Since I was too young to get a job my only means of obtaining money was... from my parents in the form of a weekly allowance!! There it was! I now had a direction and plan to carry out my running away desires! Knowing how much I "earned" in allowance each week, plus guesstimating the cost of a bus ticket, and adding in a little extra for "just-in-case" events (like maybe needing to eat, one never knows how long a journey can take!). Using simple addition math skills, which even at age 5 or 6 was not too complicated... that all came later with multiplication, division and fractions... finally I came to the conclusion that it would take me a few months to hoard my allowance funds. THEN (and only then) would I be adequately prepared to run away!

There is a problem with having the "meticulous-planning in advance gene" when you are a kid with big ideas... by the time a day or two passed, I had gotten over my anger of the moment. Then instead of saving for bus fare, weekly allowance funds were spent on truly vitally NOW important things... like candy at the drug store!! Looking back, I never even went as far as to pack a bag for the trip - after all plans indicated it wouldn't be a reality for a number of weeks yet! But I do have memories of making a list of things I wanted to take with me.

Interesting, I still make lists... and with few exceptions they often turn out to be just as "non-useful" today as they did 40-something years ago. But I still make lists... excuse me while I go check off, "write on blog today" from one of last year's lists!!

Dichotomy of stress

An interesting dichotomy occurs in my life when it comes to how I deal with stress. Okay, maybe it's only me (then again, maybe not)... but often when confronted by stressful situations and thoughts, I find myself maintaining mutually exclusive methods of either coping or shutting down. There doesn't seem to be an in-between middle ground or overlapping of the two... picture a WWI era "no man's land" separating the two trenches of defense.

There are days when I can work through the process and face the stress from external or internal sources. And then are the other days when I can't even face myself in the mirror, let alone look at a seemingly overwhelming life situation. Guess this hearkens back to the basic automatic "fight or flight" response... only for me it's a "just deal with it" or "fetal position curl-up and hide" response.

I find a need for to once again revisit processes previously learned (utilizing such things as mindfulness and being in the now) - to reduce or eliminate the negative impact of stress on body, mind and spirit - and especially the negative impact on overall health.

The goal is to focus on just one small portion at a time - don't bite off more than I can chew! This video is an impetus behind my first step - because it has helped me better recognize what is needed. Also I love watching the drawing (even if it totally shames my complete lack of artistic talent)!!