Everyone who becomes an essential oil student has a breakthrough oil.  Everyone.  Your story might not be a miracle, it may not be spectacular, it may not even be cool.  But what I have found, in my discussions with other essential oil people, is that everyones breakthrough oil is the moment when you realized that life will never quite be the same without them.

Spikenard.  That was my oil.  I found it because it was highlighted in a Doterra magazine.  I was flipping through the pages,  saw an article, and was intrigued.  I was still new to the oil game, and thus, was in the midst of building my oil arsenal.  My goal was to, slowly but surely, get every oil.   Spikenard was not in my collection.  I saw an opportunity to grow.

What I learned from the article is that Spikenard is grown in Nepal.  It is difficult to harvest, requiring a great deal of time, labor, and investment.  It is an ancient oil, traditionally used for mental clarity and grounding, as well as hair and skin health.  It is one of the most complex oils, boasting more that 170 different compounds, making it an oil monster.

When it came in the mail, I had no idea what to expect.  I imagined it was going  to be a beautiful, earthy, deeply grounding scented oil.  A smell that would transport me to a different time and space.  Now, that is exactly how it smells to me.  That, with an element of spice.  But when I first opened the bottle it smelled horrible.   I wanted to get away from the smell and the bottle as fast as possible.  I could not imagine how something that was so strong and pungent, would provide mental clarity or grounding.

I took a moment and remembered what my upline, dear friend, and spiritual teacher had told me: “If an oil smells bad to you, there is something in there you need.”  I took a deep breath and decide I was going to face this oil head on.  I opened it, dropped two drops in my palm, rubbed them together and worked the oil into my neck, chest, scalp and backs of my knees.  I put my hands up to my face and deeply inhaled.  I repeated this for one month until the bottle was gone.

Here is what I learned: Spikenard, the oil of gratitude, is supposed to foster an appreciation for the beauty life provides.  You see, at the time I was in a horrible toxic relationship, a pattern I had been establishing over some time, with different men.  While I had a beautiful practice of daily gratitude– using prayer, exchanging gratitude lists, meditation, hiking, and yoga, my life experience was one that was building massive ingratitude because I began to see myself as a target for bad luck.  I needed this oil to help me to surrender.  With this daily oil practice, I was able to let go of some of the anger and blame I had been holding on to.  I was able to let go of my sorrow and live life in the moment.  For that month, I was able to see life for what it was, the good and the bad, and have acceptance for it.

Spikenard, single handedly, showed me how essential oils could heal me both mentally and physically.  It taught me to trust in a process for bettering myself.  I don’t see this story as remarkable at all.  It was simply using my curiosity, my love of learning,  and the plant medicine I strongly believed in, to experiment and grow.

If you are interested in discussing essential oils, in any capacity, feel free to message me.