The Essence of Living Simply

By Jane Wilks

A refreshing and informative guide on how you can benefit materially, physically and psychologically from using essential and fragrant oils in your everyday life.
It includes many simple hints with around one hundred recipes. These include making your own cleaning and beauty products at home through to pet care, gardening and cooking.
There are step-by-step instructions on making beautiful aromatic gifts for your family and friends.

• Language: English
• Publisher: XinXii
• Release date: Oct 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310344732

Book preview

THE ESSENCE OF LIVING SIMPLY

An ecofriendly and cost conscious guide using essential and fragrant oils

Jane Wilks

Published in New Zealand by Herb Heaven

ISBN 978-0-47317-6-174

Copyright © 2010 Herb Heaven

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the copyright owner.

Digital conversion by Kate Broome www.katebroome.co.nz

E-Book Distribution: XinXii

www.xinxii.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the copyright owner.

PLEASE NOTE

This book is a general guide only. The author cannot accept responsibility for misadventure resulting from the use of essential oils, or any other therapeutic methods that are mentioned in this book. Always seek professional medical advice if you are in doubt or concerned about using specific essential oils. Every care has been taken to ensure that the contents of this book is accurate. However the author does not accept responsibility for the consequences if any errors or omissions have occurred.

DEDICATION

To John and my wonderful family and friends who have encouraged and supported me.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

My warm thanks to Vicki Hall for her constant encouragement, valuable time and skilful editing.

My gratitude also to my treasured friend Angela Fabrello for her careful proof reading at the last stage. Also her contribution to using essentials oils in cooking was vital.

Finally, I would like to give special thanks to the Auckland Herb Society members, whose dedication and wisdom, have provided a constant source of inspiration over the years.

PLEASE NOTE

This book is a general guide only. The author cannot accept responsibility for misadventure resulting from the use of essential oils, or any other therapeutic methods that are mentioned in this book.

Always seek professional medical advice if you are in doubt or concerned about using specific essential oils.

Every care has been taken to ensure that the contents of this book are accurate. However the author does not accept responsibility for the consequences if any errors or omissions have occurred.

Living ‘the simple life’ and aromatic oils - how do they really link together?

It’s a question that’s very easy to answer. Have fun discovering how many ways aromatic oils can be used simply in everyday life. They can also help you reconnect with nature and regain a sense of self-sufficiency.

Scent is very basic to our existence. When we stop to sniff a rose, relish the sharp tangy scent as we squeeze a lemon, or when we’re seduced by someone’s alluring perfume -we are experiencing the joys of scent.

This pleasure is brought into focus when we learn to use aromatic oils in our daily lives. You can discover the joy and the many benefits they can bring.

FOREWORD

Welcome to our practical guide to incorporating essential and fragrant oils into a simple, healthy lifestyle.

We can offer ways and means to reduce living costs but also suggest healthy options for the home and workplace that are environmentally friendly as well.

Living simply doesn’t mean living an old-fashioned, backward type of existence.

In this case, it means living wisely and intuitively without unnecessary excess.

Using the simple recipes and treatments in this guide allows us to connect with traditions of the past, to be more attune to the natural world and recapture a sense of self-sufficiency.

In the current climate of economic uncertainty and environmental concerns, this booklet offers an easy-to-read guide on how to benefit, materially, physically and psychologically.

About this book

The recipes in this book have been compiled through extensive reading and internet research. Many have been adapted. Some have been passed down through a local herb society and some have been gleaned from magazine clippings and different books over time.

Most of the recipes have been tested personally at home and modified if necessary. They have also been kept as simple as possible so that you can readily make them at home with little effort or cost.

Using essential and fragrant oils, I have discovered, can become a way of life. ‘Oils’ can truly become your friends.

Writing this book has been a thoroughly enjoyable process, and I hope by sharing these ideas with you, will give you great pleasure.

Contents

Copyright Page

DEDICATION

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

PLEASE NOTE

FOREWORD

About this book

THE PURE JOY OF ESSENTIAL OILS

A to Z of Herb Heaven Essential Oils

Herb Heaven Fragrant Oils

HERB HEAVEN FRAGRANT OILS

BLENDING GUIDE

CLEANING THE HOME

HOME FIRST AID

NATURAL INSECT REPELLENTS

FEELING GOOD

ESSENTIAL OIL/ EFFECT CHART

LOOKING GOOD

ENHANCING THE HOME AND WORKSPACE

ESSENTIAL TRAVELLING

ESSENTIAL OILS IN PET CARE

ESSENTIAL OILS IN GARDENING

ESSENTIAL OILS IN HUNTING AND FISHING

AROMATIC GIFTS

THE HOME PERFUMERY

ESSENTIAL OILS AND THE HOME COOK

AROMA FOR THE SOUL

SCENT AND CANDLE RITUAL

HEAVENLY HINTS OF SCENT

OUR FRAGRANT EARTH

BIBLIOGRAPHY

THE PURE JOY OF ESSENTIAL OILS

We can ask ourselves – exactly what is smell? Why does it mean so much to us? We all know that aromas have a strong influence over us and can evoke vivid memories and powerful emotions. Did you know that essential oils have amazing powers of scent as well as health enhancing properties?

What are essential oils? An essential oil gives perfume to a rose and the rich aroma to a sprig of rosemary. It is a liquid present in tiny droplets or sacs in different parts of the plant. It also gives the plant its flavour, attracts pollinating insects, repels predators and helps to protect them from disease. Essential oils not only benefit plants but they also benefit people. Essential oils have been prized by man for centuries because of this.

Furthermore, among the greatest benefits of essential oils is that they can be used simply, safely and effectively in the home. With daily use, they can enable us to feel more in control of our life and self-sufficient. We can also feel more in tune with nature.

Through aromatherapy and the use of essential oils we can enhance our everyday existence in a simple manner with their many different uses that range from household cleaning, to massage blends and perfumes.

Early history of aromatherapy

Using essential oils is quite simply the essence of aromatherapy practice which is a holistic form of treatment, meaning a ‘therapy using aromas’.

In aromatherapy, with the use of aromatic baths, massage, compresses, diffusers and inhalations, essential oils enter our body through two routes: skin and inhalation. They then enter the blood, to transport the oils throughout the human body and can instigate or support healing.

The term originated in the early 1900s when a French chemist Dr R M Gattefosse described the practice of using pure and natural ‘essential’ oils to aid healing and promote general well-being.

However, modern aromatherapy roots can be traced back to over five thousand years to the time when man first learned to harness aromatic herbs for perfumes as well as for medicinal and culinary purposes.

The early Egyptians developed an intricate series of cosmetics, perfumes, incense and embalming methods using their knowledge of plants. This knowledge formed a vital part of their society.

Fragrant and therapeutic plants were so sought after that the incense and spice trades began to expand as early as 500 BC. Countries with abundant resources of these desired plants began to increase dramatically in wealth and power. Conquering kings started to demand fragrant resins such as frankincense and myrrh in tribute. And in some cases the fragrant resins were considered to be more valuable than gold and jewels.

The ancient Romans soon acquired the knowledge of aromatics and also put it to good use in many aspects of their daily life. Through countries they had conquered, they were able to import new spices and resins from India and Arabia.

Early Greek civilization absorbed much of the Egyptian knowledge, using oils in rituals, religious ceremonies and for therapeutic purposes. One of the notable figures from this period was Hippocrates who believed that a daily aromatic bath and a scented massage were vital to good health.

The Crusaders brought back many of the oils and spices from the counties they had travelled through. In this manner, the use of aromatics was introduced to Europe. During the Middle Ages, aromatic oils were used to ward off the scourge of the Black Plague.

Even though the use of aromatic plants is as old as mankind itself, the widespread use of aromatic essences declined with the advent of modern science. It re-emerged early this century with the introduction of ‘aromatherapy.’

Indeed, it is said that aromatherapy is the modern emergence of human and plant cooperation the way it used to be.

Use of essential oils by early Maori

The use of aromatic plants to New Zealand can be traced to when early Maori recognized the importance of different plants and their aromatic oils in daily life.

Herbal baths, for instance, were very popular with early Maori. The bath water was heated with hot stones and then certain