Essential Aromatica

What feeds the soul? What is it we want when we can’t stop wanting? How can we “detox” the brain to feed the soul and support holistic well-being? That’s what this episode is about, featuring a common, potent aromatic herb to explore working with essential oils on a transcendent dimension. Yes, I’m going there.

Toxins come in many forms—from external pollutants, negative self-talk, or the stress of daily life. By focusing on the self and addressing controllable factors like thoughts and emotions, we set the stage for holistic well-being. And guess what works with emotions? Essential oils and the practice of working with those oils: Aromatherapy. Here’s the kicker: aromatherapy is a powerful, subtle modality: less is more. It only takes a small amount of essential oil to communicate with our limbic and nervous systems—promoting emotional and mental balance. This episode goes there: detoxing the mind with essential oils to break through mental loops and find balance.

And then there’s the poetry. Poetry feeds the soul. Creative expression. Three poems are shared in this episode with the intention of conveying deeper meaning to this work of cleansing the mind and feeding the soul.

Now what about those plants and oils? There is a large, global palate of aromatic plants and their essential oils to work with. We each choose our own allies based on preferences. For years Yarrow has been alongside me, in the garden, growing in fields, but I never fully felt its energy, its protective qualities, until this past 6 months or so. This is a wonderful herb for promoting balance and clarity, but it is powerful. Only to be turned to with specific intention for short periods of time. Yarrow stands out for its ability to support detoxing of the mind, acting as a protective shield against negative influences and helping to bring buried emotions to the surface safely. This episode will illustrate how Yarrow's holistic healing properties can soothe both physical and emotional trauma, offering a sense of detachment, clarity, and presence.

Links to classes and articles:

• Detoxing the Brain Video Class

• Yarrow Plant Talk Article

• You are Not Your Emotions Article (Myth of the Emotional Brain)

• Carolyn Jones

What do Palo Santo, scented candles, Lavender and Hecate have to do with each other? Let's find out how this is all woven together...

This episode questions the authenticity and health benefits of products such as scented candles with labels like “Palo Santo”. Pondering the use of synthetic fragrances and the lack of regulation in the fragrance industry, I question what we are actually inhaling when burning such candles. Broader issues of ethical sourcing and the environmental impact of ingredients like soy wax are considered as well as the importance of intention behind using products like candles and essential oils. Overall, advocating for mindfulness and awareness of what we breathe in and put on our bodies is paramount: why is it “buyer beware”?

Classes: Aromatic Cleaning with Essential Oils & Pantry Staples, Candle Making, All About Lavender.

Essential Aromatica episode with Gabriel Mojay

And always, Hecate.

In this episode of Essential Aromatica, Amy converses with Dr. Kelly Ablard from the Airmid Institute about the complex interplay between ecology, the crucial role medicinal and aromatic plants play in sustaining eco-cultural-systems and what the essential oil community can do to support global and local ecologies and the Earth overall.

Episode Highlights:

The Unique Relationship Between Biology, Aromatherapy, and Chemical Ecology. Explore how the chemicals that facilitate interactions among species are found in essential oils. (Pheromones, Allomones!)

The Importance of Ethnobotany via Philology and Biology. Sustaining cultural ecology by preserving indigenous wisdom through recording the oral records of medicinal and aromatic plants.

This relates to Plants Shaping Our Lives by Creating Our Environment. From the oxygen we breathe to the food we eat and the clothes we wear, this deep connection to plants underscores their fundamental role in our culture and daily lives.

If we don’t Preserve Plant Life and Support Ecosystems, More Enviroments will Experience Rosewood’s Dire Situation seen in Peru. Its pivotal role in maintaining ecological balance was the reason Dr. Ablard started the Airmid Institute. To understand the ripple effect on an ecosystem of losing key species such as Rosewood proves the necessity to preserve these plants to ensure ecosystem health (inclusive of humans, plants, animals and insects.) Something similar may be happening in Southern California with White Sage, which is over-harvested and illegally harvested to supply a widespread appetite for smudge sticks and other White Sage applications.

How Can We Help?

Find Analogs. We don’t have to work with Sandalwood from India, White Sage from California or even Tea Tree from Australia. Find analogs that you can grow in your backyard, community garden or source locally. Some examples we talk about are Rosemary, Eastern Red Cedar and Yarrow.

Think Locally While Supporting Sustainable Global Trade when buying aromatic plants, herbs and essential oils. (Yes, think local and global!) Appreciate the value of sourcing medicinal plants locally and supporting indigenous programs across the world that use ancestral cultivation techniques. Balance local plant use with sustainable global trade to support communities tied to these aromatic plants.

Be mindful of Conservation Status and International Trade: The IUCN Red List and CITES activity help protect endangered plant species. As a consumer, understanding the importance of asking about CITES permits and sustainable sourcing when purchasing essential oil is critical.

Understand Pharmaceutical and Clinical Research Impact on Plant Ecology and Survival. Pharmaceutical and clinical research contributes to the extinction of some plant species such as Sandalwood and Spikenard; the importance of quality control, safety, and conservation statuses should be noted and accounted for.

Foster a Child's Understanding of Ecology by nurturing a love for plants and a sense of place. Support education programs in schools, encourage learning from elders, and involve them in gardening, community gardens, and nature-based activities like hiking.

Through the book, “No Place for Plants,” Dr. Kelly Ablard and Frauke Galia highlight the impact of urban development on ecosystems and cultures. The narrative focuses on the vital role of community gardens in urban areas and emphasizes the need for children to connect with nature and advocate for green spaces.

Mandatory Curriculum on Ecology and Sustainability for Aromatherapists, which is underway thanks to the Airmid Institute partnering with aromatherapy organizations such as IFPA, CAOA, AIA, NAHA.

Learn more:

Website: www.airmidinstitute.org

Email: [email protected]

Facebook: @airmidinstitute

Instagram: @airmid_institute

LinkedIn: Airmid Institute

This episode explores turning to aromatic plants for

Part 1: Hecate and the Crossroads of Illumination and

Part 2 (minute 17:25): The synergy of Eastern Red Cedar,

Part 3 (minute 23:50): A guided encounter exploring Eastern

Links to articles and videos at nycaromatica.com: Sweet Fern, Cistus, Combava, Angelica Root, Hecate

Thank you for listening & until the next time: Ciao for now!

In this season 3 finale, I am hot-off-the-bliss of attending the Alliance of International Aromatherapists recent conference titled: "Embracing and Composing Sustainable Aromatics". This afterglow continues reflection upon the importance of "less is more," olfactive aromatherapy, getting to know local aromatics, the overall importance of being outside and being in nature.

Join me to contemplate connection and sustainability within the aromatherapy community and essential oil supply chain overall. At the heart of the matter is the life force behind essential oils; the energy and resources involved in the essential oil industry and profound impact essential oils have on memory, emotions, neuro-transmission and overall wellbeing. 

Concentrated connection.

Links to references made in the episode:

Article on Sweet Fern, Article on Goldenrod, Book reference: Conyza.

In this episode of Essential Aromatica, Amy spends time with Dr. Nicole Bou Khalil to talk about the profound connection between humans and plants. They explore the importance of spending time outdoors, observing plants, and understanding our interconnectedness with nature--as deeply as the connection between people and where they live. Ah, and remember to keep your “child soul.”

Let’s get clinical first, then get into the weeds. In 2019, Dr. Bou Khalil trained hospital staff on integrating clinical aromatherapy into operations, sparking curiosity and interest among many, despite initial skepticism. She emphasizes that aromatherapy goes beyond spa treatments, highlighting Lebanon’s rich history of plant-based medicine. Dr. Bou Khalil advocates for understanding aromatherapy’s benefits and recognizing that it cannot be directly compared to evidence-based medicine due to its unique nature. As she succinctly summarized; nature is not standardized.

Further into the conversation, Dr. Bou Khalil shares the challenges faced by Lebanese growers and distillers after the financial crisis. Everything became costly, rent went up, continuous power was not always available. Organic certification and GCMS testing became cost prohibitive. Some people came from the outside and took advantage of the hardship many growers and distillers faced by imposing cheap prices on high quality essential oils such as Rose and Neroli. There’s a bright side though, as Dr. Bou Khalil has an initiative to reconnect Lebanese essential oils with the global market. This is on a deep level: know your growers and distillers. There’s a depth to oils that are made by people that are connected with their land and sense of place. Hearing her talk makes me wish I was in Lebanon with the Cedars, Roses, Bitter Orange trees and Myrtle!

These hardships highlight a critical part of the overall essential oil industry and sustainability: some people create beautiful essential oils that express “the soul of the land” even if they cannot afford continual GCMS analysis, to continue offering organic certification or don’t have reliable access to electricity. Would we rather have sad, cheap oils or oils created from a sense of place, with integrity?

Nicole shared how one of her French aromatherapy teachers once said that “aromatherapy is nothing but bliss”. These words deeply resonated with her, and they have with me. Nicole shares that if she didn’t have her aromatherapy practice, if it wasn’t a part of her whole life, she wasn’t sure how she would have coped during the Beirut Port explosion. The oils, Rose and Neroli, helped her; also, reaching out to the international aromatherapy community gave her a lot of support. The plants around you support you. She mentions the old, noble Cedars of Lebanon that grow high in the mountains; how they are symbols of strength, of the people of the land; they are symbols that the Lebanese people have the strength to go on.

I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did—I even teared up at the end. Want to connect with Dr. Nicole BK? See links below for different ways to get in-touch. And remember, Aromatherapy is nothing but bliss.

Linked in: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-nicole-boukhalil/

Instagram: aromatherapy_dr.nicole_bk

Facebook: Aromatherapy Dr. Nicole BK 

Which is scarier? Going offtrack or staying in a rut? What if you could disrupt the ego driven "norm" (the rut) by working with essential oils, the molecules of connectedness? In this episode, Dr. Florian Birkmayer shares the potential of working with essential oils to help us become whole by disrupting the Default Mode Network (DMN) and emerging from "wetiko" ("cut-offness").

This is where '"Aromagnosis comes in. Aromagnosis is direct perception connecting us to the larger world through the messages carried by genuine, authentic essential oils. We explore how these oils help open access points to initiate innate healing and rediscover our personal myth. We discuss how powerful essential oils, not “nice smells”, can break through our intellectual barriers and open the door to emotional power.

We also contemplate “wetiko” or “cut-offness”, the self-imposed isolation from our unconscious and nature overall. This isolation is often something we are not aware of (forgetting what we forgot to remember: connection and feeling) and is apparent in our welcoming of synthetic molecules into our bodies, homes and environment. We reflect on the Enlightenment-era philosophy of “I think, therefore I am”, and how it has led us to ignore our interconnectedness with the universe.

Deeper into the episode, Florian expounds upon the power of essential oils and their role in mental health. He deconstructs the Default Mode Network (DMN), our personal “auto-pilot” mode, and how aromatics (and psychedelic assisted therapy) may help deactivate its ruts and create new neural connections. As an ex-psychiatrist, Florian critiques the traditional model of psychiatry, which often turns people into professional patients, and proposes an alternative approach that focuses on broader cultural and ancestral factors alongside working with essential oils (aka: aromas) to bypass the DMN. We delve into the importance of emotions as messages from our subconscious, and the concept of “heart awareness” as a means to tend to our emotional needs. We also discuss the teachings brought by essential oils molecules, expressions of an aromatic plant's soul.

In the end, Florian shares that “if you are willing to face what your unconscious gives you [while working with essential oil allies], it will give you what you are ready for.” When we work with essential oils, each one is a teacher we can turn to on our lifelong journey of becoming whole to ourselves. We can change our culture of cut-offness by mindfully working with essential oils, the molecules of connectedness.

Access Florian's work on Substack and his & Cathy Skipper's offerings at Aromagnosis.

Selected Publications:

Birkmayer F. with Cathy Skipper (2024) “Essential Oils for Psychedelic Therapy Support” (Available at amazon.)

Birkmayer F. (2022). Essential Oils for the Wounded Healer: PTSD,

Post-Traumatic Resilience and the Wounded Healer’s Journey. International Journal of Professional Holistic Aromatherapy. 11(3), p.37-41.

Birkmayer F. (2021). Using Essential Oils to Enhance the Effects of Ketamine Psychedelic Therapy in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Substance-Induced Psychosis Two Case Reports). International Journal of Professional Holistic Aromatherapy. 9(4), p.15-22.

Birkmayer F. (2020). The Molecules of Connectedness. International Journal of Professional Holistic Aromatherapy. 8(4), p. 51-57.

Birkmayer F., Skipper C. (2018). “The Role of Aromatherapy in the Treatment of Substance Abuse and Co-Occurring Disorders”, chapter in Modir S. & Munuz G. (eds.) Integrative Addiction and Recovery, Weil Integrative Medicine Library, Oxford University Press, ISBN 9780190275334.

How do you “unveil the magic glow that flows right from the center of your happy heart”? This is something Kristina Siapkara, founder of Ierias Nama has explored since “cooking flowers” as a child—not knowing she was medicine-making while “cooking” those flowers.

This spotlight on aromatherapy episode is intended to share how the power of ritual, frequencies (think physics) and working with botanical extracts and products made with integrity can uplift, rather than sap it.

The Myth of Luxury Around Ritual

Finding solace, direction and purpose in life doesn’t require privilege. Many believe it’s a mindset rather than having or possessing certain things, including “time,” before you can reveal your true nature. The relaxation, mental and emotional space needed to foster our direction, the magic within us, is not a luxury nor meant to be scheduled for “later”. Yet all of these good things are often viewed as luxuries we don’t make time for.

Linear Time vs. Whole Time

Every being on Earth belongs here (yes, even the roaches and ticks). We’re all here, after all. We made it: we were born. Yet many of us human beings lose our direction, stumble down the wrong path and don’t know it. We get lost in and caught up in linear clock-time and ambitions, losing sight of Eternal time. This “softer” time encapsules spaciousness and what we’re a part of (nature, the universe) rather than separate from. This time includes our ancestors, myths, and the unconscious, which can be accessed through ritual.

Stopping Time with Ierias Nama

If you feel you lost your way from yourself and are looking for help finding your way back, there are people like Kristina in the world who are here to help. She’s interested in stopping time, creating time and working with the interconnectedness through frequency (high vibrational matter) to unveil and support your own innate state of inner beauty and bliss. This isn’t about turning back the clock or staying frozen in place—think of it like dipping your whole body-mind-spirit-soul into eternal time each day. This is why she created Ierias Nama.

Episode highlights:

Join us, I hope you laugh along with us at the end.

Learn more about Kristana and Ierias Nama at ieriasnama.com  & IG @ieriasnamaskin

There’s a lot more to share. Please join us and leave

Ciao for now!

How to smell an essential oil. Are you like, "Yeah, right. I know how to smell. Thanks, but no thanks."? That's not what this is about.

It's rather about tapping into powerful messages available from one drop of an essential oil and what that one drop (or two drops) can do--if attention is paid its due.

This episode takes you through what to "do" with essential oils: focusing on olfactive aromatherapy. Yup, good old-fashioned smelling. We'll get into scent detection and reception, volatility, intensity and even solvent extracts vs essential oils.

But that's only where the fun begins.

Go to minute 11:30 for immediate access to one of my signature guided aromatic encounters: a guide to smelling.

Trust me on this one.

Don't forget to download the episode. Have this guide readily available for every time you want and need to connect with an essential oil.

One to 2 drops of essential oil. That's all it takes to create change.

Small is big.

Psychophysics and scent. What’s that all about?

You’re reading this text, taking in visual information while simultaneously breathing in hundreds of scent molecules. How much of your attention is on those various aromatic molecules? How would you describe those scent molecules? Could those scents be considered art?

Meet NYC-based academic and gallerist Andreas Keller who lives, breathes and contemplates these olfactory-based topics on a daily basis! With PhDs in neuroscience and philosophy and specializing in olfactory perception and psychophysics, Andreas revels in the messiness of scent so much that he opened one of the only Olfactory Art galleries in the world: Olfactory Art Keller.

A vanguard of the olfactory art movement, Andreas explores “the scent problem”—how smell is not an analytical sense like the visual one, and how paradigms of perceiving, talking about and analyzing scent and olfaction are lacking in our culture. If scent perception isn’t analytical, what is it? Settle into the episode with some of your favorite (or least favorite!) aromas to find out!

Be sure to say hello to ⁠Andreas at his gallery⁠ when you’re in lower Manhattan and give Amy a buzz to say hello and ⁠book a one-on-one aromatherapy experience⁠! Visit my Instagram post to see the artworks mentioned in the episode.

Learn more about Andreas and Olfactory Art Keller at the ⁠gallery website⁠ and ⁠Instagram⁠.

Episode highlights:

Ciao for now!