The Joy of Love

Young Living Love and Happiness Blend

The other day I was out for my walk. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, but to tell the truth I wasn't really noticing. The sky was perfect cloudless, "China blue" as my mother always says, the lake was a deep rippled sapphire, but I was paying more attention to my feet and knees being sore, all the things I needed to check off my to-do list, negotiations over a large doll sale that weren't going well, and all the other minutia of daily life. I stood by the lake to take a little break (I'm 40 years old and right now I'm walking 5-8 miles a day and doing intense P90X 3 workouts 6 days a week, so I need a rest now and then!). As I stood there looking at the water it occurred to me how rarely I feel true happiness. Every so often I might get a little jolt of joy, but daily feelings of happiness or even contentment? Not so much. I decided try to focus more on just enjoying life. I'm not talking about being glad you made some money, or happy you lost weight or won a door prize; I'm talking about cultivating a pursuit of pure, unadulterated joy. Naturally, I turned to my essential oils for help.

Take time to notice everyday beauty.

If you think about it, an enormous amount of life goes on in your head. At least, that's how it is for me. In 1998 my husband was injured in a near-fatal accident. He was in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit of the hospital for several days and they had him on morphine. As I sat vigil next to his bed I was relieved whenever he fell asleep because the morphine turned him into someone else completely. The things he said to me were just awful and I left the room in tears several times. I was pregnant at the time, so I'm sure that had something to do with it, but it was as if the person who woke up after the accident wasn't my husband at all. After about a week they moved him to the orthopedic floor and removed his morphine drip and the transformation was immediate and amazing. Years later he was trying to quit smoking and I remarked to my mother that I could tell when he had a relapse because when he has nicotine in his system he acts like a colossal jerk. My mother said, "It makes you wonder how much of our personality is just the chemicals in our bodies at any given time." Indeed. I've never forgotten that.

So maybe it is possible to manufacture happiness for yourself just through what you're putting in and on your body. As you know, I drink Young Living grapefruit and lemon oils in water daily to help with weight loss and to flush dangerous petro-chemicals and other persistent pollutants from my system. The other day I read an article about how lemon improves digestion by actually helping your body balance the amount of acid in your stomach and I have to say I have noticed an abatement of digestive issues since I started ingesting the oil. You could drink water with lemon to get this same effect; you'll just have to drink more of it and make sure you use organic and thoroughly washed lemons. Remember as well that most essential oils are not edible. Some Young Living oils are and dosages are noted on the label. And as always, remember Young Living products are not evaluated by the FDA and not a substitute for medical care.

Once you've begun to rid your system of the toxic crud unfortunately present in our soil, water, air, and food you can introduce better stuff. I've been reading a lot about aromas and natural essences to improve mood and developed this "Love and Happiness" blend. The reason I include love is that I can't think of any time in my life personally when I've been happier than when I've been in love. The day you meet someone and feel a connection straight into your heart and soul, the day you first hold your child in your arms, the day someone smiles at you and you realize just being with that person, just walking around, lifts your spirits; that's where it's at! Somehow, though, I often end up focusing on my loved one's faults, my friends' lack of time, my childrens' poor grades or bad behavior and forget to really see them the way I did in that very first moment. So, while you can't depend on anyone else for your own happiness, focusing on the things you love about others can certainly improve your mood. Another thing that really improves my mood is living in a beautiful environment. Just walking into a clean and fragrant house will lift my spirits immensely. Cleanliness is short-lived around here, unfortunately, but fragrance I can do!

Love & Happiness Diffuser Blend

5 drops each Young Living Citrus Fresh, Joy, Peace and Calming, Lavender, and Stress Away essential oils

Place in a diffuser filled with water and run 30 minutes, three times per day. For added benefit make a steam tent by placing a towel over your head and the diffuser. Breathe in the mist and meditate on pleasant thoughts or pray.

This blend boosts love and happiness for several reasons. The orange essential oil in the Citrus Fresh and the ylang ylang in the Joy and Peace and Calming blends are recognized natural aphrodisiacs for women. Lavender promotes relaxation, and the vanilla in Stress Away soothes and comforts. Tangerine and lime in the Citrus Fresh and Stress Away blends have uplifting properties. Because it's nearly Valentine's Day, I formulated the same blend into a massage oil which also functions as an aphrodisiac. Even if you aren't in a relationship or are away from your special someone on Valentine's Day, I recommend using this oil as a bath oil, moisturizer, or even as a perfume. It smells amazing, and after all, you have to love yourself first and foremost! Another great benefit of the Joy oil blend is that it tightens sagging skin. I found impressive before and after photos of this effect on Pinterest. So this massage oil just might lift your rear as well as your mood!

"In the Mood" Massage Oil

25 drops Young Living Citrus Fresh essential oil blend

20 drops Young Living Joy essential oil blend

10 drops each Young Living Peace and Calming and Lavender oil

5 drops Young Living Stress Away

1 cup grapeseed oil

Mix all ingredients and store in a glass container. Massage on skin as desired. For added benefit, diffuse the Love and Happiness Diffuser blend while performing massages.

I think I'm going to give myself an early Valentine by cleaning this house and diffusing some Love and Happiness! I've been working so hard lately, and that, along with my daughter's medical treatment for her corneal abrasion, have left the house basically trashed. I spent the morning on a conference call with eBay and in writing my store newsletter, maintaining my Young Living page, reviewing tax preparations; nothing really special. A clean house will bring a little happiness into the day, I'm sure. To buy any of these Young Living products as a retail customer go to the web site and put in member/sponsor number 2256091 in the member sign-up box under "retail". To sign up for a wholesale membership (kind of like a holistic Sam's Club) go here and again put in member/sponsor number 2256091. You may also just contact me through the form on the side of your screen or through my Naturally Amanda Facebook page to order or sign up.

This is a special and auspicious day. Good things are coming. You are loved and cherished, more than you probably realize, and you bring joy into at least one person's world. Repeat that hourly, diffuse the blend, apply the oil, and have a wonderful day and fantastic Valentine's weekend!