Aroma for Meditation

Have you ever felt like your life goes on in a continuous rapid advance, accelerating and moving away from you?

It is not your imagination.

It is very easy to get caught up in the distraught surge of everyday life and to drown ourselves in busy schedules, some might even attach their self-esteem to the length of their to-do list.

As globalization and modernity become more installed in our societies, it seems that we have less control of our lives. This prevents us from living happily, since the obligations and inconveniences of everyday life absorb us in such a way that makes it impossible for us to find ourselves and connect with our inner peace. Perhaps the city will remain the same and there are things without solution, but perhaps we can make modifications for a better lifestyle.

If you could step outside of your very busy schedules and constant exhaustion of everyday tasks, your life can be quite peaceful and you can have a better understanding of yourself.

To stop your mind from going into a state of overload, you need to engage it in an activity that only strengthens it, gives it clarity and helps it gain stability.

You should incorporate the habit of meditation.

A common mistake is to believe that meditation is simply a technique to reduce stress, calm emotions and be calmer, done with your eyes closed, in certain positions either sitting or lying down or even levitating (rolls eyes).

But meditation is much more than that, it is a broader form of consciousness and its benefits are much deeper.

To meditate is to look inward and observe yourself, observe your breathing, your sensations and not let yourself be trapped by your thoughts – simply observe and let them pass, that is, try to be aware of what you are thinking and how it affects you so that your thoughts do not control you, but you them. 

We should not confuse the act of meditating with leaving the mind blank, since both things are not the same. When meditating, thoughts may continue to arise, the difference is that we do not identify with them, we do not follow them. But let them go like clouds that pass in the sky and leave. 

There are countless meditation benefits you could be enjoying right now but there are so many distractions hindering you from starting a meditation routine. We are at a time when more and more people decide to start in this practice due to the frantic pace of life we lead and numerous studies have already been able to report the benefits of meditating daily with just a few minutes of dedication. To name just a few:

• Improved self awareness
• Relief of anxiety and depression symptoms
• Stress reduction
• Improved attention span and concentration
• Blood pressure improvement
• Increased gray matter in the brain
• Productivity Improvement
• Improved decision making

Meditation only requires 15 minutes. Meditating for 15 minutes a day can improve your mental health and make you an emotionally stable being.

If you benefit from meditation, you can also extend your time.

A wide range of meditation types exist but for the sake of simplicity, we divided them into three main categories according to the focus of each.

Concentration-based meditation

Although concentration is the basis of all meditation, in some techniques the focus is on developing mindfulness in some object or in nothingness itself. With practice you can stay focused for a longer time.

Meditation based on Reflection

The idea is to choose a question or a deep topic and reflect on it. It requires having a trained mind because at the beginning other thoughts will appear that have nothing to do with the chosen theme. As an example we can ask ourselves the following questions:

✗            Who I am?

✗            What are my main goals?

Mindfulness based meditation

It bases its attention on an action or object and makes us more perceptive of our present moment. A lot of people live their lives with only their bodies in the present but their minds are worried about the past or future. With mindfulness meditation you will learn to focus on the “here and now”, and that will give you peace of mind and make you a happier person. It is a great meditation for anxiety.

Your next question should be how do I create the right environment for meditating….

Oh well...

Ideally, you would meditate on top of a mountain surrounded by clouds of incense, candles, and the sound of tingsha chimes.

If the environment around us is regulated, it will create discipline in the mind too – A disturbed environment has a bad effect on the mind. Avoid all distractions, turn off the television, turn off the mobile phone and if there are more people in the house, ask them not to bother you during the exercise of meditation.

Creating an ideal space for meditation is not so complicated, you will simply need some details that help create that magical and special atmosphere – warm colored lights, removing furniture to create more space, fluffy carpet, mirrors, scented candles and background meditation music.

‘Music is Food for the Soul’

You can improve your mediation with music, it can help to create a calm environment.

If you are finding it hard to focus, essential oils for meditation can help. This is known as Meditation Aromatherapy.

Aromatherapy is considered as the language of the soul, which our brain perceives through smell, places it in the area of spiritual perceptions, harmonizing our energy body and thus accessing the regulation of the area physics that needs to be reconstituted.

Aromatherapy acts on subtle planes so it helps meditation, visualizations, concentration and all those techniques aimed at seeking balance and inner harmony. The curative potential of aromatherapy comes from its ability to promote relaxation and at the same time, generate a feeling of joy or tranquility in the recipient. Its effects are fast and lasting because they reach the deepest emotions of the person.

When something is smelled, emotional memory is evoked. Thus, the associative memory of aromas and situations generate the use of oils for therapeutic use, since consciousness registers the aroma with the setting. Some oils have the property of transforming and balancing our emotions, reducing anxiety, depression or mental fatigue.

Each essential oil has its own characteristic aroma and its own therapeutic profile. Some oils are soothing and relaxing, while others are stimulating and invigorating. And they are not only used for their aroma, but also for their chemical components or for their energy load, which provide therapeutic properties beyond smell.

Essential oils are wonderful allies. They help the body in different ways depending on what is needed: regulate, stimulate or balance.

Here are some of the best essential oils for meditation

1. Sandalwood (Santalum album)

It is an oil with a woody and exotic smell that is subtle and persistent. its use is highly recommended when we are going through a phase of stress, anxiety, insomnia or nervous tension of any kind. Sandalwood is one of the oldest known perfume elements, It was used in ancient oriental cults to achieve spiritual harmony and clear thoughts. It is widely used for its calming and relaxing effects, it is often used to awaken sexual energy, to treat depression, stress, anxiety and fear.

2. Lavender (Lavandula officinalis)

Aromatherapy as a therapeutic practice did not appear until the early twentieth century. In the 1930s, René Gattefossé, a leading perfumer of the time, suffered severe burns on one hand due to an accident in his perfume laboratory. Immediately and without thinking, he dipped his hand in a container containing lavender oil and saw how the pain subsided, he did not even develop any infection and the burn healed cleanly and quickly. The lavender essential oil is one of the most versatile and flexible, it is used in aromatherapy treatments primarily for relaxation, as well as for agitated behavior, or rather in cases of acute dementia, it has been shown that lavender attenuates behaviors stirred. it is also hypnotic, usually lavender aromatherapy is used as a sleep inducer.

3. Patchouli Essential Oil (Pogostemon Patchouly)

It is as an antidepressant. The patchouli enters the bloodstream through the lungs when we inhale and thus affects the nervous system and the brain. It has been traditionally used to control negativity and sadness and calm the impulses of anger and rage. Patchouli oil also used to treat stress and exhaustion of nervous origin. It is also used to Increase concentration and provide vital energy.

4. Frankincense (Boswellia sacra)

The word frankincense comes from the term «franc encens», which means quality incense in ancient French. Incense has been associated with many different religions over the years, especially the Christian religion. Often called the king of oils, incense promotes feelings of peace and general well-being when used. Frankincense oil immediately induces the feeling of peace, relaxation and satisfaction. Frankincense essential oil is useful in reducing levels of anxiety or chronic stress that can make you stay up all night. Its relaxing aroma can naturally help you fall asleep. In addition, it helps open the respiratory passages, allows the body to reach an ideal sleeping temperature and relieves pain.

Certain fragrances have an effect on the mental state of those who use them: jasmine and neroli can improve depression, marjoram calms anxiety and peppermint can increase mental concentration.

The fragrance of some essential oils promotes mood (Bergamot), emotionally re balances (Ravintsara) and helps fight anxiety and stress (Orange, Tangerine, Lavender, among others).

Incense is the oldest form of aromatherapy. It is the sacred fragrance par excellence, present in places of worship of all religions. The reason? It helps to connect with the spiritual world and deepen the world we don't see.  

Used in many cultures as a purifying ritual, today it is generally found in the form of a stick, surrounded by coal impregnated with a mixture of essential oils and with a small amount of saltpeter so that, once lit, it continues to burn slowly, releasing the oils. You can perfume it with the essential oils you prefer.

Meditation is the path we can choose to reduce the pressure, stress and concerns that address us daily. When we meditate we provide a space to restore our inner nature.

With meditation we can feel more relaxed, we will accept ourselves better and we will not fall so easily into negative or repetitive thoughts. Meditation helps us grow inwardly and that is not something we should lose.