Grounding Blend Essential Oil- A Lifesaver for This New Mom!

First off, I must apologize for not maintaining this blog for the last few months. I had my first baby on September 8th, 2014, but he had some severe complications during delivery that landed him in the NICU at Vanderbilt Hospital for six weeks. Our baby was diagnosed with Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (when the umbilical cord stopped giving him oxygen while I was in labor with him) and Meconium Aspiration Syndrome (where he passed meconium before he was born and aspirated it in his lungs).

Our baby boy, Tommy, a few hours after he was born.

Those six weeks were the hardest times in my life and my husband's life. We spent the first two weeks not knowing whether our baby was going to live or die, and the last four weeks trying to get him to stay stable and helping him get through his withdrawals from morphine. (He had to be put on morphine because he was in so much pain, and he became addicted to it.) My husband and I went through the "refiner's fire", so to speak. We learned and grew in so many ways for our greater good from this scary experience. On October 13th, 2014, we were blessed to bring our beautiful baby boy home, completely healthy and happy, and miraculously, with no lasting complications.

I want to share with you an amazing experience I had with the Grounding Blend while he was weaning off his morphine.

The first two or three weeks, I didn't feel comfortable putting any essential oils on him. He was so sick, and I didn't want to interfere with any protocols that the doctors were doing. But after a few weeks, he started doing much better and I started putting Frankincense lotion that my mother-in-law made on his skin, since it was dry and peeling. It helped so much with moisturizing his skin and seemed to keep him calm. I also put a special blend on him to help with his withdrawals.

The oil I want to focus on today is the Grounding blend. This oil has been THE oil that helped us get out of the hospital sooner than later. This blend consists of Spruce, Rosewood, Frankincense, and Blue Tansy essential oils, diluted with Fractionated Coconut Oil.

After my son stabilized and was able to breathe on his own, he moved out of critical care and into a regular hospital room where my husband and I were able to stay with him all day and all night. He was pretty healthy at this point, except that he wasn't eating on his own and had to be fed through a tube and was still working on getting off of morphine.

At this point, the morphine withdrawals were the worst part. The doctors were cutting only .05 ml every other day, as long as he could handle it. But he would have some pretty severe withdrawal symptoms. When he first started withdrawing, he was throwing up constantly and had a fever, tremors, and sweating. After a while, he stopped the throwing up, but the fever, tremors, and sweating continued. He also didn't sleep and wouldn't eat very well (once he was eating via bottle). He cried constantly and the only way we could get him to calm down and sleep was to hold him. But that only worked sometimes.

I remember one night, he was having an extremely difficult time with withdrawing. My mother's intuition told me that I had to use the Grounding blend. I got my coconut oil and mixed a couple drops of the Grounding blend in my hand and massaged it on his feet and the back of his neck. And within seconds... he completely relaxed and fell asleep. I was absolutely amazed, but wasn't sure if it would work again. But it did. Over and over. I finally started dropping one drop on my hand and rubbing it on his blanket or the crib sheet by his head after we put him down to help him sleep a little longer.

The last three days were the hardest for his morphine withdrawal, especially because they were cutting it in half on the first day, and on the second day he had nothing to give him that high. Not one drop of morphine. It took him about two and a half days of extreme withdrawal to get over that. My husband and I were holding him nearly 24/7, since it was the only thing that would keep his heart rate low enough to not have to go back up a dose on morphine. We also used the Grounding blend constantly. It was so amazing to see how it worked, to see him freaking out and then after applying a few drops of the blend on the bottoms of his feet, back of his neck, and down his spine, to see him turn so calm and the heart rate number on the monitor drop back to normal levels.Within seconds. It was such a miracle for us.

Because we were able to keep him calm, he went through the last three days of withdrawals without having to go back on the morphine. We were able to get out of the hospital on the day we were hoping for. I know we would not have been able to do that if it wasn't for the Grounding blend.

Not only did it keep Tommy calm, but I think it helped me stay calm. The aroma gave me just enough relief from the stress to keep going and take the best care of my son that I possibly could. I don't know what we would've done without it!

Tommy, at 6 weeks old. This is the evening we arrived home from the hospital. As you can see, he was VERY happy to finally come home!

 
Even before we were in the hospital with our baby, the Grounding blend was my FAVORITE oil ever! I love its piney smell and how it immediately brings a sense of peace and calm and center amid chaos. I can be completely stressed out, frazzled, and feeling like I'm going to lose my mind, but when I open that bottle of the blend and apply a few drops to the back of my neck or the bottom of my feet then smell my hands, I just find my center and am able to get myself back together again and keep going.

SO... I highly recommend the Grounding blend for everyone. Especially mothers! (and fathers too!) Balance is so great for those little ones when they're being extra grumpy or just plain difficult. And it's a great oil to add to a nice, relaxing, hot bath after a long day.

If you want to know more about the Grounding blend and what essential oil brand we recommend, please feel free to contact us at: journeytopersonalfreedom@gmail.com. Questions and comments are welcome!

Using Lemongrass to Kill Chiggers!

We live on a farm in Tennessee, so we have a lot of pests hiding out in the tall grass and bushes. Chiggers are one of them.



(This is a chigger. Nasty huh? They are too small to see with the naked eye, but deliver some nasty bites! Did you know they are actually spiders too??)

Well, my husband likes to do landscaping and maintenance on the property, so every now and then he has an encounter with these microscopic spiders. He usually does just fine with bug bites, but chiggers drive him nuts!

A few days ago, he had a huge breakout of chiggers because he spent about two or three days cutting down tall grass, weed whacking, and trimming bushes and trees. Lavender wasn't providing enough relief. Usually, when he gets chiggers, he itches and has bright red welts all over his legs and feet for about a week. I wanted to find a good essential oil solution. So I thought for a minute, and Lemongrass and Melaleuca popped into my head.

Before we went to bed, I massaged four drops of Lemongrass with a dollop of coconut oil per leg (enough to cover his entire leg and foot), and followed with two drops of Melaleuca.

The next morning he woke up, but he was still itching a bit although it wasn't as bad as the day before. I had him take a shower and then do the four drops of Lemongrass per leg/foot with coconut oil. Later that day, I checked my Facebook and saw he had posted a status saying that his new favorite oil was Lemongrass cause it kills chiggers!

I was surprised how quickly the Lemongrass worked for killing the chiggers. It's now been about four days since he's been bitten by the chiggers and the bites are no longer red and welted, just little pink dots healing up. Keep in mind that normally he goes a week itching like crazy and then it takes another week for the welts to disappear! Huge difference.

Here's a run down of the protocol I used on my husband for his chigger bites:

4 drops of Lemongrass per leg/foot with enough carrier oil to cover the area. (I used coconut oil as my carrier oil.)
2 drops of Melaleuca (We only used this one time, but I'd recommend using it after applying the Lemongrass.)

Apply morning and night. Use Lavender carrier oil with to help calm the bites and itching in between. (If it's really bad, you can apply Lemongrass three times a day instead of two.) Continue until itching is no longer an issue. You can use Lavender or Melaleuca to help the redness go away faster.

Note: Remember that everyone's skin sensitivity is different. Lemongrass is a "hot" oil, meaning it can irritate sensitive skin. If you are prone to sensitive skin, use more carrier oil and maybe less drops of Lemongrass. If irritation or a burning sensation occurs, the best thing to do is add more carrier oil and wipe off, then apply carrier oil again. DO NOT try to wash off with water! Water and oil do not mix and water will just drive the oil deeper into the skin. Use "hot" oils with caution, especially with children and infants.

Questions and comments are more than welcome! Please feel free to contact us at:
journeytopersonalfreedom@gmail.com

Sign Language Interpreting with Essential Oils: Managing Joint, Nerve, and Muscle Discomforts Associated With Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Every year, interpreters all over the world suffer from some form of a repetitive stress injury coming to be known as interpreter's wrist. The most common of these injuries is what we know as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. This is not unique to Sign Language Interpreters alone, it is also common among grocery store workers, computer programers, pianists, women who are pregnant, smokers, etc.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is typically caused by repetitive wrist movements, but can also be caused by other things. One of the nerves in your wrist known as the median nerve becomes irritated or receives too much pressure. This causes numbing, tingling, shooting pains, etc.

As someone who suffers from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, I have had many times where I have lost functionality of my arm and have suffered the numbing, tingling, and shooting pains.

There are some exercises that you can do to help such as stretching your wrists, circling your wrists, clenching your fists, spreading your fingers, fingerspelling the alphabet, and so on. All of these things help with prevention. However, there is still always a chance of getting it.

The question may be asked, "Why is it that interpreters get CTS, but Deaf people don't?" The answer to this is in the process of interpreting. You see, when people just sign, typically they are relaxed and casual with their wrist movements. But when interpreting, you become more tense and stressed because you are trying to convert an idea from one language into another while trying to keep up with the speaker, and maintaining composure. It's not as easy as it sounds, especially when some people speak or sign so fast you can't even process a few words.

Even for Deaf Interpreters (This is a Deaf individual that interprets what an ASL Interpreter is interpreting), CTS is a possibility, because the strain is still there.

A few weeks ago, I was interpreting at an essential oils seminar, my arm began to give and I started having the tingling and sharp pains. When the seminar finally had a break period, I was massaging my arm and stretching my wrists, trying to get them loosened up. My wife Laura took me aside and with concern asked me if I was alright. I explained to her what was happening. Laura took me in to a different room and opened up her bag of oils and had me take off my shirt. She pulled out a bag with her Massage and Soothing blends, and began with the Soothing Blend. She placed a few drops in her hand and began to apply it in to my arm and around my shoulder. After working in the Soothing blend she went on to use the Massage blend by the same method. When a couple of minutes went by, the pain in my arm began to let up. From then on, I was able to finish interpreting the seminar with minimal pain and by the time the seminar was over, the pain had subsided.

Since that experience, I began an investigation into the practical use of essential oils with discomforts associated with CTS. As I studied it out, I found some very helpful and useful information, and have begun using some protocols with success.

Here are some recommendations I have for preventing and managing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome:

Prevention: It is important to stretch before you interpret, but I would also recommend massaging either Cypress or Lavender with a carrier oil (a oil such as coconut oil, olive oil, sunflower oil, etc. to help with dilution) to your hand, wrist and arm before interpreting. These oils will assist with relaxing the muscles and increase blood circulation. Coconut Oil is my preferred carrier oil, however, Olive Oil works as well. When you are finished interpreting, I would recommend using the Wintergreen by the same method.

Management: If you develop CTS, you may want to try a different approach. For general discomforts, the Soothing blend is one of the best blends to use. Following the Soothing blend, I would apply the Massage blend. To help prevent nerve damage, massage Helichrysum over the affected areas. To assist your body with healing connective tissues, use Lemongrass. For muscle discomforts, Marjoram would be best. Frankincense is wonderful for promoting healing. These treatments should be used as needed and will make all the difference in your experience with CTS.

The way I see it, is you can live with pain, or you can live with relief and using essential oils to help your body heal itself!

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us at:
journeytopersonalfreedom@gmail.com

The Aji Sparq Vaporizer: A New Kind of Inhaler!

Today I want to tell you about a cool inhaler product called Aji Sparq. We were introduced to it a couple of weeks ago by my friend Tim Gates. But first, let me tell you about our search for such a product.

It all started this last summer (2013), my wife Laura and I were out in Utah visiting her family. During our visit we discovered that my sister in-law has asthma and an allergic reaction to the dander on her dogs and horses. She wasn't willing to give up her animals, so she chose to live with it. Eventually she made a doctor visit, and was prescribed an inhaler. My sister in-law decided that it would be a good idea to read about her inhaler before she used it. While reading about it she discovered that some of the side effects would not be pleasant at all. She began to stress out and worry because one of the side effects included the possibility of a fungus growing in her mouth, (which I completely understand why she was upset). She concluded that she didn't want to use the inhaler anymore. My mother in-law said that if she didn't want to use the inhaler, that she could get the allergy shots, which would be a five year process of going in once a week to receive an injection. From this, Laura and I began to think about how we could help my sister in-law.

One day she came in from tending to her horse having a hard time breathing. Laura and I had been talking about for a few days and had decided that the next time she had a difficult time breathing that we would have her use a respiratory blend of oils. Laura pulled out the blend and had her sister hold out her hands. She then placed two drops of the essential oil blend in her sister's hands, had her rub them together, then cup her hands over her nose. Laura had her follow these steps: take deep breaths through the nose, breathe out, then take a deep breath in through the mouth, breathe out, repeated twice. After the first round of breathing the oil blend she said that she already began feeling relief. Laura encouraged her to continue anyway. She continued and found complete relief. You can imagine the excitement Laura and I had at the success of the essential oils.

After this event we recalled hearing a rumor of an essential oil inhaler, we decided to investigate. We found out during our search that an essential oils accessory store had a product they claimed to be an essential oil inhaler. We went to the store and found one, before we bought it we had the cashier explain exactly how it worked. It sounded questionable but we were unsuccessful at finding anything else from anywhere else that was remotely similar to an inhaler than this tiny tank. After our purchase Laura and I tested it out to see how it worked and we were sourly disappointed. We had some serious reserves about giving this "inhaler" from the essential oils accessory store to my sister in-law, but we gave it to her anyway. We both kind of hoped that she wouldn't use it, and don't know now if she ever did.

The inhaler from the essential oil accessory store.

A few months after our visit to Utah, doTERRA had a convention in Salt Lake City, Utah. Laura and I could not attend, however, we were able to go to a post convention meeting in Nashville three weeks after. While we were at the event, there were a couple of booths set up. At one of them I saw my friend Tim Gates setting up a product. 

Now, a little about Tim Gates. During my time as a young man, around high school age, Tim & Roberta Gates moved in my Church's congregational boundaries. Tim was called to be the Young Men's President shortly after they moved in. I was in the Young Men's program during his service as president. Tim did an outstanding job as a youth leader and made many friends among the youth. We all became admirers of him and how he was pursuing his dreams of becoming a country singer. After a few years, the Gates moved to Nashville to to further Tim's career in the music industry. We've kept in touch ever since and seen each other here and there. Tim & Roberta have also been in doTERRA for several years. Since our time in the same congregation, he has found success in the music industry. You may recognize him in the band Due West or The Nashville Tribute Band.

Tim Gates

Due West

The Nashville Tribute Band

To find out more about these bands and their music, click on one of these highlighted links: Due West and The Nashville Tribute Band.

Now, on with the story. Tim was standing at his booth when I walked up to it. We both greeted each other with a warm embrace and how do you do's. I then asked him about what he had at his booth. With a big grin, he said, "Aji Sparq." He then proceeded to tell me a little about his problem with allergies and asthma. He said he didn't like using an inhaler because of the side effects affecting his throat, and as a country singer, his voice was the means of his living. One day he noticed an e-cigarette and got an idea. He went out and bought an e-cigarette, took it apart, and replaced the Ethylene Glycol with Vegetable Glycerin* and added doTERRA's "Breathe" essential oil. He said he took one breath and exhaled, repeated, and found that it helped clear his airways amazingly. Well, from there he made some more modifications and started the Aji Sparq product line.

*Note: (Added 8/17/2014) We recently discovered that you can use Fractionated Coconut Oil as a more natural and better alternative to Vegetable Glycerin.

The Aji Sparq Vaporizer

Tim then reached down, picked up a box, and said, "You've got to try this." He pulled the vaporizer and started setting it up with the Vegetable Glycerin and "Breathe". I was kind of reluctant to try it because it looks like a cigarette. He finally talked me in to trying it. Once I agreed, he set it up for me and handed it to me. I put it up to my mouth placed it on my lips and inhaled. I felt the sensation of the Breathe oil blend in my throat and lungs, and as I exhaled and began to explain the sensation I was experiencing, vapors were expelling from my mouth. It kinda took me off guard, and Laura just looked at me as if it took her off guard as well. Tim started laughing and said, "No worries, it's just from the Vegetable Glycerin." He then told me a story about a time that he had to use it while preforming with The Nashville Tribute Band and he had some people freaking out thinking he was smoking. 

From this experience Laura and I became very excited, and we look forward to sharing it with her sister who has respiratory difficulties, as well as any other friends or family that have breathing problems. We've seen how it works and know that it does work! 

I've included a message from Tim Gates on the Aji Sparq. There is a link to the website where you can order an Aji Sparq from Tim. I've also added how you can get the doTERRA essential oils from us, either by signing up with a wholesale membership or buying retail. 

"I suffered with allergies my whole life, and used every prescription

medicine I could find, with no relief.  I notice that with all the medications

I was taking, I would constantly get sore throats, bloody noses and become

very fatigued. 

As a professional singer I was looking for something to help me that

wouldn’t cause these side effects.  I turned to an all-natural solution to my

problems, 100% pure essential oils ... with no side effects.

I needed a way to get these oils into my body as fast as possible and that’s when I started to develop a vessel that would do just that.  I also wanted something that could pass through my dry nose and thus we created the AJI-SPARQ. 

My friend Lucas, also a professional singer, had chronic dry throat and would use sprays while performing to keep his vocal cords fresh.  When he tried my Sparq, it too changed his life.  Together, we began perfecting the Sparq.  When we began sharing our product with other singers, friends, and family members, they instantly felt a change on their first inhale and that's when we knew we needed to share it with the world.

The Aji-Sparq is a high-end vaporizer that diffuses these oils instantly by simply inhaling them through our Sparq.  Based on the principals of the electronic vaporizers on the market today, Aji Sparq is the only one that is designed to vaporize pure grade essential oils.

I am a true testimony that this vaporizer is changing lives, as I no longer use any prescription medication for my allergies. I only use my Aji-Sparq with my 100% pure essential oils.  So I challenge you to 'Inhale the Sparq'."

You can access the website for the Aji Sparq by clicking on here --> Aji Sparq

Also, if you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact my wife and I at: journeytopersonalfreedom@gmail.com

Flea Bites and Essential Oils

Before we begin here, I'll warn you that there are pictures of my infected feet that some might find gross. But, my purpose here is to tell and show you yet another successful personal experience using essential oils.

This last summer (2013), my husband and I went to visit my family in Utah for a couple months. It was a wonderful visit and we wanted to stay longer, but we had to head back to Tennessee to work again. A couple weeks before we decided to go back home, my husband's 12 year old family dog, Lil'Bit, got infected with fleas.

Lil'Bit was a mostly outdoors dog, despite being a Chihuahua. We were living at his parent's house on the farm, and Lil'Bit loved to wander the farm, so who knows what kind of flea-infested animals he decided to become friends with while he was out and about. The point is, he got fleas. By the time my husband and I got home from Utah, the fleas were completely out of control.

I don't know why, but I was the only one in my family who experienced any reaction from the flea bites. Within days, I had over a hundred bites on my legs and feet only. And they itched! No one else was having any major problems with the pests. My husband and his parents only had a few bites, and they didn't bother them too bad. However, I was being tortured. It was the kind of torture that was slow and creeping, increasing in intensity with each day. I hardly slept for two weeks. I couldn't lay down and relax, even in my own bed. So, obviously, that took quite a toll on my sanity. I felt like I was going crazy.

I had tried EVERYTHING to get rid of the fleas, doing everything from vacuuming to natural solutions to poisonous flea bombs. Nothing worked, not even the bombs. (From the hours of research I did on killing fleas during my sleepless nights, I found that fleas are very difficult to get rid of, and when developing inside their cocoon, they are nearly impossible to kill.) Essential oils did a great job of repelling them, and I was able to snag a few hours of sleep at a time by covering my body with Eucalyptus or Peppermint essential oil before bed.

I wish there was a success story for me to tell about getting rid of the fleas with essential oils...  but there was just something very strange about the fleas that were invading us. We tried natural remedies, as well as a few brands of flea poisons. Nothing worked. Our neighbor also had fleas, but were able to simply get rid of them by spraying Eucalyptus essential oil mixed with water on all surfaces throughout the house. Those fleas were gone within days and never came back. I had tried that multiple times, but I think the infestation was already too out of control, which is why it didn't work for me. Now, it did repel them, but it didn't get rid of them.

Anyway, within about a week of getting flea bites, I noticed a few of my bites were becoming these huge blisters. After a few days, my legs were covered  with those huge, itchy, and painful blisters. My legs, ankles, and feet were swollen and I could barely even wear flip flops.

This is my right foot at its worst.

 (My left foot a few days after I took the picture of my right foot.)

I decided that I couldn't do this anymore. Nothing was working. My mother in law was in Utah during the time all this was happening. She is an herbalist and knows a ton about health issues and how to resolve them naturally. I took pictures of my feet and sent them to her and explained what was going on. She determined that there was something wrong with my lymphatic system and for some reason, it was clogged up and not able to clean the toxins from my blood. So when I got bitten by the fleas, the toxins were not cleared out, but rather just stayed and festered in my skin. My mother in law suggested that I try a detoxification blend of oils and herbs. 

Along with taking the detox blend multiple times daily, I also had to change my diet. I had to eat all natural foods, meaning I couldn't go out to eat, or eat frozen pre-prepared food. Everything was made from scratch. I may have cheated a couple times, but for the most part, I was diligent in sticking with my diet. I also took hour long baths with lemon essential oil and Epsom salt, sometimes up to twice daily.

Within a few days, I started noticing a HUGE difference. My legs and feet weren't swollen, and the blisters were starting to reduce.

(This is about four days after taking the Zendocrine, changing my diet, and taking Epsom salt baths with Lemon essential oils.)

(Both feet together after 5 or 6 days of taking Zendocrine, changing my diet, and taking Epsom salt baths with Lemon essential oils. There are still red dots which are scars and scabs from the blisters, but barely any festering blisters present.)

(A side by side comparison of my feet...The worst being at the left and the healed at the right.The red dots on my healed feet are the scars from the blisters.)

Shortly after I started taking the essential oils and changing my diet, I had a friend in the military who suggested to me that I get a concentrated poison that the Army uses for the soldiers out in the field to keep fleas out of their sleeping bags, clothes, etc. I was hesitant to use poison in the home, but I also had no choice. I bought the concentrated poison and sprayed it directly on the floors, tiles, mattresses, couches... everywhere I could reach. The fleas immediately reduced by 3/4 and when I sprayed for the second time a few days later, they were gone. I sprayed a third time a week later... just in case. (Can you blame me??) We've never had a problem with the fleas again.

As of December 31st, 2013, it has been about over 3 months since this happened.  My scars have slowly disappeared... the scars from the most infected blisters are still present. I'm so happy I was able to figure out what my problem was and able to take care of my body's problems in the healthiest way possible. What I learned from this experience is that it's important to take care of your body in the best way possible. The reason why I had a problem with my lymphatic system was most likely because of years of toxic buildup from eating fast food or unhealthy foods in excess, as well as taking many medications that were not good for me. With the essential oils and my diet and exercise improvements, the problem was 100 percent resolved. 

The amazing thing is that after I did my detoxing, I noticed that I stopped reacting horribly to mosquito bites. All my life, if I got bitten by a mosquito, I'd swell up so much it'd look like I had a golf ball or a tennis ball under my skin, and it would be hard and hot to the touch. It would last for days too. Well, after my detox, when I got bit by mosquitoes, I noticed that the bites itched a little and bumped up slightly, but then was gone the next day and didn't bother me anymore. 

I'm so happy to have yet another success story with essential oils. They have blessed me tremendously throughout this past year and are SO worth looking into, if you haven't yet. 

If you want more information, or have any comments or questions, please feel free to contact me at journeytopersonalfreedom@gmail.com