We give a lot of
praise to the gift of sight; we understand the power of sound, we
surrender to a healing touch and we definitely enjoy the sense of taste,
sometimes more than we should; but what about our sense of smell? Of
all our sensory faculties, smell is the one we are the least conscious
about, yet it is the only one that has a direct impact on our moods and
our memories. The reason is biological. Our olfactory system is directly
connected to our limbic system and more precisely, to our amygdala
which is linked to memory and emotions.

The “Proust phenomenon” is defined as the chain reaction
that occurs when a smell triggers a specific memory; we call those
memories, “autobiographic memories” because they are linked to a very
specific moment in time, usually a moment in our childhood .

Smells are
everywhere and affect us all the time; we are just not conscious of it.
But let’s see if you can relate to this… if I say warm cinnamon bun,
creamy Egg Nog, or fresh cut cedar log … can you smell it? I sure can!

Smells play a very
important part in the recollection of memories and feelings, but they
also participate in the healing of our bodies and our minds. Let’s take
for example cinnamon and mandarin, two smells often present during this
time of year.

Cinnamon essential oil

Cinnamon is packed
with a variety of benefits for the body: it combats infections,
minimizes inflammation, as well as is a natural immune system booster
and an antiviral fungal remedy. As an essential oil, cinnamon alleviates
depression, energizes the mind and promotes the feeling of happiness,
no wonder we have cinnamon in so many Christmas products!

Mandarin essential oil

The mandarin
essential oil stimulates our mood by making us cheerful and energetic.
It is often mixed with other citrus essential oils like lemon, tangerine
and lemon grass.

Diffusing the
scent of cinnamon and mandarin in the air is an awesome way to still
enjoy them. As Lise had mentioned in her Scents and Smell article two
years ago, just smelling a scent, soothes the desire to eat the food
itself; so smell away, it’s calorie free!

Now, if you are a
real fan of scents, here is a wonderful mixture of scents, called
“Christmas Spirit”. Just like in pumpkin pie there are several spices
that make up the taste to make it “just right”, scents too can be
combined to acquire the combination that is right for your nose. You
will need the essential oils mentioned below and an aromatherapy
diffuser.

In your diffuser, blend:

6 drops of Bay leaf essential oil

6 drops of mandarin essential oil

3 drops of ginger essential oil and

3 drops of cinnamon essential oil

Finally, Baseformula
is a great website to learn more about essential oils. They use these
to create other sensational products like soap, lip balm and hand
cream… If you like the idea of making your own products, especially to
offer as gifts, you’ll really enjoy this web site.