Although I couldn’t attend a March for Science Rally because I was at the Acupuncture Association of Colorado’s Annual Conference, I was there in heart and spirit! What is most exciting to me about this movement is that emphasis is on our planet and how we can advance technology to enhance the Earth instead of destroy it.

There has been a gap in environmentalism and science and that is now rapidly changing. The chemical, pharmaceutical and agricultural leaders (Monsanto having a hand in all three) need to come up to speed. Domination and greed is the reason why they constantly fight to quell our food and health independence. The paradigm shift of manifest destiny is becoming one of ecology and transparency and companies that are motivated by destruction based profit are not going to be acceptable anymore as people become more educated about global climate change and our role in it. Sustainability, small organic farming, and herbalism have been the way of the past and are resurfacing as our path to a better future.

“The times, they are a changing”, sometimes just not as fast as some of us would like. As I keep forging ahead with my essential oil blends, the thought of being a steward of the Earth is foremost in my mind. I am not happy with the “sustainability” model of many essential oil companies, as it doesn’t seem to me that they take seriously the issue of how much plant matter it takes to make even an ounce of essential oil. If they did, they would not promote such vagrant use of our precious resources.

It takes about 250 pounds of lavender to make 1 pound of essential oil- that’s about 15 pounds of lavender for 1 ounce of oil! It takes 10,000 roses to make 5ml of rose essential oil! How about instead of dousing yourself in undiluted essential oil, you walk around with a few sprigs of lavender or rose petals in a sachet or anoint yourself with a couple of drops of diluted essential oil only.

A little goes a long way folks. Be mindful, have respect for the whole plant, and not just the distillate you buy in a bottle. Grow your own herbs. Make your own medicine. A cup of rose tea that you make from roses you grow can be just as strong as a drop of the pure essential oil.

We are all on this Earth together. Let’s make it the best we can.

With love,

Jessica