Aromatic substances have a considerable influence on our emotions and can profoundly affect our psyche by relaxing the mind and elevating our spiritual state. In the same way, essential oils, with their concentrated aromatic properties, can have a noticeable impact on our mind and emotions.

It is believed that our sense of smell is ten thousand times more precise than all our other senses. Once perceived, a scent reaches the brain more quickly than any visual or auditory signal. Our sense of smell is directly linked to our emotional states and patterns of behavior, often having been imprinted in us from early childhood. Of the five physical senses, the sense of smell is the only one directly connected to the limbic system of the brain—the region associated with anxiety, depression, fear, anger, and joy. All of these emotions find their physical expression within this area of the brain.

Inhaling the scent of an essential oil means that the fragrance molecules travel up through the nose, where they are detected by the nerves of the olfactory membranes within the nasal passages. The fragrance molecules stimulate these neural pathways and trigger electrical impulses, which are then transmitted to the olfactory center in the brain. From this olfactory center, these impulses travel to the limbic system, which is often regarded as our emotional control center. Since the limbic system is directly connected to those parts of the brain that regulate heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, memory, stress levels, and hormonal balance, essential oils can potentially exert a significant physiological and psychological influence.

Hasn’t everyone experienced how a particular scent can trigger memories and emotions before we are even consciously aware of it? When we smell, we react before we think. All the other physical senses are relayed through neural pathways via the thalamus, which functions as a kind of switching station in the brain, transmitting sensory stimuli to the cerebral cortex—the conscious thinking center—as well as to other areas of the brain.

Emotional Release with Essential Oils

Bio-spiritual healing forms a partnership with us to bring light into our lives through the help of remarkably subtle aromatic molecules. Essential oils can provide us with access to stored or forgotten memories and repressed feelings, enabling us to acknowledge, integrate, or release them.

The word “emotion” can be translated as “energy in motion.” Emotion essentially refers to energetic movement through our body. This emotional energy actually travels at a higher speed than our thinking. Thoughts and images may take seconds or minutes to trigger a memory, whereas a scent stimulus can evoke a memory response within milliseconds.

Suppressed emotions can cause devastating damage in our lives, as they are often at the root of depression, anxiety, and fear. Essential oils can help us bring these emotions to the surface and release them, wherever they may be stored within our “psychosomatic system,” to use the term coined by the renowned neurophysiologist Candace Pert.

In 1992, sesquiterpenes and sesquiterpenols were discovered—compounds found, for example, in the essential oils of sandalwood, myrrh, and others—which are capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier and influencing the amygdala, one of the brain regions responsible for recording and storing emotional trauma. Through inhalation, certain essential oils are said to be capable of completely erasing the content of an emotional trauma at the DNA-cellular level.

Dr. Joseph LeDoux of New York Medical University believes that the effect of inhaling the vapors of such oils on the amygdala may represent a significant breakthrough in the resolution of stored emotional trauma.

The synergistic effect of smelling an essential oil influences the vibrational frequency of our cells and thereby helps us heal on every level—physically, emotionally, and spiritually. We can only marvel at the incredible abundance of scents found in nature as an expression of the integral harmony of creation itself: nature uses these scents not merely as a means of communication within the plant and animal kingdoms, but at the same time as “a healing formula” for all living beings. Thus, our sense of smell and the world of aromas connect us with the deepest layer of our being, which is always vibrating in a state of contentment and joy.

Scent Meditation with an Essential Oil

Before beginning your meditation, connect with your intuition and choose an essential oil from your aromatherapy set. Trust yourself and your inner guidance. This is the oil you will work with during your aroma meditation.

Settle down in a quiet and peaceful place. Apply a few drops of your chosen oil to a scent strip or a small piece of cloth. Close your eyes and focus your attention on your breath for about one minute to calm your mind. Once you begin to feel relaxed, start inhaling the aroma of your oil. Allow the wonderful scent to permeate you and observe what is happening within your body and your emotions. Do not try to analyze it—simply be present in the moment and let everything go. The power of the oil takes care of you and helps you release and heal whatever needs to be released and healed in that moment.

Practice this meditation for 5–10 minutes and then take some time to rest. You can record your experience in your aroma journal. You can practice this meditation as often as you like, using the same essential oil or choosing a different one.