Essential Oils and the Soul
According to the Kabbalah, the human soul contains animal-, vegetable- and human soul components. Thus, each of us has the ability to relate to plant souls on a soul-to-soul level. Kabbalists view the human soul as having five levels. The lowest levels interface with the conscious mind and primal instincts, and so, are bound to the finite world while the higher levels are inaccessible to ordinary consciousness and serve as our link to the Infinite. Finite by definition implies limitations. When the human soul becomes preoccupied with the challenges of life, it becomes estranged from the Infinite and thus mired in "stuckness." All chronic diseases have in common this quality of inertia.
The plant soul is not encumbered by ego, so it has the qualities of purity and infinity. Thus, the individualized plant soul combination within the essential oil blend, when proffered to the human soul, is eagerly received and infuses the latter with an impetus to move beyond limitation by changing its orientation from the finite to the Infinite. The key to moving the soul in this way is the formulation of an oil blend which accurately reflects an individual's "soul print." Just like no two fingerprints are alike, each soul is completely unique. Living within the context of one's true soul nature requires a continuous connection with one's higher self: the "Divine I." Happiness is the key to wellness. No one can be truly well so long as he or she is unhappy. In turn, the key to happiness lies in accepting, and living in accordance with, one's soul print and having this soul print received by others.
Harmonizing the currents of the psycho-spiritual plane facilitates an altered state characterized by heightened awareness, receptivity, flexibility, objectivity and the illumination of life-choices. True healing can proceed only in this altered state. The purpose of the art of Spiritual PhytoEssencing is not to treat disease, but rather, to encourage and sustain this altered state of soul consciousness. Both Spiritual PhytoEssencing and its foundational reference book: Berkowsky's Synthesis Materia Medica of Essential Oils are based upon an interface of conventional aromatherapy with physiology, classical homeopathy, anthroposophical medicine, traditional Chinese medicine and the Kabbalah.
Essential oils are both biochemical and bioenergetic entities. An essential oil is the carrier of a plant's soul. Like the human soul, the plant soul contains the spiritual roots for all the plant's material and bioenergetic manifestations. Hence, when using essential oils for soul-spiritual work, all of the biophysical and bioenergetic features of the plant can be used to develop an understanding of said spiritual roots. The following discussion demonstrates how the soul nature of essential oil of rose can be elaborated using a synthesis of aromatherapy, folklore and herbal medicine, classical homeopathy, conventional physiology, traditional Chinese medicine, anthroposophical medicine and Kabbalah. Rose has always been associated with deep, heart-felt devotional love. To understand how it elicits this type of response in humans, an examination of the concepts of the rhythmic system, shen, the Fire element, the homeopathic symptoms of rose, the Tree of Life vessel of Binah and the Psoric miasm will prove of good service.
FOLKLORE and ROSE
Since ancient times, rose (Rosa damascena) oil has been consistently classified as an oil of emotional feeling, love, femininity and transformation. The Romans scattered rose petals on the marriage bed and Roman brides and bridegrooms were crowned with roses, as were the images of Venus and Cupid. When Cleopatra invited Mark Antony to her palace, she had the meeting room floor covered knee-deep with roses because of her fervent belief in the romantic power of the rose's scent. Among some American Indian tribes, braves gathered wild roses for the hair of their brides. Also, the rose was supposedly sacred to Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, beauty and fertility. Legend has it that St. Dominic, in the course of a mystical vision, received the first rosary from the Virgin Mary and each bead was rose-scented.
The RHYTHMIC SYSTEM
A primary conceptual model of anthroposophical science is the Three-Fold Organism, or human triad. Accordingly, the organism consists of: 1) a nerve-sense system (concentrated primarily at the cephalic pole of the body) which is the instrument of perception, thought and consciousness; 2) a metabolic limb--i.e., motor/digestive system (concentrated at the lower pole, responsible for metabolism and movement) which is the instrument of will; 3) a rhythmic system (located in the chest between these two poles which harmonizes them, and thus, arbitrates between thought and will) which is the instrument of feeling.
The rhythmic system is an internal organization required to establish equilibrium between the nerve-sense system and the metabolic-limb system. Illness results when there is a disturbance of balance between these two systems. If the nerve-sense system dominates, then the processes of consciousness and catabolism obstruct normal metabolism and anabolism. On the other hand, if the metabolic-limb system dominates, the opposite occurs.
As the rhythmic system is found midway between the upper and lower poles of the body, so does feeling lie midway between thinking and willing. For example, let us say a person imagines a beautiful scene of forest, water and light. She becomes attached to this particular vision and desires to have it appear before her on an ongoing basis. She says to herself: Why don't I transform my thought into reality? Then, she proceeds to make a painting of this vision. In this example, there is a chronology that begins with thought and gets caught up in feeling. The feeling then generates a compulsion to translate the thought into a deed, an act of will. In this way, feeling mediates between thinking and willing.
In the human organism, the primary organs of the rhythmic system are the heart, and secondarily, the lungs. Both Heart and lung activities are characterized by ceaseless rhythm. Whenever a strong feeling is experienced, changes occur in the subtle interplay of blood and breath. The heart and respiratory rates may increase or become erratic. When people recount strong emotional episodes, we often hear expressions such as My heart skipped a beat, or It took my breath away. Also, blanching from emotional shock or blushing as a result of embarrassment show the connection between feelings and the capillaries: tiny blood vessels which exhibit rhythmicity. This helps to explain rose's value as a capillary tonic. A person's emotional life oscillates between empathy and antipathy. For this reason, feeling requires an organic system that is capable of rhythmic oscillation so that the scales can be balanced through harmonization.
The heart is actually a sense-organ perceiving subtle changes in the make-up of the blood. To coldly reflect upon something, you need only the nerve-sense system. However, in order to imbue this reflection with interest and devotion, you need the heart's contribution of feeling. This feeling also imbues the will with the elements of devotion and courage. This is why courage has long been associated with the heart. Fear is potentially the outgrowth of heart weakness. Perhaps the type of fear most characteristic of the heart is the fear of death. This develops whenever the heart as a sense-organ perceives the proximity of death.
The heart also balances between the warm blood returning from the lower pole and the cooler blood coming back from the upper pole, and between diastole (expansion) and systole (contraction). Hence, in its other role as the instrument of feeling, it must balance between cold-heartedness and warm-heartedness as well as open-heartedness and closed-heartedness. Traditional Tibetan medicine created a model which viewed health as being dependent upon balance between the three elements of awareness, compassion and willpower. An excess or deficiency of any of these creates an imbalanced state that results in illness. Excess compassion, for instance, can obscure rational thought and result in the perpetual victimization that obstructs physical healing and personal growth.
Rose oil is the primary oil for the rhythmic system's (especially the heart's) feeling function. Rose helps to balance thinking and willing. While it is noted as being useful in the treatment of heart palpitations, arrhythmia and hypertension, it should be considered as primary for these symptoms only when disturbances of the heart's "feeling" function is a leading element in the case.
Rose oil is considered an asthma remedy. In this case, it's most indicated for emotional asthma as well as cardiac asthma. Cardiac asthma, associated with heart disease, is characterized by pulmonary congestion, airways obstruction, hyperventilation, bronchial spasms and wheezing.
SHEN
Shen is one of the "Three Treasures" of Chinese medicine (the other two being chi and jing). The word shen translates roughly as spirit. Whereas movement is indicative of the presence of chi, and growth and renewal of jing, consciousness indicates the presence of shen.
Shen is said to reside in two houses. The higher house correlates with the nerve-sense pole where it brings forth clarity of thought and conscious direction of life and the vital processes. The lower residence is the heart where it ensures balanced feelings and clear, honest communication.
Translated into anthroposophical terms, heart shen is the spirit body transformed by feeling. The concept of transformation is a prominent theme of rose oil. In earlier times, it was used by alchemists as a catalyst in their attempts to transmute base metals into gold. It's interesting to note that in homeopathy, the remedy Aurum (gold) is a major heart remedy.
Consider rose oil whenever there is disturbed heart shen. Disturbed shen will manifest as: an inability to think clearly and organize thoughts; emotional mood swings; speech defects ranging from stammering to muteness as well as excess loquacity and inappropriate laughter while speaking. Confused shen may also give rise to: nervousness; fearfulness; insomnia; depression; dull, unfocused eyes.
FIRE ELEMENT
According to the Five Element Theory of Chinese medicine, the heart is the yin organ of the Fire element. Accordingly, when function is balanced, the spirit will flame-up with inspiration. If the fire is burning low, the individual will be dispirited or depressed. Loss of fire can develop over time if a person's emotions have not been validated. In contrast, when there is excessive heart fire, an individual will laugh excessively, be impulsive and be prone to hysteria.
The Five Elements interact in patterns of creation and support, or inhibition and restraint. The Wood element exerts a generating effect upon the Fire element in the same way that wood is fuel for a fire. A deficiency of Wood leads to depletion of the heart's feeling capacity while an excess may create destructive emotional intensity. Hence, the heart's integrity as an emotional center is linked to liver health. Rose oil is noted as a remedy for: hangover; liver congestion; jaundice; various digestive symptoms such as nausea and diarrhea (which are sometimes related to liver dysfunction).
The word rose derives from the Greek word rodon, meaning red. Its color is a blood signature. The heart is the blood's pump, and the liver is a blood-reservoir and -dispatcher. Rose should be considered as a liver remedy whenever strong emotions are the leading symptoms in a case and there are concomitant liver and heart symptoms. Some of the emotional symptoms which may be ameliorated by rose oil such as depression, apathy, impatience and disappointment may have a liver root.
Rose is considered an aphrodisiac oil, especially for the female. A woman's sexual feelings are more likely to be linked to heart-felt emotions while a man's are more likely to be linked to the baser instincts of the "animal principle." It's likely that rose's aphrodisiac properties derive from support of the emotional heart-center rather than direct stimulation of the sexual organs.
While the ovaries produce the female hormones, it's the liver that regulates their blood levels. The liver conjugates estrogens and progesterone to facilitate their excretion via bile and urine. Therefore, the liver plays an important role in the regulation of blood levels of the sex hormones. Rose's value regarding sexual function and other aspects of the function of the female reproductive organs may be related, in part, to its association with the liver.
HOMEOPATHIC SYMPTOMS of ROSE
The homeopathic literature on rose is very limited but does note the following symptoms: congestion of the eustachian tubes (causing deafness and tinnitus: ringing in the ears); hardness of hearing. These symptoms are significant as the ear symptoms of rose are the only ones prominently noted in the homeopathic literature. The significance of this is explained by the discussion of Binah which follows.
TREE of LIFE VESSEL of BINAH
Two of the higher circular vessels of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, which transmit and filter the Infinite Light to the material plane, are Chokmah (Wisdom) and Binah (Understanding). Chokmah represents undifferentiated wisdom while Binah is the manifestation of that wisdom. Whereas on the level of Chokmah, wisdom exists only as essence or potential, Binah is the source of the ability to analyze this undifferentiated database and to elaborate it into logical components. Chokmah is primal wisdom which cannot be known consciously. It is the seed which must be implanted and differentiated in the womb of Binah. Chokmah, the beginning of being but not being itself, requires Binah to reveal its existence. A great 18th century Kabbalist Rebbe Nachman of Breslov teaches that so long as the heart is filled with worldly passions, there would be no space for spiritual revelations.1 Thus, the heart must contract its "burning desires" and create a vacated space which could then be filled with spiritual revelations. The heart is considered to be the realm of Binah. In Exodus 31:6, it is written: "In the hearts of the wise, I have placed wisdom." This can be interpreted to mean that Chokmah (Wisdom) is concealed within Binah (Understanding) which corresponds to the heart. It can be said that Binah and the heart, its material emanation, constitute an inner vacated space wherein the formation of a spiritual universe takes place.
Within the relationship of Chokma and Binah, we see elements of rose themes. In the Kabbalah, these two vessels are respectively called man and woman, or "Two lovers who do not separate."2 The tie-in between rose's homeopathic symptoms of hardness of hearing and tinnitus (noted above) and its Binah/Heart affinity can be explained by the following insight by Rabbi Nachman of Breslov: "Hearing depends on the heart...If spoken words do not penetrate the listener's heart, it is as if they were never heard...In order to truly hear what someone is saying to us--not just their words, but their intention--the heart must be attentive. When we pray, we must concentrate our heart's attention and hear the words we are saying so that they penetrate our hearts...The heart 'hears.' The hearing process commences with the ears, but must end up with the heart's understanding what is said."3,4
The following verse from Proverbs 20:5 can be related to this concept: "Deep waters [Chokmah] are the counsel in a man's heart, but a man of understanding [Binah] will draw them forth." These "deep waters" are, in the case of rose, romanticized ideals and perceptions. Binah logically thinks these through and counsels the person as to how these must be modified in order to achieve one's goals in life.
In Spiritual PhytoEssencing, rose oil is one of the major remedies for emotional denial related to compulsive adherence to a romantic naivete that leads to: lack of objectivity, self-delusion, repeated errors in personal relationships, the emotional symptoms of rose (noted above) and congestion of the heart with mundane ego-level preoccupations that obstruct the attainment of higher soul levels.
Using the homeopathic miasm model, rose can be classified as a Psoric miasm oil. Rose is one of the most prominent of the Psoric miasm oils. The Psoric miasm carries the influence of youth into old age. The major themes of this miasm are: the problem is solvable; hopefulness and optimism; an effort is required but the goal is within my capacity to achieve. The Psoric miasm personality is subject to: highs and lows; struggles with the outside world; lack of confidence in facing a situation--a feeling that he may not be able to do it; constant anxiety which is exacerbated by various challenges that must be confronted; anticipatory anxiety; internal restlessness; insecurity; dissatisfaction; anxiety about the future. Yet, however bad the situation may be, there is always hope.
In the case of rose, the Psoric theme is: If I find true love, everything will be okay. It is an essential oil to consider whenever one of the prominent themes of an individual's psycho-spiritual disharmony is emotional yearning for, or disappointment regarding, romantic love.
Please Note: This article is intended for information purposes only and not meant as a prescription for any individual. Consult a physician whenever disease is present or suspected.
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About the Author
Bruce Berkowsky, N.M.D., M.H., H.M.C. is President/ Director of Joseph Ben Hil-Meyer Research, Inc., Natural Health Science™ Advisor to the Institute of Applied Biochemistry and faculty member of the British Institute of Homeopathy. He is the founder/teacher of the Natural Health Science System™ which he designed following 25-years of research and clinical practice; it includes herbology, nutrition, aromatherapy, exercise, traditional nature-cure as well as East/West healing arts/bodywork and homeopathy (He is the 1994 Recipient of the Hahnemann Award). Also, Dr. Berkowsky founded the art of Spiritual PhytoEssencing™ which uses individualized essential oil blends and homeopathic-style dilutions derived from those blends to effect soul-level harmonization. He teaches his Spiritual PhytoEssencing Diploma and Master's Courses and has written several books, including: Essential Oils And The Cancer Miasm; Essential Oils and Emotional Pain, Grief and Dying; 21st Century Self-Care. His Spiritual PhytoEssencing masterwork, Berkowsky's Synthesis Materia Medica of Essential Oils, which describes the psycho-spiritual dynamics of over 60 essential oils in great detail, will be published in September, 2002. Dr. Berkowsky is also a writer for the British Naturopathic Journal, contributes articles to several national and international health magazines and journals, and has been a popular guest on many radio and TV talk-shows. He has retired from practice so that he can concentrate on writing and teaching.
Dr. Berkowsky's Spiritual PhytoEssencing Diploma and Master's Courses 3-day workshops are held at The Country Inn in beautiful LaConner, Washington. Classes are scheduled for: May 3-5 2002; October 4-6, 2002; February 21-23, 2003; May 16-18, 2003.
For information regarding Dr. Berkowsky's books, tapes, workshops, distance learning program and/or his exquisite AromAnita Essential Oil blends: log on to www.NaturalHealthScience.com or contact Dr. Berkowsky via E-mail: DrBruceB@cnw.com or FAX: (360) 422-7729.
