Lifestyle Choices

Our sense of smell is still something of a mystery to science in spite of all that is understood about the olfactory organ itself. Current theories postulate that smells enter the nose in the form of tiny droplets of odorous substances that are soluble in both oil and water. Then, either by a chemical reaction on the olfactory area or through some kind of vibratory effect as yet undiscovered, the messages coming from the substance are transferred to the brain. Some scientists even believe that smells, rather like light rays, enter the senses through waves sent out from the odorous substances. And it is also not clearly understood why we have such immediate mental and emotional responses to smells, although there is no doubt that we do. Everyone has at one time or another smelled an odor that instantly brought back a feeling, emotion, or memory from long ago.

Professor Paolo Rovesti, Director of the Istituto I)erivati Vegetali in Milan, has shown that smelling the oils of certain plants is useful in the treatment of anxiety states and depression and that the effect of these highly volatile substances when sprayed in the air is both immediate and long-lasting. French psychotherapist Andre Virel uses plant essences on small bits of cotton passed under the noses of his patients to bring up repressed memories or feelings and even to stimulate abreactions in which a whole series of events from a patient’s past are relived, releasing him, claims Virel, from the stifling emotional effect they have had on him.

Researchers into the psychic properties of essential oils have also discovered that some odors, such as peppermint, rose, and carnation, have the power to improve concentration and eliminate feelings of lethargy.

Scientists using plant essences such as Rovesti in Italy and Dr. Jean Valnet in France (who prescribes them both internally in minute doses and externally mixed with other oils and waxes) have now carefully categorized the characteristics of many specific plant oils and their effects on mind and body. For instance, Rovesti turns to ylang-ylang, citrus oils, jasmine, basil, patchouli, and peppermint for treating depressive states. For anxiety or fear he recommends geranium, lavender, and bergamot.

One of the curious things about plant essences is that although aspecific essence, say camphor or neroli, is known to be a good antidote to shock, or another, say peppermint or cinnamon, a good stimulant, unlike drugs, some also appear to have more than one action on the nervous system. So someone suffering from fatigue as a result of nervous tension can, by smelling peppermint, be at one and the same time both calmed and stimulated. Due to this unusual quality (which you can’t believe until you have experienced it for yourself) some essences such as oil of garlic are even used to treat two different conditions. Researchers in Eastern Europe have found that garlic has an ability to lower blood pressure that is too high as well as raise blood pressure that is too low. But just how and why remains yet another mystery of plant essences.

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