Ashley getting ready prior to her school's Mass of Thanksgiving held last Thursday.

Tomorrow, my daughter graduates high school. As all parents should be of their children, I am beyond proud of my daughter for her accomplishments and the amazing young woman that she has become.

This time of year is often filled with many events of celebration: graduations, confirmations, baptisms and weddings. I created a quick aromatherapy blend to diffuse during meditation before the ceremony and would like to share it with you. At some point later, I may revisit this blend and adjust the ratios:

Bergamot: A light, sweet, uplifting aroma that is typically loved by those of all ages. It makes for a beautiful primary oil in any blend intended for celebration or enhance joy.

Grapefruit: A beautifully uplifting aroma that is amongst my favorites.

Ylang Ylang: A beautiful, exotic floral essential oil. It can become quite overpowering, so use it sparingly. Ylang Ylang is what called to me for this celebratory blend, but jasmine would also be well suited.

Cypress: With its fresh, herbaceous, slightly woody aroma, Cypress is an energizing oil and a great oil to use during times of change.

Frankincese: To celebrate my faith and gratitude, frankincense is my oil of choice for this particular blend. It's earthy and spicy base notes will help to round out the aroma.

Ginger: Ginger is a spicy oil that is warming, heartlifting and helps to cut through the sweetness of the citrus and ylang ylang essential oils.

Ratios:

• 20 drops Bergamot
• 10 drops Grapefruit
• 10 drops Cypress
• 10 Drops Frankincese
• 5 drops Ylang Ylang
• 2 drops Ginger

Combine all oils in a clean glass bottle and diffuse as you would other essential oil blends.

Experiment with this blend or create your own celebration blend. There are certainly quite a few other oils that would be quite appropriate. What are some of your favorite oils and blends to to celebrate the triumphs in your life? I'd love to hear about your favorites.

Ever since I began my journey into aromatherapy over 12 years ago, I have experienced far less colds and flus than I previously had. And when I get ill, I seem to recover faster. Use of essential oils helps to make recovery a little more pleasant (or should I say a little less unpleasant).

In simplistic terms, the regular but safe use of essential oils has kept my immune system healthy and has helped to ward off the bacteria, viruses and microbes that can lead to illnesses.

Click here to read the rest of this article on AromaWeb... It contains a quicklist of ways that you can use aromatherapy to help stay as cold and flu-free as possible. Look to the end of the article for a list of antibacterial, anti-viral, expectorant and decongestant essential oils.

I have the sweetest elderly neighbor living near me. Each summer, we chat it up every time we see each other working outside, and as each new season begins, I progressively see his sadness as he cannot do as much as the year before. A strong man with a fun-loving and active spirit, it saddens me beyond words to see him discretly try to hide the tears that well up in his eyes when he talks about the pain he experiences from his arthritis. Arthritis has robbed him of his ability to golf, bowl, cater to his garden like he used to and most all of his other passions. And arthritis doesn't just afflict the aging. It can be instigated by other illnesses, diseases or injuries at any age. A foot injury has lead to arthritis in my foot. And from my personal experience, poor diet and a sedentary lifestyle had directly contributed to arthritis in my knees.

Aromatherapy can't cure arthritis, but it can help significantly, depending on the form of arthritis. I am not a medical professional and my knowledge of the various forms of arthritis is quite limited. But.. my successful experience in using an anti-inflammatory blend of essential and carrier oils for my own personal situation is one of the largest reasons that I became passionately involved in aromatherapy.

Click here to read the rest of this article on AromaWeb....