Memorial Day Weekend marks the unofficial start to summer for those in the United States. It is also a special day to commemorate those that we have loved and lost, including all those that have served our country and community.

Memorial Day Remembrance Blend

The following blend can be diffused as you reflect on the meaning of the holiday and the loved ones that you are in remembrance of. The choice of citrus oils are intended to uplift the spirits and celebrate the warmer temperatures. The inclusion of Rose Essential Oil/Otto in this blend is intended to help aid grief and bring comfort. I've included Patchouli as that is a favorite of mine in remembrance blends as it is grounding. It's earthiness also helps to make this a blend that both men and women can benefit from. Sandalwood Essential Oil or Vetiver Essential Oil could also be used in place of Patchouli Essential Oil.

• 1-2 drops Rose Essential Oil/Otto
• 5 drops Patchouli Essential Oil
• 8 drops Sweet Orange Essential Oil
• 7 drops Grapefruit Essential Oil
  (13 drops total of Sweet Orange can be used if you don't have Grapefruit on hand)

Combine all oils in a clean glass bottle and diffuse as you would other essential oil blends as you reflect, pray or meditate.

For more information on meditating/reflecting or praying with essential oils, view the following articles:

• Praying With Essential Oils
• Meditating With Essential Oils

Other Blends For Celebration, Grief and Supporting Emotional Well-Being

These blends may also helpful:

o Anger Reducing Blends

o Celebrating and Expressing Gratitude

o Depression Reducing Blends

o Fear Fighting Blends

o Grief Reducing Blends

o Happiness and Peace Enhancing Blends

o Insomnia/Sleeplessness Blend

o Irritability Reducing Blends

o Loneliness Easing Blends

o Panic and Panic Attack Blends

o Self Confidence/Insecurity Blends

o Stress Reducing Blends

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Mother's Day is intended to celebrate the efforts of all the mothers and the mother figures in our lives, and I'm wishing all mothers and children a beautiful and happily memorable Mother's Day!

A wonderful blend to diffuse to celebrate Mother's Day and other holidays is AromaWeb's Blend for Celebrating, Giving Thanks and Expressing Gratitude.

	Wendy and her daughter, Ashley

Mother's Day holds a special place in my heart as my daughter Ashley's due date happened to fall on Mother's Day. However, she came into the world 6 weeks early, and the church Baptism schedule timing lead to her being baptized on Mother's Day. I can hardly believe that many Mother's Days have passed since then. Ashley is now 29 and I remain so blessed that my little preemie has matured into an immensely compassionate, loving, creative, funny and ambitious woman.

...But I recognize that not all families can be together for Mother's Day this year. Additionally, not all family relationships are ideal, and that can make Mother's Day a time of sadness or loneliness.

Through AromaWeb, I strive to focus upon the positives in life, but the reality is that Mother's Day is not a day of celebration for everyone. Not all mothers, grandmothers or children are living. And for some, their relationships are so dysfunctional or abusive that they count down the hours until the day is over. There is a lot of focus on the positives of Mother's Day, so I am going to devote the remainder of this post to those who struggle, often silently, with mixed feelings, depression, and/or anxiety surrounding Mother's Day.

If Mother's Day is a difficult day for you or if it is filled with mixed emotions, look to aromatherapy to help improve your outlook and focus upon the positives of the day. AromaWeb's Recipe Box features an array of blends and recipes that can help with the emotions that you personally are experiencing over Mother's Day:

Grief:
If you are saddened by the loss of your mother, grandmother, child or other significant mother/child figure in your life, look to AromaWeb's Blends to Help Cope with Grief page. Rose Otto (Rose Essential Oil) or Rose Absolute is the oil of choice for me when dealing with grief, and it has special significance for me around Mother's Day.

Anxiety/Nervousness:
If dealing with difficult loved ones on Mother's Day reminds you of past difficulties, triggers traumatic memories or leaves you feeling anxious or nervous, look to AromaWeb's Calming/Relaxing Aromatherapy Blend and Blends to Combat Anxiety.

These blends can also be especially helpful:

• Anger Reducing Blends

• Confidence Enhancing Blends

• Depression Reducing Blends

• Energizing Blends

• Fear Fighting Blends

• Happiness and Peace Enhancing Blends

• Insomnia/Sleeplessness Blend

• Irritability Reducing Blends

• Loneliness Easing Blends

• Panic and Panic Attack Blends

• Self Confidence/Insecurity Blends

• Stress Reducing Blends

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"Earth Day is a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's environment." — From Wikipedia

Our generation is causing a much more negative impact on the earth (and atmosphere) than all previous generations, and the harm we cause will be dramatic if we don't all start doing our part.

The idea of changing habits can seem like a daunting task. You don't have to read books or become an expert on environmentalism or "green" living (such an overused term) to be able to start making a small difference now.

It is more expensive to eat/use organic products instead of conventional and heavily processed ones, but the overall costs to our health and the environment to manufacture conventional products are much more expensive in the long run. If we all do what we can and gradually make changes, it can lead to big benefits overall for our health and the environment.

The Mindful Use of Essential Oils

As avid supporters of holistic aromatherapy and the sensible use of essential oils, we can make a big difference by being mindful of the quantity of essential oils that we use.

For essential oil usage, less is more. (See AromaWeb's Essential Oil Safety Article).

It takes a lot of botanical plant material to make just a small quantity of essential oil. (See AromaWeb's Essential Oil Yields article.) Using essential oils sensibly instead of using synthetic substitutes can be especially beneficial for our health as well as the overall impact on the earth and atmosphere. But because it takes a lot of plant material to manufacture essential oils, overusing essential oils is especially wasteful of plant life.

Using undiluted essential oils topically can be sensitizing and harmful to our bodies over time and wastes our precious natural resources. For more information, read AromaWeb's Guide to Diluting Essential Oils.

For more ideas on how to be mindful when using essential oils and to better understand the oils that are most threatened, please read the following articles:

• Guide to Essential Oils and Sustainability
• How to Use Up Those Aging Essential Oils
• Essential Oil Disposal
• Essential Oil Yields
• Essential Oil Costs and Pricing

Learn More About Earth Day

Learn more about Earth Day by checking out the below links:

Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Day

Earth Day Network
http://www.earthday.org

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Diffusing essential oils with Biblical significance can be especially meaningful at this time. Regardless of your spiritual background, aromatherapy and essential oils can play a special part as you embark or continue on your spiritual journey.

Read and explore the Aromatherapy Spirituality & Enlightenment category of AromaWeb's Article Archive:

• Essential Oils for Spirituality
This article includes a categorized list of essential oils known for their particular value within spiritual applications.

• Meditating With Essential Oils
Proper use of essential oils during meditation can enhance the experience by grounding you and promoting a sense of calm. Read this article to learn more.

• Praying With Essential Oils
Essential oils can be diffused as you pray to help you focus your thoughts and prayers. Learn more within this article.

• Aromatic Botanicals, Aromatherapy and the Bible
The aromatic and anointing oils mentioned throughout the Bible were likely the oils that we refer to today as infused oils, not essential oils. Learn why and learn about the aromatic botanicals and oils that were available at the time.

• Aromatic Botanicals of the Bible
View a list of the botanicals mentioned throughout the Bible. Each includes an example Biblical passage.

• Anointing With Essential Oils
Using carrier oils and essential oils, you can create your own anointing oils for use during prayer, meditation or during times in which you want to express your gratitude or intention towards a particular goal or outcome.

• Incense and Spirituality
Incense made with natural ingredients can be burned during times of meditation, prayer, general reflection or to help cleanse and clear the air and make a space sacred.

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An essential oil that first comes to my mind for use in the diffuser on St. Patrick's Day is Spearmint Essential Oil. Like its beautiful green leaves, spearmint is often is represented by the color green (i.e. in mints, gums and candies). It is a fresh, clean-smelling, energizing oil that is perfectly befitting the day and transition of seasons. It doesn't overpower as easily as Peppermint Essential Oil can.

Here in the northern hemisphere, Spring will be officially arrive in a few not-soon-enough-to-get-here days. Although it is still too cool for my spearmint to once again begin to grow, my mint plants are typically the first to greet me as soon as the weather warms up enough. [Read AromaTalk's Growing and Enjoying Peppermint, Spearmint and Other Mint Plants.]

On St. Patrick's Day, try diffusing a little Spearmint Essential Oil or create a refreshing room spray.

Aromahead also suggests Sweet Basil, Palmarosa, Lime or Siberian Fir as green oils lovely for the day. View Aromahead Blog's Green Oils to Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

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Wishing you a lovely Valentine's Day on Friday. If you have romantic plans in store, be sure to check out AromaWeb's Aromatherapy for Romance collection of articles:

Aromatherapy for Romance
Aromatherapy, natural botanicals and natural fragrancing all tantalize our sense of smell. They play a significant role within romance, love and intimacy. Take a look within this post.

Setting the Mood
Preciously fragranced room sprays, body mists, bath oils, massage oils, and other natural aromatics can enhance a romantic evening or add variety and intrigue to your marriage. Read on for ideas.

Aromatherapy Aphrodisiacs
Learn about sensual essential oils and aphrodisiacs.

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Wishing you a wonderful New Year filled with abundant health, joy and prosperity. In addition to the methods we each use to celebrate and bring in the new year, this is a time that many of us reflect upon the past year and think about plans and expectations for the year up ahead. It's a time where some set personal goals by making ambitious resolutions like improving our fitness, nutrition, spirituality or personal relationships.

Lime Essential Oil is a beautiful choice for inclusion in room fragrancing/meditation blends for the New Year. Lime Essential Oil is one of the more affordable of oils and is routinely used for its energizing, fresh and cheerful aroma. Lime Essential Oil is also well known in folklore for its ability to cleanse, purify and renew the spirit and the mind.

Blends #1 and #4 on AromaWeb's Aromatherapy Diffuser Blends page include lime essential oil. AromaWeb's Air Freshener Recipe converts one of the lime diffuser blends into a beautiful room mist that you may customize using other essential oils.

Lime essential oil is strong, and a little goes a long way in diffuser and room fragrancing applications.

Essential Oil Diffuser Recipe for Celebrating,
Giving Thanks and Expressing Gratitude:
The essential oils used in AromaWeb's Essential Oil Diffuser Recipe for Celebrating, Giving Thanks and Expressing Gratitude are wonderfully suited for special moments of celebration and reflection.

Aromatherapy and Resolutions:
Essential oils are not magical elixers that can magically help you lose weight/improve your fitness or quit smoking, but they may be helpful as a part of your overall weightloss/fitness or smoking cessation plans. For more information, read AromaWeb's Aromatherapy and Weight Loss and the Guide to Essential Oils and Aromatherapy Techniques That May Help With Your Efforts to Quit Smoking. The essential oils used in AromaWeb's Essential Oil Diffuser Recipe for Celebrating, Giving Thanks and Expressing Gratitude are wonderfully suited for special moments of celebration and reflection.

Daily Aromatherapy Book:
A thought provoking book that will joyfully help you bring in the New Year is Daily Aromatherapy: Transforming the Seasons of Your Life with Essential Oils by Joni Keim and Ruah Bull. This book can be started at any time of the year, but Daily Aromatherapy is a must-have book for anyone that wishes to begin a New Year's journey of reflection and discovery using essential oils. View AromaWeb's detailed description of the book.

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Wishing you a beautiful holiday season filled with blessings and a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!

Sincerely, Wendy Robbins

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What a joy it has been to finally prepare and publish a guide to Conifer Essential Oils on AromaWeb. While growing up in Southeastern Michigan, I was able to enjoy spending a lot of time outside in a densely wooded area, savoring the beauty, shade and aroma of the spruce and pine trees. These days, I work very long hours, and I have far less time to explore and forest bathe (see below for more about forest bathing). Mindful diffusion of my conifer essential oils has made such a difference in helping me continue to feel a connection to the forest and these beautiful trees. As primarily invigorating oils, they have been helpful to keep me focused as I prepared this rather detailed guide...

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Here in the northern hemisphere, this is a perfect time to enjoy diffusing and blending essential oils that will help get us into the spirit of the season. Look to AromaWeb's Holiday Essential Oil Guide for suggested oils, tips and precautions.

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