Month: December 2018

Posted on

Melissa Oil

25 USES & BENEFITS OF THE MELISSA ESSENTIAL OIL

I truly believe in the benefits of using essential oils in our everyday life. I have been a distributer with Young Living for over ten years (#1166695). I tried other brands but always came back to Young Living. Recently I saw a post where a couple of people were laughing at those of us who believe in and use EO’s and compared us to those who believe in Santa Claus. To those people I say – believe in whatever works for you but don’t make fun of those with differing beliefs from your own..

Melissa essential oil is one of the most costly oils available and for good reason. Commonly known as balm or lemon balm (as well as bee balm and sweet balm), melissa is a hardy herbaceous perennial native to southern Europe. It was introduced to northern Europe by the Romans. It has wrinkled and toothed, pale-green, nettle-like leaves, with tiny white flowers in June and July. The whole plant is fragrant, with a strong lemony smell. It makes a good garden plant, but it also grows wild in Europe, carpeting fields and woods, particularly around Angers in France. The name melissa derives from the Greek word for bee because the plant is irresistible to bees and has been grown for this purpose for centuries.

The plants are harvested in France in May or June just before the first flowers appear for the aroma is less interesting when the plant is in bloom. The oil is steam distilled from the melissa leaves and tops, and is pale yellow with an agreeable and subtle, warm, lemony aroma. Melissa oil is not common and it is very expensive because 7 tonnes are needed to produce 1 kg (21/4 lb) oil. It is very special.

The principal constituents: Citral, citronellol (responsible for the lemony smell), geraniol, limonene, linalool and pinene.

The expense of manufacturing melissa oil leads to falsification, usually with citrus oils or lemongrass (itself sometimes called melissa grass). As a result, you should buy melissa very carefully, as the remedy is more or less useless if the oil is not pure. Melissa is often confused with citronella. I recommend only buying from Young Living.

The oil is classified in France as a ‘stupifiant’ (narcotic), thus great care must be taken with its use. Research in the nineteenth century by Cadeac and Meunier revealed that the oil taken internally without food could provoke most unpleasant reactions – severe headache, sudden low blood pressure, and difficulty in breathing. Melissa oil must be administered extremely carefully, especially so with children, and I do not advise its use by non-practitioners. Personally, I use it as a diffused inhalant or very diluted in a roller. A little goes a very very long way!

Allergies
Add 1 drop of Melissa essential oil with 1 drop Lavender and 1 drop Peppermint to several ounces of water, swish around in the mouth and swallow (only if using a brand suitable for internal use). Or apply this formula to the bottom of your feet.

Anxiety
Melissa essential Oil is a mild sedative in small doses, and believed to calm anxiety.  Place a drop in your palm, rub between your hands, cup over your nose and mouth and breathe slowly for up to 30 seconds or more.

Bacterial Infections
If possible, apply 1 drop over the infected area or massage on the foot reflex points.

Bronchitis
Massage 1 drop onto the throat and chest up to 3x a day, or work into the reflex points of the feet.

Calming
Place a drop of Melissa in your palms, rub between your hands, cup over your nose and mouth and breathe slowly for up to 30 seconds or more.

Cold
Massage 1-2 drops onto the feet or over any symptomatic area.

Cold Sores
Such a great use for melissa essential oil! Dab a small amount directly on the area as soon as you feel a cold sore coming on, and repeat several times throughout the day.

Coughs
Massage 1 drop into the throat and chest up to 3x a day, or work into the reflex points of the feet.

Dementia
A recent study quoted in the Journal of Complimentary Medicine showed that Melissa Essential oil is a safe and effective treatment for the management of agitation in severe dementia. Place a drop of Melissa in your palms, rub between your hands, cup over your nose and mouth and breathe slowly for up to 30 seconds or more. Do this as often as needed for aggravation.

Depression
Place a drop of Melissa essential oil in your palms, rub between your hands, cup over your nose and mouth and breathe slowly for up to 30 seconds or more. Do this daily or as desired.

Eczema
Dilute 1 drop of Melissa essential oil with 3-4 drops of carrier oil and apply a small amount of the area 1-3 times a day.

Emotional Support
Massage 1 drop over the solar plexus and heart. It is a mild sedative in small doses, and believed to calm anxiety.

Energy
Inhale 1 drop from the palms of your hands for a pick-me-up, or diffuse throughout the room. Alternatively, you can mix 2 drops Melissa essential oil with 4 drops Wild Orange and 1 tablespoon carrier oil to gently rub onto the bottom of your feet or wherever it feels soothing.

Flu
Massage 1-2 drops into the reflex points of the feet or over any symptomatic area.

Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease
Dilute 1 drop of Melissa Oil with 3-4 drops of a carrier oil and massage a small amount over any symptomatic area, or the reflex points of the feet.

Headaches and Migranes
Add 2 drops Melissa to 1 teaspoon carrier oil and apply to forehead, temples, or neck.

Herpes
Only one drop is needed on lesions to promote remission… a doctor at the Technical University of Munich reported that application on Melissa Oil caused a complete remission of Herpes Simplex lesions. Place a small amount (up to 1 drop) directly on any outbreak 3x a day, and/or use for ongoing support.

Hopelessness
Massage 1 drop over the solar plexus, heart, or brow. Diffuse throughout the day.

Hypertension
Inhale from the bottle 3 or more times a day, or use melissa topically over any symptomatic area.

Indigestion
Mix together 4 drops Melissa, 4 drops Grapefruit, 2 drops Peppermint and 1 tablespoon carrier oil to massage onto abdomen, using clockwise strokes.

Overwhelm
Inhale directly from the bottle, or massage 1 drop over the solar plexus, heart, or brow.

PMS
Massage onto bottom of feet or onto abdomen. You can also mix together formula 4 drops Bergamot, 4 drops Fennel, 3 drops Melissa 1 tablespoon carrier oil and add to a warm/hot bath. Relax and enjoy until the water cools.

Skin Issues
Use a single drop of the Melissa essential oil over the issue (I would recommend diluting with a carrier oil) 1-3x a day.

Stomach Issues
Melissa soothes stomach, tones it up and strengthens it. It helps heal the wounds, scratches or ulcers in the stomach, maintains proper flow of gastric juices and bile into the stomach and also protects it from infections. Use a drop over the abdomen (I would recommend diluting with a carrier oil) and massage using clockwise strokes 1-3x a day.

Stress
Place a drop of melissa oil in your palm, rub between your hands, cup over your nose and mouth, and breathe slowly for up to 30 seconds or more. Do this daily or as desired.

Vertigo
Inhale directly from the bottle as needed, or apply a small amount over the forehead.

Viral Infections
Apply one drop of melissa essential oil over the infected area or massage onto the feet 3x a day.

Warts
Place 1 drop (or less by dabbing a q-tip on the top of your dropper bottle) directly on the wart 1-2x a day until it falls off.

Posted on

Addition by subtraction

I’ve blogged before about how its super important to support one another, work together or if you can’t just remain silent. We all have at least one important interest in common. Staffordshire Bull Terriers. If we didn’t share this interest you wouldn’t be here.

We don’t have to be best friends with all Stafford owners. We don’t have to invite them all into our homes or even into our lives. We don’t even really have to like them or agree with their choices. But we can work together. We can have one another backs instead of stabbing them. We can support and preserve Staffords by letting go of petty unimportant feelings and setting all of the negative opinions aside and come together for the dogs. We can’t change others behaviors anyway. Its difficult enough to change our own!

In the past I have been guilty of saying things I am ashamed of. I have attempted to right these wrongs and try to be a better person. I recognize my weakness as lacking the confidence to be myself and now I am stronger. I was a weak follower. I did and said what was currently expected or popular and I never felt right about that. During my transition to becoming a stronger person if I saw a group acting disrespectfully I would try to defend or stand up for the person being bullied or wrongly accused. In those attempt it usually made things worse, not better. This may sound selfish but now I worry less about others and more about myself and the breed. I avoid bullies and crowds of lemmings and now stand on my own. I am honest with my words and actions. Its not a popular place to be but its right for me.

You are probably saying what does this blog entry have to do with Staffords? In the world of dogs I’ve been told I need thicker skin, get over it, just go with the flow…all words meant to ‘help’ me. The world of dogs is ugly. People act and speak standing precariously balancing between ego, self importance  lacking confidence and masking that with bully behavior. I’m at the point now that what others say about me just doesn’t matter. I know ugly things are said about me – untruths, half truths, I am given petty labels, gossip is spread –  just plain meanness. I know a person who told a potential puppy buyer that I was ‘intense’ as that would be an insult. Its not. I am. Another breeder told a potential buyer upon hearing she was on my wait list ‘good luck with that’. I don’t even know what she meant by that.  Recently two of my buyers were accused of cheating by their competition – they had not cheated – so I stood up and defended them. I was laughed at. I have had accusations that I was pocketing money from my rescue efforts – how laughable is that? I don’t need the money and anyone can look up the public records since its a registered non profit. We simply don’t bring in a ton of money and we keep excellent accounting records – people who accuse others of doing wrong actions generally are not above doing those things themselves. The dog world is an ugly place.

In another situation, last March we showed Marina at Crufts in Birmingham, England. This was a highlight in our lives as breeders – Marina qualified four times and deserved to be seen on that green carpet. You would think my ‘friends’ and fellow Stafford owners would be excited for us and say nice supportive words  – and most did/were – yet one person whom I have known a very long time not only had nothing nice to say but instead made ugly comments about my shoes. ?

What other people say about you says more about them actually.

If you are excited about an achievement or a new puppy or title or anything you want to share the happiness about – share that with the world. Then sit back and watch how others respond to your happiness. Are people excited for you? Do they seem genuine when they congratulate you? Or do they instead say ‘when my dog did that …..”. People who are not your VIPs will always turn your success around to relate a story about themselves. They usually will also not have the time to type out words of true encouragement or say meaningful comments – usually its a ‘thumbs up’ emoji or a shortened ‘congrats’ or something about themselves – because they feel they need to remind the world that they are important, they are the focus of every conversation, their achievements mustn’t be forgotten. They may make ugly comments about your dog or your efforts or accuse you of cheating. These are not your VIPs.

In my growth and struggles with being a better person I have learned to let people go. I don’t say unkind things about them personally, and I wouldn’t say unkind things about their dogs (although in my past confidence  lacking behaviors those were my go to actions embarrassingly enough)  but I simply move on. As far as I’m concerned, the fastest way to live our best lives and have more of what we want is to remove more of what we don’t want. This is addition by subtraction, and if you choose to give yourself this gift, it has the power to positively change your life. Can you afford to put off giving yourself that gift any longer? Your best life may depend on your answer. People who choose to hurt others are the broken souls of the world who are deeply hurting themselves whether or not they recognize this. Their hate has nothing to do with how they feel about you, it’s a reflection about how they feel about themselves.

If we are to remain ‘in dogs’ then some changes had to be made. From now on, the front row is for real fans only, and the VIP section is only for the special people who have earned the right to be there. Let’s face it, not everyone in our lives can be “very important.” If everyone in our lives is “very important,” that’s the same thing as saying that no one is. Only the real fans deserve the privilege of being the “Very Important People” in our lives. Who are these very important people?

• They are the first ones to help us up when we fall down.

• They encourage our hopes and dreams instead of stomping on them.

• They stick around when everyone else is bailing out on us.

• They build us up instead of tear us down.

• They treat us with dignity and respect at all times.

• They offer a listening ear or a shoulder to cry on when we need it.

• They love us unconditionally.

The bar is set pretty damn high for VIPs– that’s why these people are “very important.” Try to surround yourself with your VIP’s. Gravitate towards those who help you feel the sunshine, not those who live in a constant storm.