24+ Uses for Peppermint

There are so many uses for this versatile oil and I wanted to share its incredible health powers! There is no denying that this is a must-have oil for your daily routine! At first I didn’t like the menthol scent, but its plethora of healing properties is impossible to deny. So I’m going to start a list of the different ways to use Peppermint, whether fresh, dried, or in essential oil form.

1. Peppermint essential oil (EO) is amazing for all things inflammation and pain. Add a few drops to your hands and rub on sore muscles to ease tension.
2. While it’s on your hands, rub behind your ears, at the base of the skull, temples, neck, and forehead to ease headaches and migraines. (Be careful when getting close to eyes!!)
3. Add anywhere from 3 leaves to a handful of fresh peppermint to a pitcher of detox water.
4. Add fresh leaves to detox bath to help with sore muscles and to give you a boost of energy.
5. Add fresh leaves to ice cubes for a refreshing and unique twist.
6. Use mint leaves as part of a smudge stick to aid in protection, purification, and cleansing.
7. First thing in the morning, drink a glass of hot water or tea with Peppermint EO, ginger, cinnamon (optional), and honey (optional). This will aid in digestion and internal cleansing. It will also boost the metabolism and give you loads of energy for the day.
8. Dry mint leaves. Ground down as much as you can using mortal and pestle. Add to mason jar, adding your purposeful energy to the ritual by saying a protection spell or chant, such as, “Peppermint, plant of protection, I call on you now to protect this home and hearth from all who seek to harm. Cleanse this home while banishing all negativity.” or you could even say something as simple as “Peppermint, protect.” over and over while you add sea salt to the semi-grounded peppermint. You can then add something about the powerful properties of sea salt and cleansing, but just do what feels right. Take this mixture and sprinkle at all entrances to your home and all corners of each room. If you have some left, great, keep it! This is what I call Protection Salt. The great thing about this empowered Salt is that it also…
9. Repels insects, especially spiders!! Add Protection Salt (above) to all doorways/windowsills and the corners of each room. You can also add Peppermint EO to ribbons and hang around the home and porch to repel insects. Rub on your body to help with the biting insects.
10. Inhale Peppermint EO to boost energy and motivation.
11. Peppermint helps relieve upset stomachs. Diffuse for nauseousness and apply peppermint EO to the torso in clockwise direction to ease tummy issues. This has helped me in tons of situations!!
12. Inhale deeply to ease car-sickness.
13. Add Peppermint EO to an all-natural toothpaste of baking soda, coconut oil, and water. This will also help with dental health overall.
14. Mix together EOs Lavender, Lemon, and Peppermint to help ease allergies. Add to a roll on bottle with witch hazel as the base and shake before use.
15. Add Peppermint EO to a spray bottle of water and vinegar for a healthy cleaning product free of chemicals. Add other essential oils to add even more cleaning properties! (Lemon, Thieves, Purification, etc.)
16. Hang dried leaves or sachets in windows to repel negativity.
17. Add several drops of Peppermint EO, along with other oils of your choosing and coconut oil as a base, to vegetable capsules. Freeze and take to aid in digestion, weight management, and as an appetite suppressant.
18. Diffuse Peppermint EO, along with other minty oils such as Eucalyptus and R.C., to aid in sinus congestion and cold symptoms.
19. Add 5-10 drops to coconut oil, coffee grounds, brown sugar, and other essential oils (Lemon, Ginger, etc.) and apply mixture to body as exfoliator to and help tighten skin, removing cellulite. 
20. Inhale Peppermint EO before an exam or stress-inducing scenario to calm your mind while boosting your memory and cognition.
21. Diffuse to purify your home and remove stale odors.
22. Add a drop or two of Peppermint EO to a cotton ball and drop it in the canister of your vacuum cleaner before you clean. It will make your home smell amazing effortlessly while you clean!
23. Add a drop or two of Peppermint EO to a cotton ball and insert in your car’s air vent. This will help your car smell great!
24. Add a few drops to Ningxia Red to boost your health.
25. Add fresh peppermint leaves in a mason jar nearly filled to the top. Then add a 40-60 proof vodka to the top of the leaves. Keep in cool, dry place for a few months, shaking every few days. Eventually, you will have a peppermint-empowered tincture.

I want to hear all the ways YOU use Peppermint as well! Comment here and I will update periodically!

References:

• “Essential Oils Pocket Reference” by Life Science Publishing

Related Articles:

• Where to Buy Essential Oils
• How to Use Essential Oils
• Detox Baths
• Headaches / Migraines
• Joy Essential Oil

Rose Quartz

Ah, my darling Rose Quartz. This is one of my favorite stones for its wonderful love properties.

Color: pale/powder pink

Energy: Receptive

Properties:

Peace

• Lowers stress and brings happiness and soothing to the soul
• Brings gentleness, forgiveness, compassion, kindness and tolerance as well as balancing one’s emotions; thus bringing inner peace and harmony.
• Helps balance emotions and heal emotional wounds and traumas, even grief, bringing peace and calm. Can help with reconciliation.
• Can ease overwhelming or unreasonable guilt

Love

• Gem of unconditional love that opens oneself to all forms of love: self-love, family love, platonic love, romantic love
• Enhances one capability to love others as well as oneself
• Promotes peace, happiness and fidelity in established relationships
• Universal love; emotions; forgiveness

Healing

• Aids in the proper functioning of the circulatory system, kidneys, adrenals, genitals, liver, lungs and heart
• Increases fertility and protects against radiation
  • Protective during pregnancies and with childbirth
• Assists with headaches, kidney disease, migraines, sexual dysfunction, sinus problems, throat problems, depression, addictions, ear aches, slowing signs of aging, reducing wrinkles, spleen problems, fibromyalgia, and reaching one’s ideal weight and in weight loss
• Support brain functions and increases intellect

Cleansing and Charging:

• Never leave in full sunlight; its color will fade.
• Charge by full moonlight

Read more on how to cleanse and charge your stones!

Ways to Use Rose Quartz:

1. Place in your bedroom to aid in peaceful sleep.
2. Carry on your person and rub when feeling anxious.
3. Keep one at your place of employment to promote positive relationships and interactions. Depending on the level of stress and hostility in your work environment, you may need to cleanse this stone regularly.
4. Place near your head to ease headaches, tension, and anger.
5. Give to a friend or loved one to strengthen relationship. Cleanse and charge with positive energy before giving.

Check out these other great articles!

1. Where to Buy Essential Oils
2. How to Use Essential Oils
3. Cleansing and Charging Stones
4. Detox Baths

References:

• Grant, Ember. “The Book of Crystal Spells: Magical Uses for Stones, Crystals, Minerals… and Even Sand.”
• Picture from healing-crystals-for-you.com
• http://www.gemstone.org
• http://www.shimmerlings.com/gemstones/

How to Use Essential Oils

There are a plethora of ways to use essential oils (EOs), and I am going to give you the nitty gritty right now!

The over-arching 3 ways to use essential oils are:

1. Diffuse / Inhalation

This method if quite obvious… you can put a few drops of EO in your hands and cup your hands around your nose, inhaling (don’t get it in your eyes!). You can also put 8-12 drops of your favorite EO in a Young Living (YL) diffuser and get hours of a lovely, calming experience.

Check out what YL has to say about its amazing Home Diffuser. Blurb: “Its ultrasonic technology breaks any mixture of essential oils and water into millions of microparticles, disperses them into the air, and activates the powerful plant constituents found in Young Living essential oils.”

2. Topical

Unless told otherwise, most essential oils will still need to be diluted before being applied to the skin directly. This is because they are so highly concentrated. Some popular carrier oils are coconut oil, almond oil, witch hazel, grapeseed oil, sunflower oil, and more. Before applying an oil topically, I would read about it on Young Living’s website to know what the dilution ratio should be. Always try an oil or oil mixture on a patch of skin before applying to a larger area.

3. Ingest 

This method of using essential oils is simply by ingesting it into your body. There are several ways to do this. You could put a drop or 2 (less is more!) of lemon and/or peppermint EO to your water in the morning to help flush toxins and manage weight and appetite. You could also put a few drops in a vegetable capsule and take as a pill.

Find out where to buy essential oils for 24% off! 

Now, let’s talk about different ways you can use essential oils from the above methods…

Please keep in mind that you can use any of the essential oils I state below in the examples… for instance, if I say you can make a perfume using Joy EO, you can substitute out the Joy for another favorite EO. These are simply examples. Again, I must caution, however, to research your EO to make sure you can ingest it or apply it topically without dilution. I still recommend diluting the oils with a carrier oil when applying topically.

1. Add a few drops to a dry rag and add it to your dryer load to make your clothes smell great. You can use any oil, so I like to add my favorites, such as Joy, Awaken, Release, and/or Lavender for my sensitive skin. You can do this with the washer as well. Adding a few drops to a wash cycle is another way to make your clothes smell naturally wonderful. Other scents I enjoy using with clothes are purification for stinky clothes and lemon to brighten whites.

3. Put 1-2 drops of Lemon, Peppermint, Citrus Fresh, and/or Ginger in your cold or warm water (warm is better, but it’s still difficult for me) and drink throughout the day. Shake before drinking. This will aid as a weight management tool and appetite suppressant while detoxifying and cleansing your body.

4. Cook with the oils!! There are several essential oils that are great for cooking, such as Sage, Oregano, Ginger, Lemon, Lime, and so many more! Find out more about which oils would be stellar to cook with here!

5. Cleaning! Oh my, EOs are SO great for cleaning! I don’t even know where to begin… wait, yes I do! Thieves!! More on that later because I already know that will be its own post.

6. Diffuse Thieves to fight infection and sickness while cleansing and purifying the air.

7. Put a few drops on a cotton ball… you might want a few cotton balls, because these little guys can go many places! I like to throw one in my vacuum before cleaning… it makes the whole home smell amazing! Put one in your air vent in your car (try Joy or Stress Away). Toss a cotton ball in your drawers to give your clothes a great smell!

8. Mix water with several drops of EO in a glass squirt bottle. Use as air freshener.

9. Mix 15-20 drops of EO with a base of witch hazel in a glass roller-ball bottle. Use as a perfume. Try Joy, Awaken, and/or Lavender.

10. Do another mix as we did with the perfume, but add PanAway with the witch hazel. Use as a pain-easing muscle rub. See this article for one pain relief recipe. 

11. Put a few drops of calming EO, such as Lavender or Peace and Calming in your hands and rub together. Cup your face and inhale. Take your hands and rub them over both sides of your pillow. These measures will help give you a peaceful night’s sleep! Another great EO to try for sleep is Valerian.

12. Detox Bath

13. Diffuse to ease headaches and/or migraines. Try Lavender, MGrain, and/or Peppermint.

14. Add Baking Soda and your chosen EO to a mason jar and add it to your fridge to help with odors and to freshen the air quality. 

15. I love drying flowers… if you do as well, save those dried flowers and use them as art. I have displayed my dried pieces in wine bottles and vase. Then I realized that these not only were a beautiful piece of art, but that they could be used as potpourri. Tilt the EO bottle over the dried art and let a few drops fall onto it, preferably in a location where it will drip down, into the mass. Check out a really great article on dried flower potpourri here!

16. Nightmares suck… and mine are awful. I diffused Lavender two nights ago to help me sleep, and I didn’t have a single nightmare! If I did, I don’t remember, which is a good thing, trust me. Those dreams take an emotional toll on me. So last night, I really needed my beloved Joy, so I diffused that while I slept… Again, no nightmares and a good, cleansing sleep. At this very moment, I am diffusing Release, which is now a fav!! It’s said to be the most emotionally-stimulating and healing essential oil.

17. I definitely recommend the YL diffuser because it gives the best use of your oils.. more bang for the buck I guess would be the appropriate saying. However, you can also use regular oil burners, but it will not give the experience the home diffuser gives.

18. Holy gifting heaven!! There are so many ways to make homemade, DIY gifts with these oils!!

Try a detox bath kit including epsom salts, baking soda, sea salt, ginger, your favorite essential oil(s), and one of my all-time favorite things… a mason jar. Try Lavender, Peace and Calming, Stress Away, and/or Release for a relaxing and calming bath. Another option is Eucalyptus and Rosemary for a detoxifying bath that will aid in relieving symptoms of a cold such as congestion and swollen nasal passages.

Gift a perfume like #9 and 10 above. Try out your favorite essential oils and even mix if you so desire.

When gifting anything that has multiple ingredients not listed on the jar or bottle, I normally include some information about the ingredients. Any of my blog posts can be used as information inserts with your gifts to explain the healing and detoxifying properties of all the ingredients combined!

Sew sachets of dried flowers and essential oil to be placed in drawers, shoes, gym bag… the idea is really you can place them anywhere.

Most of the ideas we are discussing here could be used in some DIY projects, so the possibilities are endless.

19. Sew a rice bag that can be heated and placed over back, shoulders, neck… anywhere you have muscle pain. It is also very relaxing when you head to bed. It is much better than a heating pad because this will naturally get cooler so you do not have to worry about 8 hours of a possible fire hazard in your bed. Simply mix the several drops of EO into the rice before putting the oil in the bag. Get detailed instructions from this awesome article here!

This is just the start to an ongoing list on how to use essential oils, so stay posted for more! Comment below with your ideas, recipes, and common practices with essential oils!

Get more information on essential oils here!

Other Great Articles:

• Where to Buy Essential Oils
• Awaken Essential Oil
• Joy Essential Oil
• Hair Health
• Skin Health
• Detox Bath

References:

“110 Uses for the Everyday Oils Kit” by an Independent Young Living Distributor

“Essential Oils Pocket Reference” by Life Science Publishing

Totem Animals

Animal totems play huge roles in our lives. They aid in self-discovery and capture our imagination, giving us incredible avenues of self-expression and awareness.

Additionally, they assist in understanding our past, and if we are attentive, our animal totems can reveal glimpses of our future.

Webster’s Dictionary defines a totem as: “A natural object, usually an animal that serves as a distinctive, often venerated emblem or symbol. A means of personal or spiritual identity.”

Animals serve as harbingers of personality traits we, as humans, all aspire to achieve. This makes animals some of the most powerful symbols in our spiritual toolbox.

Animals afford us visions of how our lives could be if we lived more simply and lived with purity of thought and emotion. Therefore, incorporating animal totems into our lives affirms our spiritual goals.

By focusing on the attributes of our totems, we internalize these traits and thus begin to externalize the very character we absorb from our totems.

Photo Reference

Acknowledge Beauty.

Art is all around us and to each individual soul, beauty is felt. When you feel these moments, when your soul is touched by the beauty in another, make it known. Whether that be the beautiful golden eyes of a stranger or a well-thought-out ensemble of a coworker. It could be a magnificent tie or the barren winter trees outside. Acknowledge the beauty. Compliment the individuals who have brought this moment of beauty, and move on. You expect nothing in return because you are simply acknowledging that you also feel beauty in a certain thing/person/attribute/etc. However, don’t tell someone they have pretty eyes and then just turn on your heel and run. That will obviously look very odd and maybe even creepy. Do not be afraid to give compliments. Make eye contact with a person and simply tell them that something they have on or their appearance in general is whatever adjective you choose to use that explains the beauty.

Admiring beauty that does not involve other human beings is clearly easier, but may not touch as many people. When admiring beauty in nature or in objects around you, make note to stop and take in your senses. What do you feel? HOW do you feel? Is it awe-inspiring, bringing tears to your eyes because its beauty is so profound? Good! I say commence, good friend! Allow yourself to experience what the beauty does to you. If sounds escape your lips, such as a sigh or a moan, allow it, as this releases even more positive energy into the object and the world around you. And you can pass along at least a semblance of that moment of beauty through photography and words. If you feel inclined to write, express your moment and sensations through the words, thus creating art yourself.

Experience the world around you. This will allow you to discern more awe-inspiring dimensions in this world and others. Stop for a moment and simply be. Feel what is going on around you right at this very moment. The textures, people, smell, wind, temperature. Look around and see beauty. Document this beauty if you wish, or simply take with you the memory of that moment. That is up to you and at your discretion.

I encourage you, dear friends, to never allow beauty to cross your path without a considerable amount of exertion put forth to express and acknowledge this beauty. There are times when discretion advises against expressing your moment of beauty, but I like to count those as few times indeed. And then it makes the giving of my expressions of beauty that much more meaningful. Compliment others. Take pictures. Laugh. Live in this moment, if only for a moment. Experience awe. Acknowledge these moments for the impact they have in this time in existence.

Detox Baths

We come in contact with toxins all around us on a daily basis and they build up over time, causing a myriad of side effects.

1. Sick
2. Muscle aches; soreness
3. Migraines and/or headaches
4. Fatigued
5. Not getting enough sleep
6. Stressed

A detox bath can be amazing when you’re sick and is also nice even if you aren’t feeling under the weather.

This bath will help eliminate toxins in your body while also absorbing the minerals and nutrients in the water. I think it’s amazing how I can literally feel the salts pulling the tension out of my feet.

Ingredients:

• 1-2 cups Epsom Salt
• 1-2 cups Sea Salt
• 1/4-1 cup Baking Soda
• Ginger (fresh or ground)
• Coconut Oil (optional)
• Apple Cider Vinegar (containing “Mother”) (encouraged)
• 1-4 cups Hydrogen Peroxide (optional)
• Essential Oils
• Flowers/Herbs (fresh or ground)(optional)
• Chunk of Himalayan Sea Salt (optional)

1. Run the water as hot as you can handle it. Don’t scald yourself, though!
2. Dry brush your skin before getting in to increase detox properties. (optional)
3. When adding ginger, whether freshly grated, dried, or ginger essential oil, keep in mind that the more you add, the more you’ll sweat. That is the main ingredient in the sweating, sauna-like feeling of the intense detox bath. If you can’t handle a ton of heat (me!), tone down the ginger to an appropriate level based on your tolerance. I would say start with less, such as a dash or two of dried ginger and see how it goes.
4. Set a timer for 20 minutes. You can take a longer bath if you’d like, but 20 minutes is the minimum time for the detox to work. It is encouraged to work up to 40 minutes, if possible. I have a hard time staying in that long. I normally stay in about 30 minutes. Some sources say that the first 20 minutes are used to help your body remove the toxins, while the second 20 minutes are for absorbing the minerals in the water. I think it all kind of happens at the same time, so go with as long as you want.
5. Light candles. Turn off the lights and get in the tub. Your eyes will adjust to the darkness and the light from the candle will become enough. Feel free to light more candles if you wish. My favorite candles for this meditative bath are the wood-burning wick candles.
6. With your hands and/or feet, mix the ingredients into the hot water and relax.

Optional and Advice:

• I like to grab a clean hand towel to keep near the tub to pat my face. This bath is designed to sweat out toxins, so be prepared to sweat. That’s why I have the hand towel near.
• Play calming music in the background. I like Native American drumming meditation.
• Have water within reach during your bath. You are sweating and will need to replace those fluids with healthy, clean water to aid in the detox process.
• Wine. Ok, so this is actually NOT helping you detox, but it does help with the relaxing part, so why not?
• To further encourage the cleansing, wrap up in a robe or blanket right after getting out. You will lock in the heat and the ginger will continue to make you sweat, allowing you to detox even after you are out of the tub. I don’t usually do this, but you can if really trying to beat a sickness.
• Sometimes, if I’ve added too much ginger or if I’ve sweated a ton, I take a cool shower right afterwards to wash off the lingering toxins and salts.
• After you’re dried, apply some coconut oil to your skin with your choice of essential oil to aid in your needs.
  • Skin Health (dry skin, moisturizing, itchy, etc.)
  • Sleep
  • Meditation

*BEWARE: This bath can make you very tired and weak, as your body has been expunging itself of toxins through sweating. The removal of toxins in any way is an exhaustive process, such as massage (you know how tired you feel afterwards, even though it feels much better), dry needling, digestive detoxing, etc.

It is best to do this bath before bedtime as it can make you drowsy afterwards. It is important to drink water during and after. Any time your body detoxes, it is flushing out toxins and if you don’t replace the fluids with clean water, you could feel sick.

Other Great Articles:

• Where to Buy Essential Oils
• How to Use Essential Oils
• Epsom Salt
• Coconut Oil
• Dry Brushing