The Kiss of the Mother - Allison Stillman

Like serpentine waves of color undulating across the continents, the lilac hues of lavender farms weave together the ancient feminine essence of the Divine Mother. The very essence of Lavender in her ultraviolet color and scent, weaves a spell of softness, serenity, and the gentle enfoldment of a mother's embrace.

For the love of beauty, people flock to the cascading purple terraces of Provence, New Zealand, California, and many other locales, drawn like the bees climbing through their miniature labyrinthine worlds of ultraviolet scent. Somewhere deep in our hearts and soul lives an innate and indescribable love for nature's tender expressions and spirit.

This deep innate essence of nature lives within our hearts, beyond the artificialities of our modern world. This potent essence is what gets captured in all essential oils, and Lavender is a primordial Queen who bestows many blessings.

The soft voice of Mother Nature is so eloquently expressed within the lavender plant, with its luscious essence of sweetness that draws us like bees to honey. Bees always know the sweetest of plants and flowers, and Lavender is one of their favorites.

The soft, gentle spirit of Lavender essence is universally understood by so many in the world today. Lavender essential oil is the #1studied oil, and is known as the 'universal oil' due to over 350 chemical constituents contained within it. These properties vary from sedating, calming, anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, and anti-bacterial - the list goes on and on.

Somewhere in our heart and soul, where the artificialities of modernity are not allowed, there still lives an innate, indescribable love for nature's tender expressions; the quiet voice of Lavender's gentle spirit is universally understood.

Beneath the world of hardened, agitated, restless madness we may see in the world around us, there is an inescapable vulnerability to the feminine power of the Earth's compassionate vital nature. It is time for us to recognize and honor the Divine Feminine Grace of Mother Earth. There is no other essential oil more gifted and capable of bringing the resonance of the Divine Mother than the essential oil of Lavender.

Lavender's soothing touch helps us transcend our suffering and our imagined differences, bonding us together again in a gentle embrace of the Earth. She brings her sweet essence like a blanket of ambrosia to wrap you up in her sweet loving embrace. Much like a mother embraces her child with unconditional love, so too does Lavender embrace us with her caress of unconditional love.

Open a bottle of fine lavender oil as if you were one of those who feel reverence because it has cured them of sorrows in ways that science could never do. Bring it slowly to your nostrils, for inside lies more than you could ever imagine. Like the fresh notes of soft dewy rain, with warm sweet, herbal waves of pearls will drift up into your conscious awareness.

As you inhale further, you begin to experience the rich earthen notes of loamy fertile soil, or perhaps the mineral notes of a harsh, wild landscape, depending upon where the Lavender was grown. It's easy to get lost in the smell of purples, the sweet aquamarine notes of fruit and flower so distinct yet so indescribable. Do you sense the pungency, the soft sharpness of sunrays, the fiery acrid heat of Mediterranean summer days? And of course, how could you not notice the cool air of the evening that settles onto the bright violet hues of the flowers at dusk, bringing a hint of watery dewdrops.

But wait, there's even more. We've only just begun to experience the Earth, which held the lavender plant in the palm of her hand. What else has created this wonderous aromatic? Just as we must integrate the five elements into our biology - fire, earth, air, water, and ether - the plant world must also integrate the elements into every aspect of their sublime expression. This is why there is such a synergistic relationship between us. We are born of the very same elements, so, naturally, we can intuit the very five elements from which we are born in the plant essence.

Take this in. What intelligence, what evolutionary force, what biological necessity, what inborn instinct, what genetic genius, what devic alchemy has melded, separated and refined this alchemical gem, this elixir of healing, this infinitely valuable aromatic talisman of protection? Perhaps we can't even begin to name it; it is a mystery so profound, so pervasive in every living species on our Mother Earth.

What awakens within us as we continue to inhale the heavenly aromas is a presence that now begins to permeate the entire limbic system, with aromatic molecules dancing within the emotional and behavioral centers of the brain and consciousness. The brain's receptor sites begin to fire in unison, as the sheer power of this supreme presence begins to permeate all of the neural networks of the brain.

In an instant, the fragrance of Lavender within our own private universe of perception brings an awareness that wasn't there before. As you rest with your eyes closed, new revelations will appear, beckoning you to move beyond what was before. Notice how this simple act of inhaling Lavender essential oil, in all its botanical brilliance, carries the life force of the Earth, the soothing and cooling enveloping of water, the warming and energizing rays of the sun, and the uplifting breath of air deep within the brain, the heart and the soul.

Spend a moment and allow the embrace of this transcendent aromatic to bring its effects on the body, mind, and spirit into your awareness. Notice the softening within you, the degree of peace that permeates your awareness, the heartbeat slowing, and the breath softening.

See if you also notice the more subtle effects, perhaps a simple joy that comes into you, a moment of peace from the collective despair or sadness of the world. In the decades of using essential oils, I've witnessed these effects in myself and thousands of clients and students, and I've come to know Lavender as the closest essence to the love and comfort that a mother brings to a child.

Lavender embodies the very essence of the Divine Mother, and when you inhale it or anoint your body with it, the embrace of her is the embrace of the mother for her child.

If your shelf only contained one essential oil, the oil of Lavender would be my choice. We all need to give thanks to this compassionate plant that heals a multitude of ailments without causing harm to the precious Earth, and the Divine intelligence that brings it to life, to the soil that held it safely in its palm, the water that brought moisture, the air that brought breath and the sun that brought growth and awakening.

We also need to recognize the labor and process involved to bring the essential oil to your shelf and your life. The life cycle of the plant, growing green in the Spring, with the violet flowers coated in essential oil rising into the summer sun, and the harvest in the fall, before being distilled to bring forth the alchemical elixir of essential oil that you hold in your hand.

Give thanks to the sacred alchemical art and science of distillation, transforming the plants into the essence of this magnificent masterpiece called Lavender essential oil. Distillation is a process that requires exact formulas to keep the aromatic molecules intact, vibrant and alive. The process of distillation is passed down from master to student and is the only way to learn how to bring forth the magic of this exquisite plant into aromatic essence.

Lavender essential oil is truly an alchemical miracle for us all and one that brings so many blessings to humanity in this extraordinary time of need.

- Allison

Allison Stillman

Allison Stillman is an author, teacher, transformational coach, and an acclaimed Aromatic Alchemist. She’s been a student of aromatherapy, alchemy, and spirituality for 45 years, and has been deepening her connection to Love her entire life.

Her book the “Sacred Art of Anointing” was the first of its kind when it was published, and continues to educate people about the ancient art of anointing. “The Sacred Art of Anointing” was admitted to the Harvard Divinity School Library, as it’s a deep exploration of the spiritual and religious use of essential oils throughout history, and is a reference for awakening consciousness and deepening Love.

Allison has been featured in numerous books including, “Love for No Reason” by Marci Shimoff, “More Hot Chocolate for the Mystical Soul” by Arielle Ford and “Insights from the Coffeehouse” by Jonathon Collins.

She’s also been featured in magazines, and on radio shows across the globe, and as a speaker at global conferences & events.

Allison has worked with people from around the world individually through private anointing rites of passage, coaching and mentoring individuals, as well as teaching large events for 30 years, and is dedicated to changing and empowering people through the gift of Aromatic Alchemy and Conscious Alchemy Coaching.

www.allisonstillman.com