Article written by Raissa Blankoff, naturopath-aromatherapist

For all living beings, man, animal, plant, the first concern, however banal it seems, is to stay alive. This explains the vital importance of the ability to defend oneself and, if necessary, to attack in order to resist intruders: bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, environmental, psychological, energy stress.

Thus, it is necessary to choose between the fight or the flight, as the famous neurobiologist Henri Laborit writes, in “Praise of the flight”. The condition of the plants, rooted, by definition prevents them from fleeing the enemy and forces them to fight on the spot. In order to survive through evolution, they had to manufacture increasingly sophisticated weapons of war, some of which are very powerful: these are aromatic molecules. Brought to face more and more evolved enemies, they have developed multidirectional systems which make it possible to attack, to reabsorb, to exterminate, to liquefy, to slow down, to accelerate a whole series of processes allowing them to win molecular battles.

But wars also have energetic and psychic components and have integrated these aspects into the very heart of their cells to guarantee their life and even the best possible existence under given conditions. It is these high performing principles that are offered to us human beings to help us survive in our own environment. These aromatic complexes act cleverly, so to speak, while many of our chemical drugs roughly attempt to mimic them, borrowing a fraction of their message from them, while the whole thing is at hand.

Certain modes of action of essential oils are still difficult to understand: reactions and mechanisms are not yet deciphered, but evidence of the effectiveness of these oils in diseases is growing every day.

Let’s start with those which save our lives, those which carry the classic weapons of war, even atomic bombs.

Source: Note: Dr Dominique Baudoux, pharmacist, is one of the world’s best specialists in scientific aromatherapy, author of numerous professional and popular works.