by Bruce Berkowsky, N.M.D., NCTMB
The Art of Spiritual PhytoEssencingTM
and the Soul-Nature of Rose Oil
Deep Psycho-Spiritual Work
Using Essential Oils
© 2005 Joseph Ben Hil-Meyer Research, Inc.
OVERVIEW of Spiritual PhytoEssencing
Spiritual PhytoEssencing is a synthesis I have created using certain aspects of aromatherapy, Kabbalah, Chinese and herbal medicines, classical homeopathy, modern physiology, depth psychology, color therapy, gemstone healing and anthroposophical science. It is an art designed to help overcome the separation of daily consciousness from the higher self which is at the core of emotional and physical disharmony and may give rise to disease. The goal is to "see" and work upon this core state that underlies all the mental compensations we make to shelter and contain our weaknesses and disappointments.
The focus of my Spiritual PhytoEssencing work (the word phytoessence is a synonym for essential oil) is to identify the pattern of deep psycho-spiritual themes which have a disharmonizing impact on the soul level. Subsequently, a combination of essential oils which correlates with these themes is formulated to act as a mirror-image of this "central disturbance" and serve as a customized response to the bioenergetic fingerprint of a deeply ingrained pattern of imbalance.
ESSENTIAL OILS And The SOUL
Plants are alive, and everything that lives has a soul. The essential oil is the carrier of the soul of the plant. The founder of anthroposophy Rudolf Steiner states: "Matter is most spiritual in the perfume of the plant…When the spirit most closely approaches the physical earth, then we have the perception of fragrance."
According to the Kabbalah, the human soul contains animal-, vegetable- and human soul components. Thus, each of us has the ability to relate to plant souls on a soul-to-soul level. When the human soul becomes preoccupied with the daily challenges of life, rational consciousness becomes estranged from the higher self, thus mired in "stuckness." All chronic diseases have this quality of inertia in common.
The plant soul is not encumbered by ego, so it has the qualities of purity and infinity. Thus, the individualized plant soul combination within the essential oil blend, when proffered to the human soul, is eagerly received and infuses the latter with an impetus to move beyond limitation by changing its orientation from the finite to the Infinite.
The key to moving the soul in this way is the formulation of an oil blend which accurately reflects an individual's "soul print." Just like no two fingerprints are alike, each soul is completely unique. Living within the context of one's true soul nature requires a continuous connection with one's higher self. Happiness is the key to wellness. No one can be truly well so long as he or she is unhappy. In turn, the key to happiness lies in accepting, and living in accordance with, one's soul print and having this soul print received by others.
Harmonizing the currents of the psycho-spiritual plane facilitates an altered state characterized by heightened awareness, receptivity, flexibility, objectivity and the illumination of life-choices. True healing can proceed only in this altered state. The purpose of the art of Spiritual PhytoEssencing is to encourage and sustain this altered state of soul consciousness that serves as mind/body wellness.
Imaginative consciousness is an important element in the art of Spiritual PhytoEssencing. In the context of this discussion, the term imaginative consciousness refers to overcoming the limitations of analysis of the material aspects of essential oils performed exclusively by the senses and intellect via a complementary perception of the spiritual roots which sustain said material aspects. An essential oil is the carrier of a plant's soul. Like the human soul, the plant soul contains the spiritual roots for all the plant's material and bioenergetic manifestations. Hence, when using essential oils for soul-spiritual work, all of the biophysical and bioenergetic features of the plant can be used to develop an understanding of said spiritual roots.
The following discussion demonstrates how the soul nature of essential oil of rose can be elaborated using imaginative consciousness. Rose has always been associated with deep, heart-felt devotional love. To understand how it elicits this type of response in humans, an examination of the concepts of the rhythmic system, shen, the Fire element, the homeopathic symptoms of rose, the Tree of Life's vessel of Binah will prove of good service.
FOLKLORE And ROSE
Since ancient times, rose (Rosa damascena) oil has been consistently classified as an oil of emotional feeling, love, femininity and transformation. The Romans scattered rose petals on the marriage bed and Roman brides and bridegrooms were crowned with roses, as were the images of Venus and Cupid. When Cleopatra invited Mark Antony to her palace, she had the meeting room floor covered with roses because of her fervent belief in the romantic power of the rose's scent. Among some American Indian tribes, braves gathered wild roses for the hair of their brides. Also, the rose was supposedly sacred to Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, beauty and fertility. Legend has it that St. Dominic, in the course of a mystical vision, received the first rosary from the Virgin Mary, and each bead was rose-scented.
The RHYTHMIC SYSTEM
A primary conceptual model of anthroposophical science is the Three-Fold Organism, or human triad. Accordingly, the organism consists of: 1) a nerve-sense system (concentrated primarily in the head) which is the instrument of perception, thought and consciousness; 2) a metabolic/ locomotion system (concentrated in the lower torso and limbs)responsible for metabolism and movement and the exertion of will; 3) a rhythmic system (located in the chest) which employs emotional feeling to arbitrate between thought and will.
As the rhythmic system is found midway between the upper and lower poles of the body, so does feeling lie midway between thinking and willing. For example, let us say a person imagines a beautiful scene of forest, water and light. She becomes attached to this particular vision and desires to have it appear before her on an ongoing basis. She says to herself: Why don't I transform my thought into reality? Then, she proceeds to make a painting of this vision. In this example, there is a chronology that begins with thought and gets caught up in feeling. The feeling then generates a compulsion to translate the thought into a deed, an act of will. In this way, feeling mediates between thinking and willing.
Rose oil is the primary oil for the rhythmic system's (especially the heart's) feeling function. Rose helps to balance thinking and willing. While it is noted as being useful in the treatment of heart palpitations, arrhythmia and hypertension, it should be considered as primary for these symptoms only when disturbances of the heart's "feeling" function is a leading element in the case.
Rose oil is considered an asthma remedy. In this case, it's most indicated for emotional asthma as well as cardiac asthma. Cardiac asthma, associated with heart disease, is characterized by pulmonary congestion, airways obstruction, hyperventilation, bronchial spasms and wheezing.
In the human organism, the primary organs of the rhythmic system are the heart, and secondarily, the lungs. Heart and lung activity is characterized by ceaseless rhythm. Whenever a strong feeling is experienced, changes occur in the subtle interplay of blood and breath. The heart and respiratory rates may increase or become erratic. When people recount strong emotional episodes, we often hear expressions such as My heart skipped a beat, or It took my breath away. Also, blanching from emotional shock or blushing as a result of embarrassment show the connection between feelings and the capillaries: tiny blood vessels which exhibit rhythmicity. This helps to explain rose's value as a capillary tonic. A person's emotional life oscillates between empathy and antipathy. For this reason, feeling requires an organic system that is capable of rhythmic oscillation so that the scales can be balanced through harmonization.
The heart is actually a sense-organ perceiving subtle changes in the make-up of the blood. To coldly reflect upon something, you need only the nerve-sense system. However, in order to imbue this reflection with interest and devotion, you need the heart's contribution of feeling. This feeling also imbues the will with the element of devotion and courage. This is why courage has long been associated with the heart. Fear is potentially the outgrowth of heart weakness.
The heart also balances between the warm blood returning from the metabolic organs and limbs and the cooler blood coming back from the head, and, in its pumping cycle, between diastole (expansion) and systole (contraction). Similarly, in its other role as the instrument of feeling, it must balance between cold-heartedness and warm-heartedness as well as open-heartedness and closed-heartedness.
SHEN
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Shen is one of the "Three Treasures" of Chinese medicine (the other two being chi and jing). The word shen translates roughly as spirit. Whereas movement is indicative of the presence of chi, and growth and renewal of jing, consciousness indicates the presence of shen.
Shen is said to reside in two houses. The higher house correlates with the head where it brings forth clarity of thought and conscious direction of life and the vital processes. The lower residence is the heart where it ensures balanced feelings and clear, honest communication.
Heart shen is essentially thought transformed by feeling. The concept of transformation is a prominent theme of rose oil. In earlier times, it was used by alchemists as a catalyst in their attempts to transmute base metals into gold. It's interesting to note that in homeopathy, the remedy Aurum (gold) is a major heart remedy.
Consider rose oil whenever there is disturbed heart shen. Disturbed shen will manifest as: an inability to think clearly and organize thoughts; emotional mood swings; speech defects ranging from stammering to muteness as well as excess loquacity and inappropriate laughter while speaking. Confused shen may also give rise to: nervousness; fearfulness; insomnia; depression; dull, unfocused eyes.
FIRE ELEMENT
According to the Five Element Theory of Chinese medicine, the heart is the yin organ of the Fire element. Accordingly, when function is balanced, the spirit will flame-up with inspiration. If the fire is burning low, the individual will be dispirited or depressed. Loss of fire can develop over time if a person's emotions have not been validated. In contrast, when there is excessive heart fire, an individual will laugh excessively, be impulsive and be prone to hysteria.
The Five Elements interact in patterns of creation and support, or inhibition and restraint. The Wood element exerts a generating effect upon the Fire element in the same way that wood is fuel for a fire.
A deficiency of Wood leads to depletion of the heart's feeling capacity while an excess may create destructive emotional intensity. Hence, the heart's integrity as an emotional center is linked to liver health. Rose oil is noted as a remedy for: hangover; liver congestion; jaundice; various digestive symptoms such as nausea and diarrhea (which are sometimes related to liver dysfunction).
The word rose derives from the Greek word rodon, meaning red. Its color is a blood signature. The heart is the blood's pump, and the liver is a blood-reservoir and -dispatcher. Rose should be considered as a liver remedy whenever strong emotions are the leading symptoms in a case and there are concomitant liver and heart symptoms. Some of the emotional symptoms which may be ameliorated by rose oil may have a liver root, such as depression, apathy, impatience and disappointment.
Rose is considered an aphrodisiac oil, especially for the female. A woman's sexual feelings are more likely to be linked to heart-felt emotions while a man's are more likely to be linked to the baser instincts of the "animal principle." It's likely that rose's aphrodisiac properties derive from support of the emotional heart-center rather than direct stimulation of the sexual organs.
While the ovaries produce the female hormones, it's the liver that regulates their blood levels. The liver conjugates estrogens and progesterone to facilitate their excretion via bile and urine. Therefore, the liver plays an important role in the regulation of blood levels of the sex hormones. Rose's value regarding sexual function and other aspects of the function of the female reproductive organs may be related, in part, to its association with the liver.
HOMEOPATHIC SYMPTOMS of ROSE
The homeopathic literature on rose is very limited but does note the following symptoms: congestion of the eustachian tubes (causing deafness and tinnitus: ringing in the ears); hardness of hearing. These symptoms are significant as the ear symptoms of rose are the only ones prominently noted in the homeopathic literature. The significance of this is explained by the following discussion of Binah.
TREE of LIFE'S VESSEL of BINAH
On the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, the vessel of Binah-Understanding is associated with the heart. The tie-in between rose's homeopathic symptoms of hardness of hearing and tinnitus (noted above) and its Binah/Heart affinity can be explained by the following insight by the renowned 18th century Kabbalist Rabbi Nachman of Breslov (from the Likutey Moharan I and II): "Hearing depends on the heart...If spoken words do not penetrate the listener's heart, it is as if they were never heard...In order to truly hear what someone is saying to us-not just their words, but their intention-the heart must be attentive…The hearing process commences with the ears, but must end up with the heart's understanding what is said." The feeling of not being truly listened to and understood by one's romantic partner is a core issue in the lives of many of those who are strongly drawn to rose oil.
The following verse from Proverbs 20:5 is also relevant regarding the "rose oil individual": “Deep waters are the counsel in a man's heart, but a man of understanding [Binah] will draw them forth.” These "deep waters" are, in the case of rose, romanticized ideals and perceptions. Binah logically thinks these through and counsels the person as to how these must be modified in order to achieve one's goals in life.
A central theme in the lives of those who have a strong affinity for rose oil is: If I find true love, everything will be okay. It is an essential oil to consider whenever an individual's psycho-spiritual disharmony is related to emotional yearning for, or disappointment regarding, romantic love. Rose oil is one of the major remedies for emotional denial related to compulsive adherence to a romantic naiveté that leads to: lack of objectivity, self-delusion, repeated errors in personal relationships and congestion of the heart with mundane ego-level preoccupations that obstruct the attainment of higher soul levels.
Important Note: Important Note: This article is intended for informational purposes only and not meant as a prescription for any individual. Consult a physician whenever disease is present or suspected.
 BIO: Dr. Bruce Berkowsky, registered naturopath, master herbalist and classical homeopath, is President of Joseph Ben Hil-Meyer Research, Inc. He is the founder/teacher of both Spiritual PhytoEssencing and the Natural Health Science System which he designed following 25-years of research and clinical practice, and includes herbology, nutrition, homeopathy, aromatherapy, exercise, traditional nature-cure as well as East/West healing arts/bodywork. Dr. Berkowsky teaches in-depth seminars/teleseminars/workshops to health-care professionals and spiritually aware groups.
To reach Dr. Berkowsky: Fax: (360) 422-7729 or e-mail:
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. To order Dr. Berkowsky's Vital Chi Skin-Brushing System book and/or video, visit www.DrySkinBrushing.net. To subscribe to his free monthly Nature's Therapies On-Line Journal or to learn about his Spiritual PhytoEssencing Diploma and Master's Courses, teleseminar courses, workshop tapes, books and more, visit: www.NaturalHealthScience.com.
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