Aroma Journal

Phil, let’s talk about Toni Morrison’s territory of the non-secular, as you put it in The Writer’s Crucible. It’s been a while since we last discussed this…can you give us your definition and your experience with this place, especially over the last year and a half?...

There's no way to completely tell the story of how I came to aromatherapy and how aromatherapy changed my life without sharing what I least like to discuss, what haunts my dreams still, and what I'm most afraid to share. But as writers, we learn that is exactly the...

A note about my use of “God”. In my work, I feel comfortable using the word God to refer to what others may feel more comfortable referring to as spirit, universe, goddess, and so on. I value these interpretations. Perhaps, if we are lucky, at the end of our lives we...

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Discovery between the pinesPhoto by Heather Hall Photography How sense-luscious the world is. In the summer, we can be decoyed out of bed by the sweet smell of the air sloughing through our bedroom window. The sun playing across the tulle curtains gives them a moiré...

I’ve moved to an older part of town where the buildings and homes are mostly brick, have names, and the socioeconomics of our parents (or our own collection of choices and privileges) might determine the block on which we live. My street is lined with signs that say...

Like fragrance, our energy follows us; in our living and work spaces as well as our more ethereal creative and intimate spaces. Perhaps we’ve had a stretch of challenging times (hi there, 2020), maybe we’ve exited from an abusive partnership, maybe we are grieving the...

I asked an herbalist who lived off the side of a gravel road in Nebraska, “What happens when someone asks you a question for which you don’t know the answer?” She said, “I tell them, ‘I don’t know, I’ll have to find out and get back to ya.’” I ask myself, when I pull...

Embodiment: a tangible or visible form of an idea, quality, or feeling. Anoint your heart with jasmine, rose, and sandalwood. Bless your feet with hyssop, lavender, and cedarwood. Let the fragrance of sage, rosemary, and thyme wash over your threshold and grapefruit...

That place of true healing is a fierce place. It’s a giant place. It’s a place of monstrous beauty and endless dark and glimmering light. And you have to work really, really, really hard to get there, but you can do it.Cheryl Strayed When I think of strong humans,...

As many of us struggle to process the vast amount information, news, and regulations regarding the latest pandemic, finding stillness has become ever more a sacred craving. I felt it was a good time to check in with Portland-based psychotherapist, author, and poet,...