New Weekly Series: Seeking Truth and Wholeness, Oils and the Bible

I am so excited to announce  a brand new weekly series! I have undertaken a new personal development goal…to study and learn from the Torah every week to bring more joy and compassion into my home and life.

You may or may not know this but in Judaism we study the Old Testament on a real deal schedule. Each week has a set Torah portion that is the same every year and set to our Hebrew calendar. This weekly portion is called the weekly ‘parashah’. So this series will contain my learning from the current week’s parashah and the focus will be on seeking TRUTH (Emet) and WHOLENESS (shalem).

Weekly Study: Seeking Truth and Wholeness

What follows is the weekly portion for this week and will be the first in my series. I will be posting this every week until we get back to where we started. I will also be including some ideas on how to apply this week’s study to yourself using essential oils to bring that wholeness into being. Yes. There is a way to use essential oils to not only boost our mood but also RELEASE emotional patterns and grow spiritually with G-d’s divine help. So there truly is an oil for that to bring your prayer to the next level! I am super excited about this revelation!

So you can follow along, this is the weekly portion THIS week:

TORAH READING:

Vayeishev: Genesis 37:1 – 40:23

HAFTARAH:

Amos 2:6 – 3:8

This week’s story is about Joseph and how much his brothers hated him and were jealous of him. His brothers betrayed him and sold him into slavery.
As it is written in Genesis 37:18, “They saw him [Joseph] from afar, and when he had not approached them they conspired against him to kill him.” The word ‘afar’ speaks volumes. Hatred can only fester in hearts where there is no communication. It’s easier to be resentful from afar.

How can we heal resentment in our hearts? You can’t hate your brother in your heart (Leviticus 19:17) is the teaching. We must resolve differences and not let resentment fester! And there is an oil for that: LEMONGRASS. I find preparing and praying for help to find the words to communicate with someone I might harbor resentment toward and ask to bring them nearer to me, prepares me for that time when I need to see the good in that person and judge them favorably. So do I do with Lemongrass? According to Releasing Emotional Patterns with Essential Oils by Carolyn Mein, I put my hand over your rib cage at the bottom right. Where my index finger hits my rib right near my diaphragm, I apply a drop there and say the words “I am wanted, lovable, and I am whole.” Imagine yourself embracing vs. resenting. Ask for G-d’s help in finding a way to embrace instead of resent. To seek the good and redeeming qualities in people vs. their flaws. To attain peace in our relationships we must take steps toward peace.

However, Joseph’s brothers took resentment to a whole new level. They were consumed by jealousy and hatred and nothing Joseph did was right in their eyes. What is the emotion behind jealousy? A real fear of being LEFT BEHIND. This is where LEMON can help…Lemon is an oil that can help us MOVE instead of feeling left behind. I apply Lemon to the top of my throat and say: “I am free to move forward.” This helps me to see that focusing and comparing myself to others isn’t what G-d wants. He wants us to better ourselves and move ourselves forward – with LOVE and COMPASSION. When love is present, there is a willingness to forgive and to see our part in the conflict.

It’s a start! How many of you harbor these emotions toward others? I pray that each of us can work to RELEASE them and find the way in our hearts to seek JOY in life and to speak life on others! Maybe then will we all have PEACE. Can I get an AMEN? Amen.