A friend suggested that one of the contributors to our health issues was that perhaps we had been exposed to toxins and that we could benefit from some natural internal cleansing. We embraced a natural and gentle process of cleansing and started feeling so much better.

The next level of wellness education came when I learned that all the work we were doing to restore our bodies was being hampered by the fact that we were using and had within our home many toxic chemicals. These chemicals such as perchloroethylene (PERC), formaldehyde, 2-Butoxyethanol, ammonia, sodium hydroxide, and chlorine were in cleaning products that we used throughout our home.

The products I was relying on to keep out the germs and protect our immune systems was also poisoning us. The more I researched, the more determine I became to change things. There were two things holding me back from throwing out all those common poisons from my home. The first concern was finding what we could use to replace these products. The replacements needed to still protect us from germs and still clean all the surfaces yet not be toxic to our bodies. The other concern was the feeling that by throwing out all those toxic products was a waste of the money spent to purchase them. Perhaps I could wait until they were empty and used.

After dwelling on these concerns for a few weeks and doing some research for natural replacements, a realization came that prolonging the change to what we cleaned our home with because of money was only prolonging the poisoning of our bodies we were so desperately trying to repair! It was a decision to just make the change. The big event of clearing out all the toxic cleaning products resulted in two, full garbage bags. The natural products purchased to replace all of those removed products was significantly cheaper than what the total value was of the replaced products and they filled a couple baskets in the pantry.

Common Household Cleaning Products and the Lungs

The American Lung Association website states: “Many cleaning supplies or household products can irritate the eyes or throat, or cause headaches and other health problems, including cancer. Some products release dangerous chemicals, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Other harmful ingredients include ammonia and bleach.

VOCs and other chemicals released when using cleaning supplies contribute to chronic respiratory problems, allergic reactions, and headaches. Studies are underway to assess how these chemicals affect people who have asthma and other respiratory illnesses. However, past studies link exposure to chemicals from cleaning supplies to occupational asthma and other respiratory illnesses.

Cleaning supplies and household products containing VOCs and other toxic substances can include, but are not limited to:

• Aerosol spray products, including health, beauty and cleaning products
• Air fresheners
• Chlorine bleach
• Detergent and dishwashing liquid
• Dry cleaning chemicals
• Rug and upholstery cleaners
• Furniture and floor polish
• Oven cleaners

Volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, are gases that are emitted into the air from products or processes. Some are harmful by themselves, including some that cause cancer. In addition, they can react with other gases and form other air pollutants after they are in the air.

VOCs can be found in the air indoors and outdoors. Some of these sources continue to produce VOCs when they are stored or transported. Some of the more familiar VOCs include benzene, formaldehyde and toluene.”

Indoor sources of VOCs in personal cleaning products include:

• Cleaners and disinfectants
• Furniture
• Pesticides
• Air fresheners
• Cosmetics and deodorants

Endocrine and Hormone Disruptors

The crucible of change for me was learning how these poisonous substances in the home disrupted the endocrine processes of our bodies. Our endocrine hormone processes include endocrine glands that release hormones into the bloodstream. This lets the hormones travel to cells in other parts of the body. The endocrine hormones help control mood, growth and development, the way our organs work, metabolism, and reproduction. The endocrine system regulates how much of each hormone is released. We definitely do not want to be disturbing them!

The most common endocrine disorders are related to improper functioning of the pancreas and the pituitary, thyroid, and adrenal glands. These endocrine hormones help the body regulate processes, such as appetite, breathing, growth, fluid balance, feminization and virilization, and weight control. As the rise of chemical cleaning products in the home has risen over the years, is it any wonder why disorders and diseases due to endocrine disruption are also on the rise?

Replacing these chemical cleaning products with pure products is a simple step towards turning the tide on the health problems of the respiratory system and the endocrine and hormone disruptions.

Natural and Pure Cleaning Replacements

Keeping our homes clean and protected from germs that attack our immune system is important. Having these products consist of natural and pure ingredients not only cleans and protects but also supports a healthier respiratory system and the endocrine and hormone systems.

It is possible to clean and protect the home with basic products and add the immune protecting natural compounds with essential oils. The basic ingredients include baking soda, white vinegar, Castile unscented soap, Witch Hazel, Ever Clear (vodka), fractionated coconut oil, or other carrier oils.

Pure essential oils contain nature’s compounds that fight those things that attack our immune system. Some of these compounds include cinnamaldehyde, eugenol, citral, carvacrol, 1,8 cineole, eucalyptol, terpinen-4-ol, and limonene. Essential oils such as cinnamon, clove, oregano, lemongrass, rosemary, eucalyptus, tea tree, and citrus oils are essential oils that can be combined with the basic products to make cleaning products that not only work well for cleaning and protecting but also provide support for endocrine and respiratory systems.

It is important to note that not all brands of essential oils are the same. Many essential oils on the market include synthetic compounds to make them cheaper. Even though they may advertise that they are 100 percent pure, there is no governing board to guarantee that. To guarantee a truly pure essential oil in the current market requires a battery of almost 54 tests to make sure that as they come from the distillation process to be bottled without being compromised. If the goal is to replace the purchased poisonous cleaning products with naturally, simple, homemade products so that respiratory and hormone systems are supported and not disrupted it is important to make sure the basic products and essential oils being used are truly pure and natural. (Link to purchase pure essential oils: https://bit.ly/pjdoterra)

The Change is Easy

Once the basic ingredients and essential oils are purchased and simple recipes saved, it requires little time to make safe cleaning products. Having good containers for the new recipes is also important. As many plastics can also contribute to endocrine disruption, it is best to use glass jars and spray bottles. (Glass spray bottles and jars can be purchased from Amazon.)

We cannot control all the hormone and respiratory disruptors that threaten us, but we can control the ones in our home especially the ones that come from the products we purchase and use. Replacing these products with homemade, safe products is one of easiest ways to support our health and wellness.

For additional recipes and with additional lifestyle and essential oil tips, sign up here: Elevated Living News

Essential Oil Dish Soap

2 cups unscented Castile soap
20 drops lime essential oil
8 drops of lemon essential oil
6 drops of grapefruit essential oil

Fill a large glass container with the ingredients. To use: shake and add 1-2 tablespoons to the dish water.

Scrubbing Tub Cleanser

2 tablespoons unscented Castile soap
1 teaspoon OnGuard® Cleaning concentrate (doTERRA)
¾ cup baking soda
10 drops grapefruit essential oil
2-4 tablespoon water (add to desired consistency)

Mix the ingredients together in a wide-mouthed glass container about two cups in size. To use: put 1-2 tablespoons on a cleaning rag and wipe the wet tub or shower floor.

Glass Cleaning Spray

4 drops lime essential oil
4 drops lemon essential oil
½ cup water
½ cup white vinegar
1 teaspoon rubbing alcohol

Mix ingredients together in an 8-ounce glass spray bottle and shake. To use: spray on window or glass and wipe with cleaning cloth.

General Cleaning and Protecting Spray I

¼ cup white vinegar
1 ¾ cups water
30 drops doTERRA essential oils (lemon, eucalyptus, wild orange, peppermint, or grapefruit)

Add all ingredients to 16-ounce spray bottle and shake thoroughly. To use: spritz on surfaces and wipe clean.

General Cleaning and Protecting Spray II

1 tablespoon OnGuard® Cleaning concentrate (doTERRA)
1 drop lemon essential oil
1 drop lime essential oil

Add the concentrate and essential oils to a 16-ounce glass spray bottle. Fill the remaining space with warm water. To use: spray over the surface and wipe clean with a cleaning rag.

Fabric Softening Spray

16 ounces white vinegar
10–15 drops lavender or geranium essential oil

Add essential oils to a 16-ounce glass spray bottle. Fill the remaining space with warm white vinegar. To use: Shake well before each use to ensure oils and vinegar are well combined. Spray over wet clothing before drying.

Laundry Stain Remover

½ cup white vinegar
20 drops lemon essential oil
½ cup distilled water

Pour the ingredients into an 8-ounce spray bottle. To use: shake and spray on clothing stains and wash as usual.

about

PJ Hanks

PJ Hanks has spent over 40 years in businesses helping women find hope, discover solutions, and achieve goals. She has a wealth of experience with various tools, proven techniques, and love to help her clients find success in all areas of their lives. As a Bastyr trained aromatherapist, a certified holistic health coach, and a successful business leader, PJ assists her clients to become their best selves.

PJ has been a successful entrepreneur for 30+ years and believes that when your emotional and physical wellness is good, your business and work-life are thriving, and you are working on yourself personally you can feel as though you can cope with all the rest of life.

PJ lives in Carnation, WA with her husband and has three adult children and loves being a grandmother to two darling twin granddaughters. She enjoys crafting, being with family and friends, and traveling. She loves to have deep conversations and to help others find hope and joy!

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I have a beautiful card stack next to my bed and each morning I pull a card for the day. My favorite card so far said, “What are the dominant emotions that run my life?”  This question brought so much pondering for me. The first question I asked myself was, “There are emotions running my life. What are the dominant ones? Are they positive emotions or negative emotions?”  If they were negative emotions, I wanted to clear them because I wanted positive, dominant emotions running my life.  I realized I could spend lots of time and energy trying to clear negative emotions or, instead, I could more quickly and easily embrace positive emotions to push out any negative emotions.

All of this thinking led to the most important question:  “What are dominant emotions that would help us run a happy, successful life?”  The ones that come to mind are:  abundance, adaptable, accepting, aligned, ambitious, authentic, balanced, calm, capable, centered, cheerful, clear, committed, compassionate, composed, confident, connected, considerate, courageous, creative, decisive, elevated, expressive, faithful, flexible, focused, forgiven, fulfilled, generous, glad, grateful, grateful, grounded, happy, healed, honest, hopeful, inspired, intuitive, joyful, kind, liberated, lighthearted, loved, motivated, nurtured, open-minded, optimistic, passionate, patient, peaceful, perceptive, protected, purposeful, reassured, renewed, resolute, respectful, responsible, safe, spiritual, spontaneous, stable, still, strengthened, supported, teachable, thankful, tolerant, transforming, trusting, valued, well, whole, wisdom, and worthy.

Imagine if it were just three to five of these emotions that drove your daily actions, dominating your thoughts, moving you forward. With any of the emotions in the list dominating your thoughts and actions you could not help but move forward, accomplish goals, and feel happier! How would it be if someone asked you how you felt today, and you responded with, “I feel balanced, capable, and whole today!”?

Perhaps you look at this list and think “I want to feel these emotions. I want these emotions to dominate and run my life; but, how do I embrace them and let them dominate my thoughts and actions?”

Here are four steps to embrace the positive emotions you want and how to let them drive your life.

Step 1

Look through the list of emotions and choose one emotion that you want to cultivate and embrace.

Step 2

For the next week spend five to ten minutes daily in reflection asking yourself questions about what may be standing in the way between you and that emotion. One way to do this is by journaling. For example, if you want to have more abundance in your life, reflect on questions like “What will it take for me to believe I am worthy and able to receive more?”, “Am I limiting gifts that would otherwise flow to me?”, or “Do I have a subconscious belief that life should be hard?”.

Reflective journaling includes thinking about the triggers that may cause you to block the emotion(s) you want to experience. Reflect on the behaviors and thoughts that may stand in the way between you and the emotion. Assess if there are relationships that need work so that the emotion can be experienced.

As you reflect on these thoughts and questions over the next week, clarity and answers will come as to what you may need to change to experience this emotion.

Step 3

On ten sticky notes write an afformation regarding this emotion. Afformations are affirmations written in question form. For example, if you want more abundance in your life, you might write an afformation like one of these, “Why does abundance flow to me in unexpected and surprising ways?”, “Why do I receive all good gifts?” or “Why am I open to more abundance in my life?”.  Put the sticky notes where you will see them often throughout the day, such as on a cupboard door, the door to the bathroom, your computer monitors, your steering wheel, the wall by your desk, by the sink, etc.; read the afformation each time you see the sticky notes.

Affirmations have helped millions of people achieve their personal and professional goals. But, what if, you could take those positive statements and add some power to them?  To summarize Noah St. John from his book, Affirmations, “Affirmations are statements of something we want to be true in our life. For example, “I am happy.” or “I am capable.”.

We have tens of thousands of thoughts each day and many we are not even aware of most of the time. Our life reflects our daily thoughts. So, if we say these affirmations to ourselves many times a day would they not begin to reflect in our lives? Because your mind responds automatically to something that is both simpler and more powerful than statements, affirmation statements rarely have the power for change.

“If you do not believe your positive statements yet, why not ask questions that will change your life?” You create your life by the statements you say to yourself and others and by the questions you ask yourself and others. The questions are where the power in change lies.

As St. John says in his book, “Most people are going through life asking a lot of disempowering questions without realizing it – then they wonder why they are not getting the results they dream of.” For example, disempowering questions that we ask ourselves might by “Why do I not have enough money?”, “Why do I never get the breaks that other people get?”

You manifest what you focus on. If I focus on the disempowering questions of why I do not have enough money, I am probably going to be always struggling with money. In other words, when you ask yourself negative questions, you get negative results.

What if you change the question to be empowering? “Empowering questions unleash your ability to take action and express who you really are.” Image changing those disempowering questions to something like “Why do I always have enough money?” or “Why am I so lucky?”. You just reverse the negative question to a positive.  This principle of empowering questions or affirmations can easily be applied to embracing positive emotions.  An affirmation for abundance would be written something like, “I allow abundance in my life.” Both forms may appear the same but when we state the affirmation the brain gets confused when we also send the negative thoughts we tend to have about the topic. When we pose it as a question the brain searches for the answer and we see it much clearer. Why not use your mind to create the life you do want, rather than one you do not?

Step 4

Spend two minutes twice each day for the next five days visualizing your life as you experience the emotion. Try to feel the emotion and imagine your physical body’s reaction as the emotion sweeps through your body? Imagine the positive things happening around you as this emotion fills your body and visualize how you communicate with others as you embrace this emotion.

Visualization is a useful mental tool which we all use every day, usually unknowingly. For example, we use it when we read a book, look for solutions, or giving directions. Visualization includes imagining how we would act in certain circumstances, how we would feel in certain situations, and how we are going to enjoy a future event. In the case of this exercise, spend time visualizing yourself experiencing the emotion in different ways and in different situations in your life.

Visualization practice allows us to experience the emotion without neutralizing it with negative thoughts. It helps bring that emotion into reality. Just as athletes improve their performance with visual mental rehearsals and writers envision their characters and scenes before putting pen to paper, you can visualize the emotion you want to feel. Visualization can also be used in similar ways to reflective journaling in that you can visually see yourself letting go of the triggers and behaviors that stand in the way of your experiencing that emotion and letting that positive emotion help you release them.

Step 5

As you reflect on this emotion and do visualization exercises, breathe in the aroma of an essential oil that will help the body adapt and embrace this emotion. For example, orange essential oil is the “Oil of Abundance.” Each emotion in the following list has one or more essential oils that work in parallel with the emotion. (You can order any of these oils or contact me at: lynxinbio.com/y3t6b)

Essential oils are powerful emotional triggers. They are extracted from plants and many are 40-70 times more potent than herbs. Like herbs, they can support the body in healing. Additionally, the aroma of essential oils can penetrate the limbic brain and trigger emotional changes through chemical releases. Essential oils can also penetrate the cells of the body and support the physical healing by helping the cells to release negative emotions and embrace positive emotions.

At the end of the five days, it may be necessary to repeat the steps for the same emotion for another five days or until that positive emotion you chose becomes a dominant emotion. Repeat these four steps for a handful of other positive emotions. As we embrace more positive emotions fewer negative emotions will dominate our life and change will begin to be noticed.

Bringing these steps back to the beginning, what if instead of asking each morning, “What are the dominant emotions that run my life?”, we tell ourselves each morning, “These are the dominant emotions running my life today:  abundance, gratefulness, and support” (or whatever three emotions you choose).  By intentionally listing the emotions, reflecting on them, visualizing them, adding affirmations for them, and partnering them with aroma of essential oils, you cannot help but have a more positive, happier life where you are accomplishing your goals and achieving your dreams. As you let these positive emotions dominate your life, you will also be reflecting those positive feelings on those around you. You have the choice as to what dominate emotions run your life!

about

PJ Hanks

PJ Hanks has spent over 40 years in businesses helping women find hope, discover solutions, and achieve goals. She has a wealth of experience with various tools, proven techniques, and love to help her clients find success in all areas of their lives. As a Bastyr trained aromatherapist, a certified holistic health coach, and a successful business leader, PJ assists her clients to become their best selves.

PJ has been a successful entrepreneur for 30+ years and believes that when your emotional and physical wellness is good, your business and work-life are thriving, and you are working on yourself personally you can feel as though you can cope with all the rest of life.

PJ lives in Carnation, WA with her husband and has three adult children and loves being a grandmother to two darling twin granddaughters. She enjoys crafting, being with family and friends, and traveling. She loves to have deep conversations and to help others find hope and joy!

​

Some mornings we want to stay under the blankets because we feel warm and cozy on a truly cold morning. We feel happy and content to enjoy the warmth and do our best to ignore the list of things to do. There are those mornings for many whom, despite the warmth of the blankets, the world seems cold and makes the bed and blankets a magnet to cling to. When those mornings occur over and over due to feelings of overwhelm, hurt, fear, or trauma it can feel like an inescapable magnet.

We are wired for survival and occasionally for our health we need that extra rest that comes from the comfy bed and warm blankets. However, when our survival requires us to throw off the blankets and release ourselves from the bed and discard the image and weight of a cold world, it may require us to find some tools for assistance.

Five Minutes at a Time

Addiction recovery groups use the phrase One Day at a Time as a mindset for conquering cravings and retraining mindset. When the weight of the world keeps us from throwing off the covers, that phrase can seem to only increase the weight. The phrase for breaking free of the morning darkness is Five Minutes at a Time. Just conquering life five minutes at a time can be less daunting. Usually it only takes about fifteen minutes (three of those five-minute pushes) to get to thinking more about the next hour, the next few hours, and then the day.

The first five minutes might be to just sit up, put our feet on the floor and stand up. The next five minutes might be to walk to the bathroom and empty the bladder. The next five minutes might be to brush our teeth and wash our face. Then the next five minutes. . .and so on, until we find ourselves thinking about the next hour, etc. and able to plan our day.

The Five Senses

There is a way to make the five minutes easier and enable us to throw off that weight of the world more quickly. When we involve as many of the five senses as we can in conquering our motivation and passion, the faster, we can feel empowered.

The Sense of Smell

Our sense of smell can influence our mindset without us even realizing it. Much of smelling happens under the radar of our consciousness. Unlike our other senses, the olfactory nerves feed information from the nose to the brain to arouse emotions and memories without our awareness. This is why for some, the aroma of the coffee coming from the coffee maker causes an emotion to wake up, get up, and go pour the coffee.

We can use the power of aroma to release the weight of the blankets and the world. Breathing in the aroma of essential oils within the first five minutes of the morning can lift our mood without much effort. It is as simple as having a bottle of an essential oil on our bedstand and taking off the lid to take in a deep smell from the bottle. Or, while sitting on the side of the bed we can put a drop of the oil in the palm of a hand, rub the hands together, cup them up to the nose and breath in. Before we have identified the smell, the neurotransmitters of the brain are shifting our thoughts. Involving this one sense may be all we need to think beyond the five minutes!

The Power of Sight

As we lie under the warmth of the blankets and ponder the weight of the world, we have no doubt imagined all types of images. “The sense of sight generates perhaps the strongest, most powerfully bewildering illusion of solidity, continu­ity, and permanence. . .There are also biological reasons to consider, as there are many more neurons devoted to visual processing than to touch and hearing, taking up much more of the brain’s cortex.” (newharbinger.com)

Taking five minutes to visually mediate before throwing off the covers is a powerful tool to changing our perception of how our day will go. For five minutes, or even two, we can envision ourselves facing the challenge of the day and winning! This type of meditation can even lead to some inspiration in solving a problem.

There are some common happy places for each of us from being around our family, walking in the woods, to strolling a beach. Finding a picture that uplifts and inspires us and putting it in a frame next to your bed or on a wall where we see it upon walking can, through imagery, create happy thoughts. Those first five minutes are vitalized by even one to two minutes of positive imagery.

The Response to Sound

Often when feeling the weight of the world, we put into place selective hearing and we become sensitive to even certain words. Hearing is powerful because it enables us to communicate with each other. We can use sound to flip our thoughts, raise our energy, and calm our anxious feelings. “Numerous scientific and psychological studies have shown that music can lift our moods, combat depression, improve blood flow in ways similar to statins, lower levels of stress-related hormones such as cortisol, and ease pain.” (udiscovermusic.com)

Creating a playlist of favorite, motivating, or calming music on our phone and turning that on as we step into the bathroom can be all we need to flip our heavy thoughts.

The Power of Touch

We may be living in a time when touch deprivation is at an all-time high. The skin contains pressure receptor sites and research shows that when we stimulate these pressure receptors in the skin, we lower stress hormones. Research also shows that touch is the best way to comfort and console.

A simple way to lower our stress hormones as we push ourselves to start the day or if we need to console ourselves to what lays ahead is to trigger these pressure receptor sites by applying some lotion to our hands making sure we are touching each area of our hands while applying pressure to areas that seem to soothe. This practice can be enhanced by adding a drop of a favorite essential oil to the lotion.

Taste

The study of neurogastronomy is just emerging but already we know that the taste and texture of food and drink effects our emotions. Perhaps, this is just one more reason someone finds a cup of coffee or tea in the morning a boost to the day.

When we wake in the morning our body wakes up naturally dehydrated. The effects of dehydration can be a long discussion. Drinking a glass of water upon waking will revitalize our bodies and help fuel the brain. We need the brain engaged to help us leave the warm blankets and the darkness of the thoughts that may be surrounding us. By placing a glass of water next to our bed at night, we don’t have to do more than sit up in bed to drink it and within minutes our bodies will lose some of the sluggish feeling and mood.

Conclusion

We all feel the tug of the warm blankets and cold temperatures but many of us can feel weighed down with the feelings of living in darkness and cold. Those feelings can come from stress, hurt, fear or trauma. Implementing simple tools that may utilize practice of a glass of water, uplifting and invigorating music, the aroma of essential oils, the massage of our hands, and/or pictures of happy places can be simple things that can have us feeling lighter and braver. Remember, we can do it Five Minutes at a Time.

To order essential oils: bit.ly/pjdoterra

Schedule a free consultation to talk about improving your life or business: pj@pjhanks.com

about

PJ Hanks

PJ Hanks has spent over 40 years in businesses helping women find hope, discover solutions, and achieve goals. She has a wealth of experience with various tools, proven techniques, and love to help her clients find success in all areas of their lives. As a Bastyr trained aromatherapist, a certified holistic health coach, and a successful business leader, PJ assists her clients to become their best selves.

PJ has been a successful entrepreneur for 30+ years and believes that when your emotional and physical wellness is good, your business and work-life are thriving, and you are working on yourself personally you can feel as though you can cope with all the rest of life.

PJ lives in Carnation, WA with her husband and has three adult children and loves being a grandmother to two darling twin granddaughters. She enjoys crafting, being with family and friends, and traveling. She loves to have deep conversations and to help others find hope and joy!

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