Essential Oils: Not So Essential

Essential oils have become a very popular trend over the past decade. Companies such as doTERRA and Young Living Essential oils are growing rapidly as they are promoting alternatives methods to health and wellness. And in the world of pseudoscience, people’s health is a huge target as everyone is looking for alternative methods that bring quicker and more effective results.

           

             Essential oils can be used on the skin or in some cases taken orally. They are said to be able to heal burns, headaches, and basically all other illnesses. The only issues is that none of these companies provide controlled tests that prove their oils to be effective. They also make claims of these oils for doing things that cannot even be tested such as balancing a person’s chakras and restore harmony to their “energy” flow. I put quotes around energy as this word is frequently used in pseudoscience claims as it sounds scientific but has no scientific value. They also claim that essential oils have been used for centuries, which is also a big indicator of pseudoscience.

            I wanted to bring this to everyone’s attention in this blog because I had personal experience with this and wanted to share it. My mother was a huge advocate of these oils and I remember growing up with it. When I would get a headache or an injury she would apply her oils to the area. They never did anything but burn and produce an unusual smell.

Crystal Healing

Crystal healers allege that gemstones carry "vibrational rates" and that when placed within your aura your vibrational rate changes as well. It is suggested that simply wearing high quality round beads around the neck can have significant benefits, but healers warn that if metal surrounds the gemstone the benefits are greatly reduced or eliminated completely.
The fancier techniques of crystal healing, however, are not so simple as donning a fancy necklace but rather seeking a crystal healer who will work with the gemstones in the context of your chakras. The "healer" may also arrange the crystals around the body in order to create an "energy grid" which then surrounds the subject with "healing energy."
So what is all this healing energy supposed to do? (Besides nothing, we'll be there in a moment). Crystal healing claims to remove blockages in your aura (uh-huh), as well as in the body's electromagnetic field (right). Some practitioners use laser quartz wands which may be used to perform "psychic surgery" (oh yes, it exists). One crystal healer lists her personal experience on her website (where she also sells her services and gemstones) and claims that these therapies have energized and healed her; from breaking bad habits, to healing dog bites, she claims they have changed her life. To see a list of many gemstones and their therapeutic properties click here.
There is evidence that crystal healing or at least the belief in the power of gemstones has existed for quite some time in several cultures, such as the Hopi Indians, the Hawaiian islanders, the Egyptians and Chinese (both fond of Jade) and Asians drawn to the emerald. We often see that these bogus therapies are promoted because of their Eastern histories or how "ancient" they are, the same holds true for crystal healing which also has ties to other occult medicines such as Chakra therapy. Much of the "results" are deduced to be the placebo effect, and nothing more. In fact, studies down with both real and fake quartz crystals showed no difference in results.
An interesting tidbit; Marcel Vogel, former IBM research scientist, is a proponent of this jargon claiming, "The crystal is a neutral object whose inner structure exhibits a state of perfection and balance. Like a laser, it radiates energy in a coherent, highly concentrated form, and this energy may be transmitted into objects or people at will. With proper training, a healer using a crystal can release negative thoughtforms which have taken shape as disease patterns." Whatever you say, Marc.
So now, what do you think about this video and its claims? (If it works, *fingers crossed*).