Terrain Medicine
by Rev. Mary Hardy, Ph.D.

    The cornerstone of Terrain medicine is based on observing the symptoms rather than upon any theory of bacterial science or physiological causes of disease. The father of Terrain medicine was Pierre Jacques Antoine Bechamp, a prominent French physician and professor of chemistry and pharmacology. Bechamp's research shows that bacteria arise within the body as evolutionary forms of minute granulation that live within the cells of all life forms. He termed these "microsymas." Found in all healthy tissue, they are physiologically and chemically active and are builders of cells as well as agents of decomposition upon the death of tissue or the organism. Bechamp found that the microsymas develop into bacteria if the tissues of the body are poisoned or injured. He declared that bacteria are a product or symptom of disease, not the cause. People become ill because their systems are out of balance and susceptible to the growth of bacteria from within, rather than invaded by bacteria from without. Hence the name, Terrain medicine.

    Essential oils deal with the frequency of the body and therefore, can instantly change the terrain. That is why it is important to cleanse the body the minute a fever or rash occurs. It is always good to fast. Remember the old saying, "feed a cold, starve fever." In the case of a cold, many times it is a method for the body to clear bacteria, so you want to feed it healthy herbs and vitamins. In the case of a fever, the body is cooking the disease out and fasting is the best way. Always remember to drink lots of water in both cases.

    With the development of the new microscopes, people like Gaston Nesins and Royal Rife found that bacteria will mutate according to the frequency of the body. They found that bacteria will go to staph and strep, to fungus, and then into a viral attack. What is important here is that the proper frequency be added to the body with essential oils, so that the immune system will guard against a frequency change. This is often done by changing the polarity in the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. The following is a list presented by Jennine Stromkins, a presenter at the Pacific Institute of Aromatherapy's 2nd Scientific Wholistic Aromatherapy Conference, San Francisco, February 7 - 9, 1997.

    Often we need to shock the body by applying an oil for the sympathetic nervous system, and then reverse the polarity with a oil used to stimulate the parasympathetic. This is the theory used in Raindrop Therapy. We first apply Oregano to stimulate the sympathetic and then apply Thyme to stimulate the parasympathetic. This gives the electromagnetic field a one-two punch and stabilizes it. It also allows the vertebrae to align themselves. We use balancing oils in cases of severe distress or shock on the body to balance the parasympathetic with the sympathetic. Balancing oils calm the body and flood the cells with oxygen.

    Many times people wish to know what oils to use for certain conditions. The blends often tell us in an instant what we need to use. Example: Joy for self esteem, Aroma Life for circulation, Immu Power for staph and strep, Purification to fight e-coli and bacteria in the air, and Thieves for bacterial infections.

    I am a dowser and often use a pendulum. I feel that natural instinct and common sense help us determine what oils to use. Often I will take a person's hand to get a sense of what they need. Of course I know that certain oils have certain effects on the body. Example: Basil for muscle relaxation, Birch for bone, Peppermint for nerves, Lemongrass for connective tissue, Marjoram to relax the nerves, and Ylang Ylang as a vassal dilator. If one learns these basics, then it is easy to use the oils in an emergency situation.

    One of my first experiences with the Young Living Essential Oils was at a Dowsing Conference. A woman had passed out from the heat and I was asked to help. After getting permission to work on her, I opened my kit and thought, "What do I do?" I determined by dowsing that she needed Aroma Life, a combination of helichrysum, ylang ylang and marjoram. After smelling the oil, she sat up and wanted to know what I had done. She was so revived that she wanted to return to the conference. This made me a believer in the oils. Once her electromagnetic field was restored and the ylang ylang opened the vessels to her head, she stated that she felt fine and tried to return to the conference. However, we convinced her to stay still and rest for the rest of the afternoon. If one takes a little time to look at the combination of oils from Young Living, one will know what to do in an emergency.

    What I have found is that disease is often caused by the environment. I recently encountered two cases that were caused by an increased amount of e. coli bacteria in the air. One was caused by an animal dying while the occupant was away from home, and the other was caused by a person cleaning up a garage that was full of mice droppings. Their medical doctors said that e. coli was responsible for illness in both cases.

    My sister Nancy's dog died while she was at work. A week later, she had an incident of high blood pressure and near stroke, which put her in the hospital for a week. The doctors said it was due to an e. coli infection. After she returned from the hospital, she called me and said she was getting dizzy, and could I help her? Fortunately, being a dowser, I dowsed out that the house itself was full of e. coli and told her to leave immediately and that my husband Dean and I would drive down to Chicago and pick her up. I immediately applied Purification to her feet and her back across the kidneys and had her smell it. Within an hour her dizziness left, and within 2 days she had no more signs of high blood pressure. What we did to the house was change the interior environment with Purification. We put cotton balls soaked in Purification, around the house. We sprayed everything--bed, cupboards, etc., and finally, we soaked strips of cotton in Purification and tied them to a ceiling fan. We opened the windows a crack and let the house sit for a week.

    CJ was cleaning out a shed when she had a stroke. The medical people said it was due to e. coli. With CJ, I met her at a lecture and immediately related the situation with my sister to CJ's condition. She has a sixth cervical blockage from the stroke, which caused her eyes to cross. I suggested that she use helichrysum in her ears the way that we do for loss of hearing. After applying this, her color came back and she could feel tingling in her feet, which had lost feeling due to the stroke. People at the lecture were amazed to see the improvement. I then suggested that in a couple of days she have Raindrop Therapy, and, in another couple of days, repeat the clearing with the ears.

    Terrain medicine requires that we clear the environment outside the body as well as inside the body. It is important in cases where one is working in an environment rich in chemicals such as formaldehyde, or in an unhealthy bacterial environment like my sister's and CJ's, that the proper oils be worn to change the frequency so that the body does not react to the poisons. Many times, people buying a new car, or people living in a trailer, or who smoke, have an extreme amount of formaldehyde added to their environment. With the help of Terrain medicine, we understand that this can be the cause of disease. The proper essential oils, such as Melrose or Eucalyptus, will remove the side effects of the formaldehyde. I suggest that they be used in the home or car in the same fashion applied at my sisters house.

    Moses understood Terrain medicine. He simply added the proper oils, like hyssop and cassia, to the lamb's blood, and asked people to apply it to their doors and windows. This provided a barrier of protection so that the poisons from the plague did not cause illness. Another example is when thieves, during the plague, would rob houses, they would apply the oils to their bodies, and wear a pouch of herbs and oils around their necks to create the same effect. They would also, as Dr. Christopher, a famous herbalist suggests, drink a solution of wine and honey to balance their digestive tract. We now have an oil called Exodus II, designed to help in these types of situations.

    Remember, the nature of the oils is to balance the terrain, or environment, within a cell, by changing the electromagnetic field. There are always certain steps to follow:

Step 1 is to cleanse the body and environment. Dr. Christopher states that 80% of all disease begins in the colon. It is important to develop a cleansing program to heal the terrain or environment of the body. This is why Young Living products are geared to cleansing the body.

Step 2 is to take care of the liver. The liver is a blood cleanser and it is important to keep this organ in balance. A blockage in the liver can cause high levels of uric acid, which can cause skin disorders. One must look at all rashes as an internal problem and not an exterior problem.

Step 3 is to balance the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems. Sometimes it is important to use an essential oil to slow down one of these systems to block the affects of asthma, epilepsy or hemorrhage.

    Essential oils have a polarity programmed into them and will change the frequency within the tissue because of the components (phenols, esters, ketones, etc.) in the oils. It is important to know if the oil components will speed up or slow down the function within the sympathetic or parasympathetic nervous system, and if these oil components change the polarity in the receptors to ward off disease and develop a beneficial environment. If the terrain or the environ of the body is changed, the body will heal itself. The important thing is that a cleansing program must be followed. That is why most of Young Living products address the cleansing of the body.

Mary Hardy is an Independent Distributor for Young Living Essential Oils. Any material presented in this newsletter is my own interpretation and does not always express the views of Young Living Essential Oils. All diagrams except for the head are copyright of Michael Scholes School for Aromatic Studies, 1996.