There are few fragrances that hearken to the memory more than the Lilac. The scent is sweetly intoxicating. It fills a room or wafts gently on the breeze.
I love them and can hardly wait for the lilacs to bloom each spring. I bury my face in their blossoms; I pick bouquets as long as they last (which is really not long) … about two weeks, maybe three. They are fabulous.
We see this shrub or small tree in older neighborhoods and in long established gardens. Growing lilacs is not for the impatient, as it make take a few years to get blooms from a small start. Truly the best lilacs are the old, established bushes, which can live for hundreds of years.
Lilacs are not especially known as an herb, although dried lilac petals could certainly be used as a strewing herb or in potpourri as long as the scent lasts. I have a friend who makes a decadent bath with lilac blossoms. Lilac oil or perfume is not exactly a true item, either. The fragrance is illusive and difficult to capture. When we see something that is lilac scented, it is probably synthetic.
There are two natural processes for attempting to capture lilac fragrance – tincture and enfleurage. A tincture would be made by successive immersion in 95% alcohol. An enfleurage is made by soaking the flowers, again successively in an oil, especially vegetable glycerin.
Lilac flower essence is the main form for using it beyond the garden. It is the primary essence used in cancer treatment. The message from Lilac is “Forgiveness.” Forgive, forgive, and forgive again.
The mind and the body are not separate. We are a hologram. So, the healing that happens for us when we forgive is substantial. Letting go can lead to a path of peace and healing. We are able to untie ourselves from the grasp of unforgiving anger, resentment, grudges, hurt feelings, or thoughts of revenge. We don’t need to be working with cancer to benefit from Lilac flower essence. Lilac can release a block or increase a flow to set us on a more constructive and fulfilling life path.
A Course In Miracles “I could see peace instead of this.”
Norman Cousins “Life is an adventure in forgiveness.”