F R O M  T H E  E D I T O R
 Well Worth The Hike

"Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink,
  taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each."
  Henry David Thoreau

This past year, I started something that changed my life in many
ways. An avid lover of the outdoors and seeking to change my daily
workout regime, I started hiking. Hiking offers benefits for both the
mind and body; it can put you into a meditative space, plus it gives
you a full body workout and is excellent for getting and staying in
shape. I found it to be the best way to welcome the day and
watch the sunset at night. Also, it’s a fight to the top of the
mountain and simply a rush when you reach it. My wish for everyone
is to take on anything, a mountain, a cause that you believe in,
a passion, and to stay ‘positively’ focused and you will reach the
desired goal (with a smile). When you can then say, I DID IT!

As we welcome winter, a time of renewal, we look back as well as
look forward. In 1999, when we launched the Aromatherapy Thymes’ website it seemed that the essential oil industry did not have a single agenda or voice at that time. The response then and now is an affirmation that aromatherapy is a way of life; that plants heal, protect and that we are surrounded in a world of botanical beauty. We must always be conscious of that! We are still seeking to discover and explore the wide range of subjects to bring to you and we are honored to be your magazine of choice.

Keeping with the winter theme, cold and flu season is here and
we highlight that every home needs a bottle of eucalyptus.
We offer two profiles, one is eucalyptus globulus and the second
eucalyptus dives. In our continued effort to bring awareness to the trade, distribution and sell of essential oils, we asked a leading expert in the field of aromatherapy, Michael Scholes, to provide readers with an insight into this flourishing field. I lost my mother to cancer in 2004 and the pain and loneliness of that battle is often shared silently. My mother taught me so much about  strength and dignity through her battle with cancer, but the most important thing she left me with was a desire in my heart to get informed and to help in anyway I can. Two courageous and generous women, Dr. Victoria Maize at the University of Arizona’s Integrative Medicine Program and supermodel and entrepreneur Dena Cali’s Foundation Living Beauty are both doing amazing work to bring awareness and self-esteem to those affected by this one day curable disease.

The staff at Aromatherapy Thymes supports ‘Go Green’ and are
excited again to have Discovery Channel green living expert
Sara Snow with her “Top Ten Winter Green Tips” to get you
through winter, and actor and environmentalist Ed Begley Jr.,
who invites us all into his eco-friendly
home currently seen on “Living with Ed on HGTV.”
The Aromatherapy Thymes office has never been greener!

There’s a lot to learn, even more to enjoy!

Patricia Carol Brooks, Editor-in-Chief

Note: Thanks for all your emails and letters. In our current issue we
tried something different, we made a few pages upside, as we are
always trying to be innovative and think outside the box.
Please beware that this was done with a creative thought in mind.