10 Best Essential Oils to Inspire Focus, Energy, Creativity

10 Best Essential Oils to Inspire Creativity from Verbena Healing Arts

UPDATE: 21 April 2020
When this article was written back in 2017, this world was a much different place. The blog was targeted primarily at creatives like myself - who find themselves working alone much of the time and need support from time to time to stay focused and energized. In today's world of COVID-19 #stayathome directives, many more people are forced to work from home, making this information equally relevant but perhaps more universally needed than ever before. Read on to learn about 10 Essential Oils that are scientifically proven to increase your energy and mental clarity - two things we can all use more of during these days of quarantine and indefinite social distancing orders.

​Do you have a deadline looming and can’t seem to come up with any ideas for the article you need to write? Or maybe you are stuck on the first pass of your painting and don’t know what’s keeping you from jumping back for the second go ‘round. Creative block happens to the best of us – sometimes on a daily basis and sometimes for stretches that last way too long. We’ll often push through and eventually get the creative juices flowing again, but what if there was a simple, natural, and highly effective way to combat this bane of all creators? Enter the world of essential oils. Read on to learn what my research revealed about the 10 most effective essential oils for inspiring creativity.

How do essential oils effect creativity?

​Essential oils are very powerful in increasing your energy and improving mental clarity. Put these two effects together and you have the perfect formula to help you feel inspired to create!
 
In fact, some very common essential oils will help improve your mental clarity and creative energy. Black Pepper enlivens and motivates, while peppermint stimulates. Even the unassuming grapefruit has an oil that gives you lots of positive energy to be able to tackle any project. 

10 Best Essential Oils for Focus & Energy from Verbena Healing Arts

Verbena’s Top 10 List of Essential Oils to Inspire Creativity

​So here it is, because I know the suspense is killing you! I’ve done quite a bit of research to track down these creativity powerhouses, and I’m super excited to share this list with you here:
Black Pepper - releases blocked energy, enlivens and motivates
Cedarwood - soothes the mind, and promotes confidence and perseverance
Frankincense - induces clarity, quiets the mind, soothes the soul, and supports focused attention and tranquility
Juniper - energizes and invigorates
Peppermint - stimulates the mind
Rosemary - reduces fogginess; known to stimulate and strengthen mental activity, clear thoughts and encourage clarity.
Helichrysum - said to stimulate intuition and creative thinking
Grapefruit -  reduces tension and helps imbue one with positive outward energy
Sandalwood - quiets the mind
Sweet Orange - combats pessimism and perfectionism, calms agitation, and unblocks stagnated ability

10 Best Essential Oils to Inspire Creativity from Verbena Healing Arts

My Personal Favorites for Inspiration

​Sandalwood, an all-time favorite scent of mine, is said to quiet the mind – which is always good to help me get into a creative mindset. Perhaps even more targeted toward helping you feel inspired to create (and another favorite of mine), frankincense is said to induce clarity, quiet the mind, soothe the soul, and support focused attention and tranquility. I’m in!

How to Use Essential Oils for Creativity

Now that you have a list of my top 10 essential oils to use for inspiring creativity, the question is how to use them. The possibilities are almost endless, but I’d recommend starting with one or two that “speak to you” and are targeted at the blocks you feel are keeping you back from being your most inspired self.
For example, if you seem to start out all full of optimism and excitement but that feeling wanes as you get bogged down in the creative process, you might want to start with grapefruit. Try popping some grapefruit essential oil into your diffuser for 10 minutes or so to reduce the tension that’s beginning to build so you can get you back to feeling more inspired. If you’d like, follow that with a little peppermint tea – because you can probably use a little break right about now and peppermint will stimulate your mind with fresh ideas! Get the idea? - pun intended ;-)
 
If perfectionism is your nemesis, add a few drops of black pepper and sweet orange oils to a diffuser to release any blocked energy and stay motivated while keeping pessimism at bay. You’ll feel a lot calmer too!

10 Best Essential Oils to Inspire Creativity from Verbena Healing Arts

A Few Words of Caution

As a student of herbalism, I’m all about the power of natural ingredients like essential oils to help us live our lives to the fullest. Unfortunately, just like most things in life, more is not always better – even if it’s a good thing. So, please follow a few words of caution when working with essential oils:

• NEVER put essential oils directly on the skin! They are very potent and can cause serious irritation. Always dilute them first in a carrier oil.
• If an oil seems to give you an opposite (or different) effect than what’s expected, stop using it. Any number of possibilities can be at play, including potential allergies.
• ALWAYS ASK before using essential oils around others. If you are in a shared work area, it may seem nice to mist a little juniper for a pick-me-up, but not so great for your colleague who is sensitive or even allergic to evergreens.

Final Thoughts

That’s it, just a little common sense when working with these wonderfully potent and powerful herbal constituents and you’ll be reaping the creative rewards all the way to your next masterpiece.
Let me know in the comments below if you try any of these ideas and how they worked for you. Do you know of other essential oils that are great for inspiring creativity? I’d love to hear from about them too! 

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If you enjoyed this article and you're looking for more natural remedies to support you & your family during this pandemic, you might also be interested in reading 8 Calming Herbs To Try (with FREE Printable)
​https://www.verbenahealingarts.com/blog/stressed-8-calming-herbs-to-try

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#stayathome #energy #focus #essentialoils #calming #herbs #herbalism