Find Your Sensei

As I have navigated the world of oils, I have realized that finding your oil sensei is one of the most crucial parts to being able to use your oils in the most productive and effective ways. Without a sensei you can get seriously lost on your journey and end up never moving beyond the beginner white belt and wasting a lot of money in the process.

So how do I define sensei? Most simply put it is a teacher. Wikipedia says it literally translates to "one who comes before." But I feel most comfortable using one of the Urban Dictionary definitions:

"A weed aficionado in the highest sense. A Zen-master of herb. King of the Smoke Session. Someone who knows their bud. Someone I'd like to befriend. The term is somewhat loosely applied to range from your uber-dealer/homegrower to borderline burnout old-soul pot smokers with insight and refined taste developed through years sampling the good shit.

Hippie Jesus-beard dude: *muffled* here...
Other Hippie Jesus-beard dude: Heeeeell yeah. Thank you, Sensei *pffffwtttt*"

Since buying, selling, using essential oils is basically like buying, selling, using drugs, I thought that definition fit the best, but here is how it translates to the oil world. 

"An oil aficionado in the therapeutic sense. A Zen-master of liquid gold. King (or more typically Queen) of the all-day diffusing session. Someone who knows their blends. Someone I'd maybe befriend as long as they have inhaled their "Joy" or "Stress Away." The term is somewhat loosely applied to range from your Facebook-stalking, class-giving dealers to your closet oil freaks with insight and refined taste or sniff developed through years sampling good shit.

Hippie Yoga Lady: *muffled due to scent tent* here...

Other Hippie Yoga Lady: *SNIFF* Heeeellll yeah. Thank you, Sensei *SNIFF*

Okay that might be a little extreme, but in all seriousness, I have found my sensei and that is Angela. She has been my teacher through this entire journey. I have been to four of her oil classes plus many one on one sessions. But what makes her an amazing sensei and what should you other rookies look for in a sensei? Here are a few musts...

1. Someone who you can be totally open and honest with. When it comes to poopfests, sex talk, clogged ducts... you need someone that you feel comfortable divulging some pretty private things to. Oils can help in some pretty strange ways so you need a sensei that you feel totally comfortable with.

2. Someone who doesn't get annoyed by your 5,000 questions. I text Angela daily about some weird ailment, question, concern, noticing; you name it. She is always there for me and never let's me know how annoying and ridiculous I truly am. 

3. Someone who knows their shit (or at least knows where to find it). Angela is a wealth of knowledge but she also has her own senseis (is that how you spell the plural of sensei?) or as Young Living calls them "Uplines", reference guides, books, blogs, Facebook groups, etc. that she reaches out to when she needs more information. She has no problem saying "I'll get back to you" and then she actually does. What a concept!

4. Someone who has a lot of product and isn't stingy. Okay, I'm not using Angela or anything like that, but it sure is nice when your sensei has a lot of product on the shelves. I have been able to sample many oils just because Angela has them and graciously shares them with me. Now that I have built up some of my collection, I have been passing it on to my friends and family using the sharing bottles that came in my kit and bottles that I bought from Amazon. So people, pay it forward! (But not too forward, this shit is expensive.) 

5. Someone who understands your journey. Angela has been using oils for almost 4 years and I have known her for about that long. A few times over those 4 years she has talked to me about oils and has come to my rescue with some oil remedies, but she knew by my eye rolls that I wasn't really ready to join the oilers until now. She knows my specific goals with my oils right now; keeping my kids healthy, helping baby Jordyn sleep, improving my metabolism, helping my mom with pain and digestion. She knows that changing out my cleaners, laundry soap, toiletries, etc is not something I am ready to do at this time. I love my Downy Unstoppables too much to let them go even if they are filled with toxins. 

So all you rookie, white-belts out there, find your sensei. I'm sorry, Angela is already taken and I consume too much of her time and energy and oils for you to use her as well. Find your own!