I had a dream about my grandmother. She came to me with a concern. Something she wanted to remind me about and by the time I woke to write it down, it was gone. Only the word bergamot stuck with me. I’m not panicked about this dream, more curious, as the latest course I took was about which loved one is trying to reach you in support of something you need. Grama was that angel for me.

And I wasn’t surprised it was her to ‘show up’. Lately health is a hot topic in our home and Grama was all about good health. Born in the early 1900’s, she was ahead of her time. She went to university to study business. She opened a general store with that degree in Wetaskiwin. She was into alternative healing; in fact, I’m pretty sure if she was born earlier, she would have been considered a witch. She had potions for everything that ailed you.

Her teachings are the foundation of my healing beliefs. She taught us the phases of the moon. The power of the sun. Way before Tik Tok took over with popular guru’s announcing natural cures; my grama had taught us this. If you had a headache, you put peppermint on the back of your neck, grabbed a travel mug of water/lemon and headed out to the park. If you had an upset stomach, you chewed ginger and rubbed cardamon on your belly. I’ll spare you the yoga position that she advised would relieve gas. But it did!  She was and is still one of my spirit guides, with a dream message for me. What about bergamot?

My grama suffered a broken heart. My grandfather passed a year before I was born. She lived out her days, a gloomy person, waiting, as she said, “for the Lord to take me home to Ernie.”  She now lies next to her beloved in an Edmonton cemetery. And I wondered, did she ever try a potion for grief.

The oils to support grief are lavender and rose for anxiety, sandalwood and rosemary to manage moods, including anger. Cinnamon helps lift brain fog. Lemon and orange keep you going. All things found everywhere in my grama’s home.

Grama slept with a sachet of lavender under her pillow and wore rose water as her perfume. When my sister and I stayed with her, she would wake us each morning by placing a bowl of fresh cut oranges under our nose. There were cinnamon sticks in jars on the counter. I had no idea how hard my grandmother worked at her grief.

I knew she mediated, she prayed, she believed in angels. Oh, how I wish I had spoken to her about these things. Although, why would I have; loss was a stranger to me then. I didn’t know my grandmother before her grief. I only knew the version of her as a grief warrior. I didn’t consider that her life was bittersweet with the loss of her true love. I didn’t know why the aromatherapy was so important to her.

It is clear why she stepped forward as my guide to better wellness. We share similar health issues. We believe in the powers of aromatherapy. And grief brought to each of us the desire to connect to the heavens.  She was my teacher of all things cosmic. And the why’s I did not know as a child, I clearly understand as an adult. She continues to teach me through my dreams. My blood pressure was high, and bergamot is the answer for that.

Grama would be 120 years old this month. I imagine her in Heaven, creating aroma concoctions for everyone. Thank you grama, for being my guide to stronger health and softer grief.