DIY All Natural Mood Spray for Shalom and Tikvah

A friend was telling me recently about her studies treating sickness and disease with herbs and plants. She said something that struck me, "All around the world there are plants that can cure disease." Why is this surprising? Of course YHWH in his goodness would provide a means for his people to live healthy and whole lifestyles. He provides plants and herbs that not only fight disease in our bodies but can help us to settle our emotions as well.

These sprays are simply made with organic essential oils and then your choice of liquid filler. They are a healthy and natural way to make your home or office smell better and to provide health and emotional benefits. A spray or two in the car after a stressful day at work is a great way to calm down and put things into perspective. Having a 'shalom' spray around the house when things get hectic is a nice way to freshen things up.

You will need:
Spray bottle
Essential oil
Filler liquid - witch hazel, rubbing alcohol, or water

It's up to you what your filler liquid is. I keep a bottle of 'tikvah' in the car and for that I like to use rubbing alcohol because it doesn't leave a wet feeling. If you intend to use this as a body spray I would recommend witch hazel, which has a lot of healing properties as well. For my bottle of 'shalom' that I use around the house I just use water. All three work well, so the choice is yours.

Fill your spray bottle with the liquid of your choice, approximately 90% of the way. Then add your essential oil and shake it up.

These are two combinations that I like. 

Tikvah:

5 drops tea tree

5 drops lemon

5 drops grapefruit

2 drops eucalyptus

Shalom:

5 drops lavender

4 drops chamomile

2 drops lemon

2 drops grapefruit

1 drop cedar wood

Of course you can play around with these as starting points to come up with blends that you enjoy and benefit from. There are many essential oils with some of the same qualities so feel free to use those instead if that's what you have on hand. I personally keep a bottle of Tikvah (Hope) in the car, and it helps me turn from the stress of the day to the things of YHWH. The Shalom or peace blend stays in the house and I think it is especially calming before bed.

The sprays won't stay completely blended on their own, so give them a shake before you use them.

The awesome menorah soap doesn't really have anything to do with this project but I had to share it with you guys!

The Easiest DIY Way to Clean a Menorah

I love using a real menorah, don't you? The seven branch menorah throughout Scripture represents the presence of YHWH. The first mention of it is in Exodus and the last in Revelation. We use it on Feast Days, for Shabbat dinners, special occasions and sometimes just because. The only downside is that afterwards it tends to look something like this:

To scrape this wax off would take approximately forever, and it's easy to scratch your menorah if you employ a knife to assist you. Not to worry though, there is a better way!

It only requires three things: an oven, baking sheet, and a sheet of parchment paper for easy clean up. You could also use foil if that's what you have on hand. Place the parchment on the baking sheet and lay the menorah on it's side.

Place your oven on low heat. The lowest temperature mine would allow is 170°. Place your metal menorah in the oven and let it go for five minutes. It doesn't take long for it to warm up and for the wax to run right off! You will see small puddles of wax on your parchment paper as in the photo below. If there is still wax on the menorah leave it in for another five minutes or so. The time this takes will vary based on what type of wax is on your menorah, its thickness, the heat of the oven and so on.

Once the wax has all dripped off carefully remove the pan from the oven and let the menorah cool. It will be very hot!

Doesn't that look so much better? And it only took five minutes and no scraping! This is my go-to for the menorah cleaning. I hope you find it beneficial as well!

Related posts:
Where We See Menorahs in Scripture
Why the Seven Branch Menorah Matters