Aromatic Chat with Rhiannon Lewis

In this episode of Aromatic Chat, I am honored to speak with the leader of Botanica and the International Clinical Aromatherapy Network (ICAN), Rhiannon Lewis. 

Rhiannon currently lives in the mountains of Provence, France, where she spends her days immersed in all things botanical.  She shares how Aromatherapy snuck up on her as she was working at the ICU bedside.  After reading a small booklet by Shirley Price, essential oils became a part of her personal life and then she started thinking how it could help her patients.  Her life path leads every decision she's made.  

Tune in and stay all the way to the end to hear:

• All about her life path
• The AHA moment that changed everything
• What led her to nursing in the beginning
• All the amazing places she's lived throughout her life
• Becoming a Clinical educator
• What is her main role as an educator
• The bridge that's being built
• The importance of community
• ICAN
• Botanica
• Who inspires this inspiring woman

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Connect with Rhiannon:
www.essentialorc.com
www.clinicalaromatherapynetwork.com
Instagram: botanicaeorc
Facebook: rhiannon.harrislewis
LinkedIn: rhiannon-lewis
Twitter: @rhilewis1

Register to attend Botanica 2022: https://botanica2022.com/ 

Music by Adipsia:
http://adipsia.bandcamp.com

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Links to Other episodes mentioned: Robin Kessler, AIA Special Episode, Marge Clark

 We’re so glad you’re here. 

In this quick pause, Melissa shares why Heart & Soul Elevation exists, how Stephanie's and Melissa's coaching work together beautifully, and what you can expect along the way. 

From time to time, we’ll pop in to invite you into things we’re creating - always as an invitation, never a sales pitch. 

Thanks for listening. You belong here. 

Transcript

1:20 Melissa

Today's episode is a little bit longer than usual, but I don't think you're going to mind. Welcome to episode number 46: Aromatic chat with Rhiannon Lewis. Rhiannon is one of those people that when you hear her name you think Aromatherapy. Rhiannon is the creator of the international clinical aromatherapy Network, also known as ICAN, and has worked in clinical settings for palliative care since she was in her teens. I'm so glad you're here, and I know you'll want to hear her story. So, let's get started. 

 What a pleasure to have you here with me tonight. I'm so thankful that you said yes.

1:57 Rhiannon

Oh, my pleasure. Thank you for inviting me.  And I don't know what time it is in your part of the world.

 2:05 Melissa

It is 6pm on the beautiful tropical island of Guam. It's so interesting, because I do interview people around the world. So, it's like, where's the sweet spot where you're awake and I'm awake and we can make this happen. 

 I wanted to thank you for your keynote speech at AIA (Alliance of International Aromatherapists) conference.

2:25 Rhiannon

Thank you for saying that. I had fun doing it. Actually, I have to say, I think sometimes when you use analogy, you can help pass messages that would seem a bit dry or confronting, at times perhaps, if you were just to say them direct.  So, this is a way of like, you know, justs starting a conference off as well, because it's always a big responsibility when you're giving a keynote session. It's like that you're setting the scene or setting the theme or, you know, getting people in the motion. So, it couldn't just be a straightforward lecture.

 2:59 Melissa

I was there as an attendee, and I was also there in my podcast capacity. I interviewed attendees and one of the questions that I asked was what's been your favorite things so far? And so many said the keynote speech.  It meant so much to hear first of all from you because you're you are, you know, aromatherapy. You are Clinical Aromatherapy.  That's Rhiannon and Lewis, your name was actually just brought up in another podcast episode by Robin Kessler. So many people look to you. And I know that's a huge responsibility, but it's also just such a I don't know it's just a blessing to know that we have people like Rhiannon Lewis and Robert Tisserand around

3:45 Rhiannon

Well, thank you for saying that. I'm not sure if it's merited, but you know, it's, I think it comes along with the territory of, you know, having been around for so long.

3:57 Melissa

Well, that was actually yes, that was actually what I was going to say because you stuck to it. When I when I interviewed Marge Clark, it was the same thing you stuck to it. You didn't give up. You, you have paved the way for countless aromatherapists who are coming up in the ranks behind you.

4:18 Rhiannon

Well, thank you for those kind words. Thank you, Melissa. It means a lot to me as well, because you know, when you give it when you give a lecture, you have no idea whether it falls you know, you have no idea who he is it.  Yeah, it's really weird doing things virtually these days. I'm much more of a person I like to engage with people. And so I found this whole thing challenging with being virtual, you know, because I, I'm an experienced educator, you know, I love to teach but I I'm used to teaching people, real people who I can, like, I can see how they're reacting and I can, you know, we can go with the flow together, whereas when you're talking into a void… it's been one of my biggest challenges. In the last 18 months is getting my getting myself over this hurdle of being able to talk at a computer screen. I've tried all sorts of things I've stuck photos of students all around the computer screen, that I can look at somebody was stone teaching is still not the same

 5:30 Melissa

Well, Rhiannon thank you so much for joining me today. You are just an amazing Aromatherapist and I'm so glad that you're here.

 5:39 Rhiannon

Well, I'm delighted to be invited man to congratulations for your podcast. I've listened to several of your sessions now. Really, really great.

 5:49 Melissa

Thank you. So where are you in the world again?

5:53 Rhiannon

I live in Provence in France. I've been living here in the mountains since 1999. I moved to France. In 1997. But I've been here in this area. High up in the mountains tucked away since 1999. Yeah 22 years or something like that.

 6:14 Melissa

Beautiful. What is it that took you to France?

 6:16 Rhiannon

I moved to France initially to study the French style of Aromatherapy. I’d already been qualified Aromatherapist by that stage. I initially had trained in the UK, and was already had my practice in the UK. And the opportunity came to move to France to work with an essential or laboratory and at the same time as being hired by them to work in their lab. They would train me in the French medical style with the doctors and pharmacists that were part of that company at the time. So that's what of course that was the carrot for bringing me to France. That was in 97. And then you know once that could come to its normal conclusion. I had fallen in love with France by that time and didn't want to go back to the UK. So that's what led me to put my feet first in France and then afterwards, I decided to move to the south where I'm in full nature. With the wild aromatics all around me distilleries are close by. I'm not a city girl. So it's important for me to be connected and rooted in nature. And why not in the south of France, just far enough away to not be into the madness of the coat desu with everybody going crazy in the summertime. We're tucked up in the mountains so we have peace and quiet and we have the best of both worlds with snow in the winter. And then lakes just swimming in the summer. So 

 7:56 Melissa

So, yes, Why not France? Indeed. Yes, that's amazing. So you were already an Aromatherapist in 1997 and then the carrot was dangled in front of you and you moved to France. But what is it that that made it possible for you to already be an Aromatherapist in 1997? Because my mom became a certified Aromatherapist back in 1993. And even then, it was so fringe. It was just so out there. It didn't make any sense to anyone. What.. tell us your aromatic journey. How did you end up in 1997 deciding it would make sense to move to France and study aromatherapy deeper?

 8:40 Rhiannon

Well, it's you know, it's funny Melissa.  People have often asked me this question as to like how did you get into Aromatherapy and I wish I could say something impressive. Like I had a dream or something like that, but actually, it snuck up on me. I was nursing at the time I was in intensive care and had specialized in intensive care by that stage and came across a book. I'd always you know, I'd always been connected with nature. I was born in Africa and grew up in the bush and it was, you know, I've always had this really strong connection. And here I was in the middle of London, in central London working in a busy teaching hospital in the intensive care unit. And I came across a very small book and I've tried to find it since because it was really what started me off. It was written by Shirley price it was almost like a little booklet. It was really small. And it was something like aromatherapy for every day, something like that. And I started using essential oils for myself, to help me sleep to help me cope with the shift changes. You know, Night Shift, day shift and helped me cope with the general stresses and the tiredness of the intensity of the environment. I was working in. 

 And so, I was already using essential oils for a couple of years before I started to think you know what, this could really be useful for patients. And at that time, I then moved out of London. I was in a busy hospital in in Surrey, I had realized that I had gone into nursing because I have a very strong life path. My life path is to be next to the person at the bedside I need to be at the bedside of sick people. That was really my calling, which is what led me into nursing. I didn't think I was smart enough to be a doctor so I thought I'd be a nurse instead. I then had specialized in intensive care. I was working in this really high-tech environment. I'd gone up in the levels of nursing, and I was getting more and more dissatisfied and I was struggling with this thinking you know, like I'm doing the right thing. I'm with the sickest people you could possibly be with you know, I'm in intensive care. You can't get sicker than that. And yet there's still something missing. 

 Yes, I was good at looking after the machines, the tubes, the medicines, the doctors, the scripts, liaising with the different people who were part of keeping that person alive, but who was looking after the person? And it was that was my I guess if I had an aha moment. That was it. It was then I realized that my goal yes was to be at the bedside, but with the person who was suffering, not with their disease, not with saving their lives, but to help them cope with the journey they were going through. 

 And because I've been using essential oils myself at that time, I realized that that perhaps would be the way to do it, that I should train as an Aromatherapist, and then take my skills back into the nursing setting, and to be with the patient and the person rather than their disease. So that's what I did in 1989. I left nursing and I went and studied holistic aromatherapy in the UK.

 12:05 Melissa

So, may I ask how old you were at that time?

 12:08 Rhiannon

Oh, yeah, I'm terrible at maths. I'm 58. Now I'm not I'm not a problem don't have a problem with with with age. So that was like 30 something years ago and I'm 58 Now that makes it I don't know what 20 workout. Yeah, must be late, too late. 20s, I guess. Yeah. Yeah. And so I never looked back and people thought I was crazy at the time. You know, I was leaving a stable job, a guaranteed salary. And I was, you know, supposed to be going up in the echelons of nursing and what I realized is that I was being pushed to go up, but that by stepping up, I was getting more and more distant from the patient because the higher you go in nursing, the greater the distance. Yeah, so it just wasn't fitting for me it wasn't meeting my heart path. And I've been somebody I guess over the years, who's always tried to follow my heart path. I check in with it regularly to see am I in the right direction? 

 13:10 Melissa

That's kind of where I was going with my question about the age because really, I mean, how many 20 Somethings know their path?

 13:18 Rhiannon

It started really early with me it started when I was at school. I was already visiting when I was in boarding school in the UK, because there was a war going on in Rhodesia and I wasn't able to go back to my part of the world where I'd been born. And so, I was visiting sick people in homes in nursing homes. And in my little in the little village where I was at boarding school. I was already doing that when I was 16, 17, 18. And it was a no brainer for me when I was when I left school was to apply straight to go into nursing.  And in between, I spent a very small part- It was about eight months in total- I went back to Zambia to see my parents who I hadn't seen in a long time I went back to them to tell them what I you know what my life was. And that I’d successfully got into this nursing school in London. And I worked in a Zambian hospital for must have been about six months that I was there, but it was in a very distressing environment. It was working with babies who were very, very sick. Young, Young babies and young children. So, I'd already you know before 18 or 19 I'd already seen death I'd already accompanied people in very extreme circumstances. So, it was just I kept being brought back to being with sick people. And with suffering people and needing to make a difference. So, it's literally been something that's accompanied me through all my life.

 14:54

Amazing. Thank you so much for sharing all of that and all of the people that I know from Africa are amazing people. 

 15:01 Rhiannon

Well, I think you have to be pretty resilient and pretty adaptable because Africa is an extreme continent you know that you can have the best and the worst in the same day and it is a country where you have to literally live by your I don't know what the word is in English sorry. I'm thinking partly in French but it's no live by your gut to it's a very raw environment. And so you have to be in touch with that earthiness of yourself.

 15:28 Melissa

I love that and that is something that we've lost, especially in American society, is that connection with our intuition, that connection with our gut, the ability to know without a doubt this is my life path. We've tried to educate it into people but you can't educate gut.  Gut is a connection. So, you do mostly education now? Correct.

15:50 Rhiannon

I live in the mountains and I work as an Aromatherapist. I've worked as a therapist all through you know, since I was qualified in 89. But of course, my role as educator has come alongside that and is now probably what I do most although I still treat people in my local community.

 16:08 Melissa

What are some of the ways that you're educating? 

 16:10 Rhiannon

I think it's part and parcel of being a therapist to start with. You have to wear two hats. You know, you are a practitioner, but education comes into every therapeutic interaction you have with a patient. 

 I have a particular interest in education as well. From my nursing days. I'd already taken courses in how to educate up and coming nurses in the intensive care environment. And I love to communicate so I think it's, you know, just came naturally that pretty soon actually after I had qualified as an Aromatherapist, initially about two years later, I started to teach in a local aromatherapy school and then develop that in face-to-face classes, with other schools, etc. 

 I think it's important, straight off just to say just on a purely one to one basis with the client, you're an educator, but I think it's also relevant to have the skills to educate others who are on that same path as yourself. So, you know, I have educational skills as well. I went back to college and gained what we call in England, the Sitting Guilds certificate for adult education so that I was equipped with the with the essential skills to help people on their path and I've never had my own school of aromatherapy as such. 

 What I've developed over the years is training for people who are already qualified to go that bit further because you know, there are plenty of aromatherapy schools that teach foundation aromatherapy. I was part of one of them for a long, long time, which was the school for Gabriel Mojay, the ITHMA in the UK. His students would come out here to France and then I would go to London to teach them the science side of their course. And so I've been very much involved in foundation aromatherapy training, but not having my own school myself. I've been going in as an educator.  

 But what I saw over time, was that once you're qualified, you need to keep going. And I think this is a problem sometimes with schools is that a wrong therapists do that full foundation training, okay. And it's long, it's hard. It's many hours and they come out with their certificate and they think that that's it. They think that they know everything now they don't need to go any further. And for me, I've seen how aromatherapy has grown over the years and how it's changed. 

My main role as an educator over pretty much all of the years in fact, has been helping people stretch that bit further. Take their skills deeper. And so, I started off at what we call advanced clinical aromatherapy to try and show people that it was something like another step rather than the foundation. 

 I've tried to be a bit like a bridge between the UK and France because I have both of these trainings. Okay, so I have the French medical style training and the holistic Anglo Saxon style training in aromatherapy. I get both perspectives which can be quite different at times. So, I tried to be the bridge between them, or the English Channel, whichever you want to say, but literally sort of, you know, bring people together. Help people who've started out with a foundation or holistic training help them to deepen their skills in a clinical way. Learning more chemistry learning about research using a more evidence-based approach. Perhaps using different dosages of oils or different treatment routes of application, help to sort of deepen them in that direction, whilst retaining their holistic hat. And then the reverse is because of course I'm living in France is helping people who have trained in the French medical style see that holistic aromatherapy also has a place in France and trying to make the bridge in the reverse direction saying you know; we can use more aroma strategies we can use more external strategies. We can be more subtle with our approach. We can use lower dilutions. So, I'm sort of teaching in both directions with the idea that if we're going to be really rounded as a practitioner, if we have these different skill sets, that we can mix and match according to the patient's needs. Then we're using the full potential of aromatherapy. French doctors need to learn more about holistic aromatherapy and holistic practitioners need to learn more about the more clinical approach, and that's what I've been trying to do since I've lived here in France.

 21.05 Melissa

That's beautiful and that is one of the things that a lot of people have said when your name comes up is the bridge that you're building. And, but people are noticing and you're trying to bring the communities together, instead of keeping everything divided in their nice, neat little boxes. Everyone is seeing it. I want you to know that people are seeing it that you're working hard to bridge those gaps and bring the community the aromatherapy community together. I mean, we're involved in the community so it feels big, but if you look at the world, aromatherapy is a very small community. And it's divided. 

 21.44 Rhiannon

I've always felt that it's better to come together than to stay apart. And maybe it's because I've lived in different countries around the world and I have a fascination for the differences that we can all bring to the table and how rich that can be.  That importance of community began for me when I had my aha moment in 2012 when I held the first botanical conference, which was at Trinity College in Dublin. This had been a dream of mine to bring together not just people in the aromatherapy community, but I wanted to link the herbalists as well. So, I have a big vision. I want to bring everybody together.  But I always thought it was a bit strange that you know, you have the herbalist and you have the Aromatherapist and like there's this gap between.  So, my mad idea was initially to create a conference that gave both of those groups of people the opportunity to connect and so that was the starting point for Botanica. 

 But it was at that first event when I saw people coming from all these different countries.  Coming together in a warm exchange and a respectful exchange between one another.  When I really saw how powerful that was and how important community was and how increasingly important it has been even since that time with each Botanica conference edition we've built on this has just become stronger and stronger and stronger and the connections people make between one another once you've stripped away what school you went to what Association you belong to, whether you have a doctor in front of your name or whether you're a student of aromatherapy, whether you have 30 years of experience once you take all of that away and all you have on the person's name badge is their name. And perhaps the country they've come from, that changes everything because they're sharing their passion for plants, which after all, is what we're all what we're all in it for. At least that's for me. I'm talking for myself is that, you know, we're brought together by the passion for plants. And so, once we let our egos and you know, leave them at the on the doormat and we step into this space where we can celebrate that and where we can find those mutual connections, then it's magical. It's really magical. And so that's been another part of my heart path is I like connecting people it's something I love and it works and I've seen beautiful things blossom from that.

 24:29 Melissa

Yes, absolutely. I'm a connector also. That's how I was designed.  Which is another reason I do this podcast because I want you know the random person is going to find this podcast and go I've never heard of Rhiannon and Louis. She sounds amazing. That's been my desire from day one is to increase the footprint of the people that I speak with. So, I'm a connector as well. I love what you're doing and diversity; It makes us stronger, not weaker.

 24:58 Rhiannon

Yeah, I think I think that message about what you've just said about diversity, making us stronger. I think it's something we should shout from the rooftops and especially right now not just on the aromatherapy level, but you know, on the global level.  Everybody has their place, especially when you're sharing something mutual that you love. 

That should be the only connector and I've seen this with the with the international clinical aromatherapy network that we launched this year. It was sort of an extension of Botanica in a sense that I saw the need that for people to have this non biased, this safe professional space to come together irrespective of who you adhere to as an organization or a school or a guru or teacher, whatever you can just come together into this one space. It's been really beautiful to see that what we've managed to create and there are three of us okay, so it's not just it's not just about me, I have two great people who helped me with this, these are these two amazing Aromatherapists are assisting me.  

 What we've seen as a result of ICAN starting that sense of community is so important and it's important for you no matter what part of your journey. So, if you are just stepping out into the field of Roma therapy, if you've just enrolled for your first course, you are welcome on the platform. If you've been around for 30 odd years like I have in the field of Aromatherapy, you are welcome on the platform. And as long as you have a professional interest in using essential as essential as a part of your professional life, whether you're a distiller or whether you're a therapist, or whether you're a researcher, it doesn't matter. You're welcome on the platform, and that already in the space of six months has generated so many really cool connections between people and friendships across the world, which would never have happened otherwise. So, it's once again it's about community, very important. 

27:14 Melissa

It is important for us moving forward and I was just gonna say I'm a life coach also. So, from a coaching perspective, having that community is essential for survival. If we want aromatherapy to continue moving forward, continue growing. We have to come together.

27:33 Rhiannon

I think we do Melissa I think we also need to be able to come together by leaving go of certain things. You know, we have to let go of certain aspects and you know, I know that ego is important, okay, and your sense of self and all of that that's important, but when it gets in the way of connection, that's a shame. And so, we ask that people, you know, they step into a professional platform, so they have to exchange professionally.  So yes, we can agree to disagree. We can debate we can we don't have to all think the same way. Of course, that's what diversity is all about. But if we are going to engage on the platform, we do so in a professional way. So, you know, we're respectful to one another. We don't you know; we don't trash people. There's no trolling. And that's just such a relief for people because they know they literally are in a safe professional space. But sometimes that means letting go of certain things that you've been carrying around as part of your identity as a therapist, which aren't necessarily compatible with being in a professional safe space. It's been an interesting journey for us to see how the platform has evolved because it was a big discovery at the time and we had no idea how people would…whether it was even worth it. You know, worth even putting together but I'm happy to say that has been great. 

 29:11 Melissa

That's beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing all of that about ICAN.  And it's for Aromatherapists who use essential oils in a professional way.

 29:22

Yes, I mean, it is a professional platform. So, if you are a stay at home mom and you're using oils for your kids, that's not really the place the platform isn't for you. There are plenty of forums and plenty platforms elsewhere on social media, especially where people get that that support. But this is for people whose world is essential oils. If you're a practitioner, if you're a student, if you're a researcher, if you're a producer, if you know your focus professionally as essential oils, then you're welcome.

 29:56 Melissa

So we're talking about the future of aromatherapy. And I'm curious in your professional opinion, where do you see aromatherapy heading? Like if we were to look five to 10 years down the road? What do you see?

30:10 Rhiannon

Oh, that's an interesting question. I think, you know, aromatherapy education has come a long way over the last, say 15-20 years, it's been, you know, education has been improved. 

 The question that I have, have the practitioners of aromatherapy improved in parallel? I know that's a bit it's a little bit challenging to say that but we have to be really, really careful. This is what I'm thinking. I'm thinking to the future. I'm trying to answer your question but it needs to just need to be said that. We need to be sure if we are going to continue in the way that aromatherapy training is headed. And you know I'm part of that. And I take responsibility for that, which is that aromatherapy, education has become more and more science based. It's become more and more chemistry based. It's become more and more research based and more and more intellectual. And yes, you know, that's been that's been in parallel as well to the amount of research that's being conducted with essential oils. It's, you know, there's been an explosion of research in the last 20 or so years.  So of course with more information, we're more informed and therefore the training has taken in that direction. 

 I just, I just hope in doing so, the quality of the practitioner of aromatherapy also goes up. So, what I'm trying to say does that all that intellectual stuff translate to better care at the bedside? If it does great. If it's just that it makes you a smarter person that can argue and debate in an intellectual way about essential oils, but you're not it hasn't made a difference to your practice, then I wonder if that information is needed? Because for me, I'm talking about me as a practitioner, because that's my, if you strip away everything else as an educator organizer of the conference organizer of ICAN, essentially, I'm delivering care at the bedside. That's my heart path is to make a difference and how I try to make that difference is through education, and is through conferences and through the platform because my goal is that we all make a difference at the bedside even more so than previously. 

But aromatherapy, we have to be careful for the future that we are not over intellectualizing ourselves, but we have to make sure that the basic skills of a therapist are also given the same attention. So, the counseling skills, listening skills, patient interaction, being with the person, how to sit with somebody, how to be the therapist.  That part, we have to be really really careful to honor as much as whether an essential oil has 3% or 15% of alpha Bisabolol. 

 There's, there's a there's a risk of the moment of a slight disconnect. I'm sensing the disconnect, I see that aromatherapy in our race to become more accepted, more integrated, more seen more, you know, looked at differently. We're trying to please by saying we're smart, we know our stuff, we have our evidence base, we know our chemistry, the pharmacokinetics the toxicology, and you know the LD 50s and all of that data, data, data. And yet, we're actually at the very source, where Aromatherapists were delivering care at the bedside. So that bit mustn't be overlooked because otherwise we're going to be out of balance. Aromatherapy is both an art and a science as Robert Tisserand So many years ago said we need both right on and given the same attention and that's where I think the challenge for aromatherapy in the future. To go back to your question, I apologize. It's been a bit long winded to get there. But it's that's the challenge is that we honor the fact that Aromatherapy is a therapy. And so, all of that the therapist skills should be rising alongside the intellectual skills that we're teaching people.

 34:55 Melissa
We don't want to lose the focus of why we started why we started in this in the first place, and that was to help ourselves to help other people.

35:05 Rhiannon
 Yeah, I think the other thing is is that you know, generally around the world, people love complexity. In aromatherapy, it's often the most simple interventions that are the most effective. So, we can wrestle by doing you know, literature searches, systematic reviews, we can go and go down lots of rabbit holes trying to work out which is the best essential oil blend for the patient in front of us. When in fact all we may need to have needed to do is just give them one simple oil in one simple way and it would have had the same effect. 

So, I'm very conscious of that because you know, I am part of that story. You know, my educate when I educate people, I do come from an evidence base. I do come from a science base. I do come from, you know, chemistry.  At the end of the day, what is important, and sometimes, at the end of the day, what is important is Did you listen to what that patient just said to you? Did you hear their message? Did you hear the need? And sometimes it's not even which essential oil that is required? It's Did you hold their hand? Or did you spend time with them? Or did you ask them questions that would have led to an unfolding of other information that would be relevant? 

36:21 Melissa
 That's beautiful. What are you working on right now this got you really excited? 

26:26 Rhiannon
 Well, you know, Botanica is a conference that takes place every two years. And you know, the this this is our 10th year so we're doing a special edition for Botanica 2022. And it's funny because the dates are the 20th to the 22nd of May so 20th of the 22nd 2022 It's all a bit weird, but we were hoping that it would be an in-person event you know, with this whole scenario with COVID. And with the difficulties of people being able to travel internationally, we've decided that this is once again very sadly, once again, a fully virtual event. So, we're working full steam ahead with getting the conference ready to roll out in May. And it's amazing. 

We have a theme for this year, each Botanica has a theme, but the theme for this year is the past the present and the future. So very appropriate for what we've just been talking about. So we're going to be looking back to the history of essential oils and aromatics and aromatherapy as well as herbs with some amazing speakers with regards to those topics with people you won't want to miss then talking about what's going on currently in our fields. And then you know what are the cutting edge? What are the inevitable things that are happening out there that are taking aromatherapy into the future? 

So that's really where we're at and because it's a 10th edition, we're working with the great professional conference organizers.  If you anybody had come to the Botanica 2020 conference, they realize this is an immersive event. It's not just like a zoom webinar. It's a big fully streamed professional event that you think you've just stepped into this amazing aromatic bubble.

And we have lots of extra things for people to do to get them to engage or to encourage them to engage with one another but also without trade stands because there was a trade show as well.

It's going to be awesome, and the lots of lots of fun. So three full days very intense conference completely immersive and it's great. So Botanica 2022.

 38:47 Melissa

That was everybody's invitations step into the Aromatic Bubble. Sign up!

 38:53 Rhiannon

Everybody's welcome. But it's very cool. The great thing about doing it virtually actually I have to say is that the program can be even bigger and even richer than if we were in person. And this was something I struggled with because I've wanted it to be in person. But in order to do that the conference would have been really small because of the financial investment of making a hybrid event is, and hats off to the AIA when they held their hybrid conference because I know that to run a hybrid event is extremely challenging in finances and also logistics, and we just would have had to shrunken Botanica down into this tiny little nutshell.  When in fact by hold did making that decision to go 100% virtual once again, it's actually meant that we can add more to the event and that's what is going to be.  It's going to be awesome. 

 39:50 Melissa
 Well, I want to I want to thank you for saying that because I feel like, especially in this time that we're in right now, that people think virtual means less. I'm not gonna get as much if I attend normally. But like you just said you're able to do even more.  So thank you for sharing that because that might be the thing that prompt someone to say, Oh, well, then maybe I will go because it's going to be more than if I'd gone in person.

40:21 Rhiannon

Right. Yes. And I mean, you know, it does mean also that people don't have to pay their airfare and have you know, their accommodation and you know, get themselves from A to B etc. And so, there is a certain convenience to it. But, you know, with Botanica is was really important because we we've always been a really international event. What it meant then for us looking at the logistics was that could people from 57 countries still come you know, can people from Brazil will they be able to you know, with the economy that's really gone through the floor because of COVID but also the fact that international travel is impossible. What about the Australians? What about the New Zealanders? they won't be able to physically or they probably won't be able to physically join us What a pity. 

So it's a means of bringing people together. But it's actually more you get more out of it because you have everything is recorded and you get the replays as well. We still get to connect live with one another because we've built in this amazing live feature so you can chat in real time or in video time during the event with your colleagues and be in a be together. You can create groups and be together around a table, even though it's not physically possible but you can still do that. 

41:44 Melissa

Okay. All right, everybody step in and come to the aromatic bubble with Rihannon.  

 Oh, so I can't tell you the number of times, especially in my Aromatic Chats where your name has come up as someone who has inspired my guest, but I'm curious who inspires you? 

 42:07 Rhiannon

Good question. It's my patients and the students. They are my constant source of inspiration. I work particularly in my particular area of passion. Where I've been able to make the most difference at the bedside, has been in cancer and palliative care. 

 I've been teaching in that environment pretty intensively over the last, gosh, since about 2014. I think it was that particular area of expertise for practitioners is an area where you can really make an enormous difference. But I'm an educator in that environment. Yes, I do work with people with cancer, or who in the palliative stages here in France, but it's limited what I do.

But where I'm have the impact is through students through practitioners who already work in those environments. And when I teach them and I see then we through feedback, and we meet it we meet each year and we share what we've been able to implement since the classes and what changes in their practice have been made. That's where my inspiration comes from. 

 But it's also inspiring from patients. Those are those who also keep me doing what I do so my students definitely because I see the impact of what I've been teaching, being transformed, transformed into practice, but it's also the patient's because you need incredible amounts of resilience to cope with life limiting illness. And everything that that throws at you through treatment, through the disease itself through how your whole life changes through the impact socially, emotionally, physically, you know, spiritually, and I'm always in awe. 

 Those are my sources of inspiration, is when I see the difference being made, but also when i Whenever I'm in a therapeutic encounter with a patient, I'm always in awe.  Because that person is sharing with you something intimate about their life, their perspective, their experience. And you are just a vector, if you like between the plant and the patient.  You're the go between the plant has the properties, and the patient has the need and you are the go between. That's all you are.  And that's why I think you knew keeping humble is important, because that's all you well. The plant needs to communicate with the patient, the patient needs to plant and there you are in that middle. And that is a source of inspiration for me too when you put the two together when you manage to connect them in the right way that's appropriate and that works, that's where the magic happens. 

 Of course, there are people in my life professionally who inspire me and keep me going. I particularly appreciate the work of Annie Harmon and her work with Hydrolat and the incredible contribution that she makes with our understanding of the amazing, gentle, distilled waters. Madeline Kerkhof Of course as well is a massive inspiration to me in her work with elderly care and end of life. Care. Jonathan Benavides from the Netherlands as well his work with autism and more subtle ways of working with oils.  Felicity Warner as well the sole midwife making huge differences at the very end of life with patients in very subtle ways. 

 I could go on there's just you know, so many people that are a part of my support network as well.  Who encouraged me to do what I do, but at the very essence of it. It's the patients and the students. 

 46:12 Melissa

I want to know how people can get in touch with you as always, I will include the links in the show notes, but I think it's important for people to hear directly from you. How do they get in touch with you? 

 46:24 Rhiannon

Good question. I have my you know, I have so many contacts and so many things that I get up to.  The best place is probably to go to my website, which is essentialorc.com which is this sort of main space of like who I am what I do, that sort of thing. I should be updating it more regularly than I do. But that's a way of connecting with me. You can also of course connect with me through the ICAN platform. It's a simple application process. You just have to answer a couple of questions to say to show that you are professionally involved in essential oils and then you’re let into platform. It's a basic pre user access. People can connect with me through that as well. So clinical aromatherapy network.com and come to Botanica.  Connect with Botanica through the website, which is Botanica 2020 two.com any of those emails that come through any of those fields I've just mentioned, come to me because you know I'm not I'm not a big organization. It's me.  So I'm not always responsive, like in the next few minutes after you've sent an email if there is just me and I'm trying to manage several things at once. So, if you don't get a reply from me within a week, then prompt me but yeah, just find me. 

 47:50 Melissa

Wonderful. And then for our last few moments together, I just always like to hand over the floor to my guests. Whatever words you want to leave us with. 

 47:58 Rhiannon

Oh, thank you, Melissa. Something my father said to me when I was a kid, you need to lead by example. And it was something that at the time wasn't necessarily always said in a positive way. You know, I was there was me being this rough, unruly kid climbing trees and running around the bush and disappearing for hours. On end and he was telling me to be responsible and lead by example. But those words did stick with me. And I think you know, there's a quote that's also guided me and I know it's been possibly wrongly attributed it was originally said that it was Gandhi Mahatma Gandhi that actually said it but in fact, it's probably not quite what he said. But it's about being Be the change you want to see in the world. And it's a bit the same way you know, you lead by example, where if you want to see change, then you need to be the change and take that step and take action. And you know the universe unfolds as a result of that. And I do think that we need to be responsible and I think if we want to see change, then we should be part of that. But we can do so in a gentle way. It doesn't have to be brutal. It doesn't have to be, you know, aggressive, but just small steps in that positive direction have always been what have influenced me anyway in my life.

 49:30 Melissa

Thank you so much Rhiannon.  What a pleasure.

 49:35 Rhiannon

Thank you for having me. It's been it's been lovely to chat to you. I feel like I've been just chatting to an old friend and probably rabbiting on a bit too much but 

 49:44 Melissa

No, I'm loving it. I'm loving every minute of it and I'm sure that the listeners are going to love it as well. Thank you so much.

 49:50 Rhiannon

My pleasure. My pleasure. 

 49:53 Melissa

Early in our chat as Rihanna was talking about how her aromatic journey got started. She brought up the idea of gut wisdom. 

She was fortunate to be so young and know her path. I believe in our society. We have forgotten how to listen to our intuition. We've set aside our gut wisdom and instead we outsource it to others. We ask our friends, our family members, our mentors for their input for their insight. Instead of trusting our own gut wisdom. You've heard the phrase trust your gut. This is what I'm talking about. That ability to know in your knower, that the choice you're making is right. This ability to trust our own gut wisdom is one of the things that I work on with my life coaching clients. I have walked beside many people, helping them turn on their gut wisdom and get in touch with their intuition again, after shutting it down and neglecting it for years. Some clients even for the first time.

 This is your invitation. Reach out if you're one of the many people out there who feel disconnected with who they are. Don't want to reach out to me at lemon balm coaching. 

 Thank you so much for joining me today. As I chatted with Rihanna Lewis. I enjoyed her keynote speech at the alliance of international aroma therapist conference last year, and was so excited to learn more about her aromatic journey today. Aromatic chat is produced by lemon balm coaching, holistic life coaching for the business of your life. 

 You can find and connect with me, your holistic life coach and registered aroma therapist on the web at lemon balm coaching.com. I will see you next time with our next episode. Until then, Peace love and aromatics.