Are Emotions Spiritual?

The simple answer is no, emotions are not a faculty of the soul. 

I am not an expert on emotions. What I do know is that emotions are a physical phenomenon, often triggered by an experience or a memory. They do not have a spiritual nature.

However, the emotions can act as a bridge to the spirit, just as our mind can act as a bridge to our intellect and our 'heart' as a bridge to our will. These are not easily discernable distinctions.

Our soul, our spiritual nature, consists of intellect and will. This is what it means to be created in God’s image. Our human intellect and will are immortal and created to know, love, and serve God forever.

Yet, it is impossible to speak about our human nature without understanding ourselves as embodied persons. We are flesh and blood, and not pure spirit. We are composite beings: spirit and flesh. Death rends asunder what is integral to our human nature.

So, what does this have to do with essential oils?

Because essential oils can chemically and even electrically effect our emotions, oils can be used to balance or support our emotional health. Clement of Alexandria said aromatic oils should be used for depression, for example.

That is straight forward. The oils support our emotional wellbeing, we feel grateful and happy, and consequently our will may be more disposed to do good and avoid evil, especially if the good is being patient with your two-year-old, and the evil is sending the child away to daycare so you can have some me-time.

So, what is the problem?

The problem is in the articulation of how oils interact with our emotions and our spirit. If one does not have a sound philosophical understanding of the human person and the nature of created things, like plants and their essential oils, then essential oils can be made to sound like magic potions or agents of superstition.

This tragically leads people to disregard the use of essential oils altogether, which is not what God intended.

Let’s say Joe has not had any training in Thomistic philosophy. He is a child of his times and has been exposed to widespread New Age philosophy.  

Joe has heard that essential oils have a frequency (true) and that that means they have a spiritual nature (not true) and that if he smells a particular blend of oils, he will be able to dream big dreams about his future and make his dream come true simply by smelling this oil. (That is called superstition, a sin against the 1st Commandment.)

There are several false assumptions in Joe’s line of thinking. First, Joe falsely assumes the frequency of essential oils is of a spiritual nature. It is not. Electricity is measurable, it is finite. It is not spiritual.

The oils may inspire him to dream big and he may even see his dreams come about, but Joe’s free will would be the agent that brought this dream to reality, not the oil blend. The oil may have given him an emotional boost – momentary motivation to pursue his dream - but in the end, his acts of the will, in cooperation with or against the will of God, would make his dream come true, or not.

So, the oils worked, right? Yes, the oils do what they do, they support the emotions, but beyond that, one must acknowledge the activity of our intellect and free-will as agents of good or evil – not the oils.

Essential oils are what God created them to be. Our belief about them cannot change their nature. They are morally neutral. If I use essential oils to calm my nerves before I rob a bank. The oils have not been bad, I have been bad. On the other hand, if I use essential oils to help my crying baby fall asleep, everyone is happy and I am a hero, not the oils.

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