
The Surprisingly Healing Way Aromatherapy Can Do Wonders For The Mind & Body

Infused oils, essential oils, and tinctures are extractions of earth's resources that can be used in the same way that crystals are used in alternative and holistic healing. Whether you are using them in aromatherapy, meditation, tinctures, or for body and bath, you can utilize their power for healing and rejuvenation.
Energy blockages in our souls act as walls, or gaps, in our mental, emotional, or physical planes. When we experience energy blockages anywhere in these locations, we are unable to clear the karmic, childhood, or repressed energies that are tied up in blocks that we need in order to help raise our vibration and frequency, moving us forward toward our highest and greatest good. Using aromatherapy as energetic support is a great way to heal those blockages. This read will help you get started on your oil healing journey.
Essential & Infused Oils in Diffusers
Aromatherapy uses plant materials and aromatic plant oils, including essential oils, and other aroma compounds for improving psychological or physical well-being. It can be used in conjunction with holistic services such as Reiki, Acupuncture, or Spiritual Massage.
It has the ability to assist in reducing high levels of anxiety, easing depression, boosting energy and low spirit levels, eliminating headaches, boosting cognitive performance, relieving insomnia, strengthening the immune system, relieving physical pain, improving digestion issues, and increasing circulation throughout the body.
Using a diffuser is the easiest way to enter into a vibration of the essential oils you would like to achieve healing energy from. It releases the infused steam that you can time with your breath exercises. We recommend the GuruNanda Honeycomb Aromatherapy Ultrasonic Diffuser.
Before meditating, set your intention on what energy blockage you wish to relieve. For instance, if you know you have a problem with opening up, being honest, communicating, or expressing your truth or creativity, you'll want to use a blend of essential oils that raises the vibration of your throat chakra. Basil, Bergamot, Chamomile, or Peppermint essential oils are perfect for aligning the energy of your throat chakra and clearing any blockages that are present.
While you can purchase essential oils already made, you can also create your own infused oils. The best way to create the most potent blend of these essential oils is to infuse them yourself to reflect what energy blockage you are trying to heal.
Read: "How To Make Your Own Infused Oils For Living Your Best Life," to learn how to make your own infusions.
Tip: If you are on a budget, and don't want to buy an expensive diffuser system, you can most definitely find one for $20 or under, or you can make a DIY essential oil steam mist. You can do this by boiling hot water, dropping in your infusion, and placing your nostrils over the steam once it cools down to a safe temperature.
Herbal Tinctures
Tinctures are liquid extracts made from herbs, usually extracted into alcohol. They are normally used to help heal physical ailments by dissolving a drug into an alcohol. Using a tincture that replaces a drug with an herbaceous extract allows you to directly absorb the energetic healing elements into your bloodstream orally or through absorption via the skin in a salve or lotion.
Though drinking alcohol as a beverage lowers our frequency, the amount used in a tincture acts as a micro dose to treat any energetic blockages that exist within your physical body and energetically extends into your emotional, mental, and ethereal bodies. Tinctures can also be extracted in vegetable glycerine or apple cider vinegar.
Technically, this kind of herbal plant medicine has been around from as early as 1000 AD, and its healing effect is quickly absorbed through the liver. Spiritual herbs activate higher consciousness, intuition, spiritual awakening, and deep energetic healing and cleansing. Tinctures can be used to enhance emotional moods, aid clarity of thought, improve memory, ease mental anguish, open the heart chakra, and enhance psychic ability - just to name a few.
Tinctures are usually taken by the dropperful (or squeeze), and a dropperful is equivalent to half of an 8oz cup of tea. They can be taken as a multivitamin every morning, or worked into a personal ritualistic timeframe, or for as long as you are healing a blockage in your spirit.
You can find an array of healing tinctures online, at your local botanica, or if you are advantageous, you can create your own tinctures!
Tip: Be sure to consult an alternative or holistic practitioner before using or applying tinctures.
Oils in Bath & Meditation
Immersing yourself in a hot bath infused with essential oils is a perfect way to incorporate self-love, blockage healing, and meditation into your essential oil healing journey. The best way to take full advantage of this method is to know exactly what energy block needs to be healed.
It could be helpful to consult a Reiki energy healer, tarot reader, or Shaman to find out what specifically is blocked in your spirit. It's almost as if you'll receive an energetic diagnosis, so you know exactly how to treat your problem. Be sure to request a chakra, aura, or body scan.
Once you know where your problem is:
- Select the appropriate essential oils to bathe in.
- Set aside at least 45 minutes to meditate.
- Light a small black candle anointed with your oils.
- As you soak in the water, be sure to clear your mind, enter into the vibration of the oils, and allow your spirit to connect with your guides, ascended masters, angels, and higher self to receive any messages you need to aid in healing your blockage.
- Ask for help with removing or cleansing any negative energies in your body and allow yourself to feel and visualize the blockage being cleansed and removed.
- Thank your support team for the help and imagine any impurities being pulled away as you drain your bath and rinse your body with warm water.
- Imagine any residuals of negative energy trapped within the candle and blow it out.
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Fontaine Felisha Foxworth is a writer and creative entrepreneur from Brooklyn New York. She is currently on the West Coast working on creating a TV Pilot called "Finding Fontaine", that details the nomadic journey of her life so far. Keep up with her shenanigans @famoustaine on IG.
Claudia Jordan, Demetria McKinney & Jill Marie Jones On 'Games Women Play' & Dating Over 40
What do you get when you mix unfiltered truths, high-stakes romance, and a few well-timed one-liners? You get Games Women Play—the sizzling new stage play by Je’Caryous Johnson that’s part relationship rollercoaster, part grown-woman group chat.
With a powerhouse cast that includes Claudia Jordan, Demetria McKinney, Jill Marie Jones, Carl Payne, Chico Bean, and Brian J. White, the play dives headfirst into the messy, hilarious, and heart-wrenching games people play for love, power, and peace of mind. And the women leading this story? They’re bringing their whole selves to the stage—and leaving nothing behind.
From Script to Spotlight
The road to Games Women Play started over 20 years ago—literally.
“This script was written 20 years ago,” Jill Marie Jones said with a smile. “It was originally called Men, Money & Gold Diggers, and I was in the film version. So when Je’Caryous called me to bring it to the stage, I was like, ‘Let’s go.’” Now reimagined for 2025, the play is updated with sharp dialogue and modern relationship dynamics that feel all too real.
Demetria McKinney, no stranger to Je’Caryous Johnson’s productions, jumped at the opportunity to join the cast once again. “This is my third time working with him,” she shared. “It was an opportunity to stretch. I’d never been directed by Carl Payne before, and the chance to work with talent I admire—Jill, Claudia, Chico—it was a no-brainer.”
Claudia Jordan joked that she originally saw the role as just another check. “I didn’t take it that seriously at first,” she admitted. “But this is my first full-on tour—and now I’ve got a whole new respect for how hard people work in theater. This ain’t easy.”
Modern Love, Stage Left
The play doesn’t hold back when it comes to the messier parts of love. One jaw-dropping moment comes when a live podcast proposal flips into a prenup bombshell—leaving the audience (and the characters) gasping.
Demetria broke it down with honesty. “People don’t ask the real questions when they date. Like, ‘Do you want kids? How do you feel about money?’ These convos aren’t happening, and then everyone’s confused. That moment in the play—it’s real. That happens all the time.”
Jill chimed in, noting how the play speaks to emotional disconnect. “We’re giving each other different tokens of love. Men might offer security and money. Women, we’re giving our hearts. But there’s a disconnect—and that’s where things fall apart.”
And then Claudia, of course, took it all the way there. “These men don’t even want to sign our prenups now!” she laughed. “They want to live the soft life, too. Wearing units, gloss, getting their brows done. We can’t have nothing! Y’all want to be like us? Then get a damn period and go through menopause.”
Dating Over 40: “You Better Come Correct”
When the conversation turned to real-life relationships, all three women lit up. Their experiences dating in their 40s and 50s have given them both clarity—and zero tolerance for games.
“I feel sexier than I’ve ever felt,” said Jill, who proudly turned 50 in January. “I say what I want. I mean what I say. I’m inside my woman, and I’m not apologizing for it.”
Demetria added that dating now comes with deeper self-awareness. “Anybody in my life is there because I want them there. I’ve worked hard to need nobody. But I’m open to love—as long as you keep doing what got me there in the first place.”
For Claudia, the bar is high—and the peace is priceless. “I’ve worked hard for my peace,” she said. “I’m not dating for food. I’m dating because I want to spend time with you. And honestly, if being with you isn’t better than being alone with my candles and fountains and cats? Then no thanks.”
Channeling Strength & Icon Status
Each actress brings something different to the play—but all of them deliver.
“I actually wish I could be messier on stage,” Claudia joked. “But I think about my grandmother—she was born in 1929, couldn’t even vote or buy a house without a man, and didn’t give a damn. She was fearless. That’s where my strength comes from.”
For Jill, the comparisons to her iconic Girlfriends character Toni Childs aren’t far off—but this role gave her a chance to dig deeper. “If you really understood Toni, you’d see how layered she was. And Paisley is the same—misunderstood, but strong. There’s more to her than people see at first glance.”
Demetria, who juggles singing and acting seamlessly, shared that live theater pushes her in a new way. “Every moment on stage counts. You can’t redo anything. It’s a different kind of love and discipline. You have to give the performance away—live, in the moment—and trust that it lands.”
Laughter, Lessons & Black Girl Gems
The show has plenty of laugh-out-loud moments—and the cast isn’t shy about who steals scenes.
“Chico Bean gets a lot of gasps and laughs,” Claudia said. “And Naomi Booker? Every scene she’s in—she’s hilarious.”
But the play isn’t just about humor. It leaves space for reflection—especially for Black women.
“I hope we get back to the foundation of love and communication,” said Demetria. “A lot of us are in protector mode. But that’s turned into survival mode. We’ve lost softness. We’ve lost connection.”
Claudia agreed. “We’re doing it all—but it’s not because we want to be strong all the time. It’s because we have to be. And I just want women to know: You can have peace, you can be soft. But stop bringing your old pain into new love. Don’t let past heartbreak build walls so high that the right person can’t climb over.”
Final Act: Pack the House
If there’s one thing this cast agrees on, it’s that this play isn’t just entertainment—it’s necessary.
“Atlanta is the Black entertainment hub,” Claudia said. “We need y’all to show up for this play. Support the arts. Support each other. Because when we pack the house, we make space for more stories like this.”
Games Women Play is more than a play—it’s a mirror. You’ll see yourself, your friends, your exes, and maybe even your next chapter. So get ready to laugh, reflect, and maybe even heal—because the games are on.
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After Decades-Long Career, Terri J. Vaughn Is Finally The Main Character: Exclusive
Terri J. Vaughn first captured our attention in the late ‘90s as Lovita Alizay Jenkins on The Steve Harvey Show. Decades later, she is starring in her very own series, She The People, which is now available to stream on Netflix.
The political sitcom, which she co-created with Niya Palmer and later teamed up with Tyler Perry Studios, is about a Black woman named Antoinette Dunkerson who runs for lieutenant governor of Mississippi. She wins and becomes the state’s first Black lieutenant governor. Now, she’s forced to balance working with a racist and sexist governor while also trying to keep her family from running amok.
According to the beloved actress, this project was a long time coming. “I’ve been trying to get my own television series for like 20 years, pounding the pavement, meeting with people, getting clothes, being lied to, just a whole bunch of stuff,” she says in an exclusive interview with xoNecole.
“But just keep going, because this is what I do. This is what I love, and I know how important it is for us to continue to show up and make sure that we are seen, make sure that our voices are heard. For several reasons. I just never give up. So here I am, 20 years later, finally sold my show.”
She The People is inspired by the true story of London Breed, who became the first Black female mayor of San Francisco, Terri’s hometown. And to help make the show more authentic, the Cherish the Day actress tapped former Atlanta mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms to come on as a producer.'“I’ve been trying to get my own television series for like 20 years, pounding the pavement, meeting with people, getting clothes, being lied to, just a whole bunch of stuff."
After bringing the former mayor aboard, it was time to pitch again. And this time, the companies were pitching them. Ultimately, Terri decided to work with Tyler Perry on the series.
“We decided to do it with Tyler for several reasons. I love that. Well, most of the companies we met with were Black-owned companies, but he was the only studio,” she explains. “Tyler is like Walt Disney. That's literally what he is. He has the studio, he has the content. He operates just like Walt Disney.”
And thanks to the cast, the show is nothing short of laughs. The series also stars social media creator Jade Novah as Antoinette’s crazy cousin/ assistant, Shamika, Family Mattersstar Jo Marie Payton as Anotinette’s mom, Cleo, and Terri’s husband, Karon Riley, who plays Michael, her driver and love interest.
While we’ve watched Terri’s career blossom in various ways. From directing to producing, and playing diverse characters, the mom of two says her The Steve Harvey Show character will always be her favorite.
“Well, Lovita was definitely my favorite, especially for my time, the age and everything that I was. Now as a grown ass woman over 50, Antoinette Dunkerson is everything that I've wanted to play. She's everything. She's a mother of two teenagers. She's divorced, so she's co-parenting with her ex-husband. She has to wrangle in a very eclectic family,” she says.
“So I like playing characters that are really flawed and trying to figure it out and doing their best to try to figure it. And she's very flawed and she is trying to figure it out, and she fucks up sometimes. But her heart and what she's trying to do and what her vision is and purpose, it's all for the people. I mean, she the people. She’s for the people, she is the people.”
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