As you know, I have found that the skeptic in me has turned into the curious learner. So, when an opportunity arises, I take it. Don't get me wrong. Understand well, that if myself or my family were in need of medical support, I would most definitely go see our family doctor. I like our family doctor. They know A LOT of things I don't know and they are a wealth of information. In fact, I recently visited my endocrinologist at U of M. His name is Tobias. He has a cool German accent and he knows far more about MEN 1 than I do. I had my blood work done and will soon follow up with a CT Scan of my abdomen. Why? Because, I trust my doctor. But in the meantime, I still try some homeopathic ideas as well. Why? Because if they work, than I don't have to pay to go see my friendly doctor as often. And I am all about saving a bit of money and doing things that may support the body in it's process of healing itself. Anywhooooo, now that my disclaimer is done.....
Last week 4/5 of the Wilson's got sick. Yours truly never came down with anything. Just a little on again off again ear ache and that overall feeling like you might be getting sick, but then you don't. Not sure if that makes sense, but that is how I felt. Sore throat and fever were the biggest culprits, though we have had a bit of stomach upset and dizziness as well. Katie and Rob got it the worst. Kara and Colin cleared up within a few days and just struggled more with the sore throat side of things. So, I got out my oils. Why not. Let's see what happens.
My memory is failing a bit, but I believe, for Kara, I started putting a bit of OnGuard on her neck where her sore throat was. She healed up quickly. Colin received the same treatment except, I had him gargle with warm water. I added a small amount of table salt with a drop of OnGuarrd and instructed him to gargle but not to swallow. He cleared up almost immediately, although maybe that has something to do with him not wanted to have to gargle again! LOL! Anyway, the point is, his sore throat went away. Katie and Rob are next, both of them starting to not feel so well around Tuesday evening, right along with the other two. Katie was out of school Wednesday and Thursday due to sore throat and fever. She went back to school on Friday and was great by Saturday and even better by Sunday. Rob is still struggling a bit and it is the following Tuesday now. Those are the facts of the timeline. I share that with you first, because I want you to make your own decisions about this. I'm just telling you our story.
Rob is not that excited about the smells of the oils and so I administered them to him minimally. He took over the counter meds to help fight off what he was dealing with. Katie kind of likes them, so she received them more often, knowing full well that she was free to take ibuprofen whenever she wanted. I have made it very clear to my kids that a mixture of holistic and modern medicine is a great way to support our systems when they are run down. (This is the conclusion I have come to. It is not doctrine :) and I encourage you to make your own conclusions.) For Katie, I had her gargle just like Colin did...that was Tuesday evening. By Wednesday, she had started a fever. I had her continue to gargle every few hours, put a dab of OnGuard on her throat topically where it hurt. I made a mixture of Coconut oil, a drop of Breath, a drop of Peppermint and rubbed that on her chest and feet as well as a dab of peppermint rubbed into the same spot on her throat as the OnGuard. I found it curious, that each time I administered this combination, her temperature would drop and her sore throat would lessen. Mind you, her fever was low grade, and nothing I would have even given her an over the counter medicine for. But never the less, it dropped and her throat felt a bit better. The fever would gradually go back up and her sore throat would get worse again. So, I would do the same routine and her fever would go back down and her sore throat would feel a bit better. By Friday, her fever had been gone long enough that she was able to go back to school and her throat was a bit sore still, but tolerable. She asked for ibuprofen once during this process which I happily gave to her.
I am not going to sit here and make any claims. Maybe, Katie would have gotten better by Friday anyway. Maybe Rob is still struggling because he had a worse case of it. Maybe, Colin's sore throat and Kara's sore throat would have cleared up anyway with just a salt water gargle and no oils involved. Maybe I just didn't get sick. The only difference for me that I know of, is I started putting OnGuard on that past weekend, because I knew we would be in close quarters with a lot of people all weekend long. I did not put it on anybody else until they started complaining of things hurting.
It does make me wonder a bit, though; and it is curious to me that those in our family using the oils more consistently seem to mend quicker and that Katie's temp seemed to fluctuate with the administration of the mixture I made.
It's like this for me. Can oils heal? I don't know and I'm not going to make a claim like that. I'm not a doctor. Just a mom trying some things out. My experience, though, is that they seem to support the bodies natural processes and systems. They seem to support it enough, that I would try this same thing again and see if we get the same results. It's curious to me and interesting. What do you think?
If you have thoughts or questions you would like to share with me, feel free to contact me on Facebook or by email at wilson.melody.j@gmail.com or for more Essential Oil information you can visit my website at http://www.mydoterra.com/melodywilson/
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Monday, March 2, 2015
That Nasty Three Letter Word......Multi-Level-Marketing
One of the things I have struggled with the most in being a part of doTerra was the fact that it is an MLM (Multi Level Marketing) Company. I have been a part of these things before. You will make lots of money, they said. It will give you more time with your family, they said. You will live in a MLM bubble, they said.....they said a lot of things that never came true. I did not have lots of money. I had less time with my family. And that MLM bubble....well, it popped. So, why in the world would I want to become a part of another one?
And not to mention, being on the other side of the sales person. The side of all the party invites and the "will you come and help me earn money so I can buy my favorite product" side.
Yeah, it all had left a bad taste in my mouth. In fact, for several years or longer, I have actually all but sworn off all parties. No thanks. If I want what you have, I will contact you. But you don't need to contact me. I'm good.
You can imagine where this left me when once again I was confronted with another MLM in the form of oils. No thanks.
As I found myself getting more involved, I began to struggle. I struggled with feeling like a hypocrite, I actually still struggle with this a bit. All the friends that I said no thanks to about their parties, I now find myself inviting to classes and doTerra events. Yeah, I have struggled hard with that one.
I struggled in general with being a part of something I felt like a really didn't agree with....that just doesn't even make sense. I mean, I had to have a membership which at the time translated to: this is just another way for them to leech more money out of me. I had to order so much money in order to receive bonus points.....another way to take more of my money. And, if I wanted to do really well, I needed to sign people up underneath me....insert a heavy sigh. I've been there. Done that. It doesn't work, at least not for me. And yet, like I have mentioned before, I found myself drawn back over and over again. Cause the products were working. I was finding healing. You can understand my struggle.
As I struggled, my perspective began to change. One day, as I was shopping at my local, large, grocery store, scrolling through my mperks :) and fighting with myself about being a part of an MLM....I noticed myself doing a weird thing. I came across an mperk that said: "purchase $400 this month and earn $12 off of your next visit" I clipped it. Who wouldn't? Sure, sounds good....to....me.....
uh, yeah. I stopped for a second. I smirked. My favorite, large, retail grocery store was doing the same thing that doTerra was doing. And yet, I had never questioned it. It had never crossed my mind that Meijer was trying to leech money out of my wallet. They were, after all, offering me a discount and that was nice of them. Hmmmm.....it made me think for a bit. If I, without question accept offers like this from a retail store, then why would it bother me to accept it from an online MLM?
Something to ponder.
Soon after that, I was browsing through Christian Book Distributors catalog. I was looking for a Bible. They offer good discounts, so I often purchase through them, because my .....ahem....membership allows me to do so. Again. I smirked. Never once did I question CBD's integrity when they asked me to purchase a membership in order to enjoy their discounts. Why would I question the integrity of doTerra when they ask the same thing? For me to be a paid member in order to enjoy their discounts?
Another thing to ponder.
I often find myself sharing my life with others. We all do. We talk to our friends, swap stories, encourage each other. If we find out someone has a need we suggest a product or a solution to them; not because we expect anything in return, but because we desire to help them with their problem. Funny that I have a hard time wrapping my brain around doing that when it comes to the subject of oils that might benefit a friends health...simply because it is a part of a MLM. I struggled with the fact that I would make money off of my suggestion. Somehow it spoils the suggestion. How could I worked through this one?
Well, this one was hard. But it was worked through from this perspective. I will share my life with others...whether or not I receive anything in return, because that is who I am. In other words, my perspective had to change from "how will this benefit me" to "how might this might benefit others". Basically, as I share who I am, whether spiritually or with my time or with how I have learned to cope with health issues, or with my struggles, I do so with the heart of blessing others and not with the heart of making money or receiving anything in return. When it comes to doTerra, I don't care if I make money. I do however, care about whether or not someone is finding healing. Might I make money? I might. But that is not my focus. That is something I have learned in all of this. It's not about the money.
Somehow, all of my biggest MLM concerns were addressed and dealt with. There is nothing wrong with a membership. We pay them all the time without question. Costco, Christian Book Distributors, SAMS Club. The membership offers perks and discounts. Sign me up.
Most companies offer rebate programs. You spend this much money with us and as a thank you, we will gift you back $12. There is nothing wrong with rebate programs. We participate in those, too, a lot, without question. And a lot of companies offer referral programs as well and we never question that either. When we bring them customers, they offer us a gift.
I realized I was struggling with things I did on a daily basis and I was struggling with them because they were attached to a company that had that nasty three letter word tagged onto it.
Silly.
That nasty three letter word doesn't seem so nasty to me anymore. When I began to realize that I have been participating in memberships, rebate programs, and referral programs anyway with other companies on a regular basis. Why, then, was I allowing a business label to trip me up with this company?
Just another part of my journey with all of this I guess :)
And not to mention, being on the other side of the sales person. The side of all the party invites and the "will you come and help me earn money so I can buy my favorite product" side.
Yeah, it all had left a bad taste in my mouth. In fact, for several years or longer, I have actually all but sworn off all parties. No thanks. If I want what you have, I will contact you. But you don't need to contact me. I'm good.
You can imagine where this left me when once again I was confronted with another MLM in the form of oils. No thanks.
As I found myself getting more involved, I began to struggle. I struggled with feeling like a hypocrite, I actually still struggle with this a bit. All the friends that I said no thanks to about their parties, I now find myself inviting to classes and doTerra events. Yeah, I have struggled hard with that one.
I struggled in general with being a part of something I felt like a really didn't agree with....that just doesn't even make sense. I mean, I had to have a membership which at the time translated to: this is just another way for them to leech more money out of me. I had to order so much money in order to receive bonus points.....another way to take more of my money. And, if I wanted to do really well, I needed to sign people up underneath me....insert a heavy sigh. I've been there. Done that. It doesn't work, at least not for me. And yet, like I have mentioned before, I found myself drawn back over and over again. Cause the products were working. I was finding healing. You can understand my struggle.
As I struggled, my perspective began to change. One day, as I was shopping at my local, large, grocery store, scrolling through my mperks :) and fighting with myself about being a part of an MLM....I noticed myself doing a weird thing. I came across an mperk that said: "purchase $400 this month and earn $12 off of your next visit" I clipped it. Who wouldn't? Sure, sounds good....to....me.....
uh, yeah. I stopped for a second. I smirked. My favorite, large, retail grocery store was doing the same thing that doTerra was doing. And yet, I had never questioned it. It had never crossed my mind that Meijer was trying to leech money out of my wallet. They were, after all, offering me a discount and that was nice of them. Hmmmm.....it made me think for a bit. If I, without question accept offers like this from a retail store, then why would it bother me to accept it from an online MLM?
Something to ponder.
Soon after that, I was browsing through Christian Book Distributors catalog. I was looking for a Bible. They offer good discounts, so I often purchase through them, because my .....ahem....membership allows me to do so. Again. I smirked. Never once did I question CBD's integrity when they asked me to purchase a membership in order to enjoy their discounts. Why would I question the integrity of doTerra when they ask the same thing? For me to be a paid member in order to enjoy their discounts?
Another thing to ponder.
I often find myself sharing my life with others. We all do. We talk to our friends, swap stories, encourage each other. If we find out someone has a need we suggest a product or a solution to them; not because we expect anything in return, but because we desire to help them with their problem. Funny that I have a hard time wrapping my brain around doing that when it comes to the subject of oils that might benefit a friends health...simply because it is a part of a MLM. I struggled with the fact that I would make money off of my suggestion. Somehow it spoils the suggestion. How could I worked through this one?
Well, this one was hard. But it was worked through from this perspective. I will share my life with others...whether or not I receive anything in return, because that is who I am. In other words, my perspective had to change from "how will this benefit me" to "how might this might benefit others". Basically, as I share who I am, whether spiritually or with my time or with how I have learned to cope with health issues, or with my struggles, I do so with the heart of blessing others and not with the heart of making money or receiving anything in return. When it comes to doTerra, I don't care if I make money. I do however, care about whether or not someone is finding healing. Might I make money? I might. But that is not my focus. That is something I have learned in all of this. It's not about the money.
Somehow, all of my biggest MLM concerns were addressed and dealt with. There is nothing wrong with a membership. We pay them all the time without question. Costco, Christian Book Distributors, SAMS Club. The membership offers perks and discounts. Sign me up.
Most companies offer rebate programs. You spend this much money with us and as a thank you, we will gift you back $12. There is nothing wrong with rebate programs. We participate in those, too, a lot, without question. And a lot of companies offer referral programs as well and we never question that either. When we bring them customers, they offer us a gift.
I realized I was struggling with things I did on a daily basis and I was struggling with them because they were attached to a company that had that nasty three letter word tagged onto it.
Silly.
That nasty three letter word doesn't seem so nasty to me anymore. When I began to realize that I have been participating in memberships, rebate programs, and referral programs anyway with other companies on a regular basis. Why, then, was I allowing a business label to trip me up with this company?
Just another part of my journey with all of this I guess :)
Sunday, March 1, 2015
More Than Just an Oil
If you had asked me last summer if I would be writing a blog like this, I would have laughed at you....hard. Not just a little giggle, but a gut-jiggling belly laugh that would send me to the floor in fits of hysteria! And I'm not over exaggerating either. I'm not. Seriously, I can't even now really believe that I am writing this. But.....I am.
Here's the deal, never in my wildest imagination, would I have thought I would become sold on this product and company. I will not rehash my concerns.....If you have been following my blog, you know what they are and you know where I have come from in this journey. No matter how many times I scoffed and tried to prove that these products were not for me, something kept me coming back. Researching a bit more. Trying out another product. Reading. Listening. Most of the time with a bit of an attitude. But none the less, I found myself intrigued. I never thought it would be bring me to say what is now my newest saying, "there is more to this than just oils". (At this point in the blog, I give you permission to call my crazy. Not that you need my permission to do so, but well, I understand how you are feeling).
Several months ago or longer, I can't remember how long ago actually, I saw a post of a facebook friend that said something to the affect of how doTerra has changed her. Not just cause of the use of the oils, but that it was a deeper, emotional, almost spiritual sort of change. I thought, "whatever". I don't need a company to be my self-help guru. I have Jesus. I don't need anything else.
And yet, here I am today......standing in agreement with her. In my last post, I think I said something about the more I researched and listened to webinars and trainings, the more I found myself digging out some ugly things about myself. Strange, since the trainings were about business and how to be a better business woman/man. I found myself having to really search out some areas in my life, that quite frankly were a little ugly.
For instance:
I can be fairly selfish and self-centered.
I can't say no.
I am fear driven.
My priorities are all out of whack.
As I began to process these things about myself, I found that I began to change my thought pattern. I don't want to be selfish and self-centered. I want to be giving and caring, generous and loving whether I get anything out of it or not. I want to freely give.....no strings attached. I also decided that because I am a people pleaser, I have a terrible time saying no. So, I over commit myself. Which drains me. I do this because I am fear motivated....I don't want to let anyone down or disappoint them. I don't want to be left behind and forgotten.....so my response to almost everything is yes, YES, and YES! I also discovered the dearest things to my heart are often the things and the people that I put on the back burner.
All of this realization, came out of about 4 hours of listening to some webinars. They were not necessarily about faith, family, relationships....well at least not from the titles and yet these topics were all woven in, and they challenged me in these areas. I hope this is making sense. When I first listened to them, I actually felt kind of angry.....mainly my first response to seeing some things about myself that I did not like admitting to. However, as hours began to pass, I realized how important it is for me to deal with these issues.
To focus on giving of myself.....freely.
To say no to the things which distract me from my purpose and calling in life.
To not allow fear to be my motivator.
And to straighten out my priorities......
This last one really sets the tone for all the others. God, family, church, ministry, work.....I am finding when I keep those five things in the correct order, everything else begins to work itself out.
And you know what? All of this was discovered listening to these silly, little webinars about business and oils. Did I need self-help? Maybe. But more so, I feel God used this as an open door to expose some things in my life. Sure, He could have shown them to me in other ways. I am by no means saying doTerra is some sort of magical company. But what I am saying, is that as I began opening myself up to the idea of this company, I found myself being opened up to some other areas in my life....areas that needed changing.
I have discovered God can use anything to work out His good in our lives......even something as small as a little bit of oil.
(Again, you can call me crazy. I would have done the same thing. But it's ok.....it's my crazy journey to be on ;) )
Here's the deal, never in my wildest imagination, would I have thought I would become sold on this product and company. I will not rehash my concerns.....If you have been following my blog, you know what they are and you know where I have come from in this journey. No matter how many times I scoffed and tried to prove that these products were not for me, something kept me coming back. Researching a bit more. Trying out another product. Reading. Listening. Most of the time with a bit of an attitude. But none the less, I found myself intrigued. I never thought it would be bring me to say what is now my newest saying, "there is more to this than just oils". (At this point in the blog, I give you permission to call my crazy. Not that you need my permission to do so, but well, I understand how you are feeling).
Several months ago or longer, I can't remember how long ago actually, I saw a post of a facebook friend that said something to the affect of how doTerra has changed her. Not just cause of the use of the oils, but that it was a deeper, emotional, almost spiritual sort of change. I thought, "whatever". I don't need a company to be my self-help guru. I have Jesus. I don't need anything else.
And yet, here I am today......standing in agreement with her. In my last post, I think I said something about the more I researched and listened to webinars and trainings, the more I found myself digging out some ugly things about myself. Strange, since the trainings were about business and how to be a better business woman/man. I found myself having to really search out some areas in my life, that quite frankly were a little ugly.
For instance:
I can be fairly selfish and self-centered.
I can't say no.
I am fear driven.
My priorities are all out of whack.
As I began to process these things about myself, I found that I began to change my thought pattern. I don't want to be selfish and self-centered. I want to be giving and caring, generous and loving whether I get anything out of it or not. I want to freely give.....no strings attached. I also decided that because I am a people pleaser, I have a terrible time saying no. So, I over commit myself. Which drains me. I do this because I am fear motivated....I don't want to let anyone down or disappoint them. I don't want to be left behind and forgotten.....so my response to almost everything is yes, YES, and YES! I also discovered the dearest things to my heart are often the things and the people that I put on the back burner.
All of this realization, came out of about 4 hours of listening to some webinars. They were not necessarily about faith, family, relationships....well at least not from the titles and yet these topics were all woven in, and they challenged me in these areas. I hope this is making sense. When I first listened to them, I actually felt kind of angry.....mainly my first response to seeing some things about myself that I did not like admitting to. However, as hours began to pass, I realized how important it is for me to deal with these issues.
To focus on giving of myself.....freely.
To say no to the things which distract me from my purpose and calling in life.
To not allow fear to be my motivator.
And to straighten out my priorities......
This last one really sets the tone for all the others. God, family, church, ministry, work.....I am finding when I keep those five things in the correct order, everything else begins to work itself out.
And you know what? All of this was discovered listening to these silly, little webinars about business and oils. Did I need self-help? Maybe. But more so, I feel God used this as an open door to expose some things in my life. Sure, He could have shown them to me in other ways. I am by no means saying doTerra is some sort of magical company. But what I am saying, is that as I began opening myself up to the idea of this company, I found myself being opened up to some other areas in my life....areas that needed changing.
I have discovered God can use anything to work out His good in our lives......even something as small as a little bit of oil.
(Again, you can call me crazy. I would have done the same thing. But it's ok.....it's my crazy journey to be on ;) )
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