Oh, I just love flower essences! You know that feeling when you do something, and it just feels right? It feels so right. Comforting. Bottling up some new flower essences … powerful magical elixirs they are. Giant bamboo, passionflower, mandevilla … and re-bottled some oldies but goodies: pomegranate flower, lemon blossom, japanese camellia, blue prickly pear … oh how I love my little flowers! May they bring happiness to countless people!!!
To really enjoy the task of cleaning the bathroom … scrubbing the tub, shower, countertops … make sure you’re doing it chemical-free!
I enjoyed myself so much today, scrubbing out the shower with a super easy-to-make homemade scrub cleanser. It really scrubs and cleans, and the essential oils are so joyful! This sounds strange, but the best thing is … if you feel like just sitting down to scrub your feet too, you can! Most cleaning products are so toxic, you wouldn’t even want to breathe them into your lungs, much less absorb them into your skin. This all-purpose scrub cleanser is so gentle you could use it as a foot scrub. : )
2 cups of fine grade pumice or bon ami
1 cup of white clay
1 cup of baking soda
2 Tablespoons of your favorite essential oils, all are anti-bacterial to differing degrees
(citruses are joyful, peppermint is energizing, palmarosa is nurturing. lavender is calming)
Add liquid soap or water to get the cleanser juicy; sing or dance while you clean!
What are your favorite chemical-free ways to clean?
This summer at the Lotus Wei/Wei of Chocolate headquarters, we are fortunate to have several young, brilliant interns working as a part of our team through a special Entrepreneurial program. Lisa and I have been looking for a way to reach young people; this has been an incredibly rewarding experience. Beyond traditional business skills, we’ve tried to give them an inside look at the non-traditional sides of our business, for example: morning meditations before work, fresh-cooked meals for lunch and everybody ‘round the table together, and how to make natural products for yourself. It’s such a great feeling to have an expanded team of positivity!
–Katie, Lotus Wei
For the last few weeks, Katie Hess of Lotus Wei and I have been participating in a Summer Intern Program through the City of Phoenix and AZ Call-a-Teen. Funded by stimulus money, it has created opportunity on all sides. Katie & I have been looking for a way to get involved with young people, and this has been fabulous for us. Our interns are ages 16-20, studying entrepreneurism, come from diverse and challenging backgrounds, and really have that spark. It’s been a real joy. We’ll post some videos soon, and here are some of the comments they’ve made about the experience.
–Lisa, Wei of Chocolate
In attempting to introduce a new perspective on life to the interns, I myself was exposed to a thoroughly new mode of self-expression: working with them turned out to be totally tight. The bank they made for us was bomb. They never cramped my swagger; they got so much done we’re now so 2010, when everyone else is so two thousand then. Sweet!
–John, Lotus Wei/Wei of Chocolate
My name is Tina. The one thing that has truly inspired me working with Lotus Wei and Wei of Chocolate is the great positive energy flow in the work environment. It’s a nice, yet cool, weird, wonderful feeling you get once you walk in their door. You get the sense of inner calmness that totally catches you off guard — in a good way, though. Lisa and Katie and John are the most helpful people that I have encountered in a very long time. If I can gain back all my inspiration, joy, happiness, love, positive clear-mindedness, and my sense of clarity that I was so sure that I’d lost, then I can only imagine what their products can do for people across the world. I feel that this is what the world really needs right now, with everything that’s going on with politics and the economic crisis. Your chocolate and flower essences make me feel at ease and gain more insight of the world and of myself. Lotus Wei and Wei of Chocolate help make life a whole lot calmer when things seem to be chaotic.
–Tina, age 20
My name is Ruben. Working with the women of wei has opened up a whole new world of peace and tranquility. I enjoy the everyday tasks we accomplish and learning about new natural medicines and health awareness. I enjoy the way they use their experiences to educate others in meditation, health and wisdom. I am also witnessing a live small business coming into its 3rd year of service. I think their all natural, organic products are the wei to go.
–Ruben, age 18
My name is Alarra and I’m 16 years old. Currently I am working for Lotus Wei and Wei of Chocolate. While working here I have learned many different facts, skills, and the “wei of life.” In the process, I have witnessed a change in myself and other employees around me. For example, we have all become more peaceful and positive in our inner selves. You may ask yourself, why? How can this be? The company Lotus Wei is all about natural and organic products. Each product contains a certain flower essence that balances a variety of different character traits within each essence. Wei of Chocolate also has the same effect. Lisa, the owner of Wei of Chocolate, makes her own special chocolate, also with flower essences. Each chocolate has a different taste and effect. Both Wei of Chocolate and Lotus Wei offer incredible products. If you want amazing natural and organic lotions, mists that have different effects, shower gel that has no chemicals and leaves your skin soft and beautiful, flower essences that give you more peace, love, inspiration, and a quiet mind, then Lotus Wei is the “wei to go.” If you want dark, delicious chocolate that provides more happiness, love, peace, delight within each bite, Wei of Chocolate is the “wei to go.” Make the right choice and pamper your body, Lotus Wei and Wei of Chocolate … Wei of Life.
–Alarra, age 16
My name is Claudia. I’m 16 years old and am a part of a program called Call-a-Teen which has so many opportunities for youth. I am currently going to Gateway Community College from Monday to Wednesday and work at a place called Lotus Wei and Wei of Chocolate as an intern. I’ve learned so many things and it’s only Week Two. I can’t wait to see what Katie and Lisa have in store for us! I have definitely been inspired by all of the different scents I get to smell when I come in — I would love it if others got to experience all the smells I do; they would be amazed. I was so excited to realize that the tea that I had been helping with was actually going to be sent to a spa. How cool is that? The tea has many things in it but it’s a total secret , so shhh … but I can say that my favorite herb put into the tea is the orange peel. Orange peel is a really good digestive aid. The best part of the job is getting to smell everything and all of the chocolates — yum!
–Claudia, age 16
I’ve always loved chai, but lately I’ve turned it into a daily ritual. The herbs are so excellent for the body, and it seems that the caffeine in the black tea doesn’t crash the adrenals as much as lovely coffee. Also, ginger, cinnamon, and cardamom are great for circulation, digestion, balancing blood sugar, mental clarity, and some say as aphrodisiacs. Here’s an ultra simple, yet delicious recipe for chai lovers to make at home with only five ingredients:
-Fresh ginger, 2 inch piece, crushed (I used a knife handle)
-Cardamom pods, about 10 pods (method same as above or you can bite them if the tea is just for you)
-Cinnamon sticks or cassia chips, small handful
-Black tea, handful of loose black tea or about 4 teabags
-Pure water, 1-2 quarts, depending on how much milk/half and half you’ll add later.
Directions: Boil the herbs for a few minutes and then add the black tea and simmer for a few more minutes. Add half and half and honey to taste. Take a minute to relax; you deserve it.
What’s your favorite chai recipe?
My grandma Vera, my hero back in action at 98!
Several weeks ago I jumped on a plane to Minneapolis after a phone call that my grandma was in the hospital. She had just had a stroke … lost movement in her left side, as well as her speech. If you knew my grandma, you’d love her. She’s 98 and has spent her life taking care of others. She’s direct, down-to-earth, and speaks her truth. She’s sweet, strong-willed, and doesn’t beat around the bush. Even with compromised movement and speech, her qualities shine through. I spent one week with her in the hospital, and another week with her at home. Here’s what I learned:
Hospitals
Hospitals are generally not places to get well; sometimes you have to argue with the “powers-that-be” to make what seem like smarter choices to you. Some choices that doctors/nurses want to make have extremely harmful consequences, and you must believe in your intuition to fight them on certain issues.
Trust yourself and do what you feel is right. (Like going against orders: letting grandma suck down that sweet herbal root beer, eat real food, get less IV fluid, ride around in a chair to see a different scene than the room, and ultimately go home!)
You must be aware at all times and stick around; things can change in an instant. Anyone in the hospital needs a constant advocate and protector. It’s worth your time.
There are nurses that have incredible compassion and care for others.
It’s very difficult to get good sleep in a hospital and impossible to get fresh air … after about 4 days you’re capable of going totally batty (even if you’re the “healthy” one).
Nice soap and lotion make a huge difference … if you ever visit someone in the hospital, bring aromatherapeutic body care and essential oils! It brightens moods and cleans the air—even the nurses love it.
Home
The best place to get well is home.
You have to flip someone with limited movement every 2 hours so they don’t get sores from lying in one spot for too long, and there’s a great method for changing the sheets while they’re in the bed.
Caring for another human being is the ultimate service, the ultimate kindness, and the ultimate joy … a true path to happiness. What else is more important than caring for another? Sacrificing your own needs for someone else who really needs you is incredibly rewarding and motivating.
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