To Ingest or Not to Ingest?

The answer? It's up to you. But if it were up to me, YES! ***provided they are Young Living Essential Oils***

Watch the following video to learn:

#1: How to effectively put oil in those little capsules

#2: How to make my Harvey's Daily Wellness Capsule

#3: How else to ingest oils outside of capsules

#4: How to lessen unpleasant side effects when taking oil capsules

#5: What to say to people who tell you to never ingest essential oils.

Enjoy the video --> Ingesting Young Living Essential Oils in Capsules

Feeding Your Child Avocados AT ME

Before I explain WTH I mean by the title of this post, I want to give credit to one of my favorite blogger-turned-authors Glennon Doyle. She's actually where the title of this here post originated. The full line is actually, "I am telling you that I decided right then and there that this woman was feeding her child avocados AT ME." Here is her full post if you would like to read:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/glennon-melton/quit-pointing-your-avocado-at-me_b_3492304.html

Anywho, that line never left me. When I first read it years ago, I thought it was so hilarious and so-omg-true. Newsflash: it's still true. Never is it more true than today. Let me 'splain.

If you didn't read Glennon's hilarious blog post, I will summarize it for you:  Basically, she's at the food court with her 3 filthy kids, feeding them junk food, and trying to decide how to leave her kids alone to go refill her Coke. Then, she sees another mom with an impeccably dressed child (sitting in a high chair cover to prevent germs) break out an avocado and a spoon and begin to feed her quiet child. Glennon's own sense of lack, feeling of parenting-failure, and generalized mom-shame comes rushing in as she concludes that this woman's actions were directed AT HER.

Do you see where this can apply to some people in your life?! Or **GASP** maybe even YOU?!

These days, everyone is so SEN-SA-TIVE. You can't post something online about living a healthy lifestyle without someone posting a trying-not-to-sound-defensive-but-it-totally-reads-as-defensive response. I get it all the time with my nontoxic home posts--if not on the post, behind my back. GUYS. I am trying to educate the world about the crappola that is in our everyday products that we have been BIOACCUMULATING for years into our tissues. If you are feeling convicted about it, the way I see it, you can do one of two things:

(1) Hide my posts from your newsfeed or unfollow me on Instagram.

or 

(2) DO something about it. Step out of your comfort zone and attend a class. Learn a thing or two. Start replacing your products with cleaner ones. Take that conviction as a sign that it's time to start making changes, no matter how small.

You really do have a choice. You don't have to like my avocados. And I don't have to like yours.

Another example: One time I posted a funny "Adopt/Don't Shop" meme after we adopted my pooch Presley. Batman was slapping Robin in this meme and I thought it was pretty funny! I didn't tag anyone in the caption or even rail against people who buy pure-bred dogs. Heck, lots of people in my family do that. Whatevs.

Or so I thought. A friend of mine got angry at me for an unrelated post and private messaged me that I was "the most judgmental non-judgmental person" she knew. She threw an old blog post that I had written about loving our natural bodies in my face and said that I was shaming her for her tummy tuck. She also said that my funny Batman meme about adopting pets was a stab at the fact that she had just purchased a pure-bred dog. Never mind that I had NO FREAKING CLUE that she had just gotten a tummy tuck or adopted a pure breed; in her mind, I was blogging AT HER. I was thrusting my natural, environmentally-friendly ways AT HER. I was the judgmental one.

Here's a thought:  Live your life. I'll live mine. If you don't like my choices, keep scrolling or hide/unfriend me. Why do people feel the need to think that others are making choices AT THEM and that they need to defend why they did not make that choice? I guess it's all down to freedom of speech. Meaning...they have the right to let everyone know how they feel when they feel it.

Caca. I know I have freedom of speech. But I also have the freedom to not be an A-hole as well. Good God, do you know how many times I had to refrain from posting a response on someone else's post during election season?! My rule was, if it's on their wall, let 'em post it. Let 'em believe it. Let 'em feel it. If it's on MY wall, please extend me the same courtesy. When I post things, I know I'm not going to sway anyone who is vehemently opposed to my belief, political leaning, way of living, etc. My posts are written for those who are genuinely interested and those who are on the fence and would consider opening up a healthy dialogue on the topic at hand. They aren't written to shame anyone else, and if they are ever consistently viewed that way, then I need to change my delivery.

I'll close with this. Just so you know, I'm preaching to my own choir. ME. Avocados have been directed at me, in my own perception. I've gotten riled up at posts that others have written thinking they were passive-aggressively directed at me, with no direct evidence of it. Who is it harming? ME.

I've gotten irritated at Erik for being so damn perfect; thinking he expected the same of me. Come to find out, he's just that way and he loves me JUST AS I AM. All my pissed-offness was for naught and came from my own insecurities. And that's what it boils down to--insecurities. We read and process things through our unique filters and how we respond is a direct reflection of  the shame we feel within. To quote Eleanor Roosevelt: "Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent."

So next time you find yourself eyeballing the woman next to you, feeling like her lifestyle/parenting/political/religious choices are avocados that are spears directed in your direction, perhaps stop and take a breather. YOU get to choose how you interpret the world you encounter. You are in charge of your tiny sphere of rippling destiny.

xoxo,
Michelle

Gettin' Real Witcha About My Biz...

Here's the deal; l'm figgin'a get real with you. This is going to be a long post, so if you're reading, thank you for honoring me with your time. This post may sound a bit harsh, but think of it as honest and forthcoming. n regards to my business, I would love to clear up some misconceptions about how I make money as well as to put forth intentions for the kind of people I want to partner with in my Happily Oily After Tribe.

Misconception #1: I make money when I order an oil or two for you, using my wholesale account.

I don't. In fact, many YL reps choose not to do that, even though it's perfectly legal to. I always give it to you at my wholesale price with tax, and choose not to mark it up to retail price. What I do get, is points on the purchases that go on my monthly order. Those points can get me free product. However, the cost of ordering it, keeping track of who ordered what, getting payment, and sometimes tracking down the person to deliver the product far outweighs the points I get when I order it. I have decided to do this for people ONCE (unless it's my mom or something), and then after that, I will ask that you get a wholesale membership so you can order when you like.

Misconception #2: I just want to sell people starter kits.

Please do not order a starter kit from me because you just want to "help me out". And then your oils sit on a shelf, unused because you don't know why you ordered them in the first place. I get approximately $50 every time I refer someone to YL with a starter kit/wholesale account. After that, if you order again, I get 8% or 5% or 4%, depending on where you are "placed". Trust me, not to be rude, but you aren't helping ME out by getting a starter kit. The kind of people I want to get into oils are people who have been wanting to try a lifestyle upgrade. People who want to decrease the amount of toxins they expose themselves to. People who are interested in achieving their wellness goals and intend to use essential oils as a large part of it. Essential oils don't solve all your problems. They are highly effective tools that can't buttress everything else you are already doing, such as a healthy diet, activity level, meditation, mindfulness, spirituality, etc etc. So please do not buy a kit from me because you want to shut me up and then never use your oils. Buy a kit from me because you want to change your lives with nature's purest energy.

Misconception #3: If you get a starter kit, you have to sell the oils.

NO. You don't even have to order monthly (be placed on autoship), although it behooves you to do so, if you find yourself loving the products. You don't have to do what I do (teach classes, post on social media, etc), although most people find that the oils naturally sell themselves and that their friends or relatives will want a kit soon after you get one. If so, give them your member number and when they sign up, YL will send you a $50 check for each new member you refer the following month. It's a no-brainer! A few of you will take to the oils like I did and will want to do this as a side business or even full-time. That is never required, but is very exciting for me if you do! I am happy to mentor you should this become the case.

Misconception #4: Our essential oils are so expensive because people who buy them are paying my salary.

My favorite myth. Nope. Our oils are valuable because they are 100% pure, better than organic, and sustainably sourced. Much of our selection comes from our own farms and distilleries where we can control what touches (and doesn't touch) our oils from seed to bottle. Our business model is such that the money we would be spending on brick and mortar stores and advertising is spent employing people to educate others about the beauty and efficacy of these super potent molecules. So if you're looking for someone to get a kit from, go with someone who will take time to properly educate you on that. Buying a $25 bottle of lavender isn't paying my salary. It's 27 square feet of lavender field in that bottle, and it's choosing not to pay $8 for a bottle twice that size from the grocery store, and wondering what else is inside of it. Because it ain't 54 square feet of lavender, I'll guaran-damn-tee you that.

Now to end things with a higher vibration! Ahhh, thank you for letting me clear up those misconceptions! I would love to end this post with my intentions: I intend to continue to talk about essential oils every day of my life until the day I die. If this bothers you, you have all the power to change that. I intend to continue to offer education to anyone who wants to learn via: books/resources, online articles, youtube videos, Facebook lives, and in person classes. I will continue to invite you until you tell me you aren't interested and then I'll leave you alone. But the door will always be open whenever you change your mind (which happens all the time! It's like green eggs and ham!). I will continue to try to get a starter kit into the hands of those who will use them, and I will continue to follow up with you to make sure you know how to use them. As my tribe grows, following up will not be as frequent, so please know that you can always contact ME! A large part of my marketing is done on social media, and I will continue to use that as a tool to grow my tribe. I will continue to graciously accept your compliments and your recommendations for how I can do things better. I intend to attract high vibrational people into my oily family, and let those go who do not jive with the way I choose to lead my group. I intend to continue to partner with crossline friends in a non-competitive way and encourage their growth and knowledge, as I would my own members. And I intend to use my essential oils when I begin to get down on something I hear said about me or my business, and choose to see it as unintentional ignorance, and then I'll educate the hell out of the internet with posts like these. Thank you for reading, and if you're one of my oily family members, thank you for choosing to partner with me! LOVE YOU!