Welcome to this very first issue of The Essential Times.

I look forward to any suggestions, comments, questions, new articles, testimonials and news you may have regarding natural remedies and essential oils. E-mail them to me at yvonne@essential-natural-remedies.com

Yvonne Lewis

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In This Issue:

1) Top 10 Summer Uses For Oils
2) New products from Young Living convention
3) Testimonial Contest
4)15 years Younger in 24 Days: My Experience at the Ecuador Clinic by David Stewart

* * * * * * * Disclaimer * * * * * *

The information provided here is for educational purposes only and is not intended as diagnosis, treatment, or prescription for any disease. The decision to use, or not to use, any of this information is the sole responsibility of the reader.

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1) Top 10 Summer Uses For Oils

1. Insect Repellant - I have numerous spray bottles floating around the house used for cleaning countertops , hands and ALL are formulated to repel insects too. Fill a four ounce bottle with distilled water and add: peppermint, lemongrass and pine essential oils. Or , if you have it, just add 20 drops of Purification blend!
2. Soothing a Sunburn - Never good but it happens and Lavender is your man. Mix a few drops of Lavender oil with a light, unfragranced lotion. Or use Lavaderm Spray from Young Living. Ahhhhhhhhhhh, now that is soothing. Sorry to say, no peeling skin afterwards for the monkeys in your home.
3. Stay Cool Spray - Add 10 drops of Peppermint essential oil to a 4 ounce bottle of distilled water. Shake and pass it around to everyone who looks a little overheated. Spray on ankles, behind your knees, in the neck. Keeps you cool in hot weather.
4. Sports Injuries and Sprains - You will want your Lavender, Cypress and Wintergreen around on the ball field. I have a few tiny jars in my purse pre-mixed with some Rose Ointment and 3 to 4 drops of one oil. This way you have an immediate emergency stash to put on that ankle sprain or bruised knee.
5. A Clean Hotel Room - Take your new travel diffuser with you (see further down/new products) and add Purification blend from Young Living to neutralize odors in the room. Or drop some oils on a tissue and stuff in the air conditioning vent. I also bring the Thieves Spray and go to town on the pillow cases and bedspread. (which I actually fold up and put away, it does not get washed very often in hotels).
6. Motion Sickness - Peppermint and Ginger essential oils are great for traveling. Start applying them to the feet the day before. Take a drop on the tongue regularly, or apply a drop behind the ears or at the base of the neck if nausea is present.
7. Anxieties and Hyper Kids or Animals - As much as Summer should be relaxing, travel and new locations can have us all in fits. Peace & Calming blend is amazing! Just a drop in the air on on the tip of the ears will bring stress levels down by 10 points. Use Lavender and Orange if you do not have this blend.
8. Disinfect Sticky Hands and Countertops - Keep Lemon oil handy and add to soap or a spray to quickly disinfects surfaces. Have you tried the new Thieves Waterless Handpurifier yet? I put a drop on a paper towel and wipe stuff with that too.
9. Love Potion #9 - Romantic vacations, a dinner date, renew the excitement. Joy essential oil blend inspires romance and helps overcome deep seated grief and depression. Has Rose, Jasmine, Geranium and Bergamot in it.
10. Abundance - Last but not least I start my day with some Abundance on the bottom of my feet. Money seems to be flying out the door this Summer and the spirit of Abundance makes sure it comes back our way too.

If you are not yet a member with Young Living oils but are interested in these products contact me at : yvonne@essential-natural-remedies.com Or learn about the Start Living With Everyday Oils Kit at: www.essential-natural-remedies.com

For members who want to place an order go to www.youngliving.org

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2) New products from Young Living convention

Young Living certainly knows how to keep us excited about essential oils and makes it easier every year to use them and incorporate them in our everyday lives. Here are this years NEWBIES:

New Essential Oils Products

New Essential Living Products Lavender Signature Series All-natural personal care products infused with pure, therapeutic-grade lavender oil.

3)Testimonial Contest

There are plenty of testimonials about natural remedies and essential oils to be had on the internet.

But we want yours! Our loyal customer. Many of you have met me at teaching seminars or spoken to me at length about your experiences. Please share them:

I will one up my best testimonial of the month offer on the following link: For newsletter subscribers only, this month your testimonial may win a FREE BOTTLE of JOY essential oil.

Go to :www.essential-natural-remedies.com/essential-oil- testimonials.html


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4)15 years Younger in 24 Days: My Experience at the Ecuador Clinic by David Stewart

"Reprinted from The Raindrop Messenger, a free online newsletter, with permission from Dr. David Stewart. To subscribe or download back issues, visit www.RaindropTraining.com."

Because of the demands of my work/travel schedule during the last five or six years I had stopped exercising regularly, had slipped into unhealthy eating habits, and my strength and energy levels were down. I needed to reverse these things soon since I could see that they were leading to possible serious sickness and a shortened life span. This is why I arranged to come to Gary Young’s Nova Vita Medical Clinic in Guayaquil, Ecuador for a stay of 3.5 weeks (Jan. 29 – Feb. 23, 2008). I am so glad I did.

Nova Vita (which means "New Life") has two programs: (1) A Rejuvenation Program for those relatively healthy who just want to be re-balanced, toned up, and reestablished on a new and healthy life style; and (2) A Regeneration Program for those with severe illness who need strong measures to be healed.

As for me, I considered myself to be relatively healthy and not in need of any drastic measures. The last times I had visited a doctor were 7 years ago and 15 years ago just for checkups. Other than minor issues, I was given good bills of health for my age. I am currently 70. In coming to Nova Vita, I just wanted to readjust my taste buds to a more healthy diet, establish myself in a daily exercise program, and regain some of the strength I had lost over recent years. My chief complaints were pains in my knees from what seems to be a combination of arthritis and sciatica along with feeling more tired than usual over the past year and being physically out of shape from sheer neglect of myself.

In my younger years I had been a sprinter, a bicyclist, and an avid hiker, but I weighed a lot less then. During the last 20 years, and especially during the last 5 years, I had put on many unhealthy pounds and needed to lose them or die a premature death from obesity and its attendant problems. So one of the main thoughts I had in coming to Nova Vita was simply to lose weight and establish myself in a dietary and exercise regimen I could keep for the rest of my life.

FLUNKING A STRESS TEST I came to Nova Vita for their Rejuvenation Program but after the first day of tests, it was apparent that what I needed was a Regeneration Program. I had thought I was healthy but found that I was in a state of high risk for heart failure, diabetes, and other problems and did not know it.

What the tests showed upon my first day in the clinic was that my blood sugar was 240 (when it should be less than 100) and my blood pressure was 167/100 (when it should be more like 120/75). I was also retaining fluid in my lower limbs and did not realize it. As part of my testing, I was taken to a cardiologist for a treadmill stress test and almost didn’t finish because of severe chest pain.

These diagnoses struck home with me since my father, my grandfather, my great grandfather, and grandmother had all succumbed at early ages to cardiovascular conditions. The finding of high sugar levels in my blood also struck home since my father had been insulin dependent the last twenty years of his life and my sister, who is younger than I, is also a diabetic on insulin. Both of my other siblings also have sugar problems.

Upon analyzing these results, data from live blood cell analyses, and other tests, Gary Young immediately put me on a very strict regimen of food, supplements, and exercise. For three and a half weeks my breakfast consisted of a small glass of unsweetened lemonade with cayenne pepper, a glass of beet juice, a glass of juice from some unidentified green jungle plant plus some bitter herbal tea said to be from China, but otherwise unidentified.

A RAW FOOD DIET My daily lunch consisted of chopped raw vegetables which varied day to day, selected from various assortments of lettuce, celery, broccoli, green beans, red peppers, green peppers, carrots, radishes, cucumbers, tomatoes, cabbage, onions, and asparagus with nothing more than a dash of balsamic vinegar. No salt, no oil, no ranch dressing, and no mayonnaise, which I used to use generously on my salads before coming to the clinic.

Throughout the day I alternated between glasses of beet juice, jungle grass juice, and the bitter herb tea, plus as much water as I could hold. For the first week, I drank two quarts of the bitter tea every day, which was reduced to one quart a day for the remainder of my stay. The tea is said to have many benefits, among which are regulating blood sugar and speeding your metabolism to help you lose weight. The tea, which comes from China was an ancient tonic to accelerate healing. It was given to soldiers wounded in battle to speed up their recovery. It was only in the 20th century that the Chinese realized that along with its healing attributes, the tea also facilitates weight loss, burning fat without reducing muscle.

For daily protein I had a glass of Powermeal and/or Balance Complete each midmorning. But that was it for protein. No milk. No cheese. No ham, sausage, bacon or eggs. And no Kentucky Fried chicken (my favorite).

The only cooked food I had during the month was for supper. It was the same every evening. It consisted of a portion of plain white rice and a serving of fresh mango or papaya with an occasional piece of fresh coconut. There is no salt or anything added to the rice except that I was permitted to use a few drops of hot sauce from time to time.

BENEFITS OF WHITE RICE When questioned about the white rice, rather than brown rice, Gary said that brown rice is not completely digestible and that white rice is acid-binding and alkalizing in the body. Before the month at the clinic was over, I, who loved greasy foods high in calories and highly salted cooked vegetables, came to look forward to my simple rice and fruit suppers and even came to relish them as delicious. I even became accustomed to the monotony. From time to time since returning home, I still have occasional suppers of bland rice and fresh fruit which I enjoy.

While we took three meals a day at the clinic during week days, on the weekends we ate at the patient quarters. We were given a supply of the food we were supposed to eat on Saturdays and Sundays, but it was up to us to be faithful to our diets. Since I came there with a total commitment to follow the clinic protocols, I was never tempted to cheat on the weekends and stuck to my diet and supplement regimen faithfully. We were told that some clients will binge on the weekends, interfering with their healing and setting their progress back. The thing is that no one could cheat without being caught because it would show up in their live blood analysis. One glance at your blood cells on Monday and Gary and the clinic staff would know that you had eaten forbidden foods on Saturday and Sunday.

I need to mention here that the diet I was placed on at the clinic isn’t standard for everyone there. It was designed specifically for me to address my specific challenges. There were others at the clinic throughout my stay who were addressing different issues and who were on diets specific for their needs. They enjoyed items (not allowed for me) such as cooked beans, lentils, fish, eggs, chicken, and potatoes along with sweet fruits (forbidden to me) like grapes, peaches, cantaloupe, watermelon, and pineapple.

One of the patients at the clinic had been suffering from prostate cancer for nine years, having been through every allopathic modality available,including radiation, chemo, and hormone therapy, none of which cured the cancer. At the clinic, this man was cured of cancer in nine weeks by natural means, including IV administrations of frankincense and helichrysum. Another lady at the clinic was suffering from a brain tumor in her forehead that had grown to the point of pressuring her eyes and affecting her vision. Within a few weeks, her tumor had shrunk to less than half the size as when she came in and was on its way to a complete remission. Both of these patients had diets significantly different than mine, tailored to their specific needs.

EXERCISE AT THE CLINIC In addition to prescribed and strict dietary programs for each individual at the clinic, maintained seven days a week, we all exercised every day. These include cardiovascular and aerobic programs, weight lifting, swimming, and other measures specifically designed for the individual.

In my case, I walked the treadmill every day. After flunking the treadmill stress test with the cardiologist, they started me out the first day with only 7 minutes on the treadmill at speeds under 2 mph at zero grade because of my weakened heart. The second day I was allowed only 15 minutes with a trainer standing close by to monitor my condition. Within a week I was spending 30 minutes on the tread mill at grades up to 4 and speeds of 3 mph. Before I left the clinic, I could run uphill on grades of 5 and 6 at speeds up to 5 mph with no feelings of pain or stress in my heart whatsoever. I also worked out with weights and various gym machines with the close assistance of a personal trainer. There are two full-time trainers working at the clinic.

The strength of my legs increased tremendously during my stay. My knee pain was reduced, but still present at the end of my stay. I am still working on that problem since returning home, trying to discover and resolve the emotional issues involved as its source. 8 years ago, in 2000, I had severe knee pain in my right side from osteoarthritis which was cured by massaging cypress and wintergreen oils directly to the knee twice daily for two months. I was pain free for six years and then pain returned a couple of years ago in both knees. This time the cypress and wintergreen did not work this time. I eventually realized that the problem was not in the knee, but was a sciatic problem originating in the lumbar region of my back. There was no pain or discomfort in my back, but the pinched nerve there was manifesting as pain in my knees. With that knowledge, a lot of experimentation, and a lot of introspection and praying to uncover the emotional roots, I am now seem to be on track to solving the problem. But I will save that story for another day.

In addition to the diets and the exercises, we received numerous therapies that varied daily according to the ongoing assessment of our conditions. These included raindrop technique, neuroauricular technique, light therapy, solo firm (also known as hypergravity), colonics, intravenous mineral chelations, intravenous Thieves Oil Blend, Vitamin B shots, synergy treatments, bodywraps with oils, cranial sacral treatments, as well as various forms of massage, emotional release and other measures as needed and as indicated by your daily progress. In my case, I received a raindrop every other day and a neuroauricular treatment on alternate days. I also received a colonic 4-5 times a week. The body wrap I received included the application of oils of grapefruit, tangerine, and spearmint all over the body prior to the wrapping, which was maintained for 30 minutes under ultrared heat. It was a stimulating and tingling experience.

TREATED AS A PERSON, NOT AS A STATISTIC At Nova Vita, patients are not treated statistically according to medically defined norms and standardized prescriptions. They are treated individually and specifically with their prescribed therapies adjusted every day according to their needs and progress.

In addition to all of the above, we were also prescribed numerous Young Living products according to our needs, including the enzymes, liver cleansing products, hormonal products, and nutritional products—all of this in addition to daily applications of the oils by inhalation, on the skin, orally, and by IV. In my case, I was ingesting the following Young Living products: Detoxzyme, Comfortone, Juva Power, Life 5, Parafree, Polyzyme, Cardiacare, Men's Cortistop, and GLF oil in capsules. Each of these were taken 2-5 times a day. I also took a teaspoon of EDTA and a liquid mineral supplement high in iron morning and evening along with teaspoon of Alkalime in water before bedtime.

For me, among the most encouraging signs of the power of Nova Vita’s programs has been this: I arrived with a blood pressure of 167/100. By the next day it had dropped to 140/90 and for the remainder of my stay it remained steady every day around 120/75 with a steady pulse of 70-80. My hypertension had been corrected to normal levels within a few days and stayed there. Furthermore, I have been given the knowledge of how to keep it there through proper diet and exercise for the rest of my life.

In addition, and most exciting, my blood sugar that had been 240 upon arrival fell to levels in the mid 100s within a day or two. For the last three weeks of my stay it remained steady in the range of 65-85. On my last day at the clinic, it was 67. And here, again, I know to keep these healthy levels permanently.

TWENTY-ONE POUNDS IN TWENTY-FOUR DAYS My greatest triumph was in the realm of lost weight and reduced body dimensions. In 24 days at the clinic, I lost 21.5 pounds and 4 inches around my waist. I weighed 197 lbs. upon arrival on Jan 30. On February 23, the day I left, I weighed 175.5. I can now look down and see something besides my belly and can bend over to tie my shoes without holding my breath. In addition, my thighs are smaller, each by an inch, and my calf muscles, which had been smoothed over by a layer of fat now appear masculine and muscular, the trio of muscle bundles clearly standing out.

But even better is that fact that I have been home now for two months and my weight loss has been maintained. In fact, I have lost three more pounds upon returning home and will slowly continue to lose weight until I reach my goal of 165. I continue to do 30 minutes of treadmill exercising every day, workout with a bowflex from time to time, and work on my abs as well. My taste buds were reprogrammed at the clinic so that I no longer crave salt and have developed a liking for more raw food and less grease. I drink a lot more water now than before.

I used to be addicted to saltine crackers, nibbling on them throughout every day. I could easily snack my way through a whole box single handedly in a week or two. There are no redeeming nutritional benefits to saltine crackers. They consist almost entirely of salt, fat, and white flour. Nothing nutritious there. Thanks to my clinic training, saltine crackers are no a habit nor a temptation with me. I haven't eaten a saltine cracker since January, the week before going to the clinic. Furthermore, since January, I have not eaten a piece of Kentucky Fried chicken either and can drive right by without an impulse to stop in for a snack.

I never was much big on drinking coffee, but prior to coming to the clinic I used to jump-start my day every morning with a cup of black tea. It was a well entrenched habit. As of today, two months later, I have not felt the need for a single cup of caffienated tea, morning or evening, ever since I left the clinic. Nova Vita is a program that works and one that trains you to keep what you have gained for life.

THE LOVE THAT PERMEATES NOVA VITA The staff at Nova Vita are the most loving group of people I have ever been privileged to be around for an extended time on a daily basis. Every person, from the cooks to the office staff, drivers, and helpers, to the nurses, trainers, therapists, and physicians are genuinely concerned for you and celebrate your every victorious step to betterment as if it were their own.

When you are at Nova Vita, you are immersed in a daily bath of love that is probably their most powerful therapy of all. Such love and concern comes, not only from the hearts of every individual on the staff, but has its inspiration from the top, Gary Young himself and his wife, Mary, who is at the clinic almost every afternoon. Gary, who was simultaneously developing a new farm near Guayaquil, was in the clinic several days every week and closely monitored each client. I received more personal care, concern, and attention from Gary than I ever received from a regular medical doctor.

At the end of my 3.5 week stay at Nova Vita, as I was about to leave, all of my measurements, vital signs, and blood indicators were greatly improved from when I had arrived and I had gained a new lease on a longer, healthier life, thanks to Gary’s genius and his wonderful staff. But the most important thing I received at the clinic was not just a concentrated dose of good therapy and TLC, but a new start. What I permanently gained was the knowledge and a set of newly established habits to maintain my regained good health and to keep on improving indefinitely.

THE BEGINNING OF A NEW LIFE Nova Vita has been the beginning of a longer healthier life for me than I could ever have envisioned or established by myself alone. I had tried for years to change the quality of my life style into something healthier, but without much success. My environment was stronger than my will power. I needed to get completely away from my familiar environment where all of my unhealthy habits kept being triggered, reinforced, and rekindled. I needed to make a clean and complete break from all that had become routine to me over the years. Traveling to an unfamiliar country that speaks an unfamiliar language to be in the company of true healers who care about you has made all the difference. Now I have returned to my home and community environment with new strengths and skills that will enable me to maintain the healthy track I have established while being there.

The Clinic has a beautiful pool of ozonated water (no cholorine or chemicals). The last day I was there, I decided to take a brief swim. I put on my swimming suit, which I had been wearing for several years when my waist was a little larger. I cinched the waist strings as tightly as they would go. (It was an extra large suit.) When I jumped in my trunks were so loose they slid down to my knees. Luckily, no one else was in the pool area at the time. So there were no witnesses and I was saved from an embarrassing moment.

It is as if I entered the clinic on January 29, 2008, as a man age 70 and left the clinic on February 23 a man of age 55. I am sure that my experience there, and the improved diet and lifestyle that has resulted since, will add a good healthy fifteen years to my life, at least. I want to be a centenarian and a healthy vigorous one.

From the bottom of my heart I want to thank Dr. Leida, Tamara, Isabella, Vallorie, Samira, Mariutsi, Gabrielle, Marioso, Rosie, Belen, and all of the other staff members of Nova Vita who provide such a wonderful family-like healing environment. I also want to thank Gary and Mary for their vision and their sacrifice to make this all possible.

If you want to contact the clinic and learn about what it offers as well as its costs, here is their address, email, and phone.

Nova Vita Centra Para Medicinia Natural Av. Las Monjas #115 Guayaquil, Ecuador

Telephone (from outside Ecuador): 011-593-4288-3408

Email: novavitacenter@hotmail.com

NOTE: David Stewart is author of 16 books, 11 of which are related to health, and 3 of which are on aspects of oils and aromatherapy. These include "Healing Oils of the Bible," "The Chemistry of Essential Oils Made Simple," and "A Statistical Validation of Raindrop Technique." His aromatherapy books are available in bookstores and many other places, including the Internet at www.RaindropTraining.com. His other books, which cover topics from earthquakes to childbirth, are available at www.CarePublications.net.