September/October 2002 Living Now
When Skin Discovers Spirit
by Marianne Wilson Stein
"The Great Spirit is our father, but the earth is our mother.
She nourishes us; that which we put into the ground she returns to us,
and healing plants she gives us likewise."
- Big Thunder, North American Indian,
circa 1900.
Mango Passion, Island Ginger, Northwest Nectar…imagine a sensual
place--one we can feel in our bodies and touch with our spirits; a place
to connect with the beauty in the world around us. Beauty, healing,
spirit, and passion... these words bring all the elements together to
reflect my inner essence and what I bring to others.
In 1994 I felt I was missing something. I had to find a way to give
back; not just work but to create and develop my own business, to set
my own path. Feeling disconnected from myself, I delved deeper into
my spiritual quest. I spent more and more time in nature, teaching my
young daughter to live simply, explore her creativity, and give gifts
from the heart. Walking my talk, I teamed up with my friend and naturopath
to create handcrafted gifts for Christmas. Personal soul-searching gave
birth to my company.
In 1996, I founded "Gifts from the Earth" in the belief that
our beauty, healing, and health are directly related to the strength
of our connection with the beauty and energy of the earth and to how
we honor that connection in our daily lives.
I worked hard the first couple of years developing a product line,
researching, studying, taking courses, and practicing what I was learning.
In 1998, my sister, Tiffany, a spa owner and nail technician, needed
natural alternatives to the commercial products she was using with clients;
they were causing the skin on her hands to peel and become inflamed
and infected. I spent the next two and half years researching pure,
natural ingredients to develop effective, powerful, healing products
for spa professionals. I still spend lots of time in my lab expanding
the line, testing new product combinations, and preparing custom formulations.
I pride myself on returning to the cycles and rhythms of nature, knowing
that I bring nature into my clients’ lives, fresh for every season.
Now, some 6 years later, I ship products worldwide. I train spa professionals
how to incorporate natural healing products into their work. In finding
a way to give back to the community, I also conduct natural skin care
workshops, and donate 15% of any proceeds to a charity chosen by the
workshop’s host.
A story from Mali beautifully illustrates my passion for my work.
A traveler happened upon a small village where a wedding ceremony was
to take place. In Mali tradition, a man gives his bride’s family
as many of his own herd as he feels his wife is worth. The bridegroom
had given 20 head of cattle to the bride's family--nearly his whole
herd. The visitor thought that this man’s bride must be the most
beautiful woman in the village. However, when he saw her, he couldn’t
believe her husband-to-be paid such a high bride price. Many of the
villagers also thought the groom was crazy for exchanging so many cattle
for an ugly woman.
A few years later, the traveler returned to the same village and called
upon the man who had been married that day. As they sat down to have
tea together, a beautiful woman came in to serve them. Curious, the
American asked what had happened to the woman he had seen years before.
His host answered, "She just served you." He alone had seen
the beauty within his bride.
Just as this man saw the beauty in his future bride, my passion and
desire is to help all women realize their inner and outer beauty, using
the natural healing energies of earth. Have fun and honor yourself as
a gem of the earth that you are!
Marianne Wilson Stein, creator of Gifts From the Earth can be contacted
at 503-452-3644, marianne@giftsfromtheearth.com
or visit her website: www.giftsfromtheearth.com.