The Story of the ORIGINAL NECK PILLOW

Please know, that when I say “ORIGINAL Neck Pillow,” I certainly have the truth to back up the story and not just with empty words. How many of you have a Therapeutic Neck Pillow at home? You probably purchased it at a fancy store or perhaps at the local Mall. I’m sure they are filled with “non-organic” herbs like Lavender, Rosemary, Peppermint with some rice and corn, and you probably proudly paid anywhere from $35 to $45. Out of respect for Dr. Martin Gondos, the original creator of the idea, I will tell you a brief story.

In 1944 in Budapest, Hungary a young, well known, and respected orthopedic surgeon by the name of Dr. Martin Gottesman was struggling with his family to survive the Hitler invasion. Unfortunately his dear father, Rabbi Gottesman, mother, and four of his brothers and sisters did not make it, as they were executed by German soldiers. Martin, another brother, and three of his sisters were captured and placed in concentration camps. Martin was able to escape to Czechoslovakia, where he continued his medical studies and changed his last name to Gondos Weiss. He struggled to help people who suffered from the scarceness of medications during World War II, which lead him to learn about the natural way of healing through local farmers and knowledgeable Gypsies.

One of his creations was an herbal gauze pack for pain, arthritis, headaches, etc. In his recipe he showed 31 herbs and spices with an explanation of each one. Unfortunately, with 45 years of being folded inside a medical book, some of the herbs were not very legible, so only 27 were transferred to today’s ORIGINAL NECK PILLOW, recreated in 1989, 2 years after Dr. Gondos passed on. One of his very big and important instructions was to avoid pesticides at all costs because if you breathe it in, it enters your system and will slowly poison you. The other instruction, depending on what his pack was being used for, was regarding the natural weight of the pillow which acts as a kind of a “Natural Acupressure.” On his notes, he insisted, to not use rice, corn or buckwheat. Instead he used a valuable spice that is able to hold moisture and fantastic benefits for years after.

With the help of my dear mother, we recreated this herbal pack. At first we struggled coming up with a shape that was permanent and comfortable. Mom was the one that came up with the U shape idea and made a pattern with a piece of Christmas wrapping paper, which, to this day, I still have in safe keeping along with Dr. Gondos’ 1944 original recipe.

Back in the late 80’s, I didn’t have a resource to purchase herbs in bulk, so my local supermarket was my most friendliest source and let me tell you, that I used to get the strangest looks from the cashier at the market when I would empty their shelves from most of their herbs and spices. That didn’t last long since it was costing me an average of $90 to make 2 pillows using only about 15 herbs and spices since the market didn’t carry everything I needed on the list. I was in the banking industry then and decided to take them to work with me so my friends could use them in case they had bad headaches or pain in their shoulders etc. The bank president had one attached to him 24/7. He claimed it was the only thing that helped him with his headaches and I was a miracle worker.

One of my dear friends and coworkers begged me for a pillow. She said it cleared her sinus allergies, headaches, and chronic shoulder pain. She gave me $100 for that pillow. “WOW, do I have something here?” I thought. I was just stoked about life. It didn’t take long for my disappointment to take place. My dear friend decided to retire from the banking business and told us she was moving out of Southern California due to a death in her immediate family. 

Later on, I found out about her large inheritance that she had received from this family member. She wanted to double her profit, so she found nothing better to do than dismantle my neck pillow and try to copy my recipe. Of course, she had the $$'s to patent it, which unfortunately I didn’t (but I do have all the original proofs). Yes, she succeeded selling it all over the US, but was it anything like Dr. Gondos recipe? Absolutely “NOT.” Not even close. Turns out, she couldn't copy every herb and spice that was in it (only 6 or 7), nor did she know the secrets of the pillow.

I am so very glad that it backfired on her because KARMA is the name of this game and I am here to tell you that every pillow that I have ever made has been blessed with goodness for those using it with good intent, and for those with bad intent? What you seek in deceit, shall find your intent times three, blessed be. Someone asked me a couple of months ago “why is your pillow so expensive?” I dare you to get 4 to 5 lbs. of organic herbs and spices into one amazing healing toll like this one. And if you must know, my profit on these girls is less than $15, and that includes the material, which is definitely not cheap. So I hope you enjoy my little story, and thank you 

Dr. Martin Gondos Weiss for you fantastic knowledge of Western/Conventional and Traditional/Alternative medicine.

Preserving your Citrus

My house smells so nice and fresh. This time of year, I try to preserve my limes, lemons, oranges and tangerines as much as I can. I use lots of citrus in my cooking, cleaning, some crafts and even some skin care. So before the freeze kills all their nutrients, lets preserve. Citrus juice already squeezed, is only good for a couple of days in your fridge, before it starts picking up bacteria. If you freeze it, it can last up to 7 months , with no preservatives. Some people say 4 to 5 months, but to my understanding, that’s only if your trees have been sprayed with additives, and pesticides. Mine aren’t and I use this juice for a good 7 to 8 months, with no problems. I also like to take advantage of the fruit in every way possible.

 My first step is getting the zest from the limes and lemons (before I cut them), I mix these 2 together and use them for several things, like, marinades, citrus pastries, cakes, skin care etc. Then I do the orange and tangerines together, that works wonders for your marinades in any kind of meat, pork, chicken. I use it to make “Vegan Carnitas” (Mexican pork), and it’s soooo delish.

Then I cut them and squeeze all the juice out (I do keep these separate and label them before freezing). I use the mini cupcake tins and the regulars as well. The large cupcake tins (after frozen) are great to make lemonade. I use 2 of those, water and sweetener in a large glass pitcher. Boom it’s gone in a jiffy (add fresh basil and mint leaves).
Don’t throw away your pulp, add it to my zest mix for an extra kick.

I use both, the mini cupcake tins and the regular size ones to freeze the juice. Pure lime juice and keep the lemon juice separate. I like to label these so there's no confusion.

 Cover your tins with plastic wrap first and then aluminum foil, and into the freezer they go. Write on the foil with a marker so you don't confuse the lime juice from the lemon.

 After you’ve squeezed all that juice out, I cut some of those halves into smaller pieces and put them into smaller sandwich bags in the freezer and label them “Garbage Disposal”. I keep a small dish by my sink and use them to keep the disposal smelling wonderful. I only like using lemons and sometimes Oranges. This is one way to keep your disposal and your sink smelling wonderfully fresh. It helps with nasty stuff that gets stuck in the disposal and disinfects it. And the biggest plus??? good for the earth, your plumbing and harmless.

For the lemon/lime zest and pulp mixture, put in the ice trays. It makes about 1 tbsp. each.  These are so good for my Coconut/Lime Thai fish and lemon squares but you can add to any recipe. Do the same thing with the Orange Zest, which is excellent to marinate carne asada and carnitas recipes.

Remove the lime and lemon frozen juice and place them in a Freezer Ziplock bag. Please make sure you label them and date them. Keep in the freezer and use as you need.

 Orange/tangerine/cloves and cinnamon home cleaner. Best cleaner/disinfectant you'll ever use and no chemicals. Can be use for anything in your home except stone and granite top counters. Reason is that the citrus will release it's Essential Oils so it may look oily if used for that purpose.

Pack a 1 pint mason jar with the peals (in this care I have Orange and Tangerine)add cloves and a couple of cinnamon sticks. Top it with white vinegar, seal with lid and place them in a dark cool place for approximately 5 to 6 weeks. Don't forget to mark the date and contents. This will be a concentrate. When it's done drain very well into clean jars, label them and add about 5 drops of essential oils (according to what you have in the jar) if you would like a stronger scent. For example 5 drops of orange or tangerine essential oils to this one, and Lemon to the other cleaner. This step is optional.

Follow the same instructions above for the Lemon/Lime and Rosemary Cleaner. When is done after the 6 weeks, then you can add Essential oils of Lemon and Rosemary, but this is optional. 
After the 6 week of these babies soaking in the vinegar, you will notice the liquid looks dirty almost. No worries, it only means your job is almost done. Using a large measuring cup or bowl, place a colander with cheesecloth over it, and pour all the contents of the jar out. Put a little pressure on those peels to make sure all the liquid goes in the bowl. You can now pour the clean contents into a clean jar, label it (example) "Lemon/Rosemary Cleaner Concentrate", and keep with your cleaning supplies. 

To make your mix, I use a 16 oz spray bottle. The least expensive place to get this kind, is at the beauty supply for about $1.50. Add about 4 oz of your concentrate and top it with water. I like to add about 2 more oz's of white vinegar and then the water. The vinegar smell disappears after a while, but the orange spice smells stays. 

Hope this has helped some of you out there that have citrus trees. Also, get your kids involved, they'll love it.
Blessed Be

Organic Soy Massage Candles.

ORGANIC MASSAGE CANDLEs 

How to make it yourself or available for purchase.

The melting point for Soy wax is very low and there’s no danger of burning the skin.

I always recommend taking a hot bath with 4 lbs (yes, 4 pounds, is what really works) of Epson salts, when you are in a lot of body pain, from a heavy workout, fibromyalgia, arthritis or any of these bothersome painful ailments. Getting a massage with these candles, right after this bath is like stepping into a different world. When you’re done, I highly recommend following this with a little nap.

Soy Massage Candle for Fibromyalgia (arthritis, general aches & pains)

Ingredients:

*-16 oz of Organic Soy Wax

* 2 oz Almond oil (when making these for myself I use jojoba because of my very dry skin)

*-2 oz of Shea or Mango butter (added moisture and  extra slide for the massage)

*-1 teaspoon Vitamin E (just good stuff all around)

*-Organic Essential Oils: 30 drops of Lavender, 20 drops of Peppermint, 15 drops of wintergreen, 10 drops of Marjoram. This is a simple, inexpensive but effective formula.

“Optional” pain formula of Organic Essential Oils for the chronic pain sufferer:   20 drops of Lavender, 15 drops of camphor, 15 drops of wintergreen, 10 drops peppermint, 10 drops chamomile, 5 drops patchouli, 5 drops sandalwood, 5 drops black pepper. This is my own pain formula and works like a charm. (It is strong and very effective, keep it away from sensitive areas like, armpits, eyes, private areas.)

*-6 square tins (4oz size are good) Have a 7th tin just in case you have extras.

*-Pre-tabbed lead free candle wicks

*- Medium size pot, scale and either a large glass measuring cup or a wax melting container. (Michaell's and JoAnn’s has them)Please do NOT purchase E/O or Fragrances from them)

Directions:

1.- Calibrate your scale to zero with the empty melting container on it.

Then add your Soy wax till the scale reaches 1lb. (16oz)

2.- On a medium sized pot heat about 2 inches of water. Once it has boiled, reduce heat to the lowest setting.

3.-Place the soy wax in the Melting container (or large glass measuring cup) Place the melting pot in the water and warm slowly over very low heat, stirring slowly (occasionally)so it doesn’t create bubbles, until the wax is melted.

4.- While the wax melts (on low) get the containers ready. Using a hot glue gun, prepare your candle tins by glueing the candle wick to the bottom of the tin, and securing the wick with any stick. This will keep the wick from falling in the wax when you pour it. Never cut your wicks, until the end.

5.- Using your scale again (calibrate scale to Zero with the small dish on it 1st)

6.- Measure about 2 oz of the Mango Butter. Now add 2 oz of Almond Oil in the same dish (It will bring the scale reading to 4 oz).

7.- Add the vitamin E oil to the same dish.
8.- NOW!!! your wax should be completely melted, add the mixture of butters and oils to the wax, being very careful not to splatter.Stir slowly until all mixed and remove from the stove.

9.- Place your melting pot on a safe surface (on a towel) and carefully add your essential oils stirring slowly. Please do not add any colors, remember this goes on your skin.

10.-Slowly pour the hot candle massage oil into the tin, making sure the wick stays centered.

11.-Let candle cool completely, about 5 to 6  hrs. Remove the sticks holding the wick in place and cut the wick to 1/4 inch.

12.- Label your Candle and make sure you place a Warning Label in the bottom part of your container, if you are planning to sell.

13.- Light it up, let the wax melt for about 30 minutes until the top part has liquified.

14.- Using the corner of your square tin, (warn the person you are going to massage that it will be warm)pour the melted wax directly onto the persons back. Or cup your hand and pour on your hand just like you would hot oil, and then on the person. 

For a provocative and sensual mix of Essential oils, try 30 drops sandalwood, 10 mandarin or tangerine, 5 drops of Jasmine,10 drops patchouli, 10 drops lavender, 3 drops of ylang ylang.

A little advise,... in the past, I’ve had clients go purchase E/O’s and they where not pure and premixed with who knows what (alcohol, water, rancid oils) and their candle had sparks. Please purchase good oils if you can. And if you can’t afford all these oil, I totally understand, just get Lavender and it will be lovely. ENJOY THE MAGICK!!!!

Candles for purchase and special orders are available. 4oz $9.50

Disclaimer:   We have repeatedly tested all of our products for many years on ourselves, clients, friends and family and never on animals. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease and it is not a replacement for medical care.  If you have a serious health problem, we recommend that you consult your Physician, before deciding on any course of self treatment.  We pride ourselves in making small batches of homemade quality products, passed on to us from our ancestors, with a focus on Organic Clinical Aromatherapy and Certified Organic ingredients, which help to restore balance, to our earth, body, and mind. Our products are free of Petrochemicals, Parabens or Phthalates and they are  Organic, Vegan & Cruelty Free. As an added bonus, they have been empowered under the moon, with the good intent of cleansing , purifying and bringing positive energy.  By you purchasing our product, you agree that you are 18 years or older and you have read our disclaimer.  May you always be Blessed with health. 
The Magic Wizard and The Wacky Broomstick. Made in the USA 
ALLERGY WARNING: Please NOTE, some of our products including massage candles, may contain Shea Butter and Sesame Seed oils. Do not use if you known you have allergies to any of these. Discontinue use of this product if you develop a rash.

For purchases, E-Mail me directly at:  thewackybroomstick@yahoo.com darinkabellhasty@yahoo.com or dee@themagicwizard.net