Many years ago, a very great man called Gary Young was traveling through France.
Gary is now recognized as the father of the modern-day essential oil movement, and the founder of Young Living Essential Oils. But in those days he was a passionate young man who had first-hand experience of the power of therapeutic-grade essential oils.
He realized that almost all essential oils on the market were either heavily adulterated, or produced in a way that compromised their powerful action. He had a dream to establish an aromatic plant farm, and to produce a quality of essential oil that has never before been possible on our planet.
In those early days Gary was very much an apprentice, thirsting for knowledge about every step of the farming, harvesting and distillation of essential oils. He’d heard about a man who was such a legend in the world of essential oil distillation, it was even reputed that he could distil rocks!
This man was Henri Viaud, who at that time was considered the “father of distillation”. Henri lived in the mountains of Provence, but he was not open to receiving visitors…and especially not “curious” Americans.
After 5 years of traveling back and forth to France, Gary was staying with his good friend Jean-Noel Landel, when Mr. Viaud came to dinner.
Gary could speak only a few words of French, yet Jean-Noel and Mr. Viaud spent the entire meal speaking French. Gary was incredibly disheartened. Here he was, meeting a man he’d traveled far and wide to find, and he couldn’t even understand the conversation.
As Mr Viaud got up to leave, he turned to Gary. In perfect English, he said to Gary, “So Mr. Young, what do essential oils mean to you?”
Gary’s heart leapt into his throat, and he was at a loss for words. He sought inside himself, and one statement came through:
“I believe that essential oils are the closest thing to God that exists on our Planet”, he said.
With a heavy French accent and a dramatic tone of voice, Mr Viaud pointed his finger at Gary and said, “You are right! And anyone who messes with them should be treated like a criminal!”
With barely an acknowledgment, Mr Viaud turned and abruptly walked out the door, accompanied by Jean-Noel. Gary was crushed. He’d come this far, he’d been so close, and now his dreams of studying with this great man were nothing but dust.
But a short while later, Jean-Noel returned to the room where Gary was sitting. “Mr. Viaud wants you on his mountain at 6am!” he declared.
Gary spent many days and weeks with Mr Viaud in his distillery, and over the years he made many more trips to France to continue his work with this great mentor. Together they cut, harvested and distilled wild lavender, thyme and rosemary, and Gary learned the secrets and art of essential oil distillation.
This was the foundation for Gary Young’s knowledge of distillation. Over the years Gary explored how the ancient people distilled essential oils, and he used cutting edge research to design state-of-the-art distilleries on his farms and partner farms around the world.
Even though Gary Young has now moved beyond his body, he has left behind a legacy of knowledge around essential oils, which continues to benefit us today.
Gary always knew that nature contains the solution to every problem that exists on our planet. We only need to fall in love with plants, to study and learn from them, so that we can tap into the true magic of nature in our own life.
If you want to know more about the essential oils created by Gary Young, reach out to the person who’s previously spoken to you about the Young Living essential oils. If you’ve lost touch with that person, or this is your first time hearing about these oils, please do get in touch here.
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Thank you for being a part of our journey.
xxx