My wife, Jacqueline, had been miserable with sinusitis for over twenty years and I, due to significant stress in the workplace (resulting in a nervous breakdown), also developed it.
Before I go further into our story. I will say that the period of my life that proved to be the catalyst that led to Mama Nature being created, was the toughest time of my life and I was almost broken. It would have been oh so easy to have just slept on the couch for a year under a duvet and given up on everything.
But some force outside of me powered me through all of the darkness and horror movie that was going on around me, to not only keep myself and the life we had built together from completely falling apart, but to create a life changing product and business, and keep our heads above water.
Please bear in mind my wife was having to deal with me during this tumultuous time, and I can only imagine what she went through.
Things got so bad that I even phoned a psychic hotline because I desperately needed someone who understood and could tell me what the hell was going on! I knew straight away the guy on the other end of the phone was the real deal and I was so vulnerable at that precise moment, that I felt as if my life was in his hands. I told him that I felt like I was falling apart. And do you know what he told me? He said that I was.
He told me that I was breaking apart so that a new me could take its place. That although it seemed unbelievable to me at that moment (I had never felt so alone, vulnerable and lost) I would become much stronger. And do you know what? He was right! I did become stronger!
The dark night of the soul is definitely not for the faint hearted (understatement of the century!) but looking back, and as crazy as it sounds, I wouldn’t change a single thing. Because without it, how can you awaken?
What I learned from all of my suffering was that every cloud has a silver lining and that you only ever truly learn from your defeats. It also taught me that God works in mysterious ways. A lot of cliches but every single one true! I always wanted to work with herbs in some form or another and discovered that I am an intuitive, natural born healer (it must be my Gypsy blood!). I already knew that I was a good Samaritan, so the two went hand in hand.
And the truth of the matter is that if I hadn’t have gone through this stormy episode in my life, I probably would never have fulfilled my life’s purpose. And after the storm comes the calm!
So, if you are going through a tough time of your own, and feel that there is no light at the end of the tunnel, I’m here to tell you to never give up hope. There is light at the end of that dark tunnel if you can just keep going, and along the way don’t be surprised if you find little glittering gems you never knew existed.
Everything happens for a reason and usually s***t only happens so that you can learn and grow from it and sometimes it is the ONLY WAY to put you on the correct path in life, so that you fulfill your soul’s destiny.
This is our story, and how Mama Nature was born….
Doctors, ENT specialists, countless pharmaceutical and natural remedies – nothing in the world helped until a eureka moment when I got out of my car and a cold wind slapped me straight in the face and numbed my pain for the first time in almost three years.
I know it does sound kind of corny but at that moment I knew I would have to take matters into my own hands and cure our sinusitis.
Having a Science Degree, and us both having a determined and creative nature, we set about formulating our natural nasal spray, SinuSoothe.
Dozens of formulas down the line, we were still not on the right track. Then Jacqueline called me and told me she had found some interesting research on-line. She could hardly contain her excitement. Her phone call was like a gift from the Gods (or should I say Goddesses!). So, both of us, working into the early hours, night after night, and after dozens more formulas, not only did we eventually cure our sinus infections (we were our own guinea pigs!)) but family and friends also asked to use it, with great success.
The recession was hitting hard in 2009 and like many families we were really struggling to pay our bills and we were even on the brink of losing our family home that we had lovingly restored.
The stress of this was taking its toll on me in particular (Jacqueline was taking care of our daughter, and I was the main breadwinner and took care of the finances). I knew we desperately needed some form of additional income other than my construction company which was being seriously affected by the recession.
So, having a natural entrepreneurial spirit, I decided there was a market and a need for our innovative nasal spray and we set up a business to share its healing ability. What could be better than helping people and earning a living at the same time?
At that time the banks were nervous of lending money to start-up businesses and I was even told by my bank manager (politely and with the best intentions) that he thought it was all a bit of a pipe dream and I left empty handed and down in the dumps (to say the least!).
But still determined because we knew it worked (and desperate if the truth be told) we took a massive gamble and used credit cards to set up our small business. We really were between a rock and hard place!
And do you know what? Helping people felt great! (and so did being able to pay our bills). Our nasal spray was being called a Godsend!, the holy grail of nasal sprays! and so on. And people were literally begging us to never stop making it.
As often happens in life, things were going along swimmingly and the road was silky smooth. Then the building company took another sharp downturn and that road was getting bumpy once more. Making additional income to pay our bills was now very much on our minds AGAIN!
Being an inventor of sorts, and now realising I had a natural aptitude for healing, I formulated a whole host of natural skincare products that are equally as innovative and life changing as SinuSoothe.
But we couldn’t think of a name for the brand. After much tossing and turning, the name ‘Mama Nature’ suddenly flashed across my mind’s eye at around three in the morning. What I have since found out is called ‘The Witching Hour’. 🙂
We launched the brand and website and our initial eighteen products in 2011 and the rest is history.
Our skincare products have been called transformative! magical! life saving! unbelievable! and miraculous! And have even brought some of you to tears (happy tears of gratitude and relief!). They have worked for so many people we have lost count.
They may not work for everyone (nothing does!) but we have so much faith in them that we offer a no quibble money back guarantee even if you use the entire product. How many skincare companies offer that?
We would like to thank our team for all of their hard work, creative input and skill in crafting our products, just like in the days of old. We are actually more like one, big happy family (who occasionally rows!). We do have a couple of practicing Witches amongst us, but the rest are very much Witches at heart!
The truth! We’re not quite sure ourselves and are hoping that you can help us.
It is only recently that we have felt her presence, like a hand guiding us in everything we do.
However far-fetched it sounds, we believe she is the energy behind everything we have ever done but until now had failed to realise it. She speaks to us through our inspiration and our creative urges. On our very first website back in 2011 our main image was of a young, raven haired woman blowing petals into the air. She was a Witch and we didn’t even realise it!
Mama Nature is the creative force! The spark from the nothingness and black void where all creation begins. The flash of lightning that illuminates the night sky.
We believe that she is a nature spirit, a Witch spirit to be precise who has been sent to transform you physically and emotionally and to unleash your inner Witch. She is a powerful healer from another realm and we are her conduit for change! She is not only inspiring us but compelling us in a way that is sometimes hard to put into word, and…
She is here to deliver a message!
Please e-mail your ideas to enquiries@mama-nature.co.uk. Any ones posted on our website will earn you £50 worth of free stuff. You could send in a poem or song if you like. Find out more >>>
We welcome you to join us on an exciting journey to discover.
And hopefully this will also be an exciting journey of self-discovery for you too.
James & Jacqueline Shearer
Co-founders
Mama Nature
“Like you I’m not perfect, I’m myself warts and all.
But I embrace my true nature and stand firm and stand tall.
I glide with pure grace and I march on a mission.
For I was sent here to tell you that you’re all in transition.
It may not feel easy, feels like life is a bitch.
But it’ll be made so much easier if you embrace your inner witch.”
Budding witches would do well to get on Instagram in particular and connect with their fellow Insta Witches. “Sharing their idiosyncratic stories and lifestyles adds to our spectrum of understanding of what it can feel like to be a woman and a witch.”
