Caring for our crystals

There is a lot of information on the internet about how to care for crystals.  I wanted to add my slant to the archive.

Personally I recoil from many of the instructions for a number of reasons.

Here are some of what you will find, below I will explain why you should not do this on a purely practical level:

Wash your crystals under running water when you first buy them and after every use.  If necessary use a scrubbing brush.  
Some crystals are water soluble; this would mean washing them could literally make them disappear before you eyes. 
 

Bury your crystals in sea salt to cleanse them.

Salt is a strong alkaline and is also abrasive.  This can damage the surface of delicate crystals or those that have a low ph.

Place your crystals in sunlight to charge them

Crystals are formed in deep and utter darkness.  They are not naturally exposed to sunlight.  Crystals such as fluorite will lose their colour if stood in sunlight for long periods of time.

Rub oils onto your crystals to anoint them

Many crystals are porous, rubbing oil on them could allow the oil to seep into the stone.

People will argue that it is important to learn which crystals can be treated in which manner.  Personally I would suggest that there are so many new crystals appearing all the time that it would be hard to learn this for every one.  I would hate for someone to come home with a new stone to damage it by running it under a tap.  As such I suggest that if you feel you must cleanse and charge your crystals you do it in a way that does not risk the structure of the crystal.

Methods you can use are:

Cleansing breath 
This is the simplest method of cleansing a crystal.  Simply take a deep breath in and with the intention of blowing away negative energies breath out over the stones.  Know that it is done.

Smudging Using either frankincense or white sage waft the smoke over your crystals knowing that they will be refreshed.

Moonlight
On the night of the full moon place your crystals in a window facing the moon or place them outside if you have a safe dry place.  Remember though to bring them in before sunrise.


Flowers, feathers or smooth washed beach gravel
You can lay crystals on a bed of dried flowers, feathers or smooth washed beach gravel.

Singing bowls or toning
There is no reason why you couldn’t sing to your crystals or use a singing bowl to create a cleansing sound


 

Of course, for me none of this is necessary as I believe that stones don’t need cleansing.  You will find a couple of bowls, one containing dried lavender flowers and frankincense granules and the other containing tiny sea rounded gravel.  I also have a wall sconce that I burn frankincense above my stone friends. However, I do not do this to cleanse them, rather to give thanks and treat them to beautiful energies.

This may seem like semantics, one says cleansing the other says pampering but there is a very important but subtle difference.  Cleansing a stone says to it “this is a tool and it isn’t capable of looking after itself”.  Whereas, pampering my stones says “I honour you for the work that you do and I would like to show my gratitude by taking the time to treat you well”. 

Whilst we are on the subject of the practicalities of caring for your crystals it is also important to remember that many are fragile.  If they are stones that you won’t be working with I suggest keeping them in a dust free cabinet.  I have a glass cabinet that is purposely placed out of direct sunlight where I put all my fragile stone friends.

If you are dusting them ensure that you do so gently.  Some stones will take a gentle washing to remove dust but please be absolutely sure that you have read up about it before you put it in water.  Also ensure that the water isn’t hot or cold but at room temperature as you may cause the crystal to fracture.

These stones have taken thousands of years to form and have sat underground waiting to work with us, are they not worth caring for with love and respect?

Visit my website to learn about my healing practice  

http://www.crystaloak.moonfruit.co.uk/

Is it possible we need evil?

Last winter when I was in the throes of my SAD I decided to incorporate prayer into my life.  I had remembered being told about The Great Invocation so I hunted it down so I could learn it and work with it.  I didn’t realise how much I would learn from it.

For the most part I don’t have any issues with it. The first 3 verses resonate well with me;  I like the idea of light streaming down to me and humanity, I would love for my personal concept of Christ to return to earth and I do believe that there is a greater purpose that we serve, that we may not be aware of.

It is the last line of the 4^th verse that I struggle with; “And may it seal the door where evil dwells”.

So, what is wrong with this line?  Surely we want rid of evil don’t we?

Firstly we have to consider what evil is. This sounds easy until you look into it deeper.  For some evil is the devil’s work, it is external to us and is here to lead us astray.  To others evil is the human ego when it has become out of control.  The difference between the two is free will and personal choice.  An external source of evil implies we are being controlled whereas we have choice when it comes to our ego.  So where do we stand on this?

After we have answered the question of what evil is, we have to look at its context in life.

On a small scale there have been people in my life that could have been considered more on the side of evil than of good.  My first boyfriend treated me very badly and I was in a place where I could not stand up for myself.  The abuse was mostly very subtle but at other times not so much.  I came out of that relationship quite damaged and spent a fair amount of time a victim of that damage, allowing it to rule my life. 

However, after a few years I was spurred to start dealing with the scars left by his treatment.  I can now say that my crusade to heal myself has led to enormous healing and some of the most profound experiences in my life.  Being with that person was the first step on my spiritual path.

Look at this on a greater scale.  As controversial as it may be there are many people who believed that the US president George W Bush was evil.  Some of the choices he made caused the death or suffering of thousands of people.  Many people railed against him and his policies.  However one thing he did was cause people to think about the end results of his policies.  It is possible that the “Occupy” movements of 2012 stemmed from these protests.  He shone a light on what a number of American politicians believed and brought it to the attention of the world.

Again, can we consider him evil if he is the catalyst for great change?

Looking at these 2 examples, both big and small, we can start to question whether evil is so bad after all.  Would I have strove to learn so much about myself and healing methods if I had not been through those experiences?  Would the world now be looking at politicians with a wary eye if Bush had not been president?

One thing evil does is force us to react.  We can curl up in a ball full of self pity and been beaten, we can return with greater evil, or we can pull together and grow. 

Going back to the line in the prayer; “And may it seal the door where evil dwells”.  Are we ready to not have evil in the world? 

Maybe in time humanity will see that it is to our benefit to learn the necessary lessons without the hand of evil in our backs pushing us forward... until that time I think evil will be around for a little longer yet.

Visit my website to learn about my healing practice  

http://www.crystaloak.moonfruit.co.uk/

The light at the end of the tunnel

A few years ago I was in a very dark place.  I had split up with my long term partner, left the village I grew up in and living on my own for the first time.  Although I love solitude it has to be my choice and I was terrified of being on my own forever.

Very often when I was in a dark place I would find myself sitting at the base of a special willow tree back in the village I grew up in.  I had climbed this tree as a child and found a counsellor in it as an adult.  So many times I would sit leaning against its trunk sobbing not knowing how to go on, only to find answers, love and encouragement coming to my mind.

One of the pieces of wisdom that tree gifted me with was the metaphor of the light at the end of the tunnel.

So often we say that the light at the end of the tunnel has gone out, we have lost hope and cannot see how to continue... the willow tree explained the full metaphor to me so well.

The tunnel is part of our path in life.  We walk our path and when dark times come we enter the tunnel.  If things aren't too dark the tunnel is straight and we can see the light ahead of us.  However, if things get really bad and we can't see the light we find that there is a bend in the tunnel.  The light is still there, we just can't see it.

This means, all we have to do in those times is to just keep on walking.  Nothing more.  Put one foot in front of the other, day by day, and soon we turn the corner and the light comes back into view.

The willow made it very clear that it was not an "uphill struggle"... the light hadn't gone out because we had to climb a hill, the path was flat and we just had to keep on walking.

Or, as Dory puts it... just keep swimming

Visit my website to learn about my healing practice  

http://www.crystaloak.moonfruit.co.uk/

Do you have rose tinted glasses?

When we look at the world there is so much to see, such a myriad of people living so many different lives. There are so many opportunities, so many variables that we can only take in so much... and we take in that which is easiest to accept, that which fits our expectations. Without realising it we ignore the rest as if it wasn't there.  If we expect to see negativity we will tune out the good that goes on around us.

In wearing the metaphorical rose tinted glasses we see life from a different perspective, seeing joy where we may naturally expect sorrow. If you want to see a different world, change the way you look at it.

Rose tinted glasses can also help us see what we have and give thanks for it rather than feeling sad about what we don't have. They also help us see ourselves in ways that allow us to be proud of we have achieved rather than getting angry for not achieving more.

Anyone want some rose tinted glasses?

Visit my website to learn about my healing practice  

http://www.crystaloak.moonfruit.co.uk/

 

Things are not what they seem - animal cruelty

Once again today I was exposed to the reality of dog fighting.  Recently it has become a hot topic in social media and it has cropped up a couple of times in tv dramas that we have been watching.  My initial response is to recoil into hate and disgust for these people and anger that once again I am having to think about such terrible things.  However, I knew that wouldn't help.  Instead I took myself off for a little chat with Spirit to understand why these things are in my face so much at the moment.

A few months ago I was given a directive from Spirit; a vision on what I could do to help animals that suffer at the hands of humanity beyond striving to be cruelty free in all the products I purchase and removing fish from my already meat free diet.

I was shown a woman standing on a hill holding a spear.  She was looking over the earth and above her was a deep dark cloud.  I became aware that the cloud was the group consciousness, all of the souls of humanity were plugged into and made up this cloud.  As I looked at it the end of my spear began to shine brightly and I was instructed to thrust this spear into the cloud, bringing light to the whole of humanity.

The purpose of this was not to punish humanity for those that hurt animals, as to do this would hurt animal lovers too, including myself.  I was also not change specific people but, instead, to simply bring light to the hearts of the whole of our species so we could make new choices in situations involving animals.

So, back to today.  While I was going through the process of lighting that cloud I asked why dog fighting had become more prevalent? Spirit had a surprising response that also tied in with all the child abuse scandals that are going on at the moment.

The media generally implies that humanity is a lost cause and is getting worse.  There is more violence, more abuse, more hurt and pain and that those of us who are not party to it should fear the rest of the populace because they must be terrible people.  Seeing more dog fighting on the tv and in social media could easily imply that it is more common now.  But flip the coin and think about it differently.

These terrible things have been happening for decades.  The child abuse scandals show this; they are going back 30 or more years finding more and more people who have done terrible things.  This isn't now, this is decades ago.  The difference is people are standing up and saying that it happened.  People are realising that the public are on their side more and they will get the belief that they have craved since they suffered the abuse.

This can be applied to cruelty to animals. Seeing more and more of it on the tv and in social media just means people are bringing it into the light, people are realising that it cannot continue to happen.

As with many things that need to go through a healing process it has to appear to get worse before it gets better.  Seeing it so much just means more people are forced to form an opinion and there is a good chance that they will take the side of compassion, with peer pressure this could lead to a change in the more hard core people.

So, when I see something like that I am going to try not to recoil into hate but instead send love and light into that cloud and hope that we are seeing signs of change.

Visit my website to learn about my healing practice  

http://www.crystaloak.moonfruit.co.uk/

Seasonal Affective Disorder - it's that time of year

Over the last 5 or 6 years I have found winter hitting harder than it ever did before.  It took me a few years to work it out but now I fully realise that I experience Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and I have spent some time both researching and listening to what I need to make winters easier.  I hope my experience can help others.

Firstly, what is SAD?
There is a multitude of websites out there that tell you about it.  I have read a few and come up with my own interpretation.  This relates only to me but may resonate with others.

SAD, for me, starts around the autumn equinox which is a point in September where the day and night length are equal, after that days get shorter and nights lengthen.  I feel the shift but at that point is isn't affecting me very much.  However, as the nights get longer I find myself wanting to start the hibernation process.  The scientists will say that this is to do with the circadian rhythm which is the sleep cycle triggered by the release of melatonin in the brain.  This cycle is aligned with the sunrise and sunset times and as it gets dark earlier and light later in the mornings we want to sleep more.  Couple this with the reduction in sunlight that is important in the process of creating serotonin in the brain and depression and anxiety set in.

There are methods of dealing with these very 3-dimensional symptoms, but I believe there is so much more to it than this, particularly for people who consider the changing of the seasons as very important in their lives.

The deeper causes of SAD
Think back to a time when we were more aligned with nature and the seasons.  More often than not people in those times rose with the sunrise and retired to bed with the sunset.  Bring into this the fact that there was less to do out in the fields in the winter meant we slept more.  Think now about what there was to eat; in the summer there were fresh fruits and vegetables but in the winter diet was restricted to what could be stored over winter and animals that could be butchered.  This means that the diet was higher in carbohydrates and protein and lower in fresh fruit and veg; explaining why SAD often brings on carb craving, binge eating and weight gain.  We are preparing for harsh weather and possibly hibernation.

Unfortunately we don't live in that world any more.  Society insists that we continue with the same pace of life that we have in the summer.  It insists that we continue to get up at the same time in the morning, stay slim and force ourselves to exercise when deep in our souls the more natural part of us is screaming to stop, rest, conserve energy and prepare for winter.

On a spiritual level we work on our growth through the summer and the winter is a time of quiet reflection and solitude just at a time when the party season is getting into full swing.  We are deeply craving time for time to assimilate what we have learned in the year rather than partying, and this can cause anxiety as we fight our body's need for peace.

If you want to take it to an even deeper spiritual level, I am starting to wonder about it's connection with the concept that human evolution leads us to being able to metabolise sunlight.  At the moment we eat food to sustain us.  I see food as sunlight frequency energy that has been slowed down so we can access it.  Plants need sunlight to grow, we eat the plants for energy.  The plant has transmuted the sunlight energy into a form that we can digest.  At an even denser level the plant needs sunlight to grow, a cow eats the plant and we eat the cow (if we are meat eaters).

So, if we raise our vibration enough we should be able to cut out the middle man and access the energy of the sun ourselves.  Applying this hypothesis to SAD we find that maybe there are some of us that are at a stage where we are starting to metabolise light and when we get less sunlight we crave denser foods.

So, how do we deal with SAD on an holistic level?
I am still in the process of putting together my own regime but I am finding some success with what I have so far.  Please remember I am not a doctor, nor do I have ANY training in human physiology beyond knowing roughly where the major organs are.  All of the information I share is what I have found on the internet and is readily available to all.  Do your own research and I urge to you speak to your GP before starting anything.

For me it is important to look at all the aspects of SAD.  Although we may have worked to align ourselves with the seasons we live in a modern world and, unless we are lucky enough to be able to choose our daily routine, we have to function in the modern world.

Of course, the simplest way to combat SAD is to get as much sunlight as possible, for some that is winter holidays, for others it is long walks in nature when the sun is out, but there is more that can be done.

The Mind - Brain Chemistry 
There is a lot of information on brain chemistry on the internet but the majority of it points to Vitamin D as being necessary in the production of serotonin.  This vitamin can be found in oily fish and eggs but we get the majority of what we need from sunlight hitting the skin.  A lack of vitamin D has become a serious problem in modern society where we are encouraged to cover up and use sunblock all year round.  Couple that with working in offices and we find that we get very little sunlight all year round, when winter comes it gets even worse.

Vitamin D3 can be taken as a supplement and there are various other supplements that can help the absorption of D3.  I urge you to do your research but I will say that I have found taking this very effective.

It is also suggested that Omega oils are helpful in attaining healthy brain chemistry.  As a non meat eater I take Flax Seed oil and add linseed to my oatmeal in the mornings.  Again, I have found this very effective.

There are a number of other options on the market such as 5-HTP, melatonin and some swear by St John's Wort however there are a number of contraindications that lead me to decide not to take it.  There is also some information that B vitamins, magnesium and zinc are useful too.  Again, do your own research.

Another very simple way to raise your serotonin levels is through exercise, however as SAD sets in deeper you may find it hard to motivate yourself, if you can you will find it very effective.


The Body - Circadian Rhythms
Due to the change in sunrise and sunset times we produce melatonin earlier in the day and for longer making us feel tired earlier and wanting to sleep for longer.  The way to combat this is to fool our brains into thinking it is still summer.  For this we use light therapy.

I use 3 different lights through the day.   

• I have a sunrise lamp that helps me get out of bed in the morning.  This light creates a false sunrise by slowly getting brighter over the 30 minutes before I need to get out of bed.  It also has a gentle alarm.  This means I wake gently and naturally rather than being jolted out of deep sleep by a obnoxious buzzer.
• Once I am up I use a big 10,000 lux full spectrum lamp at 6am in the morning for around 30 minutes.  Because my rhythm is slightly retarded I need a pulse of bright light in the morning to wake me up.  I have set this lamp up so it is on the windowsill in the kitchen so I can stand in front of it while I do the dishes from the night before. 
• When I get to work I turn on my small light pod on my desk.  This is a full spectrum lamp but is not as bright as my big lamp.  This gives me a brighter working environment during the day and keeps my brain alert.  This light gets turned off at 3pm as having it on any later would delay the production of melatonin later in the evening and make falling asleep harder.

To get the best out of light therapy it is important to research circadian rhythms and work out whether yours is retarded or advanced.

This covers the physiological side, but we want to look at this from an holistic angle.

The soul - Everything else
I have found that getting a SAD beating routine in the morning helps get me through the day, and I start as soon as I have been woken by my sunrise lamp.

As I get to the point where I struggle to get motivated to do vigorous exercise I rely on my morning routine more and more.  I start with a few very gentle sit ups before I have got out of bed.  In reality they aren't sit ups, more I raise my head and shoulders off the pillow and lift my legs from the bed maybe 30 times, nothing more.

After that I do a little yoga.  I enjoy the sun salutation and have put together some other stretches and twists just to get me moving.  A few half press ups later and I am done.  This just tells my body at a more spiritual level that the day has started.

After this I am downstairs to see my cats and use my big 10,000 lux lamp while I do the dishes.  I find this a gentle way to wake up as the cats make me smile and the dishes take no thinking about so I can mull over the coming day.

One of the biggest symptoms of SAD for me is anxiety.  This is not a direct fear that can be faced up to but more of a random anxiety that has no actual cause.  For this I use the MIR Method and I have found it very successful.  It takes 2 minutes and clicking the link will take you to a video that will teach you very quickly how to do it.  This is the next part of my morning routine as I do it in the shower while I am washing my hair and again when I am scrubbing my face.

After that I often recite mantras while showering, I love the Invocation to Light and the Great Invocation.  After that I have a little chat with Spirit about the coming day.  I love doing this at this time; there are no distractions and being a water sign I always feel relaxed and connected there.  Also, no-one other than the cats can hear me.

Just before I leave for work I take my supplements and have warming oatmeal with linseed and dried apricots.  This fills me up with low fat carbs that keep me going well into the morning.  During the day I eat oat cakes and nuts along with a salad wrap to keep the carb addiction at bay without (hopefully) succumbing to sugary foods.  If I must have chocolate I make it a high % cocoa content so that I am getting the hit with as few calories as possible.

This routine helps me get through the day reasonably well, but when things get tough I call on other tools in the box.

Bach Flower remedies are great for working with SAD, however when you are deep in it it may be hard to pick the right remedies.  I may have blogged before that for years I tried taking remedies for how I saw the world while in the depths of SAD only to realise I needed Willow,  the remedy for self pity.  Agrimony can help with the food cravings. Olive might be useful for the tiredness and Hornbeam can help with inaction due to tiredness.  Of course it is best to choose the remedies that are right for your situation.

Something I have tried recently is colour therapy with a friend from Colour for Well Being and I have to say I found it wonderfully soothing and I plan to book another session just after Christmas to help me through the rest of the winter.  I find that the world becomes less colourful in the winter with the dark days and particularly if we have long periods with standing snow.  There are no leaves on the trees and no flowers; we don't even get blue skies for days on end.  Colour is important for the spirit so working to increase the amount of colour around you could prove very important.  I know my soul cries out for fresh green leaves when we get to January.

Essential oils is another tool that can be useful, citrus oils lift the spirits and reminds our soul of sunny days.  Bergamot is great for depression and I find peppermint quite invigorating.

Finally, for now at least, crystals are always my constant companions, riding along with me in my pocket or on my jewellery and of course I have my regular sessions with the wonderful Hilary.

I am sure there is so much more out there that can help with something that is very misunderstood and can be very debilitating.  As always I urge people to not be brought down by dis-ease but to come back fighting; implementing changes in their lives that can minimise the effect of the issue.  You may not find a complete cure, but things could be easier.

Sunbeams to you all

Visit my website to learn about my healing practice  

http://www.crystaloak.moonfruit.co.uk/

Our reality, what creates it?

 Since the dawn of communication our reality has been expanding.  First it was news from the next village and then over the millennia it has stretched to include photographs of other planets.  This expansion has increased the scope of our reality; no longer do we base our beliefs about the “world around us” on what we personally experience; we take on the beliefs of others without questioning them.  Are we right to do this?

I know from talking to other people the idea of limiting your reality can be seen as quite radical, but I would like you to ask you to suspend your normal rationale and take a new look at your life around you.

I am sitting at my desk and the radio is on.  Currently the lady on the radio is telling me that there is an accident on the M1 near Milton Keynes.  Later I will go home and listen to my husband telling me about his day, and the same with our lodger.  On my way home I may listen to Radio 4 and hear about current affairs.  From all of this I am getting an idea of what the world is like.  But I have not experienced any of it.  All I have done is sit at my desk to write this blog then seen a stretch of road between my office and my home.

How much of our reality do we build from the media and from other people?  All of that information comes flooding to us and we rarely question it.  But what if we consider that it has all come through the filter of someone else?  One person’s experience of a situation is going to be different to another’s.  And how do we know what they are telling us is true?

Centuries ago it was believed that the world was flat.  No-one actually knew this as a proven fact, it was just what was believed.  The information was passed around and people blindly accepted it and based their reality on it, including the fears that they may fall off the edge if they went too far.  It wasn’t really until someone saw that the world was round that it could be truly believed, and even then, only when photographs were brought back could this information be proven.

How much of what you believe about the world is based on personal experience and how much has slipped in the back door through the media or people you speak to?  How many of your fears are based on this information? 

A good example of this is the way we see the economy.  We are told the country is falling apart, people are being made redundant left, right and centre and there are no jobs.  Because of this we often hold fears that we will be next for redundancy.  But look around you; how many unemployed people do you know that are actively seeking a job?  I personally know of one person, and she has an interview soon that will put her forward for a number of jobs. 

Should we really be so scared?

I would like to lay down a challenge to all who have read this.  For one day I ask you to turn off the tv and radio, put the newspapers and magazines down and try not to discuss current affairs with your friends and colleagues.  Shrink your world and take a fresh look at what is really there.  Look for the positives around you and you may well find that the world isn’t as terrible as you thought it was.

After this you may find you never pick that newspaper up again.  Build your reality on what you experience yourself, not what the media tells you.

People may tell you you need to know what is happening in the world, but do you really?  I work on the basis that if there is something I can do, tell me all about it.  If there is nothing I can do, I don’t want to know.  Holding fear and hatred because of what I have been told is doing more harm than good, both to me and to the planet as a whole.

Visit my website to learn about my healing practice  

http://www.crystaloak.moonfruit.co.uk/