A little about me

I thought it would be helpful for people thinking about having a treatment to learn a little about me and the path that has led me here, to this point.

I currently live with my husband Gary and 3 cats in Wellingborough having lived for most of my life in South Northants.

For my day job I work in accounts and admin, it is not what fires me up but it pays the bills and allows me to not rely on charging high prices for my treatments.

I love gardening, riding my motorcycle, playing computer games, listening to audio books, and listening to anything from Vivaldi to Metallica. 

You may think that healers will be found wearing brightly coloured floaty tops and long skirts, but some days you will find me in a hoody and jeans or my bike kit.  Sometimes you will find me in a field listening to a willow whisper in my ear; other times you will find me on a bike rally field talking hero stories with the guys.

I eat a meat free diet and use cruelty free products as much as possible.  The Pagan tenet "do what you will but harm none" is a major part of my life.

I strongly believe in walking a path that has one foot in spiritual beliefs, but the other foot firmly planted in the mundane world.

And this is how I got here.....

I have been on a path of spirituality and self development since I was 18 when I broke up with my first boyfriend.  It was a difficult time for me and as I was coming out of the depths of a broken heart I was looking for a better way to face life.  I was terribly shy and had very little self esteem.  I was unemployed and depressed, but one day as I was walking round the local market I was drawn to a stall selling crystals.  This is where it all began for me; I came away with a rose quartz, a tigers eye and a clear quartz. They never left my pocket for years after that moment and I began learning all I could.

Jump forward another year and I was finally in a full time job.  There were people there that were open minded and were happy to listen to my problems.  It was suggested I read Susan Jeffers' Feel the Fear and do it Anyway. This book revolutionised the way I saw my life and the world around me.  I really saw that I could take control and make my own decision.

After that there was a series of chance meetings that led me into Paganism.  For many years I shunned what I considered religion having had bad experiences with Christianity as a child, but paganism made so much sense.  It all started with the realisation that there had to be a reason why flowers were beautiful.  Some flowers can function perfectly well being dull and boring, so why are some so stunning?  There has to be a higher power involved in their creation.

I spent a few years learning about paganism and talking to trees, you know they really are founts of knowledge and compassion.  I also found myself running a group for pagans in the area.  This group is still going and it has taught me so much over the last 9 years.

But, after a few years of working with paganism I realised that I couldn't limit myself to those sets of beliefs.  This was triggered by a moment of true faith.  I was driving home from my job in Kislingbury and I came to a fork in the road.  I could just go straight home, or I could go into town to a local crystal shop.  I didn't really have any money and I didn't really need anything but for some reason it seemed important to go.  I walked into the shop and declared that I had no idea why I was there; only to be told that they had just announced a Crystal Energy Practitioners course.  Well, I had to listen to the messages that were sent to me and I signed up there and then.

This opened the world of lightworking to me.  This is the other side of my coin to Paganism and is what balances the earth energy.

I studied hard and got my qualification, although I had absolutely no-where to offer healings.  I satisfied myself with applying the self development side of the course to my life and also started receiving crystal healing myself on a regular basis.  Included in these sessions were regression, visualisation work and of course crystal energy.  The things I experienced in those sessions blew my mind, helped me grow and healed old wounds.

At this time I also joined an online group run by Fabeku Fatunmise where I learnt more and more about co-creating with crystals, about the deeper levels of working with them rather than using them as tools.  What with this and what I was learning from the wonderful Hilary I was receiving healings from I was building up a deep understanding of how powerful the crystals can be in transforming and healing old issues.

Skip forward a few years... I am still having regular crystal healing but once again I found myself in a difficult relationship.  The healings had helped me grow from the shy girl who put herself last into a stronger person but it wasn't quite enough, there was still so much to do.  I was introduced to Bach Flower remedies by my 75 year old boss who swore by Rescue Remedy for everything from sleeplessness to headaches.  I was going through a particularly bad time and was willing to try anything to deal with the stress, so I started working with the remedies.

After a few months of blundering around with them, dowsing to see which remedy I should take because I didn't really know what they were for I decided to enrol in a home study course so I could learn about them and use them properly.  Despite having a poor memory for "facts and figures" I found I could remember the remedies quite well and completed the course with good results.  Soon I was ready to take the level 2 and practitioner levels.

Just before embarking on my pracitioner level studies I once again found myself at the end of a long term relationship.  My world fell apart around me, but I always clung on to my crystals and bach remedies.  I increased my crystal healing sessions to every week for a few weeks and managed to manifest everything I needed to rent and furnish a flat.  Spirit constantly gave to me just what I needed, when I needed it and my faith was sealed.  I had received  the proof I needed to trust Spirit and know that the guidance I get is safe to trust.

I completed my practitioner level with the bach remedies and, now living on my own, found I was able to offer treatments to people.  I was nervous to start with thinking that I would have forgotten all I had learnt with the crystals but it was all there, ready to be tapped into.  I also found that the right remedies came to mind in consultations.  It had taken about 10 years but I was finally able to help people in the way I had been helped.

It doesn't all stop there tho, the path of self-development never ends.  I am constantly learning about myself and working on issues that come up. I also still rely on the things I learnt right at the start.  One day I was reciting "feel the fear and do it anyway" as I found myself in the car of a friend of a friend of a friend travelling down to Southampton for the weekend to stay at the house of people I didn't really know . 

Since the break up with my ex  I decided that  I would say yes to everything that Spirit put in front of me, trusting that it was all for a reason.  I was determined  to jump through all the hoops Spirit put in front of me with the faith that it was leading me to something amazing.  Sometimes the lessons I learnt were HARD, painful and scary, and other times they led me to wonderful things.  In this instance I was led to meet my soul mate Gary and within 3 months he had moved from London and we were living together.

For me, life is not complete without some form of spirituality and it is wasted if there is no drive to understand and heal the self, however I also understand that for some people this is all twaddle and nonsense.  You know, that's fine.  I respect every person's choice in their lifestyle; so long as they are not harming anyone they can do, behave and believe whatever they like.  And so I understand that crystal healing and bach flower remedies are not for everyone, but having seen how they have changed my life, I encourage anyone to give them a go.

Visit my website to learn about my healing practice  

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

A new take on "A glass half full"

Just a short blog today but something I am inspired to share.  It comes from something I read on facebook that struck a chord.

We all know about the concept of the half full glass; is it half full or half empty?  Whichever we choose shows whether we are naturally negative or positive in life.

What if we look at the glass again....

We have a glass, half of the glass is filled with liquid... but the other half is filled with air.  So, in fact, the glass is full, overflowing even, we just can't see what it is filled with.

So, next time we feel life has given us a short measure, remember, there is more to it, we just can't see it yet.

Visit my website to learn about my healing practice  

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

Can man better nature?

When we accept the understanding that stones are sentient suddenly we become aware of the awful things some people do to stones.  There are so many stones out there that have been altered in some way by people who feel they can improve on nature.  Stones heated till they crack and then dyed, stones coated in gold or other precious metals, beautiful brown agates dyed bright pink or blue.

To imagine how damaging and disrespectful this is imagine taking a perfect orchid flower and covering it in plasticote, or a stunning magpie feather and bleaching the colour out.  Imagine taking a great oak, an earth elder, and painting it yellow.  How wrong does this feel?  Why is it acceptable to treat stone spirits in the same manner?

Of course the dyed and heat treated stones are often obviously fake so easily avoided; but there are the more subtle examples such as white howlite dyed blue and sold as turquoise, real turquoise ground down and mixed with resin and sold as more expensive turquoise, amethyst heat treated and sold as citrine.   The list of these fake or altered stones is ever growing as more people become interested in working with stones.

When faced with these stones, and with the understanding about stone spirits it is very tempting to want to buy them all and heal these tortured souls, but we must resist.  The more of these we buy the more they will make. 

Whilst talking about this we also have to consider the number of things that are sold as stones but are completely fake.  Goldstone, both in its normal brown form and the recent blue, green and purple versions are simply metal compounds mixed with a glassy substance, and yet sold as a crystal.  The other is the brightly coloured "Cats Eyes" that are coloured in one direction and clear in another.  These are man made and are a by-product of the telecommunications industry.  They are quartz, but they are lab grown quartz and so hold no spirit.

Finally there are the precious stones that are lab grown.  Quartz, Ruby, Emerald and Sapphire are all stones that can be found that have been grown in a laboratory.  They hold the chemical and colour properties of the original stone, but as they have not grown in the womb of mother earth contain no connection to Spirit.

The answer is to select your stones from reputable merchants; people who will either refuse to buy altered or fake stones or will at the very least be honest so we can avoid them. When stones are as stunning as the malachite on the right why do we need them to be faked?

If we already have stone spirits that have been treated in this way it is best to give them as much love as possible.  Mine rest at the base of an old pollarded ash tree in my garden, this is where they asked to be put.  I felt that the tree had suffered at the hand of man so could understand the pain the stone spirits feel.  They seem much happier there.

Visit my website to learn about my healing practice  

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

Working with the stones

When I first came to working with crystals I read the books and talked to people and learnt that stones have energy, that they can help us heal.  This opened up a world to me and I wanted to explore more.  I  listened to teachers and come to see crystals as tools in a toolbox of alternative methods to heal and grow.

After a number of years I was led to a yahoo group run by Fabeku Fatunmise.  He was talking about stones in a way that I had never heard of before.  Stones are spirits!!  Fabeku's philosophies gave me insight into a level of understanding that changed my view on crystals forever.

Animism is a philosophy that believes that all things contain spirit, that non-human entities are spiritual beings.  When I learnt about stone spirits I realised I had been working towards this for some time.  My first real experience of this was when I spent many hours sat lent against a willow tree trying to work through my problems.  I found that thoughts were coming into my head that weren't mine, and they made so much sense!  I realised the willow tree was talking to me.  As soon as I acknowledged and accepted this I spent more hours talking to the tree. So many times I arrived at it's base feeling as if my world was ending and left with a knowing of how to carry on.

So if a willow tree is sentient, why not a stone?

This understanding brings with it a complete shift in the way we view and work with the stones.  This is not a case of owning a tool, like a carpenter owns a saw.  It is more of working in a team and each member of the team brings their own gifts and skills to the table.

We wouldn't consider cleansing a co-worker and we certainly  wouldn't program one.  What we would do though is listen to their wisdom, respect their place in the team and show gratitude for their help.

Stone spirits have come to this reality to help humanity reach it's potential.  They can see us for who we truly are and know exactly what is best for us.  They are, like each of us, multifaceted in their skills.  Just as a person can be a parent, teacher, taxi driver, mechanic, chef, nurse and lover all in one day; each stone spirit has many attributes and abilities.  This means that there is never any way that a stone can be classified or described in a few lines in a book.  As such, I never try to hold on to "knowledge" about a stone.  I will very rarely suggest a stone for a situation based on something I have read in a book.  More likely I will suggest the person sits with a number of stones, with a question held in their mind, and listen to see which stone steps forward to work with them.

When working in a crystal healing environment I never select a stone based on preconceived  ideas or the colour of the stone, I will listen to who steps forward for each task.  I often don't even know what the stone spirit is working on when it steps forward; I simply trust that it will be for the well being of the client.

Of course, this knowledge that the stone spirits have come to help us means that no stone can ever harm us.  There is no "bad combination" of stones or "evil" stones.  Sometimes however you can find that a stone has stepped forward to bring about a great change, a difficult but powerful transition into healing.

Once I brought home a Girasol spirit.  It is a beautifully tactile stone and I was sat for some time, just watching tv, holding it to my solar plexus and it felt soothing and calming for some time.  Suddenly I needed to get it as far away from me as possible and it felt horrible.  At that point I could have thought that the stone was bad or not right for me, but in reality it had gently been coaxing some blocked emotions to the surface, and as soon as I became aware of them I resisted.  That night there was a great shift in me and I was able to express some feelings that I had refused to acknowledge.

Because I trusted the stone I passed through the uncomfortable feeling and gained great healing.

As soon as we open our hearts and minds to the magic of stone spirits we open ourselves to great healing.  Why would we ever want to limit ourselves to the "stones as tools" model ever again?

Visit my website to learn about my healing practice  

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

Dowsing... How does that work then?

There are a number of different beliefs about how dowsing works.  I have spent time pondering these and have come to my own conclusions.

I believe in the concept of the Higher Self; a part of me that knows all there is to know about me and my needs.  I believe that on a subconscious level we are all connected and beyond that we are also connected to a Divine Spirit.  By accessing my Higher Self I am not only able to contact the Higher Self of my client but also that Divine Spirit that knows all.

Dowsing with a pendulum allows me to access my Higher Self, and therefore all the information I need to work with my client and with the crystals.  With dowsing I am able to bypass my own mind that is, by nature, limited and judgmental; allowing me to work for the greater good of the client.

I personally believe that my Higher Self causes my body to make minute movements, allowing the pendulum to swing in different ways.  I do not believe that the pendulum has power, although it is possible that if it is made of a crystal it can help me contact my Higher Self.

In using a pendulum I am able to ask a series of questions; mostly in a “Yes/No” format, however I can also work with specific patterns and the speed and size of the spin to ascertain other information.

Dowsing is something anyone can do with practice, so long as there is nothing causing the person to resist contacting their Higher Self.  In the past I have taught people to dowse in the pub using beer mats to play Find the Lady with great success.  If you are interested I would be happy to teach you......

Visit my website to learn about my healing practice  

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

Shouldn't healing be free?

The healing community is divided on this question, and both sides have a very valid argument.

There are those that believe that healing should not be tainted by the exchange of money and that many healers and therapists make personal growth an exclusive thing by pricing it out of the reach of normal people. 

Others believe that they have trained for some time in their chosen therapy and are giving their time and possibly other expenses such as heating and lighting a room to work in.  They also believe that this is their chosen profession, just the same as a hair dresser, accountant or mechanic, so why should they not be paid for doing it?

I can see both sides of the argument.  I believe many people put a value on something that they have had to pay for and will ensure that they get the most from it, whereas something that has come for free can be discarded easily.

I also believe that often we do not value our mental and emotional health as much as we do our physical health and as such do not see why we should pay for something that may cost less than a hair cut or trip to the dentist.

I believe that healing should be available to all, regardless of how much money they have. 

Most therapies in my area cost between £20 and £65 a session depending on what it is. Those at the top end of the price range often work full time in their chosen field and as such have to earn enough to pay their bills.

I personally have chosen to earn my living in the mundane world, allowing me to offer healing to people at a lower cost.  Yes, this limits the amount of clients I can see, but I feel allowing the price to be lower I can help people that may not be able to afford it under normal circumstance.

I do believe there should be an equal exchange of energies between the therapist and the client.   Many people work and as such money has become the result of time and energy.  This means in some circumstances money would be a way of creating an equal exchange.  Due to this i suggest a donation of between £10 and £20 for the session.

However, some people do not have the money to pay for a treatment, but they do have other things that can be offered.  In the past I have traded for tarot readings, cleaning, a healing session from the client in their own chosen style, maybe you could bake a cake, or do some sewing.  This is a very viable option and I am very open to discuss trades.

I don't offer healing to make money, I offer it because I want to help people, but  i strongly believe there should be an equal flow of energy.

Visit my website to learn about my healing practice  

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