The Healing Power of Crystals and Gemstones . . .

In 2001, Steve and I opened a small sterling silver jewelry store in Grapevine, TX. When we went to Market Hall, the Tucson Bead Show and other stores on Harry Hines in Dallas, we saw gemstones and crystals being shown. That year, we began seeing more and more necklaces and bracelets made with these “real” stones, rather than glass or plastic beads.

One vendor, in particular, featured strands of beads in Dalmatian Jasper and black crystals. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. We bought a few strands and began making jewelry to sell in the store.

Have you ever heard the phrase, “We were ahead of our time?” People would come into our tiny store in Grapevine and look at our creations and then put them back on the rack. They were mostly there to buy sterling silver charms, which were all the rage at that time.

Shortly after 9/11, we closed our store. Business fell off substantially during this time of uneasiness and despair in America and both of us found employment with other companies.

Fast forward to 2003 or 2004 (I can’t remember exactly) and we learn about quartz crystals and how these natural stones from Mother Earth can support us in developing our psychic senses. Steve still uses one or two clear quartz crystals when he does readings, whether in private or in one of our small groups. I prefer to wear crystals, whether as a pendant or as part of a necklace or bracelet or ring. I still have my jewelry making tools and supplies from our jewelry store days, so I often create something special for myself in my home office.

Over the years, I have taken a few classes with Pat Cook of Power of the Rainbow in Arlington. My favorite was the chakra class, where we received a bag of 8 color matched quartz crystals to use for clearing and balancing our chakras. Steve and I take turns placing the stones on each other for healing. It is so calming and soothing to take just 15 to 20 minutes and feel the healing power of the stones.

A few weeks ago, I learned about a new holistic boutique called SoulTopia, in Valley View Center in Dallas. I scheduled a crystal healing with Michelle Scheef, the owner. I was struggling with some childhood issues and the leftover residue from a friendship that ended a few months ago. Michelle works intuitively to select the stones for each healing, to create a custom session.

When I emerged from her beautiful center, I felt balanced and more centered. She gave me one stone to take home and I purchased small versions of the other stones that she used in my healing. She has little recipe cards that you can select and then put together a little silk pouch of crystals and stones for a specific need. My daughter was stressed and suffering from a sinus infection, so Michelle put together a kit for her to boost her immune system.

On Monday, I wrote Michelle and said: “Today, I am aware of how much lighter and brighter I feel. When I think of my sisters, there is a sweetness there. When I think of my friend, there is closure. The healing session with you is such a gift. Thank you!”

Michelle posts “recipes” for different situations often on her Facebook page and one day she posted the recipe for Self Love, which is a concept I have been embracing for a few years now.

Today, my angels showed me a bracelet made with the crystals from this recipe and I am going to go through my jewelry making supplies tonight and create one!!!

Oh, and the Dalmatian Jasper that caught my eye and my heart so long ago? I looked up the healing properties just now and here’s what I learned:

“Jaspers are extremely nurturing stones and work in a subtle way to give slow and gentle healing. Known for its protective and healing properties, this mineral's vibrational energy is slow, though quite effective, and should be used long term. Dalmatian Stone encourages fidelity and emotional harmony, strengthening family bonds and long-term friendships. It encourages team effort and cooperation.”Source: http://tinyurl.com/owvcjqh

Long term, huh? No kidding! It has been healing me since 2001! Thank you, Angels!

Angel Guidance for You . . . Take What Resonates

My angels have encouraged me to share snippets of the guidance I share with each person in our small group "Messages from Spirit," which is held twice a month. What I've learned is that sometimes, something resonates for someone else and it's OK to "take" that bit of guidance and apply it in your own life.

Here is one sentence from each of the 10 angel messages that were shared last night:

Angel Guidance from May 26, 2015
1. Some R & R is just what you need-maybe even time at the beach.
2. Take some time in nature and connect with your inner goddess.
3. Escape from time to time and share your knowledge with the world.
4. What will it take for you to claim joy and welcome in joy, love and laughter?
5. Let yourself dream big regarding blending your vocation and your passion.
6. Let yourself laugh and feel joy.
7. In the morning, step outside and connect with the nature spirits.
8. When you reach out to loved ones, suspend judgment and allow them to be there for you.
9. There is a joy in the center of your soul that wants to expand and light up the lives of others.
10. Let yourself walk outside early each day to center and ground yourself.

50 Lessons Life Taught Me - Regina Brett's List

I love lists. That is, lists that inspire me or encourage me in some way. When I read about Regina Brett’s 50 Lessons Life Taught Me, I knew that I had to take a look. It’s a great list that inspires me and confirms many truths that I’ve come to know, as well. I’ll list one per day and write a little about what it means to me. Feel free to comment, if I strike a chord in you or you want to add to my writing.

#1 Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

This one bugged me when I first read it. I once had a counselor who told me that anytime you use the word “but” in a sentence, you negate the truth of everything you said BEFORE the “but.”

An example would be a cheating spouse, who says, “I love you, but, I have my own needs.” The spouse has his own needs AND he doesn’t love her. Probably doesn’t even love himself, but that’s for another day and another blog!

So, if you go with the idea shared by my counselor, she is really saying that Life IS Fair and Good. I truly believe this. Many times, we get so caught up in our own “pity party” that we miss the beautiful life that surrounds us. We miss the blessings in people, opportunities and situations in our lives.

I also believe that we have a Soul Contract, an agreement that we make before we are born, in which we set out certain lessons we want to learn. We also have karma to work out, a kind of balancing of “you did this to me” and “I’ll do this to you” here in Earth School.

Now, someone is going to present the idea of a child with a horrific disease or disfiguring accident and ask, “How is that fair?” Well, what if that Soul planned that life path, to learn specific lessons here in Earth School? If that was the plan, then the details ARE fair and are just what he/she ordered!

Another idea that some people don’t remember is that I have my Soul Contract and you have yours. I have my lessons and you have your lessons, as well. It’s a very complicated matrix of all of those contracts and plans and detours. Just watch “The Adjustment Bureau” for a small glimpse of how this works and how things can change, when we make one small variation.

When you agree with the idea of Soul Contracts, you begin to see that Life IS Fair. The cosmic forces (God, The Universe or whatever you choose to call the Great All That Is) are always engaged behind the scenes to work things out. I believe that things are always working for your highest good. So, to me, life is fair, because it is a representation of what I set out in my life plan before I came down here.

Want to read more about this idea? You’ll enjoy Robert Schwartz’s book “Your Soul’s Plan.”

Messages From Spirt

Twice a month, Steve and I hold "Messages from Spirit," a small group gathering, where we give messages to 8 people. Steve connects with your loved ones and friends on the other side and I connect with your angels and guides. I record what I receive and give the message to each person. Also, I record one or two sentences from each reading to share later or use to encourage myself. Here's what I have to share from Tuesday, March 24:

1. Heaven is waiting to open to you. Blessings are coming.

2. Love yourself and take better care of you today for a sweeter tomorrow.

3. It is time for you to make a clean slate for your future.

4. Just ask for guidance and record what you hear or feel. Honor these messages and live in peace. (This girl also got: “The angels and fairies are all around you.” She cried and asked me if that was a common message. I don’t think I’ve ever received a reference to fairies in this setting. And only rarely in one-on-one readings.)

5. Meditation might help you center and find peace.

6. You can also eat blueberries and sing to help clear your throat chakra.

7. Let the good times roll and connect with old friends to re-establish bonds from the past.

8. There is a place in nature that you love to just sit and center yourself. This is so good for your Soul. Record these sweet escapes in your heart and you can close your eyes and take yourself there in times of stress or chaos.

Beautiful messages for beautiful Soul Companions!

Lessons From Stevie Wonder

A few years ago, our daughter invited us to join her for a concert with Stevie Wonder. Steve was so jazzed, as he’s followed the prolific musician and humanitarian since he was in high school. (And who doesn’t love a 25X Grammy Winner from our generation?)

Although I’ve seen him on TV countless times, this was my first concert with Stevie. I was impressed by his demeanor, his gentleness, his mastery and his sense of humor.

It was evident that everything is well planned and rehearsed, including his daughter bringing him to the stage. However, once he is on stage, he sits down at one keyboard, then shifts over to a baby grand piano, picking up a harmonica or two along the way. He even stood once and sang a song and then settled back down at the keyboard. All of these movements was without help of any kind.

The four harmonicas and an extra microphone were on top of the baby grand piano, laying on some textured, non-slip material (kind of like what I have in my kitchen cabinets) At one point, he reached for a harmonica, touching it and then putting it back and taking the one next to it. When he blew into it, he
made a funny face, put it back and then picked up the one he had passed on, just seconds earlier. He blew into it and then threw his head back and laughed at himself.

I LOVE how he is able to laugh and just go with the flow! There were a few more times where he laughed at himself or made a joke about “the blind man up here.”

Think about it: blind within a few weeks of birth, shuffled from his original home at the age of four to Detroit, one of six children raised by a single mom in the 50’s and 60’s. Yet, he began playing piano, harmonica and drums at an early age and won his first Grammy at age 13!

He said this about himself:

“Sometimes I feel really blessed to be blind because I probably would not last a minute if I were able to see things.”

Yes, he is a gentle soul. Yet, my favorite attribute is his ability to NOT take himself so seriously, to laugh at himself and to smile and have a great time on stage . . . and in life!

So, the next time, I drop something or take a mis-step, I’m going to laugh at myself and think of Stevie Wonder.

It’s all good . . .

Healing Myself, So I can Enjoy Healthy Love Relationships

I’ve been taking a daily class through Daily Om that is called “Intimacy without Responsibility.” It’s a 49 day class and interestingly enough, the creator of the course says that it takes about 7 weeks to change a habit. (7 X 7 . . . )

She is really challenging us to look at our relationships, specifically our Primary love relationship and look for ways where we manipulate, control, wheedle, cajole or use tricks and traits we learned in childhood to get our needs met. (Or not, if you are on the Martyr track…)

It’s been an interesting 7 weeks! I am almost finished with the coursework and can see that I have opened a door to a new way of thinking, living and BE-ing in the world of relationships.

I began this class before the Value beta test that I started about 4 weeks ago and see now how perfectly these two blend together, to accelerate changes in the way I think, believe and heal myself.

One example? I came down with a cold this last weekend and it was MUCH easier to ask Steve for help and support! I didn’t hesitate. My self-care has also been better. I cancelled a client on Saturday, when I came down with the cold. The “old me” would have “soldiered-on,” and been resentful in the process.

Rather, I wrote the client and rescheduled. And, when three more prospective clients contacted me during my down time, I resisted the urge to respond right away. Yesterday, when I felt better (a full 3 days after becoming dis-eased) I contacted the people and let them know my status. All understood, of course!

As I love myself and show better self-love and self-care, I can also learn to love you in a new way: one that allows for true intimacy, without the responsibility for fixing or changing you or meeting your emotional needs.

Is It Really True?

I am participating in a beta test for a new energy healing modality that is helping us retrain our brains to live more from a place of compassion and kindness, rather than from old hurts. We are halfway through the 6 week process.

One day, I felt as if I had “hit the wall,” and was really wallowing in some pain regarding a family member. I had used the process a number of times and was still hurting. As I left the office for lunch, I was reminded of Byron Katie’s work and asked myself: “Is it really true?”

I was just wallowing in something a family member had said and took it to mean that she really meant to say something else and that she has always felt that way about me and on and on and on.
At that point, I just stopped and asked myself: Is it true that I know that she means what I am inferring?

NO.

At that, my feelings subsided quickly and I could feel myself calming down.

WOW! All I had to do was ask a simple question: “Is it true?”

More later on this amazing process. I’ll be able to share with clients and students within the next year!