Stones For Metaphysical Use
I use stones to change the mood in a room, to set intentions, to retain information, to direct energy, to shift patterns. The ways to use stones are as many as there are stones.
You can use just one, or a combination to get just the right results. You can put them on a charm bracelet, in a bowl, on the coffee table. One time, I wire wrapped 30 of them and hung them from a foot-high Yule tree in my tiny studio apartment.
While I was learning how to use stones, I hit a tough time in my life. One night I decided to go out with some friends and on the way out the door grabbed a stone from the table, didn’t know why, didn’t ask. During the evening I felt what I can only describe now as a shift in balance.
When I got home, I was listening to my answering machine and got to a message from someone I had just disconnected from. When I counted back the time, I realized he made that call when I felt the shift, and the stone I grabbed was a star ruby, which is useful in psychic protection.
My home is littered with crystal balls, polished and unpolished quartz crystals, amethyst clusters, geodes, and all of them have their own story.
Here’s the list I currently use to decide which crystals and stones to use. This is a work in progress, and I’m constantly adding to it. Use it to make some memories of your own.
AGATE (variety of colors and tones) – Strengthens body and mind; facilitates chakra work according to colors of stones.
ALEXANDRITE – Aids external and internal regeneration; soothes the nervous system.
Karma, Dharma Or Lesson?
Karma is defined as the sum of our actions which will determine our fate or destiny. I choose to see karma as a reprimand from the Universe. We can see how people who are uncaring or cruel in their words or actions will suffer a fate similar to the those they have been unfeeling towards.
A good example of this is Scrooge. Mr. Scrooge was a slave driver, never had a good word for anyone, saw the worst in every situation whether it benefited him or not. The ghosts who came to visit him in the night showed him what his fate would be because of his thoughts and actions.
Dharma is defined as the principles that regulate the cosmic order or purifying the souls of human beings. I choose to see dharma as the other side of karma. That’s not to say that karma is negative, but that dharma is more positive, and the more we strive for the positive, the more we live in the light, the more we align with the Universe, the more dharma we incur. The easiest way to incur dharma is to live your life in a “’ it forward’ sort of way. Do for others just for the sake of doing, not for whatever you think will come to you because of your good works.
Then we have lessons. I believe that when we choose to be born, we contract with deity, spirit guides and certain people to learn certain lessons while we are here in this life. A lot of times, the relationship is karmic in nature, a situation in a past life that you need to do over, and most of the people involved now were involved then.
I’ve discovered in my years of reading people that we learn the best about ourselves, our limits, our feelings, our capacity to love, while in relationships with others. Whether sibling, child, parent, co-worker or mate, the lesson learned in the relationship will shape the way we deal with others for the rest of this life, and possibly into the next life.
Grounded And Centered
We’ve all heard the terms ‘grounded’ and ‘centered,’ but do we really know what they mean? Do you ever have days when you feel like a part of you is a step or two behind the rest of you? Do you ever feel ‘hungover’ even though you know you didn’t close the bar the night before? Do you ever have a disconnected feeling? Any of those is a sign that you’re not grounded.
If you’re anything like me, you can’t process information or participate in the discussion going on around you. There are even times I just stare blankly at the wall, the TV or the person who’s trying to talk to me. At times, I will have arrived at an appointment and not remember driving there, but since the police aren’t there, I must assume I didn’t break any laws.
Grounding, for each of us, is personal. Some people smoke. Coffee can keep you pretty grounded too. I prefer using more harmless methods. An easy way to re-ground is to sit or stand on earth, and just breathe. As you breathe in, imagine the earth coming up through your body to your head. As you breathe out, release the tension in your shoulders, back and neck. Breathe fresh air in, and toxins out. Slow down, take a few minutes to anchor yourself in this plane. I use this one a lot when I am doing touch therapy or after a hard reading.
Centered is felt in the solar plexus, when you’re centered, you’re in balance, your insides match your outsides and there is a sense of knowing what’s going on. There’s also a sense of confidence that radiates from inside to out.
To re-center sit or stand up straight, align your hips with your shoulders. With your projective hand place the three fingers right below your sternum while allowing your other hand to hang loosely at your side. Relax your shoulder and neck muscles. Take three or four deep breaths releasing tension with each exhale.
The Trust Of A Broken Heart
Many years ago, I met a man at a social event and we hit it off right away. We became good friends. He was from a small town and worked as a long-haul truck driver.
He would sometimes pick me up to keep him company while he was running errands or we would just hang out. I also helped him with filing his taxes and other personal documentation. But as much as he trusted me with his money, he could not trust me with his heart. After a couple of years, our relationship became more intimate and physical. Yet, even then, the emotional commitment ‘wall’ was there.
He met his ex-wife while she was working at a truck stop in an even smaller town. They married and had a child. Everything was apparently ‘sunshine and rainbows’ for a while, until she decided to go back to work.
In time, he discovered that she had been cheating on him with several other men. He disclosed to me in a vulnerable moment one night that the worst part was that everyone in town they knew about it – except him. They lived in a small community, where everyone knows everybody’s business. He was understandably humiliated and heartbroken. His disappointment eventually turned into hatred and bitterness. Due to all the local gossip, he even had to quit his job, which also added to his anger.
Soon after this discovery, I went through a major upheaval in my own life, which led me to terminate all my relationships to focus on my family. Once I had my personal situation back on track, I tracked him down.
His response to my reaching out was to simply tell me that we no longer had anything to say to each other. Then he told me to take care and have a good life. He wasn’t very nice about it and there were even a few expletives in there, but whatever.
Align Your Spirit With Prayer And Meditation
I’ve heard it said that religion is for people who are afraid of ‘going to hell,’ and spirituality is for people who have already been there. However, I don’t believe either are exclusive; a person can be both religious and spiritual, and a person can choose to be only one, or neither.
Spirituality is in my view a state of mind, a way of life, the way you think about others and yourself, and the way you treat others. All that’s really necessary to be a ‘spiritual’ person is having the faith or belief that there is something greater than just yourself.
I watched a National Geographic documentary once that explained that everything in the world – all the plants, all the animals and insects, and humans – share the same basic DNA at its very core. I feel like any time we acknowledge that there is something bigger beyond ourselves, we are tapping into this entire DNA string, everything that once was currently is, and one day will be.
I therefore see my role on this earth as small, but significant; short, but far-reaching.
I am not a particularly religious person, but for me to be effective when I read for others, I have to be firmly connected to what I call ‘The Universe,’ or what others might call God, Goddess, Source, Great Spirit, the Divine. And prayer and meditation are how I express my gratitude and ask to be guided.
Both prayer and meditation are powerful metaphysical resources to tap into as part of your daily spiritual practice. I usually combine prayer and meditation, but these are my personal spiritual habits, so do what’s right for you. And if it doesn’t work at first, keep trying.
Meditation has been practiced since ancient times, it is how you find your center, clear yourself, listen for the answers. In meditation, we can work on ourselves, align our physical self with our psychological self, balance chakras, heal ourselves. It can be used to alleviate stress, calm anxieties, control pain, help us sleep better.
Grandma Two Cookies
I never had the intention to further develop my psychic abilities. Specifically, I did not want to be a medium. But I’ve been scoffed at by my mentor and told to just ‘suck it up,’ as it really doesn’t matter what I want… if they want me to be medium, then I will simply have to relay the messages I receive. My guides also instructed me to properly listen to what spirit has to say, and to trust their requests. I used to get the messages loud and clear, but I was still sometimes reluctant to deliver it.
I have several friends on social media who I went to school with. There is a woman on my friends list who I remember from junior high was as a sweet, kind and quiet teenager. She recently attended her daughter’s wedding in Hawaii. I loved the wedding venue so much that I even downloaded one of the pictures to use as a desktop wallpaper.
A couple of days later, I received an unusual request from spirit to reach out and ask her about her ‘grandmother’s cookie recipe’? So, I did exactly that by sending her a private message. But she had no idea what I was talking about and assumed I was actually wanting a recipe. She even referred me to a couple of websites where I might find what I was looking for.
A week later the ‘push’ was there again, so once again I pulled up the private messaging window. And here’s how the conversation went:
“I started ‘talking to dead people’ about 6 years ago, and I don’t like it anymore now than I did back when it started, but my mentor says it doesn’t matter what I want, I have to deliver the messages. So, this is why I am reaching out to you today. I know that there is no part of your life that is any of my business and that you’re a very private person. I respect that. That being said…just yes or no… is there some drama, trauma or major illness going on in your family right now?
Oh, you are kind to ask! Nothing really major, but I do have days I feel I’m living a soap opera! Lol. Continue reading
Embrace Your Psychic Gifts
From a young age I started talking to dead people and knew things without being told. I was interested in things that most children normally would not be.
Unfortunately, my parents’ religious belief was that the patriarch of the home is also the spiritual leader of the home. To them that also meant women do not have the right or privilege of divine prophecy.
My psychic abilities were therefore not fostered, but instead frowned upon. I remember several instances when my parents told me I was being ‘ridiculous’ and would then change the subject.
In my teens, I explored numerology, astrology, reflexology, and biofeedback. Reading the Tarot also came easy to me. The numbers, the colors, the relation of each card to another, all of that was so easy for me to grasp. I thought it was easy for everyone. My parents considered these pursuits ‘studying’ or ‘hobbies’ and therefore they were deemed more acceptable. They even encouraged these interests, as apparently it made me a ‘better, happier’ person.
In my 20s I finally figured out I was psychic after a divorce. My ex-husband kept coming back to me for short periods of time. He lived three hours away, but I always knew exactly when he was coming to see me.
I subsequently discovered that I always knew when my new boyfriends were cheating on me. With one guy I woke up in the middle of the night, realized what was going on, and then went back to sleep. The next morning, I wrote it all down, and gave to him to read when I next saw him…without saying a word. He never confirmed it, but he never denied it either.
One of my children was a little rebel growing up. Anytime I dare put my foot down, she would pack a bag and run away from home. But I would always know exactly where she went and usually had her safe back home with me in no time.
