Doc's Rocks

I was in the mountains vacationing with the family this weekend and got to visit a great gem mining place that I highly recommend.  It's called Doc's Rocks and is located just passed Tweetsie Railroad in Boone.  We found large pieces of rose quartz, black tourmaline, smoky quartz, amethyst, citrine, ruby, garnet and emerald.  After we were done mining, a gentleman took us inside and taught the children about each rock -- where it's found and how it's formed.  I spoke at length with the owner, a retired Army ranger, who has an impressive personal collection of large "rocks" that he found throughout his world travels.  He had a huge piece of malachite that he discovered in Hawaii.  His wife's wedding ring was cut by him from a diamond he discovered in Africa.  Now his mission is to educate people, kids especially, on the importance of rocks and fossils.  He said, "I believe every rock serves a purpose."   I told him I couldn't agree more.

Here's the purpose of the stones we found today:

Rose Quartz: The Love Stone.  Helps people suffering from emotional trauma.
Black Tourmaline: Very protective and grounding.  Prevents the wearer from taking on other people's "stuff."
Smoky Quartz: Absorbs depression and sadness in the wearer. Helps protect soldier on active duty.  Eases stomach,liver and pancreas upsets.  Known as a good luck talisman.
Amethyst: The spiritual stone.  A must have for anyone.  This powerful and amazing stone helps one seeking a deeper and more meaningful spiritual life.  Fight addictions of any kind.  Eases stress and anxiety.  Great for meditation.
Citrine: The success stone.  Helps the wearer attract and hold onto money.
Ruby: I wrote about this stone at length in my July newsletter, but basically Ruby helps increase our passion for life. Aids initiative. Helps root chakra issues.
Garnet: Protects against sadness.  Improves self-esteem.  Fight skin disorders.  Increases physical vitality.
Emerald: Helps cure insomnia. Powerful healer.  Works on heart chakra. Strengthens memory.

Remember, it takes a crystal at least two weeks to attune its energetic vibration with yours.  Crystals work slowly at first, but they do work.

Broken Pieces

I took my three daughters to the beach today and just as the sun was setting, we took a long walk down Shell Island to look for seashells. My four year old kept handing my broken shards of shells and exclaiming, "Isn't this one beautiful?" All I saw was a piece of a broken sand dollar or a memory of a conch shell. She must have sensed my hesitance because then she started explaining what she was seeing. "This looks like an angel's wing," she said. Handing me a fragment of a sand dollar she said, "This is a mermaid's coin." A broken clam shell to Chloe became a fairy's wand. She reminded me today that it's our purpose to find beauty in everything, to honor the creation inherent in every living thing around us.

In our own life we can look at the broken pieces around us and turn them into something beautiful.

There's a wonderful book I love called Return From Tomorrow by George Ritchie. It describes his near death experience where he died and met Jesus who took him to the different levels of the afterlife. I like this book because Dr. Ritchie was a very well respected psychiatrist and actually taught Dr. Raymond Moody in medical school. When Jesus tells him it's time to go back, Dr. Ritchie says he doesn't want to leave Jesus and the feeling of incredible and total love. Jesus tells him to just "find me in all the people you meet." And that's what he does. He spends the rest of his life looking for pieces of God in the people he meets.

Today's walk at the beach reminded me that we can find the creator in other people, in a child's imagination and even in a broken sea shell.

Imagine Peace

A client I met a few months ago sent me a great poem he wrote that's written from God's point of view about all the wars going on. Here's just a sampling

"My children do not be so blind

Not just your own beliefs are right

My paths to Heaven . . .they are many

Yet still I see you’d rather fight."

It's a beautiful reminder of a simple truth -- love is the only way, peace the only path. To read the entire poem click here.

Destiny

William Jennings Bryan has a great saying, "Destiny is not a matter of chance; it's a matter of choice." It's important to remember that while some big events in our life are destined, most of our days come down to our choice. How will you choose to live today? What will you choose to do with your life this summer? This year?

I heard another great saying recently: "Everyone is in the relationship he or she wants to be in." This, too, is true. We often forget that we have choices in our relationships, our careers, our residence. If you're not happy, change it. If you feel stuck, make yourself unstuck. If you've lost hope, find new hope.

This sounds easy, and I know it's not. But like anything worthwhile, making positive choices and changes in our life is worth the effort.

Here's a poem I share with my students each semester:

When we enter this world we are a blank canvas.
And as we walk through this life, each person we meet
Leaves a brush stroke upon us.
Some leave red and others leave blue or yellow.
But there comes a time in all our lives when we must pick up the brush
And decide whether we are going to be just another painting
Or a masterpiece.

Spend this week choosing your destiny and painting your masterpiece.

Calling All Shoppers!

As my way of saying thank you to all you amazing clients, bloggers, and listeners I'm offering free shipping for the summer. Through my online store, I offer crystal chakra bags which are hand knit by me and blessed with Reiki energy. They are then filled with chakra stones which you can use to give readings, to cleanse and balance your chakras or a client's, to meditate or to create a crystal grid. I also make Angel Spray which is filled with holy water, two types of Sage essential oil, lavender and crystal chips to keep the spray energized. Use it to energetically clean your home, car, work space, your crystals and yourself and others. Bad Mojo Begone Bath Salts help you energetically detox from a bad week. Each bag is filled with Epsom and Sea Salts and essential oils to help you destress and unplug from any negative mojo going on around you. And don't forget to check out my powerful meditation CDs. Happy Shopping!

Dealing with Grief

I'm not an expert on grief by any means, but I see enough grief being experienced by my clients and of course I've had my own share of grief. I lost a loved one more than 13 years ago, and I thought I was dealing with the sadness and loss very well (i.e stuff it down and don't think about it). But then a video surfaced and seeing him and hearing his voice again brought back all the pain, sorrow and profound loss. This has shocked me, but it's a good reminder for a medium who sees grief all the time.

Grief never ends. We just learn ways to get through it. When a tragedy strikes, I often hear people say, "I don't know how she gets up in the morning" Or "How will he get over this?" And I always answer with: "He won't. He'll learn to get through it." There's a big difference. You never get over a loss.

Some things that have helped me deal with my grief are to memorialize my loved ones through stories, planting a special tree, getting a tattoo, and keeping pictures around. I also talk to them -- a lot. And I ask for signs in return. It's very helpful. None of this cures the grief or ends it. But it does help me get through it -- day by day by day.

If you know someone going through a difficult loss, don't be afraid to ask them about it. Check out my good friend Deb Bowen's book A Good Friend for Bad Times. Here's the link. No matter how much time has passed, remember to ask your grandmother about her husband. Make sure you write your aunt on your deceased cousin's birthday. Even if it's been twenty years, ask your dad to tell you stories about his dad. Grief never ends; it endures as long as the time it takes until we see them again. But as a very wise woman once said to me, "The only way to get through grief is to talk. Have a witness to your pain."

I also think it helps to know that even though we can't see them, hear them or touch them, they are here. Right here. Reading this right along with you.

Quarters From Heaven

Hello Readers! Wanted to share this very special sign from above with you. My daughter recently graduated kindergarten. We were so excited for this event. She got to wear a cap and gown, had to memorize part of a poem and sing two songs. When I put her to bed that night, I tucked her in, pulled the covers up and kissed her good night. But knowing my rambunctious sleeper, I fully expected to find her out of the covers as usual the next morning. She's a flipper and usually ends up with her head at the foot board and her feet on the pillow. But this morning when I walked in to wake her up, she was laying perfectly still -- head on her pillow, blankets still tucked under her chin. And right on top of the blanket was a quarter!

Why is this significant? Well, my mother-in-law transitioned to the other side two years ago. She loved nothing more than being a loving mother and grandmother and we were all saddened to see her go. I asked her to give me quarters as her sign that she was with us. I find quarters now in the most amazing ways. So this morning when I found the quarter lying there on my still tucked in kindergartner, I knew it was my mother-in-law's way of saying, "I'll be there!"

Oh, and the year on the quarter was the year my husband graduated from high school!

Give your loved ones in heaven a sign to show you and know that they are literally just a thought away.