Opening to Receive

I apologize for the lack of blogs recently, but I've been crazy busy.  I'm sure many of you know how difficult it is to balance home, work and family.  Now I'm looking forward to the cool, Fall days that surely lay ahead.

I've had a lovely summer meeting clients old and new and have received the loveliest gifts!  One client gave me an angel figurine that I adore.  Another woman knitted me a beautiful meditation shawl that I can't wait to use as soon as the weather turns a bit chillier.  An artist painted me a spectacular rendition of a waterfall that now hangs in my office.  Just this week a client brought me a brass bowl brimming with crystals she collected while living in Saudi Arabia in the 60's.  Here's where the topic of the blog post comes in.  My response is always gratitude touched with a tang of guilt.  I often say, "You didn't have to do this."  Or, "This is too much."  And sometimes, I'm embarrassed to admit, I'll say, "Can I give you something in return?"

Yes, folks, it's true.  I have a problem with receiving.  I'm great with giving, but when I receive gifts and unexpected moments of receiving, I feel an imbalance is occurring and I want to correct it. So I bought a great book by Catherine Ponder called Open Your Mind to Receive.  In it, she outlines a three step process to receiving your good:

1) She believes we all need to tithe 10 % of our income.  She says this shows faith in God that all our good will be supplied to us as long as we continue to contribute to the circle of abundance.  For me, I choose to tithe each week 5% to my church and 5 % to a charity, person or event that needs help.

2) She believes we need to give to ourselves.  Each day, try to find something comforting you can do for yourself -- a hot bath, a nice run, a massage, a manicure, an hour in a book store, a movie.

3) Give to others.  Ponder says it's important to give abundantly of our time, talent, and money to others who need us.

This, she says, will begin to lay the foundation for a heart that's ready to receive.

My affirmation today is:  I receive all my good today.  All my good is coming to me now with speed and ease.

How to Make the Secret Work For You

Okay, so by now everyone has seen The Secret (www.thesecret.tv) and read every book out there on the law of attraction.  But, as many of you have probably already learned, it's not as easy as they make it sound.  You can't exactly think of a car, test drive the car, get a brochure of the car, and then presto!  You've got the car.

Why not?

Well, for one there's a little thing called karma.  If you're trying to manifest a relationship with someone and part of your karma is that it's not supposed to happen because someone better is down the road, it's not going to happen -- no matter how many times you "feel it real."

And for another, there's a big thing called conditioning.  Many of us have been conditioned to revert back to negative thinking.  Let me show you through example.

We get excited after watching The Secret.  We think, "Wow, if that little kid can manifest a bike, I'm going to manifest a great career."  You do all the work, practice the positive affirmations, plan for success maybe by purchasing the suit you'll wear to the big interview for the big new career.  Maybe you even get that interview, and then BAM!  No job.  No big career.  The suit gets put to the back of the closet.  Your ego gets slammed to the ground, and you think, "Great!  I'm a big loser.  The Secret sucks, and those Abraham channeling people are nuts." And you go right back to your old way of thinking.  "This is good enough for me."  "I should feel blessed for the job I have." "Well, you can't have your cake and eat it too."

And why the hell not?  What good is cake if you don't eat it?

If you get a chance, check out Greg Braden's work -- especially The Spontaneous Healing of Belief and The Divine Matrix.  He uses science to explain how we can reprogram our brains to think positively for us.  How?  He says all it takes is spending 2 - 3 minutes a day focusing on gratitude to change your brain.  Sounds crazy, right?  But the science backs him up.  When we think thoughts of gratitude, we calm down, our cortisol levels lower, endorphins are released, serotonin levels increase and we begin to change our energy.  We become more open to positivity, more receptive to happy outcomes.

So give it a try.  Every day, spend 2 - 3 minutes closing your eyes and visualizing all the things in your life your grateful for -- the beautiful day you spent at the park, your boss telling you what a good job you did on the Peters account, your child running out the door to hug you when you come home, your dog always waiting for you to spend some happy time with him, the birds outside always singing their morning song.  I could go on and on (can you tell?), but, really, there is so much in each day to be grateful for.  Soon, you'll start to see changes in your thinking, your reactions, your unconscious programming and this will in turn change your energy, increase your vibration and make you more receptive to attracting positive things, events and people to you.  Goodbye energy vampires -- hello happiness!

Making Crystal Sprays

Crystal Sprays are a wonderful way to cleanse, charge and enhance your energy.  You can make all different types of crystal sprays for a variety of reasons.  One of my favorite crystal sprays is a ROSE QUARTZ spray.  All you have to do is pour distilled water in a glass bowl, drop a rose quartz or two in the water and place this in the sun to charge for 4 – 6 hours.  Then pour this (including the rose quartz) into a spray bottle.  Hold the bottle in your hands and ask the water and the crystal to bring a loving vibration into everything it touches.  Feel free to add essential oils of your choosing. Then spray this in your home, your car, office, on plant and on yourself.

I make a spray that I call Angel Spray because I always ask the angels to add their own sparkle of love and light to each spray bottle.  I add frankincense, myrrh, lavender and different varieties of sage.  Then I add several crystals representing each of the seven chakras.  I also charge it with each of the Reiki symbols.  I use the spray to cleanse my office before and after each reading.  I use it to quickly cleanse my house when I don’t have time to sage it.  And I use it each morning with my daughters.  Right before we leave for school, I spray the Angel Spray all around them and ask their angels to fly ahead of them to ensure they have a safe and happy day.

Make your own spray today.  Pick out your crystals based on what kind of energy you’re focusing on.  For example:

Green Aventurine – Prosperity

Citrine – Success

Rhodocrosite – Forgiveness

Apophylite – Meditation

Black Tourmaline – Protection

Place it in a bowl filled with holy or distilled water.  Add essential oils.  Pray over the water and ask the stones, your guides and angels to bring their loving energy and vibration into the water and then add to your spray bottle.  Add a little vodka to make your spray bottle last a bit longer.  Don’t add rubbing alcohol; the smell will overpower everything! Experiment and have fun.  

Are You Psychic?

There’s one question I get a lot in my job  -- "Do you think I’m psychic?"  This question is almost always asked at the end of a reading as I’m walking the client to the door.  The question is often whispered as though they’re embarrassed that they think they’re psychic.   

I always answer that question this way: “If you’re wondering if you’re psychic, then you probably are.”   But I what I want to add is: “And don’t be embarrassed by it!”  It’s a gift we all have.  It’s just that only a few of us choose to open that gift.

Then, I ask these questions:

1) Do you dislike and often avoid crowds?

2) Do you dream often and in color?

3) Do your first impressions of people most often prove correct?

4) Do you have a deep interest in all things paranormal?

5) Have you seen a spark of light or something flash out the corner of your eye?

6) As a child, did you have a difficult time sleeping?  Were you often scared or did you just wake up a lot?

7) Have you ever had a dream come true?

8) Do you easily guess the ending of books or movies?

9) Do you prefer to interact with people one on one rather than in a group?

10) So you see things in shades of gray rather than black and white?  In other words, do you easily see things both sides of a situation?

If you answered yes to six or more of these questions, then it’s likely you have psychic ability.  Check out my recommended reading page on my website --- www.thecrystalchick.com  and read some of the books to learn more about your gift.  We need more lightworkers!

Say Yes

Today is Mother Mary's birthday, and in church today, Father Marco thanked Mary for saying yes to God. This got me thinking about all the things in my life I've said yes to . . . . and all the things I haven't said yes to.  What are you saying yes to in your life today?  And what are you saying no to or running from?

Many of the clients I see aren't saying yes or no -- they're just hiding.  The man having the affair is hiding from the fact that his marriage needs a lot of work.  The woman having the affair with that man is hiding from the fact that he's never leaving his wife.  The client who hates his job is hiding from the fact that he needs to look for a new job.  The woman who hasn't spoken to her sister in eighteen years is hiding from the fact that sometimes taking the higher road and offering forgiveness (even when unasked for) can be very healing.  The woman who's going from one sexually based relationship to the next without ever letting herself feel anything is hiding from the molestation in her childhood that's still haunting her.

Say yes to change.  Say yes to forgiveness.   And love.  And healing.  And truth.  And honesty.  Say yes to your dreams.  Your goals.  Your hidden visions of success.  Say yes to your life.  Say yes to you!

Mother Teresa

Just wanted to mention that today is the anniversary of Mother Teresa's death -- a wonderful, selfless and giving woman whose grace reached beyond divergent faiths and classes to unite us all in the notion of peace and service.  She devoted her entire life to helping the poorest of the poor.  And if you read her recently published journals, you'll know that she was often filled with doubt and despair but used her faith and her good works to overcome it each time.  My priest at church today spoke about using this phrase every day which I think fits Mother Teresa perfectly:  I AM THIRD.  He said we should put God first, then others, then ourselves.  How miraculous would the world be if we all followed this philosophy?

Here are some of my favorite Mother Teresa quotes:

"Prayer enlarges the heart."

"We realize that what we are accomplishing is a drop in the ocean.  But if this drop were not in the ocean, it would be missed."

"Every person is for me the only person in the world."

"We are called upon not to be successful, but to be faithful."

"Sacrifice does not cause sadness, especially when you give it up to God."

"It's not how much we give but how much we put into the giving."

"Love has to be put into action, and that action is service."

"Do ordinary things with extraordinary love."

"What I can do, you cannot.  What you can do, I cannot.  But together we can do something beautiful for God."

"Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless."

"Death is nothing but a continuation of life.  The surrendering of the human body.  But the heart and the soul live forever.  The do not die."

"Where there is mystery, there must be faith."

"Every day some miracle happens."

"If you are humble, nothing will bother you, neither praise nor slander, because you know what you are."

"Every act of love is a work of peace, no matter how small."

Thank you Mother Teresa!

Creating Crystal Grids

Crystal grids are a fun and effective way to create and manifest with intention.  Listen to Deb Bowen and me live tonight on our radio show for more information on how to create a crystal grid to enhance your own health, career, family and love life.  Below are images of two grids in my home now.


The grid on the left is a prosperity grid made of eight green aventurine and citrine with a rose quartz in the middle.  A prosperity grid is made in the shape of an eight (for financial abundance) laid on its side (for infinity so you can continually manifest abundance).  The green aventurine brings you luck and good fortune, the citrine helps you manifest money with success and learn how to keep it.  The rose quartz in the middle helps you manifest money from love.  The grid on the right is my goal grid.  I've placed a rose quartz obelisk in the center with single terminated clear quarts in the north, south, east and west positions.  I've placed a variety of single terminated quartz between to facilitate the manifesting process.  I have labrodorite (clear vision), smokey quartz (absorbs negativity), black kyanite (to keep the goal grounded in reality), and petalite (to call on my angels for help).  The rose quartz is placed over my an affirmation card stating my goal in the present tense.