Friday, February 27, 2009

Abundance


When I started researching for the written piece that would accompany my Abundance doily I first had to learn what Abundance was. Initially I thought that it was all about financial and material gain. I soon discovered that even though you could be abundant financially, you can also have an abundance of love, good health, and inner peace. Abundance is different things to different people. There is no right or wrong answer. To me, Abundance is something plentiful in your life that makes you feel really good.

Admittedly enough, my Abundance doily developed from an idea of working with crystals that would bring about financial stability and gain in these hard economic times. And since I benefit from the crystals energies while working with them, I wanted to make something that would bring about a bit of financial gain for my self too.

I chose crystals for abundance and wealth. But what I have now realized is that even though these crystals hold properties for financial gain, they also teach us how to identify what we want abundant in our lives, and helps use to remove our self imposed blockages.

As I mentioned earlier, Abundance is different things to different people. We first need to identify what it is in our lives that makes use feel really good. That special something that gives us that warm fuzzy feeling inside, making us smiles involuntarily, humming our favorite tune.

Next, we need to allow ourselves this pleasure in our lives. Speaking from experience, this can be a very hard thing to do. Different events and circumstances in our lives have imposed what I call an ‘Unworthiness Blockages’. If you feel unworthy of this pleasure or good feeling, then we put up a block. This blockage will not allow any good feelings in. It even prevents thinking about something pleasurable, since we feel unworthy of such.


I have been working for the past 5 years to remove my blockages. I’ve made remarkable progress, and some days I feel very close to breaking through that blockage. I need to allow myself to feel good. The more I can do that, the more creative I can get with my desires and inner visions. Feeling good emits a very powerful energy to those around us and the universe. It also acts like a magnet, attracting the very like of what we are sending out. Even more good feelings! I don’t know about you, but I could get the hang of feeling good all the time.

The last thing I figured out about Abundance is not to hold any expectations. If we just let nature takes its course and enjoy our ‘NOW’ moment then we can not be disappointed or discouraged when our desires and wants do not happen when we want them to happen. We need to trust that all of our good things will happen to us when we are ready for it and can enjoy it fully.
So anyways, getting back to the Crystals. For the Abundance Doily I used Yellow Sapphires, Emerald, Citrine, Peridot, and Glossular Garnet called Tsavorite. I also used a combination of Yellow and Green thread. I chose these colors for their symbolism. Yellow thread represents gold and Green thread represents money.

After doing my research, I realized that the colors were more than just gold and money. Yellow thread also related to the Solar Plexus Chakra, which is also known as our ‘Will’, and the green thread resonates with our Heart Chakra. Cleansing these chakras will enable us to remove the self-imposed blockages, allow ourselves to have creative thoughts about our wants and inner visions, and finally to enjoy the wonderful feelings that accompany the manifestation of these inner visions.

You will find 8 Emeralds in the very center of this doily. Emeralds are known for their brilliant green color which resonates with the Heart Chakra. The green ray helps to open the heart, allowing for universal blessings to enter into our lives. Emeralds help to attune our vibrations to flow with the vibrations of Abundance, allowing you to attract what you need and desire. The gentle energy brings with it a feeling of hope and encouragement. Lastly, Emeralds teach us to embrace these manifestations with gratitude.

Next you will find 8 Yellow Sapphires which surround the Emeralds. They are known as a Prosperity Stone. Yellow Sapphires resonate with the Solar Plexus chakra, and assist one in successfully manifesting wishes and desires by means of magnifying intention. It carries joyful and exciting energies that can stimulate creative visions and your desire to manifest them. Yellow Sapphire can attract wealth into your life, increasing prosperity and earnings.

Peridot is known as the little green nuggets of positive energy. If I could adorn myself from head to toe in Peridot, I would. I just love the bright enlivening energy that radiates from these beautiful stones. Working on our Solar Plexus and Heart chakra, Peridot assists in creating our inner visions and removing our self-imposed blockages. It is a stone of financial and spiritual abundance, bringing about an increase in wealth, joy, love and well-being. Peridot helps to teach us that it is okay to enjoy the wonderful feelings that accompany manifestation. The more we enjoy these feelings, the easier it is to manifest our wants and desires.

Citrine, known a Money Stone as it attracts money and wealth, but it also carries a warm, energizing and highly creative energy. Its ability to transmute and dissipate negative energy makes it ideal for removing those self-imposed blockages. It also improves motivation, activates creativity and encourages self-expression, all which is necessary for developing our inner visions. With our blockages removed, we are unfamiliar with the new feelings that will accompany the manifestation of out inner visions. Citrine will help teach you how to enjoy these new experiences.

Green Garnet, or Tsavorite, was a new stone that I had not worked with yet. I felt that it had a soft, yet enlivening energy. It opens and cleanses the Heart chakra, helping to align with and bring about our hearts desires. They are stones of abundance not just in wealth, but also in areas of creativity, emotions, artistic and even physical well-being. An all around wonderful for stone abundance.

So as you can see, the crystals used are not just for financial gain, but for all areas in our lives. Whether you seek to gain in creativity, or inner visions, or even just removing those self-imposed blockages, the crystals used will provide the energies we need. What is so wonderful about working with crystals is that simply having them in our environment allows for us to receive the energies that they naturally emit. That is what they do and why they are here. They look pretty, glisten in the light and radiate energy.

You could place the Abundance doily on a table as a center piece, or in a dark corner that needs brightening up. If you practice Feng Shui, the Abundance doily can be placed in you wealth corner, which is the farthest left corner from the entrance door. Or you can meditate with the Abundance doily, or even place it over your Heart and Solar Plexus chakra while lying down. The uses are endless, don’t be afraid to use it the way it feels right to you.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Crystals and Arthritis

An interesting thing happened to me the other day. Completely out of the blue, my daughters Music teacher started talking to me about how they were having a discussion about chakras in Music class. My daughter is 9 and surprised her teacher when she started talking about chakras and telling everyone about what I do. One thing lead to another and the Music teacher asked me about crystals for Arthritis. We did not have much time to chat, but it did give me the idea to write about crystals and arthritis this week.

Crystal and Color therapy is a non-invasive, safe approach to treating arthritis symptoms.
It is safe to use with conventional treatment and medications you may be currently receiving. It is not intended to replace your treatment prescribed by your doctor, but to compliment it.

Many arthritis sufferers know all to well how bothering the different symptoms can be. Tender, swollen joints, stiffness and pain are just a few of the symptoms we suffer from. Sometimes one symptom can lead to something else, such as Arthritis in the neck giving you a nasty headache. Some days our symptoms can be lingering on and other days down right debilitating.

I was diagnosed at 18 with osteoarthritis in both of my knees. I have had 4 surgeries, lived through the recent scare of prescription drugs used for arthritis, and lost weight. I have tried different medications, but only got tired of the drowsy, constipating effect that really only brought a few hours of relief. This brought about an idea last summer of making a patch or small doily that would have crystals for arthritic symptoms. Now when I have a bad day I tape my patch on my knee and sit quietly, usually for about 30 minutes, and then I forget I have it taped on my knee and get up and go about my day. Sometimes I remember I have it taped on, other times I forget because it is so comfortable.

I made a patch for my 82 year old grandmother, hoping she would try it for her arthritis, which she is riddled with. I gave it to her when she came for her last visit. She propped it up beside her bed, seeing that it is difficult for her to tape it to the back of her neck. For her entire visit she did not have any problems with her neck, or arthritis. Now she swears by it and keeps it by her bedside.

I’ve even managed to get my husband to wear my patch on his neck. He is a very good sport, and even though he does not announce his relief, I can see it in his facial expressions and the way he holds his head. I can always tell when it has worked for him.

Well, enough about all that. I want to show the Arthritis Patch and a custom order I had for a Knuckle Band. Since I made these I have expanded on my library (and beads). I have found additional crystals which can also be used for arthritis. These include Malachite, Lepidolite, Blue Jade, Blue Chalcedony, Copper, and Blue Opal. The crystals I used in the Arthritis Patch and Knuckle band were the crystals I had on hand. I hope to incorporate more specific stones in future pieces.

The color yellow relates to the nervous and immune system, systems which are often attacked by arthritis. Yellow provides a warm and stimulating effect, relieving the stiffness and pain of arthritis and rheumatism. Yellow is also energizing, giving us the extra boost we need when feeling drug down by the various symptoms.

The Arthritis Relief Patch comes with 4 different crystals, each offering their own healing energies. When combined, these 4 crystals offer a powerful effective yet wonderfully soothing relief for your symptoms. These 4 crystals include Amethyst, Blue Lace Agate, Fluorite, and Carnelian.

Amethyst reduces swelling and relieves physical, emotional and psychological pain.

Blue Lace Agate provides a soft energy which is cooling and calming, and will neutralize inflammation and fevers.

Fluorite cleanses, purifies and dispels anything within the body that is not in perfect order. Dissolving adhesions and mobilizing joints, Fluorite alleviates arthritis, rheumatism and spinal injuries. It also draws off negative energy and stress. Fluorite is seen as the larger purple bead with swirls and lines of other colors.

Carnelian restores vitality, helping to overcome arthritis and rheumatism. It also regulates bodily fluids, reducing the chances of fluid build up in joints. Carnelian is orange in color.

To use this patch, simply place near or tape over the joint which is sore and tender for a minimum of 20 minutes. The combined energy from the crystals will bring about the much needed relief.

If you have any questions about a specific symptom and which crystal to use, please do not hesitate to contact me. I also welcome inquiries into various shapes of arthritis patches, and can work with you to make something that is suited for your symptoms.

Monday, February 9, 2009

Welcome

The sun is out this fresh and new day. I put my friend out to bask in the warmth of the sun. She soaks it up, ray by ray, mixed with the earthy scents from the nearby woods and the aromatic salt air from the neighboring sea. My little friend feels cleansed and refreshed… rejuvenated, ready to take on what ever comes her way. To see her glisten in the sunlight brings a profound sense of joy and love. I cherish my mornings that begin this way. I am ready for a new day, a new adventure. As for my friend, a rose quartz, she is ready for her day too.

My name is Karen and welcome to my world of Tatting, Crystals and Color. It is too lengthy for me to tell the tale of how it all began. But I will tell you this:
I am a creator
I am on a journey to understand who I am and the world around me
I have a need to heal
I have discovered the healing energies found within crystals and colors
I want to share all that I have discovered

When I began healing with crystals, I found it distracting having to replace and reposition those stones that rolled off of me. After struggling for a few months an idea came to me, some say it was divinely inspired. I had some gemstone beads and colored thread. I tatted up a little medallion, joining the beads as I went along. After tatting 1 medallion for each chakra, it was time for a test.

As I lay with these medallions placed over the appropriate chakras, I was able to focus on my breathing and not run away stones. I had my first peaceful meditation session, which left me feeling relaxed and “cleared”. I also felt I had to learn more.

I immersed myself into the world of crystals and colors. I read books, attended workshops and gained hands on experiences. My personal collection is grewing to assist me in my healing, as did my sensitivity to the different crystal energies. I learned that different stones and colors offer different therapeutic qualities, and that everyone can experiences these qualities, but in a different way. Some may feel a strong sensation, such as pulsing or tingling as soon as they pick up a stone. Yet others my feel a sense of peace or love overcome them. And some may feel a more subtle change, one that may be more noticeable to those that surround us than to ourselves. However we feel these energies, it is important to believe and trust that crystals and colors are here to help us heal.

I bring to you what I have gained in my journey so far. My knowledge is continuously expanding, and with it comes new ideas and combinations of crystals and colors to help in the healing process. I hope you come back periodically to see my newest creations, and I welcome any requests or ideas you may have.