Healing Stones and Crystals

When I was diagnosed with cancer a little over five years ago, a friend of mine gifted me that Rose Quartz healing stone (above). It joined my circle of healing stones (below) as part of my healing rituals and meditations.

I was away from home, so I made a make-shift altar and gave myself time and space to heal. I re-read several Louise Hay books and I wrote a notebook of my own healing affirmations that I read daily. I prayed for healing and for guidance – for myself and for the medical team handling my case. I was (and am) beyond grateful when the surgeon told me he thought they got it all.

Altars don’t have to be fancy to be effective. Creating a sacred space to engage with the spiritual dimension is more about intention than anything. When I was away from home, I simply made a small stone circle and lit a couple of candles. At home, I have a more elaborate altar (below).

Healing stones and crystals, meditations, and affirmations remain an important part of my life, allowing me to feel grounded and balanced – and to return to center when I get pulled away and lost in drama/fear/worry. They bring me comfort and help to calm me when I feel scared or agitated – which is particularly helpful to me in these uncertain times.

There are lots of good books about the energies and properties of different stones and crystals. If you’re looking for something to do, maybe look into what’s available and experiment and play a little. See what you feel. It’s fun – and for me, it has been healing as well.

The Healing Power of Love

Most of us have some awareness of the healing power of love. Often, when we think about that, we think about directing love outward – toward others. I want to talk a moment about the healing power of directing love inward – toward ourselves. Two of the most profoundly impactful healing practices that have helped my life have been: 1) learning to look into my own eyes in a mirror for 5 minutes and meet my Self there and tell myself over and over again, “I love you,” and 2) writing love notes and letters to me.

I’ve always been good at offering love and acceptance to others. I haven’t always been good at being kind to myself – but I’ve improved at that so much over the years that I’m almost never critical or cruel to myself anymore. I started by thinking, if someone I deeply love were going through this or had made this mistake, what would I say? Then I’d write those thoughts to me. Something as simple as, “Hey, I know that was disappointing and not what you were expecting, but I love you unconditionally and I trust that things will work out for the best for you. I believe in you!” Such a little thing, really – but it had a big impact on me and my life.

So, I’d like to invite you to start by writing a love note to yourself. Take some time and consider yourself the same way you would consider your dearest friend. You can write as many as you like – don’t worry about getting it “right.” Just express love for yourself in all of your different aspects. Maybe collect a series of love notes. Get in the habit of offering yourself love and support this way, no matter what is going on in your life.

What this is about is loving ourselves completely – not expecting perfection or even “goodness” – but loving the darker, more broken parts of ourselves too. Claiming our wholeness and our unconditional love for ourselves. If you choose to write yourself a love letter, be sure to include ALL of you! Read it every once in a while, particularly if you’re having a down day and could use some support – and a reminder that you are loved. Maybe even read it and meet your eyes in the mirror after every sentence as you do so. Have a conversation with that precious soul that is looking back at you. Be sure to say, “I love you.”

An excerpt from my love letter to me: I love your spirit. I love your good heart. I love your kindness. I love your tenderness. I love your lack of perfection. I love your impatience. I love your anger. I love your frustration. I love your loneliness. I love your authenticity. I love your insecurity. I love your strength. I love your weakness. I love your vulnerability. I love your courage. I love your fear. I love the risks you take. I love the way you hide in order to regroup. I love the struggles within you. I love the victories you claim. I love the defeats that you survive. I love your independence. I love your neediness. I love you through all of your ups and downs, all of your joys and worries, all of your laughter and tears. I love the stress you hold in your body and I love the ways in which you release your stress and allow yourself and your body to heal. I love the complications and contradictions and paradoxes within you. I love how you are constantly learning and growing. And I also want you to know that you don’t have to change a single thing to earn my love or to be worthy of love. I love every fault and flaw that you have. There is nothing in you that is unlovable. You are completely lovable in every single way. I love your full humanity. I love every bit of you that you let be seen and every bit of you that you keep hidden. I love the parts of you that you have discovered and the parts of you that you have yet to discover. I love you in every moment of your past, your present and your future. There is nothing that is, nor could be, a part of you that I would not love. I love you. All of you. Unconditionally and forever.

Synchronicities Delight Me

I have no doubt of the spiritual nature of life because my life has very clearly been a series of synchronicities. Not that everything’s worked out the way I would have wished or wanted all of the time – but there have clearly been signs along the way that show me that I am on the right path and that my life is guided, sometimes whether I’m paying attention or not. With some frequency, these synchronicities absolutely delight and encourage me to trust and have faith that Life is, indeed, looking out for me.

I had a series of synchronicities right before I moved from Florida to Colorado. The timing of friends driving by just when I’d gone outside to get something – so I got to say goodbye to them. I mean, what are the chances that they’d be in the same spot as me within a 1-2 minute time frame? One minute either way and I would have missed them! It happened frequently. I’d just smile, look up, and say, “thank you!”

Today, something even more improbable happened. I had a request for a copy of my social security card. No problem, I knew right where it was – in my little red wallet I keep in my purse with my driver’s license and other cards. Only when I went to grab it – it wasn’t there!

Here’s the thing: I have kept my social security card in that little red wallet for I don’t know how long – years and years! I can’t imagine it being anywhere else – and if I had moved it, I would have definitely put it in the big envelope where I keep my important papers. I mean, I had to replace it a few years ago, so I know damn well I’d be super careful with it!

Well, it wasn’t in my wallet … and it wasn’t in the big envelope. I couldn’t imagine what had happened to it. Had I dropped it when I pulled out my driver’s license or credit card? Was it lost? How on earth was I going to deal with getting a replacement now – in the middle of Covid? I looked in my car in case I’d left things from my purse or wallet in there in an effort some forgotten day to travel lighter. Nothing.

I cursed the stress of moving. I’ve moved 3 times in the past 5 years, this last time across country. In addition to changing careers multiple times and/or working multiple jobs. In addition to dealing with cancer (gone!) and a fall that resulted in two broken arms (yes, at the same time, plates and screws in both arms – not fun!). Oh – and a bankruptcy when the dream that I was trying to make come true with my patented invention crashed and burned. It’s been a white-knuckle ride for years, slamming right into this pandemic. But how could I have lost my social security card?!? (Can you sense the panic and overwhelm that was building up in me? It’s challenging to capture it in words – but this little thing was the proverbial straw pushing me over the edge.)

The only thing I could think to do was look in the boxes being stored in the basement of the people kind enough to give me shelter right now. I found two boxes marked “desk” and brought them over by a chair. I sat down and looked through the first box. I found some things that were useful (trying to keep a positive attitude that this was happening for a reason), but no social security card. Dejected, I grabbed the other box. Whyyyy is this happening to meeeee? My stress level was starting to move off the charts. I found a little journal that I’d kept in my center desk drawer, forgotten/ignored for a few years.

I flipped through the journal and started reading. Interestingly, I was writing this journal at the time I was reading The Untethered Soul for the first time – in April of 2017. I mentioned the book specifically – and some lessons I’d taken from it. As it so happens, my women’s group is about to have a discussion about this book, so I’ve just started reading it for the second time this past week. Weird, huh? What are the chances? I wonder what message that journal has that was so important for me to see? Maybe something to look at with fresh eyes as I read the book again. Or maybe the message was just to be aware that I am being guided – that I am surrounded by angels and guides – that I will be okay and that everything happens for a reason. I mean, these are precarious times – and it’s nice to have a reassurance like that, you know?

After glancing through the journal, I pulled a stack of loose stuff out of the box – and my heart jumped with hope when I thought I glimpsed my social security card amidst the stack. I sorted it slowly, one by one – and there it was! Somewhere that it absolutely did NOT belong – and I truly cannot imagine myself being so careless as to put it there! What a relief to see it though! I’m honestly not sure that I did put it there. It’s not impossible, but improbable. I think maybe it was put there – not to stress me out – but to give me the opportunity to see how connected things are and how amazingly things can all work out! My card is now safely back in the big envelope of important papers – and now I’m going to keep reading The Untethered Soul. I think it’s got important messages for me!

Hi Mom!

A few weeks after my Mom crossed over, we had a celebration of her life at her house where my family and I had lived with her and taken care of her the last few years of her life. I set up an altar of sorts on the dining room table, putting candles and pictures and flowers all around. It was a beautiful day of remembrance of a woman we had all loved dearly and who had touched all of our lives immensely with her love, humor, playfulness, and joy in life.

The next day, we went to the movies with a friend of ours who was staying with us from out of town. When we got home from the movies, I walked by the dining room table, smiled at pictures of my Mom, and went upstairs for a nap. My friend and my child went to watch TV in the back TV room and my then-husband went to the front TV room.

When I came down from my nap, I was walking by the dining room table and noticed that the candle in front of where my Mom used to always sit was lit. I asked everyone if they had lit the candle. Everyone was like, no – it’s lit? My visiting friend, who is also very psychic/intuitive looked at me as we exclaimed together that my Mom had lit the candle!

Mom has given me lots of signs over the years that she’s still around, watching over us. I’ve felt her so closely that it’s impossible to put into words. She’s appeared in every psychic reading I’ve had since her passing 12 years ago, always with messages for me. I can often hear her whispering to me, offering words of love, guidance, and comfort. I know her love and presence still exist. Even so, I miss her physical presence immensely. I’m grateful, though, to know and feel that she’s still around. I regularly reach out to her and just say, “Hi Mom! I love you!” I am grateful to feel her love beaming back at me.

Welcome to My Metaphysical Playground!

Ah, the metaphysical! It has fascinated me since my first encounter with a psychic at age 18. I’ve read countless books, hung out with and been friends with psychics and astrologers and healers, taken classes in energy healing, Reiki, healing with crystals, psychic readings, and more. I’ve owned a health food store for 8 years, been a massage therapist for 24 years, and specialized in Myofascial Release for 14 years.

I’ve played with sending distance healings to friends and relatives and a few clients with good success. I even sent distance healing to my grand-dog – and the problem resolved the next day!

I’ve collected and played with Oracle cards and pendulums for the past 38 years. I’ve honed my skills of intuition and paying attention to Guidance. Right now, my Guidance is telling me to offer my gifts online, so I’ve set up this website. I’m interested to see where the path goes from here.

There’s often a temptation to take ourselves very seriously in this human life, isn’t there? I am reminded with some frequency to lighten up – that we’re just playing. I’m not a “healer” – we may allow energy to flow between us and that energy may facilitate energetic pathways that allow the body’s natural healing abilities to manifest … or not. It isn’t scientific. I don’t know what Life has planned for you … or for me, for that matter. I just follow my Guidance in the moment and do my best.

I believe in angels and guides and otherworldly beings. I believe in healing light and love. I believe in things greater than can be measured by anything of this world. I love playing in this realm of possibilities and expanded consciousness. I’ll be writing about different experiences, intuitions, and inspirations that I have as I travel along my life path. I’ll share some of the more fun, interesting, touching things that I have experienced over the years.

If you’re interested in energy healing, Reiki, or psychic/intuitive readings, please click on “Home” at the bottom of this page. Please be sure to read the Disclaimers page. And if you feel so guided, come play with me!

Tuning In

We all have them – moments of intuition and/or inspiration. Sometimes, it’s a quiet whispering that says, “this way, not that” – sometimes it’s a much louder, almost screaming intuition, “get out of here!” Sometimes it’s a voice, sometimes it’s just a certainty that we feel inside.

Intuitions and inspirations come to us dressed in various guises. Learning to recognize them for what they are, learning to tune in and pay attention to them, rather than be distracted by the louder, seemingly incessant demands on our time and attention, can be a challenge – to say the least.

I’ve had a little more time than usual to slow down, to sit in meditation, to pay attention to the signs – the still small voice, the lifting of my heart with joy, the energies that flow within and around me, the awareness of guides and angels supporting me. This deeper connection has felt like a gift. It’s also given me the nudge to start this website and offer the gifts that I may bring to the world here online.