Gemstones and Crystals For Your Well-Being

Most of us live in the HSFL (the High Stress Fast Lane) multitasking furiously, leaving little if no time to nourish the Self. We run in late to yoga and run out before Savansana, the best part! We whittle our thumbs away on our smartphones and swig down our cafe-latte-mocha-choka from Starbucks. After running, rushing, organizing, and planning, we crawl into bed spent but can't sleep. We want to meditate and center but we just don't have the time-can't focus-can't shut down the thoughts-can't-JUST CAN'T. We really want to connect to and with ourselves but how? Enter gemstones, those trinkets that adorn the jewelry we so love, well those trinkets have power! Many of us are so captivated by them for their intense beauty but are totally unaware of how valuable they actually are. And I'm not talking about Diamonds, Emeralds, or Rubies but any gemstone is loaded with juicy properties we all can benefit from. There are stones for protection, stones for will-power, stones for courage, and to increase the mind's clarity. Stones to assist with energy, either to calm you down or to give you a boost. And you don't have to have psychic superpowers to pick up on the stone's energy, being in your airspace does the trick. These jewels have been used for centuries for their calming, balancing, clearing, healing and protective properties. I am using Selenite to ease the pain of a pinched sciatic nerve and it's doing a pretty darn good job! One of its noted properties is its formidable healing energy. Let's say you've been wanting to meditate but it's a bust. Here's an exercise to get started. I invite you to purchase an uncut polished stone, not the perfect cabochons or faceted stones that are used in fine jewelry. Make sure it is one you are absolutely drawn to. If you find out the name cool, but what's most important is your 'connection' to it. Find a relatively quiet place and begin to explore your new friend by checking out its physical properties. Observe the color and shading, note the shape and slowly inspect all of its sides. Feel the weight of it in your hand and become aware of your breath as it begins to slow down and deepen. Rub your finger(s) over the surface and if it's transparent, gaze INTO it. Notice how it plays with the light and are there any rainbows in it? Use your imagination and play for a moment, suspending the skeptical adult mind and let your inner child reign. After your exploration is complete, close your eyes breathing evenly. When you're ready open them and VOILA! you have just meditated! And that didn't take long at all nor did you have to fold yourself up into a pretzel. Hopefully you felt calm at least for those moments and came out refreshed. That is one of the many ways to benefit from gemstones and crystals. If you tune in, peace is yours and the tool is right at your fingertips.