Festive crystal

As you can imagine I read lots of blogs and try to absorb lot of information.  Whilst reading the incredibly informative Hibiscus Moon’s crystal blog (http://hibiscusmooncrystalacademy.com/crystals-winter-celebration/) , she mentions her Garnet Winter Solstice meditation.  It sounded divine so off I trotted looking for some almandine garnet.  Not only did I manage to find some beautiful little tumble stones, the seller was local to me – Yay.

I have spent the last few days meditating with my new garnet and I’m looking forward to spending a little more time exploring any sensations and thoughts that may appear in the next few days. 

The Almandine garnet is a beautiful deep red (very seasonal) colour.  I’ve tried to take a photo on white to give you an idea of the depth of this beautiful crystal.  I therefore relate this crystal to my base chakra and feelings of sensuality, sexuality, compassion and self-confidence. 

Garnets are a related group of minerals. Members of this group include: almandine (red to violet red); spessartite (yellow, rose, or orange to reddish-brown); pyrope (deep red); grossular (white, yellow, yellow-green, brownish-red, orange or black); andradite (colorless, yellow-green, or brown to black).

It is said Noah used a garnet lantern during the Ark's journey through the rainy gloom. Eastern Europeans used the stones to ward off vampires and the Crusaders wore them as protective amulets. During the Victorian era, garnets were given as gifts to symbolize lasting friendship.

Garnet is also used to help stimulate success in business and Hibiscus Moon believes it helps with SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). 

Around this Winter Solistice/Christmas period, what crystals will you work with?  Have you asked for any crystals for Christmas?

Thank you so much for reading my blog and supporting Heather Holistics in the past year.  I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very blessed Solstice and Christmas and a healthy and happy 2013.

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Quick disclaimer; I am not a medical practitioner so therefore I’m not prescribing.  All of my blog posts are based on complementary therapies and not as a replacement for conventional medicine.  

I finally got a Baroque

Long ago when Doris wrote her wonderful Philofaxy blog post on her range of Baroque Filofaxes (click here), I must admit I suffered with planner envy. I constantly watched Ebay just so I could own a Baroque. I wanted to stroke the super, soft, embossed leather and see for myself if the Baroque’s really were as beautiful in real life. After months of waiting, bidding and a few fails along the way I finally got my wish. So (drum roll please), here are the requisite photos:-

I’m using my mini black baroque as my daily carry around Filofax. Whilst I still adore my A5 Cuban filofax (for further details see here), sometimes carrying around an A5 Filofax is just too heavy and bulky. Even when I trim the contents down to bare minimum pages, A5’s can still be a bit of a beast.

However, a mini filofax is no hardship to carry or fit into the smallest of spaces. On occasions where I don’t even carry a handbag, the mini baroque serves as a filofax/wallet too. As I print my diary pages out from Outlook, downsizing them to mini size is not difficult either. Yes, it makes the print a bit small but still readable.

Here is a quick tour; The black leather is soft and smooth. The embossing on the inside is . . . just divine – classy and understated. In the front there are several card slots where I slip a debit card if I’m using the baroque as a wallet. There is also a small zip compartment where I keep my money if using as a wallet.

I print out my Outlook calendars using the Microsoft Calendar Printing Assistant and shrink it down via pdf to 50%. Next I just have some lined paper for notes, shopping lists etc..

At the rear is the cutest, little notepad holder I have ever seen. I put my business cards in there to save on bulk.

And that’s it. Baby baroque earned its stripes when I helped host a burger stall at the village Christmas fete a few weekends ago. I didn’t want to carry a handbag but I also didn’t want to be without pen & paper. Baby baroque was able to write down drinks orders, quickly show me my appointments to arrange meet ups, hold my money and provide safety for my business cards.

As always, thank you for reading this blog and following my crazy flitting from one filofax (size and style) to another. If you have any questions or comments, please chat to me below.

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What does Reiki feel like?

Obviously this is subjective and varies from one person to another and each session varies depending on what you require at that moment in time.

Some of my clients describe it as “that happy, floaty feeling you get when you’ve had a little too much alcohol to drink”.  Personally when I’m in a Reiki session I’m in a meditative state so, along with the client, I end the session feeling calm, centred and at peace. 

I practice Reiki on myself daily and try to live by the five Reiki principles.  I’m sure this practice of daily self Reiki has enabled me to cope with an extremely busy year; I’m a Mum of two gorgeous and extremely energetic boys, I work part-time as well as run my own business and I volunteer for two local charities.  Coupled with a house extension where my house didn’t always feel like the relaxing sanctuary it should.  My daily Reiki practice has enabled me to find (usually hidden rather deeply) that quiet, still place inside me where I find peace.  I can sit in my ‘Reiki bubble’ and the hustle and bustle of the outside world slowly disappears.

If you have been lucky enough to attend a spa or a wonderfully relaxing holiday or retreat, can you remember and still sense that inner calm you felt?  This is how I feel during a Reiki session.  I’m sure most of my fellow Reiki practitioners and clients would agree with this sentiment. 

Don’t we all want to find that beautiful calm space within ourselves?  Some people find this with meditation or yoga.  I would like to help you find your still/happy place and this is where Reiki can help.  Together we will start a journey to a more peaceful and content you.

As always, thanks for reading and if you have any questions or comments, I’d love to hear from you below.

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Quick disclaimer; I am not a medical practitioner so therefore I’m not prescribing.  All of my blog posts are based on complementary therapies and not as a replacement for conventional medicine.  

My new crystal

I was drawn to a new crystal whilst away. It's beautiful creamy colour reminded me of dream clouds and intrigued I purchased the crystal (which I now know to be Selenite) and researched it's attributes.

Selenite is named after Selene, Greek goddess of the Moon because of its moon-like glow.  It is a crystallized form of gypsum and linked to the astrological sign of Taurus.

The Book of Stones describes Selenite as a spiritual activation crystal with links to the crown chakra. The Power of Crystals book suggests Selenite is an excellent tool for meditation; "simply rub while in a meditative state and take note of any visual images or symbols that may appear".  However, The Crystal Healer book suggests the healing qualities of longevity, helps with wrinkles, age spots and skin problems.

I prefer to use my own intuition when using a new crystal. Therefore, I have decided to meditate with this new crystal and ask what attributes or properties this crystal holds for me.  I must admit I felt superbly relaxed and peaceful (more than usual) whilst meditating with this crystal.  I also had ‘visions’ of delicate, white glittery wings which belonged to an angel.  I’ve also been carrying this crystal around with for the last couple of days and my (ever present) temper seems to have been soothed and I’ve purposely put myself first.  After all, if I’m not at my peak, I cannot support my family, friends and clients.  I’m really loving this crystal and I envisage I will be using this crystal rather a lot in the future.

Please be aware that Selenite is a 'soft' crystal and should not be cleansed using water or used in a direct method for creating an elixir.

As always, thanks for reading and any questions or comments, I’d love to hear from you below.

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Quick disclaimer; I am not a medical practitioner so therefore I’m not prescribing.  All of my blog posts are based on complementary therapies and not as a replacement for conventional medicine. 

Some of the information provided in this post has been taken from :-
The Power of Crystals by Denise Whitchello Brown ISBN 1-85605-637-6

The Crystal Healer by Philip Permutt ISN 978-1-904991-62-5

The Book of Stones by Robert Simmons and Naisha Ahsian ISBN 978-0-9621910-3-9

Blue Calcite

Following on from my last blog post, my crystal super heroes certainly earned their stripes.  What could have been a negative, energy sapping and disturbing weekend become a weekend of peace, harmony and forgiveness.  As a quick recap, I used black tourmaline and smoky quartz to ‘repel’ negativity, rose quartz to promote peace and harmony and clear quartz to amplify.  I carried around a small ‘blessing bag’ of stones , I created a crystal elixir which I sipped at regular intervals and also created a crystal grid and programmed appropriately.  For more information on crystal grids, I recommend visiting the wonderful http://hibiscusmooncrystalacademy.com/ who has written an e-book on the subject.

This week I would like to explore the crystal calcite, specifically blue calcite.  One of my clients is currently experiencing an unpleasant few months and is feeling anxious, irritable and tearful.  Their GP has put them on anti-depressants but they would like to also like to complement this with a more holistic approach.  I’m therefore in the process of creating them a holistic action plan combining several complementary practices such as Reiki, mindfulness, aromatherapy with a ‘take-home’ crystal blessing bag.  This is where I think blue calcite will excel. 

Blue calcite has been using for healing purposes for thousands of years and is derived from the Greek word choix, meaning lime.  It is an excellent stone for reducing stress, negativity and anxiety.  Blue calcite is fantastic for calming emotions and allowing one to be more optimistic.  When used near the throat chakra, it aids clear communication, helping you to speak calmly and tactfully. 

I can’t wait to put this action plan into practice and hopefully provide some comfort.

As always, thanks for reading and any questions or comments, I’d love to hear from you below.

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Quick disclaimer; I am not a medical practitioner so therefore I’m not prescribing.  All of my blog posts are based on complementary therapies and not as a replacement for conventional medicine.  

My crystal super heroes

Following on from last time’s blog post, I must admit I looove my black tourmaline.  My home sanctuary has been undergoing a renovation and I was beginning to feel far too negative.  Within two days of carrying BT round with me I was feeling much more . . . well happy, positive me again. 

I’m going to continue to use BT (along with some others, keep reading for details) for the next two weeks as I have a couple of challenging weeks where I’m going to need all of my calming, soothing and un-conditional love qualities. 

So, talking about un-conditional love I’m going to blog about how I’m going to use my crystal super heroes.  Firstly, I’m going to use Rose Quartz as it exudes a very gentle and soothing energy.   It encourages forgiveness and helps to let go of anger, resentment and jealousy and promotes love, self-love, friendships, deep inner healing and feelings of peace.  Oh my gosh, just reading this I KNOW this crystal is going to help me. 

BT is next on my list along with Smokey Quartz to help ‘bounce’ off any negativity.  Finally I’m adding Amethyst for its calming and balancing properties and clear quartz to amplify all this wonderfulness. 

I’m so excited about using my stones during this testing period.  I’m going to create (using both direct and non-direct methods) a crystal elixir to sip on at regular intervals.  Using the same crystal elixir, possibly with some lavender essential oil dropped in, as a room spray and I’m going to carry these wonderful crystals on me in a gorgeous little organza bag for the majority of time. 

Kapow – negativity be gone and replaced with unconditional love. 

Come back next time to find out how my next two weeks have fared.

As always, thanks for reading and any questions or comments, I’d love to hear from you below.

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Quick disclaimer; I am not a medical practitioner so therefore I’m not prescribing.  All of my blog posts are based on complementary therapies and not as a replacement for conventional medicine. 

Tourmaline

I’m often found sitting in front of a PC screen and recently I’ve found myself trying to multi-task too much and stress is beginning to creep in.  So I’ve decided to take a dose of my own medicine and research which crystal(s) may help.

After some research, Tourmaline fits the bill (especially the black variety).  There are many varieties of tourmaline including colourless (achrotie), dark brown/black (buergerite), brown (dravite), blue (indicolite), red/violet/pink (rubellite), green (verdelite) and black (schori).  It is therefore no surprise that tourmaline’s name is derived from the Singhalese word tourmali, meaning ‘mixed coloured stones’. 

Tourmaline is a naturally occurring mineral widely used as a semi-precious gemstone, and it has unique electric properties responsible for many beneficial health effects.

From the scientific point of view, tourmaline is known to generate a weak electric current, producing far infrared rays and converting moisture in the air to negative ions.

Unlike mechanically produced negative ions, those generated by tourmaline are completely natural and safe and have no negative side effects. In fact, many of the beneficial effects of tourmaline are thought to be brought about by the negative ions it emits.

It is also known to be helpful for improving circulation, relieving stress, increasing mental alertness and strengthening the immune system function. (Niwa Institute for Immunology, Japan. Int J. Biometeorol 1993 Sep; 37(3) 133-8).

Black tourmaline is an excellent grounding stone and helps to balance those who feel ‘spaced out’.  (This certainly applies to me at the moment with so many thoughts spinning around in my head).  In recent years, tourmaline has been closely investigated for its potential to counteract the effects of electromagnetic fields, which are thought to be harmful. Researchers suspect that the weak electric current generated by tourmaline suppresses electromagnetic fields immediate environment (so I’m finding my largest chunk of black tourmaline and placing in front of my computer screens where my IPhone also resides) 

We all know that we often encounter individuals or situations that emanate negative vibes and black tourmaline is ideal for clearing oneself and one’s surroundings of negativity and disharmony.

Come back in two weeks for an update.

Please don’t use tourmaline for making direct essences as it contains aluminium.

As always, thanks for reading and any questions or comments, I’d love to hear from you below.

 

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Quick disclaimer; I am not a medical practitioner so therefore I’m not prescribing.  All of my blog posts are based on complementary therapies and not as a replacement for conventional medicine. 

How to link your Google calendar to IPhone

Ensure you have a Google account and can view your calendar via the internet (preferably not on your IPhone).  Make a note of your username and password.

Go into the Settings of your Google calendar and ensure you have set to private shares.

 On your mobile phone go to http://m.google.com/sync where you should be able to log into your Google account and select or manage your device(s).  Select the device you wish to sync and you get to the Settings page.  Tick which calendars you wish to sync to your IPhone and ensure your press on the Save button. 

Assuming you are on a fairly recent iOS version (I am currently using 5.1.1) you then need to go into 'Settings' then select 'Mail, Contacts, Calendars'.  Check your existing Accounts but you may need to add a new Account.  Select 'Add Account' and scroll down to 'Other'.  From the Calendars option select 'Add CalDAV account' and entered the settings as below.  It may take a minute or two to verify your information. 

Finally, open the default IPhone calendar app and select Calendars.  Hopefully, you should now be able to select which calendars you wish to view and relate them to the different colour options available.  

All change on the Filofax front .... again

During the summer I have been using my beautiful Aston pocket Filofax successfully.  However, as the school holidays draw to a close, I realise the pocket size paper just won’t hold enough information for after school clubs and groups, along with scout and rugby activities for the whole family. 

I also realised that I need to keep a few print-outs with me and I struggle to fit these into the pocket size.  As I have an aversion to the Personal size paper and I like to print onto A4 paper returning to A5 was an easy decision.  However the weight and the size of an A5 Filofax in my current handbag was impossible.  What is a woman to do?  Buy a new handbag of course!  Then my gorgeous sister mentioned that she really liked the Chestnut Cuban A5 (she currently had a Chocolate Cuban A5) so with little persuasion, we had a swap around and I am now the proud owner of a beautiful Chocolate Cuban A5 Filofax. 

I love it’s beautiful smooth leather finish (I’m one of those unfortunate souls that really doesn’t like the finish to the Malden).  I also like my Filofax binders to have stiff covers (I often write on my knee) but with the flexibility to lie flat.  The Cuban ticks all those boxes.  With it’s 25mm rings, I hoping to keep it slimline and therefore not too heavy. 

So here are some of the obligatory photos for my fellow Filofax fans:-

Inside the front cover I keep stamps, a solitary cheque, an envelope, a paper clip, some post-it notes, my sister’s business cards and my business cards. 

I then have an A5 Week on 2 Pages print-out of my Google calendars which are synced to my IPhone, Outlook on my PC, my husbands IPhone and DS1’s Android phone.  There are also small rows where I’ve added birthdays, menu planning and tasks.  This picture also shows my home-made floating Today marker with a Weekly To Do list on the front. 

I have created my own dividers from birthday cards and used the Avery Note tabs (cut in half).  At the moment, I prefer the use of top tabs.  I have purposely kept the contents to a minimum so it keeps the weight down. 

If you would like me to write a blog post on how I link my IPhone, Outlook and Filofax across multiple internet calendars, please write a comment below and I can go into further details. 

I’m also using a variety of multi-pens for colour coding each family member.  Again, if you would like more information, ask a question in the comments form below and I will endeavour to answer in a further blog post. 

As always, thank you for reading.

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Hematite

We currently have some beautiful hematite jewelry for sale (see link here) and I wanted to learn a little more about the properties of this reflective gemstone. 

The word hematite is derived from the Greek word meaning "blood." While hematite is a silver metallic color, when ground up hematite becomes a blood red colour.  Native American folklore states that when used as war paint in battle the person becomes invincible.

Hematite is a grounding stone and is said to provide the wearer with internal strength.  Hematite helps with timidity by boosting self-esteem, enhancing willpower and imparting confidence.  It also helps to overcome compulsions and addictions. 

Physically, hematite may stimulate the absorption of iron and helps with circulation.  With its quietening and calming effect, it is an ideal study aid as it assists concentration.

Some people may be sensitive to hematite and has been known to give some a slight inflammation when worn against the skin. Make sure you do a test on your skin before wearing it.   Hematite should not be used where inflammation is present for long periods of time. 

As always, thanks for reading and any questions or comments, I’d love to hear from you below.

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Quick disclaimer; I am not a medical practitioner so therefore I’m not prescribing.  All of my blog posts are based on complementary therapies and not as a replacement for conventional medicine. 

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Moonstone

One of the crystals which intrigue me is Moonstone.  Its name is derived from a visual effect, or sheen, caused by light reflecting internally in the moonstone.  It really is beautiful to look at and my photography below does not do this gorgeous crystal justice. 

Moonstone has been used as jewelry for centuries, including ancient civilizations. The Romans admired moonstone, as they believed it was born from solidified rays of the moon.  Both the Romans and Greeks associated Moonstone with their lunar gods and goddesses.

Moonstone is said to be the ‘stone of new beginnings’ and like the moon cycles, reminds us that we are part of a cycle.  This is a calming stone and can be very effective in soothing the emotions.  Moonstone is believed to enhance femininity, gentleness and intuition.  It is ideal for the excessively macho man or excessively aggressive female. 

Moonstone is said to help the female reproductive system and be excellent for PMS, conception, pregnancy, menopause and childbirth. 

Please do not make a gem elixir with Moonstone directly as it contains aluminum. 

As always, thanks for reading and any questions or comments, I’d love to hear from you below.

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Quick disclaimer; I am not a medical practitioner so therefore I’m not prescribing.  All of my blog posts are based on complementary therapies and not as a replacement for conventional medicine. 

Some of the information provided in this post has been taken from:-

The Crystal Bible by Judy Hall ISBN: 978-1-84181-175-8

Filofax Pennybridge on travels

I’m changing the subject of this week’s blog as I’m just back from holiday and thought some of you may like a report on how my travel Filofax fared. 

Several months ago and in anticipation of a holiday abroad, I purchased the pocket Pennybridge in purple.  In all fairness, it was pretty much love at first sight.  Not only was it purple, I’m currently still using a pocket size Filofax, it wasn’t too expensive and being leather-look, I wouldn’t be too upset if it got splashed with suncream or other parenting mishaps. 

As is usual with most of my Filofax blog posts, this is fairly photo heavy.

At the front is the little zip compartment I used for coins.  Behind the zip is a small area suitable for notes and cards although this is my only issue with the Pennybridge, I miss a suitable area to store notes. 

In front of the zip compartment are several slots suitable for payment cards, EHIC cards, business cards etc.

My front picture always makes me smile and is the front from a glittery birthday card. 

I printed Ray and Steve’s fantastic pocket travel journals before departing.  These were really useful and practical and used every day on holiday.  I then inserted some budget sheets to keep a check on how much money we were spending.  Next I inserted some plain lined notepaper which made perfect shopping lists for the supermarket run. 

 

I currently use Google calendar and sync to my IPhone.  To prevent using my mobile too much on holiday, I printed off a WO2P Google calendar view to Landscape PDF and then shrunk it by 60% and it fits perfectly in a pocket Filofax.  The same also for the MO2P Landscape calendar views.  Finally, I added my contacts so we could write postcards whilst away. 

In the pen slot (not shown) was my original Bic 4 colour pen and I also managed to slide the Bic fashion limited edition 4 colour pen and along the top of the inserts a small mechanical pencil. 

In summary, I’ve found the Pennybridge so useful, I occasionally use it at home if I know I’ve got a short trip out rather than a purse/Filofax/handbag combination. 

A little hint/tip; If the coin section contains too many coins, it can become a little bulky or difficult to close the external zip but if you hold the Filofax horizontal and shake it around a little, the coins distribute themselves more evenly within the coin zip and the Filofax is easier to close. 

As always, thank you for taking the time to read my blog and if you have any questions or comments, please add them below. 

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