You've heard people talking about meditation, right? But perhaps you don't know what all the fuss is about. Earlier in my journey, I thought meditation was for hippies - nothing wrong with hippies, I just didn't see myself as one. I thought that I wouldn't be able to do it, so I'd get no benefit from it, especially with my monkey mind! I was always on the go, and too busy for stuff like that anyway.

I am a meditation convert now though. Guided and visualisation meditations are my thing. I meditate every day - and if I don't get chance to do my usual routine, I certainly can tell the difference. It sets me up for the day, giving me focus and clarity to hit the ground running. And at night, it winds me (and my monkey mind) down ready for sleep. 

Meditation is low cost (free, if you know how!), simple to do (check out my guided meditations and courses), and can be done virtually anywhere once you get into it.

Here are my top 50 perks of meditation. Just a few reasons that everyone should give meditation a go!

Physiological benefits:
1- It increases blood flow and slows the heart rate
2- Increases capacity for exercise
3- Leads to a deeper level of physical relaxation
4- Helps reduce high blood pressure
5- Reduces anxiety attacks by lowering the levels of blood lactate
6- Decreases muscle tension
7- Reduces Pre-Menstrual Syndrome symptoms
8- Helps in post-operative healing
9- Benefits the immune system
10- Enhances energy, strength and vigour
11- Helps with weight loss
12- Higher skin resistance
13- Drop in cholesterol levels, lowers risk of cardiovascular disease
14- Improved flow of air to the lungs resulting in easier breathing
15- Slows the aging process
16- Helps ease pain of chronic diseases
17- Reduce headaches & migraines
18- Reduced Need for Medical Care
19- Less energy wasted
20- Significant relief from asthma
21- Improved performance in athletic events
22- Relaxes our nervous system
23- Produce lasting beneficial changes in brain electrical activity
24- Improve infertility
25- Helps in building sexual energy & desire (!)

Psychological benefits:
26- Builds self-confidence
27- Resolve phobias & fears
28- Helps control own thoughts
29- Helps with focus & concentration
30- Increase creativity
31- Improved learning ability and memory
32- Increased feelings of vitality and rejuvenation
33- Increased emotional stability
34- Improved relationships
35- Mind ages at slower rate
36- Increased Productivity
37- Improved relations at home & at work
38- Able to see the larger picture in a given situation
39- Helps ignore petty issues
40- Increased ability to solve complex problems
41- Develop will power
42- Greater communication between the two brain hemispheres
43- React more quickly and more effectively to a stressful event
44- Increased job satisfaction
45- Decrease in potential mental illness
46- More sociable behaviour
47- Less aggressiveness
48- Helps in quitting smoking, alcohol addiction
49- Reduces need and dependency on medication
50- Require less time to fall asleep, helps cure insomnia
51- Reduces road rage!
52- Decrease in restless thinking
53- Decreased tendency to worry
54- Increases listening skills and empathy
55- Helps make more accurate judgements
56- Develops emotional maturity

Spiritual benefits:
57- Helps keep things in perspective
58- Provides peace of mind, happiness
59- Helps you discover your purpose
60- Increased compassion
61- Growing wisdom
62- Deeper understanding of yourself and others
63- Brings body, mind, spirit in harmony
64- Increased acceptance of oneself
65- Changes attitude toward life
66- Helps living in the present moment
67- Creates a widening, deepening capacity for love
68- Discovery of the power and consciousness beyond the ego
69- Experience a sense of “Oneness”
70- Re-connects you to your intuition

My personal favourite is number 51! Which one do you like best?

So, you like crystals? Maybe you're starting to gather quite a collection of them now? Would you like to get the best from these treasures from Mother Earth? Then read on...

There are many differing opinions about what to do with crystals. So, I will give you an insight as to what I personally do with my crystals. Please take what resonates with you, and leave the rest. I'd love to hear what you think, so if you feel drawn to, do get in touch.

What do you mean by "Cleansing"?
This is vitally important for me, and is the very first thing I do before I use my crystals. Crystals can pick up "dirty" energy easily while on their travels before they reach you - I'm not talking physical dirt here (although they can get physically dirty too!). It could be energy they have picked up from pollution in the area they were found, energy from whoever dug it up, or from someone who handled it in the shop before you. Now of course, I don't want to pick up their energy, I just want the energy of the crystal itself, so I cleanse first.

After carrying out healing on a client, I always cleanse my crystals, to ensure any energy they have cleared from the person isn't passed on to the next person. I will also cleanse my crystals after I have used them myself, to rid them of any negative energy that I may have left on them after a healing session. Even just having your crystals out on display in a room, will mean they pick up energy from the atmosphere, so I regularly cleanse them. Just whenever I remember, or I sense they are "dirty" - I use my intuition, and you can tune in to yours too.

Some people like to cleanse crystals in water - tap water, or natural spring water. However, I prefer not to use this method, because certain crystals don't like water - for example, Selenite can dissolve in water, even just water in the atmosphere in humid conditions. As I don't know exactly which crystals will react badly to water, I just steer clear of this method.

Here are some of the ways I like to cleanse my crystals:

Breath
Sound a bit crazy? Yes, you CAN cleanse your crystals with your breath. I find it is best to breathe out through your nose, holding the crystal close to your face. Repeat if you feel it necessary. I don't like to use breath from my mouth - the reason for this is because we all have a bit of a moan or say the odd angry thing sometimes, so the air is just more "positive" from our noses!
I use this method in the shop, while choosing which crystals I want to buy - you can do it quite discreetly, and you get a good feel of the crystal's energy once it is cleansed, so you can make the right selection. It's a quick fix, and it does the job for me, until I can get the crystals home and give them a proper clean​.

Tingsha Bells
Any kind of sound will cleanse the energy of your crystals, so go with what you're drawn to - a rattle, bells, rainmakers, a didgeridoo or even certain music. If you feel you need to repeat your chosen method a few times, or use a mixture of sounds, then just go with it. This method is quick, and very effective - my crystals feel really clean with this method.

Incense
Smudging with sage, incense or any smoke is a great way of cleansing you crystals. Just waft the smoke over them. If you feel drawn to, you could use feathers or a fan to help you waft smoke about. I like to use White Sage. This is another very effective method, however, it takes a bit more time and effort. It is a great way to start a ritual for your crystals, when preparing them for charging (more on that in Part 2).

As I said, these are just the ways that I like to cleanse my crystals. The important thing with any chosen method is that you go with what feels right for you, and you hold the intention that you are cleansing your crystals of negative energy.

Look out for Part 2: Charging Your Crystals.

Are you suffering right now?

This is the Full Moon and Eclipse build-up, preparing to shift and clear ancient history that has been lingering for longer than we know. It is emotional, mental, physical, spiritual, ancestral...

If, like me, you are finding it excruciating, then you are clearing not only your own "baggage", but that of the collective, perhaps even that of Mother Earth.

By tomorrow, we will have gone through the worst of it.

In the meantime, KNOW it will pass. The worst thing about pain like this, is the belief that it will never end. It will.

Also, get out your crystals, choose whatever you feel drawn to. Not sure? Go for black or brown. Not got any? Go to the healing post from Friday - the lovely Rose Quartz will soothe and comfort you.

Burn some incense. White Sage is good for clearing and cleansing the atmosphere as you purge and clear and detox your energy.

Have a salt bath. Grounding, but will also aid the detox.

Sending much love to all. Please remember, you are doing yourself and everyone else a big service in clearing this. Be proud and grateful to be a part of this giant shift. By tomorrow, you'll be feeling some relief 

Crystals... Beautiful treasures from Mother Earth, that contain natural healing vibrations. 

Each type of crystal vibrates at a different frequency, and they are used for balancing and healing our energies. Their frequencies help to restore harmony and balance from within, as they work in our energeties - our electromagnetic field for those of you who are more scientific. 

Not convinced that crystals vibrate? Have you heard of Quartz watches, which contain Quartz crystal? Quartz is used as it vibrates at the right frequency to keep the time accurately. These very same vibrations are the ones help to balance our energies ,our chakras, our auras, or electromagnetic fields (see pictures). Take a look at this link for further explanation...  http://www.explainthatstuff.com/quartzclockwatch.html

The beauty of crystal healing is that, unlike medication, you don't need to put them inside your body, and there are no lasting side effects. Where scientific medicine often treats the symptoms, crystals get to the root cause. Where counselling can mean you have to look at painful memories, crystals do all the hard work, while you relax in the comfort of a beautiful treatment.

A treatment involves lying (fully clothed) on a comfy massage bed, listening to soothing music. I scan your energies (not touching your body - there is actually very little physical contact involved), and select the appropriate crystals. These crystals are placed around your body, or on your chakras, and left to balance and harmonise your energy while I work on your aura (see picture). It is a beautiful treatment, where you feel safe, calm and relaxed. The energy of the treatment continues for a few days afterwards.

You will need further treatments for lasting results, if you choose to do so, but the benefits are experienced after just one treatment - these include feeling happier, more calm and relaxed, ready to take on the challenges of daily life once again, and also ready to make the necessary changes to create a life that you truly desire <3

We all suffer stress as a result of our daily lives, which can lead to physical health problems for many of us. I discovered crystal healing myself, when suffering from stress, anxiety and depression, which had built up over a period of time. I had tried counselling and medication from the doctor... they did help to a certain point, but I knew that I needed something else to get to the underlying cause, rather than covering over or just scraping the surface of the problem.

In crystal healing, the whole person is treated - the mind, body, emotions and soul as one - and this helps restore harmony and balance from within. I believe that illness often starts out as emotional or mental issues, that can fester and build over time, producing physical, "real" symptoms. There is a lot of research and information out there to suggest this is the case. This article talks about physical effects of emotional trauma: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/somatic-psychology/201004/the-connections-between-emotional-stress-trauma-and-physical-pain 

The beauty of crystal healing is that, unlike medication, you don't need to put them inside your body, and there are no lasting side effects. Where scientific medicine often treats the symptoms, crystals get to the root cause. Where counselling can mean you have to look at painful memories, crystals do all the hard work, while you relax in the comfort of a beautiful treatment. 

Please email me or call me if you'd like more information about my crystal healing treatments <3

Who has had their plans scuppered? Got dates and times confused? Forgotten appointments? Or had them changed without you knowing?

Yeah, me! Have you experienced this?

The little trickster Mercury isn't even retrograde yet, and already things are going a bit dolally. We're in the shadow phase, the pre-retrograde period, and stuff that's not meant to be is just being un-done. So just go with it, try not to get frustrated and wait for everything to right itself. Patiently. Yer right! Hee hee. Just try your best to keep those blood vessels intact.

After the Full Moon in Pisces last weekend, the changes are starting to be felt now. And the run up to the next New Moon in Virgo on Sept 13th could get intense for some of us!

If this is you, self-nurture. Relax, sleep it off, and ground yourself. Grounding is really important anyway, and ultra important now. Fresh air, salt baths, and physical activity are just a few ways.

If this is someone around you getting emotional,  just try to be patient. No point yelling back at someone on the edge! They'll come round afterwards (hopefully) and if you are able to control your reaction, you'll be able to keep the situation relatively under control. 

So, just watch out for sensitive people, including yourself, and ride the wave til things calm down...and enjoy some of this: my Rose Quartz merkabah, soothing, loving, gentle energy. Yummy!

Much love <3