Carnelian is NOT the Sacral Chakra Stone

I see it everywhere. Chakra stone sets, crystal jewelry, crystal charts and books. I’m tired of seeing Carnelian as “the sacral chakra stone.” Let’s talk about what Carnelian really has to offer:

The Orange Color Ray:

The color rays are the fundamental energetic building blocks to our being. Certain gemstones have two jobs, they supply their own unique gem energy AND they carry the vibration of a color ray (side note: just because a stone is a certain color does not mean it supplies that color ray). Carnelian is the gemstone carrier of the orange color ray which is most abundantly metabolized through the second chakra. This is why everyone thinks of carnelian as the second chakra stone. But orange ray vibration encompasses our whole body and being it works with connective tissue, cellular activity, lymphatic system (effects immunity) and endocrine glands. 

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Separate from the orange color ray, Carnelian has its own gemstone vibration that is  highly multidimensional:

Physically: Carnelian revitalizes the body, increasing vitality. If you feel sluggish, low on energy or run down from a cold or allergies this is a great gemstone to work with.

Emotionally: Carnelian encourages a sense of joy for life and connecting more to positive emotions. Emotional energy becomes calmer, more balanced and relaxed.

Mentally: Carnelian stimulates mental clarity by both sharpening and relaxing the mind. It also stimulates optimism and accentuates joyful memories and positive experiences.

Spiritually: Carnelian brings your aspirations and life path into a better alignment. It helps you appreciate the gifts of life a little more by bringing them to the forefront of your awareness.

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Try Something New

I bet if you’ve worked with carnelian you haven’t tried it on your brow. So for an energy therapy try placing carnelian on the forehead for some meditation and see what effect it has on your mental body, outlook and emotions.  Let me know how it goes in the comments!

 

Erin Sikopoulos, LMT

Turn A New Leaf Massage & Energy Work

turnanewleafmassage.com

Blind Intuition vs. Informed Intuition

Very often I write or I read articles/posts about gems and crystals; inevitability there are always comments along the lines of- “knowing such and such information about gems/crystals is un-important because all you need is your intuition to guide you.” This idea has never sat well with me, as an exclusive way of thinking about how intuition should be used. It has me contemplating about blind intuition vs. informed intuition and how balance is usually always best.

 

What is Blind Intuition?

When I was training in intuitive work we were encouraged not to practice or make a habit of intuitively readings friends and family members. In training we practiced with complete strangers, this is also what I would call blind intuition.

Since we know a lot and we feel a lot about our friends and family, intuitive information that has to pass through the filters of the mind (our impressions, beliefs and perceptions) and our emotions (our feelings and attachments), the more you know about a person, the more filters there are to pass through leaving a much greater chance of distorting that pure intuitive information.

When I am teaching gemstone energy workshops I encourage people to use blind intuition to make a gemstone selection as an exercise. It’s a great exercise because they are often so surprised after I tell them why they may have been attracted to that particular gemstone, at how attuned they were to what they needed without knowing the specifics. So in this way, blind intuition is definitely a helpful tool.

My concern comes when you operate solely from a place of blind intuition. I believe you could be short changing yourself and if you’re energy worker, short changing your clients. Going with the example of gemstones/crystals and blind intuition, you walk into a store to purchase a gemstone or crystal for yourself and go to what you’re immediately attracted to, you feel you don’t really need the specifics of how and why this gem is the one, just go with your gut, take it with you and it will work as intended for your good. Another example, you are an energy worker and apply the same logic. You use energetic tools like crystals without a strong foundation of knowledge because you believe since they are energetic your intuition will guide you in what is helpful for your client. No further inquiry needed.

Again, I feel this kind of blind exercise is a good basic one. But if you approach any energetic tool or therapy (and there are many) like gemstones and crystals always with this basic mind set for yourself and clients, your intuition will only serve you on that basic rudimentary level.

Not sure what I mean? Let’s talk about what I’d call informed intuition.

 

 

Informed Intuition

Back to my intuitive training, when we were learning about how intuition works in medical intuitive, Tina Zion’s workshops she talked about how receiving intuitive information would become its own language for you based on your own frame of reference and knowledge. Another great teacher of intuitive development, spiritual medium, Drew Cali has a great story about this as an example with mediumship.  He speaks of when he first started out and receiving names in readings, sometimes the name he received wasn’t the name of the person in spirit he was connecting with but the name was in reference to a person he knew in his own life to make him understand the relationship of the person passed on. Example: getting the name Mary that refers to your own grandmother to help you understand the person in spirit is a grandmother to the client.

My point is, if you have none or limited knowledge of a subject, do not expect your intuition to step in and make you suddenly knowledgeable. If you get a flat tire and have never picked up a tool in your entire life, your intuition probably won’t magically give you the step by step instructions to change the flat tire and be on your way because this knowledge would be out of your frame of reference and skill. However, it would probably give you guidance in a safe direction to get help. I definitely find this in my own sessions, sometimes my intuition is trying to make me understand something about a client’s work or life I don’t really have a reference to in my own life so what does come through is very simplistic and at times a bit harder to grasp.

Putting this concept into my own work with gemstone energy. I’ve spent years, ten years in fact, studying, training and deeply connecting with gemstones as transformative energetic tools. And what I’ve really been finding out in the past two years particularly is the combination of my knowledge and intuition is culminating into truly remarkable work for my clients. When the quality of your frame of reference is rich, the intuitive information that comes through is equally as rich, detailed and specific. The details and specifics are what I aim for to help give my clients the best and most beneficial experiences.

My analytical mind holds the information of what gemstone can be useful in certain circumstances but coupled with my intuition I can quickly zero in on a gemstone and the specific reasons the vibration of that gem would be useful to a certain individual given their own energetic makeup. I started noticing this idea of informed intuition when driving into sessions. I started getting “downloads” of specific gemstones to use and why. In my training I learned various therapies and techniques to apply gem energy to the body for different effects, all the sudden the techniques I had learned started changing and becoming even more intricate, individual and specific then I had learned them and I was guided by intuition to combine things in new and different detailed ways.

 

I fully believe this expansion in my energy work would not have rendered equally profound effects for my clients if I assumed blind intuition as my sole guide. If you are operating by simply laying stones on people where you feel drawn to or putting them in your pocket for the day because it felt right and forgetting about it, you’re missing out on so much more your intuition can offer you.

I believe this concept of blind versus informed intuition goes way beyond just talking about gemstones/crystals of course. It’s just one way I see it pop up regularly and felt I could shed some light. I write this piece to encourage people to think about and view their intuition and how it works a bit differently so it serves you best in life and work. And to consider if maybe you have been limiting your intuition by a belief that blind intuition is all you’ll ever need. Again, balance is usually always best.

 

 

Erin Sikopoulos, LMT

Intuitive and Gemstone Energy Medicine Practitioner

www.turnanewleafmassage.com

 

Intuitive Development Educators:

 

Tina Zion, Medical Intuitive and Psychic Medium

www.livingawareinc.com

 

Drew Cali, Spiritual Medium

www.drewcali.com

 

What Energy Workers Need to Know About Gems/Crystals: Interview with a Gemologist

Why this article needed to be written:

One of my main mission’s in my work has become to encourage change in the way people view and work with crystal/gemstone energy. Because I feel very deeply a massive overhaul needs to be considered in energy medicine where gems and crystals are concerned.

I chose Gemstone Energy Medicine as my path for using gem energy to positively affect our mind, body, emotions and spirit because of its principles that resonated with me unlike everything else I had come across. What drew me in is each stone is looked at as an individual, with a unique expression of its energy and specific applications that have distinct continuity from an ultimate spiritual goal, to the layers of the energy field to the effects on the physical body. But the two very distinct factors that separate Gemstone Energy Medicine or Gemstone Therapy from other practices is the gem shape (spherical) and the quality. A lot can be said and debated about gem shape among different practices but what really needs to be discussed is the quality of gemstones that are being using in energy work and spiritual practices even outside the GEM modality.

Quality is the one aspect ignored in majority by energy workers, practitioners, spiritualists, new agers etc. Many people can understand that if you choose to use essential oils as a method for natural healing you need to consider the quality, purity and source of the oils. If you choose to heal certain aspects of your health via your diet, people can understand why the quality and purity of the foods chosen would be important. But it seems to be that this is not taken seriously when it comes to vibrational tools like gemstones and crystals.

This is why I’m honored to share this interview with Graduate Gemologist, Eranel Katz detailing his experience as someone with not only a scientific background but one in energy medicine and spiritualism as well. Katz has worked for therapeutic gemstone company Gemisphere and currently owns his own company, Gemaceuticals. His expertise and perspective sheds light on current industry practices and it is my hope, encourages people to think more critically and consciously about the energetic tools they choose to put on the body effecting their own or their client’s energy field.

 

The Interview:

 

Firstly, can you give us a background of your life and work involving gemstones?

My name is Eranel Katz, I am a Graduate Gemologist from the Gemological Institute of America based in Carlsbad, CA, the foremost authority in gemology in the world. My family has been in the therapeutic gemstone field since 1988 with a well-established reputation of quality and expertise in both therapeutic and the spiritual aspects of crystals and gems, as well as the qualitative importance of their gemological attributes.

Eranel Katz, Graduate Gemologist and owner of Gemaceuticals

 

My entire life has been dedicated to learning the energetic and scientific attributes of gemstones and crystals. Since 2008, I have graded upwards of thousands of gemstones for my family’s therapeutic gemstone company, Gemisphere and for myself. Traveling globally to the core gem hubs of the world, primarily India and Eastern Asia. Exploring thousands of suppliers, hundreds of thousands of gemstones and minerals from every kind on Earth. For energetic work gems must be pure and untreated, as their energetic and spiritual mission is specific to the gemstone and mineral composition. It’s very important to acquire the gemstones raw, for quality control purposes in regards to treatments, or to know your supplier and your supplier’s supplier, in which the gems were originally mined. Suffice to say, knowing your supply chain while building deep relationships of trust is the absolute middle pillar of a successful gemstone company selling therapeutic grade gemstones.

Spiritually, since I was a child I have studied many religions deeply, both in practice and intellectual theory. In the end, I only cared about one thing, the truth.  This pursuit of spiritual truth is the purity and inter-laying fibers of my company and the core of who I am.  I feel somewhat of a rebel in the “new age” community because I am so scientific based, but I always believed spirituality and consciousness are just advanced levels of physics science has not caught up to yet.

How common is it for people to be misled into buying imitation gems/crystals?

You would think with the rise of the internet there would be more awareness towards imitation gemstones, synthetics and treatments, but this is still a major issue plaguing many buyers of gemstones. I personally see it almost every day. Whether a friend is showing me a beautiful new mala they got that’s made of glass and plastic (though they were told it has the same healing attributes of the natural stone), seeing other gemstone retailers online, or admiring someone’s large turquoise necklace in the grocery aisle only to notice its completely made of plastic or dyed Howlite.

To give some background, a synthetic gemstone is a gem that mimics the same mineral and crystal structure of a gemstone but was made in a laboratory. An imitation gemstone you will see more commonly among semi-precious gemstones (every gemstone except Ruby, Emerald, and Sapphire). The most common imitation used is glass. Glass can be made to look like any color and therefore any transparent or translucent gemstone can be imitated. If the color of the rock or gem has a fake look to it, it probably is. Large pieces of rough, or even beads that have perfect clarity, are easy ways to determine its glass. Even the highest quality gemstones have tiny inclusions of water, air bubbles, or foreign mineral inclusions. Plastic and ceramic are the second most commonly used imitation medium which is typically used to imitate Turquoise or Lapis Lazuli. Howlite and Magnesite can be dyed nearly every color to also imitate gemstones such as Turquoise, Lapis Lazuli, and Sugilite. Quartz and Agate also contain a slew of treatments. Agate is often dyed and Quartz is often heavily treated with chemical oxides inducing a gem called “Aqua Aura”. Sometimes these Aqua Aura gems are so cheap, (if found in beads) that they are actually just glass. This is easily detectable by observing the color that simply does not exist anywhere in nature.

Can you explain common gemstone treatments?

(treatments are processes done to gemstones to improve their appearance, hiding their true quality)

There are some gemstones rarely having treatments, such as Rhodochrosite, Aquamarine and Tourmaline, but that does not mean Aquamarine cannot be heated or Tourmaline and Rhodochrosite cannot be imitated to be sold as something else. There is a multitude of kinds of gemstones that are most treated and each gemstone class has so many different kinds of treatments. Gem treatments are truly a massive part of the jewelry and gemstone industry and there are countless books and universities dedicated to not only the discussion and exploration of identifying ancient and current treatments methods such as dying and heating the gem, but a multitude of new treatments that are spotted on the market every year. I often see Quartz covered chemically with metal oxides which gives a rainbow luminescence look called aqua aura crystals. These for example, look so beautiful, but are 100% chemically treated, and in a way both mask and suffocate the energy of the crystal, rendering it non-therapeutic. Turquoise is also a very treated gemstone with dye and imitations used commonly. Nearly all Turquoise you see on the market is either not Turquoise at all or is dyed or coated with a clear plastic hardening agent to both enhance the gem’s color and keep the rock from breaking.

Natural Untreated Sleeping Beauty Turquoise necklace from Gemaceuticals

Other kinds of treatments are as follows; Bleaching, dye, heat, irradiation, fracture filling, surface modification, oiling, lattice diffusion, impregnation. These treatments are done to mislead the true quality of the gem and corrupt the vibration of it, some do more damage than others. It’s rare for gems to not have treatments, and if they don’t they may have imitations or synthetics.

Why should people who use gems/crystals for energetic and spiritual work care about treatments? Why does it matter from an energetic standpoint?

Gemstone Energy Medicine is a natural alternative form of energy healing. Just like any other medicine, it must be pure and of the right vibration to affect your subtle energy bodies correctly. This is why quality is the most important aspect of crystal healing. When discussing quality of the natural mineral or gemstone, one can deduce that all imitations or heavily treated gemstones are rendered non-therapeutic or contain minimal therapeutic value. This is because they are not the actual mineral and chemical composition or they contain such a low vibration of quality masked as something higher. I believe this is why many are instinctively attracted to crystals and gemstones, but typically at first acquire low quality gemstones, resulting in a poor experience with the gemstone or even none at all.

Are there any tips or warning signs you can give to help identify imitation or treated materials?

The first problem when you’re looking at crystals and gemstones is there’s simply no way you can accurately identify gemstones in front of you without experience or a large book of specific identifiers. Even for a gemologist you need either years of experience to know for example, how certain colors can only exist naturally. Even though there are seven colors of the rainbow, the spectrum is almost limitless in the different tones and hues and colors seen in gemstones. Some colors, for example, with Amethyst you can identify the origin of country, even down to the mine, just by the color and inclusions of the gem, similar to how wine connoisseurs have mastered their palate and can identify vineyards and country of origin by the simple sip. You have to have a lot of experience, quite simply.

But are there simple ways to identify? Yes, you need to use your first instinct. If the price is too low, if it looks too nice for the cost, this should tell you something. You want to make sure the supplier has been around for a while, check what other gemstones they are selling. If they’re selling a lot of other treated gemstones or glass or plastic beads, it’s a healthy assumption most of their quality is the same.

Out of all my years of going to gem shows, I’ve found that most suppliers only know what they are told by their suppliers, and have a limited scope of knowledge on gemstones themselves. Not all gemstone suppliers are equal. Some are born into it and have seen gemstones their entire life from the cutting process down to the trade shows. While others were given gemstones from family or friends who got them into it and they’re riding on their friend’s inventory and factories to sell. I would say at least 30% or more of suppliers at gem shows acquire their gemstones from the booth next to them. That’s astonishing to think, but the reality!

In the end, color is the most important identifier of a gemstone. However, asking hard questions, getting help from a gemologist, and being inquisitive are the best practices. Some questions you should ask a supplier of therapeutic gemstones are: How long have you been selling gemstones? Do you specialize in a specific mineral? Do these gemstones have treatments? If so, what are they and how can you identify them? (Have them show or explain it to you) Where do you get your gemstones? Do you have a factory or do you get them rough from a mine? How can you ensure the gems you are selling are natural and untreated?

What guidance could you give energy workers in search of trusted gemstone/crystal sources?

The internet is an incredible resource, but also one filled with many pitfalls, and is quite the maze when it comes to natural, untreated, therapeutic gemstones. If you are looking to work with any gemstone or crystal for therapeutic or spiritual use, quality is the most important factor, and there are very few companies out there I would recommend.

Many people find Gemaceuticals or other gemstone companies through referral, which is the best source of information as it comes directly from a friend or loved one. Social media is a wonderful place to find local gemstone companies and small businesses, however, many are just starting out and I have personally seen dozens of errors from other companies selling therapeutic gemstones regarding the gemstone not showing treatment disclosures or selling the wrong gemstone entirely. I recall looking at a new crystal healing company I found on Instagram, offering Rhodonite and calling it Rhodochrosite. This might seem like a small mistake because they sound similar, but their entire crystal structure, where they are mined, mineral makeup, and energetic frequency is very different. Many gemstones sometimes share similar mineral inclusions of color, such as Manganese in Rhodonite and Rhodochrosite, however, this company is doing a disservice to anyone seeking authentic, untreated, therapeutic gemstones. There are simply too many mistakes and errors currently out there from companies selling gemstones which are named incorrectly, have imitation gemstones still expressing the same claims of therapeutic effects and so forth.

Is there a particular message you think is really important to get across to the new age, spiritual and energy work community concerning gemstone/crystal materials and products?

Crystals have been an integral part of human evolution and development for millennia, but only recently have higher standards been placed on crystal healing and gemstone energy medicine. Through one’s spiritual journey, many have an innate interest or curiosity towards crystal healing. However, depending on the quality of gemstone they experience, will determine if they continue embracing the powerful energetic healing and transformational properties of gemstones, or move on without knowing their benefits. That’s why if one is searching for crystal healing in any manner, there is no greater importance than to ensure the quality and authenticity of the gemstones and minerals, which therein results in the truest healing experiences.

 

 The Take Away:

After reading this interview I can understand how it all seems overwhelming and leaves you with a lot more questions. But that to me is the point and a good thing, to question! To introduce this idea that we as energy workers, holistic practitioners and spiritualists need to give more consciousness to the tools we are using and that means taking a hard look at who, where, what and how we acquire these energetic tools. That means asking a lot more question, pressuring sellers and suppliers to be held to a higher standard of knowledge and integrity.

This article was also so important for me to put out there because I want to hold the practitioners in my field to a higher standard. To have you start asking yourself some hard questions. Like, if you truly understand the nature of energy and frequency then what do you think is the consequence of using lead treated rubies, irradiated blue topaz and plastic turquoise on your clients? Will you bother to take time to find out if your gem/crystal tools are really just glass or plastic before using them on another paying client? We can make great change in the market and group mentality together on this widespread issue but first there needs to be an awareness. So I hope this catches your attention, makes you think and process, that you also recognize why this is important in terms of the energy work field and consider helping spread this awareness in the holistic community.

 Erin Sikopoulos, LMT

Turn A New Leaf Massage & Energy Work

www.turnanewleafmassage.com

 

 Natural Untreated Gemstone/Crystal Resources:

 –Gemaceuticals-

https://www.etsy.com/market/gemaceuticals

 –Gemisphere-

https://gemisphere.com/

 –Gem Formulas-

https://gemformulas.com/

 

Books:

Gem Energy Medicine: Healing Body, Mind and Spirit

-By Michael Katz

 

Wisdom of the Gemstone Guardians

-By Michael Katz

 

Autumn: Time to Let Go with Gemstones

Autumn and The Metal Element

Though it may not feel like it lately in New York we definitely have entered autumn. In Traditional Chinese Medicine Elemental Theory we are in the season of the metal element. Autumn represents a process of decline and turning inward. If you look to nature, this is when the trees are losing their leaves, their energy is pulled back into their roots for storage over the winter. Letting go of the leaves is essential to winter survival and rebirth in spring. If the trees didn’t lose their leaves it would cost them valuable conservation of energy, the weight of snowfall would make them prone to breaking and then in spring there would be no room for new growth.  Elemental Theory was founded on recognizing the reflections of nature’s cycles and our own life cycles. So this begs the question, what are you holding on to that costs you your overall growth and well-being? What baggage can you release to conserve your energy and create healthy boundaries between you and the outside world? What are you attached to that ultimately will weigh you down when there’s an opportunity to renew and create?

 

Metal Element Organs

Each element in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has two organs associated with it that correlate to lines of energy through the body called meridians. For the metal element these organs are the lungs and large intestine. The lungs are responsible for the vital exchange of energy called Qi. Vital energy, the breath is taken in, inhaled from our environment and then released, exhaled out from within the individual to the environment. If adequate breath is not inhaled then the lungs are unable to exhale sufficient energy and the cycle is compromised. In TCM this explains chronic lung conditions like asthma but also colds and allergies. While, the lungs focus on the intake of Qi the large intestine focuses on the release of energy. Physically, the large intestine eliminates waste from the body. From an energetic perspective this is also the letting go of unhealthy behavior patterns, negative thoughts emotions, situations and people. If there is an imbalance in letting go in life this may show up in the large intestine as constipation and the stagnation from accumulated energy may also be reflected as depression.

 

Gemstones for Lungs and Large Intestine

 Therapeutic gemstones are incredibly effective and profound energetic tools. Two gemstones that come to mind as being helpful during this metal season and for the metal organs are Blue-Green Fluorite and Citrine.

 

Blue-Green Fluorite

Blue-Green Fluorite from Gemaceuticals

Blue-Green Fluorite is a helpful gemstone for organs of elimination which includes the lungs and large intestine of the metal element but also the bladder, kidneys and liver. This is because it encourages a downward flow of energy. Where there is a lack of letting go in the body, energy will start to accumulate. This energy becomes heavy, slow, dense and stagnate. Blue-Green Fluorite energetically brings a water like fluidity, to encourage the movement of stagnation. Think of pooling water in a stream from built up debris like branches and dead leaves then a rush of water coming in clearing and continuing the flow.

 

Citrine

Citrine from Gemisphere

 Citrine’s ultimate goal for us is to achieve our spiritual potential, in order to reach our potential we have to be able to let go of all that does not serve our highest good. Citrine’s encouragement for letting go differs from Blue-Green Fluorite. Instead a water like fluidity, the quality of citrine’s vibration is an unwinding. An unwinding from knotted, tightened and tense energy. This is ve

ry helpful to a person who has an imbalanced metal element. If we look back at the lung’s role in exchange of vital energy between the individual and the environment via the breath, what it’s also doing is creating boundaries and giving structure. But that structure can become overly metal like, rigid and stiff. Citrine helps to give way to

more flexibility physically, emotionally and mentally. In the large intestine we can become so stressed and tense its processing comes to a halt. Citrine helps loosen the binds and constriction so you can fully let go. Citrine is also very helpful for relaxing muscle tension in the body.

 

Amethyst and Attachments

 “Remember the spiritual principle I have given you: the closer people are to making great change, the more tightly they hold onto what they know, consciously or unconsciously, they will be evolving away from.” –Wisdom of the Gemstone Guardians

Amethyst from Gemisphere

Amethyst helps us let go of attachments by going beyond our mind and connecting to divine wisdom in order to fulfill our spiritual destiny. This is so relevant during the autumn season because often we still cling to what is decaying and dying in our life because it is what we know, what we are used to. But as discussed earlier, in the cycle of life it does not serve us.  Going back to the trees, if they kept their leaves for winter instead of letting them go it may be their demise. Amethyst can assist us in the letting go process when our mind has built up an attachment, amethyst can encourage us to go beyond the limitation of attachment and see the whole picture from a higher, spiritual perspective. In turn putting us at a bit more ease with letting go of our attachments.

 

Join us for Gemstone Energy Medicine Meditation: Letting Go on Sunday October 29^th at 10:30 am in Saratoga Springs NY:

Register At:

https://squareup.com/store/turn-a-new-leaf-massage-and-energy-work

 

 

Erin Sikopoulos, LMT

Turn A New Leaf Massage & Energy Work

www.turnanewleafmassage.com

 

For more information on Gemstone Energy Medicine and Therapeutic Gems visit:

www.gemisphere.com

www.gemformulas.com

https://www.etsy.com/shop/Gemaceuticals

 

 

Q&A Series: Erin Sikopoulos, Turn A New Leaf Massage & Energy Work by Lady Skidmore

Turn A New Leaf Massage offers more than massages. You also incorporate energy work. What exactly is that? Yes, I have studied and use various forms of energy work but my main modality is Gemstone Energy Medicine (GEM). When I first started, the gemstone work was the complement to massage therapy. Now however, my practice […]

via Q&A SERIES: ERIN SIKOPOULOS, TURN A NEW LEAF MASSAGE — Lady Skidmore

Ethics and Intuition

Over the past year, as I’ve been much more open and public about my intuitive work, I’ve been met with a lot of curiosity from friends, family, clients and people I meet. A couple things have stuck out to me that I’d love to clear up. The things in particular that I’ve gotten are really ethical concerns, “are you reading me right now?” “I’m nervous you know what I’m thinking.” “You probably think my energy is all messed up don’t you?”

An Ethical Intuitive Will NEVER ‘Read’ Without Permission

This needs some further explanation of course. Intuitive or not, many people pick up or notice things in other people’s energy fields as we interact in daily life. You may have experienced “knowing” not to trust someone even though outwardly they haven’t given you a reason to think that, known that a loved one was inwardly hurting even if they didn’t say so or maybe known a woman was pregnant because something seemed different about them. Often these are called your “gut instincts” instead of your intuition. But really what your instincts or intuition boils down to is; information. The key being ethical with your intuition is knowing there is a difference between superficial and private energetic information.

 

For example, you can be introduced to Sally and simply notice the smell of the perfume she is wearing. You can also meet Sally and instead of simply noticing, you lean into her neck to see what she smells like, this would usually be deemed inappropriate and rude. The same goes for intuition.

 

The way superficial energetic information comes through will be different for each person depending on how in touch with or active you are at using and developing your intuitive skill. As mentioned above, almost everyone can relate to these type of gut instinct scenarios. A naturally inclined or trained intuitive may automatically pick up different kinds of energetic information like colors in a person’s energetic field, a word or phrase that repeats over and over or become struck by a strong emotion upon interacting that’s not their own. And to someone not familiar with intuitive work, hearing that this kind of information was perceived can seem like “reading” versus just intuitively noticing.

 

Here’s the difference: intuitive reading is when someone is actively and intentionally using their intuitive sense to scan an energy field to get information. Again for example, an intuitive can be introduced to Sally and upon shaking hands immediately feel hit with a pang of  heavy sadness in their own chest and in the next second, without analytically thinking, there is the sense it’s connected to a recent loss of a loved one. If this were the actual scenario, the reason why this might be easily pick up by an intuitive without even trying is a death of a loved one would be a major life event for Sally and with it, very strong emotions. This as a vibration would be at the forefront of her energy field as the event and emotion is processed and therefore easily noticed or picked up on. Energetically speaking it’s just like physically noticing the scent of her perfume.

 

On the flip side however, an intuitive could also be introduced to Sally and upon shaking hands instead of passively getting or not getting an impression, goes right to intentionally using their intuition to scan Sally to see what information they find in her field. This is invasive and unethical, No one has the right to look into someone else’s energy without their permission.

 

What To Do If You Encounter An Unethical Intuitive?

Months ago my mother and grandmother had an extended stay at a hospital where my grandfather had surgery. Going between the hospital and hotel via taxi. One day as they waited outside the hospital to be picked up, a woman abruptly came up to my grandmother and told her she was a psychic and without asking started to divulge all the information she could sense from my grandmother. My mother witnessing this became very uncomfortable and felt the woman would do the same to her. Without missing a beat my mother prayed, with authority (that’s important), that this woman be blocked from reading her. The woman stopped talking to my grandmother, turned to my mother, looked at her and said “it’s funny I can’t pick up anything on you.”

 

Do you have to pray to a higher power to protect yourself from an unwelcome intuitive or psychic? No not necessarily, if prayer best suits you then absolutely use it. The greater point to make here is, you ALWAYS have control over your own energy field. It can be as simple as saying (in your head) “I command this person, energy or entity fully leave my energy field immediately.” Or “I command this person, energy, or entity is not allowed in or to view my energy field.” Saying this clearly and with authority is important.

 

Keeping Your Intuitive Self in Check

If you are just dabbling and starting on a journey to develop your intuition. My advice is to please do so ethically. Know the difference between simply noticing what you notice and actively scanning people. Ask for permission verbally or intuitively. Practice asking permission intuitively. In your head, “Sally, do I have your permission to look into your energy field?” Wait for an answer, intuitively this information could come through in many different ways, be open and observant for the answer. How we receive intuitive information is unique to each person. You could intuitively hear a ‘yes’ or ‘no’, you could perceive “seeing” yes or no, you could visualize the person shaking or nodding their head, or simply feel like you are welcomed or pushed away by them. If the answer is ‘no,’ RESPECT IT!

 

There is also one more important element to intuitive work. Anytime I am doing energy and intuitive work I make sure I disconnect from that client. This is not only ethical but also for the best interest of both. You do not want any of your energy to stay in their field or vice versa. I use a technique taught by psychic medium and medical intuitive, Tina Zion. This is the statement she teaches for disconnecting, “I command, all my energy, me and only me back clean and clear from Sally Smith passing through the cleansing filter provided to me by my guides.” I highly recommend checking out Tina’s website (link below) for workshops and her book, Become a Medical Intuitive: The Complete Developmental Course.

 I hope this has helped ease some anxieties about intuitives, given a better understanding of how intuition works and how it should be used with great respect for others. I can be contacted to inquire about intuitive and energy work sessions both remote and in person. Details provided below.

 

Erin Sikopoulos, LMT

Turn A New Leaf Massage & Energy Work

648 Maple Ave. , Saratoga Springs NY

Contact:

518-636-9588

info@turnanewleafmassage.com

website

Facebook

 

Additional Information-

Tina Zion, Medical Intuitive & Psychic Medium

Workshops

 

Chakra Clearing, Balancing and Alignment…What’s the Difference?

chakra therapy with color ray gemstone mandala

quartz chakra poultice therapy

rose quartz chakra door therapy

We give a lot of attention to our chakras when we deal with energy work. That’s because the chakra system is a major structure in the anatomy of our energy field.  The seven major chakras are energy centers that metabolize life force energy nourishing different regions of the body and spirit. When a chakra’s energy flow is disrupted it often begins to effect the physical body in that region.  For example, in my practice I will often see people with second chakra issues (located two inches below the navel) present with chronic constipation, low back pain, depression, fatigue, irregular menstruation or hormonal imbalance.

Once it’s been identified that a chakra or the entire chakra system needs some work then it becomes a question of the appropriate way to treat it energetically. In the holistic or new age community, the ideas of aligning, balancing and clearing the chakras can be thrown around a lot and can seem like they are all terms that mean the same thing. I’d like to take this time to talk about how each of these are very different and used in different situations, based on my knowledge of perceiving the energy field through intuitive work and treating with gemstone energy medicine.

 

CHAKRA CLEARING

Hearing about clearing the chakras is pretty common, but what does that mean? Cleared of what? When I intuitively look at the energy field and at the chakras sometimes I see a misty like grey smog with little particles floating around in it. It’s like an accumulation of energy of excess energy.

What causes this accumulation? In my experience lots of different things:

Self-care

I once had a client who I had seen for multiple sessions and therefore had gotten accustomed to the look and feel of their energy field. But one day I was surprised to see grey smog all around their body and chakras. Intuitively I got the impression that something changed in their lifestyle that had been helping keep her body clear and energized, along the lines of exercise, yoga or meditation. My client then confirmed that they indeed had not been following their regular exercise routine recently.

 

Over-use

The best example of this is most often seen around the head and brow chakra (center of the forehead) from an excess of mental energy. Mental exhaustion from too much thinking, planning, organizing and analyzing, which is very common in modern day life.

 

Holding On

It’s my experience when someone is dealing with an emotionally charged situation in life and they choose to ignore their feelings or hang on to certain feelings without letting go, energy begins to slow down around a chakra and accumulate.

 

 

Outside Influence

There are other times when an accumulation can originate from another person. When negative mental and emotional energy is directed at a person from someone else. At times this can also suggest an issue of boundaries or feeling the need to be responsible for other’s emotions, actions and problems.

 

CLEARING WITH GEMSTONES:

In my practice using gemstone energy medicine, there are a couple different gemstones I use for clearing energy.  White beryl is one I use specifically for the entire chakra system from crown to root as well as using it within the aura.  Sugilite is another useful gem that is like a vacuum for energetic pollution. Sodalight is excellent at clearing accumulations of mental and emotional energy, particularly if it’s coming from an outside source.

white beryl clearing

sodalight

sugilite clearing

 

 

CHAKRA BALANCING

Balancing the chakras, another really common practice. The way I see chakra imbalances is by getting a sense of the size and flow of the chakras.  Chakras look like funnels, they come off the body a couple of feet starting out larger at the top and smaller as they reach and enter the body. An imbalanced chakra can be noticed when the funnel looks excessively wide or narrow and the flow can be rapid or slow. If we consider something like chronic fatigue, depression and constipation you can often find a correlation in the second chakra with energy moving at a slow pace and/or the funnel of the chakra being very narrow.  In contrast, when I’ve done intuitive readings I typically can tell if a woman is pregnant just by the feel of her second chakra. Usually the chakra seems big, very bright and moving quickly.

 

GEMSTONES FOR BALANCING:

Quartz is excellent for encouraging balance. I use white quartz on the chakras for balancing by either placing one chakra poultice on each chakra at the same time or using a therapeutic quartz necklace on the each chakra for the same duration of time starting at the root, three minutes per charka for example.

quartz chakra poultice therapy

therapeutic quartz necklace

quartz spheres

Rose Quartz placed on the front and back aspect of a chakra at the same time (example: heart chakra at the center of chest and opposite side on the upper back) can balance and harmonize the function of a chakra.

rose quartz chakra door therapy

 

I also use a specialized tool in my practice called a gemstone color ray mandala. It’s a circular piece of beeswax attached to a handle that has a gemstone for each color ray that is used to boost and balance the energy of the chakras.

chakra therapy with color ray gemstone mandala

 

 

 

CHAKRA ALIGNMENT

I think a majority of people have heard of “aligning your chakras.” It’s been the source of many jokes poking a bit of fun at holistic practices in the media. Chakra alignment is the location of the chakras in relation to each other. Ideally, each chakra would be perfectly aligned centered to the body. One example of me seeing a chakra out of alignment in a session was with a client who I perceived as having their stomach chakra moved over to their right side. It’s important to note the stomach chakra is all about our personal power, issues and relationship to self, self-empowerment and self-care. The more I tuned in, I realized this client was taking issues concerning self and “putting it off to the side” so excess energy accumulated on the left side of the body to the point that it pushed the stomach chakra off toward the right.

I will also say in working on myself, receiving a session from a seasoned energy worker and mentor, I was told at one point I was holding my sacral chakra “back and up.” The sacral chakra is about our relationship with others and our environment. This chakra deals with issues of personal relationships, sex, reproduction, creativity, money and work. At that time I was in a sense holding myself back out of fear which is why the chakra had moved to that position.

 

GEMSTONES FOR ALIGNING:

Lavender Quartz is the most effective gemstone tool for aligning energy. Wearing a therapeutic necklace of lavender quartz will bring all the energy bodies and chakras into alignment. I also use a lavender quartz sphere in combination with white quartz spheres for a chakra alignment therapy. One quartz sphere is placed on six of the chakras and one lavender sphere is placed on a chakra that is out of alignment from the others.

 

Erin Sikopoulos, LMT

Turn A New Leaf Massage & Energy Work

 

To contact me about a session visit:

www.turnanewleafmassage.com

 

For more information on Gemstone Energy Medicine visit:

www.gemisphere.com

My Name is Erin, I’m an Intuitive

Becoming Intuitive Through Life Lessons, Anxiety & Gemstones

photo credit: Chelsea Bos Photography

Releasing and decreasing anxiety has been a work in progress for years, it cycles with rises and falls, I’ve been on an upswing recently.  Though to my contentment, this recent wave of anxiety has been fall less severe than in years past.  I’ve chalked it up to a lot of things going on all at once that gets a bit emotionally overwhelming. I cope in lots of different ways, making the most of down time with exercise, meditation or receiving energy work and massage. One of the main ways I ease anxiety is with therapeutic gemstones, as that is my love and my work.  Within the last two weeks I transitioned from using my typical gemstone choices to ease anxiety.  Instead I felt I needed a new direction to help this chronic challenge, the idea of “strength” kept repeating over and over in my head, emphasis on becoming emotionally and mentally stronger when faced with new challenges and change. With that came the inner desire to wear blue lace agate and pink coral.

Pink Coral

 

Pink coral spoke to me for its ability to repair and strengthen a part of our energetic structure called the powerhouse, which plays an important role in our vitality for physical and emotional wellbeing.

Blue Lace Agate felt appropriate for the task because it strengthens by aligning and purifying the energy of our body to allow us to be who we truly are with more confidence and resilience.  After wearing these gemstones

Blue Lace Agate

constantly for almost two weeks, I now realize the weight of how much and how long my confidence has really been stifled through recent changes.

 

This month my confidence in my work faltered greatly.  The whole month has seemed like a bust, week one, two and three, multiple appointments with clients canceled from sickness, emergencies, forgetfulness and conflicts.  Never has this happened in such volume, at first it was frustrating, by week three it was practically comical, my husband and I are ready to start placing bets on my remaining appointments. In this time I felt the need to work, not just for financial reasons but I want to work.  I love my work. I think my work is important and when sitting around not doing it, time feels wasted. I asked myself, so if I have no clients to see, what will I do? I wanted to work on something and thought I could stand to work on my intuition and intuitive reading.

Since my Advanced Medical Intuition Workshop with Tina Zion back in April, I’ve been putting her wonderful teachings to work in my sessions but still tripping up on a few things-so there is indeed room for improvement. What has been tripping me up? Lack of confidence. Getting a piece of intuitive information and tormenting myself with it.  Should I say that? What if I’m wrong, I’ll look like a complete fool. Only to then have my client say the same thing I was thinking first, then the information is lost. It wouldn’t be believable to say, “I was picking up on that too.” Or rushing my intuitive assessments to get my client on the table for the “real work” to then miss a big piece of intuitive information that effects their daily life, losing a bit of credibility.

So with my down time I decided to practice doing intuitive readings. But where to easily get these people to work with? Facebook was my first thought. I went back and forth with that idea for a good twenty-four hours before I got up the courage to post about it. Intuitive reading is not something I’ve made widely known to most people personally or professionally, out of fear.  If I post about it on my personal page, what will people think? What will my religious friends and family think? What will people I went to high school and college think? Will they think I’m weird and foolish? I hate to look foolish, feeling like I have to defend my stance and logic of my work and what I can do.

After I finally did post my request, I was met with numerous people from different stages in my life interested in a reading.  Doing the readings has been incredibly freeing and uplifting. I’ve said many times to others, one of the most frustrating things to be is equally intuitive as you are analytical and skeptical. Every intuitive hit I get, I question. Once I was in a session and got a repeating scene in my mind’s eye of my client being in water, like an ocean, looking toward the underside of a boat and pulled out of the water by someone in the boat. My client confirmed that exact scenario happened when they needed to be rescued from the water while on vacation. I wracked my brain for days, what the probability was that I just guessed it, to convince myself I wasn’t as “good” at this as it seemed.

But doing my recent readings has been incredibly validating. Responses like “spot on” and “scarily accurate” blew me away. I’m accepting it now, I’m an intuitive and I’m really good at it.

Over those couple days the anxiety had subsided as I filled with excitement from the results. I posted a photo of one of my drawings from a reading on my Instagram and Facebook, again another big step. An act for me that symbolized coming out of hiding, sharing publicly this is part of my work and part of me.

After I posted, feelings of anxiety started to creep up again. Immediately I thought of switching my gemstones, I had taken off my pink coral and blue lace agate for two days and had the urge to put them back on, that it would be helpful to calm me down. I picked them up out of the dish and a light went off in my head. Strength! Confidence! The gemstones had been my sudden inspiration to put myself out there with my intuitive skills. I had been wearing them for a week and a half before this abrupt urge to be courageous and only took them off after I posted on Facebook and began immersing myself in readings for two days.

For years I have been in inner turmoil not just from anxiety but most likely anxiety perpetuated by struggling to accept who I am, something out of the norm, something not everyone understands or condones. I realize now how damaging the self-talk has been. Am I crazy? It’s not normal to see or feel this stuff. Was I just a wanna be like psychics you see on TV? Was any of this actually real? That’s what hurt, it felt so real, it felt great when I used my intuition, great to see people feel better and confirm my impressions yet I doubted myself again and again. I’ve struggled with shame. Do I really want to say that’s who I am? Erin Sikopoulos, Licensed Massage Therapist, Gemstone Energy Medicine Practitioner, wife, mother or two, dance instructor and………Intuitive?

The gemstones blue lace agate and pink coral were the catalysts I needed to look at who I really am and find the confidence to share it, that has given me immense strength. Once again, my skeptical mind would say it could very well be coincidence. But I put those gems on with the intention of building strength then made huge unexpected leaps in a week’s time that I struggled to do in three years. From years of second guessing, embarrassment and confusion I suddenly ordered new business cards that stated “Trained Intuitive” for the world to see, right between Licensed Massage Therapist and Gemstone Energy Medicine Practitioner. I’ve publically revealed this is what I do and went out on a limb to do a bunch of in depth readings with accuracy.

So here I am now, not even completely through this month of ups and downs, reflecting on my new found strength, confidence and inner peace. Thankful for all the positive influences, teachings and tools I have that lead me here. Especially grateful to gemstone energy medicine, that is always in my corner, standing in the background, helping me continue to be the best version of me I can be.

Erin Sikopoulos, LMT

Turn A New Leaf Massage & Energy Work

 

To contact me about a session visit:

www.turnanewleafmassage.com

 

For more information on Gemstone Energy Medicine visit:

www.gemisphere.com

 

For more information about Medical Intuition Workshops visit:

http://www.livingawareinc.com

Cleansing Gemstones: One Size Does Not Fit All

I hear it often, “it’s a full moon, don’t forget to put out your stones!”  “The sun is shining, cleanse your gems!”  What I barely ever hear but think is very important is each gemstone is unique in its mission and composition therefore requiring different care and cleansing needs.

Cleansing therapeutic gemstones is an important part in using them effectively. As gems work on the human aura they start to collect energetic debris. Without cleansing the gems begin feeling heavy, oppressive, could exacerbate the symptoms you’re trying to relieve, even cause headaches, nausea, fatigue or dizziness.

There are a variety of ways to energetically cleanse gemstones. Methods include sun baths, water rinses, salt beds, clay baths or plant rejuvenation. Most gemstones tolerate various cleansing methods but for the purposes of this article I’d like to discuss the methods that are most beneficial to, special treats you may not know about or potentially damaging practices for certain gems. This way you can take the best care of your gems and they always feel bright, revitalized and ready to work!

 

Sun Baths

A sun bath is simply laying your gems, ideally outside, in direct sunlight.  This can be a very effective way to clear gemstones of disharmonious energy.  Though it is important to note that leaving gemstones out all day in sun can energetically “burn” them by being exposed to harmful UV rays, just as we can be when out in the sun for too long. The majority of gemstones that enjoy sun baths typically only need a maximum of twenty minutes.

 

Gems that Love to Soak Up the Sun

These gemstones are most enlivened and best energetically cleared by sunlight:

Carnelian

Emerald

Quartz

Rhodochrosite

Ruby

 

Gems Damaged By Sunlight

Moonstone

Sugilite

Leopardskin Jasper (not necessarily damaged but shouldn’t be done unless you want to “wipe” its memory clean of another person who wore it)

 

Water Rinse

To cleanse gems with a water rinse, alternate running hot and cold water over them for around 60 seconds. Make sure the hot water is not too hot, if it’s too hot for your fingers then it isn’t good for the gems either.

The Water Lovers

Many gemstones can be effectively cleansed using the water rinse method.  However, these gemstones have a special affinity for water:

Aquamarine

Blue Topaz

Riverstone (the effects can be enhanced by running it under cold water for up to a minute before use)

Roselle (high quality Rose Quartz)

 

Don’t Get These Wet!

Some gemstones surfaces are more porous and delicate than others, to keep them working optimally they should avoid water:

Coral

Indigo

Lapis Lazuli

Malachite

Mother of Pearl

Purple Rainbow Fluorite

Rhodochrosite

Sodalight

 

Clay Bath

A clay bath uses about a teaspoon of bentonite clay powder, pretty easily found at health food markets, and water.  This provides a deeper cleanse that these gemstones need:

 

Blue Lace Agate

Blue Topaz

Moonstone

Pink Sapphire

Sugilite (though should be done less often than a water rinse)

White Beryl

Yellow Sapphire

 

Special Cleansing Treats

As stated in the beginning, each gemstone should be regarded as unique in its own personality and consciousness.  Along with that there are some special cleanses particular gemstones can enjoy for a boost in vitality.

 

Moonlight Bath

Indigo

Moonstone

Rain Bath

Dark & Light Green Aventurines

 

Snow Bath

Citrine

 

Alcohol Cleanse

Yellow Sapphire

*OK this one may not fall under a “special treat” necessarily but is something almost required when working with yellow sapphire. Naturally when worn gems pick up body oils. Since yellow sapphire’s work focuses on the skin and our DNA, these oils should be removed with a rubbing alcohol pad or cotton ball dipped in rubbing alcohol to keep it energetically cleared.

 

Gems that Need Frequent Cleansing

Some gems get dirtier when working than other gemstones. Often it’s a matter of cleansing these gems more for the first week or two of wearing them then lessening the frequency the longer they are worn. These gems often need cleansing more than once daily:

Clear Topaz

Pink Sapphire

White Beryl

 

Gems that Can Not be Fully Cleared

Some gemstones are unable to be completely energetically cleared from the person or people who wear them, their energetic impression is always imprinted in the gem’s memory.  There are a couple gemstones that can only be worn by one person and a few that are recommended to only be worn by a single family because they share some much energetically.

That said, as a practitioner I use these gemstones, with the exception of Quartzite, on multiple clients. The difference is the gemstones I use in practice do not belong to an individual, they are used for short periods of time so the client can experience their work and vibration but the gemstone does not deeply connect.

One Person Gems

Clear Topaz

Quartzite

 

Single Family Gems

Rhodonite

Sodalight

 

 

It’s a lot of information to remember and consider! But recognizing a gemstone for its individuality not only for its use but also for its care will ensure these energetic tools remain effective and vibrant lifelong tools. For more specific instructions and additional information, I recommend visiting gemisphere.com.

Photo Credit: Chelsea Bos Photography

 

 

Erin Sikopoulos, LMT

Turn A New Leaf Massage & Energy Work

 

To contact me about a session visit:

www.turnanewleafmassage.com

 

For more information on Gemstone Energy Medicine visit:

www.gemisphere.com

 

 

Growth & Change with Therapeutic Gemstones: My Own Story of Anxiety

Therapeutic gemstones are effective and useful tools to help an array of issues. Much of the literature on gemstones can give the impression they are mainly used as a first aid to acute issues like migraines, insomnia, cold/flu or pain. But I think it’s important to understand gemstones are great tools to support our goals for long term change and growth. To illustrate this point, I’d like to share my own story of working through chronic anxiety issues using gemstones as my support.

 

The Background

This May was particularly hectic for me and my family, over the years I’ve improved my awareness of myself and recognized how I was bracing for the many events in our life coming one after another. And I knew the consequences would be some increases in my anxiety, heart palpitations, difficulty breathing and muscle tension. I came to expect this without taking a hard look at how I could change my body’s response to added stress, thinking I just needed to get past this busy month and I’d be fine. I made it through most of the events and plans but right before I headed to my last big event, my final Gemstone Energy Medicine Training Workshop, I experienced my first out of the blue anxiety attack. I woke up in the morning feeling fine, by the time I was making breakfast it all went south very fast. Suddenly I felt panicked, hot, sweaty, lightheaded, nauseous, trouble breathing. A big part of me was very convinced I was doomed and needed to be rushed to the ER, but a very small part of me said I needed to sit and calm down. I sat on the couch, firmly held acupressure points to calm me down and focused on by breath, within a few minutes I had gotten rid of the panic and settled down a bit. I knew at this point anxiety was having a far greater effect on me than I realized.

A few days after I attended my workshop. I helped set up for our section learning about

Rhodochrosite

the gemstone Rhodochrosite. I had heard this gemstone can be very intense and set up the mandala in the center of the room with some apprehension. By the time I finished the mandala I felt this gem’s energy very strongly, but it didn’t feel abrasive or irritating like I thought it would, it actually felt really nice and I looked forward to learning more. I continued to keep that positive feeling as we started the session and rhodochrosite’s energy filled the room. We discussed it as being the “anti-procrastination” gemstone making rapid changes in behavior patterns. Then we began to do therapies and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I started to feel lightheaded, agitated and couldn’t focus. I stepped outside, the moment I sat down in the fresh air overlooking the mountains I broke down. It was as if rhodochrosite was holding a mirror to my face, bombarding me with all the ways my anxiety holds me back in life. To accept this truth all at once was overwhelming. Rhodochrosite’s goal for us is to promote inner freedom, to do this it breaks down guarded walls with its forceful tornadic energy. My experience of this gem felt best described in the book, Wisdom of the Gemstone Guardians:

                                              When I am worn, I make changes. I do not wait until my wearer

                                                becomes strong enough to handle me. If a change needs to be

                                                made, I make it. I do not wait for the person to get under the

                                                umbrella before I rain.

 

Using Gemstones for Growth & Change

Given my workshop experience, I knew now was the time in life to deal with and make changes around my anxiety. I’m very passionate in my work, my goal is always to continue growing and learning to be successful by helping as many people as I can. In order to attain my dreams I needed to get over this hurdle. Even after I returned from the workshop I continued to feel the effects, my anxiety became acute for days in full panic followed by continued anxiety and concerning heart palpitations weeks after. rhodochrosite had set the wheels in motion for drastic change faster than I was prepared for.

The gemstones I began working with for the first couple weeks were rhodonite and onyx. Onyx helps to ground which I needed because I was in such a state of panic and fear, I needed to be brought out my head and into my body.

Onyx

The rhodonite I wore is a category 1, which has the most black with pink it. Rhodonite is very grounding for your emotions, the more black it has the more it grounds volatile, extreme and unbalanced emotions.

Rhodonite

These gems helped me greatly get beyond panic mode and allowed me to start making observations about my situation which I could not do ungrounded. I became aware of how physical the anxious feeling was in my chest accompanied by memories and emotions that kept being brought to my consciousness daily for weeks. I realized how much distress my heart chakra was in and needed additional help by seeing another energy worker. Roselle (therapeutic quality rose quartz) became my next gemstone I wore to help with the recognition of stuck and suppressed emotions every time my chest felt uncomfortable and to release them in a healthy and balanced way.

Roselle

Which for me meant a lot of tissues and tears but eventually my chest started to feel lighter every day and I felt more hopeful overall.

After about three weeks I was still experiencing anxiety pretty much daily but the heart palpitations had decreased and I was no longer constantly panicked. I switched to wearing three Amethyst necklaces and using a single Mother of Pearl sphere. As the anxiety persisted I sensed the need to reset my nervous system that seemed stuck in sympathetic state (fight or flight), possibly effecting the vagus nerve that can influence heart rhythm. Three amethyst necklaces may seem like a lot but the large dose is what finally made me feel more at peace.

Amethyst

I also taped a mother of pearl sphere to a specific point on the chest to effect the nervous system, mother of pearl has a special affinity with the nervous system that is very calming making a big difference to subdue my anxious feelings. Getting to this point with gemstones, greatly enhanced the work I received in my energy work sessions. I was able to open up my heart and address serious core issues at the root of my anxiety, things like the fear of not being in control because of a lack of faith or not feeling deserving of good health and true joy. Though tough to confront, I’m thankful these issues were brought to light so they could be recognized, expressed and released from my consciousness and body.

Next I turned my attention to working with Blue Topaz and Opalight. Blue Topaz is not a gemstone you would traditionally consider to help anxiety but I intuitively felt drawn to using it.

Blue Topaz

Blue Topaz transforms water, making the fluids and food you consume more hydrating and nourishing for the body. But it also has an effect on the mind, by relaxing the mind it helps you better accept change to fulfill your vision of better health. Generally, change is not easy for me so I believe Blue Topaz helped me to release old mental perceptions concerning anxiety. At the same time Opalight also drew me in. Opalight helps resolve karma or behavior patterns by shining light on past circumstances that correlate to present physical conditions. At this time for me, lots of memories and situations from the past, particularly my teenage years were being brought up as a focus. Letting go of each circumstance brought to my attention removed another layer stunting my emotional growth.

Opalight

 

Plans for the Future

Presently, dealing with anxiety is still a work in progress. Though looking at where I was in May and where I am now is very empowering. My goal for the future is to be wearing Ruby and Rhodochrosite.

Ruby

Ruby helps to experience and get in touch with divine love, which can be hard for many, including myself, to really accept and experience. As I continue to heal and open my heart chakra I know Ruby will be the next step in my emotional growth. Despite my intense experience of Rhodochrosite at the Gemstone Energy Medicine Workshop, I still want to work up to wearing a necklace. Rhodochrosite may be unforgiving in its method for change but I appreciate its ability to allow for inner freedom from destructive patterns by breaking down unnecessary emotional or karmic walls without procrastination. I’ve already started to work with rhodochrosite in a short therapy to at least help me adjust to its vibration. Although I will admit before I even did the therapy, the necklace sat next to me on my bed for over an hour, after a while without warning anxiety bubbled up again leading to a strong emotional release along with more realizations to my current situation. Afterwards I wondered what brought this event on, after feeling pretty calm for weeks, then I realized the rhodochrosite had not been near me for that amount of time since the workshop. I have faith one day rhodochrosite and I will be friends.

Learning From My Experience

My hope is, by reading my story and seeing the evolution of positive change and growth it will encourage others to view gemstones in a new light. Not just a tool to help with the problem in the now but as a support to achieve long term goals and an aid in transformation for a happier and healthier life. The struggles and chronic issues that challenge us daily don’t usually happen overnight, the related physical, karmic, emotional, mental and spiritual entanglements can be quite the daunting process to work through. Therapeutic gemstones can be the ultimate guide to navigating the tough terrain, keeping the journey continually moving forward in a positive and empowering way.

Erin Sikopoulos, LMT

Turn A New Leaf Massage & Energy Work

Erin Sikopoulos, Licensed Massage Therapist and Certified Gemstone Energy Medicine Practitioner

To contact me about a session visit:

www.turnanewleafmassage.com

For more information on Gemstone Therapy visit:

www.gemisphere.com