AZURITE: Activate the Void: Each in-breath creates space within you, an expectant stillness. Azurite holds the energy of this empty-fullness. It is not the container, but the space contained; not the walls of the womb, but the emptiness within. This void is the most precious of gifts because in this emptiness, in the pause at the crossroads of time and space, your intuition can soar. Once space is created, stuck energies begin to flow, funneling through heaviness, creating a place for something more daring or delicate than everyday life. Azurite holds you as you behold this void so you can feel the rich ocean of possibilities in which you are swimming. Breathe in the blue and allow the fullness of the emptiness to elevate your spirit.
Full of Emptiness: In Ayurvedic medicine, air (the stuff you breathe) is the second element. It occurs when the first element, ether, which holds potential, become activated. So, each in-breath is creating space within you to hold this sacred void.
Like Azurite, this ritual of breath (a simplified version of yogic breath cycle) shows you the beautiful paradox of being both empty and full. Using you first finger close your left nostril and inhale through the right. Use your thumb to close the right nostril, holding your breath in. Pause.
Release you left nostril, exhaling. Inhale through your left nostril before closing it again with your first finger. Pause before releasing your thumb and exhaling. Continue for a few rounds. At what point in this cycle do you feel empty? At what point are you full?
Reflection: What makes you feel free? We often surround ourselves with stuff and then live with the fear of losing it. We forget that emptiness contains potential.
Picture life in a tiny house, in a recreational vehicle (RV) of on a sailboat. There’s not much storage space. You’d have a few changes of clothes, food for a few days, one pot (which doubles as a tea kettle) and a frying pan, two sets of dishes, a couple of cups, bedding, and a towel or two. Maybe you have some books and a board game, not much else.
Now picture life in a regular house or apartment. You have rooms with furniture, closets full of clothes, family heirlooms on shelves, and picture on the wall. If you live in a house, imagine your life as a sleek sailboat. Is that lack of stuff actually a luxury that lets you move and explore? If you live in an RV or on a boat, imagine a home where you can ground and root and connect with the land.
Where do you feel more free today? The “today” is important here: you might change your mind tomorrow or feel differently than you did yesterday.
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CLEAR QUARTZ: The only thing: It is said that in ancient Asia people would put clear quartz outside a temple to collect the energy of the monk’s prayers. An egg waiting to be hatched, a song waiting to be sung . . . Clear Quartz is a basket, a womb, the potential to become. The ancient healers knew this. Some say they used Clear Quartz as wands allowing it to amplify and direct the energy they generated within themselves. What if, Clear Quartz asks, you didn’t need a bunch of sacred tools? What if you only needed to learn how to grow an intention, direct it with your will, and amplify its effects? What could you create? What problems could you solve? What could you put down if Clear Quartz was the only thing you needed to pick up?
Ritual: Neutralize overload: If incoming energy from other people is over-whelming you, Clear Quartz can help. Choose a pocket-sized Clear Quartz or one that you can wear as a pendant. In the morning, set the intention to send the excess energy you encounter throughout the day to your crystal. Each evening, reset the crystal by laying it on a bed of salt overnight. (use dry salt, not salt water).
This is like rebooting your computer to factory settings: you can erase bugs and glitches, but you’ll also lost things you’ve intentionally added. Be sure that you have one crystal dedicated to this ritual, knowing at the end of each day it will get a hard reset. (Not all crystals can handle salt. If you are going to use this method with other crystals, research your stone first.)
Reflection: What needs a reset?: When you pick up a piece of Clear Quartz rough from the earth, if feels clean and empty and neutral. It’s full of the possibilities of its own becoming. Returning spaces, objects, and attitudes to their neural state creates a potential for something new to happen.
What in your life needs a reset? Maybe it’s a physical space like your desk or altar. Maybe it’s a belief or conviction. If you could return one aspect of your life to “factory settings,” what would it be?
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LEPIDOLITE: Breathe in your trueness: Lepidolite’s lilac luster is the stuff of princess dreams and fairytales. Something in us rebels when we see it, thinking that can’t be natural. But Lepidolite’s tranquil tones are the real deal, not manipulated or man-made. Don’t doubt my authenticity and don’t doubt your own, Lepidolite quips. Lepidolite knows that being outrageous – outrageously beautiful or funny or smart – doesn’t make you false. Shining brightly gives other people permission to shine, to show their authentic, multicolored self. When you’re able to put down your masks, when you recognize the person you see in the mirror, your heart and spirit calm and your soul takes a deep breath. Let Lepidolite support you in breathing in your trueness and basking in you outrageous spirit.
Ritual: Rewrite the book: Lepidolite is in the Mica family. Micas grow in sheets and when there are many sheets of Mica, it’s called a book. The stories of our lives are like books of Mica, layered tales that, over time, tell us who we are. Sometimes the way to shift your future is to sort through the chapters from the past and find the ones that no longer fit the arc of your life you are creating. Think of each story as a thin sheet, by itself flimsy but becoming solid and structural when in a stack with other stories.
What stories do you tell yourself that no longer serve? Using your journal, spoken word, or imagery, go into your book and change the story.
Reflection: How do you self-soothe? The purple color in Lepidolite come from lithium, the same lithium that is used in psychiatric medicines to treat depression and anxiety. Lithium calms the nervous system.
How do you self-soothe and calm your nervous system? How much of your anxiety and stress comes from not speaking your truth, and not being yourself?
All Micas, including Lepidolite, are mirrors showing us a bit of ourselves. They are also insulators, protecting us from the outside world. Members of the Mica family are used to insulate electronics because they can tolerate high heat while remaining flexible.
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