I’m super excited about this post.  It was inspired by a question I received yesterday from Teresa on the Journey Jewels fb fan page…

“Lori, I’m really enjoying your posts and learning about stones. I’m curious if the most benefit of said stone is in wearing them, having their presence in your space or holding them in hand for meditation. Thank you.”

Ok…let me start by saying: Thank you Teresa for reading my stone posts…I’m so happy you’re enjoying them!  And I just love this question because there are so many great ways to connect with stones and it’s hard to decide which is the best place to start…I honestly love them all, and use them all…but the stones I choose and how I choose to work with them are very different from one stone to the next.

So I’m going to share a bit of how I use each of these techniques and a bit of a why… But, please note that there are MANY ways to work with stones.  Always honor and trust your guidance to create relationships with stones that feel perfect for you.

To wear:

This is my absolute favorite way to connect with stones!  Partly because this is where I first recognized their transformational power…with the purchase of a beautiful moonstone ring about 15 years ago…but also because I love the way the stones are able to constantly infuse our essence with their brilliant light.  When worn, they harmonize with our energy field creating balance, breaking down barriers, and aligning us with our highest destiny.

All transformation occurs slowly and rapidly at the same time.  When we embark on a transformational path there are a lot of things happening behind the scenes.  Sometimes we have a sense of their happenings and sometimes we don’t until all of the happenings culminate into one rapid transformation.

Crystals refract light, they break up the heaviness and illuminate places of darkness.  By doing this we are given an opportunity to really drop within and acknowledge what’s been held or stored.  To work at such deep levels we need to be consistently infused by the essence of the stones.  We need to give ourselves space to both dive in and explore and to then emerge with new levels of wisdom and understanding.  This takes times.  It needs love and nurturing.  Adornment is a fantastic way to love and nurture the space you are journeying into.

To hold, to meditate with, and to immerse yourself in:

This is something I love to do, but I meditate with stones for very different reasons than I wear them…here’s how I like to meditate with them…and why…

1. To gain an understanding of the essence and energy of a particular stone…allowing it to share with me its purpose.

2.  Receiving a message specific to an intention or question that I hold.  Crystals & stones have answers and I just love sitting with a stone that I’ve picked up while in nature and asking it a question.  They are so eager to help and to be of service…there is no coincidence to the particular stones we choose…they come into our lives for a reason reflecting back to us some part of our inner landscape.

3.  I love to drift away while soaking in their essence in a salt bath.  Depending on what I’m desiring to experience on a particular day…connection with Source, deeper experience of love, feeling grounded, calmed, etc…I will choose stones to add to my salt baths.  I find great wisdom comes from them in doing this…and I’m completely immersed, cleansed, and nurtured in their essence…it’s a fantastic way to start the day  (this is almost a daily practice for me…give it a try.  Simply pick your stones, pour your bath, add a cup of epsom salts and sink in…p.s. it’s best to use polished stones in the bath)

To adorn my home:

It is important to me to live and work in sacred space.  Creating alters with crystals and stones is one of the ways in which I choose to elevate, clear, refresh and maintain the energy in my spaces.  I see them as an active space that adjusts as the energy of my home adjusts…season, moon cycle, if I’ve had visitors, weather, personal mood fluctuations, location of computers, cell phones, and so many other things that impact the overall energy of a space.

My intention with these stones really is simple…to balance the energy of my space.

There are times however, when I create an alter specific to a personal intention.  In those times I’m typically working the intention with a piece of jewelry also and I choose to then weave their energy together (the alter and the piece of jewelry).  I see the alter as an active grounding space for the intention while the jewelry is actively aligning my energy field, thoughts, ideas, presence, etc with the intention.

I really feel like each of these areas almost warrant their own post…I feel like I could really dive deep into each one.

I would LOVE to hear how you work with stones.  And if you try any of these methods I’d love to hear about your experiences.

With sparkling gemstone alters…Shine Brightly!

Lori