The Evolution of Your Spiritual Path and
Personal Development
The evolutionary journey of personal power through awareness is a path of spiritual awakening. It is a lifelong journey. This evolution and journey requires contemplative work and the courage to look at yourself to understand the source of a personal issue or emotional pattern. Crystals can support you in practices such as cord-cutting, journeywork, and past-life regression therapy. These experiences are powerful and help you grow mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Crystals are allies on your path to self-realization.
Journeying work is the process of exploring your subconscious to bring to light what might be hidden there. This is a powerful process that you can do with a practitioner, but it is also one that you can do on your own with a little guidance. In this chapter, the purpose of the journeying work will be to cut the cords of attachment that are interfering with living your life to the fullest. Gemstones, crystals, and rocks are powerful allies in this process. Not only do they help you focus your intention on release, but they also amplify your ability to sever the cords that have been holding you back.
Cords of Attachment to People and Events
Imagine that your etheric body—your aura—is a web of light and color that surrounds your physical body, the way I described when we were discussing the chakras. Now imagine that everyone else has this same etheric body. These bodies reach out to one another by energetic cords. In fact, you are linked to every person you have ever interacted with by such a cord of attachment.
Usually, the closer the relationship, the stronger and more effective the cord is. This isn’t necessarily a negative thing. The cord can be a positive energy when a friend, family member, or colleague authentically supports who you are and what you do. However, being attached to someone who has their own personal issues or who might be jealous of you—consciously or unconsciously—is not a positive experience. Such cords can drain your energy and weaken your self-esteem.
In other ways, your attachments may be to the past, rather than to an actual person. Events that hurt you emotionally, mentally, and physically replay in your mind over and over again, sometimes consciously and sometimes unconsciously. These types of attachments can also prevent you from living your life to the fullest.
The Effects of Negative Talk
from Others and Yourself
Negative talk from elders, parents, teachers, siblings, friends, and so on can be poison to one’s self-confidence and personal power. Verbal abuse can be subtle and sometimes undetectable until something ripens or comes to a head. Misplaced anger or an inability to confront one’s own issues can spew over to another. Passive aggression or condescending behavior makes the person (the one sending this energy) feel superior and in control, but the one who is the subject (or receiver) of this negative behavior may be unconscious of it and still be scarred by it. Even a single disparaging comment or insult can linger in a person’s mind, heart, and emotional body for many years, and sometimes a lifetime.
Although deeply buried, issues such as these may rear their ugly heads when your “buttons” get pushed. When this happens, you may find yourself reacting to someone or something that doesn’t make sense to you. Sometimes these issues keep cropping up, and you may not understand why they continually occur throughout your life in various ways. The names and faces may change, but the patterns or challenges are the same.
For instance, a relationship ends due to communication challenges and your inability to set boundaries. Then, in the next relationship the same issues arise. The only constant is you. When you come to the realization that you do not have to be tethered to the source of the negative talk and you do not have to continue repeating the same scenario to heal, you are primed for release and healing through the process of cord cutting. This realization allows you to heal and learn how to improve your communication skills and improve your ability to establish boundaries. It’s time for inner work and self-awareness.
In addition to outer sources of negative talk, if you take the time to observe your own inner thoughts and self-talk, you might realize that you are self-negating—that is, you might think or say things about yourself that are insulting. You might be telling yourself you aren’t good enough, smart enough, good looking enough, etc. These “mean things” you say to yourself are likely based on negative talk you heard from others that has remained with you and made a home in your subconscious.
In addition to cutting the cords that have been keeping you on a negative thought path, you can use gemstones to remind yourself to shift your thoughts toward your positive aspects to help you raise your self-esteem. The stones aren’t going to magically transform your reality. It is your own positive thoughts, intentions, and affirmations matched with a given gemstone that create the shift and transformation. Remember, the stones are tools that will help you amplify your intention and maintain focus. Use the following positive affirmations or similar ones along with your “reminder” stone to reestablish good energy in the days and weeks following your cord cutting:
I am confident and courageous.
I shine my light brightly.
I honor and respect myself.
I allow others to see my magnificence.
Prosperity abounds in my life. Goodness multiplies.
Whatever I desire, imagine, and passionately act upon
becomes a reality.
It is safe for me to be powerful!
Exercise
Releasing and Healing from
Negative Attachments Step-by-Step
When combined with consciously directed journeying work, gemstones can offer powerful support. Coupled with your intention and self-reflection, they can assist you in releasing and resolving underlying “programs” or beliefs that are holding you back. As you prepare to cut the energetic cords that are tethering you down, use gemstones that reflect what you need to release and create an intention to replace prior programming with well-being and love.
Cutting the energetic cords that are attached to you on a mental and emotional level is a powerful step to finding happiness and forward movement. You can release ties to your past and unhook the mechanisms that push your buttons. Know that when you do disconnect the energetic ties, you can transform your life for the better. Follow these step-by-step suggestions:
1. Self-Exploration
Begin by taking the time for self-exploration to recognize what belief systems or habits are running your program, what patterns you keep repeating, who or what stands out in your mind and is associated with negative feelings, and so on. Freewrite about all this in your journal or on a piece of paper to see what arises—what are you attached to that you no longer wish to be attached to? While this may be a situation that keeps repeating itself—a recurring feeling, a specific memory, a type of behavior, a belief system, an outdated program, and so on—you can probably associate a person or people with it.
2. Crystal Intention
Now that you have identified an unwanted attachment, establish your intention of who or what you are ready to release. Write your intention down. For example, “I now release the cords of attachment from me to (name and relationship with the person) so I am free to be the best version of myself and live to my fullest potential. I release my perceptions and the effects of his/her behaviors.” Now it is time to choose a crystal that aligns with that intention. Again, use your intuition and what you know of the stones. See the section beginning on page 125 for a guide to choosing stones for your cord-cutting exercise, but always allow your gut to make the final decision. A few recommended crystals here include an amethyst point or wand, black tourmaline, clear quartz point, or a selenite wand.
3. Journey
Holding your chosen crystal in your hand, lie down and get comfortable. Take yourself on a meditative journey into your own consciousness. Start by observing your breath. Put all of your awareness on the inhale and the exhale. Go deeper into the observation of your breath by noting the gap between the inhale and the exhale, as well as the gap between the exhale and the inhale. Imagine you are traveling to a very sacred space. Know that you are taking this journey with the intention of meeting up with the person you need to unhook from. Remember, the cords go both ways—from them to you and you to them.
4. Cut the Cord
When you meet up with that person, visualize the cord that is keeping you connected. Using your imagination, call on your spirit guides and angels for support. Visualize yourself cutting the cord of attachment that binds you to the other. Be mindful of the crystal or crystals you have in your hands or nearby. Remember to use their energy and the intention you have associated with those crystals to add energy to an effective cord cutting. Let the crystals amplify your goal.
5. Restate Your Intention, Affirming That It Is True
For example, “The cord between me and (person’s name) has been severed. I am no longer influenced by (person’s name) and we are each free of any ties that bound us in the past.”
If you would prefer to be guided through this cord-cutting process, consider meeting with a practitioner who is adept at facilitating cord-cutting experiences or use my guided meditation CD, Cord Cutting: Releasing the Energetic Ties of the Past.
As always, it is best to use your intuition in stone choice, but it also helps to have a little guidance that can further refine the stones you initially turn to. In this section, we’ll look at specific stones, as well as stone color. If you have buried emotions deep down and the thought of dealing with them scares you, certain colors and gemstones can assist you in courageously uncovering them. Other stones can help with healing emotions, restoring confidence, and so on.
Colors
Black, brown, and metallic stones: These stones are excellent for actually cutting the cord. Black obsidian arrowheads, black tourmaline wands, and elestial quartz crystals are great tools for delving deep within to get to the source of what is buried. With conscious intention, these gemstones activate the release of buried emotions.
Orange stones: Past hurts and negative remarks are often stored in the navel chakra, which is associated with the color orange. Orange stones can therefore assist in the release of any stored pain. Orange stones like citrine and orange and golden calcite can also help you realize and remember that you are worthy and magnificent.
Yellow stones: This primary color is associated with the solar plexus energy center. Use yellow crystals to replace a lack of confidence and self-esteem caused by old tethers, with increased self-confidence and self-esteem. Yellow stones like citrine, amber, and golden calcite improve self-assuredness.
Blue and green stones: Nurturing and peaceful, stones of this color can help you to nurture yourself and heal after you have cut the cords. Chrysocolla, green aventurine, peridot, and serpentine are beneficial to reduce inflamed states of consciousness and seal in the experience of release.
Red stones: Action-oriented and vibrant, red stones help you take the action to actually cut the cords with vim and vigor. Ruby, garnet, and red jasper, to name just a few, are useful here.
White stones: A crystal such as clear quartz, apophyllite, or selenite lends energy to clarity in a regression experience. Holding the wand or crystal point in your hand adds a feeling of comfort and self-empowerment.
Stones
Amber: It takes a lot of courage to establish the boundary necessary for cutting the cords with someone. This stone is good for establishing boundaries with others and to increase your personal power.
Black tourmaline and tourmalinated quartz: Black tourmaline and tourmalinated quartz are two of the most effective gems to turn to for their ability to deflect negativity. This negativity may exist within your own consciousness, as well as outside of yourself. Often, your own thoughts and negative belief systems need deflecting more than the incoming energies from others!
Carnelian: This stone can assist you in ridding your mind of limiting belief systems with regard to hereditary diseases and the reversal of certain affectations. For example, if your family has a history of arthritis, and you think you are destined to develop it as well, you can make a conscious choice to break that belief and the resulting pattern. You can decide not to accept the potentiality of a health challenge. Allow the emotions stuck in your joints to be released. Combining the increased awareness that comes with carnelian with healthier habits can help reverse the potential for arthritis to manifest. Use the carnelian to birth a new reality for your future well-being.
Chrysocolla: This is a good stone to have nearby or in your hand during a cord-cutting experience as an ally to help you with the changes you are about to make. When you are dealing with the more difficult issues buried in your consciousness, this stone can help you uncover what needs to be worked through and healed. With conscious direction, this tool can realign you so that you are no longer aligned with the symptoms and reactions that may arise from any type of abuse. It also helps you to release anger.
Malachite: With its swirling nature and green healing energy, this stone aids in balancing the vibration of soreness left over from negative emotions.
Orange calcite: When restored well-being is your intention, this is a good stone to work with. In general, calcite assists you through the process of change—which is the only constant in life. Essentially, calcite helps shift change-related anxiety, which is simply the fear of the unknown.
Smoky quartz: This is a beneficial stone for dealing with emotions, to seal and heal buried wounds on a vibrational level. The place where the cords are attached in the energy body creates an energetic hole. The smoky quartz grounds, protects, and seals the energetic hole when used with conscious intent.
Greater Self-Understanding
Through Past Lives
Many spiritual philosophies believe in the ever-turning wheel of life, including the cycles of birth, death, and rebirth. Remembering key parts of a past life, or incarnation, can offer you a greater understanding of yourself and what you have come to this planet to learn and experience this time around. It may help you uncover and recognize your life purpose and the meaning of your life presently.
Each and every person brings certain traits, qualities, and a sense of purpose into every lifetime. There are many things to learn and many things to accomplish. Sometimes you bring lessons with you from other lives, or issues that must be overcome. In addition to taking the time to cut certain cords from the past, there is also benefit found in embracing positive qualities from other lifetimes that will help you live to your fullest potential this time around. Habits and patterns from other lives, both good and not so good, are ingrained in the consciousness. Fears and self-sabotage can actually stem from another life. When it is time, you will suddenly realize that you need to cut the cords from previous lives to live your present life to the fullest.
When you are ready and open to understanding yourself more fully, remembering a past life may prove to be beneficial. As you catch glimpses of past lives, those glimpses often explain both the beneficial and the challenging life situations you are experiencing now. Connect with a past-life therapist if you want to understand a repetitive pattern or you decide to start remembering a past life through your dreams, meditations, and visions.
Work with these crystals and gemstones when you are asking a question like “Why is this happening to me?” or “What did I ever do to deserve this?” If you are caught in a pattern in which you are experiencing the same situation over and over, but the pattern is just bringing in different people to create the same play, then it’s time to delve into past incarnations to uncover what’s breaking through your consciousness, so you can learn and grow.
The following stones are especially helpful with regard to remembering past lives:
Amber: This stone is an excellent tool for recalling past lives with the intent to uncover how those memories can help you in your present life. All regression therapy exploration of past events, whether it is a regression in this life or a past life, should have the intention to assist you in understanding and breaking unwanted repetitive patterns. Amber can help focus your attention on that purpose.
Black tourmaline: This stone grounds your spiritual practice and is helpful for meditation, contemplation, and inner work for uncovering past lives. With this stone in hand, delve into the deeper aspects of your consciousness as you explore past lives. This stone also deflects negative energy and, therefore, can aid in creating a feeling of safety for regression experiences.
Covellite: This is a copper sulfide mineral that conducts energy. It provides a conduit for messages, wisdom, and information from the universe and higher realms of consciousness. This mineral enhances your ability to recall past lives and to tap into potential future realities for the purpose of self-actualization. It supports your innate intuition and helps you trust that your past life memories are valid.
Malachite: The circular patterns within this gemstone represent lessons to further your spiritual evolution. The swirling shades of green remind you of the lessons your heart must go through during this lifetime and effectuate healing not only now, but also in past lives.
Orbicular jasper: This is the stone for insight into the spiritual lessons of your past lives. The spherical pattern of orbs in this jasper holds the vibration of how thoughts, words, and actions interact with your current life and your past lives. This stone is a reminder of the circular flow of energy, in which what you send out comes back to you. All thoughts travel in a circular direction, returning as manifest reality.
Phantom quartz crystals: The crystal “ghost” or “apparition” inside phantom quartz crystals helps you remember who you truly are and where you are about to go. Phantom quartz is helpful for remembering past lives so you can learn from the past and grow into the future.
Septarian: This stone has yellow calcite included within. It helps connect you with the contracts you made with your ancestors and uncover information that can benefit your present life. The yellow calcite energy in septarian helps you clear away outdated belief systems attached to old memories or mental energies that have accumulated over time in your mind. As your ally, this stone can begin to reduce the unwanted effects of this mental energy on how you act and react to life circumstances.
Serpentine: A grounding stone, serpentine aids you as you traverse the depths of your consciousness. This stone helps to clear your consciousness of the source of negative thoughts.
Time link crystals: These stones deepen your connection to the subconscious, the super-consciousness, and the various incarnations of your soul.
It takes a lot of courage to look at yourself and get to the source of a personal issue or emotional pattern. Using crystals in both cord-cutting journeywork and past-life regression therapy is incredibly beneficial in the evolvement of your spiritual path and personal development. Let your crystals shine light on areas that need to be looked at, and step onto a well-lit path toward self-realization.