All throughout life I have had a strong connection with the energies around me. Whether it be people that enter the room, the animals nearby, or feeling the life in the trees on a hike.
Energy is everywhere and in everything. We are energy, life is energy. It’s what we are made of. And most animals are in tune with it, and all plants are. But us humans have lost our feel for it. And I believe that has a lot to do with why our mental health as a whole, is less than ok.
I have noticed though, that many of the young people now are really trying to better themselves and be more in touch with the energies of life. I also know that the only reason this is occurring is because it’s an internet trend!
Regardless, I think it’s great!
Now on to my journey. When I was a kid, my aunt always was a rock hound, and I loved it, we would go camping dig up some big rocks and when we would get back we would cut them open to see what we found. And at that time I never knew names of rocks besides granite, because well, that’s the easiest one to look at say, yeah that’s granite when your a kid. So needless to say, we found some really awesome stones, and I was oblivious to the properties. I just did it for fun!
Looking back though, I’m pretty certain we found lots of red jasper, which I only have a small stone of now. But man, is it pretty!
When I was a bit older my aunt gave me a lot of different small polished and tumbled stones, like; amethyst (my birth stone), rose quartz, green aventurine, tigers eye, hematite, onyx, and some that I still don’t know the names of!
I never followed any meditation guides, but I do meditate. I do it to calm my body. A calm body allows for clearer thoughts, better decision making. But just because I meditate, doesn’t meant that I don’t have anxiety, occasional depression. I do.
But let me say, being aware of your reactions, your triggers, the way you body feels, makes calming yourself so much easier. Regulating yourself is key. And I have come to realize the power of self regulation here recently.
My 3 1/2 year old son with suspected autism, is in occupational and speech therapy. The absolute best thing, has been teaching him how to self regulate. To show him how, and give him the tools, and knowledge, to calm himself mentally and physically during times of stimulus overload.
So I’ve come to understand, first hand, how helpful this is.
If my toddler can use these tools to calm himself enough to start speaking, then why can’t I use similar tactics to calm myself out of stressful situations or emotions?
The answer to that, is I can, and I do. What does this have to do with spirituality? Well, a lot actually. Meditation is a form of self regulating. It’s a tool to calm yourself. Once you are as calm as you can be in that moment, you can begin to feel the energies that surround you. You’ll notice how it feels in your body, and where the flow of energy may be disrupted. If you have tight shoulders, you may not be able to feel the energy flow in that spot, because it can’t.
If you’ve heard of unblocking you chakras, that’s what that means. Your flow of bodily energy is disrupted somewhere.
No going back to the stones and crystals, each one has different “properties” or energy. So for me, when I pick up some stones, I feel a sort of current, if you will, in my hand and forearm. And that is just my bodies energy, interacting with the energy of that stone, some have more than others. But you won’t feel that, or notice it, if you can’t tune in to your own. You wouldn’t know what feeling to, well, feel for.
The internet is full of information on the properties of stones and crystals, some are said to have healing properties, some are grounding, some ward off negativity. I can’t really speak to if any of that is true, or placebo, but I do know that everything gives off its own feel.
The great thing about “spirituality”, you can believe in any religion, or non-religions that you want! It’s all about you, how you feel, how you connect with the world and the other life around you. Whether you choose to believe in one god, many, or none, it doesn’t matter, this isn’t a religion, this is you, connecting with the energy you have, and sensing the energy that the earth possesses.
I won’t dive in to my own beliefs on this post, we will save that for another time. But I will say, that since I’ve been able to really harness the feeling for the world around me, and the way that my body and mind feel, I’ve felt so much more free.
I don’t feel as trapped in my own mind. I don’t want you to think that I don’t still struggle, or that I don’t still feel stress or overwhelming emotions, because trust me I do. But being able to recognize the situation, and just breathe, use the tools I’ve gathered, and bring myself back from chaos, has been a tremendous leap on helping my sanity!
I can help others even more by understanding how I feel. Have empathy, have calm, have compassion, and you’ll find peace. Even if only for a while.
Have a wonderful day my friend, I’d love to hear your thoughts!
~A
Ink & Embers 