Reality, Yours or Mine?

Reality is never the same thing for everyone.  Viewpoint colors all versions of reality, so what may be a rosy thought to one person may be a point of conflict for another.  This was brought home to me very clearly this week when what started out as (at least in my mind) a small and kind gesture turned into a somewhat volatile and conflicted episode.

After some soul searching and a little meditation, I came back to the thought that whatever one believes creates their reality.  A positive attitude is our greatest asset.   If we believe that life is a positive experience - - it will be!
 
Love and respect for yourself as well as others is important to resolving any conflict.  When alternate realities (kind of like alternate universes) become a point of contention, respect and love yourself enough to be able to let it go - - because you own your reality.  Next (and this can be the hard part), love and respect the other person, for their point of view (their reality) is no less valid than your own!  Love is the Universal answer to any question or conflict. 

If another’s attitude seems joyless, obviously this colors their reality.  Sending them silent light and love may be all we can do to help. 

A positive attitude colors the reality we bring into everything we do.  If we can find even small joy in our every day lives we can accomplish more and benefit those around us too!   Keeping centered and positive, we can’t be unhappy for long - - unless we choose that role (reality).      

Make your own reality check.  Are you basically happy?  Do you like yourself?  Do you “play well” with others?         

Remember, we all make our own reality.

The Colors of Life

This is a time of parched land and spent vegetation. (I live in Texas, and we are in a drought - - and it’s been over 100 degrees for what seems like forever!) The upside to all this is how much I appreciate every glimpse of color from the gardens that are trying to survive, putting up blossoms so that the bees and the butterflies are nurtured for another day.

The bright colors against an increasingly browned out landscape make me again realize how important colors are in our everyday existence, for color not only delights the eye, but nurtures the soul !

When I had a “brick and mortar” store, which was mainly filled with antiques and collectibles, I also had a section of my store devoted to crystals and natural gemstones and colors. Often people were drawn to this side of the store, maybe feeling the calming energy I had tried to create with stones and colors.

Because metaphysical philosophies and the study of crystals have been an interest of mine for decades, I always enjoyed talking with customers about colors and crystals. Often a customer would be attracted to a certain color of stone, and after talking with them for a while it would become apparent that they were seeking balance in their lives that corresponded to the color “assigned” to the particular chakra where they were feeling stresses or lack of balance in their daily life. (Like the 7 cosmic colors - which is white light broken into the spectrum of red, yellow, orange, green blue, indigo, violet/white, there are 7 chakras that are our subtle energy centers that correspond with our 7 levels of consciousness.)

Simplified, this means a strong attraction for yellow (which is the 3rd, or Solar Plexus Chakra) could indicate that an individual is struggling with their purpose or ambition, and needs to be more emotionally grounded. This individual may find a citrine, or golden topaz, Amber, or Tiger Eye, synergistic - - and find the stone’s energy connecting with theirs to bring balance to a decision they might be wrestling with. (All other colors corresponding to other chakras and meanings).

I now have two Etsy online shops, and though I can’t talk directly to my customers, I am still trying through use of colors, item descriptions, and great “product shots”, to assist people in finding items and crystals that will add pleasure and maybe even balance in their lives.
Find us as www.crystalcreek.etsy.com & www.crystalcreek2.etsy.com
All the items in our shops are chosen and placed online with “light and love”, because I truly believe good intentions and good energies “can’t hurt” !

And now I’m going to brave the heat and go out to water the flowers and tell them how much I appreciate their colors and beauty !

Healing and Happiness

Kindness is catching! Don’t you feel better when you’ve had a pleasant exchange with someone? Even a brief exchange or act of kindness gives us a “warm fuzzy” feeling.

The benefits to those around us when we act from a more generous spirit are many-fold, but the benefits to ourselves is great too. Even if you don’t really “feel like it”, making an effort daily to be more optimistic brings with it a real positive influence in your feeling of self and overall health.

Nice doesn’t mean being icky sweet or fake, but that you consider others and treat those you meet with kindness, consideration, and respect. It’s been proven in studies that wishing others well and sending positive thoughts their way actually can reduce pain and inflammation of chronic conditions within ourselves !

Meditation, and letting go of angers and resentments and replacing these with forgiveness, love and compassion also go a long way to help reduce pain. Integrative medicine is proving forgiveness is one of the greatest gifts that we can give ourselves.

Every time we replay a moment in our lives filled with regret or resentments we’re “stuck” in our basest element, and we bring all the toxins from that event flooding back into our bodies as we relive it again. For better health we need to be in our higher consciousness where we can choose to cultivate forgiveness, love and compassion.

Start simply and focus your attention on today, what’s happening in life right now - - and leave behind yesterday’s baggage. Being truly present in the now doesn’t leave any room for resentment and old anger.

As we forgive others, we have to remember to forgive ourselves. Who knows, if that chronic back pain lessens, or you experience other improvements in pain or depression, -- what do you have to lose?