The Findhorn Foundation, situated in north-east Scotland, started over fifty years ago when the three founders, sharing a spiritual ethos, established a small community at a caravan park, based on deep inner listening, co-creating with nature and being of service to God.   The garden they planted, with guidance from the intelligences of nature, flourished spectacularly, and began attracting individuals from all over the world who wished to become part of their community. Today Findhorn attracts guests from forty different countries participating in almost two-hundred week long workshops a year.   The Foundation is also a large living community with a focus on putting spiritual guidance and values to practical purpose.  

I first discovered Findhorn fifteen years ago.   I'd been performing music for a play touring in the Highlands of Scotland and had a few spare hours so pulled out a map looking for somewhere to visit locally.   As I scanned it I noticed a place called 'Findhorn' across the bay.   I had a sudden rush of memories as a child of a strange magical place that grew giant vegetables.   I yearned to investigate but didn’t have enough time.   However, on returning to London I went on the internet and discovered not only did it exist but it ran courses all year round.

In September of that year I flew up to attend 'Experience Week', the Findhorn Foundation's most popular programme, which serves as many peoples ‘front door’ to the community.   Doing 'Experience week' was like being hit sideways by an enormous spiritual sledgehammer, and I was never the same again.   Without Findhorn I doubt very much I would have been interested in becoming a counsellor or have been ready to train in subtle energy work with the mineral kingdom.

My first week there felt like a lifetime that I didn’t want to end.    I was in a small group, and we had sessions of sharing, game playing, talks from people in the community, being of service in work departments, excursions to nature where the elementals were more tangible, and we formed very deep bonds with each other.   A fellow traveller told me how he’d heard that coming to Findhorn was consciously speeding up your evolution, and you could work through a lifetime of issues in a week.   Now I think I understand what he meant.   People experience deep and honest sharing with each other there to a level that many people may not even do in a whole lifetime in the 'outside world'.   Wounds can heal as individuals come from a much more authentic place.   To me, the Foundation exists at a different energetic 'frequency' to other locations.   This stirs everyone up who is called to visit there, bringing up the shadows that need to be processed in a very immediate way in order to integrate more light.   I remember returning to London after a later visit and it felt vibrationally like I was leaving a high mountain or plateau and descending into the underworld.

It could be said that the purpose of life is to evolve to a point where we no longer need to be here. That we are on this planet to master our lessons, and these lessons come in the form of experiences and interactions with others and with the environment around us.   Perhaps the ultimate lesson is simply to know that we are light with all of our being and that the greatest power in all of creation is love; If we can truly love ourselves as much as we are loved already by ‘the Divine’ we are no longer bound to the denser planes of planet Earth.  Because then we can only make choices and co-create reality from that place of unconditional love.

This learning may take endless epochs of existence within denser planes in order to truly master. In Buddhism there is the notion of Karma.   Karma is not 'supernatural' or a form of ‘punishment' but merely the most natural law of cause and effect or action and reaction.   Whatever we put out will ultimately come back to us.   It is also a law that puts responsibility on our own shoulders, which is actually empowering.   This means that in every moment we have a choice, and with each choice we can change our whole world, and manifest a much brighter future.

With every action we set a karmic ball in motion.   We create karma, which can be both good and bad.   With every choice, in every step, in every moment, each single one of us is planting a seed for a future that we will experience at some point.   It is up to us whether we plant seeds of joy, or of pain.   All that we experience in the now is the fruit of the seeds we have sown sometime in our past, either in this life or previous ones.   These fruits may taste bitter or sweet.   

'To act' also has another meaning, that of taking on a role or pretending to be something we are not.   On planet Earth we are all ‘in character’, we have a ‘personality’ that is not the real 'us'.   Our bodies and egos are like a car our higher self is driving and navigating within this denser realm.   In reality we are ‘spirit’ or ‘light’, and merely using our 'physical vehicle' to learn down here what we already know in theory, just not in practice.   It may not seem too difficult to drive a car if you read a manual about it, but try driving through a busy city on a six-lane motorway at rush hour with other drivers cutting in in front of you, honking their horns.   Similarly, Its easy to know you are 'light' and 'joy' if that is all you are surrounded by.   It's another matter to know you are 'light' and 'joy' if you also have to live in a world where you can experience the opposite; after someone has just fired you from your job, hurled abuse at you, or invaded your country.  

It helps down here to remember we are just in a role, and learning through everything we experience, so that we can take the ups and downs of life with a bit more humour and lightness. It’s also good to know that during rough times, we can also ask for help (which is always there but we have to ask first) and to be shown why something is happening ‘to us’ and how we can heal it.   Many years ago I had a run of bad luck, and it was only when I meditated on it that I realised I had sown the seeds of what I was experiencing through a course of action I had taken in my past.   This really helped me.  Rather than getting angry at who I thought was the cause of my suffering, I was able to take on the responsibility myself, and see that in many ways my 'enemies' were my greatest friends, in allowing me to experience the results of my own karma, and giving me the opportunity to now make a different choice, to create a better future by taking a different avenue to the one I had originally taken.

It could be said that illness is just the physical manifestation of having taken too many different ‘wrong’ (ultimately perhaps there is no wrong or right only learning and experience) choices in the past.  Our physical body becomes out of harmony as a denser manifestation of the lack of harmony at a higher spiritual level.

Life throws at us many 'curve balls'.   We may decide to be ‘in the moment’, to make all our thoughts, words and deeds 'higher' ones and then seconds later our ex rings up asking for their shampoo back, or we just decide to check our Facebook page and before we know it we're lost on a wave of excitement discovering the latest info on a favourite movie star.   We’re back again in a sea of acting and ‘re-acting’, our precious navigational compass thrown overboard by our own hands.   This is what re-action truly means, being lost in the moment so rather than acting for the best we repeat an old pattern of acting, that merely keeps us in a karmic loop.

Yet, If we could make the 'right' choice in every experience we speed up our evolution dramatically.   For this is all life is; a series of choices.  Life is like trying to drive your way back home but in a strange land with no map, and only the vaguest awareness of where you are.   Some roads lead to roundabouts and more choices, some lead to dead-ends, some send you back the way you came, some lead to sheer drops, and some take you into landscapes filled with wonder and beauty and a reassuring feeling you are going in the right direction so you can truly enjoy the journey.

And actually, there is a map for your journey to help you take a few less detours.   This is called your birth chart.   And you can always stop for guidance to ask for the best way to go.   This is accessed via being still, and going within.   There are also tools in the boot to help you hear this inner guidance and make better choices.  These are called crystals, flower remedies, and other subtle energy medicines.   Yet it’s still so difficult and dense down here, and we can easily forget we’re merely driving a physical vehicle in the first place.  To help me remember I’ve pinned some meaningful words and phrases on my office wall where I see them every day; to remind me that in the next hour, minute, or second, I choose my future path.   I hope to be awake enough so that my next choice is a wiser one; to be in the moment and make every moment count.

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​Moss Agate   This crystal looks as if it has tiny pieces of moss growing inside of it.   It is balancing, gently grounding, and de-stressing and can work well alongside Blue Lace Agate.  It can feel very much as if you are sitting in a glade in nature when meditating with it!
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Yellow Jasper has a calming, soothing and slightly sedating energy.   Its very good if you are feeling fearful about something.   I was once attempting to become aware of its energy whilst holding a large piece though my rational mind kept telling me nothing was happening.   At the same time I was talking to a colleague who said it felt very sedating and calming to her.   It was then i realised I had already tuned into the crystal, as I was now in a very sedated, calmed, and ‘chilled out’ state.

Moonstone, which has a beautiful sheen, is not quartz, but a member of the Feldpsar family.   It has a very flowing energy and can help someone who is quite rigid to be able to flow more with life.   It has a very soft, subtle and quiet energy that can help with emotional stress.

Like many people, I was brought up to 'live in my head', to cram my head full of 'knowledge' at school and to read lots of books.   I received no training at all in how to become aware of the signals from the world around me and my own inner self.   Today,  life is even more filled with 'head stuff'.   We go from mobile phone to laptop to TV programme all day long, without ever taking the time to be still and to listen within.  For many people 'life' consists of literally living in an exclusive fantasy world inside the high tower of our own head.   Hello! There is a body down here!

When I first began working with crystals many years ago, I only knew how to use my 'head' to try and grasp the mysteries of the mineral kingdom.   To get to know a crystal I would hold it in my hand, and attempt to 'think' my way to its properties, never realising that actually the opposite needed to occur; I needed to be still and quiet my mind and only then could I begin to 'know' it.   Instead I would rely heavily on analysing any thoughts that came to me whilst taking very little notice of the sensations or feelings of my body.  Sometimes, I would look up the 'meaning' of a crystal in a book as a shortcut to understanding what it was about, not knowing that this was unhelpful, and only exacerbating my lack of awareness instead of discovering my own truth.

It was only after I began to train with crystals that I realised I'd missed the point entirely.   It was what I was 'feeling' that was important, not my 'thinking'.   I remember quite early on in my training, after a healing from a colleague, I left to catch the train, and was aware of the most amazing feeling of bliss.   It's very hard to put in to words; like a feeling that there was something so magical and amazing, waiting only just ahead of me to explore.   The feeling only lasted for a short while as another student began to start chatting, and though I wanted to stay in the feeling, I had no choice but to interact with my peer.   After a few moments the feeling left me, but I could remember it.  I then began to realise that I'd been approaching everything the wrong way round and began to focus on what I was feeling rather than thinking when I worked with crystals.

I discovered there were certain crystals that for me had an easier 'feeling' to spot.   One of these was Rose Quartz.   I would quieten my mind, hold it, and become aware of a wonderful feeling of of unconditional love and nurturance and of my heart opening.   For me, this was its 'signature'.   Another crystal with a strong 'signature' was Amethyst.  With this crystal I sensed a purity and stillness in the air, a great feeling of 'sacredness'.   I was being lifted to a higher vibration where I felt I could also also access higher guidance.   If having trouble sensing a new crystal I would use Rose Quartz or Amethyst as a starting point; a way in.  Once I felt the signature of one of these, I would pick up the new crystal instead, and the feeling would shift and I would get an 'a-ha' moment as I discovered the new crystal's signature.   Some crystals have a more subtle signature than those of the quartz family, and it can be easier to miss their vibration.

Shifting from merely thinking about crystals in my head to feeling them was like bursting from an old black and white movie into 'virtual reality'.   They became very real to me and I now knew why crystals were such powerful tools for healing; they helped the body to remember an energetic 'feeling'.   For example, if someone is depressed, this can weaken their immune system.  They may even then develop physical symptoms because of this.  In a crystal healing we would never focus on these 'physical symptoms' but instead tune into their energy field to find out what is going on and may find it feels 'depleted' or 'flat'.   The person would most likely need an uplifting feeling/vibration and, if appropriate we may use Citrine within a healing technique.   Citrine has a signature that is joyful, warming and energising.   Their body would then remember this vibration and this could help them become happier and more optimistic in life.   This could in turn benefit their immune system which could help ease any physical symptoms.   Please note, a seriously trained crystal healer would never focus on any physical symptoms, but only on what is happening within a client's energy field.   By doing this, we deal with what is behind why a physical symptom had to manifest in the first place.

Once we step down from the remote tower of our heads and discover the real world is one of energy and feelings the implications are vast for our greatest health and happiness.   It could be said the only thing we should ever rely on in our lives are our feelings.   What we see and what we hear can fool us.  But if we have a feeling we should trust it as it can save us from taking some wrong turnings in life and also help guide us down the right path. 

Luckily, we have crystals to help us heal and reconnect with higher vibrations to keep us on the right path; an artists palette of all the different feelings with which to heal the soul.   Which one do you need today?

One of the most common queries that comes up when AIR has a stand at holistic fairs is regarding Schorl, also known as Black Tourmaline (many people when they say 'Tourmaline' are referring to this crystal, but actually the Tourmaline family is huge, with crystals of every colour, such as Rubelite (pink Tourmaline) and Indicolite (blue Tourmaline).   

Often someone will pick a piece up of this beautiful but heavy looking black crystal to buy, at which point I always check with them what it is for.   Most times the answer is that it is for 'protection'.   When I ask why do they think this, it is usually because they have read about it in a book.

This is a misconception.   Schorl has a very dense, heavy and grounding energy.   Like most black crystals it can absorb 'negative' and static energies.   This 'protection' it gives however, is from such things as mobile phones, Wi-Fi, computers and geopathic stress, with which it deals very happily.   If placed near to these with the intent to minimise their emanations, then it will absorb their 'negativity', thus 'protecting' us from them.   If someone actually wears or carries around Schorl,  rather than protecting their energy field, as it is absorbent, it could instead draw negativity in.

Because it is such a dense and intense energy, it is only used within healing as a very heavy duty grounder, placed beneath the feet of someone who can take its energy (and this is rare).   For the majority of people the energy is too potent, and they would be better served by a different, and less intense earthing crystal.

I had a good lesson in just how potent Schorl is whilst teaching a class about its properties a number of years ago.   I had placed a large amount of Schorl in the centre of the room so that we could sense its energies collectively.   As I began to teach about the crystal I found my mind kept going blank, I couldn't seem to access my own 'higher' knowledge, and I was even having trouble putting my sentences together in a coherent fashion.  It took me a few minutes to realise that of course, I had put too much Schorl down in the room.   Students remarked it was as if the class was now being conducted from several feet within the earth.  It was certainly one way to illustrate its energies!

The crystals which do actually protect and strengthen the energy field are all those with a higher vibration, such as Amethyst, Turquoise, and Lapis Lazuli, which are also therefore safe to use over the whole energy field and chakras.   Schorl, in contrast has a very low vibration and is much too dense to place either around the energy field or upon the chakras (with the possible exception of briefly being linked up to the base chakra).   If you think of it in terms of the vibrations of colour (the colour of a crystal is part of the reason why it has certain energetic properties, though there are other reasons) it makes sense.   The colours violet and purple, deep royal blue and turquoise all vibrate at a fast frequency. Black however vibrates at a very low frequency and what is perceived by the eye as a black object is actually black because it is absorbing all light.   Negativity around us also vibrates at lower vibrations, whereas it cannot exist at higher frequencies. However, do please bear in mind that if we have a lesson to learn about something in life, then what we perceive as 'negativity' could still get through, as it is important in some way for our growth.

What I would suggest is, rather than take my word for it, is, if you are already used to wearing or using Schorl about you to protect you then do an experiment. First, just be aware of how you feel and act when you are wearing it, then for three or four days take it off and instead carry some Amethyst or a piece of Turquoise or Lapis with you, with the intent that this protects your energy field.   Then afterwards compare your experience of how 'protected' you felt carrying each crystal.   I would be very surprised if you did not notice a difference in your moods and general outlook going from using black Tourmaline to one of these other crystals!

Please come back for regular posts on crystals, energy work, subtle energy medicine and all aspects of healing and development.  Posts are usually on a Wednesday.  ​