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FREE ARCHIVED BLOG & PHOTOSET
I originally wrote this for Patreon on July 8th 2017. I no longer use Patreon and have replaced it with my website (here) but thought I would share some of my old blogs with you for FREE to show my appreciation for you visiting my website! <3
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I’ve been up and down emotionally a lot lately (probably because I’m coming up on my period) so the other day I took a bath for some self care time and to release negativity. Anything you do for yourself and for your happiness is always wonderful, but when you can include ritual that’s even better (in my opinion)! I wanted to share this with you guys because it helps me feel 1000x better after a really shitty day.
Self care bathtime ritual:
- Set aside at least 30 minutes to an hour for yourself when you won’t be disturbed
- Gather anything you would like with you while you’re in the bath: candles, incense, crystals, soft meditative music, a glass of water/tea, a good book
- Draw your bath. If you have them, put some some epsom salts and essential oils in (lavender is great for relaxation!), or a bath bomb, flower petals, or bubble bath
- If applicable, light your candles and/or incense, arrange your crystals, place your glass of water/tea and book within arms reach of where you’ll be in the tub
- Get in and relax for at least 10-15 minutes either doing nothing, leisurely reading, or meditating. For meditating, I like to lay all the way in the water so that everything but my face is submerged and listen to my heartbeat underwater. I take deep breaths in rhythm with my heartbeat, keeping each inhale and exhale the same number of beats and trying to lengthen my breaths. Inhaling counting 5 heartbeats, exhaling counting 5 heartbeats. Inhaling counting 6 or 7 (or more) heartbeats, exhaling counting the same number of heartbeats. If I want to meditate with my crystals I pick one up and look at every part of it, noticing the colors, textures, the way it feels in my hand, the weight of it, if it reflects anything, or seeing if there are any rainbows inside. I’ll do this with each one in turn, seeing how they make me feel and letting my mind become quiet as I focus on my senses of vision and touch.
- Once you’re in a calm relaxed state, either happy and content (or at least neutral), think of things you would like to release and let go of. What would you like to cleanse from your life?
- Cup your hands together so they create a bowl shape and use your hands to bring water to your face. Run your hands from your face, up past your temples, up over and down the back of your head, down your shoulders, chest, and thighs.
- Say to yourself either out loud or in your mind (I prefer to say it out loud because it’s more powerful) “I release *insert that which you would like to let go of* from my life. I allow this water to cleanse me of that which no longer serves me.”
- Cleanse yourself this way as many times as you want or need to, or for however many things you’d like to release. Examples of things I cleanse myself of: negativity, self-doubt, comparing myself to others
- I suggest meditating after cleansing yourself, a lovingkindness meditation would be a wonderful meditation to start with.
- When you are ready to get out, unplug the drain but stay in the bath. As the water drains, visualize all of that which you want to release and let go of going down the drain with the water. Watch as all negativity, self-doubt, and comparison disappear down the drain.
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I’ve added 2 videos showing a couple of the crystal grids I’ve used for bathtime rituals. I’ve also added 17 fun boomerangs I took after a recent bath… lots of booty boomerangs! Make sure to check those out. =]
All members have access to this complete 27 image film photoset by clicking here, the 20 image digital photoset by clicking here, the 22 image Instax nudes set from an NC mountain trip by clicking here, bathtime crystal grids videos by clicking here, and post bath boomerangs by clicking here.
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FREE ARCHIVED BLOG & PHOTOSET
I originally wrote this for Patreon on February 25th 2017. I no longer use Patreon and have replaced it with my website (here) but thought I would share some of my old blogs with you for FREE to show my appreciation for you visiting my website! <3
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This week’s photoset was taken by Takama Photo (formerly known as Marc Andre Photo), a talented and engaging photographer local to Charlotte. He told me to bring anything I might want to shoot with, so of course I brought a couple of my skulls and some of my crystals and they made it into a few of the photos. Marc got some fantastic light in the studio and I really love these images. I’m excited to share them with you, I hope you guys like them as much as I do!
Last week’s post about crystal grids has me wanting to share how to cleanse them. There are many different ways to cleanse crystals, so you can choose which way (or ways) work best for you. Why should you cleanse crystals? Crystals not only send out their own individual energies but they soak in energies as well. When you use crystals in a grid, for energy healing, or any other purpose, it’s best to cleanse them first so that they don’t have any unwanted negative energy in them. How often should you cleanse crystals? Right after you acquire them, before using for ritual or healing, and every so often at whatever frequency you feel is best based on how often you use them.
-Ways to cleanse crystals-
-Set them in a windowsill or outside during a full moon
-Waft sacred smoke over your crystals
-Bury them in the earth, either straight into the earth or you can wrap them in cloth before you bury them
-Use reiki energy to cleanse your crystals
-Use other crystals that have already been cleansed, such as surrounding your crystals with quartz points or placing them on an amethyst druze
-Bury them in a bowl of flower petals. The petals you choose have their own energy, so you can choose petals based on what energy you would like to immerse your crystals in (rose for love, lavender for healing and relaxation, etc)
-Use nearby sound vibrations, such as Tibetan or crystal singing bowls
-Set them in a windowsill or outside in the sun (not all crystals should be cleansed this way, some will fade from sunlight such as amethyst, citrine, and rose quartz, so make sure your crystal can be in sunlight before you use this method)
-Run water over your crystals (water can badly damage or ruin some crystals such as selenite, malachite, and desert rose, so make sure your crystal can handle water before you use this method)—————————————————————————-
Check out the videos folder for 3 new aerial silks videos!
I’ve also added a practice/preliminary positive affirmations video. Honestly I hesitate to upload it because it’s not what I want the final video to be like, but since I have it I might as well share it. I had a few minutes and wanted to see how long it would take for me to read out all the positive affirmations I had written down. The message and feeling in it is exactly what I want but for the real video I plan on it being different visually, not just me sitting talking into the camera. What do you think?
All members have access to this complete 36 image photoset by clicking here.
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FREE ARCHIVED BLOG & PHOTOSET
I originally wrote this for Patreon on February 18th 2017. I no longer use Patreon and have replaced it with my website (here) but thought I would share some of my old blogs with you for FREE to show my appreciation for you visiting my website! <3
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I am so excited to share this set with y’all! It was not planned at all, but somehow the very best of everything seems to always happen when there’s no plan for it.
I went to my parents’ house to meet up with a model and shoot because my parents are awesome and the house is really pretty….. but the model never showed up. I was a little upset at first but not for long because I decided I was going to make art anyway. I took self portraits with the help of my mom!! <3 <3 <3 The first half of the shoot I had the camera on my tripod and I set up the shot and the focus and everything, got into position, and had her click the shutter when I was ready. The second half of the shoot we put the tripod away and she took the photos! She shot a pack of Instax too! The shoot took a couple hours because I would set up a crystal grid, set up the camera, take a few photos, and then break down the grid, set up another one, take some photos… the process was really fun, creative, and rewarding. And I always love spending time with my mom, she’s one of my very best friends.
Not only is this set special to me because I created the images with my mom, it’s also special because we incorporated crystal grids! I have always loved crystals and stones and have been collecting them since I was little. I love making crystal grids, meditating with crystals, displaying them in our house, using them to send positive healing energy to others when they are not physically here, collecting them, looking at them….. ahhh I love crystals!
-Into to crystal grids-
A crystal grid is an arrangement of crystals, usually in a geometric pattern (most often sacred geometry), created with a specific intention in order to direct energy toward manifesting a goal. Individually, crystals have their own energies and power, and when combined with other crystals in a grid, their energies combine and strengthen your intention, sending that energy out into the universe. You can make a crystal grid to help you sleep, to attract wealth and abundance, to assist in healing… whatever your intention is you can create a crystal grid to enhance it.
There are many different ways of creating crystal grids, and not one specific way is the ONLY way to create one. The best way to make a crystal grid is to follow your intuition and do what feels best for you.
-Basics of setting up a crystal grid-
1- Cleanse the area where you’ll be creating your grid. You can use sacred smoke, reiki, or whatever you prefer to cleanse an area.
2- Choose your intention, what do you want this crystal grid to do for you? Enhance peace & happiness? Attract wealth & abundance? Assist in healing? You may want to write your intention on a piece of paper or keep it in your mind while you set up and activate your grid.
3- Choose crystals that work for your intention, make sure they are cleansed.
4- Choose a place for your grid. You want it to be somewhere that the crystals won’t be disturbed. Maybe on a table, on a tray (so you can move it to different rooms in your house), or maybe even in a special place outside. You can even make or purchase a sacred geometry grid layout made of wood or fabric (like these here and here).
5- Arrange your crystals in a pattern that feels right for you. If you wrote your intention down on a piece of paper, fold it up and put it in the center of your grid. Some people like to place their center/master/focus stone in the grid first (it has a lot of names), and some people like to place it last. Most grids are circular with the center/master/focus stone in the center and all the other stones around it, but your grid doesn’t have to be circular if that doesn’t feel right for your intention. Do what feels right to you! <3
6- You can arrange other special/magical objects in and around your grid, such as feathers, bones/skulls, oracle/tarot cards, etc to enhance it and its energy.
-Activating your grid-
Take a few deep breaths, focusing on your breathing and letting go of any excess thoughts. Hold your intention in your mind. Using a clear quartz crystal or crystal wand, hold it over each crystal and imagine it awakening and activating each crystal’s energy. Use the quartz or wand to “connect the dots” between each crystal and visualize them connecting energetically to amplify your intention. Some people like to “connect the dots” from the outside in, some like to do it from inside out, some like to do it clockwise… whatever feels right to you. If you have time, meditate in front of your grid for a few minutes while continuing to hold your intention in your mind. Visualize the energy of the crystal grid flowing up and out into the universe. Meditate with your grid every day if you can, and keep the grid set up for at least a couple of weeks, but a month or more is even better. Reactivate it whenever you feel it needs it, maybe every other day, every week, or every couple weeks.
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Looks like I need to make another post about how to cleanse crystals and how to choose crystals based on their energetic properties/which ones are used for love, abundance, protection, etc. I’ll do that soon!I haven’t forgotten about making the positive affirmations/meditation/metaphysical videos! I haven’t had time this week to make a good video but that’s coming soon! I have some ideas I want to try… =]
Ok now it’s time for photos!! <3
All members have access to this complete 36 image film photoset by clicking here.
All members have access to the complete 10 image Instax photoset by clicking here.