Good bye 2014, Hello 2015!

     2014 is almost one for the history books, so let me pause here and take stock of the year that was. 


We made jewelry: 

We created grids

We created art

We hosted new friends

All in all, we had a great 2014. We made new friends and re-connected with old ones. We became a Certified Crystal Healer and an Alchemic Reiki Master. We created grids, collected new crystal beings and went even further on our spiritual journey. We found our Ancestral roots in many places, we healed, we laughed and cried. And through it all, we gained a new purpose. 2015, here I come!

Fear not, the journey is not an end, it is only beginning! 

Have a beautiful and blessed New Year! 

Yours, 

CC 

Having Faith and Gratitude

    When the holiday season comes around, it seems like everyone is counting their blessings. I am no different. This year I have much to be grateful for, and many more people to be blessed with in my life. Last year I was facing the biggest health challenge of my life: a brain tumor. Luckily it was not cancerous, but I still had to go through surgery, radiation and chemo. There is still a chance that it can come back even after all the treatments I have been through. 

    As I pause and reflect on last year, I see how far I have come. It was both my faith and friends and family that got me through the hell of last year. For all of that I have gratitude beyond words. Last year taught me how to be strong, have faith, and enjoy life. Granted it was not, at times, easy. I realized that if you do not have faith and gratitude, then you really have an empty life. My faith became stronger as I trudged to each radiation session in Boston. My gratitude grew with each clean MRI. I was very blessed to have a great support system in my family and friends. And the best doctors on the planet.

     It has taken me a whole year to get my health back, and I am still going to Dana Farber for MRI's. My body is still recovering from the chemo, my hair is slowly growing back in. My thyroid is a work in progress, and so is losing the weight. I am still a work in progress; and I am totally okay with that. I know what my future holds for me and I am ready to take on the challenge. 2015 is going to be awesome! I can say that because I have both faith and gratitude. 

Until next time,

CC     

Art, Healing, and Spirituality

    I know, the title has nothing to do with crystals. Or does it? Let's first look at the word art, if you create any type of artistic medium, you have an idea of how the process works. If you have ever created a piece of art, you know that there is a flow, a rhythm to it, the process becomes more fluid and free. This is where the healing comes in. For some, creating art is a healing practice. It allows the person to be free of restraints and create without judgment. It can be very healing and liberating to be able to express what is bottled up inside. 

    For me, the process of creating is healing. I love to do mixed media work, and when I can't put together what I am feeling into words, I do it in paint and pictures. I love patterns and textures, some of my crystals are just like what I put down on the page. Crystals are colorful, they have patterns and inclusions and textures all their own. They are, in a way their own works of art. A great amount of energy and healing flows through them, much like the process when I create my art. So for me, they are both connected and intertwined. 

    Art and healing can tie in with spirituality, in Tibetan Buddhism, which is what I am, the monks create beautiful Mandalas made with colored sand. They are magnificent works of art! Created out of humility, healing and a deep devotion to the Buddha and Buddhism. I work in a spiritual place when I create, it brings me closer to my spiritual beliefs. It is working meditation, a connection to my healing abilities and my deep Buddhist beliefs. Below is a picture of a mandala:

Below is a picture of one of my crystals:

and finally, my art:

 So, I say combine your art, healing and spirituality and create! Until next time, 

CC

    

Guru Games

    I know it's been a while, I like to blog when I have something to say. I don't want to fill you with mindless crap that isn't worth reading! So, here is today's blog topic: Guru. So what it a guru? The dictionary defines a guru as: 

noun

1.

Hinduism. a preceptor giving personal religious instruction.

2.

an intellectual or spiritual guide or leader.

3.

any person who counsels or advises; mentor:

The elder senator was her political guru.

4.

a leader in a particular field:

the city's cultural gurus.

     So basically, a guru is a teacher. Not a good teacher, or a bad teacher, just a teacher. Now here is where it gets tricky especially if you are one those who loves all things New Age or metaphysical: a teacher in these fields doesn't necessarily "need" to be well versed in their subject matter. All they really needs is: A-know the basic principles of what they want to teach. B-write lesson plans that are cohesive and easy to understand and C-price what they feel is enough to attract others. Now, I am not begrudging any one a living here, there are some wonderful people out there who know their shit, and can teach better than most college professors!

    So why am I choosing this subject to blog about? Well, I recently came across a situation that I was involved in, and it made me stop and think about how when we find someone that has all this knowledge and they teach us, they become that shiny guru. And then when we see their flaws, they are no longer shiny, they are just human. Now don't get me wrong, I did learn a lot form this person's program! It motivated me to want to learn, it got me in a space where I started to feel good about myself and my own healing skills. That in its self is not a bad thing at all! There were warning signs, small ones, that not everything was wonderful. The first thing was regarding my certificate of completion, it took several emails to get an answer and having some one else in the group message me to let me know that she had received my certificates by mistake! That was clue 1 that got my gears going! This is someone who made herself available by email, no matter what time of day or night, she seemed very well put together, and she knew her subject matter really well. How could she make a mistake like that? She was human, I let it go. It happens. 

    So after reaching out to a few others, they had the same issue. They were still waiting on their certificates with no communication from said guru. Finally, she decides to email the certificates, which is fine with me, I have taken online classes where the teachers do that now, and they are signed and dated, all you have to do it print them off. No biggie, why pay postage when you don't have to? Guru has a Crackbook group which her students belong to, one of the students has been posting that she has not received her certificates, and the posts end up being deleted. Clue 2, what is she trying to hide? If your reputation means that much to you: be honest with your students! You're human! Mistakes happen! Any answer is better than no answer and deleting posts on Crackbook, it makes you look guilty of some thing! I have not emailed her or really posted in the group. My inner guide says: "take the high road on this one, there are other places you can go that you can get more education on this."    

    What really put me into this way of thinking was an email that I had received: it was an invitation to a "special group" the cost was only 25.00 a month! I started to feel that she was more interested in the money than teaching or her students. Needless to say I deleted the email. So here I am now, watching what goes on, staying in the shadows and checking out other Crystal Healing programs. I am not looking to play guru games. So what to take away from this: gurus are just teachers and they have flaws too. Learn what you can but don't get blindsided by their shiny aura! 

 Over and out, 

The Crystal Catalyst 

Welcome to the Crystal Catalyst

     Welcome to the Crystal Catalyst! First let me start off with what a catalyst is and why I chose it as a title: 

                   a catalyst is someone or something that creates a major change

     So you are probably wondering what my catalyst was, well, my catalyst was a brain tumor. Yes, a brain tumor. Let me start at the beginning of 2013. I was working full time, single mom, physically active, life was great. Then the headaches started, when they didn't stop, off to the doctor I went. Long story short: my doctor finally sent me for an MRI, and that was when they found the tumor. Needless to say I was on my way to Boston to be checked into Brigham and Women's hospital! This was in January, at the end of January I had a five hour surgery to remove the tumor and start six weeks of radiation. So this is where the catalyst part comes in: I am Tibetan Buddhist, and I told Kwan Yin that if she got me through the five hour surgery I would take up the task of bodhisattva and become a healer. 

      I through the surgery and was only in the hospital for three days! There is nothing like facing a major illness to make you re-think your place on this planet. I now found myself out of work, and pretty much at a stand still in my life. I started to wonder what my place was, I knew I didn't want to go back to the menial job I had before. So, I looked up crystal healing and decided that it would be a good counterpart to my Reiki. I started the course and the flood gates opened so to speak! I was on my way to becoming the Healer I was ment to be! 

     And here I am! Now you know why I chose the Crystal Catalyst as my blog title. The journey is just beginning, stay with me and let's walk it together! 

                                                                                                         CC