I am stoked to have a patchman now. For the record, this pic looks nothing like me, except for the excited expression of course.
I would like to apologize to all my regular readers who probably assumed that I dropped off the face of the earth. The truth for me is, that 2012 has already been a year of huge changes for me, and I’m trying my best to adjust. Some of the events I’ve worked with just this year include a new move, a new baby on the way, a near death in my family, and a sick dog. As one might say, life just keeps on rolling. However, the year has also been full of wonderful changes as well. The move itself is pulling in all kinds of new experiences, people, and challenges and I’m just loving it.
Anyway, lets get to today’s topic at hand:
“Okay, I bought my shovel, now where’s my hole?”
I heard these wise words from a woman named Ramona down at Stonekeepers metaphysical shop in Murfreesboro Tennessee. I’ll explain them shortly. This woman is full of fascinating stories, her shop was honestly the first real metaphysical shop I’ve ever visited, and I’m glad I did.
Ramona told me that when she started her business, she knew nothing about metaphysical stuff. She opened her crystal shop envisioning that it would be a jewelry and gift shop. She had crystals yes, but knew nothing about their metaphysical properties. I believe she told me that she had difficulty with business at first as well. More people were buying her gems and crystals for metaphysical reasons than for simple knick-knacks. One day, a man walks into her store, sees a large crystal cluster and says, “Excuse me maam, that’s my crystal over there.”
Ramona told me she was taken aback at first by the man’s nerve, explained how expensive it was, and he just repeated that it was his crystal. The man turned out to be a shaman. Between her conversation with him, and a friend giving her The Ancient Secret of the Flower of Life by Drunvalo Melchizedeck she became quickly hooked and her store began to take a more metaphysical turn.
How not to use crystals – a lesson in hoarding and intent
On my entire drive to Tennessee, I was thinking about how I would finally be able to purchase crystals on my own without having to worry about a thing. I was excited about it, but I had no idea where to look for a metaphysical shop. When I arrived in Tennessee, I went into one of those Earthbound trading company places in a mall somewhere. They sell some crystals, but the selection isn’t as good as an actual crystal store. Ryan Boyd, the writer for astral 101, had suggested I look for Citrine and Prehnite starting out. I didn’t find either of these there, so I instead bought a few random bags of crystals and said to myself I’d find those other crystals elsewhere. One of the shopkeepers mentioned Stonekeepers, so I wrote it down and told myself I’d look for it the next day.
I went to bed that night excited to try my crystals out, so I quickly half-assed a “dedication”, stuffed the entire bag under my pillow and waited to see how I felt. I felt a few tingling sensations, but no better dreams, no super rested feelings. What’s am I doing wrong here? I thought. Have I been deluding myself about this stuff all along? After all, experience is how I know whether there’s validity in a thing.
A shot of the outside of stone keepers. Did I mention this place is awesome?
The next day, I left for Stonekeepers, determined to find “the right stones”, the ones that would work for me. When I got there, I asked Ramona for some citrine, and prehnite tumble stones, and a copy of the crystal bible. I cracked the thing open and looked up my crystals, hoping that the stones would help me do the kinds of things I wanted to do. After a while of my random browsing, Ramona offered to show me around her store and we got to talking. I asked her if she had any resources that explain how crystals work, and why they help us.
“Let me share a word of advice for you. All of those crystal books each say a different thing. Now if you’re curious what they say, that’s fine, but by trusting in only the books, you’re giving an awful lot of your power away to them. Which one are you going to trust? I don’t know if it’s good for business or not, but when people shop for crystals, I encourage them to search for what feels right.”
The shovel part
Hey! This thing is busted!
Here’s the direction the conversation took next:
“Let me ask you a question. What does a shovel do?”
“It digs holes,” I tell her, curious about where she’s going with her line of questioning.
“Can you dig a hole without a shovel?
“Yes.”
“Can you do other things with a shovel? You can use it to prop open a window, right? You can use it to dig or fill holes. There’s a bunch of different things you can use a shovel for. It’s just a tool. Crystals are the same way. What works for you may not work for somebody else. When you buy a crystal, you’re putting your energy and intention in it. It’s that intention that works the crystals. So many people who come in here want a magic solution to a problem. Usually they are looking for either love or jobs. They buy the crystal thinking it’s going to just magically solve the problem. That’s like saying, okay I bought a shovel, now where’s my hole? Without the intention and action, it won’t help.”
He’s just not that into you – crystal edition
So I had all of these crystals, but when I bought them, I forgot the most important step, to use my energy and intention to actually put meaning into them. Since everything is energy, I wouldn’t be surprised if you could do it one way of the other with virtually anything. We’ve seen the example of what happens when you write the word “love” on a glass of water. What you intend in your life is what you manifest in your life. If anything, crystals are beautiful. Why wouldn’t you want to manifest beauty into your life? Just remember, that the crystals aren’t going to do all the work in your life and magically make everything perfect. If you want to change, you have to strengthen your will, make intentions, and act. Please remember that last one, because without it, you’re merely dreaming with stones in your hand, not using crystals to help focus and manifest what you want.
I have an additional story to share about Ramona next time, but I will save that for next time when I talk a little about Jung and synchronicity.
So until next time, don’t just buy your tools, use them.
Livewithwonder can be contacted though email at livewithwonder@thespiritscience.net, his blog at livewithwonder.wordpress.com, or on twitter at @mrthejazz1.
