Meditating can seem daunting when you first think about starting. I’ll go on and say it. There are a lot of misconceptions about meditation. If you haven’t tried meditating before, you probably think its when you sit still for an extended amount of time and think about absolutely nothing. Well, meditation CAN be that, but it usually isn’t. Meditation can be 1 minute (or, I suppose even less) or days long if you wish. Meditation can be a state of prayer, communing with your guides, or even taking a look in to your past lives (and so much more).

Meditation is usually the first thing I have my consultant clients start with. Whether you are working on tapping into your own sensitive ability/sensitive awareness, or just seeking more spiritual guidance through life, so many answers, and so much comfort can be handed to you simply through practicing meditation. 

Great- How Do I Get Started?

Start Small! If you have little to no practice with meditation I recommend starting with small expectations. First and foremost, make the commitment! It is ok to only plan for and stay in your meditation for only 1-5 minutes when you are first beginning!

• You may start with 1x/day (before bed is usually easier for people to fit in their schedule).
• I recommend 2x/day (but- do what you can!) usually when you first wake up and before you go to bed.

You may sit upright (any way your legs are comfortable) or you may lie down in comfortable position. Yes- you may find yourself falling asleep during meditation, especially when you're new to it. Guess what? That's ok! It means you found a place of peacefulness and were able to quiet your body and mind! It's still a success! 

Use either white noise (always my first recommendation because this is my personal preference), Tibetan Singing Bowl Chakra playlist, meditation or calming music, or, you may follow a guided meditation on YouTube. Different people find they are better able to stay “focused” on their meditation while listening to different things. That’s ok! Take time, experiment which one you like the best and which you have the best experiences with.

Focus on your breath. Focus on centering and grounding your body with the Earth. Feel your body become one with the Earth. WE are ONE.

If you’re not using a guided meditation video, I recommend by starting out by focusing on the backs of your eyelids. You may begin to see colors or shapes. They may move around or take form. You may eventually “see” other images other than colors, or shapes. Whatever you see or experience, really focus in on. Truly analyze or ask what you are seeing and why. You may directly ask your guides to help answer these questions.

• If you don’t see any of this- that’s ok too! Enjoy your time focusing on your breath and connecting with the Earth. It may help you to envision oxygen entering your cells and moving through your body.
• I recommend keeping a meditation journal. jot down anything you experience or see, and what you think it means. If you see animals or things you don't understand the meaning of, this helps you remember so you can later go back and look it up (thank goodness for the internet). You'll be surprised how fast you are capable of forgetting the many things you may experience during one meditation session.

REMEMBER: It is OK and NORMAL to get sidetracked. Even those who have been meditating for years still get sidetracked during meditations. For me, I may start thinking about what I am going to fix for dinner or worrying about something that I need to get done. The important thing to do is realize, this is OK. You need to acknowledge your thoughts wondering and consciously bring your focus back to your breath and your “vision” (what you are experiencing during meditation). This will lessen as you become more experienced at the practice of meditation. 

Once You’ve Generally Got That Down…

You may start setting intentions for your meditations. You may choose ahead of time to ask your guides to show you whatever it is you need in this moment. You may ask them to show you how to work through a tough spot in your life. You may set the intention of getting a look in to a past life. You may ask a loved one to come forward for comfort and guidance. You may seek guidance regarding another person in your life. Meditation can be anything. Your spirit can be freed during meditation. Your whole sense of self may change- and you’ll be better for it!

Welcome to the incredible world of meditation!

***Warning: Meditation may lead to spiritual awareness, spiritual awakening, and overall happiness (with a little confusion, and sometimes more questions). Be prepared to start using phrases like “I like your energy” and “I don’t know what it is… but something just feels…”***

If you were hoping for more detailed information: future posts will include more in-depth and focused information on some of these meditation types, grounding before meditation, meditating using crystals, astral projection, and other similar topics revolving around the wonders of meditation. Next week will be about cutting the cord: a meditation to free your energy bond from another person. Stay tuned! 

For now, please comment below or email me with any questions you have, what meditation topics you’d like to read about in the future, and what process you use when you meditate! I love to hear your stories! 

There's often a lot of confusion when it comes to the different types of sensitive abilities. I frequently get comments like: "What do you see in my future?" and "I'll be cheating on my psychic if I see you!". The truth is, these categories of abilities actually DO differ greatly. While many sensitives, have the ability to tap in to all of them, most have a focused area. A medium is not the same as a psychic (though there are some "psychic mediums"). Personally, I still don't call myself a Psychic, even though I often include "intuitive" reads during my session. 

I am a FIRM believer that every single living person on this Earth (and animals) have the ability to tap in to these areas. I don't think there are certain "chosen ones", however, I do believe certain souls are destined to experience these roles more strongly in their present lifetime. We're all on a continuing spiritual journey throughout our lifetimes and we are meant to experience different things and grow in certain ways. 
 
For each and every person who harnesses these abilities, they may present in completely different ways. Some, but not all experience similar things, but many receive messages in a way that is clear and specific to them. 

The following is a clear and simple breakdown of the different ways sensitive spiritual abilities may present themselves. You'll likely be surprised by how many you find yourself experiencing! 

Medium:

• A person who acts as a middle man to pass on messages from deceased people or loved ones.
• Information comes in different ways for different people
  • Visual images (like pictures in the mind, sometimes symbols,  sometimes able to see actual manifestation of spirit)
  • Mediums tend to hold a somewhat telepathic conversation with the spirit

Psychic:

• Usually telling the future, predicting, and giving caution and guidence to upcoming events in a person's life.

Clairvoyant:

• Meaning “clear vision”
• Experiences psychic phenomena through visual outlets
  • Dreaming and or daydreaming
    • Many of these are prophetic in nature
    • may experience dreams you awake from and think "that's just not an ordinary dream..."
  • Images flashing in your mind- some disruptive in certain situations
  • Seeing light flashes or colors
    • Especially in a meditative state

Clairsentient:

• Meaning “clear feeling” or “clear sensing”
• The ability to feel present, past, or future emotional or physical states of others.
• Often experience a lot of “gut feelings” that turn out to be true, or are quick to perceive a person's goodness (or lack of) and respond accordingly and quickly
• Often able to pick up on information about the past from houses, other buildings, and outside areas/land

Clairaudience

• Meaning “clear hearing”
• Receiving messages about past, present or future and picking up on spiritual surroundings by hearing words, sounds, music etc.

Claircognizence:

• Meaning “clear knowing”
• Often feeling as if you “just know”
  • For example: knowing who is calling the instant the phone rings
  • Knowing the question someone is about to ask before they ask it or knowing an answer immediately.

Clairgustance:

• The most uncommon 
• Meaning “clear taste”
• Being able to taste something that is not actually in the mouth.

Empathic:

• Falls under Clairsentient
• Being able to actually pick up on and feel the emotional or mental state of another person (living or not) 

Other Intriguing Concepts that often fall in to these categories include: 

Telepathy:

• Communication of thought from one being to another without using any of the known senses.
• Most who experience this, find it is an ability that comes with the deepest of soul connections (twin flames, soul mates, and those who have walked alongside us through many lifetimes). 

Psychokinesis/Telekinesis 

• The ability to move physical objects using the mind by willing them to.
  • Like Matilda!

Intuition:

• Being able to understand something immediately without the need for conscious reasoning.
• “Instinctive Understanding”  
• "Gut Feeling” or an instant knowing of what you or someone else is “meant to do” or what is right or wrong 

As I said earlier, after reading through this list, you're probably amazed at how many of these phenomenon's you have experienced, even if just a time or two. Of course, I am going to challenge you to bring more awareness to these moments. Acknowledging these moments and learning from them are one of the best ways to increase and focus on your abilities. Try not to be frightened by them. Remember you are in fact, ALWAYS in control. 

If you know you experience one or more of these frequently and are hoping to grow in your abilities, I invite you to join my private Facebook Group for support. I have created a family here of understanding and non-judgmental individuals who are all on a journey of working on, growing and coping with these things we experience. It is a safe space for asking questions, getting guidance, and sharing experiences with like-minded people. 

Crystals have been used for thousands of years and in many cultures for decoration, adornment, protection, and healing. Crystals can aid in healing the emotional, physical and energetic body.    

Ancient people all over the world used crystals for their magical and spiritual powers and referred to them as the “Bones of the Earth”. It is their vibrations from how they are created (heat, pressure, location  in the earth etc.) that give them their unique properties to aid the body in different ways. Certain crystals are also known to work better for the different Chakras (for more on chakras go here). You may notice their colour often (but not always) corresponds with the chakra they help the most with. 

How Do I Choose a Crystal to Work With? 

• Pick up a crystal you are initially drawn to
  • ​This means DO NOT buy online! 
• Hold it, examine it and try to connect with it. See what you like about it. What drew you to it?
• See if you feel any tingling, warmness, coldness, static, or energetic charge throughout your body. You may even feel it vibrate as you hold it. If this feels positive for you, it's vibrations resonate with yours! 
  • If it is not a positive sensation, it may mean that crystal is not right for you, or you may need to examine the properties of the crystal and see if it is bringing up something you are avoiding but NEED to address and work on. If this is the case- try holding a couple other crystals with the same properties and see if any of them feel better. 

Storing Crystals:

• Treat them with love and respect as they are aiding in your well-being.
• Rough cut crystals, or points can be more fragile, whereas tumbled stones tend to be heartier. 
• It is recommended to wrap fragile crystals separately, but tumbled stones should be fine stored in a pouch together.
• Try having them on display where you can connect with them daily, or have them around parts of your home you are frequently in. 
  • ​Do your research here- some crystals aren't the best to have in your bedroom (becuase this is a beginner post, I will not get into that kind of detail). 

Cleansing Your Crystals:

• You will want to cleanse your crystals when you first get them and regularly as you work and meditate with them.
• Cleansing is essential. Just as they transmit positive energy TO you, they also always absorb and carry negative energy AWAY from you.
• ​There are several methods to cleanse crystals:
  • Water
    • ​​Run your crystals under running tap water, or immerse them in a stream, waterfall, or ocean. You can also soak them in a salt water bath.
    • Be cautious!!! Not all crystals are safe to use this method. The harder the crystal, the better. Be sure to look up before soaking. Selenite for example will disolve when wet! 
  • Smudging/Smoke
    • ​Burning white sage and letting the smoke wash over the crystal.
    • This also works using incense.
  • ​Moonlight
    • All crystals can be placed in the moonlight (full moon is best) for a few hours or overnight to cleanse and recharge their energy! I always suggest doing a monthly cleanse/recharge on the full moon. 
    • ​Outside in direct moolight is best but indoor on a windowsill where the moonlight reaches works well. ​
    • ​Be careful! Don't put your crystals out in freezing cold or extreme temperatures. They may crack!
    • ​If it is overcast: the moon will still do the job! 
  • Salt 
    • Place sea salt in a glass container. Cover your crystals with points down and leave overnight. 
      • Like water, some crystals do not hold up to salt! Again, please research before using this method! 

Using Crystals Daily:

You may use crystals daily. You may carry them in your pocket, or close to your skin for them to benefit you throughout the day. Many crystals can be made into jewelry! 

Meditating with Crystals:

• Laying down with crystals on corresponding chakra points
• Sitting, holding the crystals you wish to work with in your hands, with any others close enough they are within your aura.  
• You may do a general spiritual meditation, focused on inner peace/balance or meditate focusing on ONE of your chakras and its purpose in your life.

Using Crystals to Heal the Physical Body:
***Crystal healing is NOT a replacement for medical care. Please consult your doctor about any medical concerns***

• Find your corresponding crystal. Crystal Quartz however, can be considered a “universal pain reliever”
  • In Chinese medicine, its considered to harness the pure essence of “Chi” or “Life Force”
  • It Carries the full spectrum of color, therefore aids in all chakras.
• Sit for a moment. Look at it and connect with it. Put your intentions and wishes for outcome into it while holding it.
• Then sit or lay, you may hold your crystal around or above the spot you’re looking for healing or set it there.
• As you take deep breath in, breathe into your pain. Focus on it, and its location.
• On exhale push this pain into the crystal. Picture it as being a sponge as you are transferring the energy to the crystal.
• Do this until you start feeling relief, or if it’s not pain, say, if trying to encourage better fertility, or promote healing (cancer, swelling, etc) do this until you have a positive feeling and peaceful energy.
• When finished doing a healing session, ALWAYS cleanse your crystals, and wash your hands/ or smudge yourself, to rid the negative, harmful energy completely.

Crystal Work is a Practice! It takes time and patience as you find yourself becoming more immersed and aware to your spiritual energy and self you will really start noticing differences.

WARNING: Falling in love with crystals can result in many crsytal purchases. Proceed with caution! 

Wanting to learn more? Keep an eye out! Ever weekly Blog will have a Crystal of the Week! What a chance to learn about different crystals and their properties! Subscribe to get remiders! 

Even if you aren't a spiritual person, you have probably heard the word "chakras". It may have been thrown around as a joke... but we've all seen the memes (yes, even I think they're funny). This post is for beginners looking to understand the basics of the Chakra system and will not go in to extreme detail (future posts may be more in depth focusing on 1 chakra at a time). 

What are the Chakras? 
In the interest of being short and sweet, the Chakras are the 'energy body' to our physical body. There are 7 chakras which correspond with these energy centers. Each chakra works within the body to help you function at your highest level. Chakras are not only useful in the spiritual sense, but play a big role in the physical functionality of your body and your health. Keeping the chakras balanced is ultimately the goal. This is why you often see the chakras used in yoga and meditation practices. Awareness of their existance is the first step in balancing them and becoming a better you. 


The Chakras:  from bottom up

​Root: (red) located at the base of the spine

Physical: pelvis, bones, legs, ankles, feet, hips, rectum, immune

Potential Health Problems: sciatica, varicose veins, pelvic pain, rectal tumors, hemorrhoids, problems with hips, knees, ankles and feet.

Emotional: Security, self-esteem, being at home on Earth, connection to the Eath.

Helpful Crystals: Smokey Quartz, garnet, bloodstone, ruby, red jasper, red beryl, red calcite, red agate, hematite, obsidian, Bloodstone 

Sacral: (orange) located just below the navel 

Physical: Sexual organs, large intestine, kidney, bladder, appendix, lower spine

Potential Health Problems: lower back pain, premenstrual tension, infertility, impotence, bladder infections, appendicitis, kidney stones, infertility, pregnancy problems/positioning

Emotional: Feelings, intimacy, desire, pleasure

Helpful Crystals: Carnelian, orange calcite, citrine, tangerine quartz, fire opal, orange aragonite, moonstone

Solar Plexus: (yellow) located just below the rib cage

Physical: Stomach, liver, spleen, gallbladder, pancreas, small intestine, mid-spine

Potential Health Problems: ulcers, colon cancer, diabetes, indigestion, eating disorders, hepatitis, gallstones, constipation, diarrhea

Emotional: Trust, personal responsibility, courage

Helpful Crystals: Amber, yellow jasper, yellow tourmaline, golden topaz, tiger’s eye, citrine, rutilated quartz, yellow calcite, sunstone

Heart: (green) located in the center of the chest 

Physical: Heart and circulatory system, ribs, chest, lungs, shoulders and arms, breasts, upper spine

Potential Health Problems: high blood pressure, heart disease, bronchitis, asthma, pneumonia, shoulder problems, breast cancer

Emotional: Love, compassion, empathy, relationship

Helpful Crystals: Rose quartz, pink tourmaline, crysophase, pink danburite, peridot, green fluorite, green aventurine, green citrine, green jade, green jasper 

Throat: (blue) located at the throat

​Physical: Throat, neck, mouth, teeth, gums, jaw, thyroid, neck vertebrae, esophagus

Potential Health Problems: sore throat, laryngitis, frequent colds, gum disease, dental problems, thyroid problems, swollen glands, stiff neck

Emotional: Loyalty, integrity, self-expression

Helpful Crystals: turquoise, lapis lazuli, aquamarine, blue lace agate, celestite, blue sapphire, sodalite, aqua aura 
​
Brow (Third Eye): (lavender) located in between the brows

Physical: Brain, central nervous system, eyes, ears, nose, sinuses, pituitary gland, pineal gland

Potential Health Problems: epilepsy, eye problems, sinus infections, headaches, migraines, stroke, deafness, insomnia, nightmares

Emotional: Clarity, open mindedness, imagination

Helpful Crystals: Amethyst, iolite, azurite, purple fluorite, lilac kunzite, blue obsidian, sugilite, blue chalcedony, lapis lazuli 

Crown: (indigo) located just above the top of the head

​Physical: whole body systems: skeletal, muscular, skin, neurological

Potential Health Problems: chronic exhaustion/fatigue without physical cause, skin diseases, environmental illness, neurosis, mental illness

Emotional: Self-knowledge, learning, understanding, devine connection/connection to universe

Helpful Crystals: Purple jasper, purple sapphire, lilac danburite, labradorite (spectorolite), clear quartz, apophyllite, diamond, selenite (usually clear or purple) 

The Chakras in Meditation: 
I always recommend beginning your meditation by grounding through your chakras first. Starting with the Root and moving up, one by one, to the Crown. I recommend moving up. 

You may find a Tibetan Singing Bowl Chakra playlist most helpful for the practice when you are first starting. I still prefer using this method when guiding my Morning Meditation Circle. You may also find guided chakra meditations on YouTube. It can take some time to discover which method works best for you and what sounds you prefer! 


 Healing & Balancing the Chakras:

Like with most things, especially spiritual, there are several ways you can work on healing and balancing your chakras. 

You caan work on your chakras solely through meditation. Preferably at least once a day, but at least a few times a week. It is recommended and ok to start of slow and simple! just a couple minutes when first beginning can be beneficial.  

You may employ the use of healing crystals during meditation to aid in your chakra work. Crystals can also be held or carried on a daily basis to aid you with certain chakras. Say you are about to be going to a very emotional event, you may take with you your Red Jasper or Hematite to help keep you grounded and protect your energy. In the above breakdown I've listed the most popularly used crystals with each chakra. If you're itching for more information on healing crystals, it is next week's topic! 

You may also seek the help of spiritual healers to aid you in clearing and balancing your chakras. Many trained in Reiki, for instance, will lbe able to help you with this. Keep in mind chakra balancing and healing is a never-ending process. It keeps you functioning at your best. Much like exercise, working on your chakras is a necessary and vital part to your health, energy, spirituality, and mindfulness. Start today and see what changes you experience! 

Do you habe any awesome stories about how chakra awareness, healing, and balancing has changed your life? Comment below or email me at spiritualrealmconsulting@gmail.com I would love to share your story! 

​Crystal of the Week: With my weekly posts you will also be getting a crystal of the week infographic! ​

Many people consider the ability to communicate with those who have physically left this world, to be a gift. While it is an extremely special part of my life in which I realize I am lucky to experience, in many ways it has been a very heavy burden. A struggle I have dealt with since the early age of 3. 
 
I have struggled my whole life with anxiety.  I would avoid busy stores and restaurants. I wouldn't go to the movies because I knew I wouldn't be able to enjoy it. Everywhere I went, I would have images and thoughts cross my mind. Thoughts and images that did not belong to me. I knew things I “shouldn’t” know. I knew things about people some of their closest friends and family members didn’t know. I would leave the store or wherever I was, with so much guilt. I felt as if I had failed because I didn’t pass on a message that could have been life changing and healing for that stranger. The anxiety was almost debilitating for many years. I struggled with not being able to separate “reality” from these messages I was receiving. It wasn’t until I was pregnant with my first daughter I forced myself to gain the ability to put up the invisible walls… the bubble that protects me. I discovered I CAN turn the ability off, or at least force it into the background to the point it does not have to consume my life.
 
How do I receive these messages?
 
Much of my communication comes through in the form of words. I say I “hear”, but I don’t hear these words with my ears. They simply come into my thoughts. Many times they’re things that make no sense to me personally, but hold meaning to those that need to hear them.
 
Sometimes I “see” what I can only describe as a memory of a photo. A clear image imprinted in my thoughts. A lot of times this is how I can describe the person I am communicating with, and other times the purpose of this is to bring up a favorite photo or moment of someone
 
Rarely, but sometimes I can give you a name. Names often come to me as thoughts, but as if I am almost hearing them being spoken.
 
When it comes to determining how someone has passed, many times this comes to me by experiencing pain in that area. For example, I had a reading today with a woman who passed of a brain tumor. The majority of the reading I experienced a pounding headache. During another reading, a soul had passed from cancer of the bowel, where my stomach felt like it was in knots.
 
Many times I feel the emotions of those I am communicating with, including happiness, peace, guilt, sadness, hope, and so many more. Because of this I am able to portray and explain what these souls are trying to tell their loved ones.

Very rarely, I have actually been able to see what seems to be a physical form of the soul reaching out to me. When this happens it often feels like I am standing in extreme fog. making the image not perfectly clear, but to where I can make out enough identifying information to describe them. 

"How do the deceased reach out to you and how do you determine who to talk to?" 
There are often times, especially in readings several souls that step forward. I usually can gather enough identifying information for each of them to confirm that their soul is there, is ok, and is willing to reach out. However, there is usually one that has the most to say and pass on. This soul often 'hijacks' the reading, which sounds bad, but in my experience this person has information that my clients need the most to find peace with their passing or whatever they are currently experiencing. 
 
This sensitive ability seems incredibly difficult to explain and put in to words. For now, I will do the best I can. If you have a question, ask! I will do my best to answer it. You may post questions in the comments or email them to spiritualrealmconsulting@gmail.com

Author: Ashlee St.Denis
spiritualrealmconsulting.net
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