Ultimate guide to crystals and stones - Uma Silbey 2016
Increasing Willpower
Personal Preparation for Crystal and Stone Work
Our will is that determined strength that both underlays and empowers our intentions. A strong will is as essential in all effective stone and crystal work as a trained mind. The length of our ability to concentrate, the power of our projection, the clarity of our visualizations, all depend on our strength of will, or willpower. It is with an underlying strength of will that our mental focus can become one-pointed and our intentions held unwaveringly. It is not by focus alone that most manifestation happens, rather it is through our focused intention empowered by will. It is through this combination that vibrational influences can be sent into the crystal or stone to create the appropriate changes, which can then be energetically transferred elsewhere. Our will or willpower is not only important for our work with stones and crystals, but it is also what powers our body and actions in our daily lives, as well as our actions on the astral, mental, and causal planes.
Strength of will is also tied to our overall vitality. If we have little vital energy, we will have little willpower. We can understand this if we think of how we feel when we are sick and feel like we have no energy at all. Strength of will is also tied to our own physical nervous system. With more strength of will comes the ability to handle things, to think more clearly, and feel more confident. Our nervous system, being less stressed, can both rest and recharge. The stronger the strength of will, the stronger the nervous system will be.
Alignment with the Higher Will
Besides our individual force of will, there is another similar, but infinitely larger, force in the universe that vastly empowers our own strength of will and, therefore, our work with the crystals and stones. This current of energy or force resides on all planes of existence and is responsible for a certain order. It is a positive and harmonious force for growth, a purposeful intention underlying all life. It includes our individual will and, at the same time, is well beyond it, being pervasive and seemingly beyond limit. For lack of words that completely describe this force, we refer to it as the “higher will.”
As we do more of our crystal and stone work, becoming more aware of subtle energy and expanding our awareness to become more conscious, we will develop a clear sense of this force. The word “higher’ does not mean that this large will is oppressive. On the contrary, when we are aware of it, our smaller will merged in it, it is liberating.
When we align ourselves with the higher will in our work, we will feel harmonious, uplifted in mind, feeling, and body. We will find direction with our stone work as well as in our lives. We will feel stronger as the strength of the higher will flows through us. When we are in alignment with the higher will, we will feel both strong and humbled at the same time, as our individual ego becomes submerged in a larger purpose and knowingness, which only appears to us to the degree that we surrender. The best work that can be done with crystals and stones is when our work is directed with the wisdom of the higher will.
To be in service of this higher will does not mean that we have no will of our own. On the contrary, what is asked of us demands tremendous strength of will. It takes a strong will to continually be aware of what correct action is asked of us and to do it no matter what. Though our individual will seems to be strengthened when we are in harmony with this higher will, it is still our will that determines our actions. For example, in quartz crystal work, our will charges, directs, and transmits the crystal’s vibrations. It is with the use of our will that our concentration is maintained while visualizing. It is with our will that we direct and hold our attention in all the myriad ways required.
How do we determine what the higher will is and establish our connection with it? We can hear or sense what the higher will is when our mind is still and we are centered. We hear the voice of the higher will when we listen to our intuition, or when we focus silently on our heart center. It is not the same as our intuitive knowledge, but seems to accompany it in the form of an inner guidance. Intuition is more like a voice while the higher will is more of a force. We can best establish our connection with this inner guidance by asking for it, making it a daily meditation for a few moments every day to ask for guidance from the higher will. Whether during the course of our daily life, or certainly when doing our stone work, it is helpful to repeat, “Not my will, but Thine,” and then proceed to do our work.
Combined with focused meditation, this smoky topaz, red jasper, orange aventurine, and yellow jade mandala energy grid brings energy and power that can be used for grounding, strengthening, manifesting, and increased willpower.
Besides aligning ourselves with the higher will, there are other ways we can strengthen our willpower. We can increase our willpower, the power of our life force, and strengthen our subtle and physical nervous systems by opening our third energy chakra, our navel point. We can place yellow citrine, gold tiger eye, yellow calcite, or any other yellow stone over our navel center, visualizing that its light and vibration energize it to open further. We can use our breath, imagining it to flow in and out of our navel center, strengthening and opening it with each breath. We can charge a clear crystal with golden light and then send it from the crystal into the navel energy center.
STONE PRACTICE TO INCREASE WILLPOWER
1. Sitting upright, surround yourself with four quartz crystals, one in each direction: north, south, east, and west. They should be single terminated with their tips pointing toward you. Place one yellow stone on top of each clear quartz and visualize that the clear quartz charges them, amplifying their energy. Both the yellow stone and the clear quartz charge you with their strength, clarity, and amplified energy.
2. Hold two yellow stones of equal size, one in each hand. If these stones have tips on them, point them upward toward your body. If you like, you can also wear a yellow stone or clear quartz on a cord or chain so that it sits over your navel center.
3. Close your eyes and become aware of the stones. Feel their energy and imagine that a sun-filled, golden light fills your entire body and spills outward to surround you with a golden orb of light that buzzes and pulsates with life force and energy.
4. Now, feel as if your breathing drops down to your belly to flow in and out of your navel center, bringing you strength and security with every inhale. Relax your belly and the small of your back as you continue to breathe. Imagine that this yellow light, bright as the sun and as brilliant as fire, flows in with every inhale, energizing every cell of your nervous system with life force so that you continue to grow in strength. Let light flow in from the stones in your hands, up your arms, and into your body, bringing in the light and energy of the sun to fill your body.
5. Now, still holding the yellow stones, hold out both hands, palm upward, as if receiving the energy of the sun, visualizing that it flows into your hands and amplifies your stones. When your hands feel filled with sunlight, place both hands and stones against your belly, about two inches below your belly button and imagine that the sunlight flows into your navel center, energizing and opening it. Continue to breathe in the sun’s energy for as long as you like, but a minimum of at least three minutes.
6. When you are done, open your eyes, place your stones down in front of you, and remove the circle by first removing each yellow stone from the top of the clear crystals, laying them one by one in front of you. Breathe normally, and when you are ready, get up. Be sure to clear your crystals except for those that you want to retain the energy from this empowering practice. If you like, you can carry one of the hand stones with you so it will continue to give you strength.