Ultimate guide to crystals and stones - Uma Silbey 2016
Developing Intuition
Personal Preparation for Crystal and Stone Work
We will find that as we work to develop the sensitivity of our hands and the concentration of our mind, our intuitive abilities seem to be increasingly called upon. As we use our intellectual mind less, we begin to rely on other ways of knowing that begin to naturally open up for us. As we physically feel more subtle energies, we also begin to develop a subtle sensing. It is a feeling of knowing something without knowing how we knew it. This sensing doesn’t seem based on any intellectual reasoning, but later can be intellectually confirmed to be correct. Many of us have had plenty of these experiences in life. How many times did our phone ring and we correctly knew who it was before we picked up the phone? If we pay attention, this is probably only one of many common intuitive incidences in our life. Because most of us have been taught to only trust intellectual ways of knowing, we can easily miss a lot of intuitive information, dismissing it as imagination or wishful thinking. However, both intuition and intellectual knowing can be equally wrong or right. One is not necessarily better than the other, especially in the realm of energy work, so it is best to let these two forms of knowing complement each another. In any event, the more skilled we are in discerning the voice of intuition and applying its information successfully, the more we learn to trust it. The more we learn to trust it, the more its voice will grow within us.
To rely on our intuitive sense, then, doesn’t mean that we should ignore the information coming from the physical universe. In fact, we use the physical universe to test the legitimacy of what we have sensed intuitively. So, the important thing to do in terms of developing this subtle sense is to first notice it, then to trust in it. We need to trust what we sense and to not be afraid to act on it. We need courage and must not be afraid to be wrong, for being wrong teaches us. As we do this, we will find that we will increasingly be able to use our intuition combined with certain practices to be able to both physically feel and sense subtle vibration.
When doing this powerful practice, it is important to hold our position exactly: elbows locked, arms extended parallel with the earth, and palms held upward. Our focus is simultaneously held on both the top center of our head and the center of our palms.
Certain stones can be useful in developing our intuitive abilities. Since intuition is associated with the energy center in our forehead, the third eye chakra, the more we open this center, the more our intuitive abilities will flourish. (The stimulation of this center will also help increase our creative and psychic abilities as well.) Placing a sapphire, lapis, sodalite, or any royal blue stone over our third eye center will help open the third eye. We can further stimulate this energy center if, while the blue stone is placed on it, we imagine our breath as moving in and out of it. If we hold a blue stone or clear quartz crystal in each hand at the same time, visualizing a connection between the crystals and the blue stone, the effects of this practice will be further amplified. If we wear a headband or scarf that holds the blue stone in place, we can work to open this center as we go about our daily life. So that we stay grounded when working on the third eye, it is helpful to carry grounding stones or wear anklets with grounding stones.
ALWAYS TRUST YOUR INTUITION.
Practice to Develop Intuition and the Healing Energy Centers in the Hands
This practice not only develops the sensitivity of our hands, opening the healing energy centers in our palms, but also stimulates the thyroid and parathyroid to send energy into the upper centers of our head. This will, in turn, stimulate the pituitary gland, which will lead to increased intuitive (and psychic) capacities. In the process of doing this practice, our heart center will be energized and opened, which will increase the experience of love, empathy, and compassion. This practice will also help clear our mind so that, among other benefits, our ability to one-pointedly concentrate will be increased.
When doing this practice, it is important to hold our position exactly, because it creates certain pressures (as we will become aware of), which stimulate reactions that cause the alteration of our thought patterns that keep us stuck in one reality or another. The sounds we make, based on sound current yoga, also activate certain upper energy centers that help create the openings we will experience with this practice.
This practice should be done for at least six minutes. If we can’t do it that long, then try doing it for three minutes. If we cannot do it for that long, start with a minute, and then work up to three, then six minutes. This practice can be done for a longer time, which will increase the benefits. (I have done this practice for hours at a time with the yoga teacher who taught me this, entering a state of mind over matter, and then mindlessness, in order to hold the position.) Of course, to experience the benefits of this practice, it isn’t necessary to do it for such a long period of time. This practice is not easy. It takes a lot of effort, and many times our mind will encourage us to quit. If we ignore the voice that wants us to quit and keep pushing through to the allotted time, that is when we will begin experiencing the benefits. We must use our willpower to keep going. As we will experience, the effort is worth it. To completely experience the benefits of this practice, it should be done for thirty days.
THE PRACTICE
1. Sit in a place where you will not be interrupted. Sit with a straight spine with your head forward as your chin remains level. If you’re sitting on a chair, your feet should be flat on the ground and uncrossed.
2. Extend your arms out to your sides, parallel to the ground. Palms are flat and face upwards.
3. Now, concentrate on the top center of your head. At the same time, be aware of the energy in your palms. This may be difficult at first, but eventually be aware of both the energy in your palms and the top center of your head simultaneously. (As you continue this practice, this beyond-the-mind experience will happen for you.) If you like, you can envision or feel a line of energy from your palms to the top of your head and from palm to palm. This forms a triangle.
4. Now, begin the sound part of this practice. Begin with your head facing forward. Next, turn your head to the left, saying “whahe,” (wah-hay) out loud. Then, return your head to face forward. Repeat this three more times.
5. Next, turn your head to the right, saying “guru” (goo-roo) out loud, then turn your head to face forward. Repeat this three more times.
6. Repeat this pattern, continuing in a regular rhythm for six minutes, or the amount of time you have chosen. (The sound will be rhythmic and continuous with no break.) Do this at a pace where a single repetition of four times to both the left and the right lasts about seven seconds.
7. Once you are finished, inhale and exhale deeply and relax your arms. Continue to sit still or meditate for a few minutes to integrate the changes.