Five Reasons To Meditate And How Crystals Can Help

Meditation can be an amazing tool once you understand how it works. After learning about its benefits, you'll wonder why you didn't start meditating sooner! I challenge you (no excuses!!!) to try to meditate for ten minutes each day. Bonus Points if you use a crystal! Suggested crystals are listed at the end. So here's why we meditate:

1. Changes Your Perspective of Time.

One of the biggest excuses I hear on why people don't meditate is that they don't have the time. To that I say - if you have time to lie restless in bed, binge watch netflix, or scroll mindlessly on your phone, you have time to meditate! Even if you are at work, you can take just five minutes to close your eyes and control your breathing. Even if you are in the car, you can focus on your breathing and clearing your mind. Once you are able to make the time for meditation, the false illusion of "time" you might have had before will begin to change. Suddenly you will find you are not rushing or in such a haste anymore. Meditation helps you focus on the present and live in the NOW!

2. Makes Small Problems Seem.... Small.

When I started meditating regularly, I found that little things began to bother me less and I wasn't angered so easily. Wouldn't it be nice to be a little bit happier - to not get such bad road rage, or to not get so annoyed by pesky people... When you learn to control your breathing and your thoughts, you are subconsciously training your brain to control itself - to not let thoughts get the best of you. It takes patience to meditate, right? So by teaching yourself to be patient with yourself and the process of meditation, you are ultimately becoming a more patient person. 

3. Calms That Monkey-Mind.

Monkey Mind is the fun name we tack onto out of control racing thoughts "what am I going to make for din- I forgot paper towels at the grocery store, I wonder what the weather is going to be tomor- I should probably do the laundry.." Sound familiar? Meditation is not learning how to completely shut off your thoughts but rather how to control them. It is completing one thought and bringing yourself back to a state of peace. By calming Monkey Mind, we really are able to get more done by focusing on one thing at a time and learning how to silence thoughts that are irrelevant in that moment. 

4. Regulates Energy Levels.

If you are a morning meditator, you will wake up, get your breathing and your mind on track, center yourself to a state of focus, and be ready to begin your day. If you are a bedtime breather, you will allow your body and mind to find stillness, alleviate any tension, and have a great night of sleep. If you are both - you rock!

5. Improves Physical Health.

Meditation is said to help lower blood pressure, improve the digestive system, regulate heart rate, dissipate pain, heal skin conditions, and more. How in the world does this happen? Because meditation reduces stress. Many of these ailments are side effects to stress. Once you find a way to reduce stress, you will find not only your mental and emotional health improving, but your physical health too. 

If you are finding you are having trouble meditating, you may want to pair this exercise with a crystal. Wearing these crystals during meditation can help deepen your meditative state by aligning their vibrations with yours. 

If you like what you're reading so far... you'll love learning about connecting with your spirit guides!

Reach a Calm Meditative State With Amethyst

Click The Amethyst to Purchase!

Click The Amethyst to Purchase!

Look Within With Labradorite

Click the Labradorite to Purchase!

Click the Labradorite to Purchase!

Divine Connection with Danburite

Click the Danburite to Purchase!

Click the Danburite to Purchase!

Silence Thoughts With Sapphire

Click the Sapphire to Purchase!

Click the Sapphire to Purchase!

Now... Get into a relaxed position.... close your eyes... inhale while counting to four, exhale while counting to eight... Focus on nothing but the present moment, the energy within you, and the energy of love within your healing crystal.... And say with me - "Om Shanti, Shanti Om." (Peace for all beings and the universe as a whole!)

Comment with your favorite crystal to meditate with. 

Crystal Assistance During Mercury Retrograde

Mercury Retrograde is a period of time (three weeks, but it feels like forever) in which the planet Mercury appears to be in a backwards motion. You may notice yourself feeling groggy or tired... you may notice you are arguing a lot more with those around you or miscommunicating... you may lose track of time/days causing plans to fall through... you may even experience difficulties traveling (traffic, road rage, delays!) So even for those who may not necessarily believe in the power of the planets, we ALL can agree Mercury Retrograde is the worst. So how can you protect yourself during this planetary pain in the a$$??? The answer, as always, is CRYSTALS!  and a bit of advice... 

Mercury Retrograde Dates to Know

2016:

  • Jan 5 - Jan 25
  • Apr 28 - May 22
  • August 30 - Sept 22
  • Dec 19 (2016) - Jan 8 (2017)

2017:

  • Dec 19 (2016) - Jan 8 (2017)
  • Apr 9 - May 3
  • August 12 - Sept 5
  • Dec 3 - Dec 22

    2018:

    • Mar 22 - April 15
    • July 26 - August 18
    • Nov 16 - Dec 6

    Travel Issues

    Click the photo above to purchase this pendant.

    Click the photo above to purchase this pendant.

    Travel is hugely affected by Mercury Retrograde. One of my friends always locks her keys in her car, gets a flat, whatever it may be at least 3 or 4 times during the 3 weeks Mercury is off. Personally, I experience a difference in traffic & weather conditions when I need to get somewhere. They say it is best not to travel during Mercury Retrograde but if its something you can't avoid, try rocking a Smoky Quartz or hanging one in the rearview mirror of your car. Personally, I have one hanging in my car no matter what the status of Mercury may be. Smoky (or smokey) Quartz is a great protector against negativity in all forms. Ancient & metaphysical Lore tells us that Smokey Quartz is the ideal stone to use for protection during travel. It protects against road rage, traffic, weather conditions, other bad drivers, accidents, and problems with the car itself. 

    Communication

    Click the photo above to view this Aquamarine pendant on etsy. 

    Click the photo above to view this Aquamarine pendant on etsy. 

    Miscommunication and misunderstandings are much more likely to happen during Mercury Retrograde. (Good luck to those of you in relationships & brace yourselves...) However, there are so many crystals to help protect you from these mishaps. Aquamarine aids in the flow of thought and words, to help you fluently express yourself and what you need to say. It also has a very gentle calming factor. Amazonite can help you express your personal truth and can also calm overemotionalism. Amazonite is also a good stone for listening to others because it can help you discern the truth in what people say (Mercury Retrograde makes people a little difficult, but this stone can help you realize the goodness behind the words.) Every person is different and will react differently to certain crystals; so if you don't resonate with one of these crystals, check out other throat chakra stones: Blue Kyanite, Sodalite, Labradorite, Blue Opal, Chrysocolla, Blue Chalcedony.

    Decision-making

    Check out a selection of Amethyst pendants by clicking the photo above. 

    Check out a selection of Amethyst pendants by clicking the photo above. 

    They say not to make any huge decisions, purchases, or commitments during Mercury Retrograde. However, I completely disagree. Of course you should think over your decisions carefully and obtain as much information as you can, I think if you are confident with the change you are about to make: GO FOR IT. Use a stone for intuition to guide you on what the best option is: Fluorite and Amethyst.

    Plan-making

    Click the photo above to view these Apatite stones for sale. 

    Click the photo above to view these Apatite stones for sale. 

    Whether its because the dreaded retrograde makes us feel a little scatter-brained, travel issues, or because this odd planetary shift can send us to the strangest of places - plans are definitely subject to change. In my case, plans changing last minute causes me tons of unneeded anxiety & stress, so I have recently started carrying a Prehnite with me, a stone that helps you go with the flow. Conversely, you may want to carry a Blue Apatite which is a wonderful stone for helping you with time management. 

    Technology

    Click the photo above to read more about this Quartz (& Moldavite) wrap. 

    Click the photo above to read more about this Quartz (& Moldavite) wrap. 

    This one drives me crazy, but beware of technology malfunctions during this phenomenon. This could mean your cell phone or computer randomly crash, or everything gets erased; whatever it may be - you can definitely blame Mercury for this one. A simple quartz crystal has strong influence on technology and can ensure that everything is running properly. A safer idea is to back up everything and press save over a dozen times!!

    Overall, Mercury Retrograde can affect each person differently. Depending on what your star sign is, where the phase falls in the sky, and thousands of other factors, you may not experience the same as another. I say that positive thinking is the best form of protection but you may also want to carry these protection stones: Smoky Quartz, Black Tourmaline, Black Kyanite, Labradorite. To become more in tune with the planet Mercury check out these crystals: Citrine, Agate, Opal. Good luck to you all!

    Related articles: What Crystals You Should Carry Based On Your Sun Sign

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