I’m going to preface this post with letting you all know that I am not a professional here. I have not formally studied these things in anyway, nor would I even consider myself ‘advanced’ in knowing about these topics I’m going to share. But I do feel inclined to share because although things such as these (crystals, tarot cards, oracle cards, journals etc.) are not necessary for self-progression, they have been helpful tools for me on my journey. And since all of the content I share with you blends in my personal experiences, I figured a post like this could be helpful to some.
So, let’s get ‘woo-woo’, ‘cooky’, ‘witchy’ and ‘strange’.
Let’s start with the tool that seems to have become most mainstream out of those I will refer to here.
Crystals
Crystals have been utilized for various reasons for centuries. They are said to have various healing properties and capabilities more powerful than most realize. I’m not going to get into all that. There are loads of resources for figuring out specific crystals and understanding how to work with them (Energy Muse is my go-to). What I want to share with you is my perspective.
Whether you believe in the ‘magic of crystals’ or not, they can still be useful tools to have around. What I think is one of the greatest benefits of having tools such as this, is that they are perfect reminders that help keep you aligned. You decide what power tools like this have in your life. If you want to reap the benefits of rose quartz while you’re struggling with self-worth and acceptance, it’s up to you to allow that and empower that energy. For instance, you can attach an affirmation or mantra along with the crystal. Each time you notice it, it can serve as a reminder to repeat the mantra. Or if you get into meditating, bringing a crystal into the mix can help you focus your meditations on releasing self-judgments and being open to healing and accepting. Wearing one around your neck can serve as a reminder to hold your head higher and with more confidence in your spirit. So, even if you have a hard time believing in the ways that crystals can shift energy and have physical effects on your life, you can successfully utilize them (should you feel called/drawn to). Your experience with crystals depends entirely upon you.
Essential Oils
Essential oils are a tool that you can use for various purposes. They can be used in healing through aromatherapy, during your daily practice to ground you in the moment, or even for things like bug repellent or perfume. Given the vast uses, I’ll go into my personal experiences with it. It’s a topic that’s been written on thoroughly and from various perspectives. As with all things, I encourage you to analyze more than one viewpoint. Certain spiritual modalities can be shut down by conventional institutions with statements that doubt the nourishment and benefits due to lack of scientific research and mainstream acceptance. While scientific research is undoubtedly necessary, there’s a reason things like essential oils and other natural healing tools do not get studied and pushed to the mainstream as chemical alternatives (lookin at you big pharma). Unfortunately, our ”healthcare system” has become of a sick-care system in which we only receive help and knowledge when something in our system is already dysfunctional rather than a space that provides knowledge so we can prevent tough experiences. That’s one huge beneficial aspect of implementing these (and other) modalities in your life. You take hold of your existence now, gaining control over stress, discontentment, past traumas, and other ”negative” experiences that are part of your life, and find a way not to let them deeply affect you. Sorry for the little rant but I felt that had to be said.
My personal experiences with essential oils aren’t extremely vast – but I’ve found them beneficial enough to mention them here. I’ve been introduced and immersed in the world of essential oils by other super knowledgeable people in my life. From massage therapists, to estheticians, to healers. I’ve been around the world of aromatherapy and realized there is something to this. Although topical uses are fabulous (lavender oil is a heavenly perfume, and if you combine citronella+clove+rosemary+few other bits, the bugs will stay away), these aren’t my reasons for mentioning them here.
The way I use essential oils in my spiritual practice is in a couple of ways. Firstly, through a diffuser. By diffusing certain oils you create a space that is absolutely ideal for deep inner work. There is more on this under the “For your space” tools tab. The other way you can use an essential oil in your routine is quite simple. Drop a few drops of an essential oil before you meditation/yoga/journaling practice, hold your hands in front of your nose, and take a few deep breaths in through your nose. This will help create the space necessary for inner work. When I practice visualization meditation, I like to place myself deep in a forest as that’s where I find myself most at peace. If this is part of my intention for my meditation, I can begin the practice with a couple droplets of pine essential oil and it helps bring me into that space so much quicker than without.
Journal
Although you might think this is a pretty basic thing for me to include here, I think it’s one of the tools that I’d list as necessary for self-progression. You may not need/utilize it at every point along your journey, but I reckon for the high majority of people looking to do inner work, journaling is how they’ll make some of their biggest shifts. A lot of people can feel hesitation when it comes to journaling. Whether they perceive it like an 8 year old keeping a diary, or they subconsciously know that they might have to confront some heavy shit when they start putting a pen to paper everyday, the hesitancy can come up. You may not get the hang of it initially, and it may take a while for you to find a journaling method that works for you, but I promise you the discomfort and awkward feelings will be worth it. Experiment and play around with it.
Methods to try: journal prompts (sit in stillness for a few minutes with the question “What is something I should work on?”; whatever comes up, Google prompts for it [ex: journaling prompts for self-acceptance), free-writing (great after meditation!), a letter to the universe, gratitude journaling, morning pages, a love letter to yourself, scripting (writing as if you’ve already achieved/received your greatest desires).
Whichever you try (I recommend you try them all!), I suggest meditating or just sitting in silence for a few minutes before writing. This way, you’ll quieten your mind and the good juicy stuff will be able to come to the foreground. Another tip is to practice journaling with headphones on. Either play white-noise or some instrumental playlist. Our monkey brains can get so distracted by the smallest sounds nearby and that can really break your writing flow. And one last suggestion when it comes to actual writing – try to take a step back and almost let your hand do the work. Don’t think too much about what it is you’re writing. Don’t focus on your spelling. Don’t care about how sloppy your handwriting might be. Try to shut off that part of your thinking and just write. Keep writing even if you start writing outside of the lines. It doesn’t matter. What matters is the content you’re writing about. By slightly disassociating from these details like this, you’re more likely to stay in a steady stream of thoughts, and brain junk that you’ve been holding onto, will have a higher chance of coming up. If you write like this routinely, you’ll notice yourself writing things that you didn’t even realize consciously. You’ll be able to tap into your subconscious and start clearing and redeveloping deep beliefs.