Nurturing Ourselves Through Winter with Crystals and Reiki

Nurturing Ourselves for Winter with Crystals and Reiki

Autumn is a season of profound transformation. It teaches us to let go, just as the trees release their leaves, creating space for new growth. In our own lives, this season can be a time to slow down, reflect, and prepare ourselves for the introspective winter months ahead.

One of my favorite ways to nurture myself during this time is through crystals and Reiki. Crystals like Smoky Quartz and Citrine are wonderful for grounding and uplifting, helping us find balance as the days grow shorter. Smoky Quartz can aid in releasing negativity and finding clarity, while Citrine brings warmth and joy, like the last rays of autumn sunshine.

Reiki, too, is a powerful tool for self-care as we transition through the seasons. A simple Reiki practice can help us maintain balance and vitality. Place your hands over your heart and take deep, slow breaths, allowing the energy to flow through you, bringing warmth and calm.

As we journey through autumn, I encourage you to create a little ritual for yourself. Whether it’s a moment of stillness each morning, a cup of herbal tea in the evening, or a crystal meditation to ground and center yourself, let this be a time of self-compassion and care.

With each leaf that falls, let’s release the things that no longer serve us, making space for rest, renewal, and the beauty of what’s to come.

EFT

I've come across a very interesting article on one woman's experience with EFT....

Tapping Away Trauma: ‘Emotional Freedom’ Techniques

By Serina Deen, M.D., MPH

My medication management supervisor Dr. Tranguch and I are huddled over our chairs somewhat conspiratorially, and for once, I’m glad that there are no windows in my office. As a psychiatric resident, getting one-on-one supervision is a valuable way to learn, and right now I’m learning something quite unusual.

I’m sitting there repeating the affirmation, “Even though I have this sadness, I deeply love and accept myself,” while tapping on my temple. It’s Tuesday at 10:15 a.m., our regular time for supervision. I’m supposed to be telling Dr. Tranguch about the new patients I’ve admitted to the clinic, and he’s supposed to be advising me on what medication to start them on, dosages, and side effects. Instead, Dr. Tranguch is tapping on his face, hands, and torso while repeating key phrases, and I’m following him like a trained monkey.

I had thought of Dr. Tranguch as a hard-and-fast neuroscientist — he did, after all, complete a Ph.D. analyzing the structure of nuclear RNA in yeast. But despite his scientific bent, he seemed to have a warm side, a set of laugh lines under his scholarly wire-rimmed glasses. Over time, I felt comfortable enough to disclose to him that I was a meditator, and while I thought medications were absolutely essential for some patients, I also found meditation very helpful in the treatment of some of my patients, in particular those with serious conditions like borderline personality disorder. When Dr. Tranguch didn’t scoff at the idea of meditation, and instead launched into an enthusiastic discussion about the benefits of alternative techniques in psychiatry, I was relieved. And intrigued. For years, Dr. Tranguch has been hypnotizing his patients, using techniques involving eye movements to treat trauma victims, and even experimenting with the Japanese spiritual practice of Reiki to heal patients.

Even more intriguing, he had been using tapping techniques called “Emotional Freedom Techniques,” or EFT, which he was demonstrating on me today. When he first introduced the acronym, I thought it was ironic how close “EFT” was to “ECT,” or electroconvulsive therapy. While EFT involves repeating loving self-affirmations, ECT involves inducing brain seizures via bursts of electricity to the temples. But it turns out that although these are quite different treatments, both seem to be rapid and effective ways to relieve emotional distress.

Here is how EFT works: I select a problem that causes me distress. I pick a recent loss and I name the emotion I feel (for me, sadness, as opposed to anger, anxiety, craving, etc.). I then summon up the feeling of sadness, focus on where it manifests in my body (the pit of my stomach), and rate my distress on a scale from one to 10 (it was 7/10 that day for me). Then I repeat, “Even though I have this sadness, I deeply love and accept myself” (I pause before I say this, thinking, “Do I really?”) — and I begin to tap in the nine points that Dr. Tranguch demonstrates for me, while repeating the reminder phrase “this sadness.” Adding to the quirkiness, I also follow Dr. Tranguch as he rolls his eyes in different directions, counts forwards and backwards, and hums a bar of a familiar song (for me, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”). I feel pretty silly. But I also trust Dr. Tranguch, and I try my hardest to focus on the feeling and believe what I’m saying to myself.

Dr. Tranguch tells me EFT involves techniques that combines exposure, cognitive restructuring, waking hypnosis, and physical relaxation while tapping on a sequence of pressure points and repeating key phrases out loud. The mechanism of action is unknown; but one suggestion is that physical stimulation of certain pressure points during exposure to an emotional trauma may send deactivating signals directly to the amygdala, or the “fear center” of your brain, resulting a rapid reduction of maladaptive fear.

At the end of the supervision session, Dr. Tranguch asks me conjure up the loss again: He calls upon me to focus on it and rate my sadness. But, try as I may to find the sadness, it’s just not there. 0/10! I concentrate harder: still nothing. I look up at Dr. Tranguch in disbelief, and he smiles. I can tell he’s had this reaction from patients and colleagues many times before. I’m incredulous, skeptical, and a little pissed off. Did that just work? Was it a trick, a distraction technique? And if that did work, why did I bother going to medical school and doing a psychiatry residency?

Fortunately for my ego and unfortunately for my emotional well-being, the effect soon wears off. Several hours later, I’m sad again. But somehow, in a way that I absolutely can’t explain, my loss feels a bit less traumatic. It’s still sad, but it’s not as painful. And that is what EFT purports to do — to help reduce emotional trauma, and pain.

As a now fully socialized medical professional, I immediately do a literature review on the controversial technique. There are a number of recent studies that show positive effects of EFT in depression, anxiety, PTSD, phobias, and food cravings. Some suggest that the benefits of EFT were due to placebo, desensitization and distraction rather than the mechanisms proposed by its practitioners. But overwhelmingly, it did seem that there were benefits.

After Dr. Tranguch leaves, I contemplate whether to try this technique with my patients. It’s non-invasive, rapid-acting, can be self-administered, and I did feel the benefits myself, firsthand. Would I be holding back if I didn’t teach it to my patients? Or would it damage my alliance with them? Would they consider me a new-age hack? After all, I don’t have the Ph.D., age, or scholarly wire-rimmed glasses that Dr. Tranguch has to bolster his credibility. I am just a resident.

It’s now a year later. I ended up doing what I always do when I start something new that I’m not too sure about or good at yet (like cooking) — I experimented on my friends. They largely had the same positive experience I had. I even did EFT on myself a few times when I felt overwhelmed with an emotion. I still haven’t tried it on my patients, but I’m about to graduate in a month and become a fully-fledged psychiatrist. And I think it’s about time to take a risk and start.

References:

Church D, Books A. (2010). Application of Emotional Freedom Techniques. Integrative Medicine: A Clinician’s Journal, Aug/Sep, 46-48.

Feinstein, D. (2010). Rapid Treatment of PTSD: Why Psychological Exposure with Acupoint Tapping May Be Effective. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 47(3), 385-402.

Waite W, Holder M. (2003). Assessment of the Emotional Freedom Technique: An Alternative Treatment for Fear. The Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice (2) 1.

Serina Deen, M.D. MPH, is completing her residency at Columbia University/New York Presbyterian Hospital. She will be pursuing a fellowship in public psychiatry at the University of California at San Francisco.

For more by Serina Deen, M.D., MPH, click here.

My Fibromyalgia Journey – Seeing a Specialist.

Speaking to the right people.

After reading some very depressing Facebook pages and websites that were all full of doom and gloom, I decided that I needed to see someone that could really help. A specialist.

However, that in itself was a bit of a problem, who do I see?

A neurologist or a rheumatologist?

After speaking to several people, I found out I should be seeing a rheumatologist, so I went on the internet to find my nearest private hospital. I found Dr Peddasomayajula.

He was such a lovely man. He spent time with me explaining Fibromyalgia, eliminating most of the fear around it. He also confirmed that I did have it but not to worry as … drum roll please… with the right treatment symptoms can lesson dramatically and even disappear completely.

Hooray!

Dr P prescribed the right prescription for pain management as anything like paracetamol or even morphine just won’t work.

He also suggested a good diet… so no more:

• Vitamin D and good multi vitamins as well as probiotics.

• Alcohol… makes the symptoms worse and it doesn’t mix well with the new medication.

• Too much caffeine …. makes the symptoms worse as well.

So not so much Hooray … however, if cutting back on a few things will take away the pain then I will try and it will also help with weight loss.

Stress is another big factor in Fibromyalgia. (The preferred term for Fibromyalgia is now Chronic Widespread Pain Syndrome.) Meditation, yoga and my love of Reiki will also help. Doctors are more and more in favour of their patients using meditation, mindfulness and other relaxing techniques.

Meditation doesn’t have to mean sitting crossed legged humming ‘OM’. You could also do something you love such as

• Walking your dog or just walking in nearby woods.

• Gardening.

• Colouring, painting and drawing.

• Listening to guided meditations

I hope you, my lovely readers, have found a little help in my blog. Please feel free to contact me if you would like a positive outlook on Fibromyalgia and help with meditation and Reiki.

Love and light Debs xx

My Fibromyalgia Journey – Diagnosis

In my last post I talked about not knowing what was wrong with me, today I thought I would share what happened next.

Off I trotted to the Doctors. I’m very lucky as I have a brilliant medical practice, the reception staff, nurses and Doctors are lovely and caring.

My nurse, Karen, had already emailed the Dr J so she knew why I was seeing her. Dr J explained that if all my blood tests came back alright then she would complete an online programme which would give a score. Over a certain number it would be highly likely to be Fibromyalgia.

To cut a long wait short, I went back to see Dr J and yes my bloods were fine, so I then had to answer a list of questions.

These symptoms are taken from the NHS website.

Do you have…. ?

Widespread Pain

The pain could feel like:

• an ache

• a burning sensation

• a sharp, stabbing pain

Stiffness Fibromyalgia can make you feel stiff. The stiffness may be most severe when you have been in the same position for a long period of time – for example, when you first wake up in the morning.

It can also cause your muscles to spasm, which is when they contract (squeeze) tightly and painfully.

Poor Sleep Quality

Fibromyalgia can affect your sleep. You may often wake up tired, even when you have had plenty of sleep. This is because the condition can sometimes prevent you sleeping deeply enough to refresh you properly. You may hear this described as non-restorative sleep.

Cognitive problems ('fibro-fog')

Cognitive problems are issues related to mental processes, such as thinking and learning.

If you have fibromyalgia, you may have:

• trouble remembering and learning new things

• problems with attention and concentration

• slowed or confused speech

Headaches

If fibromyalgia has caused you to experience pain and stiffness in your neck and shoulders, you may also have frequent headaches.

When I answered, yes to the above and more, Dr J diagnosed me with Fibromyalgia.

Thank F**K for that as I truly thought I was going mad! Now I know what is wrong I can look at ways to make me feel better and I now take time out …. When I hit wall with tiredness I stop and have a lie down… and meditate or fall asleep.

In my next blog I’ll talk about the downfalls of researching on the internet and finally seeing a Specialist.

My Fibromyalgia Journey – What’s wrong with me?

Moving out of Leigh on Sea and buying a piece of land caused a fair bit of stress. Three years on I realised something was wrong with me. Seriously wrong. Going backwards and forwards to the Drs didn’t help as all my blood tests came back ok. I was fighting fit! Or so they told me, how come I didn’t feel like it though? My symptoms include, poor memory, brain fog, restless leg, weight gain & pain …everywhere.

Feeling a bit of a fraud… I help others to look after themselves. Life got in the way, building a house, working, looking after Mum, my wonderful grandkids and not forgetting dear ol’ Paul. I stopped looking after myself. I simply forgot. As a Reiki Master and teacher, I’m lucky enough to revisit my level one (Shoden) Reiki manual on a regular basis. Once I realised that I was stressed I reviewed my life and I went back to the basics of my Reiki training, which was really beneficial. I was treating myself better. Although I meditate and give myself Reiki I didn't remember to use some of the other brilliant techniques, however recently I’ve gone back to practising what I teach and have stopped forgetting me.

So now I’m,

1. Keeping a journal

2. Using Reiki

3. Reciting the precepts and meditating.

4. Repeating affirmations – I create the thought I want to achieve, using I am or I will as this detracts from the negative to bring in a positive light and attitude.

My last visit to see the practice nurse gave a glimmer of hope. She thought, after reading through my notes, that I may have Fibromyalgia. She advised me to go back and see my GP.

In my next post I’ll talk about what happened when I saw the Doctor.

Love and light

Debs

xx

So how stressed are you?

Please take a minute or two just to think about it, then, score it 0-10, 10 being the worse.

 Ideally our stress rate should be between 0-2 but life can sometimes throw us a curve ball or two. 

“Hans Selye coined the word ‘stress’ in 1936, he first defined it as a non-specific response of the body to any demand in change, later changing this to,
Stress is the rate of the wear and tear of your body.
”

As a Reiki Master a couple of my favourite ways of helping me to release stress is using Emotional Freedom Technique and of course, Reiki.

EFT
In 1995 Gary Craig, streamlined the practice of Thought Field Therapy (TFT) to develop Emotional Freedom Technique or EFT for short.

The basis of EFT is in Chinese acupuncture and psychology but instead of using needles, well-established meridian points on the upper body are tapped with the fingers. 

Many times we are affected by stress, bad relationships or traumas. Depression, interpersonal problems and anxieties also affect our health. These negative emotions block the flow of energy in our system and have a detrimental effect on our health. EFT helps in releasing these negative emotions and resolving the problem.

EFT is a unique and simple exercise that calms you so that you can think more clearly.  Since it only takes a minute or two to complete each round of tapping this makes EFT a quick, convenient and highly effective process which can be used on any issue and anywhere to good effect.  

EFT is a therapy that puts you back in the driving seat.

If you would like any further information on EFT, Reiki, Crystal Therapy and the courses I teach please take a look at my website.

5 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CALM AN OVERTHINKING MIND

5 PRACTICAL WAYS TO CALM AN OVERTHINKING MIND
Most of us consider ourselves to be ‘positive people.’ Or, at least, we try to be as often as we can. Sometimes though, our thoughts get the better of us.
Thinking about a problem can cause an overabundance of other thoughts to follow, causing an endless spiral of overthinking. Our thoughts have power- if you think too much about something, it can cause unnecessary stress and even make you feel like you are losing your mind.
“The more you overthink the less you will understand.” – Habeeb Akande
That quote holds a lot of truth. How many times have you not been thinking about something, when suddenly, out of nowhere, the answer comes to you?
It happens to me all the time. When we think about something that happened, and we try to analyze it, we sometimes create problems that weren’t even there in the first place.
Overthinking can cause serious problems in your relationships and with your mental health. Here are 5 ways to calm an overthinking mind:
1. Don’t blame yourself.
A common pattern with overthinkers is that they tend to blame themselves when things go wrong. They observe a situation and pick it apart, trying to find what they could have done differently.
You need to remember to let blame go. Things happen as they happen and if you didn’t intentionally do something wrong, then you can’t blame yourself. Life gets complicated sometimes, but there is no reason to continuously blame yourself for those complications.
2. Accept change as a part of life.
Change is inevitable. You can’t control every aspect of your life, and trying to will only cause more frustration. Some things you can control, and so you should work on them as you please.
But some things will always be out of your grasp and worrying about them is pointless.
Buddha once said, “If you have a problem that can be fixed, then there is no use in worrying. If you have a problem that cannot be fixed, then there is no use in worrying.”
3. Leave “what if” alone.
“What if” is a powerful tool for the overthinking mind. It can take you down paths you never would have journeyed before. This is exactly why you should leave it alone.
Possibilities are great to consider, but not when they lead you to a world with only negative aspects. Focus more on the present, and not what could have been, or what might be.
4. Meditate.
I know, I know, meditation is the most difficult thing for someone who is constantly in their head. That being said, I believe there is a way around the issue of ‘not being able to silence the mind.’
As an overthinker myself, I have found that using mantras during meditation, combined with relaxed breathing, improved my meditative state and allowed for more clarity. “Om Mani Padme Hum” is a personal favourite.
Buddhist Lama, Kalu Rinpoche once said, “Through mantra, we no longer cling to the reality of the speech and sound encountered in life, but experience it as essentially empty. Then confusion of the speech aspect of our being is transformed into enlightened awareness.”
5. Be patient with yourself.
Our self-talk is very powerful. Don’t be hard on yourself when you catch your mind engaging 5th gear. Decelerate, breathe, and focus. Be patient with your progress and speak to yourself with kind, supportive words. Overthinking took time to develop and it will take time to unlearn.
By Raven Fon
source and courtesy: Spirit Science