Knutty4Knitting

Musings on machine knitting, the art of knitting, and the mechanics of knitting. Maybe once in awhile I'll talk about my kids, but I'll warn you first, so that you can skip that part.

Sunday, February 25, 2007

About Crystals and My Career

Sigh. Well, hello. I have been in bed for two whole days (well, okay, it's only 10 a.m. on Sunday, but it FEELS like two whole days!) and I just can't get up. I've been awake since 6 a.m., and the thought HAS crossed my mind to go to the gym, go to my office, set up my laptop in my living room, and get to work. But I can't. I rolled out of bed yesterday at 3 p.m. (don't worry, I was awake at 5:30 a.m.!), showered, and went to get my toes done. After a long hard work week (quit snickering!), I deserve a break. Thank goodness my kids are grown. I don't think I could handle getting up to feed them three times a day again, not to mention driving them around to their playdates and practices.

I think three day weekends should be the law. Four day workweeks, three day weekends. How do we get this law passed?

Okay, after that warmup, now I'm in the mood to write. Last week was the best week EVER on a metaphysical level! I didn't blog about it, but I was really really upset two weeks ago when my father caved in to the **** (I can't say it, and you'll find out later why) wife and cancelled our long-planned three day trip to San Francisco. Without going into the whole story, his behavior really made me fall apart. I was in such immense pain. Soooooo, I decided to book an appointment with the local psychic Silvie in Santa Monica on that Sunday to....well, I don't know....just to talk and see if she had any insights to the situation.

Then my friend Robin asked me to go to the gem show, which would be at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium that day. I said, Okay, but I can only stay for an hour, since my appointment with Silvie was at 1 p.m.

So we went, and Robin said she was giving me a gift and that I could pick any citrine crystal I wanted from a tray she had preselected. She also helped me select a vanadinite stone, which she said would help me from overspending (both money and calories). So far, so good. Then I saw a bracelet with these stones: amethyst (purple), rose quartz (pale pink), green aventurine, and carnelian (orange). When I said, Robin, this is pretty. What stones are these?, Robin replied, that is a wonderful bracelet for you. It has all the stones you need! There must be a reason why you were attracted to it....you MUST buy it! So I did.

And....I know it sounds so wishy washy and new age and everything, but so much good has happened since then!

First of all, I have totally let go of the anger I feel towards my Dad. If I can't say or think anything nice about my Dad or his wife, then I am just not going to think about them at all. Then, last Sunday, I had lunch with Dr. Li, a wonderful woman who is my surrogate mother/mentor. She was my second boss, way back in 1994. I told her about USC's partnership with the University of Beijing and how I wanted to work on that partnership and maybe even live in China for awhile. She totally encouraged me! Then, on Thursday, I had a totally Ally McBeal moment. I was in the ladies room talking with a professor who has taken an interest in me and my education and asking her for advice about my career. She told me to stay with my current job while I am in school and to wait while the medical school is restructuring because there might be a job somewhere for me. I told her about Rossier's partnership with the University of Beijing and she told me that the medical school also has a partnership with the same university. Anyway, she told me I should talk with L., because she was in charge of the whole project. Well....guess who should walk in but L? We were introduced and I expressed my interest in the project and now I have an interview with L on Tuesday! And Friday, I worked at a conference on the main campus and I met F, who has dual appointments with the medical school and the school of gerontology. F gave me some great advice about choosing my dissertation committee and how to structure my projects and papers for the rest of my doctoral program so that I will have most, if not all, of the research done for my dissertation. It was sooooo great to talk with her!!! Because of this, I am starting to refocus my academic interests and move away from diversity to international higher education. I'm kind of torn, because I love love love the issue of diversity, but I think that becoming an expert in international higher ed might be a better career choice.

It was pretty amazing.....all these neat things happening because I decided to change my attitude (courtesy of "The Secret" and my crystals!) Robin said that the universe was trying to tell me something...and it was up to me to listen......I'm listening!!!!!

Well, that's the end of today's post, but below I have posted some info on the stones/crystals I selected (with cites! now that I am back in academia, I feel the need to cite everything!)

Here is some info on the stones:
Carnelian:
A stone of ambition and drive, Carnelian is a Power Stone! Excellent career stone, it is very helpful in making choices and decisions. Self Motivator. Carnelian is the most powerful ACTION stone for focusing, realization and self-actualization. Reminds one to be "in the moment".

Like Moss Agate, Carnelian stimulates analytical capabilities and precision. Activates and energizes personal power, revealing or discovering hidden talents by stimulating your curiosity and inquisitiveness. Long revered for its healing, spiritual and creative qualities.

Protects the user from all negative emotions. Wonderful protective energy over rage, resentment, bad tempers, and anger in self and from others.

It helps one banish sorrow or depression. Grounds energy and attention into the present. Use with citrine on lower 3 chakras.

In the Eastern cultures, Carnelian was favored for Strength.

* Acceptance: This stone calms our fears about death and rebirth, bringing serenity and acceptance of the great cycle of life. Guards against depression.
* Career Success: - A stone of ambition and drive. Assists in decision making.
* Confidence: It inspires a positive courageous confidence, and gives us extra courage to make healthy choices.
* Protection: Protects the user from all negative emotions, especially rage, envy, and fear. Encourages love with family members and relatives. Pink carnelian is particularly good for parent to child relationships, and parent to parent.
* Creativity: Balances creativity and mental processes. Assist one in the creative arts and theatre. Helps remember lines and lyrics by attracting the right words and instilling confidence, while enhancing creativity, individuality and courage.
* Energy: Help to increase physical energy, including sexual energy. Beneficial HEALTH stone.
http://www.gemstonegifts.com/stones/carnelian.htm

Amethyst

Alternate Names & Name Spellings: "Sobriety Stone"

Rock Lore & Tidbits: Crushed amethyst was used by the Ancient Romans as a way to ward off intoxication. They word amethyst comes from the Greek word "amethystus" meaning not drunken, or intoxicated. And there is a Greek legend of how amethyst got its purple color. Once, Dionysis (diety of wine and mischief) was so annoyed by Artemis (a virgin huntress and Lunar deity) that he set his sacred tigers upon a maiden attending her shrine. To preserve the maiden, whose name was Amethyst, Artemis petrified her in sparkling quartz. Lamenting this virgin's demise, Dionysis poured a the contents of his cup over the statue, which immediately became infused with the purple of the grape.
Metaphysical and Healing Properties Lore

Keywords: Psychic, Sobriety

Amethyst is purple quartz, and is a meditative and calming stone. It works in the emotional, spiritual, and physical planes to provide calm, balance, patience, and peace. Amethyst is also beneficial when dealing with legal problems and money issues, which can lead to prosperity and abundance.

Emotionally, amethyst can help heal personal losses and grief. Amethyst has a gently sedative energy that promotes peacefulness, happiness, and contentment. It also brings emotional stability and inner strength, and can enhance flexibility and cooperation. Amethyst can help get rid of addictions (alcohol, drugs, smoking, etc.) and compulsive behaviors of all kinds.

In the psychic and spiritual realms, amethyst is an excellent all-purpose stone that can increase spirituality and enhance intuition and psychic powers of all kinds. It does this by making a clear connection between the earth plane and other planes and worlds. Amethyst is also excellent for meditation and lucid dreaming. It is known to open one's channels to telepathy, past life regression, clairaudience, clairvoyance, and communication with angels. Amethyst also protects against psychic attacks, especially during spiritual work, and protects one from thieves, and protects travelers.

Physically, amethyst is beneficial for reducing withdrawal symptoms of all kinds, blood sugar imbalances, depression, general healing, left brain imbalances, headaches, arthritis, insomnia, nightmares, other sleep disorders, ADD/ADHD, generalized anxiety, mania, ear aches, pain relief, circulatory system issues, endocrine system problems, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, immune system deficiencies, and general healing.

Amethyst is associated with the third eye and crown chakras primarily, but can also open the heart chakra.

http://www.crystalsandjewelry.com/metaphysical_healing/stoneinfo/amethyst.html

Citrine:
Citrine is known as the "success stone" because it promotes success, prosperity, and abundance. It particularly promotes success in business, earning it another nickname, "merchant's stone", and is said to bring business if put in the cashbox of a shop or carried. Citrine is a stone of good fortune, although it brings good fortune in sometimes unexpected ways. It is a stone of manifestation, helping manifest abundance in many ways. Along with prosperity and good fortune, citrine imparts generosity, to share the wealth, so to speak.

Citrine dissipates negative energies of all kinds. It also does not absorb any negative energies from its surroundings, and thus never needs energentic clearing. Citrine can be used to clear unwanted energies from the environment. Family issues caused by negative energies can also be resolved and cleared with citrine. Since citrine eliminates negative energies, it helps generate stability in all areas, and is good for general protection.

In the mental area, citrine enhances mental clarity, confidence, and will power. It also increases creativity and promotes honesty.

Emotionally, citrine relieves depression, self-doubt, anger, and irrational mood swings. Citrine is a stone that brings happiness and cheer to one who carries or wears it. Citrine also reduces self-destructive tendencies. Citrine helps eliminate fears caused by others' ideas and suggestions. It can help one overcome emotional traumas and grief. Sensuality and sexuality can also be heightened by citrine.

In the psychic and spiritual realms, citrine is good for general psychic awareness and spiritual development. Citrine clears the aura of negative energies and influences. It is also very useful for meditation. Citrine is a stone of protection, removing or deflecting negative energies of all kinds. It is also excellent for dream recall and dream work.

Physically, citrine is beneficial for the digestion, stomach, eliminating nightmares and other sleep disturbances, thyroid, general health, heart, kidney, liver, muscles, strength, endocrine system, circulatory system, tissue regeneration, urinary system, immune system, fibromyalgia. Citrine is also good for removing toxins, and overcoming addictions.

Citrine is associated with the solar plexus chakra. http://www.crystalsandjewelry.com/metaphysical_healing/stoneinfo/citrine.html

Rose quartz:
Rose quartz is pink quartz that is often called the "Love Stone." It is a stone of unconditional love that opens the heart chakra to all forms of love: self-love, family love, platonic love, and romantic love. The high energy of quartz gives rose quartz the property of enhancing love in virtually any situation. In turn, this lowers stress. All in all it is a very soothing and happy stone.

Emotionally rose quartz brings gentleness, forgiveness, compassion, kindness and tolerance. It raises one's self-esteem and sense of self-worth. It helps balance emotions and heal emotional wounds and traumas, even grief, bringing peace and calm. Rose quartz removes fears, resentments and anger. It can also heal and release childhood traumas, neglect, and lack of love, in part by enhancing inner awareness. It can help with reconciliation with family and others. Overwhelming or unreasonable guilt is eased by rose quartz.

In the psychic and spiritual realms, rose quartz is often used to attract love, and for love spells. It is also used to ease the process of transition in dying. Rose quartz can be helpful for dream recall and dream work.

Physically rose quartz is used in crystal healing to benefit the heart, the circulatory system, fertility, headaches, kidney disease, migraines, sexual dysfunction, sinus problems, throat problems, depression, addictions, ear aches, slowing signs of aging, reducing wrinkles, spleen problems, fibromyalgia, and reaching one's ideal weight / weight loss. Rose quartz is also helpful and protective during pregnancy and with childbirth. It is also sometimes said that rose quartz is helpful for supporting brain functions and increasing intellect.

Rose quartz is associated with the heart chakra. http://www.crystalsandjewelry.com/metaphysical_healing/stoneinfo/rosequartz.html


Green Aventurine:
Aventurine is said to benefit one in all areas of creativity, and imagination, as well as intellect and mental clarity. Lore says that it enhances prosperity and brings career success. It is a gentle stone energetically that gives a sense of calm and balance and enhances happiness. It also helps one to see alternatives and potentials in all situations, giving a positive outlook, courage and inner strength. It is also said to bring luck, especially in games of chance. Green aventurine is also a mystical stone of prosperity. Aventurine bring friendship to one's life. It is also a stone of protection energies. Folklore and metaphysical lore say that physically it is beneficial for blood, circulatory system, headaches, general health, and sleep disorders. Aventurine is associated with the heart chakra. http://www.crystalsandjewelry.com/metaphysicalproperties_a.html

Tuesday, February 13, 2007