Creating an Altar

After my last post, Troy and I had much to say on various topics, one of which was that of altars. He has two -- one to the Divine Feminine and one to the Divine Masculine. It started me thinking that perhaps I should begin one of my own. While I rather like Troy's, I wanted something different for myself, something personal and meaningful to me. I asked him about it, and he said it could reflect any idea or ideas that I wanted. It just depends on what I want to focus on at the present, what I desire.

I gave it some thought and decided on three things I wanted my altar to reflect: knowledge (to aid my current scholarly pursuits), love, and healing. I started researching gods and goddesses, gemstones, and crystals that might have a place on my altar. My search led me to a local shop that offers many, many spiritual aids -- gems, jewelry, essential oils, incense, statues, books, tarot cards, clothing, and many more. It was here that I found the first three pieces of my altar.

But first, let me show you the foundation of it. It's simple -- an unused nightstand that had accumulated a large amount of dust (which I removed, of course).

Though I bought the fabric at JoAnn's after I found the altar pieces, this is logically the next step in the sequence -- covering the altar. When I saw this fabric, I knew instantly it was perfect. It's basically white lace. White for purity, and lace is just beautiful in my eyes, so it was an ideal way to incorporate the properties of beauty and purity.

Next, the first piece of the altar. After walking once around the store to take in everything it had to offer and its ambiance, I stopped at the gemstones. There were spheres, eggs, obelisks, and pyramids of a million colors and sizes. I decided that since there were so many, I would simply take my time looking at all of them and feel which one(s) would draw me or speak to me. It didn't take long before my eyes landed on the most gorgeous rose quartz egg resting in two stone palms.

It is an integral stone for my altar, representing pure love. The egg shape denotes the potential and developmental stages of goals and dreams one has. The hands to me represent an offering, both to myself and to the world. What is it I want offered to me? What do I want to offer to the world? Though I could have fit practically any stone into the hands, the rose quartz -- love -- seemed a perfect fit.

There was a howlite pyramid that somewhat attracted me, but as I picked it up, my line of sight caught something else entirely on a shelf behind it. When I saw what it was, I was delighted -- an amethyst crystal cluster that doubled as a candle holder.

I really wanted an amethyst crystal or two for my altar, as the stone is very precious to me and important for healing. It is my birthstone, and also balances physical, spiritual, and emotional bodies. It is said to help clear one's aura just by having it close by. It is helpful during meditation, turning your thoughts towards those of tranquil and calming thoughts. It encourages emotional centering and focus. This piece in particular is pretty awesome, as the candle is a built-in offering, ready to go.

After these pieces, I decided I wanted the rock from the beach on my altar as well to demonstrate that it had a special place of its own and to continue to give me strength.

And here is the altar as it stands at this moment.

As you can see, it looks as though I have left room for more things, and so it is. In the center, I want a statue of the Hindu goddess Sarasvati, the goddess of music, art, and knowledge, leaving the offering of love at her feet and the properties of strength and emotional centering behind her. I also want to incorporate some raw fluorite crystals for concentration and clarity of the mind, and perhaps some rainbow moonstones, which is the stone for new beginnings and helping one to open their spiritual gifts.

As I obtain more pieces, I will update with the progress of the altar. I'm excited for its current status, though. Even having one, I just feel better.

On a related note, I have purchased the most lovely howlite pendant. I can't wait for it to come.

Howlite helps one to be calm throughout their daily lives, lessening tendencies towards rudeness, jealousy, and selfish behavior and instead replacing those with a calmer and a more balanced attitude. It is also good for insomnia brought on by an overactive mind (that is me to a T many nights).

Yep, I'm not interested in gemstones at all. :)

Love and harmony all of your days.

Welcome.

I'm not sure how to begin this. Usually those words are said with trepidation in preparation for some awful conversation, but this is just the opposite. At this very moment in time, I am so full and revived that I'm just not sure how to gather my thoughts and do a proper introduction for this blog.

I suppose I should start with the catalyst for everything. I went to San Diego from May 21 - 29 to vacation between my spring and summer terms at college. A very, very dear friend of mine lives there, and so I stayed with him. It was there and through him that I have started to explore an entire new dimension of myself that I never dreamed could exist. There are many facets to the different revelations and epiphanies I had, but basically, I'm becoming enlightened. I'm learning so many things -- mindfulness, chakras, gemstones and crystals, meditation, yoga, intuition, empath, Reiki, energy healing, and more. Tonight I had a very profound experience that I believe is a large step forward for me in this process. And that is what this blog is all about: the journey I am taking into my spirituality and enlightenment.

Before I begin the story, I do want to make a quick note about the title of the blog. It comes from the movie Tangled, the song being "I See the Light." The lyrics resonated very much with me tonight after my experience, and I felt it was appropriate to title the blog and URL as such. :)

Tonight had marked a difficult 24 hours for me since I had arrived home from the aforementioned vacation. I hadn't wanted to leave San Diego. Desperately. I loved the weather, the cultures, the food, the palm trees, the oceans and mountains. I wanted to spend more time with my friend Troy. I had felt so free and nurtured and understood in San Diego. I had felt like I really belonged there. Coming back to the Midwest felt like being shoved back into a cage I had managed to escape. My trap muscles ached all the way into my neck. My lower back killed. Finally I decided I would try a sea salt soak. I had heard about the many benefits and figured at the very least, it might improve my mood.

Relaxing piano music? Check. Candles? Check. Big, fluffy towel? Check. Rock? Check.

Rock?

Yes, rock. On a whim (possibly my intuition at work), I decided to take with me a small black rock about the size of my palm that I had found while on the beach with Troy at Santa Monica. I didn't really understand why I had the urge, but I followed it. Once everything was prepared, I settled into the bath and tried desperately to relax. Though the hot water felt amazing, I couldn't get my mind to settle. I was thinking about how much I wanted to be back in San Diego, how badly my muscles hurt, what a despondent mood I was in.

I had set the rock on the side of the tub, and as my frustration with how un-relaxing this bath was turning out to be grew, I picked it up. At first, I turned it about in my hands. It's an incredibly smooth, flat rock, perfect for skipping on the water (if you know how to, anyway). I decided to settle my mind on whatever it wanted to. Closing my eyes, it first went to the many memories of my trip, as well as previous memories I have of Troy and myself. I'm unsure how much longer it was until I started to feel an inexplicable but unmistakable sort of resonance or presence start to emerge from the rock. It was surprising, but not alarming or overwhelming. It seemed to embody a sense of strength and resilience. I felt myself begin to relax as I took in the dominant feeling of strength.

Another whim (again, intuition?) came to me, and I pressed the rock to my sternum, above the heart chakra. This may sound completely strange, but I swear I could practically hear a voice from the rock speaking to me.

"Remember Troy's words about having so much chatter in your head that you can't enjoy the moment? Be still. Be in this moment, for there is nothing but this moment. Your breath in this moment."

My mind was slowly becoming more and more quiet.

"You will be okay where you are. You have the strength to do anything. Do not worry about the coming year, or the coming month, or tomorrow. Tomorrow does not exist. There is only this moment. Tomorrow does not exist."

As I meditated on these words and on my breathing, I felt the tense muscles in my back and neck loosen and release. I realized that this moment was a lesson in quieting my mind to allow the present to happen. Like all beginners, I wasn't perfect at it. I contemplated this blog, the words of this first post, before catching myself and focusing instead on what I felt around me. It happened several times, but by the time I was ready to get out, I felt completely restored and at peace. Before I set the rock back on the side of the tub, I kissed it in gratitude without even thinking about it.

I pulled the plug and let the water drain around me. As it did so, I imagined all of the negative energy that had been stored inside of me flowing out with the water, going down the drain, out of me, leaving only positive feelings. It helped to further my newfound sense of well-being.

And so the two big lessons I am taking with me from tonight are:
Silence the chatter in your mind to fully enjoy the moment happening around you and;

Tomorrow does not exist. There is only this very moment.

Love and harmony all of your days.