Gemstones and Healing: Green Tourmaline
CATALOGING THE GEMS:
I evaluate a gemstone in a number of ways. First, it falls into one of these categories: Heart Stone, Grounding Stone, Guard Dog Stone, High Energy Stone, Trauma Stone, Mental Stone, Stress Tone, Luck Stone, Psychic Stone, Money Stone, Arthritis Stone and Master Healer Stone. I created this system over the years because each stone has unique skills. Some, like the Master Stones, are diverse, multi-skilled and affect more than one chakra in our aura. Now, let’s explore Green Tourmaline. It is a Guard Dog and Heart stone.
GUARD DOG STONE:
A Guard Dog Stone is one that can protect you either physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually. They ‘guard’ you energetically. It might be from physical danger, such as when a person is a firefighter, in the military during a war, or as a police person. Or if you have a dangerous kind of job such as construction. There are subtler dangers too. Where there is danger to your emotions concerning your love, you should be wearing green Tourmaline. A man who manipulates a woman by using her love against her is an example. Or a woman who feels weak and thinks she needs a man around for strength, the man may well find his heart energy being sucked out of him.
Danger is perceived differently by us as individuals. There could be someone next door that you don’t trust. Or you have someone at work who stresses you out (usually the boss or a coworker). Or there’s an office gossip that is trying to make you look bad to your boss. There’s a hundred different ways that we all wish we had a guard who could protect us in times when we feel vulnerable and unable to completely defend ourselves. And this is where a Guard Dog stone can be worn in necklace form to help support you.
Some stones can do one or two levels of protection, but rarely are able to handle situations on all four levels that may arise. The physical, emotional, mental and spiritual are the four levels. For example, obsidian material (obsidian, mahogany obsidian, snowflake obsidian and apache tears) REFLECT back energy that is coming your way. Obsidian is glass and all glass reflects. Agate, Jasper, Jade, Turquoise, Malachite will ABSORB the hit coming your way, which is why it will change color (grows pale) over time if you are being attacked on any level. Topaz guards on the mental level only. Amber and Amethyst guards only on the physical level. There’s only one that can deal with any type of heavy energy on all four levels and that is Black Tourmaline. Green Tourmaline guards the heart chakra.
Green Tourmaline or any other color of Tourmaline (bi or tri color included) is secondary to Black Tourmaline when it comes to being a guard dog stone. Green has rulership over the heart chakra (more detailed elaboration on this later). So this gem has to do with loved ones and how we love ourselves (or not). Where the Green Tourmaline differentiates from the powerful black variety is that the Green will stop psychic vampire who are loved ones and they unconsciously ‘suck’ energy out of your heart chakra. It stops people who want your heart chakra dead in their tracks and they won’t take a drop of energy from you. When there is danger or perceived danger, Green Tourmaline will absorb it and transmute it, leaving you untouched. It is a feminine and masculine energy and what is termed “androgynous” because it will rebalance on either side of the body as well as any field in your aura, as well as protect your chakras.
If you have to work with people who are energy stealers who tug on your heartstrings (or attackers) who profess to be your ‘friend’, then wearing a Green Tourmaline necklace will completely protect you from them if they are abusing or manipulating your love. Those who artfully manipulate another’s emotions are said to practice “passive-aggressive behavior.” And Green Tourmaline can stop this energy from reaching you and also help you not hook into the drama or game being played by friend or spouse or child. And lest you don’t know what an energy vampire is, let me share it with you. This is a person who unconsciously gravitates to people who she (and sometimes he, but more often a woman) feels is stronger than her or himself. This individual unconsciously revolves around you because you can protect them in some way. When she/he gets around you, within minutes you may begin to feel tired. You may not be able to focus or think clearly. You may become forgetful. After she/he leaves your auric space you will certainly feel like a washed out dishrag. And you may crawl through the day feeling absolutely exhausted. It takes a good night’s sleep to get you back in order. THAT is a sign of an energy vampire. And Green Tourmaline will stop heart drainage of etheric energy from happening to you.
HEART STONE:
This gemstone that can help support you with problems of a heart and emotional nature. These gems are utilized in situations such as: Grief, breaking up a relationship, a divorce, loss of a loved one, loss of a pet, moving and leaving your friends or family, getting fired from a job, losing your house to a flood/earthquake, are but a few examples. People who, on a more spiritual level who are wanting to work in their heart chakra should consider a “heart stone” helper. These gemstones can open up an emotionally closed down person (repression/suppression). A heart stone can help them be more sensitive to themselves and to others. It moves narcissistic people toward concern and compassion for others, rather than just focused on their own needs. These heart gemstones help us “emote.” For those who have suppressed or repressed wounds that surround love, being loved, or not loved, also fall under this category. Anything to do with our heart; whether it is learning to love ourselves, love others, loving our enemies, learning the difference between pity, sympathy and compassion, these stone helpers can support you.
THE HISTORY OF GREEN TOURMALINE:
There are many types of Tourmaline that are all thrown together under this one, recognized label. They are all different. I’m not going to get into a discussion on any other type of tourmaline than the green variety, however. Green Tourmaline is a crystal silicate mineral. It comes for the Elbaite species. It is always green, striated and column-like. It has the amazing properties of being piezoelectric (like the quartz family). It means if this stone is heated up (think energy-wise here: it will “heat up” and react to an incoming energy) a positive charge develops at one end. There is a negative and positive to all tourmaline. These charges REVERSE themselves when the gemstone cools (or, in energy-speak, when the incoming energy is TRANSMUTED by the piezoelectric energy of the Green Tourmaline and sent BACK TO THE SENDER).
The crystal structure of all Tourmalines, regardless of color, are highly unique. It is the only crystal formed that is perfectly triangular or three-sided. It belongs to the trigonal system and is found in long, sender to thick prismatic and column-like crystals. The way they terminate or end is known as hemimorphism. And all hemimorphic crystals are piezoelectric, and are often pyroelectric as well. It is 7 to 7.5 on Mohs scale of hardness. Chemically, Tourmaline is a crystal silicate mineral compounded with elements such as aluminum, iron, magnesium, sodium, lithium, or potassium. It is Na(Li1.5,Al1.5)Al6Si6O18(BO3)3(OH)4 and is classified as an Elbaite Tourmaline. The green variety comes from Brazil and is also called “verdelite.” Green Tourmaline contains lithium, well known to calm a person’s anxiety or anxious state.
There is a huge difference between Green Tourmaline and other Guard Dog stones. It receives the negative or heavy energy, reverses it/transmutes it through its piezo and pyroelectric abilities, and then sends it BACK to the sender! Talk about instant, rubber band karma! And this is WHY you want to use green Tourmaline in serious or ongoing situations of stress or danger in your life. Sooner or later, the SENDEE is going to get so much of what he or she is sending out to you–that they QUIT doing it. And they leave you alone (or change jobs, or move or get out of your space, permanently). To my knowledge, there is no other gemstone I’ve ever known that has this ability. That’s why the Tourmaline family is top dawg of the Guard Dog stones.
Green Tourmaline is a trigonal (3 sided) crystal system. It has a hardness of 7 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale (Diamond being a 10 and the hardest of all gemstones). It can be found in Brazil, Colorado, the Appalachian Mountains, Germany, Cornwall, England, Sri Lanka and many other places in the world. Most Green Tourmaline sold in the USA comes from South America and specifically, from Brazil.
Tourmaline, in general (there are many varieties) were known in the Mediterranean area for thousands of years. In 1703 it was imported by the Dutch from Sri Lanka to Europe. The Dutch used the Sinhalese name, ‘Turmali’ which means “stone with mixed colors.” The Dutch believed if you wrapped a piece of tourmaline in a fabric and placed it against the cheek of a fevered child, it would induce sleep. And so, the word “Tourmaline,” was birthed. The Chinese used green tourmaline even earlier and carved beautiful snuff bottles from it. In Africa, the gemstone was thought to awaken a person from a dream illusion. India valued it as a gem to bring insight and discover the good in a person. To this day, people of Africa, Native American and Aboriginal people utilize this gem as protection against any and all dangers.
Tourmalines all have striations or vertical ridges that run the length of the crystal. All tourmalines form in either igneous (fire) or metamorphic (pressure) rocks. It is usually found in granite pegmatite’s with Lepidolite, a matrix material, microcline or spodumene. These rocks are created out of fire or pressure. And Tourmaline can handle both with ease.
Here is a pair of green tourmaline earrings surrounded with diamonds. Compare this green color with the “chrome” color above. There is a huge green spectrum for Green Tourmaline.
THE ASTROLOGY OF GREEN TOURMALINE:
Pluto is the primary ruler of this stone with Uranus as a secondary ruler. Because it is piezoelectric and pyroelectric, Uranus comes into play. Uranus rules electricity and electromagnetic activity on all four levels of our existence. And due to the massive ability of Green Tourmaline to transform and TRANSMUTE energy like a huge power station, this falls under Pluto’s domain. Few stones actually transmute energy and when they do, Pluto comes into play–big time.
People who need this Guard Dog gemstone are “Neptunian” types. That means if there is three or more hard aspects to a person’s Neptune there may be boundary problems. The person can’t say “no” or they allow others to abuse the privilege of them. Frequently, they end up being the victim because they have no firm, solid boundaries between themselves and others, in order.
And also, the reverse is true here. If a person is Neptunian as described above, they turn out to be the biggest “psychic vampires” we have. Either way, Green Tourmaline can be of help to the SUCKER and the SUCKEE. In the case of the person who is doing the stealing of other people’s energy if they wear green Tourmaline, that activity is stopped by the stone. It won’t even get out of the psychic vampire’s aura. Instead, it is transmuted right then and there and rendered harmless to all, including the psychic vampire. For those who are at the other end of the scale and unconsciously seen as a gasoline station of energy for the psychic vampire, wearing the Green Tourmaline necklace stops it from occurring.
Sun sign of Pisces/Virgo can really use this gemstone (as well as already discussed Neptune prominent people such as Neptune conjunct their Ascendant or Midheaven). And, they can be either the victim of a psychic vampire, or be a psychic vampire, themselves. Both sun signs get caught up in the “caregiver syndrome” and they think they have to bleed themselves dry (on every level) in order to “save” others. This unconscious crucifixion complex will do nothing but make them susceptible to being drained by the very people they are care giving too. Those caught up in this lesson are learning healthy boundaries of giving and taking, rather than sacrificing themselves, body and soul, to the person who needs help. And of course, the end of this story is they end up with a chronic disease and usually die before the person they are care giving too… What’s wrong with THIS picture???!!!! Please check out this TED presentation because it speaks to the HEART of what Green Tourmaline can do for the wearer: http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html. There are lots of fine and subtle lines to learn here and these people are the most vulnerable to having their energy stolen by the sick person; hence, you wear a Green Tourmaline necklace when you are around them. It will create a permanent energy boundary that the care giver has yet to erect for themselves.
Anyone, regardless of their sun sign, who is of a “victim” mentality or a “caregiving” mentality really need to be wearing a Green Tourmaline necklace quite often. This gem gives boundaries to the individual and helps them say “no” and really mean it. Or to finally recognize they are really strong and capable too and stop looking at the rest of us as gas energy stationed to be stolen from.
ASTROLOGY TRANSITS AND PROGRESSIONS WITH GREEN TOURMALINE:
If there is a transit or progression of Saturn where the person is getting worn down by continual and heavy loads they must carry, (care giving being one of many) Green Tourmaline can help ease the pressure and stress, but also give the person more strength to plod along with their load. Most important, it can help create emotional detachment from the experience and give the care giver relief.
Any time there is a transit or progression of Pluto in the person’s natal chart, they may be involved in a “bullying” issue. Or, their self-esteem is getting cut to ribbons by a clique or a group of children/teens or adults. Or, the person is facing a test of their faith, their world is tilting and changing, can use this stone. There is a group of people who have the need to experience sorcery and usually, they are the ones who are ‘hooked’ energetically by such a person. Psychic attack by a loved one, occurs under this framework. Green Tourmaline can stop the attack cold and dissolve an energy hook into the heart chakra within minutes of the necklace being worn. As well as send it back to the loved one who has a twisted view of what loving you is all about.
When transiting or progressed Saturn or Pluto create stress for your love life (whether at work or home) where you don’t get along with coworkers, is a service oriented job, your child or children or spouse are working out their issues, Green Tourmaline gets the energy rebalanced so there is a fair give-and-take. And it will, over time, get the person or people out of your space–permanently. The old saying of “what goes around, comes around,” applies to Green Tourmaline. If you and your loved one are looking a divorce or splitting up, this gem may give you some necessary insight as to what is really going on. Having to do anything stressful like a lawsuit, going to court for child custody, a divorce, house foreclosure are Pluto-like changes where this gem can help.
THE NORTHEAST ENERGY:
In the medicine wheel, Green Tourmaline is North (earth) East (Earth and Air) energy. This is a minor direction, but they are more powerful than a single direction simply because it is two energies combined. Twice the power. This is the direction of the magician and this is truly where ‘magic’ can occur. Green Tourmaline is one of the few stones to be from this particular direction. It is magic in action on a third-dimensional playing field but also has the ability to transform and transmute any energy that comes near it in any dimension. If that’s not magic, I don’t know what is! This is also the direction of the serpent and of course, snakes in general trigger a lot of people’s deepest fears. Green Tourmaline can deal with such heart wounds and ease them considerably or completely.
WHO SHOULD WEAR GREEN TOURMALINE?
Anyone can wear this gemstone. If you are going into a stressful or confrontational situation with a loved one (child, spouse, relative or friend), wear it. If you have a nasty home environment, always wear it. If you need to travel and that is stressful on you, take your Green Tourmaline necklace with you. Obviously, if you have to survive in an abusive home environment, get out of it. This is an area where a gemstone isn’t going to help as much as walking away from it will.
Stress is defined by the individual. What may scare me won’t scare you–and vice versa. If you are stressed when it centers around a loved one, wear this necklace.
WHO SHOULD NOT WEAR GREEN TOURMALINE?
Everyone can benefit from Green Tourmaline. I never allow children under twelve to get around my necklaces simply because they can break and then swallow a bead–or worse, potentially choke on it. This is a ground rule I have across the board for all gemstones.
TYPES OF TOURMALINE:
All colors of Tourmaline belong to different groups geologically speaking. ALL Tourmalines, however, are piezoelectric and pyroelectric. Schrol or Black Tourmaline is top dog when it comes to protecting a person’s energy resources from other people and ALL situations. The other Tourmalines have different venues and use, and they will be covered in coming blogs.
SPIRITUAL CONSIDERATIONS:
This gemstone works with the heart chakra. The color green moves through it. A green stone of any kind can work with this chakra. When this gem is worn with the intent of healing family wounds, there is nothing better than it to take on this monumental task. Let’s look at the heart in detail:
HEART CHAKRA:
COLOR: green (bright, clear apple green color)
LOCATION: center of chest where heart resides
PETALS: 16
MUSICAL NOTE: F
MUSIC PREFERRED: harps, high strings, organ, piano and wind chimes
TONE FOR HEALING: a (ay)
COLOR DEFINITIONS:
Aventurine
Alive
Balance
Beauty
Birth
Breathing
Calmness
Camouflage
Chlorophyll
Clean
Clears space
Comfort
Complements green
Control using second chakra energy of withholding
Cool
Cool
Deep
Demanding
Dioptase
Earth energy
Earth
Earth
Embracing
Emerald
Energy
Energy
Envy
Excitement
Fairies
Forest
Fresh
Fresh
Friendly
Full-bodied
Gaia
Go
Go
Goddess in Her whole form
Good health
Greed
Green blood
Green tourmaline
Green fluorite
Green lace agate
Green jasper
Green Tara
Green Man
Green tea
Grief
Growth
Growth
Growth
Happy
Heal
Healing
Healing
Health
Health
Heart chakra…..
I love this color!
Intuition
Jade
Jealousy
Jolly Green Giant
Joy
Joy
Life-affirming
Life
Life
Liquid sunlight
Love
Lucky
Malachite
Manifestation
Many reptiles
Material resources
Merging
Money
My favorite color
MY color
Nature
Numbers 5 and 9 are always GREEN to me.
Nurturing of a mother
Nurturance
Nutritious
One of the heart colors
Oneness
Peace
Peace/Peaceful
Photosynthesis
Plant kingdom
Possessive
Prosperity
Quiet
Quiet
Reaching
Regenerating
Remote
Rich
Serene
Serenity
Soothing
St. Patrick’s Day
Strength
Strength
Sufism
Surprises
Tarnished bronze or copper
Tranquility
Velvety
Wasabi (that hot green mustard served with sushi)
Will
Wind/wood (Tibetan 5-element)
Overly-utilized intellect strangles green
The God (i.e., the Green Man)
Interesting to note how many stones that come in green also come in other colors
GREEN continued….
Aventurine
Alive
Balance
Beauty
Birth
Breathing
Calmness
Camouflage
Chlorophyll
Clean
Clears space
Comfort
Complements green
Control using second chakra energy of withholding
Cool
Deep
Demanding
Dioptase
Earth energy
Earth
Embracing
Emerald
Energy
Envy
Excitement
Fairies
Forest
Fresh
Friendly
Full-bodied
Gaia
Go
Goddess in Her whole form
Good health
Greed
Green blood
Green tourmaline
Green fluorite
Green lace agate
Green jasper
Green Tara
Green Man
Green tea
Grief
Growth
Happy
Heal
Healing
Health
Heart chakra
Intuition
Jade
Jealousy
Jolly Green Giant
Joy
Life-affirming
Life
Liquid sunlight
Love
Lucky
Malachite
Manifestation
Many reptiles
Material resources
Merging
Money
Nature
Numbers 5 and 9 are GREEN color
Nurturing of a mother
Nurturance
Nutritious
One of the heart colors
Oneness
Peace
Peace/Peaceful
Photosynthesis
Plant kingdom
Possessive
Prosperity
Quiet
Reaching
Regenerating
Remote
Rich
Serene
Serenity
Soothing
St. Patrick’s Day
Strength
Sufism
Surprises
Tarnished bronze or copper
Tranquility
Velvety
Wasabi (that hot green mustard served with sushi)
Will
Wind/wood (Tibetan 5-element)
Overly-utilized intellect strangles green
The God (i.e., the Green Man)
Interesting to note how many stones that come in green also come in other colors
green to me is an invitation
it is a new beginning
something clean and sweet
renewal
becoming
budding
promise
magical
it has great depth
IMMORTALITY, ENVY, some greens are NAUSEOUS
Here are two chrome (blue end of green) green tourmaline crystals. Chrome is often much more expensive due to its dramatic color. And an opaque tourmaline is much less expensive than these, which are transparent. The more color and transparency, Tourmaline becomes very pricy with good reason.
FOURTH CHAKRA MOTTO:Integration of our male and female energies; spiritual marriage within
SYMBOLIC MEANING:
Learning the true essence of love of self and others
Compassion (not pity or sympathy)
Integration of self on all levels
Innocence
Purity
Joy
Vulnerability
WEAKNESSES:
Incapable of intimacy
Afraid to love another
Love is a mental ‘head trip’, not an emotional ‘heart trip’
Armor to protect one’s vulnerability
Fear of losing the one that we love
STRENGTHS:
Able to love ourselves FIRST (not last)
Vulnerable
Love of all life, plants, animals, people, etc.
Perfect as we are
Lives in the moment
In touch with feelings at all times
Lives life with vitality, eagerness and vigor; impassioned
TIME OF OUR LIFE: from the time we are born until we die
SHADOW ISSUES:
Afraid of being alone; loneliness
Fear of not protecting one’s vulnerability and heart
Emotional weakness
Fear of being betrayed
Envy, jealousy, hatred, bitterness
Unable to forgive self or others
PHYSICAL RULER SHIP IN BODY:
Circulatory system, heart, breast, chest, ribs, arms, shoulders, upper back, diaphragm, thymus gland, and lungs.
ENERGETIC DISEASES:
Mental/Emotional Issues: Hatred, love, bitterness, compassion, hope, Egotism, grief, anger, trust, commitment, being lonely, and resentment.
Physical Dysfunctions: Congestive heart failure, Cardiomegaly (enlarged heart), Allergies, Heart valve leakage, Lung problems (pneumonia, asthma, bronchitis, emphysema), Heart attack, Upper back, Shoulders, Breast cancer
WAUTER’S ARCHETYPE ASSIGNMENT:
- Healthy heart chakra archetype: The Lovers
- Unhealthy heart chakra archetypes: The Actor/Actress
UNHEALTHY HEART CHAKRA:
Illusions of life close our heart down and we put “armor” around our heart to protect ourselves
Considers emotional landscape dangerous, chaotic and painful
Starved for love; but not knowing how to get it
Afraid of intimacy with another
Says everything is “fine” in their life; when it is not
Refuses to be vulnerable in front of spouse, friends or relatives
Mentalizing our emotions, or rationalizing/logicalizing them instead of owning them and feeling them
Sabotaging relationships
Old emotional wounds are not allowed to heal; the person suppresses or represses (or denies) them
Hardening one’s heart so s/he doesn’t have to feel
Frightened of losing control
Wants love from others, but can’t reciprocate in return
Codependent relationships
Projecting on our partner but not owning what we project on her/him
Dishonest of feelings with others; won’t come “clean” and own or own up to how they feel
Unable to love self; always puts self last, not first
Divorce is the easy way out; doesn’t try to repair a relationship especially if partner is asking her/him to be vulnerable, and share their feelings with them
Feeling resentment toward partner in tough times, but not owning your own projected stuff
Harbors grief, slings, arrows, hurts, resentment and bitterness and does not let it go–or forget–or forgive it
Loving is too painful
Many divorces based upon inability to be intimate or work as a team mate
Wounded child is never healed within us and so we carry this onus into adulthood, even to our death
Unable to forgive others or self
Unable to remove attachment to our wounds from the past
Sees universe as a reward-punishment repetitive wheel of fortune
Loving with conditions
Unable to do what one love’s to do
Partner gives you no emotional support
Your needs are not met by your spouse
Using your “wound” as your excuse for who you are, how you behave and where you are in life (a crutch, a “stuck” place where you do not evolve beyond)
Believing that you are not lovable (a childhood message many people receive from parents)
Being excessive or an extremist in any activity, including the food we eat, our play and our work
Broken heart
Possessiveness (envy and jealousy, also)
HEALTHY HEART CHAKRA:
Surrendering over to a higher power (“Let go and let god/goddess”)
Emotional pain is worked through and discharged
Wounds are not used as a crutch or excuse to stay stuck
Compassionate, or trying to get there and not feeling pity or sympathy
Able to trust self, and then others
Forgiving of self and others
Valuing ourselves
Being in balance in all things that we do, including the food we eat, play and work–there is no extremism
Being nonjudgmental of others
Kind
Allowing our inner light or flame of who we are shine forth
Unconditional love toward all
Can care for yourself first, and then turn around to help others when appropriate and within healthy boundaries of giving
In touch with the rainbow array of our emotions, light or dark, good or bad
Able to remain vulnerable and not close up and become armored to protect one’s self from Life
Does not mentalize or rationalize one’s emotions….instead, stays with the emotion(s) and ride it through to the end
Is not a head-tripper; rather, a ‘heart-tripper’ who is in constant touch with mind AND emotions
Love begins at home, with you–first
Putting yourself as a top priority instead of others always ahead of yourself
Working through hard times in a marriage or commitment (providing the partner is work/willing, to do it, too)
Intimate
Commits to healing of self
Able to discern
COMMENTS:
The heart chakra is the center of our being; literally and figuratively speaking. The heart sits in the center of our body. From a spiritual vantage point, all lower chakras (the root, sacral and solar plexus) are connected into it, as well as the upper chakras (throat, brow and crown). It is the fulcrum point, the balance, the center of us and where we want to go and what we want to become.
As nowhere else, the heart chakra helps us transmute all we’ve learned the lower chakras and refine it and define it into emotional terms for the highest good of ourselves and everyone else. A tall order, for sure.
The heart center is about looking inward, deeply, into ourselves. This is a rainbow emotional palette, like a banquet, that is placed before us, to work on, integrate and become. First, it is about us honoring and keeping sacred our own emotional needs. In this society, you are called ‘selfish’ if you do that. However, the old saying, “If you can’t love yourself, you can’t love others,” fits.
If your own body is not respected and treated like the sacred temple it is that houses you for this lifetime, then you cannot have an understanding or respect of anyone else, either. What we eat also defines us. Are we into fat foods like fried chicken and French fries? Or, do we try and consume organic vegetables and fruit, instead. We must send our own body, which is our house for this lifetime, that we honor it. It is not a garbage dump in which we live in, is it? What we do daily for ourselves defines where we are at with our heart chakra energy.
Taking time out to “play” or to be at peace and oneness with yourself is absolutely mandatory. The wound child is alive and well in many of us and we need to heal that first, within us. To do that, we must forgive. Forgiveness is one of the toughest acts to follow that I know of. It means forgiving those who hurt, injured or wounded us. If we don’t do it; we can never move on or forward. The energy connections we have to those deeds is alive and well within each of us and until we forgive that person or people, or our parents, for example, then we cannot evolve beyond this threshold step. Forgiveness is everything. It is one of the center posts of the heart chakra opening. It is our gateway to learning to love ourselves.
What does it mean to love yourself? Love is such a trippy word and it draws all kinds of knee-jerk responses from us! First of all, to love yourself you must accept yourself (warts and all). Be happy and pleased with who you are. No one is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes–daily. So what? The evidence of a heart chakra opening person is that they are in there trying; and that is what counts.
A person who loves themselves does not use their “wound” as an excuse to be who they are presently or in the future. They don’t call themselves a victim. Or a martyr. Words have great power and influence on us. Call yourself perfect in the moment, instead. Don’t lean on an excuse such as you came from a dysfunctional family, were raped, or whatever the form of wounding came in. Certainly honor the event….and then learn to work through the issues concerned with it, come out the other end of this gauntlet, and move ON. Do not stay STUCK in this place of wounding.
Loving yourself means being kind to yourself. And generous. And giving. That might mean you take an hour out to go for a walk in a park. Or do gardening. Or work at a shelter for animals. Or a million other things that give people a GOOD feeling about themselves. It should bring a sense of peace. Joy. Ask yourself what makes you happy, and then fold one hour a week into your schedule and do it. If you cannot do this for yourself, you are not loving yourself. You are denying yourself.
Loving yourself might be lighting candles and have a luxurious, long, fragrant soak in a hot tub of water. Or meditating with your favorite music playing. Or just sitting and watching the clouds in the sky pass by. The key here is to do small, daily things, loving acts, for yourself. They don’t have to be huge and expensive. Most acts of love are daily things done for self or others.
This doesn’t mean power shopping, either. Or consuming an ice cream cone when you’re trying to lose weight. Love is not the extreme. Love is quiet. Gentle. Kind. Soft. Unobtrusive. Like the silence of a rainbow overhead permeating your being.
If we don’t pay close attention to our emotions, we are going to get nowhere. Too many people, particularly men, mentalize their feelings away. Of course, this society tells males not to cry, not to express their feelings or God forbid, share their emotions with someone else. It’s like this society has cut the heart of the males and what a horrific mistake that is. No wonder so many men have heart attacks; their heart chakra is shut down tighter than Fort Knox because society has told them they can’t feel.
If you can’t feel, how can you process your emotions? You can’t. Then, feelings become suppressed or repressed and ugly. Sooner or later, they will have their day and when it comes, it isn’t going to be pretty. Health problems abound for both genders when emotions are ignored, denied or conveniently set aside for whatever the reason.
Pain is a big reason. We don’t want to feel bad. We don’t want to feel that awful sensation winding through us, gutting us and making us feel horrible. However, a person with a heart chakra opening understands that the pain of life, like the joy of life, is to be lived FULLY and IN THE MOMENT. If you can do this, you are well on your path of the heart chakra opening, and also learning compassion.
Compassion is another of those words that draws a blank from most people. They confuse it with sympathy. Sorry, but there are three distinct definitions in the dictionary: pity, sympathy and compassion. They are all different. Worlds apart, as a matter of fact. We want to learn compassion above all else. It is the ability of you, your strength of spirit as a human being, to honor the other person’s suffering while bringing power back into one’s life. It is the ability to stand between remaining open and vulnerable, and yet, intimate simultaneously. A tall, scary order for most of us.
Compassion acknowledges that you see your spouse, friend, relative or stranger’s suffering. It also allows us an overview to understand that this person must walk this path, and to honor that person for having the courage to do just that. That does not mean we become that person’s crutch. If anything, we stand aside, applaud their courage, and bear WITNESS to their path they’ve chosen. Often, the greatest act of compassion is simply listening to the other. Compassion means you don’t have to fix it, or come up with ways to do this or that. You honor how and the way the person wants to walk through their painful experience. A compassionate person doesn’t give advice either; unless it is asked for.
A compassionate person never says, “Oh, you POOR THING!” That is dishonoring the person and turning them into a victim. That is also placing them back into the wound they’re trying to work through and get on with their life, once they’ve been there, done that.
A compassionate person never says, “Let me HELP you.” This is offering to become a crutch to that person, and you take away their opportunity to grow and become stronger. That turns them into a martyr.
Compassion is such a double-edged swords. It asks discernment about the person in front of us, where they are at, and to somehow, perceive the macrocosm of the why’s and wherefores’ of how they got to this miserable place of pain and suffering they are in. In today’s society, few can practice this art of discernment. Too many of us want to fix it. And fixing isn’t what it is about from us. Fixing must come from within that person who is doing the walk.
The old spiritual saying: “You don’t heal anyone unless they ask you first,” applies here. If the person does not think enough of themselves to reach out and ask for help, how can you barge in and think you can change anything? The truth is, you won’t. And even if you manage to, it will revert back to its original symptoms or issues very quickly afterward. The person who needs help is learning HOW to ask. Many of us, until we’re placed between a rock and hard place, don’t remember to ask for ourselves. Our society has so ingrained in us that we should never ask anything for ourselves (for fear of being selfish) that this is the LAST thing we think to do. If we do not value ourselves enough to ask, no real help is going to come our way. At all. So, ASK. Lots of times. Be a squeaky wheel in the universe. Put your request out there verbally. And don’t be shy about it.
That way, if we go to someone and ask for help, we are opening ourselves up for catalyzation from an outside source, and the true healing begins within us (not from that outside source).
Codependency is a big one with an opening heart chakra. It takes us lifetimes to work through this one. We need to look at our cyclical patterns that we “dance” to with our partner. Is it positive and healthy? Or unhealthy. Are we surrounding ourselves with crutches in the guise of others or do we have people supporting our goals in a healthy way, instead?
Here’s some very expensive green tourmaline rough crystals. They are transparent and that deep, green color that many desire. You can see the crystal trigonal system at the right end. Tourmalines end up with three facets at its point. The other end is where the miner very carefully removed these beautiful crystals from the matrix material that he found them in. This is high end Green Tourmaline.
Being able to love leaves one vulnerable. It also means that you trust someone outside yourself. And, you can be comfortable and intimate with them. These are tall orders; especially for dysfunctional people who have been shot at and hit, and closed up in order to protect their soft inner parts of Self. So many of us erect serious and heavy armor around our chest and heart to protect us from name-calling, prejudice, humiliation and so many other unhealthy emotions that are tossed at us like hand grenades. We must first learn to put the armor aside. That in itself, this act of becoming vulnerable, just doesn’t happen overnight, so don’t be in a hurry and don’t become frustrated with yourself.
A person should try to take baby steps when climbing out of their ivory tower to take up residence in their heart in an effort to “feel” again. Be vulnerable with those whom you trust, who you know love you and would not knowingly hurt you. After you get comfortable sharing your real self with them, it will be time to step out into the fray of the world, where there’s a good chance you’ll get dinged up. Persevere. It’s a very interesting dynamic when you can be comfortable in your vulnerability with someone who is in the act of attacking you. Their energy has nothing to hit or react to; consequently, it reflects back on them.
The journey to opening our heart and allow ourselves to feel is one of the more important we’ll do as a human being down here. It isn’t easy; but the rewards are spirit filling.
The energy around Green Tourmaline is unique. Just getting to hold a green crystal is exciting!
HEALTH RAMIFICATIONS:
In the above info, there’s focus on a number of areas of our health. Most important is our heart function. Any time we take on a ‘heart wound’ caused by our growing up years, there can be physical ailment with it. If we are working through these wounds, then the heart is protected to a high degree. If the individual has not done any work, then the energy burden is carried by the physical organ, in this case, the heart.
Many people report that by wearing a Green Tourmaline necklace that they feel an energy pick up. Sometimes these people are hanging out of their body (space cadet syndrome) and the gem anchors them solidly back into their physical form. There’s always more energy if you’re locked into your body energetically rather than hanging out of it, instead. And, people who are exhausted, tired, or are adrenal exhausted can find help above, but also will feel a bump up of energy by wearing Green Tourmaline.
A person with any heart related illness can wear the necklace because of Green Tourmaline’s ability to transmute negative/heavy energy. Over time it can actually help the person work through the dis-ease in a positive way.
HOW TO WEAR GREEN TOURMALINE:
There is no right or wrong time to wearing this Guard Dog and Heart gem. When you feel you’re under stress or going into a stressful or confrontational meeting, then wear your necklace. When you’re not stressed, there’s no need to wear it.
IN SUMMATION:
Green Tourmaline is a white knight on a charger for all of us. It contains androgynous energy. If you pick up this gem you’ll feel both the male and female energy nicely balanced within it. And it can help balance you out as a result. Every time we hit a stressful situation, we go “out of harmony” with our body. Wearing this gem will help reel you back to the center and de-stress you. And in our world, there’s an awful lot of stress. Good thing Mother Earth made huge deposits of this black gemstone so we all could access it and use it like the good friend it is.
If you live in a chaotic home where there’s stress, just putting a small rough crystal (opaque works fine; it doesn’t have to be transparent) of green Tourmaline in each room will act like a ‘stress free zone.’ Just as air filters work to clear a room of dust, the Green Tourmaline will
IMAGES:
two green rough tourmaline crystals
http://www.healthlines.co.uk
three rough green tourmaline crystals
prettyrock.com
faceted green tourmaline
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number of faceted green tourmaline
igmla.com
two rough green tourmaline between fingers
faceters.com
green tourmaline/diamond ring
british-jewellery.co.uk
seven rough green tourmaline crystals
prettyrock.com
green tourmaline earrings
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green tourmaline crystal in matrix
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green tourmaline bracelet
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round green tourmaline bead string
lilybeadhouse.com
silver ring with green tourmaline cab
kaboodle.com
platinum and green tourmaline ring
krikawa.com
REFERENCES:
Andrews, T., The Healer’s Manual, Llewellyn Publications, St. Paul, Minnesota, 1993
Athena list, subscribers, definitions of colors, November, 2001
Myss, C., Ph.D., Anatomy of the Spirit, Crown Publishers, Inc., New York, NY, 1996
Myss, C., Ph.D., Why People Don’t Heal And How They Can, Harmony Books,Inc., New York, NY, 1997
Wauters, A., Chakras and their Archetypes, The Crossing Press, Freedom, California, 1997
CUSTOM MADE NECKLACES BY EILEEN
Copyright Eileen Nauman 2009
