Lauren D'Silva's Blog

Copper and Crystal Wands

04/09/2012 08:10:00

These are the latest wands from my husband Steve, the Copperwitch. They were much admired at our latest show:

This one has a masculine energy with a rutilated quartz point at the tip, a double terminated Tibetan Black quartz at the centre and a labradorite base. 45 cm long. £90

This one has a feminine energy with a fairy quartz point at the tip, a double terminated Tibetan Black quartz at the centre and a moonstone base. It was made on the last Full Moon. £90

Steve likes making to commission, so if you have ideas for something unique let him know.

Beacons of Light

04/08/2012 09:53:00

I had a lovely day yesterday at the Beacons of Light Fair in Brecon. It was the first MBS fair I'd taken my stall to for a few years as I got a little jaded with them (well I do sell crystals!) Yesterday's was refreshing. Friendly stallholders and a harmonious atmosphere.

It was delightful to see so many of my students old and new who made the effort to come along & see me & lovely to see some that I haven't taught for years. At one stage a lady at my stall said, "Is there anyone here you don't know Lauren?" It felt like that at some points in the day!

Many people whom I hadn't met before stopped by the stall and chatted crystals. I know a few of these new faces are coming to study with me and I'm really looking forward to working with them.

It just shows what a rest can do. When you get tired of something and it becomes 'same old, same old' put it down for a while if you can. Once you've had a break you'll either come back with renewed enthusiasm, or decide it isn't for you any more and that's fine too.

Trusting Your Intuition

03/27/2012 14:13:00

Here's my latest article for Bellaonline:

What is intuition? Literally it is tuition that comes from within! We each have the ability to ‘intuit’ the right response for ourselves in any given situation, providing we take notice of our own inner guidance.

We are used to looking outside of ourselves for answers, especially in this Information Age. We search for pearls of wisdom on the internet, refer to books, ask our friends, defer to our teachers, yet we forget that we have our own ‘onboard’ source of guidance which we can hone to be a trustworthy compass through life.

In Western culture we are schooled from an early age to stuff our heads with facts and then use reason and logic to figure out what to do. This is not without some value, but when we become locked into our logical thought processes we forget that we also have access to an inner knowing. We tend to devalue or dismiss our intuitive hunches.

People refer to ‘feminine intuition’. Perhaps this is because girls are often allowed to express their feelings more freely than boys. Women are more likely to sense intuitively if something ‘feels off’ or ‘feels right’ whereas men will tend to logic their way through a given situation. Women generally have an easier time developing their intuition because of this gender difference, but men can still be very intuitive if they give themselves permission to sense in this way.

When you start becoming more intuitive a little tussle will probably take place between your intuition and your rational mind. Your logical mind will tend to overrule your intuition and tell you that you are being foolish, however when you learn to trust your intuition you will see how often your reasoning mind gets it wrong. Your intuition is aligned to Truth and a higher knowing and is not susceptible to the vagaries of the mind.

So how do you learn to listen to your intuition? In a given situation where you don’t know what to do for the best set aside a quiet time and meditate. Don’t consciously think about the issue, just go quiet and let yourself be still and peaceful. You will probably find that within minutes of quiet sitting you have an inner knowing of what your right action will be. Your intuition is available for you all the time, but it gets drowned out by your much louder thought processes. Go within regularly and contact your own intuitive wisdom.

You especially need to learn to tune into your first subtle response to any situation, especially something new, whether that is an offer of a job, a meeting with a new person, a new venture. Do you sense you should move towards it or away from it? Does it feel good for you or bad for you? Your intuitive response usually comes in lightning fast; you sense a situation before you have time for thought to kick in. The skill is to pay attention to what you are sensing.

For example back in my twenties when I was pregnant with my daughter I joined a mother and baby class. There was a woman there who lived around the corner from me. My intuitive reaction to her was not good, she made me feel wary and I actually had, “Keep away, she’s insane,” flit through my mind. Yet she seemed friendly and chatty and suggested we met for coffee. To cut a long story short we quickly became close friends and saw each other several times a week for months after our babies were born. Within a year it became apparent that she was an unstable and possessive lady, insanely jealous of my other friends and she ended the friendship by sending me a shocking poison pen letter.

Why did I override my intuition? I could have saved myself a lot of grief had I taken note! My rational mind said, “She’s okay, it will be nice for you to have a friend with a baby the same age, give her a chance she only lives round the corner, that’s handy for you.” I was in a social situation where edging discreetly away didn’t make any sense on the surface, yet it would have been much wiser!

I have noticed that on the other occasions in my life where I have failed to listen to my intuition I have lived to regret it. Look back through your own life and see where you could have followed your intuition, but went against it. Don’t do this to beat yourself up, but to realise that your intuition does work and you would be wise to pay more attention to it.

Back in Glastonbury

03/26/2012 17:13:00

It was super to be teaching back in Glastonbury this weekend. I met some lovely new prospective students, both for my next Glastonbury group starting at the end of April and for my classes back in Mid Wales! There were some profound shifts of energy, even though these were only taster sessions.

It was a delight to see some familiar faces too, thank you for making the special effort to come and see me...you know who you are ;)

After class on Saturday I went for a wander around Wells, which is only a short trip from Glastonbury. The cathedral frontage is awe inspiring and the Bishop's Palace looks amazing from the moat and the outer walls. I was too late to look inside, but must visit another time!

Special Crystal Therapy Taster Sessions in Glastonbury

03/16/2012 08:19:00

Come and meet me in Glastonbury, get a taste of my teaching style or chat to me about crystal therapy!

Saturday 24th March

10am -1pm Taster Session for the TSCT Crystal Therapy Diploma

£10 per person

2pm - 4pm Drop in Session

Come and ask questions about the course, chat to me about your crystals or training as a healer.

FREE

Sunday 25th March

10am-1pm Taster Session for the TSCT Crystal Therapy Diploma

£10 per person

Prior booking not necessary for any of these sessions!

Venue for all three sessions is the Miracles Room in the Glastonbury Experience Courtyard which can be found on Glastonbury High Street.

BA6 9DU if you use a Satnav.

Ten Great Reasons to Do a Crystal Therapy Course

03/13/2012 09:00:00

As I prepare for my next intake of Crystal therapy students in Glastonbury I thought it would be fun to list some of the benefits of taking a course like mine! I still have a couple of places at time of writing.

10 Great Reasons to take a Crystal Therapy Course:

1. Learn lots of different ways to use crystals for healing and well-being.

2. Embark on your own spiritual development journey.

3. Work with the most beautiful and varied healing tools on the planet!

4. Learn healing techniques you can use on yourself for your own benefit.

5. Meet like minded people and make new friends.

6. Build a gorgeous collection of Earth's treasures.

7. Develop your sensitivity to and awareness of subtle energies.

8. Connect with the crystals as your allies.

9. Stimulate your mind with new learning.

10. Develop your intuition; your 'on-board inner compass' through life.

And of course...

You can earn a recognised qualification and set up your own therapy business!

This Book Changed my Life!

12/13/2011 17:16:00

I've just posted an article on Bellaonline about Karen Kingston's book, Creating Sacred Space with Feng Shui. I've called it 'This Book Changed my Life!' because it was a real wake up call to the world of energy when I came across it 15 years ago and it made a significant impact on my life. I think it is just as relevant today!

Creating Sacred Space with Feng Shui

GRCCT Notice on the ASA- Important info for all Therapists!

11/23/2011 18:47:00

The General Regulatory Council for Complementary Therapists has issued a Notice which makes it very clear that the Advertising Standards Authority do not have the remit to target complementary therapists in the way that they have been doing over the past year. This is excellent news as their stance has been making it difficult to say we can help with anything at all! Bucketloads of experiential and anecdotal evidence was not enough for them, they wanted hard evidence, which in our world is pretty thin on the ground!

Homeopaths were first in the line of fire and have been having a very difficult time of it; the ASA looked like they were going to work through all of us in time and there was a feeling of a powerful anti-therapies agenda at work behind the scenes. In my opinion the GRCCT just earned every penny of my membership fee with this clear Notice:

Here is the text of the GRCCT Notice:

GRCCT ADVISORY RELEASE Circulation: Open Release: 21.11.11

Advertising Standards Authority

Extension of remit relative to practitioners of Complementary Medicine

On 1st March 2011 the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) extended its voluntary remit to advertisers own marketing communications on their own websites and in other non-paid-for space online under their control.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) are self regulatory bodies. Adherence to their requirements is not mandated under law. ASA and CAP are funded by voluntary levy and their operation is based on an agreement between advertisers, agencies and the media owners.

The ASA has no statutory power of enforcement and consumer protection regulations remain unchanged.

There is no requirement under law for practitioners of complementary medicine to follow instruction from ASA.

There is no requirement under law for practitioners of complementary medicine to respond to communication from ASA.

English law allows actions for libel to be brought in the High Court for any published statements which are alleged to defame a named or identifiable individual (or individuals) in a manner which causes them loss in their trade or profession, or causes a reasonable person to think worse of him, her or them.

GRCCT look forward to working with CAP on a revised code more appropriate to public protection in relation to providers of Complementary Therapy. Concerns in regard to false or misleading statements can be addressed to the Office of Fair Trading who may exercise their long existing powers of action under the Trading Standards legislation.

Concerns in regard to treatment or practitioner competence for nationally regulated Complementary Therapies should be addressed to the GRCCT.

Notes for Editors:The GRCCT is the larger of the two voluntary regulatory bodies for practitioners of Complementary Medicine in the UK. The Complementary Therapies regulated by GRCCT are practised by in excess of 50,000 practitioners in the UK.

www.GRCCT.org

Tel: 0870 3144031 Media: 0701 701 4444

Touchstones School of Crystal Therapy is open!

11/18/2011 09:20:00

It has been an exciting month, with my application to join ACHO as a new member school being accepted! This has been a thorough process and I'm delighted to have been approved. Now my school insurance is through and my new logo was agreed upon yesterday, so Touchstones School of Crystal Therapy is officially open for business!

Glastonbury Carnival of Lights

11/15/2011 11:02:00

I had an interesting weekend in Glastonbury teaching the Crystal Therapy Diploma this month. Unbeknownst to us when booking it was the Carnival weekend. Rather busy in town on Saturday, with people staking out their spot on the pavements for the evening procession from mid afternoon onwards. We decided to go for the more luxurious option of booking a table in Cafe Galatea from where we could watch the parade in comfort! It was certainly a sight to behold and some of the floats were remarkable and HUGE.

I think the Haunted Mansion was my favourite, but the Russian Revolution was pretty impressive too!

The Haunted Mansion

The Russian Revolution

Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines