Two blogs in one

I started the first part of this blog last Friday and, due to general principle, I was interrupted. 
So here’s the first one, entitled, “Goals vs Desires”
I have another squash waiting, and I’ll probably fix it over the weekend, (I did, but I haven’t eaten it yet) but you can bet it will be by my usual method.  🙂
Are any of you wondering what I meant when I said Danielle LaPorte’s book (THE DESIRE MAP) had inspired me to take a fresh look at goal-setting?
I’ve probably attended dozens of motivational seminars in my life, hearing such ground-breakers as Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy, and Tony Robbins.  I’ve read their books, listened to their recordings, and put a lot of their suggestions into practice.  I’ve enjoyed a great deal of success over my career because of the techniques these amazing guys (and some terrific women, too) taught, and I will probably always use a lot of them–especially Brian Tracy’s List of 20, which I’ve talked about on the blog before.
And yet.  I’m older now and, frankly, the kind of goals I used to chase sound like just that–things to be chased.  (And really, how much is enough?  I’ve earned what I have, that’s true–but I have plenty.  So ‘more’ is not really pertinent here, at least for me.)
Danielle’s approach is quite different–she lists desires, instead of goals, and concentrates on how achieving those objectives will make her feel.  Why do I love this concept?  Because desires are free-flowing, rather than rigid.  Desires leave room for serendipity, for growth and change, and they don’t need ‘achieve by’ dates attached to them.  Desires are the softer, gentler way to live the best possible life–if one approaches them in that spirit.  (Note: We’re discussing wholesome desires here, not the kind we’ve been warned against, and rightly so, down through the ages.)
Basically, there aren’t a lot of material desires on my list–but there are plenty of spiritual, emotional, mental and physical ones.  (You may be younger, with LOTS of material desires, and that’s okay, too.  We all live our lives in stages.)  For instance, I want to keep myself as healthy as possible, on every level, so I can continue doing what I do for as long as possible, and loving every minute of it!  I want to try new things and make discoveries, and if there are a few squash casualties along the way, so be it.  🙂
I want to become a better writer with each book, and a better person with each day.  Instead of focusing on the passing years, I choose to believe that I’m actually in my prime, that I’ve garnered some wisdom along the way, and that my very best experiences are still ahead.  Instead of harping on things in the past that I wish I could change, I want to remember that I am a child of God, beloved, forgiven and redeemed, that I am that 100th sheep my Shepherd will always search for, find and carry home in His strong arms, tucked against His heart.  And so are you.
So, how to do you CHOOSE to feel today, my friend?
Part two: I and the family Stone
It’s amazing what a difference my gemstones and crystals make in my life–I can be stressed-out, running every which way, unable to focus or concentrate, but if I simply pick up a stone in each hand, I feel an immediate change in my deepest vibrations.  Just like that, I’m calm.  Moss agate, for instance, is more powerful for me than any tranquilizer could ever be, and, of course, much healthier!  I’ve seen people respond to stones in instant and incredible ways, and that, too, makes a believer out of a person in short order.
Here’s what I believe about gemstones and crystals, in essence:
1. They are composed of energy, like everything else in the universe, and that energy is powerful indeed.  It is also positive in nature, but it must be directed consciously and wisely.
2. They reconnect us to Mother Earth in a very real way, hence grounding us.  (No pun intended.)  In this day and age, too many of us never actually come into direct contact with the planet itself.
3. They are not magical and they should never be worshipped–they are, however, very much alive, a vital and fundamental element of God’s Creation, and should be treated with genuine respect.  Moreover, to know them is to love them–which is why I call mine ‘the family Stone’.  🙂  (And why we fanatics like to say we work with crystals.  We do NOT ‘use’ them.)
4. While gems and minerals have solid traditional meanings, born of long, long observation, they are also incredibly flexible, and, in my experience, they will ‘tell’ you, intuitively, how to relate to them.  You will be drawn to the ones you need most at the moment.
5. Finally, crystals do not change the outer world–they change you, primarily by raising your energetic frequencies to synch with theirs.  For example, citrine is considered a “money” stone–though it has myriad other qualities–but the stone itself does not draw funds out of the ether, geni-in-the-lamp style.  Instead, citrine attunes you to a vibration matching that of abundance.  Alignment with anything, good or bad, will cause the object of your attention to manifest. 
That said, remember that a new contest begins today.  Get those comments in.