Depression is nasty stuff. I know, I have fought it my whole adult life and upon reflection, since I was elementary age. I’m writing this as I sit in the Dublin airport returning from a wonderful weekend of teaching Crystal Workshops focused on using crystals for personal empowerment, growth, and healing at Obus School, in Leixlip, Ireland. It was a wonderful three days.
This was my second time teaching at Obus and was even more enjoyable than my first time in 2019. I was scheduled to return in 2020, but we all know what happened there. I was also scheduled to teach at another center in Northern Ireland but, unfortunately, we did not have enough time to adequately prepare and that has been postponed. So, there I was, another full week in Ireland. What to do?
There were some options. I could take a ferry to Scotland which would be my first trip there. I’d be flying by the seat of my pants, something I was more than willing to do but I didn’t have a super-strong positive feeling
for that adventure. I would very much have liked to explore Dingle, the Beara Peninsula, the Ring
of Kerry, a lot of the southern portion of Ireland, however, car rental-not cheap. Couple that with gas at $7.86 a gallon and I was, again, not getting the positive, “this is the time to do this” feeling. A possibility came up for the village of Shillelagh, close to the Wicklow Way. It looked fabulous. A lovely little village, just what I wanted. It was basically a postcard of Ireland. However, I’m using public transportation and getting there was a bit trickier than moving around some of the other cities and outlying suburbs. So once again, what to do?
Galway presented a wonderful Airbnb that I’m sure would have fit like a glove. Public transportation nearby, good price, and I love Galway! So why not go? I like to balance my solo travel with teaching, taking classes, and experiences that I can have only in that particular location. That was not presenting itself in Galway at this point. I had previously done all that I could there in terms of group excursions through public transportation. No classes or events were fitting into the time frame I had. I would’ve been 100% solo. Although I’m sure I would have met some lovely people, I know that the majority of the time I would be running around an area, by myself, and believe that would not have been the most positive experience for someone who suffers from depression. I had such a wonderful time there in 2019, with a natural flow of events, that I didn’t want to go back and risk tarnishing those magical and very cherished memories. Memories that were in fact possible because I had listened to my intuition. I would rather wait until the pieces fit right and make even more memories. Interestingly enough, I wasn’t getting the full “YES, this is what you’re supposed to do” from my gut about going to Galway. Hmm...
What did fall exactly into place? The bus from my Airbnb in Belfast to the Belfast train station, flawless. Catching the Belfast train to the Dublin train station went without a hitch. The cab from the train to the airport, easy, no complications. Changing my flight with absolutely no change fee, clean and swift. This all occurred within 12 hours of pondering if going home early was the thing to do. All of those pieces falling into place and the feeling of “yes” in my gut.
What was that feeling in my gut that had obvious polarity in these scenarios? That’s intuition and that intuition is something that I have learned to listen to and heighten through using crystals. Through meditation, study, carrying certain crystals, and not always those labeled as ones that have metaphysical and physical properties that are directly linked with depression, but instead those that I have a personal connection with. The crystals that I have worked with as I navigate my way through depression, my career , my day-to-day. These include interacting with crystals simply because they attracted me without a particular purpose or reason. They have helped me develop the intuition to make better decisions even though difficult and this was a difficult one. Time to go home, a week early.
Listening to what felt good instead of pushing, and allowing myself to make a different choice is something that working with crystals has taught me. My time teaching was stellar, satisfying and successful. Two days on my own taking some tours in Belfast was interesting and sufficient. To be clear, it took effort and a lot of listening to my intuition, my gut.
I chose to leave on a successful high note and be happy with what I had accomplished in my time at Obus, be grateful for time with friends and making new friends. I am ecstatic with my new connection to the greatest coffee shop ever, SoCoffee, and look forward to returning to it. I will return next year to teach two consecutive weekends and do some private healings at Obus. My Northern Ireland center connection is working with me to make classes available there too.
I have never been able to make a choice like this before without a lot of sadness, self-defeating guilt, and feelings of failure. Oh, I had to talk it out (via texting) with a few people as I went through the process. I am very grateful for their insight. I had to wrestle with some doubt but then I returned to the feelings that I have learned by working with different crystals to help me understand myself and let me take baby steps when it comes to depression. I LISTENED to my gut, my intuition. It is not an overnight fix. It is something that this practice and this connection to crystal energy and energy healing have and continue to teach me.
So I leave my beloved Ireland with positive feelings knowing that I am coming back and will have the opportunity to do even more than I did this time. I’m
going home when I am supposed to even though it is not when I thought I would. I am saving money. I got a blog post out of the experience. I am making healthy choices for myself and even though as I sit in the airport and write this, I struggle, but not nearly as I have in the past. I am
allowing myself to leave before I get in the way of myself and begin spiraling downward.
What crystals did I use to get here? The ones that I have made a personal connection with over time. Trusted friends. I did not frantically Google which one was going to help me magically in this instant. I trusted those that I have gotten to know, like any other friend. As I’ve worked with them I’ve learned more and more about
how to handle these feelings and I hope I will get better and better at it. This is going to be OK. As a matter of fact, this will be one of the examples I tuck into my bonnet and look back on when I face the next bridge I have to cross. I’ll remember this feeling, that in this circumstance my relationship and work with crystal energy clearly guided me. I will pull from this in the future. Oh, and for those who have participated in workshops I’ve taught, I guarantee you this will be a crystal, “rabbit hole” story.😉