Subscription Review: The Enchanted Crystal Box

Hello Loves!

Today I decided to do something different from the normal blog post that I usually type. I recently purchased a crystal subscription box from Enchanted Crystal and decided it would be fun to do a nice review on them in video format! So click the video below and watch :]

Taken By Ganshmi

Let me know what you think below! Do you prefer these videos with me talking or would you rather just read what I have to say?

And as always, love & light.

Ganshmi

For more information, visit: https://enchantedcrystal.com/subscribe/

Joining A Coven While In The Closet

Greetings Loves!

I've been wanting to write this post for a while and honestly, I'm not sure how this is going to come out. I'm going to just let my opinions and words flow through my mind and onto the keyboard so bare with me if I go on a random tangent haha.

Today I wanted to just write to everyone and share a recent endeavor I have come across in my current status of life in hopes that others may either be interested or share similar experiences to mine. As some of you may or may not be aware [and chances are if you're reading my blog to begin with then you know this] that I am in the broom closet. This is something I currently chose to do even though day by day I find myself stepping out of it. For those who have never been in the closet or for those who have not been in the closet for more than five years, you might have forgotten what this entails. Basically I don't share my religion with those I am not comfortable with sharing the information to. At first I was debating upon not telling a single soul, but when I found out that I had to confide in someone about my religious identity, my boyfriend was the first person I told. Sooner rather then later, most of my friends were pagan [and this was after going out and venturing off to meet other pagans] and those who I consider my closest friends I told. However my family and my boyfriend's family is unaware of my religious status.

When I came across a public circle of my current coven, then just another group I was venturing out to, I knew that this was the place I felt at home. It was a moon ritual held at a local UU church and my first meeting I found myself sharing my deepest concerns and secrets to people I hardly knew. I felt called to share, to open myself up to these people and most importantly, I felt safe. Since then, I did everything I could do to join. I attended their classes and all of their events that I was able to. I eventually got invited to their semi private events and became a dedicant to joining the coven. In Yule of 2015, I officially became a member. 

Thank you Google for this lovely picture!

Since joining, I found that a lot of my free time was taken up by various activities in the pagan community, such as public festivals and my coven job. Though these things I do not mind since I enjoy them greatly, I found that I've pushed some things into the back burner due to the amount of work I am doing. I do have a full time job as well as part time online school to obtain my bachelors degree. Then I have these events, friend time and then other responsibilities that take up my free time. What did I push back on the burner? My biological family. 

Though I do communicate with them every now and then, my family and I have not always seen eye to eye. Though I do love them and I know they love me without a doubt, I can just feel that our relationship isn't going to be this close knit family that I had envisioned in my youth. My family is moving to another state which will be a five hour drive from where I currently live and my aunt, uncle and grandfather are following suite. My cousins who are only an hour from me are not interested in my life and my older siblings that are two hours from me are busy raising my niece and nephew. I honestly don't have any set schedule to take a day or two to go visit everyone, which makes staying in the picture difficult. My boyfriend's family is staying within the area we are currently in, but we too don't always see eye to eye. Things will change once we [finally] move out. 

As for if I feel any sort of void in having a family, I do but I don't. I'm going to miss my family but we've already been distant for so long, it isn't something new for me. I've had my grieving period over them being gone and not so into my life as they were before, we're growing in different directions and more importantly in different religions. Not saying that our religion differences are tearing us apart, as I said I am in the closet, but it doesn't mean I'm making a last ditch effort into seeing them every weekend. 

But before this turns into a completely different post then I intended it to be, I've noticed that joining a coven while in the closet can be an easy task as long as those you're living with know where you're going. Not everyone in the house I live in knows where I go, but my boyfriend does and has even covered for me many times. As for my biological family, if they ask me to come over I will to the best of my ability but I am letting my spirituality take precedence over my life for now. After that, those who love and will accept me for who I really am will be next. My biological family isn't in that category. But my pagan family, my coven, is and always will be. 

How To Deal With Negative People

Greetings my loves!

First and foremost, happy & blessed Imbolc! Though it was yesterday, February 1st, I am a little late to the game here but hey, blessings can be blessings. Those in my immediate area are not celebrating until the 7th so I will make a complete separate post on Imbolc and what I did this year!
So stay tuned!

LOL Is this bitch serious right now? || Google Images

But today what I really wanted to talk about was dealing with negative people. This past week has been really challenging for me emotionally. I've been dealing with a nasty coworker who constantly degrades my work and then has a major mood swings to where she suddenly wants to be a concerned friend, which has been leaving me very angry. On top of that, my home situation has not been ideal where my anger caries home and doesn't allow me to deal with things pleasantly like I want to within the household. Then my school work for my bachelor's degree was getting on my nerves because I had a really anal professor who took points off for commas when they are as subjective in grammar as they come. Feel overwhelmed? Yeah I do and I was just typing my past experiences.

Whether you're dealing with people from work, school, home or just people along your travels, negative people can have an impact on your overall attitude, especially if you're an empath like I am. I recently have been rediscovering my roots, aka where I was learning the basics of paganism and going over various techniques to protect myself in the spirit world. When it dawned on me, "Hello Ganshmi, you should be doing this daily if it's making you this angry." When I say angry, I mean I wanted to do horrible and nasty things to people if I didn't agree with something. I wasn't acting like myself and definitely not acting upon spreading love instead of hate, something the world has too much of at this time.* So that's when I decided to take a course and regain my knowledge with some actual practicing. Below are the tricks I've been relearning and using that would aid you if you're dealing with negative energies or people.

1] Grounding

Grounding is a beautiful tool that we often overlook when we're feeling overwhelmed. It aids to connect back to mother Earth when we're dealing with a lot, not for just when we're done being awesome spiritual pagans. There are various techniques to grounding and not everyone masters it right away, but one grounding technique I like to use is imagining roots are growing from the soles of my feet and to the ground below. I reach my roots further into the Earth, as far as I can possibly go, letting the cool soil nourish my chakras while I find a deep quartz crystal and wrap my roots around it, therefore healing myself. 

2] Clearing

Many people do not know this, but your daily shower or bath is actually you clearing your energy! Pretty neat huh? If showering daily is not your thing, or you'd rather have an actual practice to clearing, then another technique I've been using is taking a light shower. You sit in a comfortable position with your feet planted on the ground, letting yourself relax until you vision a bright white light floating above your crown chakra. Slowly the light washes over your body until all the negativity dissolves from you.

3] Protection / Shielding

This one is an important one, especially for those who are empaths. Shielding/Protecting yourself from other people's emotions is essential or you run around your day feeling like an absolute mess. Start your day by surrounding yourself with a bubble of white light. Imagine it being unbreakable and strong. You can also use various colors, such as pink for love or green for healing. If the bubble is not your thing, you can try disco balls, mirrors, the sacred geometrical flower grid, or whatever strikes your fancy! Try out a couple of different methods and see which one works for you!

4] Breathing

For those moments when you're thinking of nothing else but the situation you're in, the best thing to do is to take a deep breath and to just breathe. Allow the oxygen to fill your lungs, hold it in for roughly 4 seconds, and then let it all out through your mouth. Repeat this a few times and feel the magick flowing through you.

5] Meditating

If you have some time on your hands, meditating is a great stress reducer. Use whatever technique works for you and who knows, you might find an answer to your problems you didn't even know you needed!

6] Getting Out Of The Situation

For some situations where it is so toxic you want to do some serious damage, get yourself out of the situation. Toxic work environments, for example, are something no one should have to put up with. Whether it's switching offices, locations or jobs itself, you should not have to deal with the toxic environment if you can avoid it. Just don't do anything rash.

7] Calling For Help

When all else fails, it's never a bad idea to call for back up. Your guides and angels are always happy to help you in terms of a crisis and you'll find yourself thankful you called for their help.

I know this was a very basic list but I just wanted to remind everyone there are ways to living your life better one technique at a time. Let me know below what techniques you use!

Love & Light,

Ganshmi

* This is not saying I am a fluffy pagan, I am far from it. I just know my purpose here is to heal, love and spread awareness to where it aids the Earth.