December 16, 2007

The Sacral Chakra

This is the second chakra, or energy center, located about 2 inches or so below the navel. It is associated with the emotions, creativity, reproduction, and one's view of sexuality. The color associated with this chakra is orange.

When I work on a person who has blockages in this chakra, almost always there are repressed emotions. This chakra can be kept healthier by being aware of the times when emotional states are blocked. Often this coincides with a clenching or tightening of the lower belly, which tends to block the flow of energy in this center and create emotional disconnection. I often remind clients to soften the lower belly. In other words, to release tension there.

This is the creative center of the world. Indeed, women create new life in the energy of this chakra. When a woman experiences menopause, the ability to create a baby is ended, but there opens up a new power to create in other ways. I frequently see post-menopausal women taking on extraordinary creative projects. A great way to keep the energy of the sacral chakra moving is to keep creating, whether through artwork, through volunteer services, or any number of inspired endeavors.

In a blocked 2nd chakra, one's ability to express the life purpose is diminished. The 2nd chakra works with the 5th chakra, the throat chakra, through which self-expression flows. These energy centers are part of your subtle energy body, and although they are not commonly discussed, they affect your health, your wellbeing, and your life's purpose.

There are several ways to keep the energy flowing through your sacral chakra. Of course I recommend that you have your chakras balanced first, which I do with each person I see, but you can do some simple things on your own to help it along.

  1. If you are a visual person, see orange light flowing into and through the area of your lower belly.
  2. Express your creativity: paint, write, sing, dance!
  3. It is said that sweet fruits, nuts, and spices such as cinnamon and vanilla aid this chakra.
  4. Move your lower body like a belly dancer. Circular hip movements aid the 2nd chakra.
  5. Sit on the earth and ground yourself. A healthy root chakra leads to a healthy sacral chakra.
  6. Lie down and place an orange stone on this energy center. I prefer carnelian to heal this chakra.
  7. Breathe into your lower belly.
  8. Practice qi gong, movements designed for subtle energy management.
Although we don't hear much about it in our conventional society, our chakras play a vital role in keeping body, mind, and spirit in balance. Anytime you feel unbalanced or unwell, having your chakras balanced will benefit your body, stabilize your emotions, and reconnect you to your source.

Rami Grant


Here is the boy who starts each day with excitement and exuberance.

November 3, 2007

A Priest and a Celt

I just returned from Ireland, the "Emerald Isle" where I had the great privilege to travel and soak up the many shades of green. While there, I got to thinking about how we rush from place to place in an attempt to get it all done, or do it all first, or what else I'm not quite sure. In Ireland there is extensive farmland where people live simpler, quieter, more peaceful lives. I experienced a kindness, graciousness, and consideration for others from the Irish people that I had grown accustomed to living without here in busy, get-ahead California.

But what I want to talk about is the flight home. I had the good fortune to have two empty seats next to me. I planned to stretch out and sleep as soon as the formalities of beverage service were complete. However, shortly after take-off, a large white-haired man decided to sit in one of "my" seats and use the one between us for his satchel, books, headset, and two bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon he had ordered from the flight attendant. His assigned seat didn't allow leg room, he explained to me as he settled in.

We ended up next to one another for the duration of the flight. Initially I kept my head in my book until his jovial self poured over into my space and I had to look over. It turned out the man was a retired Irish Catholic priest from Chicago who had been trekking around Ireland with several other priests also on the flight. I considered our flight was safe, with all the closeness to God on board. I quietly put my book away. We spoke for hours until our necks could not turn in each other's direction any longer. He had a twinkle in his eye and an unabashed joy of spirit that made me want to convert.

Never in my 42 years have I, who as a girl was raised in a Protestant environment, had the opportunity to talk with a priest. Not once. And I wondered how often it was that he found himself sitting with someone such as myself, an intuitive healer who had just been intently reading a book called A Bewitched Land: Ireland's Witches.

We talked about his life as a priest and how it was when he began as a young man. He told me about his former sabbaticals to Europe, and one to Ireland especially. He listened to my perspectives with an open mind and such understanding and agreement that it surprised me. Best of all, I got to see a human face behind the Father. Indeed the face I saw was one of love, devotion, and ceaseless service that made me glad to be alive.

As the doors opened for us and we were free to depart the airplane, I turned back to wave goodbye. The Irish Catholic priest from Chicago had just put on a newly purchased baseball cap with the word "Himself" embroidered on it. And that is exactly what he was.

September 14, 2007

Divine Healing

"Know that all strength, all healing of every nature is the changing of the vibrations from within - the attuning of the divine within the living tissue of a body to Creative Energies. This alone is healing. Whether it is accomplished by the use of drugs, the knife or what not, it is the attuning of the atomic structure of the living cellular force to its spiritual heritage."

Edgar Cayce (reading 1967-1)

September 13, 2007

White Eagle on Healing

To heal sick bodies is good, but to heal the soul is better. When your heart is full of love and compassion, you are sending out from your own center the light which God has implanted in you as a tiny seed. As you aspire to the Great White Spirit, God, so this light and power grows in you.

Every thought of God, every small effort that you make to think rightly, to reach up to a higher level of truth, goodness, purity, and love, is a help to heal the world. This manifestation of sunlight through you, the quiet infiltration of this holy light into human hearts and lives, will indeed heal the whole world.

White Eagle

August 28, 2007

Mimi came to me two years ago during an unusually rainy winter. I kept seeing what appeared to be a white stone in the yard. Finally when I went down and took a closer look, it was this sweet homeless kitty. Apparently she's got good sense and chose to adopt me. She's had good meals, a warm place to sleep, and a lot of love ever since.



Rami at 13 weeks.

July 20, 2007

What's the Deal with Telephone Sessions?

Telephone sessions give you the opportunity to be in the comfort of your own environment. There is no driving involved, no rushing in traffic and sitting at traffic lights, and no having to jolt yourself back into stress after a healing session as you head out onto the highway in rush-hour. Instead, there is an easy flow of self-transformation, healing, growing, evolving, and being in greater joy and ease in your life.

Sessions by telephone provide you with insight, understanding, and healing energy to assist in the transformation of your life issues. You can also refer your friends and family from anyplace in the world and I can work with them. There is great flexibility.

You might want to give a telephone session a try sometime if you haven't already. I think you'll be glad you did.

June 20, 2007

Numerology: The Path of Destiny Number

In my healing practice, I almost always look at a person's Life Lesson number which comes from the birthdate. I look at it out of my own insatiable curiosity but also because there have been innumerable times I have discussed it with a person and they have had some sort of new clarity about their lives that they had not had before our discussion.

Recently I was working with a client and we were delving further into some aspects of numerology in regard to how it can help us gain a deeper understanding of ourselves. This is a question she emailed me, which I reprint here with permission:

"I had some questions on the number of my name....Is this how it is done?"

Yes, to get your Soul Number write down your full birth name. Then write down the corresponding numbers, add them straight across, and reduce them to a single digit. (Count A-B-C 1-2-3 up to 9 then begin at 1 when you get to J. Count up from there to 9 and so on.)

For example:

Ann Marie
1+5+5 4+1+9+9+5
Jones
1+6+5+5+1= 57/12/3

This person's destiny number is 3.

This number shows what you are here to do in this lifetime, your aim in life, what you came to accomplish. It can change slightly with a name change, but your basic birthname will still carry the dominant vibration.

For example, a 3 vibration gets to be inspirational to others. Those with this vibration get to show the rest of us that life can and should be fun! Due to early training, 3's often don't realize that life is meant to be joyful until later in life, at which time they break free of painful bonds and become the playful spirits they were meant to be.

If you have changed your name in any way, get the number for that name too, but use it as an overlay of sorts. Both vibrations will be influential in your life.

June 19, 2007

Castor Oil Packs - more information

This question about the castor oil packs was sent to my email and I've answered it below.

"I couldn't figure out how to send a message on your blog so I'm writing here. I liked your castor oil article. Where do you put the castor oil towel? If you have stomach problems or liver problems do you put it there? If you have knee aches or hip problems. I wasn't sure. Also do you have to soak the tshirt or just put some on the first layer of the shirt and the other part is just to soak up the extra? What if you just want more energy where do you put it? I want to try this soon. Thanks for the info - looking forward to seeing what results I get."

More Details on How to Use a Castor Oil Pack:

Cotton flannel is often recommended, but I find it to be too rough. I use an old unbleached white t-shirt cut in wide strips and folded in three layers to give it thickness. The packs I use are about 4"x4".

  1. Place the folded cotton on plastic wrap, with the plastic just larger than the cotton piece.
  2. Pour about 2 Tablespoons castor oil over the cotton. I don't heat it first, although some people like to. Do not microwave it. When you place the heating pad over it the oil will spread and saturate the fabric.
  3. Place the pack on the skin, directly on the area of the liver, belly, knee, or breast, for example, oil-side down, plastic on top. The liver packs go on the right side of the abdomen, below the breast.
  4. Put a thin towel over that and cover with a hot water bottle or other heated pack.
  5. Rest for about 30 minutes.
The oil can stain fabric, so when you are finished with the pack, take a shower or wipe the oil away completely.
Be sure to drink plenty of water because although you don't see anything happening, the castor oil is flushing out toxins. You can reuse your pack at least 20 times by keeping it in the refrigerator between uses. Bring it to room temperature before using it.
The towel protects you a bit in case the heating pad is too warm for your skin. Plus it provides another layer of protection for your clothing in case the oil seeps around the plastic, which it occasionally does.
Let me know if you have any further questions!

June 16, 2007

Another Essential Oils Company to try

Another essential oil company - thank you for letting us know!

Also, to reply to anything on my blog click on "comments" at the bottom of the post. You will need to sign in, but it's quick and easy.

Hi Christina,

I can't figure out how to post to your blog, but I just wanted to let you know of another good essential oil company, similar to Young Living Oils but nonprofit. It is Ancient Wisdom Essential Oils http://www.ancientwisdomessentialoils.com/.

June 15, 2007

Health Connections Radio Program Signs Off

Yesterday Gina Renee and I did our final Health Connections radio program. For over 2 years we chatted over the airwaves and had fun doing it. I can't explain precisely why I was ready to complete my run with the program, but I do know I've got more writing to do and it's time to focus more attention on that.

Meanwhile, Gina Renee is off and running with the sequel to Health Connections. She will continue on the air with her own program called Health Talk with Gina Renee. This will continue in the same time slot: Thursdays, 4:05pm PST on http://www.knry.com/ or, locally in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties on AM1240 KNRY.

On my end, as soon as this gap came in my time, instead of getting right down to putting pen to paper, I began to research getting a puppy. A Golden Retriever. Then a Goldendoodle. I wake up in the morning with visions of Goldendoodles.

I am assured the puppy will sleep or rest quietly while I conduct my telephone healing sessions, as long as it gets some vigorous play time beforehand. Hmmm...

All of this comes as a surprise mostly to myself, as I have forever been a cat person, loving the sleek style and independent, aloof attitude of a feline. Consequently, I have been contemplating this sudden, not change-of-heart, but rather opening-of-heart.

Could it be this opening is what will allow in the unbounded, unbridled, unconditional love and spirit of a dog? And then, could it be that I will allow it in from everywhere? From everyone? I am thinking so. Yes, I think so. It's time.

June 6, 2007

What is a Solar Return?

"I read on an astrology web site that people who have birthdays from April 29th - May 5th should experience powerful changes this year since we are in a new Solar Return. What is a Solar Return, how often does it occur, and what is it's significance? (It also said Jupiter is in square to rebellious Uranus in our new Solar Return.)?!?"


Everyone experiences a Solar Return every year around their birthday. It literally is when the Sun in the sky comes to the exact degree it was at the moment we were born. It is a "return" to its original position.

The significance of the Solar Return is that it provides a chart that can be assessed in addition to your birth chart. I look at the Solar Return as an overlay of sorts, for example, I look at the Solar Return and consider it alongside the natal chart transits. The Solar Return is a chart for the coming year.

When looking at a Solar Return chart, we look to see what house the Sun, Mercury, Venus, etc. are in. This shows what the tendencies will be for the year just as the natal birth chart shows the tendencies of a person for the lifetime. We can often see if the focus will be on career, love, etc. I've noticed in my own charts that it's very obvious to detect busy years from quieter ones, years with lots of travel, years for working a lot, etc.

What I've found intriguing about the chart is that we can begin at the Ascendant and go backward through the houses to discover what month in the coming year will hold a particularly powerful influence.

One client recently had the moon (ruling emotions) in the 12th house (hidden, unconscious, events of the distant past) of her Solar Return chart. With that placement, she might experience more emotions than usual during the first month or so following her birthday.

She later reported that during that first month she had many "behind the scenes" emotional days, whereby very old griefs and past hurts came to the surface for her to work through. Much of this grief she thought she had already dealt with.

So it's endlessly interesting to me and I love that you took the time to get clarification.

In terms of Jupiter square Uranus for your Solar Return this year, I would want to see what houses these two are in. But Jupiter is in Sagittarius while Uranus is squaring from Pisces. When these two touch upon each other, you can experience sudden opportunities or an unbridled desire to escape any type of restraint or restriction on yourself.

For those born around the beginning of May, 2007 there might seem to be a rebellious streak in them this year, as changes are apt to be made without considering all of the consequences.

At any rate, I always see Uranus as upleveling and making changes for us, whether we like it or not, but for the better. Uranus takes us to a new place, freshens the scenery, and sometimes does it abruptly while all bystanders are looking on with their chins dropped at the audacity of it all.

Enjoy your wild ride this year!

Life Transitions, Pluto, and the North Node

This question came to my email, and I post it here with permission.

"I have a quick question for you. I embarked on a 'major purge' this week in preparation for clearing the decks for Mercury Retrograde. This morning I shook, felt chills, and burst into tears when I found a post-it note from one of our sessions:

March 30, 2007 Pluto on North Node Pluto "square" ACS & Moon
Jan 4, 2006 Pluto into 4th house (will go back & forth)

Christina, March 30th, 2007 was a day I will never forget. The events of this one day changed my life forever. What was the significance of the aspect you predicted? You have no idea how important this is to me in the growth work I am doing now.

Thanks for taking a few minutes to clarify." GB


It is a joy to hear from you, though I imagine you are going through some major changes in your life that feel uncomfortable.

Pluto on your North Node will get you onto your soul's path, even if it has to drag you there. It's a good time to let go of whatever you know needs to be let go of (you will know) and to allow the new to come in. Pluto rules transformation - death and rebirth. Once the old dies away, often with much grief, there is a beautiful rebirth and life changes in new ways that we could never have imagined.

Now, with Pluto square your Ascendant and Moon, that would indicate a challenge in terms of changes needing to be made in the way you respond emotionally to life (the moon) and also in your outer image in the world (the ascendant or "rising" sign). You are undergoing deep transformations that will help you put yourself out in the world in a much more comfortable and "higher" way.

It's all great stuff, however when it's happening it can be shocking at times. You can rest assured that you are being taken to a place of higher awareness and that your life will be improved as a result of these transits.

PS Pluto into the 4th has to do with your home life and also your inner home - your inner foundations. You might move during this transit or clear out all old "junk" to make room for the new, whatever that may be.

May 23, 2007

Ramblings

If someone were to ask me not, "What do you do?" but "Who are you?" (a much more interesting question, don't you think?) I would answer: "I am a mystic." Then that person quite possibly could either scrunch their forehead or crinkle their eyes, or twist their mouth to reveal what they are thinking: how odd. They might politely drift away from me or change the subject. Or, they might even venture to admit, "Really!? Me too!" In which case we could excitedly compare notes on our mutual mystic-ness.

I would answer "I am a mystic" because I am an appreciator of all things mystical, having more than a slight aversion to the practical duties of life. Show me forests harboring faeries or fog drifting in wisps from the sea or ancient practices in the search for God, and I'm in. Inform me of the necessity of new windshield wipers or a trip to the market and I'm wondering how I can make it go away.

I enjoy delving into the unconscious mind to understand, evolve, grow spiritually, or to heal. This is where we find the answers to why we are in pain, depressed, angry, sick, alone, escaping, unsatisfied with our jobs or with people or life itself. We are not conscious of why we are ill or in pain or suffering in a relationship, but when we become aware of it the opportunity for healing is immense.

A good healer will work on your behalf to make whole what is fragmented. Your body, mind, and spirit will be addressed because one cannot be separated from the others. A good healer will be a catalyst for you to come into wholeness. This can occur for someone on the verge of dying, too. Healing does not mean to make someone like they were before or to make it all go away, although it does mean guiding one to a better place than before. A dying person can come into wholeness. How wonderful to strive for this harmony just before death.

To address the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of a person is vital to that person's wellness. What I do toward this end is endlessly fascinating. I'm deeply intrigued by this condition called life in which we've found ourselves. I'm grateful to help others come into wholeness. Sometimes even through our tears we can laugh about what we find deep within ourselves as we begin to realize we are all in this together.

May 11, 2007

Dr. Christina Grant - Posts 1st Blog

May 11, 2007

Dr. Christina Grant - Holistic Healing for the Body, Mind and Spirit starts posting to blog. Upcoming blogs will include tips, resources, comments, and reflections for healing, self-healing, consciousness, spiritual growth, organic gardening (!) and life. Your questions can be answered here and your comments can be shared with others who might be thinking or wondering about the same.

Be sure to visit
www.christinagrant.com. While you are there, you can sign up for her quarterly e-newsletter.