Andara – Light of Beauty & Perfection

I’ve been collecting stones and rocks since I was a little girl. My mom says that I would always come home with a new find, until finally there was no more room on the bookcase that had become entirely dedicated to displaying my treasures. And it didn’t stop there. All throughout my life I’ve stopped to pick up interesting stones on my walks, wherever I am. And when I was able to start purchasing crystals and more expensive specimens, well forget it! Basically, my love for all things mineral has always been a part of my life. Now I  know why. For now it occurs to me that I’ve always been searching for something special; that I somehow knew I would one day come across a stone or crystal being that would have a profound effect upon my life. I was right!

My first Andara. It came to me, I did not seek it out – not consciously anyway. That’s how I have learned to authenticate and discern whether or not certain things are meant for me – the compass of my guidance being that what I am meant to have will always come to me in perfect timing. My experience with Andara crystals is no exception and my journey with them has been mysterious and powerful from the start, to say the least.

~*~

It was my 40th birthday and in response to being asked what I wanted, I told my loved ones that all I wanted was a weekend in my favorite mountain spot to recharge and to do some inner work via silence, stillness and prayer – a spiritual retreat for my weary soul. Three of my closest people then chipped in to rent a B&B and we all drove out for the weekend. Once settled in the cozy, adobe cottage, I set up a small altar/prayer space just beneath the picture window facing my favorite snow capped mountain peak. Stunning! Sitting back and admiring the beauty, you’d think I would have been happy. But nooo! Instead I was agitated. For hadn’t I told my then partner (we’ll call him Anthony) a thousand times how much I was looking forward to some peace and quiet; some ‘alone time’ in nature? “So then why the hell is he insisting on Siamese-twin mode?” I thought to myself. “Grrr!”

I wanted to venture out alone. I wanted to hike the trail up to the Stupa to pray in solitude. But when I expressed this wish, there went his lower lip, hanging down to his chin while he kicked at the floor with the toe of one shoe; too much like a child, I thought irritated. But I felt guilty. After all, it was he who was partly responsible for getting me out here. “Fine, you can come,” I growled under my breath as I tied up the laces of my hiking boots. Like a happy pup, he jumped at the invitation and we set out into the brisk November afternoon.

Even the “swish, swish, swish,” of his ski-pants irritated me as we took our first few steps out the front door and onto the inclining dirt road. The quickness of my pace was purposeful and, I hoped, made it clear that this wasn’t going to be a romantic stroll through the wilderness; I was on a mission. He kept his pace just a step behind me as we walked with a wall of awkward silence between us.

“Silence. Finally!” I thought. But ironically, for all of the silence I had wished for and that I now had, my mind would not shut up! Complaints, resentments, anger and guilt all commiserated and clamored, drowning out any possibility of the peace that I had so been looking forward to.

“Ugh! He’s such a baby! Always throwing tantrums and pouting when we aren’t attached at the hip! Why can’t he just do something on his own for once?!” I inwardly seethed. Accidentally veering into me – his gaze fixed upon the towering mountains – I barked, “can you please watch where you’re going?!”

“Sorry,” his brow furrowed as he hung his head.

I walked even faster as the icy air stung the inside of my nose and rushed into the back of my throat with the sensation of a strong lozenge. With Anthony now hanging back so far that I was almost able to forget he was there, I was finally alone when I reached the steps that led down to the Stupa’s inner circle. I stopped in reverence of the moment, listening to the fluttering sounds of hundreds of colorful, wind-blown prayer flags that encircled the majestic structure. I was finally here, where I had longed to be for so many months! The Stupa’s image on my computer’s screen-saver that stared back at me, eight hours a day, five days a week at my miserable office job, had finally manifested into reality.

Just then, I heard the crunch of gravel behind me as my unwelcome companion approached from somewhere nearby, interrupting my reverie…again. I closed my eyes, wishing that he would just vanish, while simultaneously fighting another surge of guilt for the selfish imagining. Purposefully and slowly breathing in and out to calm my nerves, I thought to make my ascent down the three stairs and into the Stupa’s inner circle, but was shocked to feel something suddenly stopping me; some invisible force-field seemed to have erected a barricade, and wrapping around my legs, I was unable to budge. Although my mind willed my body to move forward, I could not take one step. Immediately frightened, I closed my eyes and scanned my body, trying to figure out what was happening. Just then, the ground seemed to vibrate beneath my feet, like a small aftershock from an earthquake.

“Gasp! Did you feel that?!” my eyes flew open and I turned my head to find Anthony, but he was nowhere in sight, as if he had truly vanished.

“What is this? What’s going on?!” I gulped down the rising panic and closed my eyes again.

“Red broom.” I was surprised to hear the random words in my mind like some invading thought.

“Red broom?” I repeated aloud and opened my eyes, “what’s that supposed to mean?”

Still unable to move, I scanned my immediate surroundings and was taken aback when I saw it! A red broom woven among the branches of a nearby Pine tree. For all the times I had visited this place, I never recalled seeing a broom in any of the surrounding trees – that would have definitely caught my attention. In fact, I couldn’t recall seeing any brooms anywhere in the vicinity, ever.

As if the force-field abruptly let go its hold, I felt suddenly able to move. The curious happenings continued to unfold as I now felt pulled by my own legs – they, seeming to be under the obedience of some mysterious force as they led me to the base of the broom tree. Bewildered, since I had no intention of walking to this spot voluntarily, I surrendered and looked up. The red broom seemed to be strategically placed in the twisted branches.

“What the…?! So okay, am I supposed to…?”

“Yes. Take hold of the broom,” I received the inward response before I could finish the question.

“Alright then…” I complied, reaching up and trying to pull the broom free from its resting place. But being securely nestled into the branches like a piece of an intricate puzzle, getting the broom free wasn’t as easy as it looked, but I eventually got it. And something within told me that I should pay close attention to how I found it in order to leave it precisely the same way after I…

“After I what?” I laughed aloud, feeling crazy for what seemed like an absurd conversation with myself. But just as I asked, the answer came first to my legs again as they carried me back to the top of the steps where I had started. There, I stood frozen again, but this time with the red broom dangling in my grip at my side. Intuiting that I should close my eyes again and wait for further instruction, I felt a slight vibration from the object in my hand and looked down to see the stick end of the broom swaying back and forth, like a pendulum; it was as if it were trying to decide something. Shocked, I glanced around, now wishing that I wasn’t alone and that I had a witness to the bizarre happenings!

Like a compass needle pulled by the magnetic Earth, the stick end suddenly made an undeniable decision and pointed downward, to the ground.

“Sweep!” the mysterious instruction surprised me.

Although baffled, I immediately obeyed and began sweeping where I stood. And now that the ground beneath my feet had my attention, I noticed that there was indeed much that required sweeping. The steps were nearly covered by the countless pebbles that lay dislodged from their intended place off to the sides. Sweeping one step clean at a time, I was finally allowed to move down and into the Stupa’s inner circle. Once there, the broom handle made it clear that I wasn’t done – that I should keep sweeping, clockwise, around the Stupa as I again let it hang in my hand and it again pointed the way.

But the terrain was different here, than at the steps. The various sized slabs of flagstone that formed the inner circle of the Stupa were like a large stone puzzle that held more scattered pebbles atop each puzzle piece. Sweeping here was not going to be as easy as sweeping the steps, for it took an extremely gentle touch to get the pebbles back into the narrow spaces between the flagstone without dislodging even more of the tiny stones that lay between. I would have to sweep each piece one at a time, and very mindfully, to get the task done to the standards that I intuited as necessary.

Noticing that my hands were already becoming stiff from the cold, I realized how long this was going to take but knew that I must finish; I knew I had to sweep the entire grounds of the Stupa! I now understood that this was the only way that I would be allowed to circumambulate and make my prayers and offerings at this place, this time.

“Is this some kind of penance?” I laughed, still puzzling over the bizarre experience that I found myself a part of. And as with every question I posed, an immediate answer came to me as I continued to sweep, very slowly, making my way around the Stupa as the mysterious dialogue continued.

“You claim to have come to this place to do sacred work, did you not?”

“Yes. That was the intention. That’s always what I intend to do when I come here to the Stupa…to this beautiful place,” I answered as I glanced up at the backdrop that was a mass of towering mountains embraced by fluffy snow clouds now parting to sun beams of light.

“And what does that sacred work consist of?” the guiding inner voice continued to quiz me as I swept.

“Well, saying prayers while walking around the Stupa; dedicating all of the merit that I generate to all of the world…extending blessings…you know, sacred work,” I answered aloud.

“Offering prayers and blessings to all of the world, you say?”

“Yes, to all of the world.” I answered.

“Then why can you not offer the same to your brother, now?”

Immediately struck by the truth of the inner guidance and the irony of my own blindness and hypocrisy, I stopped in my tracks, frozen in place as a wave of humility crashed over me. “Oh my God!” I burst into simultaneous laughter and tears as my frozen leather glove slapped against my forehead.

“God Indeed,” the inner voice continued. “Your brother’s too is the face of God, as are all of your brothers and sisters – more sacred than any ‘sacred place’ or ‘ritual.’ In your forgetfulness, you have neglected to see that which is truly sacred. Yet this task of sweeping is not meant as a punishment but rather as a gentle reminder. A reminder to be aware and to humble yourself in order to learn and to remember this truth. Be mindful against falling into traps of self-righteousness and forgetfulness, and as you sweep, with each pass of the broom, with each clearing of the path that so many others have walked and will walk, let this lesson be etched into your heart: The reason for any ritual or prayer is to awaken to the Truth of your own identity as a being of Love, joined in unity with your Creator, and to remember to see and to honor this same Truth in All.”

“Ahem…you okay? What’cha doin’ here? Where’d you get the broom?” Anthony had appeared at my side without my even noticing. Snapping out of my trance, I looked at him with what seemed to be a new set of eyes. He smiled, waiting for a response, seeming a bit amused and confused.

“I’m…well I was…oh, I’m so sorry!” I threw my arms around his neck, red broom still in hand. He melted and hugged me warmly asking with a chuckle, “sorry for what?”

“I’m sorry for being so mean and impatient with you since we arrived here. I appreciate you and I’m sorry that I haven’t been showing it. You’re such a blessing!”

“Aw it’s okay…”

“No,” I stepped away, addressing him seriously “it’s not okay.” I stood shaking my head, looking down at the broom in my hand, mystified. “You wouldn’t believe what just happened to me here,” I sighed with relief. For I knew that I had truly just released all of the resentments and guilt that had been burdening my heart, and his too.

“What happened? You found a magical broom?” he joked.

And grabbing it with both hands and holding it at eye level I smiled, “well yeah, I guess you can say that’s exactly what happened.”

“Okay…” he chuckled, “but why are you sweeping? And where the hell did you find a broom around here anyway!? Seriously!” We both burst into laughter.

“I’ll tell you the whole story tonight when we’re back at the house because – and I hope you won’t mind but – I really need to finish sweeping. I need to complete this task.”

“Dang! You’re gonna sweep around the entire Stupa?!” he asked.

“Yeah, I’ve got to. Is that okay with you? I mean, you can go back to the house if you don’t feel like waiting around…I’ll understand.”

“No, no…it’s cool. I love being out here…you know that. I just wish there was another broom so that I could help you,” he looked around. “You never said where that one came from.”

“I found it over there, in that tree,” I pointed.

“Really? You found that broom…in a tree?” he laughed.

“I know!” I giggled, “and it gets even more weird! But I’ll tell you when I’m done, okay? And thanks for offering to help but this task mine to complete, alone.”

After an hour of sweeping, I could feel that blisters had formed on my hands, despite the gloves I wore to protect them. Stiff with cold and an aching neck from looking downward, I was undaunted by the discomfort, for I had done what I was guided to do and my heart was aglow! With every pass of the broom I dedicated my task to all of the sacred brothers and sisters who had, and who would ever walk upon these holy grounds. And what an honor it was to do this, I realized. For those who came here, came to pray for the world, they came to bless all of Creation.

When I was done, I felt more accomplished in my simple task than if I would have made a million rounds and said a million prayers! Still, I did three final rounds myself. And bowing with true reverence for the gift of graceful wisdom that I had received, I then walked to the tree where I found the broom. Carefully placing it back into it’s holding place, exactly as I had found it, I stood in awe at all that had just transpired.

Walking up to me, Anthony wore a familiar look of mischief upon his face and stood next to me unusually still, as if he had something up his sleeve.

“What’s goin’ with you?” I asked, amused.

With an excited leap he swung his back-pack off of one shoulder, set it upon a nearby boulder and turned his back to me, as if preparing a secret magic trick. After a quick rip of the bag’s zipper, he dramatically twirled his body around to face me, and like a magician who had just pulled a rabbit from a hat, he bellowed, “behold!” And holding a large black obsidian-looking stone in both hands, I was immediately struck by the energy emanating from the shining object. I instinctively took a cautious step back.

“Whoa!” I gasped, “where’d that come from?”

“Check it out!” he moved closer.

For some reason, I found myself feeling intimidated…there was something about the piece that demanded my utmost respect, the same way one might be moved to bow when any Royalty walked onto the scene. “Here! Wanna hold it?” he irreverently shoved it towards me. I stepped back again, waving him away.

“No, no, no,” I anxiously giggled, “that’s alright.” And trying to mask my inexplicable nervousness, I asked again, “where did you get that?” I suddenly became worried that he might have removed it from some intentional place; that maybe it belonged to one of the make-shift altars that dotted the nearby landscape – I made sure never to disturb or disrespect such things myself.

Seeing the concern on my face he reassured, “don’t worry…I didn’t take it from any of the sacred spots. I found it next to a giant boulder up the path,” he smiled, pointing with his chin.

“Under what boulder? How…? Where…?” I was still concerned.

“I found it right up there; it was almost completely buried. The sun shined on it and I saw a flash out of the corner of my eye as I was walking past the boulder. I thought it was a broken piece of glass at first – like litter from a beer bottle or something – so I thought I’d better pick it up. But when I went to grab it is when I realized it was buried. So I dug it out and I was like, ‘aw man! This is a crystal or something.’ It’s ummm…oh what’s the name of that one stone?” he asked me.

“Wow, I don’t really know,” I stretched my neck to examine it more closely while making sure to keep a respectful distance, “do you mean obsidian?” I took a guess.

“Yeah, that’s it!” he agreed, “obsidian!” he smiled at it, like it was a prize.

“But don’t take my word for it,” I said, “I’m not positive. All I do know is that thing is powerful! I’ve never seen, no…I’ve never felt anything like it!” I shivered.

“I know, right?!” he bounced with the excitement of a little boy, “I’m gonna take it home and put it on my Altar. I’m so stoked!” he said.

Feeling suddenly nervous to think of it living in the same house as me, I felt the need to address the matter further. “Well…that’s cool and I’m excited for you, but are you sure that it doesn’t belong here? Like, have you received permission to take it home?” I asked.

“Pshhh!” he scoffed, “ I found it so that’s all the permission I need. Besides, it’s not like it was completely buried.”

“Yeah, that’s legit,” I had to agree, for I knew that when a specimen does not want to be found, it does not present itself. But still, I was nervous, since never had I been able to feel a crystal the way I felt this one! Even the large clear quartz pieces that had assisted me in several impromptu water healing ceremonies throughout the years, even they did not have such an immediate and powerful effect upon me. But this was his find and he was claiming it, so whatever came as a result of taking it home was going to be for him to deal with, I decided.

“Well, as long as you feel right about it and as long as it presented itself then yeah…cool,” I smiled, feeling somewhat relieved.

Just then, Anthony stopped in his tracks, as if he had forgotten something. He walked toward the Stupa, saying, “wait up, before we go I need to do some rounds.”

I settled in, adsorbing the beauty and power of the day, thinking of the truly valuable gift of wisdom I had received and how perfect that this gift had come on my birthday.

After Anthony was done, he walked up to me with a strange look on his face. “This is gonna sound crazy,” he said, “but I just heard a voice, clear as day! It told me that you are supposed to have the crystal that I found today. It said that it belongs with you.”

Holding my breath, I froze at the implications of his words. I had settled with the fact that it would be coming home with us when I knew that it would be him that would be responsible for it. But now he wanted me to have it? Now I was to be responsible for the crystal and its powers?

“What do you mean ‘it told you?’” I asked, as he held it out to me. “You already claimed it,” I said, reluctant to accept it.

“I know! I mean, I don’t know,” he shook his head bewildered. “I was walking around the Stupa and all of the sudden I heard an inner voice tell me that it belongs with you,” he shrugged his shoulders. “And besides, it is your birthday. Here! Happy Birthday!” he shoved it into my hands with a smile.

~*~

It would be seven years before I knew what I had been gifted that day; a large, black Andara crystal. All that time and still too intimidated, I tried and failed to keep it upon my altar at home, realizing that I was not ready to work with the powerful piece. I did however make sure that it was kept in sacred spaces and placed outdoors during cosmic power days. It was on one such day – Spring Solstice 2019 – that the mystery was finally revealed and my work with the crystal began.

After following a string of YouTube videos that day, I came across a channel that talked about Andara crystals. “Andara? I’ve never heard of such a crystal.” I was intrigued. Within a few minutes, a quick online search led me to a website that explained what they were and how they worked – but I still had no idea what they looked like. Scrolling through the website, I was shocked to see a piece that looked exactly like mine! At this point it was outside on my porch among a purposeful arrangement of other crystals and stones. I ran outside, picked it up, brought it inside, placed it on my altar and my life has never been the same!

I’ve heard many argue the authenticity of these crystals, saying that they’re “fake,” “scams,” and simply pieces of slag glass. What the crystal quickly revealed to me is that one must be vibrating with a high enough frequency in order to work with them; if not, then yes, they will not activate and will seem to only be simple glass. I can only speak from my experience when I report that my frequency has been so incredibly accelerated since consciously working with these crystals. They have and continue to assist me in ways that I could never have imagined to be possible. And since our work together, they have revealed this to me: “Our Light is a reflection of your own inner Light. You are the Master Healer. You have the power to amplify energy by absorbing, storing, releasing, and regulating it. You are the crystal!”

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