http://wisdom-magazine.com/Article.aspx/1499/
Working with Stone: Stone Talismans
by Madis Senner
I work a lot with stones to create a variety of structures to tap into and enhance Mother Earth. They are a great natural tool that can assist in making sacred space or clearing a contaminated space.
Talismans. amulets and good luck charms are objects that someone has charged with certain abilities or powers by focusing their attention on it, either through ritual or focused concentration. The object retains the focused thought and carries it with them wherever they go. For example, you can create a protective amulet by taking a pendant or some other object and visualizing that whoever wears it is protected. So when you wear it the amulet will be bearing the thought form of protection 24/7 wherever you go.
We are all the time creating talismans.
Ritual and focused concentration are not necessary to create a talisman. Our thoughts attach to each object we come in contact with and we are influenced by them as well. We are constantly creating talismans. It is the intention and effort of ritual and focused concentration that give added strength to the talisman. Our thoughts and intentions also attach to a place.
Stones like other objects retain the thoughts and actions of what has gone on around them. Stones seem to hold the consciousness better and retain it longer than other objects. All talismans loose their potency over time and need to be recharged. What distinguishes stones from other talismans is that they are a natural part of Mother Earth.
Using Stones
I generally meditate on stones when creating sacred space outdoors. They provide me with features that can better enhance the space. The stone reinforces your intentions with its physical presence and adds emphasis. The stone helps to better retain our intentions at a specific location than would meditation or ritual by itself. The spiritual embers of a stone, or stone pile will retain intentions long after prayer is no longer practiced at a place. Stones also better help attract Mother Earth’s beneficial energies.
You can place the stone within a stone circle, in place by itself, or as part of another structure. I often place a large flat stone strategically within a stone circle to add focus. I reinforce this by meditating on the stone or holding hands with other people as we say a prayer together.
When trying to make or keep a large space as sacred I often place stones by themselves in a particular area. I situate the stone and then meditate on it while sitting on a sportsman’s cushion. It is not necessary to hold the stone, but only be in close proximity to it to pick up your meditative intentions. This is like planting a seed thought of love at a particular place, and if you are persistent and do continued meditations there you will see it blossom and bear the most exquisite spiritual fruit. Over time a natural vortex may form on it, which means it is drawing in the highest from of prana (energy) which I call cosmic prana because it is more consciousness than energy. To learn more about vortices go to: http://www.jubileeinitiative.org/energyvortices.html
Stand alone stones also serve as markers for prayer sites. They are a wonderful marker for others that may be coming to a sacred site for the first time. In writing up sacred sites for www.motherearthprayers.org whenever possible I try and leave behind standalone stones for others to know where to go to. I often place stones on some divine aspect of Mother Earth that I want people to connect with.
As more people pray or do ceremony at a stone it begins to increase the potency of the charge, or the consciousness that it bears. Not only will each successive prayer or ritual increase the stone’s potency, but the efforts of what has gone on there before will enhance your experience. This is particularly helpful for people that are neophytes at meditating. Meditating on a stone charged with the meditations of others will improve their meditative experience.
Using Prayer Stones to Clean Space
In creating a stone circle or any other stone structure, you might want to spiritually clean your stones before you use them. Since stones carry the thoughts and actions of previous experiences they may have been injured in a fire, or ripped from the earth, or been where an animal was killed. You clean a stone by holding it and saying a prayer. Your intention is the key. I create prayer stones on a regular basis by placing stones in a small bag and placing it under my meditation cushion whenever I meditate. Over time the stones can have vortices form on them creating a potent force for healing and peace.
You can take your cleaning of a stone a further with increased intention and effort. Such a stone can become a prayer stone, or amulet of sorts. Such stones are a great tool to use in cleaning up negative space. Instead of your subtle body taking the wear and tear at a contaminated space you are cleaning, begin your cleaning efforts by charging a stone and bringing it to the space and leaving it there. The positive intention of the stone will begin to wear down the negative consciousness of a place. Over time the potency of a prayer stone will be diminished by the surrounding negativity, so you will have to recharge it or meditate there yourself.
What is great about prayer stones are that they can be of any size or shape from a large flat stone to a small pebble. Since stones are a natural part of Mother Earth you can choose one to blend in anywhere from the seaside, to the country to a cityscape. So if you want to bring love to some blighted or injured area you can just make a prayer stone and bring it to the area, no one will know. They can help bring in peace, healing and love wherever you want. Whenever I gather with Mothers Against Violence (Syracuse, NY) for a vigil where someone has been murdered I try and leave a prayer stone behind.
Stones are a wonderful tool for making a better world and healing Mother Earth. I hope that you take to the heart the lessons that I have learned and help rekindle this ancient art that we have let dwindle. Stones are a great tool for healing and reviving Mother Earth.
