Your Higher Consciousness Gift Guide for the Fall Season

We love discovering new finds that help to raise consciousness, from jewelry and books to art, services and unique products. Below is a handful of items, services and sites we came across this summer which we feel will assist in your exploration of all things unique, conscious, mindful and spiritual. Enjoy!

Necklaces by Seren James Jewelry

We came across the beautiful work of Nikki Chaffin, the artisan force behind Seren James Jewelry.

The piece we were most excited about and they agreed to send to us to review is this beautiful hand knotted long Boho vintage Buddha Mala. Where Jade, Agate, Pyrite and Citrine meet. Also in the necklace is Stardust Gunmetal and African Trade Glass and it is hand knotted using silk. Oh so gorgeous, right?

They infuse their jewelry with “good intentions” and love, saying to their clients “be true, be blissful, create, express, believe, hope, dream, explore and above all else, be YOU!” Their passion? To create extraordinary work, set a fire in your soul, and create a radiant glow around you, igniting a curiosity for all of the world’s vast wonder and entwining rarities from around the world.”

“Together, we shine. Build each other up and thrive. Happy Happy. Joy Joy. Be the Love!” — Seren James Jewelry

We also loved this beautiful gem, which is Tibetan Amber incased in Brass with a Wooden Hand Carved Buddha at the end. Included in the necklace are Citrine Agates, Clear Quartz, Pave Herkimer Diamonds, Pyrite, and more — like the one we reviewed, it is also hand-knotted.

They also have lovely bracelets as well and there’s quite a diverse range of options to choose from — gemstones, style, size and colors.

Seren James Jewelry was founded by Nikki Chaffin who was inspired by her grandmother who was an artist who also created beautiful jewelry. Says Nikki, “I learned this beautiful craft from her and am extremely grateful to have learned from her wisdom.”

When she started her business, she took two years to travel and meet different artists and unique finds before starting to create pieces of jewelry that were rare and incorporated many different cultures, all of which could be incorporated into one piece of jewelry. She fell in love with ancient excavated granite rocks from Mali in Africa — she loved their rough raw finish and the fact that these stones date back hundreds and thousands of years ago. Says Nikki, “I loved creating pieces you can wear that have nature and history and beauty all strung together!!”

Her love of pave diamonds and rare gemstones mixed with odd old rarities like vintage Tibetan Pendants and artifacts inspired her as an artist and each piece has a story and adventure through time. Meander through their Etsy shop so you can pick out your favorite pieces to order.

The Geometry of Energy: How to Meditate

This fascinating read by Ethan Indigo Smith is a wonderful way to learn how to meditate using analogies that are quite unique. While sacred geometry isn’t unique to spiritual seekers, his approach and how to explain it is, largely from a philosophical view but weaving in mathematics, nature and balance.

The Geometry of Energy explores meditation and meditative energies through the four dimensions of geometry. Ethan says he was inspired to write it, and to combine mathematics and meditation on a cross country book tour. At the time, he was in Sedona, Arizona and the idea struck him in the middle of a conversation about meditation. Why am I not surprised that this inspiration happened in the middle of Sedona?

He describes The Geometry of Energy as a great choice for “logical thinkers” to begin a meditation practice and an empowering construct for meditation practitioners of all perspectives and experience. Ethan writes, “Buddha believed that people existed in either two states: in existence or nonexistence.” In addition to Buddhist principles, he weaves in other greats, such as Lao Tzu and renowned authors and their quotes, including one of my favorites: Aldous Huxley, who is known among many things to have said, “There are things known and there are things unknown and in between, there are doors of perception.” I understand this well having been a publicist for so many years. What so many don’t realize is that it’s all perception.

Ethan also addresses ways to get rid of the chains that bind us as well as how to get rid of chains from others which hinder us. Let’s face it — we all have them. He says that when you are dealing with too much energy or energy that isn’t your own, imagine that you can return the excess energy back to earth where it can be recycled back into quality and useful energy by Mother Earth energy. While it sounds strange on the surface, this is entirely possible and a great idea. Our spirit guides tell us to do this all the time — remember that everything is energy from our own ‘selves’ to all living things around us. Objects even have energy.

“While connecting and grounding out negative energy through your dragon tail or grounding cord, imagine that positive, universal energy is coming in through your head and assisting in the process.” — Ethan Indigo Smith

I really love this and think its a beneficial technique regardless of where you’re at spiritually. We’re told that absolutely Mother Earth/Gaia has her own consciousness and everything we do affects “it/her” and vice versa. We’re all interconnected and interwoven and it’s part of a beautiful grand design, so much bigger than we can ever imagine. By understanding this connection, we can better tap into its power and simplify what we need to do to access it. We all have that access.

We learn how meditating and consciousness is connected to math and to geometry. For example, did you know that many meditations, no matter how esoteric and dynamic, begin with the 108 construct? Perhaps deeper than you want to go with understanding meditation, however it’s fascinating to learn this side to it.

Be 1 with the breathe, allow 0 things to coalesce from the past, positive or negative and then tap into the infinite within (the infinite of entirety or anything infinite for that matter), symbolize by the number 8 of course. Says Ethan, “use 108 to settle into a meditative mind state, to remind you how to comprehensively become meditative and to unite with the breath.” A great read, find it over on Amazon. He has many other great reads as well worth exploring, such as 108 Steps to Be in the Zone, Meditation and Geometry for the Youth, The Matrix of Four and others.

Yoga Trade

We recently discovered Yoga Trade which is a website and community which links instructors, students, and wellness professionals with work trade and job opportunities in countries around the globe. Their vision? To create a better world through yoga-based exchanges that improve communities locally and globally. The founder is Erica Hartnick, who spent years traveling and teaching yoga between the states, Central America, and Asia. Through her experience, two things became very clear to her: It could be much easier to find teaching opportunities and to locate interested instructors. It was out of this simple observation, over dragon-fruit smoothies in Bali in 2012, that Yoga Trade was born.

There are a few different options for membership. For example if you simply want to browse and be part of the community, there’s a free option. But, if you want to click through on any of the job opportunities for example or post a job or opportunity, you need to upgrade.

We got an opportunity to test out their Yoga Trade PLUS membership, which allows you to do a much deeper nose dive into opportunities, as well as access to networking and being able to promote your personal practice and brand. For example, the Yoga Trade PLUS allows you to access all of their work trade and employment opportunities, as well as access to the all new Mentorship Video Library, a Personal Consultation, Unlimited Event Promotion, and Yoga Trade Exclusive Discounts on gear, apparel, continuing education, and more within their Yoga Trade Partner Network.

Additionally, they apparently verify all Yoga Trade PLUS member credentials and experience so a YT+ badge will display on your profile to ensure Hosts and Employers that you are a qualified and committed candidate, which is a nice feature. The PLUS membership also allows you to receive discounts on all Yoga Trade Gatherings. Although we haven’t gone to one yet, they host special events designed to bring together experienced individuals in their network with instructors looking to grow their knowledge and expand their circle.

We also love that they have a Stories & Events section where you catch insights from others who are doing amazing things.

For more information visit their website where you can see a few membership options to select from — enjoy!

Mala Jewelry by Mindmade

All of the beautiful mala jewelry of Mindmade is handmade by its owner and founder Ana Salgado out of Toronto, Canada. Ana’s mala jewelry has an engaging and minimalist look with the gemstones and elements carefully chooses to create beautiful designs.

One of her most recent creations that we were fortunate to be able to review, is this delicate Amazonite Mala necklace featuring a stunning Amazonite stone pendant at the end. It turns out that Amazonite is Mindmade’s most popular gemstone with its calming and soothing spiritual energy valued for setting positive intentions. And, we’re all about manifestations and abundance — besides, it’s a beautiful calming stone as well and goes with so many things because of its soothing and neutral color.

Ana’s passion for crystals and gemstones is also reflected in her African Turquoise mala bracelet creation, which we love — it’s a combination of three beaded pieces that you wear together. The earthy feeling of this stackable bracelet creates a strong connection to our surrounding nature and the origin of our gemstones. Think about how ancient these gemstones are — wearing them gives you a beautiful connection to Gaia herself.

Each piece of her jewelry is unique with a variety of both soft and vibrant colours and beautiful spiritual meanings. This stunning mala bracelet is made from Rhodonite gemstones with a delicate soft mauve-pink tone and reminds us to live up to our highest destiny. We love this soft and relaxing color — it is also very feminine and allows us to embrace that part of ourselves. It makes for a wonderful gift.

Ana also creates a beautiful and sustainable gift wrap option featuring eco-friendly banana paper, recycled paper and a natural fibre twin, to make a contribution to preserve our nature. We love this aspect and applaud her efforts to focus on sustainability as part of her stunning product offerings.

After 15 years as graphic designer, Ana followed her heart to pursue a life with meaning. She considers crystals and gemstones Mother Earth’s natural gifts as do we. Bravo — we love her work. Here’s a link to her Etsy store where you can find your favorite pieces to order — they make great gifts as well.

Sacred Geometry Art from Pardesco

We’ve looked at many Flower of Life Crystal Boards and the truth is, most of them are very small and not so useful when you’re wanting to bring out the “big guns” aka your most powerful crystals. We tend to work with larger stones during our rituals and events, so it was great to come across this incredible Etsy Store called Pardesco which focuses on Sacred Geometry Art, including large Flower of Life and Torus Yantra Sacred Geometry artwork (below), which could be used to hang on the wall (it’s big) or as a board.

The boards (or art if you wish to use it as decoration only) from Pardesco are made with Birch Wood and a Laser Cutter. We were fortunate enough to get a large Flower of Life wooden creation in from Randal, the force behind this Ohio-based Etsy shop. The dimensions are 27 inches by 27 inches and about a quarter inch deep. And, what else is nice is that shipping is included in the price. Below is the Flower of Life board I set up with stones which represent abundance and prosperity.

Among other things they offer, we were also eager to see their 5 piece stencil set, which you can use to make your own artwork or masterpiece. In their piece pack, you will receive the Flower of Life, Merkaba, Metatron’s Cube, Star Tetrahedron and the 64 Tetrahedron. The quality is amazing and they can be used for so many things, from stencils to decoration on their own. You can also use them as boards to lay your own crystals upon, or rocks, runes or whatever you desire.

They also offer a guarantee so if you don’t have a positive experience for any reason, they claim they’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you are 100% satisfied with your purchase. Here’s the link to their Etsy store to find out more and to order your favorite piece. You should also visit their website as there’s plenty more to see there – enjoy!!!

Sophia Code

We learned about this book recently when researching about material around the Goddess and Feminine Divine. Sophia Code by Kaia Ra focuses on the Divine Feminine Christ movement that is prolific right now, especially in new age spiritual communities. Think of it as a living transmission encoded with direct revelations to activate your role as a wayshower for humanity’s awakening. If you’ve been on a spiritual path for awhile now, you’re familiar with what’s referred to as Christ Consciousness, which is essentially divine love consciousness and we’re told that it is a Cosmos and Source divine love “energy” which encircles not just this planet but others as well.

The Sophia Code cosmology presents a universal blueprint for embodying the Divine Feminine Christ Consciousness. If you’ve been to any ‘ascension’ panel at a trade show, event or workshop, you know ‘activating codes’ likely means. Think of it as codes we all have in our DNA that have been dormant and less realized…..hidden for years and years for a reason. Now, with people awakening and looking for enlightenment in ways we’ve never seen in modern times, the timing is right.

In this book, she features the heroic life stories of Divine Feminine Ascended Masters including: energies like Hathor, Green Tara, Mother Mary, Mary Magdalene, Quan Yin, and White Buffalo Woman. It’s about embracing all of you and embodying your Higher Self without interference and chaotic energy that we typically receive from a mass consciousness energy, something so many of us face each day and struggle with, especially if we’re sensitive or empaths. The author refers to Sophia’s highest seraphim as The Sophia Dragons, who essentially are Creatrix Mothers and angelic guides for actualizing your sovereignty. Think of it as a way to tap into a much higher potential by tapping into Higher Dimensional and Cosmos energy we don’t currently utilize. Here’s the link to order on Amazon.

Kaia Ra also features beautiful jewelry, including pendants, wristlettes, malas and more. For example, one of our favorites — the Isis pendant — comes in both Sterling Silver and Solid Brass. It is meant to uplift your vibrational resonance and embrace your true divine worth, all in support again of the Divine Feminine, which is the core of Kaia Ra’s work. She wants women to embrace the master within each of them in order to fulfill their divine purpose. Women who resonate with a connection to Isis and this Goddess’ community will love her work. Check out her jewelry collection for more details.

We were fortunate to review the Isis pendant and Kuan Yin mala, which is meant to uplift your spirit as a constant touchstone for how worthy you are to receive your own love. Self-love is so under-rated in today’s society — we should raise our kids to understand their own divine love and how worthy they are early on to avoid repeating negative patterns of old. This mala emanates with the quantum healing resonance of Quan Yin’s mantra: Om Mane Padme Hum and is all about self-compassion, self-love, and self-respect.

There are other colors and options to select from as well on their site, including more information on Kaia Ra and her work as well.

Renee Blodgett

Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.

She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.

Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.

Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.