Get Booked – Leah Shoman, Crystal Rituals By The Moon 220822

Hello, you're listening to Get Booked for Women's and Men's Radio Station. I'm Hazel Butterfield and a huge book fan, very similar to many of our listeners to this show. I love doing Get Booked. It is all about talking to authors, chatting about anything and everything books related, and all the joy, enlightenment, and escape that good books can provide. Sit back and let us entertain you with a different guest each week, sharing who they are, what they do, and what inspires them. On today's show, we're going to be talking to Leah Shoman, the author of Crystal Rituals by the Moon. Leah discovered the healing powers of crystals after escaping an abusive relationship and now helps clients across the world release trauma using healing crystal rituals. She is the owner of Dark Moon Crystals, an energy healing practice and crystal boutique, an absolutely stunning site. Please do go and check it out. And Leah is an intuitive crystal healer and light language healer, and she channels guidance and messages from spirit, which helps her bring insight for her clients during crystal healings. Dark Moon Crystals is also dedicated to procuring a wide variety of high vibrational, unique, and sought-after crystals that are sourced sustainably, ethically, from all over the globe. Each crystal is intuitively hand-selected to ensure it contains the energetics aligned with our highest good in mind. Throughout today's show, we're going to be speaking to Leah about top tips for choosing the best crystals for you, 3 key crystals to reduce stress and anxiety, the best crystals to use to release trauma and heal emotional wounds, and anything and everything crystal-based.. So please do stick with us throughout today's show. It's going to be pretty amazing. Next on today's show, we have Leah Shoman, the author of Crystal Rituals by the Moon: Raising Your Vibration Through Every Lunar Cycle, released on the 21st of July, which reveals how crystals can help us relieve stress, release trauma, and find harmony. Crystal Rituals by the Moon has been created as not only as a guide for beginners but for seasoned crystal collectors and healers. Leah has used her own crystal healing journey to inspire and motivate the collective into connecting to their own intuition and source on a deeper, more authentic level. Now, I have been working my way through this work. I just said a little bit off air to Leah that I, I'm just starting to want to get involved because I experienced so much lately that it's undeniable the power of a positive mindset and how crystals can contribute to this. And there's so much negativity out there, and anything that can contribute to us feeling better within ourselves is aces in my book. Uh, Leah, firstly, thank you for joining us today on Get Booked. And congratulations on your new book. Thank you so much for having me, and I appreciate it. And we— I'm going to do a quick disclaimer, which I think you already know about, is that my son is called Leo. So if I call you Leo, I'm not trying to be rude. It's just a slip of the tongue. Makes sense. It's okay. No offense taken. I do have— my sister also has— my stepsister also has a cousin called Louis. So we're all called Leo and Louis, and we all get mixed up everywhere, and it's— they're too easily similar. And also, it's ridiculously hot in the UK right now, so our brains are like mush, melting. Yes, I get it, I get it. It's okay. My mom calls me my sister's name all the time. It's fine, it doesn't even sound the same. My mom used to call me Thumper, which was the name of my rabbit. And I regularly get my dog and my kids mixed up. Yeah, it happens. It happens to the best of us. So I have been working my way through Crystal Rituals, which I must say, it's the prettiest book. It's like the perfect coffee table book, isn't it? That was definitely my intention with this, so thank you for that. I appreciate it. Um, yeah, I actually took all the photos myself. Did you? Yeah, yeah, it's all my photo. Well, there's a couple that aren't my photos, just like the little bits of the rocks, um, like, you know, when I'm like describing some of the properties of the crystals, those aren't my photos, but the other ones, they're all mine. Oh wow, interestingly, my son's really into— my eldest is really into crystals, or he used to be a couple of years ago, and he's got these great big boxes full of them. And because he's, he's a teenager now, he hasn't touched them for the last year or so. And I'm like, kids, get back into the attic. We need to go back and play. Come on, pop out those boxes. We need them. So yeah, this book is, I mean, I wouldn't say I was a skeptic, but I've always struggled with having been able to comprehend the cycles of the moon and the difference between crystals. And it's, and I've just got into it so much recently. And one of my best friends who is a reflexologist, there's no denying just how knowledgeable and how helpful she is because of her knowledge of the lunar systems and how to use crystals effectively. And so I've got to that stage where I could no longer just ignore it. I think, and I think a lot of people are feeling this way at the moment, that they can no longer deny how effective crystals can be, um, in whatever proportion we want to use them. So, um, you've released this book at a perfect time, haven't you? Yeah, I guess that's very timely. I definitely feel that, um, that kind of pull for a lot of people trying to look beyond themselves as well. So it is really good timing. But then there's— it feels kind of like a divide, actually. It feels like the people who are like not wanting to get into it, really don't want to get into it, but then there's people who are like becoming very open-minded and seeing how it actually all kind of correlates, um, to each other. So that's pretty fascinating to experience it all unfold. Well, I, I think the power of crystals, a lot of it is aligned with a positive mindset, isn't it? And, um, that does take practice, which is why, you know, doing yoga is called a practice. It's something that you need to work out. You can't just suddenly go, bang, that's it, I'm going to be into crystals and it's going to heal me. Um, exactly. Yeah. And it's— I think that especially as I was reading through the book, a lot of it is about affirmations and how we speak to ourselves and how and what we put out there into the world. And that doesn't need to be a woo-woo approach. It is just, you, you get back what you put out there. If you're constantly looking for negative, that's all you're going to see. But you talk about in the book about mirroring, and what especially, especially British people are like, oh, I couldn't possibly say things like that to myself in the mirror about how amazing I am and how I can do this, because, you know, we're just not that way inclined. And yet So many more of us are becoming that way, and we need to because we need to start really giving our mind and our mindset that once-over and feeling more positive. Mental health is such a huge issue right now, and it's because everybody's in a negative mindset. So, oh, definitely. Yeah, let's talk about crystals and rituals and how, how it can help us. And, um, I think What's your favorite part of your book? Oh, that's hard. I can imagine. I'm a Libra, so I'm very indecisive in nature, but I'm gonna say all of it because every aspect of the book provides something different to the reader. I'm all about knowledge and kind of the things that aren't really addressed with crystals, like kind of their properties and different inclusions or their shape and like how that also enhances how a crystal operates. But then I'm also like definitely into the very metaphysical part of it, like the unseen, I guess, is what you would probably call it, and how they work with you in your different like etheric bodies, your physical body, your emotional body. So it's kind of all-encompassing in that way. And there's just so many different kinds of rituals that I put in the book that can be if you're just starting into it and you're very overwhelmed and you're like, oh, I can't do that. I don't want to say that to myself. Then you can kind of go to another ritual where you feel comfortable and start there. Because I definitely myself, I do have a more realistic outset on life. I guess that's how I was always operating. I was never like, I'm this completely positive person. I always kind of fell by like the realistic wayside. But then— That's so relatable though, isn't it? Yeah, it is. It really is. Because it's like, well, sometimes people think like, I'm going to expect the worst and hopefully the best will come from it instead of shifting that perspective or that mindset and be like, I expect the best to happen and then the best will happen. So I kind of get the mentality of thinking like, oh, this is hard to be positive or I don't even like to use the word positive, but it's harder to have a better outlook on situations or events or experiences when you kind of haven't operated in that field before. So there's definitely different types of rituals that can help you start to get into that kind of mindset or perspective shift. Well, you don't have to hit the ground running, you know. Everything is about small steps and integrating things into your life if you're going to integrate them in a way where they're going to remain. It's a bit like, you know, flash dieting and extreme dieting. That's, that's no good for anybody. Integrate things in a way that suits you, which is, you know, this is what's helpful about the book because there's so many different ways and perspectives and kind of different avenues that you introduce crystals and how you can use crystals and the rituals into your lives. And, and also what I found really helpful is the concept of how knowledge is power. The more you know, the more you understand, the more you can get on board and feel like you're using the practice, you're utilizing a practice with a little bit more knowledge as to how it's supposed to work and why. Definitely, I'm all about the knowledge. I think that's, that's why the first half of the book is all about how to like really use your crystals optimally, like the best way possible. Um, and that's why I do go in depth about like their inclusions and their shapes, and then relating them to the chakra points, and then relating them to how you can clean them, how you can program them, how you really get them to work with your body like at the most optimal pace that they can. And for you as well, because essentially, you know, we're all We're all energy, everything is energy, and kind of attuning these frequencies that already have an energy of their own just really helps catapult you into a different kind of state. Do you know what's quite interesting about the, the concept of energy is that, um, I don't know how much you know about the UK, but there's, there's the north and the south, and the north is kind of, um Possibly it's got a different kind of personality in the north, and my dad was a very kind of straightforward man who was quite, you know, set in his ways, quite overweight, loved a pint, and none of this airy-fairy nonsense. That would be his kind of approach, but he traveled to the Middle East East and the Far East quite a lot with his job, and he had a terrible back. And he actually turned around to somebody who he'd seen for, for an energy cycle while he was in the Far East and said, right, uh, I need to see you next, next time I travel there, um, and can I book in? Because I know you get booked up quite quite quickly. And they said, oh, do you know what, we can do it over the phone if you want. And he's like, no, that's not right, that's not going to work, that's ridiculous. And they went, you're not gonna know, you're not gonna— you might as well try it, because if you're not going to be back for another 3 months, you're going to be in agony. And this complete northern bloke, uh, back in the '90s, let this healer heal him over the phone, and it worked. And he still— I mean, it was just one of those things that he just had to accept was real. And that's, that's quite a lot for a Northern man to have to accept. And the power of energy utilized properly is undeniable. Absolutely. I think that's the hardest thing for people to understand. They're like, why did it work? How did it work? And, you know, like, what happens to me if I believe that this works? I think those are like the common stages that people go through once they have like a spiritual experience. Yeah. And what— quite wild. I've got, I've got friends who absolutely love the cycles of the moon and it's like, right, okay, we're at that stage of— I don't understand the stages of the moon, um, and I'd love to because I think that will help me hormonally. There's so many different ways, uh, help me with my mood. And, um, they're like, right, get your crystals out, we need to recharge them. And I'm like, I've been using my crystals on empty all this time. Well, not essentially, but you can just re-harness it with kind of those energies during that cycle and like the astrological phases happening at that time. But they'll never go on empty. They are forever just giving off a frequency. And that's the beautiful thing about them. See, even if you feel overwhelmed starting with crystals, you really don't have to do anything with them. Mm-hmm. If you wanna keep elevating your practice, then you can. But if you just want to start off and you just buy one because you think it's pretty and you want to put it in your room, like, that is the first step. That crystal called to you, you found that crystal, and it's doing something for you already. But if you don't think that you know anything about the moon cycles or whatever it may be, it doesn't really matter because you're still utilizing this piece of Mother Earth that found its way into your home. What I have also been doing as well, that I've— because again, like what I said, you know, small steps. And I've been— I know that if I introduce things in small steps, then I can maintain it. And I got myself a Rose Quartz Roller, and I've been using it on the meridian points. And I actually have a reminder to make sure that I do it even just for a couple of minutes every single day. And I feel so much more relaxed, and that's just 2 minutes. And sometimes whether it's anything other than the fact that I'm giving myself 2 minutes of downtime, right, or whether it's because it's the rose quartz, but I absolutely love those 2 minutes. Yeah, it's your own little ritual with your rose quartz that you created. That's like the beauty of it. You can do anything and set aside that time for yourself and your crystal, and it's just— that's your own personal ritual, and that's the time that you you're able just to like disconnect and not feel so 3D human for a minute. Yeah, exactly. So how do you go about helping people choose what is the right crystal for them? Because there are so many out there, aren't there? Oh, definitely. Um, me personally, I offer a service where I do pick out crystals for people, but that's in a different level where I energetically connect um, to the person inquiring, and I can kind of like feel in with my spirit guides and their spirit guides of what they're needing at that moment. Um, but essentially what I say to people is, okay, so what are you actually looking for? What colors are you drawn to? Um, do you want to just decorate your home, or do you want to use it with a specific intent? Um, well, like, look at the shape that you're also selecting. Is it a palm stone? Is it a cluster? Is it a geode. And I feel like all those little nudges are going to give you kind of a really good idea of what your body needs at that time. So especially for the color, it can indicate, you know, what chakras are out of balance or if they're overactive, if they need extra attention. So colors are a very important thing to pay attention to. And the shape— all different shapes emit their frequencies in different ways. And some are better placed in certain areas of your home. And then, you know, there's other ones that are easier to, to work with on your body or gritting and during meditation. So it's just all kind of like encompassing in that regard, if that makes sense. It completely does. Do you think there should be clothing out there that has discreet little pockets where you can put in certain crystals to help you stay? You know what's That's so funny. 4 years ago I thought about that and I was like, wait, how do I make this? Because people are already doing this, but there should be a pocket for this. Yeah. And I mean, obviously I didn't make it, but, um, that's so funny that you say that because yes, I do think so. Yeah. I mean, because sometimes like, um, my, actually my youngest son, he's got one of the long thin ones, which I know that if I look through the book, it's it's going to tell me exactly what type it is. It's— now come on, I can do this, let's find— because you've got a whole section on the shapes and what they're called and I love that because it just, yeah, it just helps me understand a little bit more about what I'm wanting to get involved with. So it was a pink amethyst. With, with the flat bottom generator. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I just took that into the front part of my bra. Yep, I love generators. They're like one of my favorite shapes. Yeah, I love them. I love them so much. I, I think it's because they— the energy that they have in themselves, the way that they produce the energy and the way they shoot it out I think it's just very helpful for the way that I work. Um, but yeah, I love a generator. They're my favorite. I love them. Although I'm thinking, and what do you think is the best way for me to recharge them if I can't— if I'm not getting involved with the moon cycles? I did see that you have like salt water ways or, uh, fresh water ways of recharging your crystals. What do you think is the easiest way for people to recharge? I think, well, it depends on how often you're using it because you don't necessarily need to recharge it all the time because it's already charged with energy. So it's just dependent on what kind of like intention you have set with that crystal specifically and how long you want it to work with that intention. So I— that's what I'd say. I'd say if you're done you know, kind of using it for a specific purpose, then you can recharge it with a different intention. And you can simply do that by just holding it. And I call that energy transference, because your body can transfer energy to the crystal, and you can set that intention that way. Wow, I do love that. It's just, again, reminding ourselves to speak nicely to ourselves and to give ourselves a little bit of time and love. We kind of, we run around pretending, well, not pretending, we are busy, but we forget that we need to speculate to accumulate. Yeah. Yeah. I think a lot of us aren't as kind to ourselves as we'd like to be, or we should be. We don't give ourselves enough, um, love and forgiveness. Yeah. And also There's people running around going, 'I don't have time to read a book. I don't have time to sit there and talk about manifestations and lay with crystals.' But also, if you give yourself half an hour of time where you actually just give yourself a break, the rest of the time that you are working or running around is gonna be charged up. It's going to be better. It's going to be more effective. And people forget that. Absolutely. Even the 2 minutes that you're talking about, you spent 2 minutes using your roller and that's, you know, it doesn't have to be something that you just carve out 8 hours a day to do. It can just be a small intentional 2 minutes and go on your way and that can just kind of change the trajectory of your day. Do you know what? I use it before I go to bed because I really struggle sleeping and I find it really kind of calms me and although I do, my time is for like 2 minutes or my goal is for 2 minutes. It's very often longer than that. But if I tell myself I've got to do it longer, then it's just not achievable for me or suddenly I feel quite overwhelmed by it. But I can be doing it for ages while, I don't know, Friends is on Netflix. I'm still watching Friends. Yeah, absolutely. Now, um, I would like to know— we ask for 3 top tips and well-being, but I think all of what we're talking about is well-being focused. So maybe, what are your 3 key crystals to reduce stress and anxiety? Because I think there's many people listening, whether they know about crystals or they have no idea and they're just very inquisitive, and sometimes it's just easier for someone to point in the right direction. Mm-hmm. So I would do— I have 3 specific ones put in the book that could be very helpful for that. But I think, you know, I'm like, I'm not here to have everybody follow a bunch of rules because I don't like to follow rules myself. So I say— Very boring, isn't it? Yeah, it is. I like to suggest, and I'm not saying this is what you need to do. So I like to use crystals that are kind of quote-unquote water-based, but they're not water-based. They're— they have like a water energy or a water element to them. Um, and I find that personally for me helps reduce stress and anxiety. But I also use personally really intensely high vibrational crystals all the time because that's just what my body works well with and I'm accustomed to that kind of energy. But I would say like a lithium quartz. That's a beautiful relaxing energy. A kambaba jasper, which is, you know, like so green and it just promotes like tranquility and your like connection to earth and kind of just, you know, grounds you a bit. Another one would be aquamarine. It's just like a gentle, beautiful flowing energy that just really helps put your body back to stasis. So things like that I would suggest. And what are the dos and don'ts of being able to acquire these crystals? Because, you know, there are so many high street shops that sell them, um, and I know that you sell them as well. Are— is there other particular places or particular situations where you think are better than others? I think That's up to the person and their discernment and what they feel called to. I personally work with really small suppliers that actually go out and hand mine these crystals themselves, and I've had a really good relationship with them since I've opened my business. And I know, I know how they mine, and I know where they get their— I know where these come from, and I specifically handpick every crystal that comes into the shop because I already know that there is somebody for this crystal. Oh wow. Yeah, because that just kind of goes back to part of my gifts. Like, I, you know, a lot of crystals are encoded with information from past lifetimes, and I know people who have encoded them, and I've matched them with their crystals in this lifetime. So it goes pretty deep. But, um, I think that just uses your discernment and whatever you're attracted to, honestly, because that's where the journey all starts. It's— you see something and you're attracted to it, and you're like, wow, I really want to work with this crystal, and I say go for it. But again, use your discernment of where you want to buy and what you think is high quality or that kind of regard. Okay, yeah. And what about— I've come across things like on Amazon, and I guess there are different qualities, there are different levels of quality of things you can get on Amazon. But like, even sets that you can get for kids where they can grow their own crystals— have you come across those? I have, yeah. I actually see them in the shops all the time, like the Discovery Store, or I think they even sell them in like Target now. Um, sounds about right. Yeah, I'm like, oh, that looks kind of cool. But I personally haven't used it. But again, everything is energy, um, and I'm not gonna like stick my nose up to it, but I just think it's whatever you're kind of drawn to and attracted to. I like that because sometimes you just feel when it's right and something, if it brings you joy, then it's going to be effective in putting you in a positive mindset and making you— Absolutely. Yeah, I love that. And I mean, how fun would it be to like watch a crystal grow anyway? Like, I'm actually kind of into that. Yeah, yeah, no, that's It's been a while actually since we've done one, but yeah, maybe I'll try and get the kids to do it with me again. I want a report from that. I'll let you know. Yeah. So what I would like to know is, so how would I in the most effective way be able to understand the cycles of the moon? Well, that is a great question. Every moon phase kind of has a different effect that it can have on your body. And not that this is scientifically, scientifically proven, but I think it has a lot to do with, um, you know, like the tidal force, you know, how the moon has effect on our tides, and they call that tidal force. Well, we're comprised of 70% water, So I feel like the moon's gravitational pull can affect our emotional bodies kind of in the same way. Um, and again, along with the astrological transits that are happening during these moon phases can also affect you. So I feel like you can go through a new moon or a full moon or a dark moon and feel a type of way, but also what's happening astrologically will kind of shift and move that into a different kind of space as well. So what I have in the book are different— are all the moon cycles, all the lunar phases, and how they can generally affect you and what you can do during that time to kind of ease those effects or make it a little bit easy on yourself, or how you can harness that energy and use it something— make it into something useful for you. I'm just finding this so incredible because it's just you have a fantastic way of explaining things. It's in a way that's not too much jargon, and I just, I can get on board with it, and it doesn't feel too daunting. Yeah, that's exactly the word I was looking for. So thank you so much. Yeah, it is quite funny. Thank you. Oh, you're welcome. Thank you. It's quite interesting because I kind of There's quite a few of my friends that we hang out and sometimes, and we've all got kids and we're all, you know, working quite often ridiculous hours and trying to work as hard as we play and socialize and out with the dogs and doing interesting things. And then all of a sudden we'll just suddenly go, so how have you been feeling lately? We'll be walking the dogs and we'll say, do you know what, I'm just angry at everything, or I'm really agitated. And then we'll get back and then all of a sudden we'll get a text from a friend going, you do realize that the moon is in so-and-so and so-and-so. So if you're being a little bit edgy, we're like, oh, it's the moon's fault. It's not my fault. The moon station. Yeah, I definitely feel like it has an effect on our bodies for sure. Yeah, it doesn't it? I don't wanna blame it completely on the moon, but like I'm gonna give it a little bit of I'm going to give it a little bit. Am I incorrect in thinking like different stages of the moon affect like the weather system and the tide and everything? If it can affect the tide, that's that powerful, surely it can affect little old us. That's what I think. I definitely believe that. There are people who don't, um, but hey, that's what I subscribe to and that's what I know works with my body. I, you know, it's kind of like Do you feel this certain way during this time? Okay, so what's happening in the sky? Like, there's so many different things that affect us that we just aren't even aware of. Um, and I think it does require some attention. It requires you to look inward and, and see what's happening. And kind of, I think it's also a really great way to kind of get in touch with like who you are as a person too. It's like, wow, why do I feel this way during this time? Oh, okay, XYZ, this might be happening. But that's just kind of like my analytical brain too, jumping in there and wanting to know everything. Well, it's— that's not a bad thing. There are so many different levels to this though, because how much you involve yourself with crystals and energy and moon cycles, we are all completely different and we can choose how much or how little we want to get involved, even if that's nothing at all. And also how it affects us is completely different. You don't even necessarily have to— as you said before, some people don't believe in it. The actual process of getting involved is just as effective. I mean, years ago, I would say I was definitely quite a skeptic, and my friend just turned around to me and said, listen, your head's all over the place. There's a full moon coming up. You need to write down everything that you need to happen over the next 12 months to make you feel better. And it wasn't— I did it and I loved it and it helped. And whether it's because, you know, a full moon was looking down and saying, do you know what, Hazel, I read you now, I'm all over it. I'm going to sort it out for you. Or whether it's just that positive mindset that I engaged with myself myself about what it is I wanted. And the cathartic nature of writing something down is so helpful for our psyche, and it doesn't need to be spiritual in any way, shape, or form, as are many of these rituals. Sometimes it can just be to do with giving ourselves a little bit of headspace. And so the levels we involve ourselves It's completely down to each independent person. Do you agree? Absolutely. I mean, writing things down, getting it out of your head, that's also like very psychological. Like being able to put down into words your feelings, that's a very human thing to do. Relating it to the moon and crystals, that's just taking it an extra step and enhancing your kind of practice. And I think that's where people get kind of the disconnect. They're like, oh, I don't want to do that, that's weird, or that's woo-woo, or whatever they want to call it. But it's essentially doing the same thing. You're just kind of harnessing extra energies to assist you in that journey. Yeah, it's the same way as, you know, utilizing language properly to make sure that we're speaking to ourselves properly. There's lots of little things that you can get involved with, as little or as much as you want, dependent on who you are individually. Exactly. Person. Exactly. I couldn't agree more. And I think the more people start to recognize that and the more people start to practice that kind of mindfulness, you know, it's— we're like, we're a collective consciousness. Like, we, whether we like it or not, we're still feeling, um, effects of everyone else in the world. And whether you're open to that or not, like, our mindsets as a collective do affect us as a whole. So the more people who are open to it, the more people who are practicing, it's just a beautiful thing. It could make huge shifts in the entire world. Yeah, yeah, completely. I— one of my, one of my best friends, um, she is so on a different level of consciousness, and it's undeniable some of the things that she has been able to predict or achieve, especially with her reflexology. Um, and I just— I'm absolutely in awe of what she does. But whenever I leave her aura, I feel so much better within myself. But sometimes out there in the world, isn't it? Absolutely. Yeah, you have to kind of project what you really want to be. It's kind of just using like the quantum field that you're at your fingertips, because anything that you want or desire is already in the quantum field because you had that thought, and it's creating this sort of energy around this object or the way that you want to be or what you want to achieve. And, um, it's just kind of being able to shift yourself to align yourself with that frequency and to obtain it. And I think It's such a simple— it's complicated, but it's also a simple task that we all could be utilizing instead of being like, oh, I can't do this, I can't do that. Just say, I have this, I have that, I am this way. And in just doing that verbally, you're aligning yourself higher to those frequencies, to the things that you want, by saying that you already have it. Well, that's to do with the language we use, isn't it? If we keep on telling ourselves we can't do something or it won't work, we're not exactly willing the positive element, are we? No. And I think that's like a lot of societal pressures as well that, you know, humans just created. And we need to rewrite that script because everything should be obtainable for everyone. Universal energy is just not here out to get you. It's here to serve us and help us get everything that we want in life. No, there are no negative elements that I can think of by getting involved. So now I want to have a bit of a chat with you about setting our intentions with crystals. How do we do that? So there are definitely multiple ways you can do that, and I explain a few of them in the book. Um, so if people really want to get started now, we can kind of start with the basic one, um, which I love having everyone do because this is a really great way— like we were talking about earlier to kind of get everything out of your mind, um, and also kind of use that and harness the energy with crystals. So I like to do, uh, writing down your intentions. So you grab your crystals that you want to set your intentions with, and I think that would be whatever you feel called to and whatever their metaphysical properties align to in regards to what you're trying to bring forth for you. So I get, I, I get little small pieces of paper I can just have a loose leaf sheet of paper, rip it up into bits, and get a pen. I use black ink because I like having an extra layer of protection when I'm doing this. And I know it's a weird thing, but color of ink can, you know, help you on your journey too. So then I write down intentions for each specific crystal. So saying, I want to attract abundance into my life, or I want to heal past trauma, or I want to reduce my stress and anxiety. You write one intention down per piece of paper, and then what you're going to do is wrap that piece of paper around your crystal, and then you're going to just let that intention hang out with your crystal until you want to rewrite it. Oh wow, so it could be hours, days, weeks? Yeah, whatever, whatever you feel called to, honestly. Whenever you're like, I think that's done, okay, I'm ready to, you know, start anew. And I kind of coincide this ritual of writing down intentions with another one in the book. And there's a further step that you can take when you're done with it, and you can— it's called Let It Burn. And you take these pieces of paper and you burn them, just releasing the ashes into the earth too, when they're obviously not on fire anymore and you're not going to set anything ablaze, especially during hot summer months. But yeah, so That's a really, really good way to start out, is writing them down, aligning them with a crystal, and leaving it there as long as you feel like you need to. Oh wow, I like that, because also it's manifestation, isn't it? It's just about accepting what it is and realizing to yourself as well what you want to achieve. Absolutely. So it can physically come to fruition, or if you feel like you're done kind of focusing on that specific intention, you can just be like, okay, thank you, and release that intention for that crystal. And you can go ahead and set a new one, or you can just leave the crystal as is. Oh, do you know what? I'm going to incorporate this because I read a book recently. Uh, it's actually— it was— it's Peri Powers' book. It was a couple of weeks ago on the Get Booked Show, and it has all these activities at the end to help us kind of engage with ourselves and help us regain our own power and confidence. And one of the things was to write down the things that you want to change about yourself, but also another list of things that you want to start being. Something, you know, whether you want to start being more positive, or if you want to make sure that— even if you wanted to earn more money, or if you wanted to start speaking to your friends more, or something like that. Mm-hmm. But I could incorporate that task that I want to do with crystals, couldn't I? And absolutely, yeah. And that just honestly enhances the energetics of it, um, because like we were talking about before, writing these down and getting it into the universe just really aligns you with that specific frequency, and that alignment helps bring it into your life. I absolutely love that. I'm so, so excited. At the end of, um, at the end of this this interview, I am going to be making sure that the kids dig out all of their crystals. Some of them have got like, you know, those beautiful amethyst ones where they're actually encased in a rock and then you open them up. Oh yeah, geode. Yes, is that what it's called? Yes. I need to get my lingo down, don't I? Oh, they're just beautiful. I love, you know, I love anything amethyst too. Very attracted to amethysts and geodes. Really, any rocks. What am I talking about? I love them all. Rock girl! I really am. So how long have you been into crystals, or is this something that's always been a part of you? Definitely always been a part of me, even when I was a kid. I remember my first rock I kind of picked up was a pyrite, and I found it and I was like, wow, this is amazing. And I just never really realized what it was doing for me, but it just brought me great joy. Like, and I'm a little forager, like you'll If you find me outside, I'm just like picking up rocks, I'm looking at seashells, like I just love foraging. I'm so jealous. Yeah, and so I just like— that would just bring me great joy. And then just holding these rocks and kind of feeling their energetics, not knowing really what they were, it just kind of put me on that path as a young kid. But I think up like 5 years ago is when I really got intently focused on crystals and my own healing journey. So and my own spiritual awakenings and just communicating with my spirit guides and learning all about them, it was just kind of like, yeah, that's it for me. This is my life. It felt like a calling as well. Definitely. It's, it's definitely a calling. And I know it's definitely something I used to do in past lives as well. So it was kind of reawakening to those gifts because when I first started on this journey again, I was like, wow, how do I know what these what to do. Like, I— it would be a crystal I'd never seen before, I never heard it before, but I would know what it did. So it's kind of like we have this unspoken communication between each other. Whenever I can like pick up a rock and hold it, I'm like, oh, okay, I know what you do, I know what you're for. Intuition though, it's, it's incredible, isn't it, when it works for you and just how, how much comfort it can give you? Absolutely. It's bringing the power back to yourself because we all have this ability. It's it's just whether or not we want to listen to it and tap into it. Now, I do want to point out to all of our listeners that they can pop on to shopdarkmooncrystals.com, which I must say is the most stunning website. Um, you didn't do these— this photography as well, did you? I did, yes. Oh my goodness gracious me. Um, it is beautifully Done. Um, and again, just to point out to everybody, they can also follow you on Instagram. Um, and that's— if you can just let our listeners know all the different handles. I think you're on TikTok as well, aren't you? Oh, I tried. I'm not great at TikTok. I'm not great at the TikTok, but I'm there, um, occasionally. Um, yes, so my Instagram handle is Dark Moon_Crystals, or my other handle is Leah.Showman, and you can find me on any platform at the Dark Moon_Crystals. Pinterest, TikTok, YouTube, I think, and Facebook and Instagram, all that kind of good stuff. I'm trying to think of all the, all the social media platforms. Uh, carrier pigeon, or, you know. Yeah, right, actually, I would enjoy I enjoy that far more than Instagram. That would be so cool, wouldn't it? Let's bring carrier pigeons back. I'm really into that idea. Yeah, do you know what? I still actually send postcards to my friends every now and again, like even though I'm speaking to them on WhatsApp nearly every day, there's nothing better than receiving something in the post or just in a little bit of a less techy method. I couldn't agree more. Me and my friends used to do that whenever we went out of the country. We'd send each other postcards. Yeah, I love it. Yeah, absolutely love it. I can relate. Now, something else that I also ask my guests on the show, offer somebody who they admire in the public eye. The reason I ask this is because we need to start looking out for positive people in the public eye. Yes, we like to get Yes, social media is incredibly addictive, but just because it's addictive doesn't mean we're necessarily getting positive vibes from it. So absolutely, just to encourage a bit of positivity. Um, that's a great question. I actually try not to pay attention to any of that, um, because I found it to be, I don't know, a bit— again, I'm going to use the word daunting— in the last couple of years. Um, but I really love Dr. Joe Dispenza. And actually, I love Jim Carrey. Jim Carrey is so brilliant. Um, I just really admire his outlook and perspective, and the way he understands the universe is like quite beautiful. And you wouldn't expect Jim Carrey to be that way, but it's Jim Carrey. Love him. Really, really bizarrely, he's becoming popular again with the kids, like another time round. Like my kids are watching all these old movies. Yeah, it's all coming full circle, isn't it? Yeah, it's absolutely— but it's quite nice for me because, um, I get to watch them all again. It's probably been about 20 years since I've seen some of these movies, right? That's a really good one. Thank you, I appreciate that. Um, yeah, he's just so open to the universe. It's empowering to hear him speak. He's got some pretty impressive speeches on YouTube, hasn't he? Yeah, he does. He really does. And you're like, wow, thank you. Just thank you for being alive and speaking out and being a beautiful person. And it's also utilizing the platform he's already got and his fame to get a different kind of viewpoint across. As well, and I really appreciate that. I like it when, you know, there's so many celebrities out there that just, you know, well, everybody can do whatever they want to do, I think, but it's nice to see people trying to channel some really good positive mindsets out there, which is exactly what I think your book is about. I do love it. Um, I think it's definitely one of those books that it's not going to go back on the shelf, it's going to just set on the side so I can just ponder through it every now and again and try something different. And I'm sure my friends will pick it up as well. It literally makes me so happy, I can't even tell you. Yeah, well, thank you so much for releasing the book. I think it's going to help a lot of people. And as you said, yes, it is there for beginners, but it's also there for people who just want a little bit more information. They've already started their journey in understanding crystals and the cycles and their rituals, and, or maybe somebody just wants it to look incredibly pretty in their living room. But thank you so much, Leah, for chatting to me today on Get Booked, the women's and men's radio station. And just another reminder to all you listeners to pop on to shop darkmooncrystals.com to find out more and to get in touch and find out a little bit more about you. And they can get hold of the book on Amazon and any decent bookstore really, can't they? Yeah, actually they can. It's beautiful. I love seeing her go around the globe. Oh, she's a— she's a her. I love that. Oh yeah, I guess my mom— my little baby, she's my, my fourth born. I love that, I love that. Thank you so much, you've completely made my day. And yeah, thank you for sharing your knowledge and chatting to us. Thank you for having me. You're very welcome, and come back on the show when you release your next book, which I'm sure there is going to be another one. Definitely. Thank you, and thank you everybody for listening to Get Booked for Women's and Men's Radio Station. Next up, joining us on Get Booked, we have Adam Shaw, the mental health pioneer who over the past 5 years has arguably done more for mental health recovery, advocacy, and philanthropy than any other. You've likely been impacted by the incredible work he has done in the field of mental health, from making mental health education compulsory and mandatory in UK schools to forming the Shore Mind charity, which we're going to be talking about, and creating the world's first mental health publisher. Adam has touched the majority of mental health recovery stories in, in the US and UK, and he has invested more than $10 million of his own money into revolutionizing mental health recovery and support on a global scale, which is what Women's Radio Station and Men's Radio Station is all about. Adam, thank you so much for joining us here on Get Booked. How are you? Hey, Hazel, that's a really nice introduction. Thank you, I'm great. I'm feeling even better after that introduction. Thank you for that rundown, it was awesome. You are welcome. Yeah, so you're quite a busy chap, aren't you? Well, yeah, I mean, I have been over the last, particularly the last 4 or 5 years. It's strange because I was fortunate enough really to sell my company, which is in a different life really, in a different industry completely, and my own stories out there about my own battles with OCD and how I harnessed that really to, you know, not intentionally, but I harnessed it in the right way to be successful in business because, you know, of the obsessive nature behind always wanting to be right and know the details and everything that go with that. But it was a very, very dark side to OCD, like a lot of people know who suffer with OCD. It's— I suffered with the intrusive thoughts and it was— it took me to some very dark places. But on the flip side of that, the fortunate side. Of course, there is a very negative side to OCD, but on the fortunate side, it allowed me to be successful in business. And then, you know, when I exited my company that I'd sold, that I built and sold around about 2014, 2015, I did kind of try retiring, I guess, for like 3 or 4 weeks. And I realized soon after, with all the kids that I had and, you know, the craziness of just, you know, life. I realized I needed a purpose. I just couldn't sit on a beach and do nothing. And that's when it kind of really hit me that I'd been fortunate enough to try and do something to have a difference in this overwhelming purpose, I think, which takes hold of a lot of people in a similar situation to give back. But to really not only use my own money that I'd been fortunate to generate, but hopefully to use my skill set to harness that and really have impact that into something that was really important to me. And it was a no-brainer for me. It was absolutely mental health that I had to give back. I knew at the time it was, it was, it was still fairly not as typical as it was now to talk about mental health. Thankfully, even over the last few years, we've progressed so much that people had started to talk about it. People and celebrities had started to come forward, and which was all great. But I knew from the side of the sufferer, really my purpose, you know, I wasn't a celebrity. You know, I didn't have much influence in the media or the public eye, but I knew I had a good bit of financial backing and I had good business skills. And I knew that, well, what can I do to make a difference? And that was really, well, I can have impact rather than being an advocate and out there speaker. That will come naturally with, you know, just driving impact. But what I can do is really drive impact and make a difference for sufferers out there, for the next generation, but also for people who are suffering now. So yeah, that's a long answer to a short question. I'm sorry. Yeah, that's kind of the history and how I really kind of, you know, I've always had OCD. It's always been a part of me. It was never, you know, on my radar to get involved in mental health. I always wanted to run away from it. But when I faced it and got over my OCD and I saw my business, I knew that was going to be the next stage of my life. So yeah. The last 4 or 5 years I've been particularly busy, hopefully making a lot of impact, and probably more busy than I was and have ever been, even with my previous company. So yeah, that's been the last 4 or 5 years of my life. Do you not think though, when you have certain mental health issues, having purpose is so incredibly important? And also being able to take what other people have unfortunately seen as a negative, flipping it on its head and going, do you know what? I've had these issues, but it means that I understand them. So it means I can do something, you know, helping other people share and live with whatever mental health issues they may be struggling with, you know, rather than just saying, right, I have depression, that's it, this is a negative. No, it means that you understand people a little bit more with depression and you can help. So sometimes we've just got to Flipped things on their head a little bit, haven't we? Hazel, you see, I mean, you are so, so right. That's exactly how we do treat mental health and we should treat mental health. And the sad thing is not a lot of people know that and not a lot of people are aware, and especially sufferers and families of sufferers, just how you can turn around your mental health issues into such a positive for your life and your family's life. And it's not the sufferer's fault, it's just the lack of education around that, how to do it, or the lack of resource to do it. It is not there. Generation after generation has been failed. And you're absolutely right. I mean, one of the things that we did with my charity, Sure Mind, is we knew we had to have impact straight away. And one of the biggest things I missed as a child, and I think my generation was failed, but also parents' generations was failed. And we get onto this, you know, how do we look at mental health and turn it into a positive is, you know, we really, I felt that I was let down because I wasn't educated on mental health. It's a lot to put on teachers. They work so hard and there's so much put on them, and we had to find a way of supporting teachers, but we had to find a way of making it mandatory within the syllabus because we believe that my charity, Suremind.org, that every kid, every child should be compulsory educated on mental health, and it should be on the syllabus. And just like we're taught how to deal with physical ailments and we have physical education in school, it was imperative to me that mental health education became became compulsory. It doesn't stop people from having mental health problems. It doesn't stop people from being mentally ill, just like physical— when you get physical education, it doesn't stop people from becoming physically ill. It doesn't stop people even from getting overweight. But what it does do, it's like physical education and mental health education, in that it gives you the tools to spot the symptoms, to spot the signs on how to get help, on what to do. Just like with physical health, on if you get overweight, you We all know what we need to do. We know how to manage that. It's very hard, of course, to lose weight, but we have the tools and the resource to deal with that. And so it's a very basic form of mental health that's now delivered in schools that our charity first pushed for the parliamentary debate in 2017. We've been heavily involved in that over the last 4 or 5 years. You know, there's lots of other great organizations and of course that have got involved in making that happen. Syllabus will keep evolving. But yeah, going back to your point on purpose and flipping it into a positive, um, yeah, I'm all for believing purpose, um, because I, I think that's, you know, life is very, very smart, whether you're spiritual or you're religious or you're not either of those things. But I think when you stop having a purpose, male or female, or you don't feel like you have a purpose, life is very smart and finds a way of not giving back. But if you have a purpose in life, I think life also finds a way of keeping you and giving you back. And I think that purpose for me, um, and what helped me when I sold my company is I had this lack of, you know, although one could say I was very fortunate because, you know, I had security and— Money's not everything though. No, it's not. It really isn't. You're not in a position to enjoy it. As a young man, when you're building a business, and that's, that was my purpose then, it was like money, support my family, keep going, keep going, avoid my mental health, mental health. And then when I got there and I had my money, I was like, Okay, right. Well, so what do I do now? And the OCD started coming back and the depression started creeping in. And that's where purpose was really important to me. So that's what drove me with the mental health. But going to how we flip it, this is one of my organizations that we, you know, Trigger Publishing, which we now have a platform called triggerhub.org, which provides something what we've harnessed, which is an old ancient Greek term, really. It's nothing new, but we've harnessed it for today's world called bibliophilia. Bibliotherapy. And really is that is, it's just, it is books. But I mean, we've had these created especially because it's something that really helped with me. I was never a big book reader. But my doctor that I had at the time, and Dr. Lauren Callahan is now involved with TriggerHub and what we do, and how we really, you know, provide affordable and supportive solutions to people is through lived experiences, is bibliotherapy, because the power power that it helps sufferers and how it helps me. Like I said, I was never a big book reader. But once I started to identify with other sufferers' stories, that didn't give me full recovery. Of course it didn't. But that was 50% of the battle, knowing that I was not on my own, knowing that, you know, I wasn't— there was a little bit of a barrier between me and my doctor like that. There is, it's that kind of, well, they're a doctor, I'm not, I'm just a number. And I'm just their patient. And of course there's medication that you can take to help mental health, but actually what I was craving for more than anything else was validation and really to identify with somebody else's story who had what I had. And as soon as I was able to do that and read that and understand the challenges that they'd gone through, I identified with that immediately. And that, like I say, it gave me such hope. It gave me a path and a trajectory to recovery. And that's where I was like, well, You know what, books on mental health and recovery, they aren't promoted enough in terms of how actually they can really help. And if we can manifest these stories from brave authors with courageous experience who want to come forward and tell their stories, not only is that a really cathartic experience for the author themselves, but actually if we can package this in a way where it's a supportive tool, not just, oh, I've got a book to read, but actually this is, you know, this is a Bible of information that can really show you that you're not alone and you can identify with an everyday person what they've been through. Yeah, to be honest, um, I could, I could talk about this till the cows come home, but we have run out of time. Okay, thank you so much for joining us here on Get Booked for Women's and Men's radio station. It's been an absolute pleasure. Thank you so much.