VALERIE SMITH: Many people feel alone, unhappy and unloved in their life. They may have friends, a family, lots of activities to keep them busy, a good job, or not so good a job. But no matter what is happening around them, they don't feel the joy of life or the love offered by those around them.

If one is not open to receiving they never experience the awe and wonder of life, they never fully feel their own specialness, because this is felt through the feedback others give them with their gratitude and reciprocated love. Words expressed to them are lost without meaning, because the energy of the emotion around these words is not felt. When one is not feeling what is being offered to them, they do not hear the words, "I love you", in the same way they would if they were fully taking in the energy behind the words.

If you can relate to this or know someone who can, I wish to share with you a few stones that can help to open up one's ability to receive, to be able to hear, accept and feel gratitude, love, acceptance and support when it is offered, helping them to know that they are not alone, that they are loved, and that they are special.

Rose Quartz is of course the first stone on this list. It has a beautiful rosy pink colour, and holds a gentle loving energy. This stone helps us to feel and accept love. It also helps us to begin to love ourselves. Rose Quartz lightens the energy in our heart, healing the emotions of feeling rejected or hurt by others, grief, trauma, resentment and anger. It has a soothing and loving energy which brings compassion, kindness, forgiveness and tolerance. It raises our self-esteem and self-confidence, helping us to be more open to others, knowing we can handle any situation. Rose Quartz also helps us to be more receptive in seeing the beauty in life and in the arts.

In ancient times Rose Quartz was used to attract love. Keeping the stone near you can help with any form of love, whether self-love, family love, friendship or romantic love. Wearing a rose quartz heart over your own heart is the perfect way to use the stone, but keeping one in your pocket or having a larger specimen in your home is just as useful.

Jade is another ancient love attracting stone. Jade is found in many shades of green, and is very helpful when setting goals. It helps us to be true to our dreams and goals, causing us to be dedicated in taking the steps necessary to receive whatever it is that we have put our intent to. Because Jade inspires wisdom, increases love, is protective, and brings harmony, it is thought to attract good luck and friendship.

Jade not only helps us to live our dreams, but it inspires insightful dreams. It helps us to understand our dreams and to learn from them. Through dream work, we process our lessons in life, releasing emotional pain, making room for serenity and peace to come in.

Amber, a beautiful gold resin, attracts compassion and balanced energy as it activates unconditional love. Though it is an organic material and not actually a stone, it is used in the same way as crystals and stones. It transmutes negative energy to positive energy bringing harmony to our life. In this place of harmony and balance, the body is able to heal itself, making Amber a wonderful healing talisman. It holds the energy of the sun helping to lift our self-esteem, calm the nerves and increases our physical stamina. Amber also creates a connection to our ancestors, helping us to trust and use their wisdom.

Amber is also used for manifesting. One way of doing this is to program a piece of Amber to bring a particular goal, or object to your life. This is done by clearing it first, then holding it while placing the energy of the desired outcome into it with your thoughts and prayers and carrying it with you. When you hold the vibration of what you are seeking, you have a better chance of receiving it. It is believed that if you wear Amber, you will attract warm, loyal and generous people into your life.

Angelite is a wonderful light blue stone which opens us to receive the guidance and support of our angels and guides. It balances and aligns our physical body with our spiritual self. It helps us to see the paths available to us so we may prevent some of the challenges ahead. It is believed that we can use Angelite for telepathic communication. Two people who wish to be connected very deeply, though physically apart, can each carry a piece of Angelite. Programming these stones for this purpose as described above would be necessary. Angelite brings peace and tranquility helping us to focus when praying or connecting to the spiritual realm. It holds the energy of compassion, and tenderness helping to alleviate suffering.

Lodestone has a powerful positive-negative polarity, balancing the masculine and feminine energies within. Because it has a natural magnetic energy, it can be used to attract whatever energy we wish. But, we must be careful what we wish for. It is very important to strongly hold only the image of what we want, and not what we do not want. The best way to ensure that the Lodestone is attracting what we want is to program it to bring our desired outcome. However, Lodestone does have a natural tendency to bring love, commitment and loyalty, as it strengthens our trust in our intuition. It is a good stone to use during meditation and visualization. It also helps us to let go of negative emotions. Lodestone also helps us to realign our energies, balancing our chakras, bringing a sense of well-being to our lives.

Carnelian enhances our family relationships. It is a beautiful orange to orange/red chalcedony which comes to life when light shines on it. Carnelian opens us to feel the importance of family so we not only support and love those in our family, but we receive the support and love given by our family. It dispels apathy and passivity helping us to stand up and do what is right for ourselves and for our loved ones. It provides a safe place for us feel our emotions, and to allow the emotions of others. When we use Carnelian daily we gain the ability to be real with our family and truly feel joy in our life. To create a strong family dynamic, have each member of the family carry or wear a carnelian.

Each of these stones can contribute to living an open and happy life where we are able to receive the many blessings offered by our friends, family and loved ones, helping us to realize our true self worth.

Keeping our stones cleared with prayer, smudge, or the sacred sound of ting shas, and then programming them according to what we want to use them for, is the key to the success of using stones for our personal well-being. Blessings.